Parents as Partners, Thursday January 7, 2010
Attendance: Lisa Dike, Kelley Charland, Laurie Singer, Maria Dramstad, Mary Lou Lord, Gail O’Connell, Erna Deutsch, Dorothy Dickson, Laura Cunningham Firkey, Sharon Sturm, Julie Mueller
We dispensed with introductions and went straight to the Principal’s report
- The H1N1 vaccinations have been rescheduled for Tuesday 1/12. Eight parent volunteers are needed to facilitate the process.
- The next day from 9:30 to 11, three volunteers are needed to cut up fruit. FACS has worked recently on introducing tasty, healthy food in the cafeteria, and this will help with that effort.
- Two volunteers are needed during lunch time on Thursday the 14th to help serve the food prepared on Wednesday.
- The basketball tournament will happen February 18-20. Kevin Barber and Barb Edwards work on this from the staff end. Sharon Miles is a parent volunteer. 50/50 raffle tickets will need support, and a snack bar coordinator is needed to make sure the snack bar is stocked and staffed.
- Mr. G’s igloo day will happen on January 11 between 9 and 1:20 with a break for lunch. Parents can come any time to help, but might want to come when their student has social studies.
- Beautification will happen in the boys' locker room this coming Saturday, 1/10, from 9-12. Two coats are needed, so CHIPS will work on a second coat on another day. BYO brushes, rollers, pans, and edgers. Drop cloths and paint will be provided.
- GASP will happen in March. Selected high school students will be recruited to come and help with that.
- The play was announced. An informational meeting will happen on Tuesday 1/12 after school.
- Conferences will not run on the scheduled April 1 date. A new date will be scheduled and announced in the Reporter.
ADL’s 3-5 year action plan needs a parent rep, a student rep, and a staff rep from each of the teams. Technology, Differentiated Instruction, Literacy across the subject areas, and Teaming are the focus areas, with a goal of continuous improvement. SMART goals (Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and with a timeline) are key. The team will develop a draft, shop it around for feedback, and bring the final concept to staff for a vote. The initial meeting will happen in February.
A new volunteer policy is under review that would include tiered checks based on the volunteer’s potential contact with kids. Volunteers would fill out only one form per district.
Level 1: Stapling, etc – not necessarily any contact with kids. No check outside of filling out the form.
Level 2: Field trip chaperones, not alone with kids. Check in VT offender registry.
Level 3: Very involved in the school, might work one-on-one. Full criminal check with fingerprinting.
The budget has been submitted. We have been advised that a large reduction may happen in Title 1 funding, which affects reading, math, professional development, and technology, so the budget proposal is “bare bones.” Contract talks are in process. We are not experiencing an enrollment decline like the High School and Westford will see. The legislature is interested in a 0-to-1% budget increase, which means cuts will be needed to cover increases in costs.
Congratulations to Anna O’Malley, who got second place in the Hildene Historical Essay contest. Fatima Boxwala got an honorable mention in the same contest.
Gail’s report:
- Financial report: $1229.41 as of today.
- We have a dance on Friday that will need some funding for plates and cups. No dances in February or March.
- 1/28 at 5pm the art and FAHC will run the Empty Bowls dinner. Volunteers are needed to put up posters about the event in the community. Volunteers stepped up at the meeting for set-up and clean-up on either end of the event.
- We have a media literacy presentation during our 4/8 meeting.
- The lost and found got cleaned up and many items were donated. The Burlington School District has a strong need for winter clothing for children and adults. Donations can be dropped off at ADL.
Team Wonder’s winter Olympics had plenty of coverage and went well. Team Discovery made sock puppets in the art room and played games in the gym. Alchemy made candy canes and had a pizza lunch in the hallway. Free skating happened at the rink.
New Business:
- Band concert: Mary Lou will head up the food and set-up for this event. Maria timed the food at the holiday chorus concert at 17 minutes and will give us a report at our next meeting on the band concert food decimation time.
- Gymnastics invitational – parents of gymnasts generally stock and staff the snack bar.
- This year is the 40th anniversary of the basketball tournament.
A planning meeting will happen in the next couple of weeks for GASP. The DJ/inflatables are already booked. Cake planning is in progress.
Sweatshirt sales were a little over $700 – no profit. Snack shack hasn’t been mobbed this week.