December 3rd Meeting Notes

In attendance:  Kate Dodge, Frank Twarog, Doug Stewart, Carla Wuthrich, Ali Douglas, Sally Fuessner, Heidi Bouchard, Kim Gordon,  Aaron Kimball, Alicia Viet

Common Core Presentation

·       Betsy Knox and Nancy Pollack presented an overview of what the Common Core is and how this is being applied at HCS.  A Power Point will be made available and posted on the website.

The parents present discussed how valuable the 6-7pm presentation was (again) for feeling connected to the school, more knowledgable and enabled to communicate and support their children.  And discussed methods for exposing more parents to this opportunity.  "Bring a friend", "math night", etc.

·      Parent tip: when coaching your children with math (regardless of when the problem is right or wrong) ask them to prove their thinking.

·      Talked about how shared language helps generalize concepts between grade levels.  Teaching parents some of the “catch phrases” or Common Core vocabulary can help parents in talking with their children using a common language.

Grade Level Celebrations/Committee Updates:

·      K-2 (Primary Grades): 

o   2^nd grade is doing a play of Where the Wild Things Are Thursday night (12/6/12) at 6 pm.  Bake sale and donations being collected to support schools impacted by Super Storm Sandy.

·      Grades 3-5 (Intermediate Grades):

o   3^rd graders starting to work on persuasive writing (“Should kids have homework?”).  Working on Reader’s Theater; will soon be presenting their plays to kindergarten classes. This is helping them becoming aware of their audience.

o   4^th graders are getting introduced to Greek myths/Gods and are planning a play for January.  They are working on persuasive writing as well.

o   5^th grade:  Mrs. Wallace has been phasing back into school.  They are also working on condensing their research paper into a one-page paper.  King Arthur kits came home and bread was made (one loaf went home, one went back to school and shared within the community).  Loaves that came back into school went to the Food Shelf.

o   If you use Google Chrome as your web browser, it constantly updates your Flash player. If you’re getting stuck or having technical difficulties using Fast Math, try accessing it through Google Chrome.

§  Goal for 2-5^th graders is to be on Fast Math 4 times a week.

·      Grades 6-8:

o   6^th grade continues to explore the uses of technology and iPads specifically. They are able to share their work from their iPad onto the Smart Board for group sharing.

o   Science fair is starting in the initial preparations.

·      Fundraising Committee:

o   Election day bake sale brought in just over $200.

o   Book fair started Monday (and goes through Thursday).  There are still some slots available; www.SignUpGenius.com/go/8050B4CAFA7238-hcsscholastic

o   Online Book Fair link: http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/hcs2011bookfair

o   Tyson frozen products have started their own equivalent of Box Tops and we are signed up to receive them.

o   Next round of Box Tops will be class versus class; vying for a pizza party and a hat day.

·      Staff Appreciation:

o   A Staff Appreciation event is scheduled for December 17^th. Will be looking for volunteers to help staff that…stay tuned for more.

o   Working on “Star Catcher” program for teacher appreciation/recognition.  Hopefully this program will officially begin in the new year.

o   Working with Jessica Wilson on creating a school-wide database for posting and eliciting volunteer help.

Help Wanted:

·      Cafeteria needs help on Tuesdays in the morning chopping vegetables.

·      Odyssey of the Mind needs a parent volunteer to coach the team. Coach training might have passed, but if anyone is interested they need to make themselves known sooner than later.

PIE Meetings to be held on the first Monday of the month at 6 pm   (Next meeting January 7^th )

November 5th Meeting Notes

In attendance:  Jim Goldsmith, Heidi Bouchard, Kate Dodge, Frank Twarog, Bob Goudreau, Ali Douglas, Jen Prue, Kim Gordon, Alicia Veit, Barbara Galgun, Kelli Brown, Alicia Depot, Alyssa Lasher, Miranda Johnson, Dianne Barber, Aaron Kimball, Sally Fuessner

1.    Virtual Library Presentation

·       Corinna Stanley showed us the virtual library and how students are being taught about this at HCS.

·       Starting from the HCS Website, the link to the library is on the menu on the left.

o   Library home page has the hours (especially helpful for summer hours) and the library statistics are posted.

o   HSC Library Resources is a gathering of tabs; one for each grade level.

§  A slide show of new books is on the grade level site

§  On-line card catalog for library on the site

§  Link to e-mail the librarian

o   Parent Resources is a tab under “Library Resources”

·      The Reading is an Inve$tment  program started today for Kindergarten.  The link on Library Resources has the list of books that are suggested reading and more information about the program.

·      Destiny is the on-line card catalog used in the library; a link to this is in the

o   Web Path Express (a function on Destiny) takes you to the Internet for juried websites to help you find books on certain topics.

·      DataBases are available on the Library Resources link.  Schools pay for articles and literature, by using this link you can gain access to these subscription sources for free.

o   A handout was shared explaining the databases and passwords to use these sites.  You can e-mail Corinna to get her GoogleDoc of this handout.

·      Cool Websites is a tab that has a links to vetted (and fun) websites.

·      HCS Library Blog  Corinna updates this and shares pictures and news about what is happening in the library. Sign up for her blog today!

·      Book Award Websites: Including Red Clover Books, DCF Books, Caldecott Award Books, Newbury Award Books, and Coretta Scott King Book award winning books.

·      Corinna is always willing to show the features on the library website to people in person…just e-mail her to set this up.

·      Did you know…

o   Destiny has a list of books available from other schools in the District. Inter-library loans are easy and free to do.

o   We have access to a state-wide lending system and the VT state librarian list serve…so if you can’t find the book you’re looking for…just ask!

o   The library is open until 4:00 M-Th, 3:30 on Fridays. Students can come in after school and get work done, or read/wait between after-school activities and parent pickup.

2.    Wellness Initiative Team Presentation

·      Kelli Brown facilitated this presentation and was joined by Diane Barber to represent this Committee.

·      Steering Committee meets approximately every 2 months; the wider sharing information meeting also meets every-other-month.

·      A handout was shared outlining the mission statement, garden and cafeteria activities for this school year.

3.    Grant Applicants

·      Kindergarten Teachers

o   Asking for money to buy 4 iPads for the grade level. They observed a teacher in Williston using iPads to support learning in the classroom and came back with lots of ideas for implementation at HCS.

o   Each teacher has an iPad; however, this is not conducive to daily student use/training. Classrooms would share these iPads.

o   Smart Boards only allow one person to navigate the board at a time; iPads would allow multiple children to be working on a task at one time.

·      Picnic Tables

o   Joyce Wright submitted a grant for picnic tables for the courtyard. However, this is an initiative currently being pursued (using grant funds) by the Wellness Initiative Team.  (Application dismissed).

·      Refrigerator:

o   Maureen Locker placed a request for another refrigerator for her classroom. 

o   Many people shared ideas on how to get a refrigerator. Since this meeting, Frank Twarog has connected with Gary Marcotte and has succeeded in getting a refrigerator donated to our school. (Application dismissed.)

·      Paper Cutter:

o   Joyce Wright requested an additional heavy-duty paper cutter for the school.  PiE found a parent who was willing to donate for this purpose.

·      In light of these developments noted above, The Grants Committee agreed to fund the Kindergarten iPad request for the full amount.  Jim Goldsmith (Treasurer) will follow up with Matt Kihm and Jess Wilson to get them ordered.

Help Wanted:

·      Cafeteria needs help on Tuesdays in the morning chopping vegetables.

·      Before you throw utensils or kitchen appliances away…show them to Deb. (They might be helpful to have in the kitchen)

·      Parents to help facilitate an Ecology Club (would have support from the Wellness Initiative Team)

·      Looking for parents to support middle school students competing in the GeoBee. See Barb Spaulding for more information.

§  PIE Committee Updates:

·      K-2: 

o   Light boxes were donated to the kindergarten from Fletcher Allen. The kids are loving it!

o   School Spirit week was hosted by the middle school children, with the elementary students benefitting from the activities. Lots of positive energy and laughter was in the hallways.

o   Parent Conferences are this week. No school Nov 12 for teacher conferences.

·      Grades 3-5:

o   3^rd grade is working on fluency, poetry, 5-finger paragraph formats, base-ten being introduced in math, studying weather, and studying Native Americans.

o   4^th grade is studying democracy, talking about the upcoming election, two-digit by two-digit multiplication, and working with the visiting teacher (from Thailand).

o   5^th grade have upcoming fieldtrips to the VT State House, Supreme Court, and Fort Ticonderoga. A drum and fife brigade came to the 5^th grade and talked to the students and let them play drums.

·      Grades 6-8:

o   Middle school is enjoying the new trimester setup.

o   6^th graders are incorporating their iPads in a thoughtful way in the classroom.  Appreciation was shared to the 6^th grade teachers for their strong communication with parents via e-mail.

o   7^th and 8^th grades have great current information on their website to clarify homework assignments and adjoining links to support enhanced learning on-line. 

§  The students are also assessing rich and “deep” poems about it’s content, symbolism, and its meaning. Students are also getting ready for the science fair; getting their projects set up.

§  A group of students are also hosting student voting (to be held in the library tomorrow). They will tally the results and share them by the day’s end.

·      Fundraising Committee:

o   Bake sale at town hall on Tuesday. Thanks for the great donations.  We made about $200.

o   Cardraising – a new holiday card website where HCS can earn 30% on sales.  Tell your friends and family!  And, just by registering you can win $2,000 for our school.
http://www.cardraising.com/SVT00122

o   Book Fair Dec 3-6^th.  There were be a Sign Up Genius being created for this event for volunteers.

o   17,000 Campbell Soup labels were sent out.  Box Top labels from the fall brought in over $500. Great job all!

o   Look for info. coming about a Lake Monsters “HCS Night” – we sell “will call” tickets and pocket 50% on each ticket, plus we can have a 50/50 raffle and other HCS-themed elements.  Next summer.

·      Treasurer’s Report

o   Open House raised over $1,000 for the Wellness Team.

o   Meadow Farms projected intake is $6,500.

o   Donations received are $680.

o   Box Top check will be $1,000.

o   October 22^nd, checks were given to put in teacher’s activity funds ($4200 split evenly between 23 teachers). This will occur again in Jan.

o   We are currently ahead of the projected budget; the more raised, the more that goes back to the school!

·      Staff Appreciation:

o   Starting the “Star Catcher” program for parents to acknowledge things they notice that go above and beyond from the staff.

o   Working on a way to collaborate volunteer-seeking efforts with Jessica Wilson.

Volunteer Needed

HCS is looking for a volunteer to work with students in grades 4-8 to prepare for the National Geographic Bee.  It would be great to have meetings once or twice a week from the end of November through December to prepare for the bee which will take place early in January.  Meeting should take place here at HCS to allow for students to ride the late bus.

More information about the bee can be found at: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/

Barb Spaulding (middle school teacher) will provide support. bspaulding@cssu.org or 482-6246

PIE Meetings to be held on the first Monday of the month at 6 pm   (Next meeting December 3^rd )

Wellness Initiative Team at HCS

The Wellness Initiative team has the following purpose: To foster a school and community climate that is centered on collaborative learning activities which nurture the wellness of the whole child- emotionally, intellectually and physically.

This group has a steering team. The steering team is Bob, Shelley, Deb B., Maureen, Diane B., Cindi S. and 2 parents (Kelli Brown and Andrea Francis).

Parents, staff, community members meet periodically to discuss wellness topics and ways to advance the goals. We get funding from PIE and grants.

What is happening this school year?

Garden

- More purposeful plantings for the cafeteria

- Developing partnership with Part II

- Fund all garden needs: soil, seeds, tools. Fieldtrips to farms like Reg Wagon and

Family Cow. 2nd grade tulip study program

- This school year

o Small temporary green house. Second grade will pioneer this.

o Worm Composter in Mrs. Stanton’s classroom

o Composter in Spring 2013

o Picnic tables in garden in Spring 2013(We plan to purchase lifetime round plastic

tables from costco)

o Blueberry garden

We won the Lowes and Home Depot garden grants last year!!!!!!

Cafeteria

- Goal is to achieve status in the HUSSC in fall of 2013. Achieving this recognition

would recognize our cafeteria program as a leader in a nutritionally sound cafeteria

program and would recognize our school’s increased integration of garden, nutrition and

wellness programs in the classroom.

- Currently in the Vermont Nutrition Education Institute. This is a one year

program to advance our goals. We have a school cafeteria nutrition expert who is our

mentor for one year. We have a student who is pursuing a Master’s in Dietetics at UVM

who is assigned to HCS to advance our wellness goals as they relate to our HUSSC

application and achievement of 6 cents goal.

- We just start buying vegetables from a group of northern Vermont farmers who

supply vegetables to schools.

- Starting soon Maureen Locker (Nutrition Outreach Coordinator) will visit the PK-5

classrooms to sample foods. The goal is introduced students to foods that are being

served in the cafeteria. This group funds the food and supplies for this program.

- Buy cooking/serving utensils for the cafeteria. This group will provide funding

that assists our students in being served the appropriate amount of food. This group

will provide funding for tools that allow students to assist in food preparation.

- Survey parents and students each school year

- Volunteer Tuesdays. Volunteer in the cafeteria to help the staff with processing

fruits and vegetables.

- Student Choppers. We have a goal for students to help process vegetables in

the morning while waiting for school to start. We need parents to help us get this to

happen.

- Art. We hope to have more art in the cafeteria that is food/wellness related.

Physical Education

- Raise staff awareness of the impact of brain and physical exercise

- Apply for Fuel Up to Play 60 grant. These funds could support many objectives.

Snacks, exercise equipment, fun classes afterschool like dance, hip hop, climbing walls.

Community/Classroom

- Increased communication about wellness. Something in every Viking. We

bought “Nutrition Nuggets” for the Viking.

- Started the Post office pacers walking program for staff on Wednesdays

- Provided funding for the walking program that is being lead by Mrs Barber

- In 2013 we will sponsor

o Harvest Dinner at Open House

o Wellness Fair (might delay to 2014)

o Truckload of Apples for a snack for all - mid October

o Cooking for Life program

o King Arthur Bread program

o Training for our staff on brain exercises

o Garden science books for 2nd grade teachers

- By school year 2014-2015 we hope to have some routine wellness learnings

throughout PK-5.

HCS Quick list of needs

Garden

We need a tractor with a tiller asap for the blueberry beds.

Long term dream - we frame and mulch an area in the garden space for our picnic

tables

Cafeteria

More Forks - more utensils for the students

Food mill for processing apples and tomatoes

Panini maker

Air pop popcorn maker

(If you are trashing an appliance please just bring it to HCS)

Long term dream

● Electric salad bar – big $

● Round tables - big $

● PIE funds paying for premium for foods (meats, local vegetables, apples)

● Volunteers on Tuesday mornings.

● Students prepping vegetables before school starts. Occasionally assisting during

rec time and TA time.

● In school year 2013-2014 K-5 will have a parent job as a “Wellness Parent” .

 This parent can assist with classroom samplings, garden activities.

School/Classrooms

Step stools for the water fountains. We need to work with Tim Peet.

Ecology Club – parents to lead it

Snowshoeing club – parent to lead it

Events/theme lunches – connecting the classroom to the cafeteria. How can you make

it happen? PIE classroom representatives/parents ask teachers if they would like a

themed lunch and work with the cafeteria and parent volunteers to make it happen.

How can you help?  

Would like to advance nutrition education or physical education within our community? Would you like to help in the garden and/or in the cafeteria? Are you passionate about exercise? Are you crazy about recycling? Sounds like a fun group!

- We meet about every 2 months (we provide babysitting)

- We have an email distribution for group activity status, opportunities for volunteers

and education about nutrition and wellness. We have over 50 community members on

our email list. If you’d like to be added, please email Kelli Brown.

October 1 Meeting Notes

PIE  Meeting Notes – Monday, October 1, 2012

In attendance:  Jim Goldsmith, Carla Wuthrich, Kitty Frazier, Heidi Bouchard, Barbara Galgon, Sally Feussner, Betsy Knox, Kate Dodge, Frank Twarog, Kim Gordon, Bob Goudreau, Joy O’Neil, Renee Durochia, Doug Stewart, Sarah Murphy, Alicia Vert, Rachel Kring, Ali Douglas, Alyssa Lasher

1.    Welcome and Introductions

2.    Assessment Review Presentation

·       Assessments are the tool used to see how well instruction and curriculum are impacting the learning and understanding of our students. Test scores can help adjust teaching applications used to help better learn.

·      Betsy Knox (Literacy Coordinator) and Nancy Pollack (Math Coordinator) represent HCS for Chittenden South Supervisory Union when curriculum programs are being discussed and decided upon.

·      Betsy Knox shared handouts while she gave a Power Point presentation: the information will be posted on the website along the with tonight’s notes.

o   We understand how well students are learning based on classroom performance/assessment, common local assessments, and state assessments.

o   New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) is always given in October.

§  Oct 9-12 grades 6,7,8 testing in reading, math, and writing (grade 8 only tests for writing)

§  October 12-19 grades 3,4,5 (reading. Math, and writing (grade 5 only tests for writing).

§  (Science will be tested in April.)

§  You can help your child by: helping with good nutrition, rest, and helping them build stamina and perseverance with the testing process.

·      The reading test is roughly 45 minutes; students need to self-pace themselves (and not to get “stuck” on one item).

·      Extra time can be given if needed; there is no “hard” time in which pencils need to be put down.

·      Important way that parents can reinforce is asking questions like: “How do you know?”, “What is the evidence?”, “Can you justify that response?”

·      The question was come up about students being “taught to the test”.  Betsy and Sally agreed that teaching “test taking strategies” is definitely occurring in classroom. The complexity and thinking of the work needed to solve the problems is prompting students to think more globally and to develop a logical line of thinking to share knowledge.

·      The specific grade level expectations being tested are unknown from year-to-year; however, things like writing a well-constructed paragraph are strategies teachers can anticipate.

·      Teachers cannot help students during the tests and they cannot see the tests after students are done with them.  There are strict guidelines as to how much and what kind of help teachers can offer.

·      Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) will be coming to our state.

o   As the Common Core has been adopted by the State of Vermont, the testing will shift to fit these. 

o   CSSU is focusing on the  “informational text” aspect of the Common Core teaching strategies.

o    Spring of 2014 will be the first SBAC testing completed at HCS/CSSU. 

o   The format of these tests is yet unknown.

·      Local assessments include the Benchmark Assessment System (BAS), Math Fact Fluency, CSSU on Demand Writing.

o   Ways you can help your child succeed includes the suggestions as above as well as supporting a regular routine for practice of homework and increased tolerance to doing reading/written work.

·      Data points and grade level expectations are laid out for each grade level. 

·      Some data points are used as screening tools and not all students are given locally based assessment on a frequent basis.

·      Jupiter Grades starts at 5^th grade, but is slowly working its way down to the lower grade levels.

Celebrations, Save the Dates, and “Did you knows?”

·      Spelling Bee for grades 5-8 in Williston; any student who is interested can participate.

·      Staff Appreciation surveys are out; hope to get folks together in the next week or two to review results and sketch out a calendar

·      Maureen Locker is doing food sampling in each classroom (thanks to grant money received by the Wellness Committee)

·      Walking mileage club started today (Oct 1^st). Kids can log their mileage and get cool “feet” necklaces.

·      Farm to School Program has started; first order came this week!

·      Visiting teacher from Thailand at HCS and spending time with each class.

·      October 8^th 4^th graders going to Shelburne Farm to work on their geology unit.

·      Each 4^th grader will have their own Blog this year.

·      6^th grade is working with their own iPads.

·      6^th grade is working on Crossing the Wire (a book about a Mexican boy crossing the border) and “buying stocks” to learn about the stock market.

·      Betsy is also using iPad technology for making presentations to combine information from multiple sources.

·      Penguin Plunge will be a 6^th grade (optional) fund raising effort for Special Olympics… students 5^th grade to adult are welcomed to join in the fun!

Questions:

·      When do curriculum meetings happen and can parents participate?

o   There are multiple layers of curriculum meetings, many might not be appropriate for parents as time is spent analyzing data.

o   If there is a large interest, creating a curriculum night is a possibility. It could be done by grade level or showing a more global progression of skills learned in what sequence.

§  In the future (2013), Open House might be more of a curriculum night. Stay tuned.

Help Wanted:

·      October 2^nd (8-11 am) help doing vegetable prep is needed in the cafeteria. Contact Deb Bissonette… or just show up!

·      Looking for parents and older students to help serve dinner at the Open House Dinner; contact Kelli Brown or Deb if you’re interested.

·      Looking for parents to volunteer in the cafeteria on Tuesdays (approximately 11-1pm). Contact Kelli or Deb for more information and to sign up!

·      Music teacher looking for folks to help laminate class materials. Contact DSertz@cssu.org if you can help!

§  PIE Committee Updates:

·      K-5 Performance:  (Joy O’Neil is heading this effort)

o   For next year, a K-2 performance will be connected along with the 6-8 drama. (For example, if drama is doing Wizard of Oz, the younger kids can sing Oz songs prior to the performance)

o   Also looking at opportunities for students in grades 3-5 to get on stage, share their talents and build their confidence.

o   Currently there is no money to support this.

o   This year several grades have plans for larger shows to do in-house. Talked about opening these shows to parents, so children can perform to a larger audience.

o   Contact Joy if you have ideas on ways to raise money, a project to produce, or any other ideas.

·      Fundraising Committee:

o   Meadow Farms orders due today. This Thursday at 6 pm, folks will be tallying results and sending out the final order. (No additional help needed at this time).

o   Initial organizing has happened for a bake sale on Election Day. Stay tuned for a link to Sign Up Genius so you can help/participate!

o   Box Tops labels ongoing. First round is ending Oct 22nd.

o   Book Fair happening the first week in December. Sign up Genius will be going around (and in the Viking) for information as it develops.

·      Staff Appreciation:

o   Staff bulletin board is up (outside the office).  Great first project for our group!

o   Also, the library used our “volunteer search” to get help stuffing information into packets. Looking forward to doing more of these kinds of “take home” volunteer projects.

·      Wellness Initative Team:

o   Maureen Locker is visiting classrooms with food samplings…ask your child if she’s been in and what they tried.

o   Walking Mileage club started today (Oct 1). Children are able to document their distance traveled at designated times (motor breaks, recess, etc) and they can earn tokens for each set amount traveled.

o   Looking for parents to organize a snowshoe club. The school has 24 pairs that are being under-utilized.

o   Farm to School program has begun!

PIE Meetings to be held on the first Monday of the month at 6 pm.  November 5th is our next meeting.