Parent Advisory Committee

 

 

Parent Advisory Committee Meeting

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

1:45-2:45 p.m.

Agenda: Assess the 2012/2013 School Year

Look Ahead to the 2013/2014 School Year

Address Questions and Concerns

 

Assessment of the 2012/2013 school year:

• Mrs. Moorer went over the minutes from our September Parent Advisory Meeting. Parents were pleased to know their concerns had been addressed and many positive changes have been made throughout the school year.

 

• Mrs. Patterson recently attended a county wide Title I Meeting. She feels that they want more parent involvement. She feels that we offer many activities for parents to be involved in; we just need to advertise them more efficiently. In addition to the newsletter and parent notes, some ideas for advertising included PTA Facebook, the S.E.S. school website, mass parent emails, and reintroducing things like the Parent Advisory Committee Meeting at the beginning of each school year.

 

• The two year term for current PTA officers ends at the end of this school year. Newly elected PTA officers will be announced in the May Bulldog Bulletin.

 

• The issue of school safety was addressed. Parents are concerned about people having easy access to our campus and not checking in at the office prior to coming on campus. We are currently implementing the Challenge Campaign. Faculty and parents are asked to challenge anyone we encounter that are not properly credentialed, or appear out of place with three questions. Who are you? Where are you going? What are you going to do there? We are also fundraising for new fencing around our campus and a camera system.

 

• Rocket Math was successful with students making marked progress. There was concern about how time consuming the program is and how many copies need to be made.

 

• Students are also progressing well in reading. AR shirts and the treasure chest are great incentives for the children to earn their AR points.

 

 

• Student behavior has improved since the, "classroom of the day." was implemented. Mrs. Moorer chooses a well behaved classroom and rewards them with a popcorn party.

 

• S.E.S. is currently on a waiting list to have our awnings painted. It should be completed this summer.

 

• To access the current PTA Facebook page go to Silverhill PTA. We are working to delete the old site.

 

• Mrs. Normand, our Librarian, will be retiring this year.

Vision for the 2013-2014 school year:  

• Mrs. Moorer stated we are projected to receive a new unit next year.

 

 

• Ms. Kostelecky stated she would like to see more timely incentives for reading. Some ideas for quarterly activities included book parades, having a Read In, AR Shirts, and recognizing the top readers from each class.

 

• We will reestablish DIBLES next year so we will have more reading statistics to look at.

 

• To help with student behavior we hope to implement the Leader in Me program. This program is based on the book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It encourages students to be leaders.

 

• In addition to students of the month helping with announcements, it was requested that we also ask for volunteers so more children get the opportunity to help.

 

Those present at the meeting: Pamela Moorer, Principal, Ashley Kucera, Katrina Patterson, Carol Kostelecky, Tracey Comstock and Susan Johnson.

 

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Parent Advisory Committee Meeting

September 21, 2012

1:45-2:45 p.m.

Obj: Assess the day-to-day operations of the school.

To become an active member of the decision making process.

 

Assessment of the year so far: Parents stated that their children are happy to attend school each day. The children are excited to work with iPads and the library is a huge hit. Parents like the monthly newsletter and feel it helps them stay on top of what is going on at our school. We are excited about our new playground that was installed this summer and we also have new sidewalks on campus.

 

Vision for the 2012-2013 school year:  Mrs. Moorer stated that she would like to see more parent involvement this year. She would also like to continue to improve in the area of technology. Parents want to be sure we keep things fun for the children so they will be excited to come to school and learn.

 

Questions and Concerns: Parents stated the Kindergarten classes are very large this year. Mrs. Moorer explained that a new K-5 unit was not possible at this time. We do have two part time Kindergarten Resource Teachers to help our teachers. They are here for five hours per day.

There are adults available to assist children out of their cars and to their classrooms from 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. Parents would like to see more adult supervision on the campus sidewalks from 7:45 until 7:55 when the tardy bell rings.

Parents wanted to know how they can check grades from home. Mrs. Moorer explained that we will be sending home INow Home Portal Login Slips to those students who did not get one last year. Through the INow Home Portal you can view grades, attendance, and other school data from home. For additional information you can go to www.bcbe.org/HomePortal

Parents felt it wasn't always clear what they could be a part of here at school. Mrs. Moorer said she would promote that a clearer message be conveyed expressing the kinds of activities we sponsor and the intended participants.

Mrs. Moorer will be taking a leave of absence in November to welcome her new baby. Ms. Tommy Conaway will serve as the Administrative Sub while she is out.    

 

March 15,2011   

 

At this time of the school year testing is foremost in everyone's thoughts.  Discussions for this PAC centered on keeping students motivated. Several plans are in the works for pre-test and post-testing events. These events include a Pep Rally to help get the students excited about testing. The Robertsdale High School Cheerleading Squad will be out on March 18, 2011 to put on a demonstration. PTA will be providing snacks every day after testing for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth graders. There will be a post test ice cream party as a reward for students' attendance during testing.  Students who are present and on time will be able to participate. An end of testing Sock hop will be held in the gym after testing has been completed. Testing for our younger students will begin in late April with DIBELS; this test is given throughout the year to determine the progression of reading skills.       

Other items of discussion included Field Day, Fun Run and the possible renovation of our small playground. The last meeting for the PAC will be held in May with discussion centered on next year activities.

 

January 11, 2011

This was the third committee meeting of the school year and we had a visit from Dr. Alan Lee, the superintendent for the Baldwin County Schools System. He visited with our parents and asked of any concerns that they may have with Silverhill School. Ms. Serah Carrier, parent of two Silverhill students, was on hand to answer questions and only had positive responses. She has been very pleased with the school in general and had high praises for the faculty and staff. She also expressed that she was very pleased with the workings of our PTA and how well our present officers address the needs of our pupils and teachers.

The topic of discussion was concerns and goals for the second half of our school year with an emphasis on spring testing for our students. Parents were given some guidelines for ARMT testing and Mrs. Carolyn Milstid, our ARI Reading Coach was available to answer any questions regarding benchmarks and ARMT Standards.

Parents have asked about updating our smaller playground which is used by Pre-K through third grade and is located at the east end of our campus. PTA has been looking into funding and grants to see if this project is feasible. 

Field Day was discussed as well as Fun Run. The dates for both have not been set, but will be planned for later in the spring.

Ms. Carrier offered to donate some cubbies to whoever may have a need, just let the office know and we will contact her.

The PAC will have one more meeting before the end of school with the date being announced later by Ms.Moorer.

November 16, 2010 

Topics: School Operations - Parents were told about the different rewards that have been implemented for our students. They include the following:

 

• Principal's Treasure Chest for students reaching AR goals with 85% comprehension.
• Safety Patrol was established from nominations from homeroom teachers of students who would take an active role (with parent permission) in on-campus safety issues. These issues concern children traveling from car line to the gym in the morning as well as students in car line in the afternoon. They will train for two weeks then begin duties on December 13^th.
• Good Behavior Reward is a trip to the skating rink on December 16^th. Concerns for students who did not want to go were addressed by assuring parents that there would be a plan in place for the students remaining at school.
• Bulldog "Paws" were passed out to students with perfect attendance for the last twenty day reporting cycle. These students were allowed to be out of uniform for having no absences, no late check-ins, and no early check -outs. A traveling attendance banner was hung on Ms. Kuklo door to show that her room had the best attendance for the same twenty day reporting period.
• Student of the month reception is sponsored by PTA. They also create the certificates and provide snacks.
• RtI (Response to Instruction) is a program to target students who need extra help outside of the core program. It is composed of a three tier system that starts in the classroom and proceeds through steps depending on the needs of the students. Compass learning was also implemented through the computer lab to help with reading and math. Classroom teachers in conjunction with the computer lab teachers select area that students need extra development skills in and incorporate the correct computer strategies. Compass Learning is available to all Title I schools.
• After School tutoring will begin the week of November 29^th. Ms. Milstid will work with children, who were recommended by their teachers, to strengthen their skills in reading and math.

 

 

Other items that were discussed included the Christmas play that is scheduled for December 16^th. This play is being put together by third grade teacher Colleen McDoniell.

It was also suggested that we ask for P. E. helpers from our parent volunteers and that we implement a school wide recess time.  Ms. Moore has considered a recess time that would be implemented next year to avoid scheduling conflicts for this year's schedule.

The next meeting has been scheduled for January 11, 2011.                                                                                                                       

 

 September 28, 2010

 The first meeting of the PAC (Parent Advisory Committee) was held on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 1:45pm. Those in attendance included Pamela Moorer, Amanda Welch, Sarah Carrier, Kristie Wilson, Tracey Comstock, Shannon Hughes, Rainey Ballard, Shea Burnette, Dawn Shreves, Crystal Lee, Tonya Sterling and Donna Bing.

     The attending parents were very open with their comments and praise for the new administrator, Pamela Moorer. They shared their thoughts on our running program in Physical Education, Accelerated Reading (AR) Program as well as music and art that is available to all of our students. They had great things to say about our 2009-2010 PTA Officers and their strong commitment to our children and staff. They welcomed all the new incentives that the PTA has brought to us through their new fundraisers and community involvement.

    There was an open discussion concerning implementing a recess time and trying to consolidate the times that snack is given to our students. The panel of parents were informed that snack is delivered in the morning by the office staff and then left to the teachers' discretion as to when it given to the students. Cafeteria protocol and discipline was discussed with the 15 minutes of quiet and 15 minutes of quite talking being reaffirmed as the best procedure to ensure that all students have a chance to finish their meals.

     The meeting was finished with other topics of discussion being a pajama day for students as well as favorite book character dress-up day and volunteers for PTA sponsored events.

     Letters were sent home to all parents to see if they were interested in being a part of this panel. As with all matters that concern our students', parent and community input is a vital part of a successful school.

 

At this time of the school year testing is foremost in everyone's thoughts.  Discussions for this PAC centered on keeping students motivated. Several plans are in the works for pre-test and post-testing events. These events include a Pep Rally to help get the students excited about testing. The Robertsdale High School Cheerleading Squad will be out on March 18, 2011 to put on a demonstration. PTA will be providing snacks every day after testing for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth graders. There will be a post test ice cream party as a reward for students' attendance during testing.  Students who are present and on time will be able to participate. An end of testing Sock hop will be held in the gym after testing has been completed. Testing for our younger students will begin in late April with DIBELS; this test is given throughout the year to determine the progression of reading skills.       

 

 

Other items of discussion included Field Day, Fun Run and the possible renovation of our small playground. The last meeting for the PAC will be held in May with discussion centered on next year activities.