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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-10-27-BRIDGE-min BRIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCHOOL-BASED SITE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017 APPROVED DECEMBER 8, 2017 PRESENT: Lucia Brower, Erin Cerat,Jon Cunha, Kristen Gray,Allison Gullingsrud, Kimberly Hensle Lowrance,Amy Kvaal, Ruth Litchfield, Huan Liu, Zeba McGibbon, Beth Murnaghan, Deirdre Schadler, Melanie Tanionos, and Shawn Wood. ABSENT: Lynnette Allen, Meg Colella, Sejal Patel, and Debbie Side. MEETING SUMMARY: In Ms. Colella's absence, Ms. Gray led the meeting, opening the discussion at 8 AM with a review of the agenda. The first item for discussion was Patriot Post, presented by Allison Gullingsrud.As discussed at our October 6 meeting, feedback from parents indicated that there is interest in establishing a improved system for the distribution of school announcements, including those from Bridge administration and the PTA. Ms. Gullingsrud explained that, in response, starting in November, Bridge would implement Patriot Post, a process through which flyers and announcements go home one-day per week (Wednesdays) to the oldest or only child in a family. In the case of twins,the announcements will go home with the child who is first alphabetically. This new system will eliminate duplicates and streamline what goes home.A spreadsheet tracking who is the oldest and only in each family has been created and will be updated as new students enroll at Bridge. Revised printing numbers will be provided to the PTA. Ms. Gullingsrud and Ms. Gray noted that Patriot Post will be implemented with the assistance of school support personnel (SSP) and they thanked the Bridge SSPs for their hard work. It was added that Patriot Post applies to printed notices only; announcements, including Ms. Colella's principal update,will still be sent electronically. The meeting attendees thanked Bridge leadership for creating and implementing this new system. The discussion next turned to Bridge Learns,which is scheduled for November 15, 6:30-7:45 PM. This educational session will feature 11 presentations by Bridge staff, covering topics such as reading and writing skills,behavior management, and digital citizenship. Some presentations will be offered twice to accommodate session attendees. Bridge Learns,which is unique to our school,was first held last year and was modeled after Lexington Learns, a professional development training for teachers and Lexington Public Schools staff. Ms. Colella was inspired to offer Bridge Learns after attending Lexington Learns. For the first offering of Bridge Learns, Ms. Gray wrote a grant to fund teacher planning which happened over the summer. Michael Plamondon took on the grant coordination this year. Through the grant, participating teachers are paid for their planning time,though they volunteer their time to give the actual presentations. Ms. Gray distributed an overview of the Bridge Learns; more information can be found online at httl2://www.signul2genius.com/go/9040848afab23a7S- bridgel. Sign-up is requested, and spots are still available. She asked meeting participants to 1 spread the word.Additional reminders will be shared with the Bridge community. Feedback from people in the room who had attended last year was very positive. SBC members were reminded that the PTA is hosting a meeting about the YES Campaign on November 7 at 8:30 AM here at Bridge. The SBC next discussed the revised district-wide Homework Policy. The School Committee is hosting a public hearing about the revised Homework Policy. It will be held November 7, 6-7 PM in Selectman's Meeting Room in Town Hall. Ms. Gray distributed materials about the policy,which can be found online at hUps:,[/lns.lexingionma.org/cros/lib/MA01001631/Centriciiy/Domain/4/Homework%20Po licy.pdf. The SBC attendees reviewed the documents and shared their thoughts about the new policy for elementary school students. Some felt disappointed by the policy,that it didn't say anything about the research into homework and its impact on student learning. Others felt that the policy helped establish routines,which aided parents in emphasizing the importance of following through,building executive functioning skills, and more. The policy's impact really depends upon the child, it was noted. Estabrook's pilot program to limit homework to reading only,which is in its second year now,was discussed.All agreed that reading is so important and that should be the primary focus at the elementary level. It was pointed out that new homework policy does not have time guidelines for reading; this depends on the teacher and the student's grade, generally varying from 15 to 30 minutes per day. Ms. Gray drew the group's attention to the implementation guide that accompanies the new policy and its list of no homework days, including holidays and vacations.A question was raised about summer reading and writing assignments that are assigned to high schoolers; if no homework is assigned over vacation, including summer break, can these projects still be assigned? The policy is unclear on this matter. The last item on the agenda was to generate topics for our next meeting. These included: • Review and Approve October 6 and 27 Meeting Minutes • For Discussion: o Homework Policy Questions o Parking Lot, Flooding/Snow Removal, and the New Modulars o Security- Data and Physical o SBC Membership o Ways the PTA and SBC Can Collaborate Ms. Gray concluded the meeting at 8:30 AM. Submitted by, Kimberly Hensle Lowrance Bridge SBC Co-Chair REMINDER: Remaining meetings for the 2017-2018 school year will be held December 1, January 26, March 2,April 27, and June 1. 2 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact Meg Co|eU» Principal and SBC Chair, orKimberly Benn1eLowrance, Parent Representative and SBCCo'