HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-01-21-DIAMOND-min Diamond Site Council Meetings 2020-2021
January 21, 2021 Meeting Minutes
Members in Attendance: Jen Turner, Sam Bosbach, Remy Coombs, Katina Lawdis, Hallie
Wells, Kar Hwee Koh, Nancy Cowen,
Liz Sharp (admin, taking notes)
Approval of Minutes: 1/7/21
Principal's Report:
• Last week we had our first round of surveillance testing, participation was somewhat low
because staff was remote. Yesterday was our first round with students (approx. 73% of
students). Cohort A will bring their kits home today from school and tonight Cohort B will
be able to drive up to pick up their kits. They will drop their kits off on Monday. This
begins our every other week rotation going forward.
o Last week was all negative. If we were to have a positive case in the pool, it
would get run again with a smaller pool and will narrow down to an individual.
• New Courses:
o New Math Guided Study class will begin next week. 52 students at Diamond will
be scheduled into this course. It is a Blue Week class that gives them access to
the math teacher while they do their asynchronous math work. Eventually, hope
to have this type of course for other subjects. This depends on the availability of
teachers who are on leave.
o A new Social Emotional course offering will be created for each grade level and
will begin when we get back from February vacation. Our counselors and social
workers will offer a variety of subjects through the end of the year. Students will
sign up on a weekly basis, based on their interests.
o Both middle school principals will be meeting with the LHS school committee
representative to design offerings where high school students will work with
middle school students.
• Scheduling begins:
o Need to design schedules for the next school year assuming we will be back in
person. When we left in March, we were at the point of presenting a new model
for the middle schools. However, we needed to design something completely
different for this school year.
o Need to come up with a contingency plan if we were to be able to come back full
time before the end of the year. Our current schedule will not support this, so
discussions need to start.
• Our staff had opportunities to come together to share strategies to speak with students
about January 6 events and in preparation for the inauguration. One activity that
teachers were able to offer was a way to explore "what is in the news" and time to
process. We also had a zoom meeting for staff at the beginning of inauguration day.
Goals were to be sure students and staff felt safe and supported.
Staff Report:
• MCAS dates have been released. Further information will be coming out.
Member Input:
• Surveillance testing seemed to be very clear for students. Was very organized.
• A parent shared their appreciation for the opportunity to have her daughter watch the
inauguration yesterday.
Adjournment: 7:25 AM
Next Meeting: February 25, 2021