2010-QUASHNET RIVER SCHOOL COUNCIL

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Quashnet School Council (2009-2010) Minutes of Meeting held Thursday, January 14, 2010 (3:15 PM—4:15 PM) Attendees Council Members: Patty DeBoer, Sheila Arnold, Cary Marshall, Jackie Rastallis, Jane Dolan, Calean LaCroix, Kristen Boyd, and Lisa Hettinger Guest: Richard Bailey,School Committee Chairman 1. Revising/Updating Quashnet School's Mission Statement We reviewed the Quashnet School's current mission statement. All council members agree that it needs to be revised and improved upon. We will start the process and develop a rough draft mission statement. The Quashnet School staff will also be brought into the process. Before finalizing our proposed mission statement, we will also ask for parent reviewfinput. We will also get feedback from members of the student council. I have provided a separate attachment which contains some sample mission statements as well as the results of a Texas study of elementary school mission statements which lists 15 themes that emerged in the mission statements they studied. Prior to our next meeting (maybe by February 4"h)Council members are asked to provide(via email)feedbackfinput to Patty regarding a draft mission statement for the Quashnet School. Feel free to highlight or underline any wording on the attached"mission statement"document that you would like included in Quashnet's mission statement. If you collect additional sample mission statements, please feel free to include what you like from those as well. From our discussion: Incorporate the Falcon 5 into the mission statement Goal-driven and measurable 25 words or less 2. Review of Cary's suggestions(Improving Student Learning 2010-2011) • D.E.A.R. Time is a well-liked addition to this school year("Mashpee Reads") • Elementary Math Program—Samples of 2 programs—Investigations and Everyday Math—are being brought to both KCC and Quashnet so that teachers can review the materials. These two programs were chosen because there is research data showing student success using each program. Teachers will be asked to review the materials of each program using an extensive rubric. Based on the feedback received,a decision will be made. Some money to purchase materials for a new math program is included in the FY10 operating budgets for both Quashnet and KCC. Federal grant monies will also be used for this purpose. Implementation decisions will be made with input from staff and administration. • Cary shared an overview of"Responsive Classroom" Her prior knowledge,experience, and enthusiasm for the program have helped other teachers incorporate parts thereof into their classroom practice. We will explore bringing a Responsive Classroom graduate course to Mashpee. There is definite interest therein. • We discussed ways to encourage students to read independently at home on a daily basis without there being tedious recordkeeping attached thereto. ■ Jackie shared that a one-sentence response to a reading selection has worked well in the past for her students. ■ Enhance our library collection with CDs to accompany the book. ■ Look into a"Family Reading Night"event. ■ Choose a school-wide reading selection and then plan a family event around it. ■ Bring a storyteller to Quashnet. ■ Use collections of short stories ■ Use graphic novels • Weekly School Newsletter—Patty will try to regularly include a math and an ELA focused problem for students and their families to solve. per -.