School Council

Members Present: Janet Taylor, Kristen DeCourcy, Anita Keelan, Danielle Oliva, Lori Follo, Michelle Allen, Jennifer Foley, Tammy LaRosa, Heather Flynn Members

Absent: Alexander Naumann, Niki Zide, Christine Reno

 

1. School Improvement Plan: Mrs. Taylor informed the council of the 2019-2020 School Improvement Plan for the George Keverian School. She provided a copy of the plan for the council and highlighted key features of the plan.

 

2. Enrollment and SEI Program: Mrs. Taylor informed the council about the current enrollment of students at the Keverian School. There were 172 new enrollments since the beginning of the year.

 

3. STEM WEEK: Mrs. Taylor informed the council about how successful STEM week was. Grade 5 and Grade 7 students participated in an all-week science intensive program, the week of October 21. She shared the article posted online with the council. Ms. Keelan, Grade 5 inclusion teacher informed the council about how successful it was, how excited the students were about it, and how much they learned. Ms. DeCourcy, Grade 7 Civics teacher shared her STEM week experiences with the council as well.

 

4. STEM Specialist: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that administration is actively searching and interviewing candidates to fill the STEM specialist position.

 

5. 8th Grade Science Teacher: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that a new 8th grade science teacher, Ms. Caitlyn Murphy was hired. Ms. Anne Ritchie, Director of Science has covered Ms. Murphy’s classes so she was able to observe colleagues.

 

6. SMS Texting School Messenger: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that Mr. Naumann has been setting up the SMS texting feature on School Messenger. He has been following up with this program to get this up and running. Parents/guardians will be able to receive School Messenger messages via text messaging.

 

7. Veterans’ Day Concert: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that the Veterans’ Dy Concert on Friday, November 8 at 9:00 a.m. was a huge success. Mrs. Cheri Spencer, Grade 4 inclusion teacher worked with all Grade 4 teachers and students to put on a beautiful show dedicated to veterans in the community.

 

8. YMCA Food Truck: Mrs. Taylor informed the council about the YMCA food truck that comes to the Keverian Schoo, every first and third Thursday of each month. The YMCA Food Truck provides groceries for families in need.

 

9. Literacy Night: Mrs. Taylor informed the council about the activities/resources that were provided at this year’s Literacy Night on Tuesday, October 29 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

 

10. Parent Teacher Conferences: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that Parent Teacher Conferences for Quarter 2 and 3 may be moved to Thursdays for the remainder of the year.

 

11. Chromebook Carts: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that all classrooms in grades 3-8 each have their own Chromebook cart. Grades K-2 share a Chromebook cart per grade level so each classroom has about 6-7 Chromebooks per class.

 

12. Coffee and Conversation Activities: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that Coffee and Conversation is Friday, November 15 at 8:15 a.m. Mr. Naumann will be discussing the importance of attendance to parents.

 

13. Building Maintenance: Mrs. Taylor informed the council about how clean the building is. She asked the council if they had any concerns about building maintenance.

 

14. Old Business: N/A

 

15. New Business: The George Keverian School raised $680.00 for the John Cavanaugh Memorial Fund. Breakfast with Santa is on Saturday, December 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. It is a huge success each year. The Scholastic Book Fair last month was also a big success. The PTO and council discussed Polar Express Day for December 19. 16.

 

Next Meeting: Thursday, December 12 at 1:00 p.m.

 

 

 

Members Present: Alexander Naumann, Janet Taylor, Kristen DeCourcy, Anita Keelan, Danielle Oliva, Lori Follo, Tammy LaRosa, Michelle Allen, Heather Flynn, Jennifer Foley, Tammy LaRosa, Michelle Cardinalo,and Lenny Cardinalo Members

Absent: Niki Zide and Christine Reno

 

1. MCAS Parent Reports: Mr. Naumann informed the council that MCAS Parent Reports will be sent home on Tuesday, October 15. He also explained the data/item analysis with each grade level team. Teachers and administrators highlighted standards with strengths and weaknesses to create an Action Plan to be implemented for this school year.

 

2. School Accountability/Data Meetings/SIP: Mr. Naumann informed the council that the Keverian School performed well on their accountability. Mr. Naumann explained that the Keverian met or exceeded goals. Mr. Naumann explained the SEI program to the council to help the school with their accountability with English Learner students. Mr. Naumann told the council that each principal is presenting the School Improvement Plan to the School Committee on Monday, October 21 at 6:00 p.m.

 

3. Technology Teacher/Unassigned Staff/8th Grade Science: Mr. Naumann informed the council that the technology teacher filled a position at the high school and the Keverian has hired a new technology teacher. The current unassigned teacher will be going to the Lafayette to fill a position and the Keverian is looking to hire two more unassigned teachers.

 

4. Caught In The Act (Bravo All Star): Mr. Naumann informed the council that Mr. Piazza, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Shelley passed out caught in the act slips to teachers for students to be able to be caught in the act. Students are able to turn them in for rewards.

 

5. Keverian School Ambassadors: Mr. Naumann informed the council about the program funded last year at the Parlin School. The goal of the Ambassadors Program is to have student ambassadors help new incoming students. Any student in the 8th grade is able to be a participant in this program.

 

6. Service Learning (Community Services Night): Mr. Naumann informed the council that this is part of the Civic strand in the Curriculum Frameworks. Last year, 7th and 8th grade students researched services in the community. Students would present all of the services to the families at a community service night to inform families about available services.

 

7. EL Program/Co-teaching/Classroom Size: Mr. Naumann informed the council that the EL program and the co-teaching model is working effectively. Receiving instruction from both teachers has been effective. Mr. Naumann informed the council that with classroom sizes there is a possibility of an additional first grade classroom.

 

8. Pop Up Market (YMCA/Tufts Health Plan/Encore) October 16th 11:00-12:30: Mr. Naumann informed the council that the YMCA/Tufts/Encore will hold a Pop Up Market which will provide groceries on Saturday, October 26 to families in need.

 

9. YMCA Food Truck: Mr. Naumann informed the council that there will be a food truck once or twice a month and parents will have the opportunity to receive groceries for their families.

 

10. School Messenger (SMS/Text): Mr. Naumann informed the council that School Messenger is going home to parents and staff to inform them about important events and updates. Opt-in letters will be sent home to parents in order for them to participate in the Text option feature in School Messenger. Translations are also available to parents.

 

11. PTO and volunteers: Michelle Allen informed the council of upcoming PTO events in the next few months.

 

12. Fall Festival Review: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that Fall Festival was a success and thanked the PTO for organizing.

 

13. Book Fair and Literacy Night: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that the Scholastic Book Fair will be held on the week of October 28 to November 1. The council discussed allowing teachers to choose a date/time to take their classes. Literacy Night will be held on Tuesday, October 29 from 4:00-5:30 p.m.

 

14. Coffee and Conversation: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that Coffee and Conversation with families was held on Friday, October 11 at 8:15 a.m. in the cafeteria. Parents had the opportunity to ask questions and a translator was available for parents.

 

15. MA STEM Week: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that STEM Week is October 22-25. Grade 5 students and Grade 7 students are participating in this program. Students will showcase their work from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. on Friday, October 25. Parents are invited to visit at 9:00 a.m.

 

16. School Playground: Mrs. Taylor informed the council that there have been issues before school and after school in the playground. Parents are being notified about these issues.

 

17. Building Maintenance/School Furniture: Mr. Naumann informed the council that new student furniture will be ordered for the Kindergarten teachers and students.

 

18. Old Business: N/A

 

19. New Business: Make-Up Day for pictures is TBA. 20. Next Meeting: Thursday, November 14 at 1:00 p.m.