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St.
Bernadette School Board Commission Meeting
February
24, 2004
7:30
PM Dempsey Hall
Opening Prayer
Principal’s
Report
·
No report.
Mrs. King was unable to attend the meeting due to a Parish Finance
meeting.
·
Joe Letizia, School Board
Commission President, indicated that a demo of the Ed Line system mentioned by
Mrs. King at the January School Board Commission meeting, is available at
edline.com. The school has purchased the Ed Line service which will allow
parents, when implemented, to access academic performance as well as what is
going on in the classroom.
Academic
Boosters Committee Update Bob
Papotto, ABC Committee Chairman provided the following update:
·
Karen Bain will be conducting
a Math Club for 5th and 6th grade students beginning
Monday, March 1st. Approximately 13 students have registered for the Club to
date, and registration deadline is tomorrow.
·
The ABC Committee is
researching the possibility of establishing a National Junior Honor Society
chapter at St. Bernadette School. Bob indicated that since a faculty council is needed,
everything would need to be in place by the end of school in June to be ready
to implement the program in the fall. Bob
contacted several area schools to determine whether they had a NJHS program
and if so, how they were organized. None
of the schools contacted had a chapter. Bob
indicated that if this program is not feasible at St. Bernadette’s based
upon resources available to support it, the focus should be to re-instate the
academic honors program that was temporarily suspended this year due to
computerization of the grading system.
·
The Science Olympiad, a
national science competition for Junior High students is being held this
spring. In order to enter a St.
Bernadette team for next year, organization needs to begin now to allow for
practice over the summer. Bob
will follow upon this program. Karen
Bain is looking into the Math Olympiad program.
·
ABC would like to help
promote Classroom of Champions and Quiz Bowl events for next year, as not much
information was known about these events other than information that appeared
in the Connections.
·
Mary Lucchesi and Mary Sue
Tanis have assembled a questionnaire for teachers regarding a Peer Tutoring
Program. The intent of the one
page questionnaire is to establish a consensus of teacher opinions on how this
program can be established by asking direct questions regarding the subject
matter, grade levels, times, etc. The
questionnaire was presented to the School Board to review, and the School
Board recommended that the questionnaire be provided to Mrs. King for review
prior to distribution.
·
The ABC Committee is
investigating the possibility of applying for grants for funding different
academic programs. Some of the
ABC Committee members are familiar with the application process, and have
assisted with the successful application of a grant for technology at St.
Bernadette’s. A follow up
application will be filed for next year, with funds to be awarded a year from
now. St. Bernadette’s would use
the follow up funds for mobile laptop carts and wireless connectivity for the
classrooms. The ABC inventory,
currently in process, will help establish other needs and areas where grants
may be of assistance. Gerry
Lanning, School Board Commission Vice-President, indicated that a technology
program funded by the Bill and Linda Gates Foundation is currently available
to educators through Ohio SchoolNet. The
program requires attendance at three classes, and provides a free high-end
laptop to the participant at the end of the program. Gerry will provide further information regarding this program
to Mrs. King.
·
The ABC Committee compiled an
inventory of academic, special academic and extra-curricular activities
offered by grade level at St. Bernadette School.
The curriculum information was compiled from the Diocese of
Cleveland Curriculum Parent Handbooks distributed during
Parent/Teacher conferences, and the special academic and extra-curricular
have been completed to date based upon ABC Committee members’ knowledge
of these offerings. The
inventory will be distributed to the School Board and Mrs. King this week, and
upon their approval will be distributed to the teachers for verification.
Once complete, it will be used to assist the Recruitment &
Retention Committee with the development of marketing materials, and
as a resource to share information about all of the opportunities available to
students in and out of the classroom at St. Bernadette School.
Fr.
Weber’s Remarks Fr.
Weber indicated that he received the following information from area High
Schools regarding performance of St. Bernadette graduates:
St.
Joseph Academy
St. Edward High School 11 St.
Bernadette Graduates Enrolled
56 St. Bernadette Graduates Enrolled 4 of 11
on the Honor Roll
35
of 56 on the Honor Roll
Magnificat
High School
St. Ignatius High School 98 St.
Bernadette Graduates Enrolled
60 St. Bernadette Graduates Enrolled 90 of 98
on the Honor Roll
41
of 60 on the Honor Roll
St.
Augustine Academy 2 St.
Bernadette Graduates Enrolled 1 of 2
on the Honor Roll
Fr.
Weber indicated that no other Parish had a higher percentage of graduates on
the honor role, but other Parish’s schools were comparable in some
instances. It was suggested that
these statistics be published in the Parish Bulletin, the Connections,
and highlighted in marketing materials.
Fundraising
Update Mike
Hudec, Fundraising Committee Chairman, provided the following Fundraising
Committee update:
·
The Holiday Pick 40 Calendar
fundraiser was a success, with 75% involvement of families in the school, and
achievement of 75% of the goal (3,440 calendars sold). Total Receipts
$34,400 Total
Expenses
$6,400 Net
Revenue $28,000 Three
classrooms turned in more than 100% of their goal (Mrs. Lang, Mrs. Knox, and
Mrs. Chinchar).
·
The certificate program has
sold $119,546 in certificates from 11/4/03 thru 2/21/04, for a net profit of
$6,041 (5.1%). The Committee is
looking for help to promote the program and to broaden the program Parish-wide
(St. Charles has 325 families and sold $4 million in certificates last year).
They also hope to create more incentive by possibly offering a program
for tuition credit, where 2% of the net 5% can be used for tuition credit.
Mike is planning to discuss this possibility further with Fr. Weber.
·
The dates and times for the
St. Bernadette Summer Carnival have been set for Friday, August 20, 2004 (6 pm
to 11 pm), Saturday August 21st (1 pm to midnight) and Sunday August 22nd
(1pm to 10 pm). The St.
Bernadette Bulldog Run will also take place on Saturday August 21st.
Target Revenue for the Summer Carnival is $100,000.
A letter will be sent home with students in March with more details.
·
Planning for the Parish
Dinner Dance/Silent Auction scheduled for Spring, 2005 is just beginning.
·
A discussion was held as to
whether the Bingo program falls under the Fundraising Committee’s
responsibility. Fr. Weber
indicated that Bingo does not fall under the Fundraising Committee.
It is a separate entity reporting to the Parish Finance Council.
Fr. Weber recommended that the School Board contact the individuals
currently running the Bingo program to determine their long term plans, and to
help organize support for the program from parents with children in the
school.
·
Mike requested assistance
from the School Board to promote and publicize fundraising activities via a
monthly newsletter or other means.
·
Next Thursday, March 4th,
the Parish Mission is holding a Festival of Ministries in the Parish Activity
Center for all groups in the Parish to provide information regarding their
members and activities. The
School Board will organize a table and will have school brochures, 2004-2005
School Board nomination forms, and sign up sheets for fundraising and
recruitment & retention volunteers.
Parent
Group Update No
update.
Recruitment
& Retention Committee Update Sharon
Suter reported that a letter to parents has been prepared to solicit
volunteers for the
School
Board Survey Joe
Letizia reported that the School Board, Mrs. King, and the teachers are in the
process of finalizing a parent survey, which will be distributed to all
parents with children enrolled in St. Bernadette School.
The survey consists of 15-20 multiple choice questions, with
opportunities to expand upon answers where appropriate.
The survey results will be used to identify topics for future School
Board meetings, and possible recommendations to the School Administration.
Self-Nominations
for 2004-2005 School Board Self-Nomination
forms for 4 open positions on the 2004-2005 School Board and School Board
Committees are available in the Parish Office.
Completed self-nomination forms should be returned in a sealed envelope
marked “School Board” to the Parish Administration Building by March 9,
2004.
An email address for the School Board has been established (stbschoolboard@yahoo.com).
Agenda items and other communication may be submitted to this address.
Closing Prayer and Adjournment
Respectfully
Submitted, St.
Bernadette School Board Ann
Raguz, Secretary |