Parent Advisory Council (PAC) Minutes

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Participants Present: Daniela Bogart, Leslyn Carlson, Savannah Carlson (sophomore), Jan-Marie Martin, Rachelle Eastep (DP Coordinator)

  1. Introductions
  2. Old Business:
  1. Approval of February minutes
  2. CAS Update (Michelle Erickson)

1. Days for Girls: Close to being done cutting fabric. Meeting on Saturday, March 28th at 7:30AM-11:00AM at Pueblo West High School to sew the hygiene kits. Please see Mrs. Erickson if you are interested in helping.

  1. Penny Harvest (Megan Vaught and Nolen Martin): These students have collected approximately $300 in funds to be given to non-profit organizations. PWHS students have the opportunity to vote on the non-profits to which they would like to see the money donated. Students can find that survey on Moodle. All teachers were given a copy of the attached letter to read during their 5th hour classes.
  1. Angel Fund Update (Rachelle Eastep/Dave/Miles)
  1. General Fund Balance ($369.22)
  2. Albertson’s Cards: Albertson’s cards are still available from Rachelle Eastep. If you shop at Albertson’s and swipe your card when buying groceries, our IB students receive 1% of all money spent which goes towards the testing fees.
  3. Fundraising Opportunites
  4. Brink’s meats: Please see the attached flyer for information. If you, a relative, or friend orders a 20 lb. box of 85/15 ground beef from Brink’s meats and you order online, $5.00 of each box of meat sold can go to an IB student’s testing fund. You must designate on the order form the name of the student and that the profit should go to the IB testing funds.

4. Applebee’s Fundraiser: Mrs. Martin is working on organizing a pancake breakfast fundraiser through Albertson’s for the Fall. Students would have the opportunity to see tickets and earn money for their testing fees through the sale of tickets. There will be more information regarding this fundraiser forthcoming.

5. Wendy’s Fundraiser: Mrs. Martin is working on a night at Wendy’s where IB students can give a coupon to anyone that is eating at Wendy’s on a certain night and a percentage of the profits will go toward the student’s IB testing fees. The coupons would have the name of the student on them, and the students would be awarded testing fees according to the number of coupons used. There will be more information forthcoming about this fundraiser scheduled for the Fall.

  1. Extended Essay Deadlines for Juniors
  1. February 26th: All candidates must have read a sample EE and reflect on how the graders assessed it. The written reflection should be approximately two pages long and show the IB Coordinator that the candidate fully understands how his or her EE for his respective area of study will be graded. The reflection should be uploaded to Managebac in order for the EE supervisor to see if the candidate is on the right track with his/her EE expectations.
  2. March 19th: All candidates must have met with their supervisors a second time and have a revised research question that is narrowed down.
  3. April 2nd: All candidates must have met with Mrs. Vail, media specialist in order to explain their topic and explore media resources that are available to them through the media center.
  4. April 16th: Students must submit the titles of three sources to be used on their EEs to Managebac.
  1. IB Global Gathering Luncheon, Wednesday, March 18th: Current sophomores doing full IB next year met with current juniors and seniors during lunch to converse about what to expect during their junior and senior years and to get tips about how to problem-solve during the program. The “Five Buck Lunch” was purchased from Subway.
  2. IB Exam Testing Schedule: Please see the revised testing schedule that is attached. The time for the IB English exam has been modified in order to not conflict with the AP calculus exam. Thank you to the parents and alumni who volunteered to help with the IB testing this year. All testing sessions are covered These individuals are listed on the exam schedule.
  1. New Business

A.MYP Authorization

  1. What does that mean for our current freshmen and sophomores?
  2. Teachers completing unit planners (promotes interdisciplinary learning and ensures that as a faculty we are working toward the same goal of promoting the mission statement and learner profile of IB . This is a conscious effort for teachers to be more consistent in their planning of units, grading with MYP rubrics, and focusing on the global contexts of IB. This should help with real-life application of concepts and help teachers answer the question, “Why do I have to learn this?”)
  3. Personal Projects: All 10th graders starting next year will complete the MYP personal project. Students will work in groups of no more than 3 students with the support of a mentor teacher within the building. Students will be able to pick a topic that they have a personal connection to. They will meet with their mentor three times a year during the school day for advisement. Projects will be due the beginning of March. Mrs. Melster and her leadership team is in the process of working on incentives for students who complete both the personal project and the community service piece. The personal project can serve as a stepping stone for the Extended Essay piece of the Diploma Program during the junior and senior years.
  4. Community Service: All 10th graders should complete 20 hours of community service by the end of the school year. They are able to count hours within a club or organization. Students can reach out on their own for volunteer opportunities or contact Mrs. Melster for ideas. Students need to document hours on an MYP community and service reflection form. Those forms are available through Mrs. Melster or through their advisor. Incentives are being worked on by Mrs. Melster and the PWHS administration.

B.Predicted Numbers of enrollees in IB classes for next year: This year the IB Diploma Program filled 120 seats in IB classrooms. Our enrollment for next year has almost tripled with 357 seats in IB classrooms being filled.

  1. Upcoming Dates:

March 2015

5:(Juniors): All candidates must have met with their supervisors a second time andhave a revised research question that is narrowed down.

5: (Seniors): Spanish B: Individual Oral Internal Assessment in the Media Centerconference room scheduled throughout the day individually.

18:(Parents): PAC (Parent Advisory Council) Meeting in the Media Center at 4:30P.M. this is open to any parent interested in being a part of the IB program.

April 2015

2: (Juniors): All full IB candidates must have met with Mrs. Vail, media specialist in order to explain their research topic and explore media resources that are available to them through the media center.

6:(IB Math SL and IB Math Students): Guest speaker during 4th and 5th hours.

7:(incoming 8th graders): 8th grade orientation at 6:30PM with an IB breakout session in the media center at 5:30PM.

9:(incoming 8th graders): Class registration at Skyview Middle School at 7:45 AM and at LPI at 1:30 PM

15: (Parents): PAC (Parent Advisory Council) Meeting in the Media Center at 4:30 P.M. this is open to any parent interested in being a part of the IB program.

16:(Juniors): Students must submit the titles of three sources to be used on their EEs to Mrs. Eastep on Managebac.

23:(All students testing): Exam training done each hour in IB classrooms. This must be made up if a student is absent, or they will not be allowed to test.

27: (All students testing): Exam training done each hour in IB classrooms. This must be made up if a student is absent, or they will not be allowed to test.

29:(Sophomores): Required orientation meeting for all sophomores entering into IB their junior year. Each sophomore must have at least one parent present. The meeting will be in Pueblo West High School Media Center beginning at 6:30 P.M.

30: (Juniors): All full IB candidates must submit a written summary on the three sources reported to Mrs. Eastep by April 16th.

  1. Comments/Questions/ Concerns

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:30PM. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15th at 4:30 PM in the PWHS Media Center.

Respectfully Submitted by Rachelle Eastep