MINUTES OF 10/20/08 MEETING

* Parents of seventh-graders are having a positive experience with the Middle School. The new staff has been well-received. They enjoyed the open house, especially the photos of the teachers and administration. The one thing they noted lacking was a sense of community. They feel they drop their children off at GM in the morning and are disconnected from the school after that.
* The school website was discussed. There is more to Powerschool than just access to grades and attendance. We would like to hear more about this at a future meeting. Apparently the focus is on full utilization of Powerschool right now, rather than appearance of the website. Parents did note the use of more photos recently and the updated art dept area.
* The math curriculum is being examined at the school. There is some concern about bringing it into the 21st Century. Some very good math video games exist that would appeal to students. We would be interested in hearing about other methods being examined.
* We would like to help out with the auditorium renovation—pulling out the old seats around Xmas time. We will invite Fritz, who is coordinating this, to attend our next meeting to explain what needs to be done and how we can help. Parents would like to make it a festive atmosphere so volunteers would be more likely to come forward.
* We discussed getting more parents interested in attending our meetings. Next month we will put an item in the Beating Drum at CAES and see about a similar item for Cavendish. Also flyers around town, such as Lisai’s, would be helpful.

Minutes of 9/16/08 Meeting

Review of Goals

We discussed proposing that the GMUHS website be expanded to include pages for teachers/staff/admin., including photos, philosophy, experience and goals. This format is successfully used at the CAES and at Opportunities in Learning.

The improvement in the condition of the bathrooms was positively noted. The lower level has been redone and is quite an improvement!

We discussed asking individual departments at the school how we can be of help (outside of fundraising, the booster club already does an excellent job at that).

Parents are interested in seeing the student survey that was done last year and a copy of that will be brought to the next meeting.

The end of year school trip to Washington DC for 7th and 8th grade was mentioned and we are interested in hearing more information on this.

The Open House was discussed and everyone felt positive about the open format although the turnout could always be better. Daryl suggested that next year, instead of a photo presentation of the staff members, the theme could be built around having a guest artist come and do a project with the staff so they would have something to display at the open house. The goal is to keep the format interesting so the same thing isn’t done every year.

It was suggested that the Science Fair be introduced at an earlier date rather than January for 7th and 8th graders as it does take some time to process ideas for this annual project.

Since Prin. and Asst. Prin. was not present, we thought we would touch base with Tom Ferenc before the next meeting and review our ideas/suggestions with him.

As we decided last Spring, our next meeting will be at Oct. 21st at The Stone Hearth (or some other neutral convivial space) and we will continue to hold meetings at the school every other month.

Exchange Student Looking for Host

If you would consider hosting an Exchange Student for the year or just a few weeks while a long-term host family is found please call Ann Newsmith at 802-257-4710. You can find out more about this student from Belgium by clicking on the title above.

Minutes of 5/20/08 Meeting

· It was decided that meetings in the next academic year would be held off-campus every other month. Some parents felt freer to discuss certain issues out of the school. However, since the administration doesn’t attend off-campus meetings, we need to meet regularly with them also to keep them abreast of parental concerns. Also, minutes will be emailed to the principal and assoc principal. There will be no meeting for the month of Dec. A tentative schedule for the year will be emailed to everyone in August, with a follow-up email each month, listing the time and place, as well as the agenda.

· Issues to be discussed next year:
§ NECAP’s and how they are used
§ The Middle School
§ Communicate to community the openness of the school
§ Getting to know the teachers
§ Commemoration of end of 8th grade
§ Get parents/school more involved in educational issues of the day
§ Security issues to include evacuation plan for parents
§ Block scheduling—advantages & disadvantages; need for some year-round classes such as math and foreign language
§ PBIS follow-up
§ On-line education like VHS and advanced classes through colleges
§ Rubric use by all teachers and posting it online

· Plans for the First of the Year Reception were discussed. Since it was so hot in the Gallery last year, we may have it on the grass in front of the school this year. Set up a tent with balloons to get parents’ attention. We will need to look for donations of food and drink. Get a notice in The Message and hand out information sheets. We are currently working with the principal to get teachers’ biographies and photos for a display. We will meet again on August 5th to finalize plans.

On online programs that help parents monitor school progress

This is a timely article on the new challenge that parents face having the ability to track student's grades and performance on Powerschool.

Recap of 4/15/08 Meeting

We had a good turnout for our April meeting with Principal Tom Ferenc and Ass’t Principal Tom Burke. The main focus of our discussion was the Middle School.
· Tom F shared an information sheet on the WSWSU Equity/Diversity Work Group. This group works with the ALANA Community Organization to reduce bias and prejudice in the school system. They will need a parent/community member to be part of the group, which will require a commitment of a monthly meeting. Contact Tom F. before mid-May if you are interested.
· The administration is looking into a possible physical separation of the Middle School (MS). There are about 105 students. Many parents agreed that this would be a positive move. Tom warned it was not an easy or quick change but we have plenty of room in the building.
· Norm Merrill, Language Arts Chair, was in attendance and explained his role as MS Coordinator. Most of his current duties involve data collection. He uses test results to measure student growth and make placements and is the liaison to the high school. He does not do teacher supervision (that would be the principal) or curriculum development (that would be Linda Waite).
· They are currently interviewing for 2 MS Social Studies teachers. Fred Willis is retiring and Melissa Palmer is moving back to the High School.
· Tom F visits classrooms on a daily basis. He does a walkthrough to look at the teacher’s housekeeping, i.e. attendance taking, goals & homework written on the board, etc. He talks to the students, asking them about their lessons.
· There was discussion about vertical alignment of curriculum. Julie Walton, Math teacher in attendance, advised that she sees a slight variation in students from the various elementary schools, coming into 7th grade math. But what one group might lack in one area, they make up for over another group in another area. The basics seem to be covered. Parents expressed their desire to see the curriculum aligned with the elementary 5-6 teachers, as well as the high school.
· Incoming 7th graders were discussed and Mr. Merrill described a typical day to the parents. Move-up Day, an orientation ½ day, for current 6th graders is on June 2nd. Parent’s Night for current 6th graders is on May 28th. The day before school starts in August, the 7th graders have a half-day to acclimate them to their schedule with some team-building activities. Tom F invited any parent to visit the HS during the day to see classes in action. He also personally calls all incoming 7th graders over the summer to welcome them to GM.
· The transition from 6th to 7th grade was of concern to many parents. Separating the students physically from the HS was considered to be a priority. The teachers agreed that most students are prepared academically for MS but not as much emotionally. There is a definite adjustment period that can last through their MS years—organization skills, study skills, etc. Some parents would like to see a more formal method of assisting the students in dealing with this transition. The teachers advised that they do discuss these sorts of things on a daily basis in their team meetings, from classroom issues to individual students.
· Some concerns of parents about the MS are so little time for Physical Education and no music class in the Exploratories. Parents asked about drugs at the MS/HS. It is not a big problem but they take steps to keep it that way. There are the security cameras and Tom F has arranged to have dogs search the school for drugs periodically. There is a substance abuse counselor that works with the students and she may resurrect the TOLIV group. Police chief Rick Cloud is often at the school and walks around, talking to the students.
· Tom B updated us on the PBIS program. He should know by next week if they will move forward with it. We requested an update on the outcome. Tom F received School Board approval of the ALERT NOW phone system to contact parents regarding emergencies. There are still some details to be worked out. The Life Skills program was discussed—students are tested on functional skills to qualify for the program, there are approx 9 students attending right now, they moved the program to the 1st floor with a better set-up.
· NECAP scores were touched upon as well. The staff at GM uses the results to teach to the weaknesses of individual students. These results do not drive the curriculum as a whole.
· The Parents Group volunteered to help out with Arts Night & the Academic Reception. Anyone else interested, please contact Pam O’Neill or Tom Ferenc.

Recap of 3/18/08 Meeting

Tom Burke, Assistant Principal, met with us this evening and we had a lively two hour discussion, to include:
*The Okemo Challenge Grant--it was decided that since we have no particular project in mind this year, Anne Lamb's group seems to be the best avenue for our community to be involved. We encourage all interested parents to contact her for information or to help with Kids Consortium (kidsconsortium.org).
*Although too late for this year, parents interested in the school choice program should be aware that some of the participating schools are: Hartford, Black River, Springfield, Woodstock, Windsor, Leland & Grey, Bellows Falls, Brattleboro & Twin Valley, along with Green Mountain.
*The recently released 11th grade NECAP scores were less than impressive for Green Mountain and parents were very interested to hear the administration's take on these, as well as any action to be undertaken. Tom is working on a report about it. Tom Ferenc and Linda Waite have been discussing it. It was agreed that we would like to hear more on this subject in future meetings.
*We requested the status of the PBIS system that Tom is implementing for discipline at GM. There has only been staff involvement to date and they are requesting information on school systems that have implemented the program successfully. Tom is bringing in a Vermont consultant to confer with the committee. We requested the parents that have volunteered for this team start being apprised of its status and any actions to be taken. We would like to see the parent/community volunteers involved at this time.
*We queried if Tom was aware of any efforts on the part of Guidance to promote the college tuition cuts that have been making news recently. He was not but brought up a system that is being reviewed for implementation called NAVIANC. It will assist Guidance in college preparation. However, funds will need to be allocated for it.
*We asked Tom what qualifications a student had to have to be in the Life Skills program, which teaches children adaptive skills. Tom will gather more information and report to us at the next meeting.
*Tom announced a new system the administration is looking to implement called ALERT NOW. This is a telephone service that makes automated calls to all parents and guardians in the event of an emergency or any occasion determined to be of merit by the administration. There was some concern expressed about the extent to which this will be used and general agreement it should not be used to announce routine school events. Parents also thought this is something that should be discussed with the community at large before implementation, in order to avoid a failure of the program. Having the parents on board with this is important, as well as agreement on the extent to which it is used. Tom did emphasize that it is used with great success by many school systems in Vermont.
*Finally, next year's block scheduling was discussed. Study hall has been eliminated. School will start at 8 am. There will be 3 87-minute blocks before lunch, one after and finally a split 87-minute block ends the day, which can be used for 2 classes or just 1. There was a need expressed for the continued availability of a year-long class, especially for subjects like math and foreign languages.

Support Your School Budget

The Annual GMUHS School Meeting is Feb. 26th in the Green Mountain Union High School Auditorium at 7 pm. You can have a voice in this process! 

Voting on the budget will be on March 4th, 2008 in the towns of Chester, Andover and Cavendish. Polls will be open from: 8 am to 7 pm - Andover, 9 am to 7 pm - Chester, 10 am - 7 pm - Cavendish.  

In the past few years, I suspect there has been poor turn out among GMUHS parents. If every parent who is a registered voter casts a ballot, the impact would be huge on this process. We are at a point where we can't take our schools for granted. So don't forget to vote and get involved!

What is Green Mountain Union High School Doing Right?

Have you had a positive experience at the middle school or high school that you would be willing to share?
Are there specific things that you like about your child's high school or middle school experience that you would not want to see changed?
Too often schools hear from parents only when there is a problem and when things aren't going right. How do administrators and teachers know when they meet or exceed parents' expectations?

What are Parents Doing Right?

Do you communicate with teachers and administrators at the school on a regular basis or only when there is a problem?
As a parent, have you found it easy to contribute your insight and communicate about your child's progress in school?
Keeping an ongoing dialogue with teachers and mentors at the school can help prevent defensive reactions and highly charged situations when a crisis does evolve.

Adult Ed Parenting Series

Would you like to build a more trusting relationship with your child? Protect your child from Internet predators? Help your child prepare for life after high school?

A five-topic Parenting Series will be offered by the Green Mountain Adult Education Program this spring. The topics for the classes are: Building a More Trusting Relationship with your Child, Personal Financial Management, Internet Safety for Children, College/Career Readiness Preparation, School Age Health Issues.

For more information about the series, or the other courses offered (including Woodworking for Women, Exploring Pastels, American Red Cross CPR and First Aid, Knitting, Cloth Dollmaking, Ballroom and Salsa Dancing), look for the colorful brochure in various locations around town or go online at www.gmaep.com

Recap of 12/18/07 Meeting

Principal’s Update: Tom advised that most of the bathroom door repairs were done and the others were underway; the student climate survey by the Student Gov’t is being edited and will be distributed at a future assembly, probably in January, with the results being available in Feb; he is continuing to work on individual learning plans and extended learning opportunities such as an AP Academy with other area schools, VHS & River Valley Tech Ctr.

The Education Committee listed their concerns and areas they are looking into: what happens to GM grads and how do we track them; grading issues—is there a dilution of grades, Middle School math grading was discussed; homework---feasibility of and how much is too much; testing and assessments—AP, ACT, PSAT, SAT.

Tom Burke, ass’t principal, gave us a brief update on the PBIS. He will be looking for parent participants for the committee.