MINUTES OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS MEETING
Smilie Memorial School, Bolton, VT
Meeting came to order at 7:05 pm.
ATTENDEES:
John Alberghini, Vicky Congdon, Phil Graff, and Fred Kenney
1. There were no comments from community members.
2. Fred moved to approve the minutes from June 4 and June 25, 2003. Phil seconded. All in favor.
3. Principal’s report:
Standardized tests: John reviewed Smilie’s results on the SAT-9 tests given at Smilie last spring. The results are very encouraging and show how Sherry Gile and Mary Calder’s work with Smilie has really paid off. John will review with Smilie staff at the first inservice days the few areas that need attention (Gr 2 math procedures and Gr 3 social sciences and editing) and work with staff on them.
Building/grounds maintenance: Dave Cobb has done a lot of painting over the summer. The holes in the sidewalk are patched and the new flagpole is up. Preventive maintenance has been done on the heating equipment. Two posts and a wire, along with a No Parking sign, have been installed in the back and have been effective at keeping cars out. Dave Demers cleaned up the area around the school sign, digging out stumps etc. John will write him a thank-you letter to acknowledge his considerable time and effort on this project.
Kindergarten: There may be 15 kindergarteners this fall; if so, we will need to hire a PT instructional aide. John has hired a sub to assist for the first three days until we are sure of the numbers.
Preschool: The preschool is full. Ginny Gifford and Ann Houston will be team teaching.
Enrichment: John met with the Community Club to discuss after-school enrichment activities, such as a VINS presentation and a soccer clinic.
Food service: Smilie will order some produce from Squash Valley. More fresh fruits and vegetables will be featured on the menu, including a salad bar. John appreciates the flexibility and positive attitude on the part of Smilie’s food service staff in making these improvements.
Inservice: Staff inservice schedule for this year is busy and will include reviewing the new communications curriculum, new expectations for language arts, and scoring written pieces using new state rubric, among other topics.
Computers/website: The new computers have arrived. The new website is almost ready to go up; thanks for Dave Whitman for his work on updating the website.
Summer school: Fifteen kids participated and it was very successful. Nancy Coombs and Carol Wheelock put in a lot of time and effort.
Professional development: John attended a Leadership Academy with the other CESU administrators. John, Nancy Coombs, Karee Wiltshire, Ann Houston, and Pat King will attend a workshop at the Vermont Reads Institute at VISMT.
Grants: John is pursuing grants through the VT Rural Partnership.
Smilie Open House is scheduled for September 23 at 6:30.
3. There are no Smilie teachers mentoring or being mentored this year. John will look into having student
teachers from Champlain College.
4. John encouraged the Board to review Reaching All Learners, a summary of professional development
opportunities in Chittenden East, distributed at the meeting.
ACTION/DISCUSSION ITEMS
1. John will invite Nancy Coombs to the September Board meeting to report on summer school and the Community Club to the October meeting.
2. Fred moved to accept the invoice edit list total of $25,619.61; Vicky seconded. All in favor. John will call Central Office to have the warrants sent to the Town Office for Board signatures.
3. Committee reports: Policy, Long-Range, and Special Ed. did not meet.
4. Meeting adjourned at 8 pm. The next meeting has been scheduled for 7PM, September 3, 2003, at the Smilie School.
Respectfully submitted,
Vicky Congdon, Clerk
Approved as amended