NEWFIELDS SCHOOL BOARD
November 13, 2006 — 5:30PM
NEWFIELDS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
In Attendance: Carolyn Bellisio, Jan Trueman, Joe Army
Administration: Steve Kossakoski, Dennis Dobe
Treasurer: Maggie Doane
Secretary: Dennis Dobe
Visitors: None
2.1 The School Board did not go into non-public session.
3.1 October 17, 2006 -- Mr. Army suggests changes to notes on 13.4 pertaining to the proposed Health and Nutrition Policy. Motion to accept the minutes as revised (Jan Trueman), seconded by Joe Army, all in favor.
3.2 October 17, 2006 Budget Workshop -- Mrs. Trueman makes motion to accept the
minutes as written. Ms. Bellisio seconds. All in favor.
4.1 Mr. Ed Oddo, Revised Parking Lot Proposal
Mr. Oddo did not have updated information from contractors on the new parking lot proposal, so his presentation was deferred to next month’s meeting.
5.1 Monthly Financial Report
Mrs. Doane stated that the Newfields School District had $137,511.75 cash on hand at the end of October. Mrs. Doane had not received updated figures from the trustees of the other accounts normally reported. Maggie announced the new payroll system being used by the SAU, indicating that the pay stubs have a different appearance and offer more information than the previous version.
6.1 NAEP Administration
Mr. Dobe reported that the NAEP Assessment (part of the “Nation’s Report Card”) will be administered to NES 4th Graders by a NAEP Test Administration Team on February 20, 2007. The test will have subsections in reading and math. We do not receive individual or school results for our performance on the test. All NH student performance is reported as State performance, then NH is given a ‘Report Card’ by the U.S. Department of Education.
6.2 Grade 1 Literacy Support
Mr. Dobe outlined the additional literacy support being offered to NES 1st Grade students this year. This additional reading instruction has been made possible due to the availability of Mrs. Kettlewood in the afternoons after her morning Kindergarten students go home. Mrs. Kettlewood teaches the LiPS program to 1st Grade classes, leads Guided Reading Groups consisting of 1st Grade readers, and sets up and conducts ‘Literacy Centers’ in the 1st Grade classrooms. Our 1st Grade teachers report accelerated growth of the students due to the additional reading instruction and programming that they are receiving in the afternoons this year.
6.3 Literacy Consultant Visitations
Mr. Dobe announced the work done by NES classroom and special education teachers in collaboration with our school’s literacy consultant, Kim Boothroyd, from the Tufts University Center for Applied Child Development. The first consultant visit was on October 18th and focused on implementation of ‘Writers Workshop’. Ms. Boothroyd’s visit on December 8 will focus on helping teachers develop the ‘Word Study’ component of our school’s literacy initiative. Dennis stated that if the staff development budget line held, he would try to have Kim come back to NES late in the winter or early in the spring to work with teachers on another aspect of literacy instruction.
7.1 SAU Update
Dr. Kossakoski informed the Board of the upcoming SAU 16 Policy Committee Meeting scheduled for November 15th at 7:00PM. He also reported that there would be an SAU School Board Chairpersons meeting scheduled for November 30th. Dr. Kossakoski further announced that the Exeter High School Girl’s and Boy’s Varsity Soccer Teams won the Class L State Championships. The EHS Varsity Football Team plays in their Division Championship this coming weekend.
7.2 Enrollment Update
Dr. Kossakoski reported that NES had 168 students as of November 8th, 2006.
8.1 Automated External Defibrillator Delivery and CPR/AED Training
Mr Dobe showed the AED unit recently purchased by the school. He also showed the case that it will be kept in and explained where the AED will be located. A company representative for the AED distributor visited NES on Tuesday, November 7th, to demonstrate the device and answer staff questions. AED/CPR training for NES staff will be offered by Newfields Fire Department Lieutenant Christine Wilson. The dates for theses training classes are as follows: November 30th, December 4th, December 5th, and December 7th. There will be 24 NES staff members participating.
8.2 NES School Portfolio Development
Mr. Dobe and Mrs. Petrucelli attended School Portfolio development training at the Seacoast Professional Development Center on Friday, November 3rd. The NES portfolio is nearly complete with some pages still needing attention, and pictures added. There will be a School Portfolio development workshop scheduled for mid-winter, with a goal of having School Portfolios for all SAU 16 schools go online before the end of the school year.
8.3 NES Parent Conferences
NES has held and early release on Thursday, November 9th, and will hold another on Wednesday, November 15th, to facilitate meeting times for Parent-Teacher Conferences. These conferences hold many benefits for parents, teachers, and children and are timed well—right after Quarter 1 report Cards are issued. Two more early releases are scheduled in April (11th & 18th) for this purpose after 3rd Quarter Report Cards are issued.
8.4 School Activities
Mr. Dobe shared information on several recent and future school activities to include a trip to EHS for a Children’s Theater production of ‘James and the Giant Peach’ (10/20), the NES Costume Parade (10/27), NES Craft Fair (11/18), NES Thanksgiving Feast (11/21), and annual 2nd Grade Thanksgiving Play (11/21).
10.1 Maternity Leave
A search is underway for a qualified long-term substitute teacher to cover a staff member’s leave of absence. Interviews are being conducted this coming week.
11.1 Building Use Requests
A request to use the MPR filed by Molly Willis on behalf of her son’s Cub Scout Troop was reviewed and approved by the Board.
11.2 Town of Newfields Capital Improvement Plan Update
Mr. Dobe attended a meeting held Thursday evening, November 9th, by the Newfields Planning Board. Administrators for each of the Town’s departments were invited to hear about the Town’s intention to update their Capital Improvement Plan. Another meeting will be scheduled in early winter to collect submissions from the department administrators to be included in the plan. Mr. Dobe will be working with Ed Oddo to develop the school’s list of proposed capital improvements to submit to the Newfields Planning Board as part of this process.
13.1 Joint Board Chairs Meeting
A Joint Board Chairs Meeting was held on October 18th , attended by Ms. Bellisio. Carolyn reported three points of interest:
1. The current SAU Offices are to be moved out of the 24 Front Street property by the end of June. Due to complications with preparing the new SAU Office area in the former Exter High School, the SAU Business Manager is negotiating with the owner of 24 Front Street to extend the SAU 16 lease for up to one more year.
2. The SST renovation project will coast approximately $8 million, $382,000 of which will be borne by SAU 16. The rest will come from State grants and the other districts that send students to the SST.
3. The substitute teacher pay rate, currently $75 a day, is likely to increase for the coming year. The amount of increase will be determined by the Joint Board Chairs at their next meeting scheduled for November 30th.
13.2 Communication and Public Outreach Plan
Ms. Bellisio developed and shared a communication proposal through which the school and school board can reach out to the greater Newfields community. The Board discussed what to report in the communications, and when they should be distributed. The Board agreed that there should be two publications, the first of which should be mailed to Newfields townspeople near the end of January, and the second early in March. The first newsletter publication will outline some school highlights of the year so far, present School Board plans, issues, and challenges, and will announce School District Officeer openings (one school board member, one treasurer, and one school district clerk/secretary). Joe Army offered to write a draft article to promote the new parking lot plan. Mr. Dobe will bring copies of school newsletters to review for the school highlights article, and Ms. Bellisio will write on other School Board and School District matters. There may be a need to write about why the Newfields school portion of the recent tax bills increased. The second publication will explain the upcoming school district warrant.
13.3 Transportation Committee Update
Mrs. Trueman announced that the SAU 16 Transportation Committee has finalized their Request for Proposal (RFP). The Committee is planning to enter into an 8-year contract that includes two addendums (one for the addition of seatbelts on the buses, one for the installation of video cameras at the front and rear of buses). The Transportation Committee plans to have their final proposal ready on January 18th. Their next meeting is Friday, December 8th. The winning bid will be put out to voters in mMarch.
13.4 SAU 16 Policy Committee Update
Joe Army could not attend the last Policy Committee meeting. Dr. Kossakoski presented a synopsis developed by Dr. Hanson on the meetings events and discussions. Mr. Army checked with his fellow Board members to make certain his ‘marching orders’ were still consistent with their discussions from the previous meeting. Ms. Bellisio and Mrs. Trueman affirmed that they were.
13.5 Policies: Second Reading
13.5.1 BEDG Minutes -- Joe Army motion to accept BEDH as written. Second by Mrs. Trueman. All in favor.
13.5.2 IHBH Extended Learning Opportunities – Joe Army motion to accept IHBH as written. Second by Mrs. Trueman. All in favor.
13.5.3 JICDD Student Discipline Out-of-School Actions – Tabled.
13.5.4 JICK Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention – Joe Army motion to accept JICK as written. Second by Mrs. Trueman. All in favor.
13.6 Policies: Third Reading
13.6.1 BDB-R Board Officers – Clerk and Treasurer -- Joe Army motion to
accept BDB-R as written. Second by Mrs. Trueman. All in favor.
13.6.2 JLCF-R Wellness, Nutrition and Physical Activity Policy Appendices --
Tabled.
13.7 Policies: Fifth Reading
13.7.1 JLCF Wellness, Nutrition and Physical Activity Policy -- Tabled.
14 Old Business
14.5 Automated External Defibrillator
The purchase and training process for our school’s new AED was discussed under the Principal’s Report.
15 New Business
16 Next Meeting
16.5 Board Meeting: December 11th, 2006, at 5:30PM
17 Adjournment – 7:34PM
Mrs. Trueman made a motion to adjourn the school board meeting, second by Mr. Army, all in favor.