Omph School Board

Omph School Board

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OMPH SCHOOL BOARD

MEETING MINUTES

October 25, 2016

Present: Father John McLoughlin (Pastor), Margaret Gardner (Principal), Jane Smith (chair), Beth Eberly, George Rudy, Ned Schneider, Christine Erb, Amy Holland, Carolyn Lesher, Dave Goss, Andrea Covey and Kathleen McBrearty

Excused absence: Dante Orlandi

Unexcused absence: none

The meeting was called to order at 6:31 PM in the OMPH school library with an opening prayer by Father John McLoughlin.

TOPIC: Approval of the September 27, 2016

September 27, 2016 School Board minutes were approved by George Rudy and seconded by Dave Goss. Approved minutes are posted on the school website (

TOPIC: Ex-Officio Reports

Pastor’s Report

  • Father John spoke about the start of the new school year going well.
  • Discussed technology and updating the school and church websites which will be paid by the Benefactors (school and parish combined).
  • Father John revised the “Welcome” letter for new parishioners to include information on the school.
  • The hurricane in Haiti destroyed three Redemptorist Parishes. The school is sponsoring a dress down and the money will go directly to Haitian Parishes.

Teacher Representative Report

  • No report

Principal’s Report

School Notes:

Religious Activities:

  • Throughout the month of October the students are praying one decade of the rosary daily as a school community.
  • During the parish Forty Hours Devotion, Father Paul Borowski, C.Ss.R. met with the children.
  • The 7th grade will have their family Mass on Friday, October 28th. Parents, grandparents and family members are invited to join us for Mass; a social follows in the 7th grade classroom.
  • The children will continue to participate in Eucharistic Adoration with two classes visiting the Blessed Sacrament each Wednesday.

Academic Notes:

  • Preparations are underway for our school Science Fair under the direction of Mrs. DiNovis. To support our 7th grade students and interested 8th grade students’ participation in the Lancaster County Science and Engineering Fair, a Science Review Committee is again assisting the students with the planning and development of their projects.
  • Under the direction of Mrs. McShea, the 8th grade class has begun work on the research and development of a National History Day project.

Staff Update:

  • Our art teacher, Mrs. Patricia Jacobs, is currently out on medical leave. Mrs. Amy Holland, who has been volunteering for special projects with Mrs. Jacobs, will cover the art classes while Mrs. Jacobs is out.

Enrichment Opportunities:

  • Mrs. Judy Giacobbe, a retired high school math teacher, and Mr. Scott Giacobbe, a retired engineer, are again volunteering with our MathCounts program for qualifying 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. The team meets weekly on Friday afternoons to expand their math skills in preparation for the annual MATHCOUNTS Competition held at Millersville University in February.
  • Qualifying students from grades 5 through 8 have participated in several SEE (Secondary Enrichment Experience) Seminars sponsored by IU-13. The programs challenge our students to expand their learning into new areas.

Special Events:

  • Sister Geralyn Schmidt, S.C.C., the WAN Administrator for the Diocese of Harrisburg, visited with us on October 3rd and spoke to the children on digital citizenship and virtual integrity.
  • The Knights of Columbus shared a treat with the children on October 7th in celebration of Columbus Day.
  • On October 17th we held JA Day for Kindergarten through 5th grade. Members of the business community joined each class for special lessons and activities.

After School Clubs:

  • Mrs. Ann DiNovis will begin practice with our Quiz Bowl team in early November. Our students participate in matches with the Lancaster Lebanon Middle School Quiz Bowl League.
  • During the months of October and November, Mrs. Chanko is again leading the Rosary Making Club. The children are making cord rosaries which are given to newly baptized babies in each of our three parishes.
  • Mr. Jere Cassidy is leading the chess club for students of our parish. The Chess Club, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, participates in the Friendship Chess League which is comprised of both public and private middle schools.

School Safety:

  • Throughout the opening weeks of school all safety drills were practiced (fire drill, severe weather drill, site evacuation drill, and lock down drill).
  • The names of those who agreed to serve on our safety committee were sent to Mike Ogden, Risk Management and Safety Director for the diocese. Mike provided information to assist them in moving forward with this initiative.

EITC Update:

  • To date $4000 has been designated to the preschool program for 2017-2018; no funds have been designated for K-8.

OMPH Support Groups:

PTO:

  • “Pastries with Parents” held Wednesday, September 28th from 7:30 – 8:00 AM was very well attended with the largest attendance ever.
  • “Trunk or Treat” is scheduled for Friday, October 28th from 5:00 – 6:00 PM in the back parking lot.
  • The Sale of Kids Stuff coupon book raised over $1400.00 to date; books will be available through the end of October.
  • Our Read-a-thon will kick off with an assembly on November 9th. This major fundraiser for the PTO will run through early December.
  • New this year is the PTO Soup Sale. Orders are being accepted now for three varieties of homemade soup that will be prepared for pickup on November 9th.

Development Office:

  • Annual Appeal and Phone-a-thon were very successful this year. To date approximately $34,000 has been received; an additional $7,000 to $10,000 is expected from pledges.
  • Treasure Island Auction will be held on November 5th. The evening will include Chinese, live and silent auction items, as well as special raffles. New this year is a Plinko game.

Technology Team:

  • The school website was hacked and subsequently shut down Oct. 1st. Jere Cassidy has put up a temporary site until a new site is in place. Target date is January.
  • At the recommendation of the diocese our WAN connection was upgraded on October 11th to 50 mbps to provide for greater speed. Testing will be done for a 4 week period to see if this solves the problems we have been experiencing.

TOPIC: Committee Reports

  1. Spiritual Life
  • Continue to look for a new committee head
  • Prayer group continues to meet Thursday mornings at 8:00 am.
  • Pray for upcoming elections
  1. Marketing and Public Relations – Christine Erb
  • Made new video to promote school, it is posted on the Facebook page. Titled, “Life at School.”
  • Looking into getting students involved with making new videos
  1. Finance – Dave Goss
  • No report
  1. Properties & Maintenance - Ned Schneider
  • No report
  1. Technology – George Rudy

No Report

  1. Long Range Plan—Jane Smith
  • Discussed developing a collection of promotional videos and getting students involved in a video club
  • Getting students involved in a video club

New Business:

  • The Diocese is mandating that an emergency plan be in place for all schools. We are working on forming a committee and setting up dates for the committee to meet.
  • 60th anniversary celebration planning: Thursday, 09/14/2017 the Bishop will say mass for the school community, 09/17/2017 there will be an OMPH all class reunion, 09/17/2017, a program will be planned for school and parish families.
  • Discussed planning celebrations throughout the school year to celebrate the 60th year anniversary.
  • Creating and brainstorming ideas for the next School Board meeting and additional ideas for the reunion.

Minutes submitted by:

Kathleen McBrearty

OMPH School Board Secretary

Final Draft OMPH School Board Meeting Minutes October 25, 2016

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