PAC Meeting Minutes

September 2009 PAc NOTEs

The Following Persons were in attendance: Karen Boenig, Ann Marie Byrnes, Helen Connor, Sandra D'Avignon, Lorraine Dundon, Sandra Giampa, Chris Grogan (Co-Chair), Eve Jankey, Laurie Kearney, Anne Kelley, Kristopher Knight, Richard LaRonde (Co-Chair), Carolyn Loughran, Melissa Lukowski, Rodney Lukowski, Kathy Luongo, Hilary Maron, Julie Martin, Laura McCarty, Lisa McKeon, Kathy Melish, Mary Morrison, Lisa Murphy, Nancy Niles, Lisa Rodia, Amanda Russo, Kelly Skinner, Maxine Smith, Colleen Sullivan, Karen Walsh (Treasurer), Adina Webb, Kim Welch, Linda Wigren (Secretary), Sandra Wong

The meeting was opened on September 16, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. by PAC Co-Chairs Richard LaRonde and Chris Grogan.

Ø Richard welcomed all and briefly introduced new parents to the PAC, explaining that the PAC raises money to spend in our School for the enhancement of the educational process for our Kids.

Ø Chris encouraged involvement through meeting attendance and volunteering.

Treasurer’s Report

Karen Walsh, PAC Treasurer, thanked Kathy Luongo for her many years as PAC Treasurer and for helping her learn “the ropes” over the summer.
Karen provided attendees with a copy of this year’s PAC Budget, which was developed by the PAC at last year’s final meeting.
The Checking Account Analysis shows a surplus of $18,470.91.

Principal’s Comments

· Mrs. Duggan welcomed the parents and especially the kindergarten parents.

· The many emails we have been receiving will probably be streamlined to once a week.

· The Town painted the kitchen, replaced the floor in two classrooms, and painted the flagpole over the summer.

· A Staff member painted the hopscotch, 4-square and touch number graphics in the school yard over the summer.

· Teachers also participated in additional prep and professional development for the Scott Foresman reading curriculum which has been expanded to Grade 3 this year.

· Some Teachers also participated in an RTI (Response to Intervention) workshop which will help them to identify and respond to children experiencing difficulty academically, socially, and/or emotionally.

· The Staff also engaged in MCAS data analysis over the summer.

· The Food drive is underway in all of the classrooms to assist a project undertaken by a WPHS student (and former Fisher student) to restock the Walpole Food Pantry.

· Mrs. Duggan introduced Val Lucas, the Docent Chairperson from Elm Street School. Val encouraged volunteers for the Docent Program at Fisher, which is currently in need of a Chairperson and classroom volunteers. The Docent program trains parents to teach Art History in the classrooms. No teaching or art experience is required. The presentations take place throughout the school year (6 or 7 times). The Docents meet throughout the year to learn about the Artists they will be discussing in the classrooms. Grade 3 and 4 parents are encouraged to volunteer for this program. Interested parties should contact Val Lucas at 508-668-3292. Val has planned the first Docent meeting for Wednesday, September 30^th at 7pm at her house on 4 Leonard Road

Kevin Bell, Norfolk Aggie

· Kevin Bell, the Director of Community and Cooperative Education for the Norfolk Agricultural School was in attendance to talk about the revitalization of the nature trail.

· Kevin applied for and received the 3 year grant that will allow us to collaborate with Norfolk Aggie to restore the trail. The grant comes up for funding renewal yearly, and this year’s funding is in place.

· Last year, Aggie Freshmen cleaned the trails

· This year’s Sophmore Class will participate in data collection for building a weather station and a round bench to be used as a gathering spot for outdoor-classroom learning.

· They are currently prioritizing the stations and gathering materials

· Some of the stations proposed are: Weather Station, Bird Feeders, plant identification, and trail map

· A volunteer day for clean-up will be scheduled for this Spring.

X2 Aspen Database information

· Anne Arpin from the School Department was on hand to demonstrate the website and provide information about the X2 Aspen Portal

· Visit the Fisher Website at Walpole.k12.ma.us/fis where you will see current events posted in the box to the upper right, the current newsletter, links for homework assistance, and access for the Staff Websites.

· Fisher now has voicemail (finally!!!) however, if your message is immediate please tell Mrs. Chase or Mrs. Quinlan; they will be sure to notify the intended Teacher.

· If you are not on Mrs. Duggan’s email list, you can subscribe/add (or unsubscribe/delete) yourself by visiting the website.

· X2 Aspen is a web based database that the Administration is using to house all of the student data they are required to provide to the State. The information is transmitted electronically 5 times a year.

· Each student attending the Walpole Public Schools has a file that includes their vital statistics (name, date of birth, address, grade, etc.) as well as their academic history, attendance information, etc.

· Parents with children in the Middle School and High School can access the database through the Parent Portal, where they can access their child’s information such as: attendance, conduct, fee status, and report card (soon)

· In an effort to keep the database information current, the Department will be mailing out a request for current emergency contact information from all parents. The information provided will be confirmed through a second mailing. Parents are encouraged to use their cell phone number as their primary emergency contact.

· Parents will have access to their child’s file in the database. The School Secretaries, your child’s Teacher, and the Principal also have access to your child’s file.

· Some of the parents present expressed concern about the security of the access to their children’s files and especially to the use of identifying photographs within the child’s file. Anne Arpin assured all that the system has “bank level” security and that the use of pictures will be “revisited”

Committee Updates

· Lorraine Dunden, What’s it Like Chairperson, is looking for in-classroom volunteers for presentations and hands-on activities on various differing abilities (i.e. blindness, deafness, etc.). If you are interested, please contact Lorraine at lodunden@msn.com .

· Lisa Rodia is coordinating the in-school volunteers for each of the classrooms. Each Parent should have now received a sign-up sheet for volunteering as a Room Parent, in the Media Center or in Computer Lab.

· Sue Spendly is the Chairperson for School Store this year

· Lisa McKeon introduced everyone to the October Raffle which all parents should have received. Each family is being asked to sell 5 $10 raffle tickets. Each ticket is eligible to win 31 times (a cash prize each day in October) all are encouraged to participate, as this is our largest Fall Fundraiser.

· Laura McCarty and Eve Jankey are Co-Chairing the Holiday Book Giving program which raises money to buy books for our Media Center. Volunteers are needed to apply templates to the new books. Please contact Eve or Laura at evedoug@comcast.net and McCarty24@verizon.net.

· Mary Morrison is coordinating the collection of “box tops for Education” and Campbell Soup labels. Both of these programs raise money or provide points for purchasing items for School. Mary’s son is in the 5^th Grade and this will be her last year coordinating these programs. Please contact Mary if you can assist this year and are interested in coordinating these programs next year. Mary can be reached at memorrison1@comcast.net

· Barbara LaRonde and Tricia Clancy are coordinating our Fall Family Photo Fundraiser, which is scheduled for October 24^th. More information will follow shortly.

· Linda Wigren welcomed any volunteers for Cultural Arts Committee which schedules performers, storytellers, museums, etc. for each grade. Contact Linda at wigren@comcast.net if you are interested. The first meeting for this committee will be in November.

· Martine Anderson is the Chairperson for the Fisher Family Carnival. Many volunteers are needed for this event. More information will follow.

New Business

· The purchase of 4 additional basketball hoops is proposed, as the Town is currently replacing our existing basketball court and will provide 2 basketball hoops. Ms. Hughes (Grade 4) is the Coach of the Girls Basketball Team at WHS and has recommended the addition of the 4 hoops to provide more opportunities for the younger children to play and also to provide more practice space for all of the children. The cost of the 4 additional hoops is $4,800.00 ($1,200.00/ea). The price was quoted by M. E. O’Brien and Sons. The Town will install and maintain the new hoops. This item will be voted on at the October PAC Meeting.

· The creation of an additional classroom supply fund is proposed for the purchase of common classroom supplies such as Tissues, Paper Towels, Hand Sanitizer, etc. The parents are often asked to send these items in to school and the PAC wishes to lessen this burden on parents and provide these items as needed. The proposed expenditure on these items for the 2009-2010 school year is $2,200.00. This item will be voted on at the October PAC meeting.

· A motion was made to move the $260.00 raised by the 2009 5^th Grade Pizza Fundraiser to the 2010 5^th Grade Ceremony budget, as it was not used by last year’s 5^th Grade. This item will be voted on at the October PAC Meeting.

· Melissa and Rodney Lukowski proposed raising money for replacing the buckled Gym Floor. Mrs. Duggan confirmed that this is on the Capital Improvement List. Melissa indicated that this item has been on the Capital Improvement List since the 1980’s. The Lukowski’s will investigate this matter further and bring additional information to the PAC

The October PAC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7^th at 7p.m. in the Media Center. Hope to see you there!

The Following Persons were in attendance: Karen Balerna, Lorraine Dundon, Chris Grogan, Eve Jankey,