Nevada Union High School - SITE COUNCIIL
Approved Minutes
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Library Conference Room
3:00 p.m.
Members present: Luke Browning, Risa Roseman, Mitch Giles, Megan Ross, Jordan Horowitz, Dan Frisella, Carol Lee, Junet Bedayn, Kaelin Mudd, June Gilfillan, Jade Ewing, Betsy Brown, Kendall Brazil, Sherry Chargin, Jill Sonnenberg
Guests: Rachel Woodward
Welcome & Happy Ag BBQ: Luke Browning, Chairperson
PUBLIC MEETING
1. Call to Order 3:04
2. Agenda - amended to add Site Council public relations mentioned in September minutes to New Business(Consent Approval)
3. Minutes from September 10 meeting - correct spelling of Bedayn(Consent approval)
4. PUBLIC FORUM
a. Invitation to members of the public to address the School Site Council with issues not on the agenda (non-action items which may be added to future agendas) - none
b. Comments from Council members and public (non- action items) - Dan pointed out that Luke Browning was on the front page of The Union today as County Teacher of the Year!
5. REPORTS
a. Students (student council, non-action item)
Kaelin reported that Homecoming went well. Twice as many people as usual showed up (545)! The whole Spirit week had more participation than usual. The Walkathon went well.
Jade reported that the Blood Drive is coming up November 6th. Executive Council members work on independent projects that benefit the school or community; those proposals will be coming out soon. Council retreat was held at the end of September; they established goals for the year. There is a lot of unity and motivation amongst the Council members. There are currently 29 students on Council, and there are 5 more Media Specialist positions being added, along with Junior Class President. Media Specialists will work on making the Daily Diggins more engaging for students.
Junet reported that there is a new Psychology Club, planning to work with the Social Justice club. Social Justice is working with Communities Beyond Bias to hold a writing competition, and is planning to go to Chico’s Social Justice Fair. Eco NU had 30 members attend the SYRCL clean-up. They are working on a Take Back the Tap reuseable water bottle campaign. Recycle bins are coming - 5 weeks later than hoped - but still coming. They are also working with Sierra Harvest to hold produce tasting.
June asked if there is a list of clubs and a blurb about each one. There is a list, but not one that includes descriptions.
b. Principal (non-action item)
Dan expressed pleasure in surviving the first quarter. Most of Homecoming was coordinated and executed by students. Walkathon was successful as a first year project; hopefully was a fun kick-off to the Homecoming football game and dance. There are projects happening on campus during October break: removal of a few trees, filling in dirt area at end of E-wing with concrete, a food servery shed will be added there, along with some picnic tables. New signage will be mounted on Ali Gym, the west side of the theater, on the library, lecture hall, and wings, funded by NU Connection. Administration is working with Community Beyond Bias to offer restorative approaches to discipline with Saturday School students, instead of them just picking up trash. We will host an 8th grade Visitation Day on November 16th to expose the local 8th graders to what NU has to offer ~ lunch, rally, opportunity to see classrooms and programs. A Talent Show is scheduled for this Friday night in Baggett Theater. Gold Nuggets are happening - teachers pass them out to students that exhibit positive behaviors on campus. The intent is to encourage positive communication. Junet asked if there are students on the PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support) committee. June responded that there aren’t currently any on the committee, but they welcome student participation and current plans have been made with student input. June agreed that it would be good to encourage student participation on the PBIS team.
Risa noted that some kids that weren’t engaged in the Walkathon. They may not have connected with the project, are already involved with different fundraising activities, or are busy with Partnership or Humanities academies. Dan welcomed feedback as to how to get universal involvement.
6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Minutes from August meeting (Consent approval)
change spelling of Junie to Junet, approved as corrected.
b. Walk-A-Thon funds management model
Right now we have netted ~ $10,000; there are still some donations to be counted tomorrow. Dan presented an Application for Funds form (adapted from NU Connection). Jade moved to adopt the Application for Funds presented as the Site Council Application for Funds. Seconded by June. Michael moved that we modify the motion to just have the Chairperson sign. After some discussion, the motion to amend was withdrawn. Dan explained that the process might vary each year depending on the amount of funds available for distribution. Sherry recommended an administrative signature of approval on item #4. Dan moved to amend the initial motion by adding an administrative signature line on item #4, and only requiring signatures of the Chairperson and Secretary at the end of page 2. Motion approved unanimously.
7. NEW BUSINESS
a. Role of Site Council and Goals
Dan shared a School Site Council presentation and list of School Site Council Goals for members to keep as a reference. He explained that we have tried to blend both WASC (Western Association of Schools & Colleges, the organization responsible for accreditation) goals and SSPSA (Single Site Plan for Student Achievement) goals, trying to merge the two and ensure that they are measurable. Betsy asked for explanation of some of the acronyms.
CAHSEE - California High School Exit Exam
CCSS - Common Core State Standards
UC A-G - University of California A - G requirements
CTE - Career Technical Education
Junet asked how we did on the CAHSEE last year. Although individuals have received results, we do not have the results of the subgroups yet. As a Program Improvement school, we were supposed to move 10% of our scores into “proficient” status (score of 380 or better). The program is currently in a freeze, however, as the State approved doing away with the CAHSEE. It remains to be determined how federal requirements will be effected.
Betsy asked how parents can participate more, rather than just coming and listening at meetings. Dan suggested looking at one or two goals per meeting and getting parent input as to the progress we’ve made. Both the WASC and Single Site Plan are available online for parents to familiarize themselves.
b. Homecoming debrief
Dress-up days: Good overall; some kids requested more variety. Friday is always Blue & Gold and Senior togas. Other than that, these were all different themes than last year. It is a challenge to find ideas that aren’t objectionable or disrespectful to one group or another.
Powder Puff day: There was some poor decision-making, likely the result of lack of sleep, to start the day off, but all concluded well, with a huge improvement in participation from previous years. Jill wishes there were more opportunities, not just one day, for girls to play football. Luke suggested we need a hook to get more of the student body involved. Jordan suggested some prior week intramural games. The powder puff game used to be held during the school day on Fridays with full stands, but many students objected to being required to attend. It could be a part of the Walkathon.
Club Rush could be part of the Walkathon too.
There were no problems with the actual walking part of the Walkathon.
Rally: There were some sound (audio) problems. Junet suggested there be activities that would involve more of the audience. Luke thinks Ag could make t-shirt cannons. Risa voiced that we need to incorporate the students not necessarily involved in typical student activities. It was suggested that we have normal lunch in the cafeteria but provide extra treats like ice cream, Club Rush throughout the campus, extend the class competitions with games on the field with an olympic-type scoring/competition, community vendors could be invited, wrestling gym open for gamers. Spreading out across the whole school might take away from the group feeling. All the organization for games should not fall on ASB. The Walk could include dress-up like Bay to Breakers. Walk distance could be extended, adding some connection between distance or laps and the amount people donate. There were, and always are, lots of fundraising projects going on a one time - that makes it difficult.
The Homecoming football game was the debut of the floats. With the new track, we can no longer have cars on the track. The floats happened on a short timeline, but were a great alternative. Luke expressed that big trailers pulled by trucks with music and fanfare attract spectators to the Friday night homecoming game. What are the limitations, what are the trade-offs for a once-a-year activity? Some other schools build big floats but drive through town and park the floats in the parking lot. Feedback was received that there should be more emphasis on inviting back past participants - Homecoming courts, cheerleaders, etc.
The Homecoming Dance was great.
c. Site Council Public Relations - move to a future agenda item
8. CLOSING
a. Next meeting date set for Thursday, November 12th at 3:00 p.m. in the Library Conference Room (consent approval)
b. Future agenda items:
30-minute intervention period recommended by June at 9/10 meeting
PBIS
how to unite clubs
Site Council public relations
reviewing a couple goals at each meeting
ADJOURNMENT Moved by Kaelin, seconded by Jade to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 4:39.