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Home My WebLink AboutMinutes - SC - 10/18/2017 u ,w COttASS:T Cohasset School Committee Meeting School Committee Minutes Wednesday, October 18,2017 Cohasset Middle-High School Community Use Room 143 Pond Street Cohasset, MA In Attendance: Jeanne Astino,Chairman Katie Dugan Ellen Maher Barbara Stefan Jennifer Madden Also in Attendance: Louise Demas,Superintendent Patrick Sullivan,Assistant Superintendent John Tuffy, Business Manager Chairman Astino called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Present, Katie Dugan-Present,Jeanne Astino-Present,Ellen Maher-Present,Jennifer Madden-Present. Pledge Recited Invitation to Speak-None Approval of Warrant-Motion by Mrs. Dugan to approve Warrant 18-07S,seconded by Mrs. Maher. Roll Call Vote;Barbara Stefan-Aye,Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye,Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye. Finance-Monthly Update-Mr.Tuffy reported the budget summary shows that the district is off to a good start. He had previously mentioned that the unemployment budget line might be a little challenging this year, potentially over budget. He will continue to monitor closely. Mr.Tuffy stated his desire to do a budget transfer from contract cleaning service to custodial services since the district no longer employs an outside service. Principal Connolly added that this change to in house services has been a great improvement with the overlapping shifts. Mr.Tuffy said that there is nothing dramatic with the grants and revolving funds. The state was slow on approving grants this year but they were approved and have starting coming in. Bus Maintenance-Mr.Tuffy reviewed the transportation log. He reported Bus#90736 had the video recording system replaced.All leased buses had 30,000 mile maintenance check ups. Mr.Tuffy stated he received no comments from Capital Budget regarding the lease extension therefore, it has been executed. Disposal of Surplus Property-Mr.Tuffy presented an inventory list of outdated or broken technology items from the district"Technology Graveyard". Mr. Bart Riley compiled the list for items they no longer AGENDA ITEM: NOV 0 8 2017 use and these items have no commercial value. Motion by Mrs. Dugan to allow Mr.Tuffy to dispose of the Technology Graveyard Inventory,seconded by Mrs.Stefan. Roll Call Vote;Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye. Superintendent's Report-Quebec Trip-World Language teacher Kathy Sanges advised the Committee that the French foreign exchange students are arriving in Scituate tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.at the Maritime Center. Ms.Sanges discussed the proposed 8th grade French trip to Quebec from May 0_6th 2018.This is her 12th year of doing this trip. Ms.Sanges discussed the itinerary. Motion by Mrs. Dugan to approve the Grade Eight Overnight Field Trip to Quebec from May 41h-61h,seconded by Mrs.Stefan. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye,Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye. Camp Wing-Cohasset Middle School Assistant Principal Kerri Sandler gave an overview of this year's trip to Camp Wing. Ms.Sandler discussed the educational value of the trip. She utilized the Twitter app to stay in communication with families. The students worked on team building activities and personal development. It is a great experience for students that may struggle with anxiety or have social concerns. It is always great for the students to see the teachers in a different:light. It is a great way to start relationships between students and teachers early in the year. Ms.Sandler stated that the trip to Camp Wing seems to be a better fit for students. The trip is Wednesday to Friday,which seems to be the perfect amount of time. Principal Connolly thanked Ms.Sandler for the tremendous amount of work the trip requires and appreciates the teaching staffs willingness to participate in the trip. Private Enrollment-Ms.Connolly reported out on students grades 6-8 last year that applied to private schools and are leaving the district,including students whose families are leaving Cohasset. 21 students planned to enroll in private school compared to 28 last year.The Committee had a brief discussion. AP Awards-Ms.Connolly announced the list of recipients of the AP Scholar,AP Scholar with Honor,AP Scholar with Distinction,and National AP Scholar Awards. She reported there was a total of 38 students that received awards. AP Repo Assistant Superintendent Patrick Sullivan gave a presentation of the AP Testing Analysis for 2016-2017. He reported that Cohasset is way above the State and Global scores. The Town should be proud of the students. He discussed the next steps.They have created an online Professional Learning Community for AP teachers to collaborate. They will be working with other districts and establish a network of AP teachers and they will continue to train additional teachers to be teachers of AP. 2018-19 School Calendar-Draft-Superintendent Demas discussed the draft calendar. She spoke of the 3 days of new teacher orientation,the first%2 day in September for Safety/Security Professional Development and the additional%2 days. Motion by Mrs.Maher to approve the 2018-19 calendar as presented in draft form,seconded by Mrs.Stefan and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Resignation-Mrs. Demas stated they received a resignation from Spanish teacher Madeline Campbell as of October 24,2017. They are working on her replacement and have started interviews. Mrs. Dugan stated her concerns with turnovers in foreign languages. Mrs. Demas responded stating that she has discussed foreign language teachers with other superintendents and it is an issue in other districts as well. SC Comments and Communications-Follow-up Items-The Committee reviewed and updated their list of follow up items. Report from Subcommittee of SC-Mrs.Stefan attended her first Elder Affairs meeting on Monday and enjoyed it. Elder Affairs is interested in being more connected to the schools. They also mentioned an issue with the Grand Skipper passes. Mrs. Demas stated there was an issue with printer at the police station. It was not working but she understands it has been repaired. She will look into further. Mrs. Demas also stated that some new teachers do not have fobs yet. Mrs. Maher will follow up with Chief Quigley. Mrs.Stefan attended the Deer Hill Council meeting. There are a lot of new members. Mrs. Madden attended the Osgood School Council meeting. Principal Farrell has the new drop-off procedure running really well. They continue to work on the dismissal procedure to improve on that. Parents are congregating on the playground and it is slowing down the car loop. They are exploring ways to improve. The Deer Hill School hosted its Fun Run and it went really well. The change from one recess to two recesses at the Osgood is working out really well. At the next meeting they will discuss the school improvement plan. Mrs. Dugan stated the Spelling Bee for Grades 3-5 is coming up. Mrs. Dugan stated the Master Plan Committee meet last night for the first time with their consultant. There will be another round of public participation coming up. This Thursday Mrs. Dugan will be attending Advisory Committee and speaking on behalf of the SC article for STM. The Budget and Finance sub-committee will meet next week. Minutes-Motion by Mrs. Maher to approve the minutes of 9/20/17 as amended,seconded by Mrs. Dugan and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Motion by Mrs. Maher to approve the minutes of 10/4/17 as amended,seconded by Mrs. Dugan and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Chairman Astino asked for a motion to go into executive session for Exception#3 strategy related to collective bargaining with union personnel and Exception#4 for security. Motion moved by Mrs. Dugan and seconded by Mrs.Maher. Roll Call Vote;Barbara Stefan-Aye,Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye,Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye. The Committee will come out of executive session for the purpose of adjourning. The Committee went into executive session at 8:49 p.m. The Committee exited executive session at 9:20 pm,on a motion by Mrs. Maher,seconded by Mrs. Dugan; Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye,Ellen Maher-Aye, Jennifer Madden-Aye. The Committee exited open session at 9:21 pm on a motion by Mrs. Maher,seconded by Mrs. Dugan, All-Aye Documents used at the Meetine Monthly Finance Update E-1 Bus Maintenance Log E-2 Disposal List E-3 Quebec Trip F-1 Private Enrollment F-2 AP Awards F-3 AP Report F-4 2018-19 Draft Calendar F-5 Follow-up Items G-1 Minutes 9/20/17& 10/4/17