Kensington School Board Minutes

January 13, 2005

 

The Kensington School Board met on Thursday, January 13, 2005. In attendance were: Mrs. Cheryl McDonough, School Board Chairperson; Mrs. Dana Donovan, Mrs. Alice Mower, School Board members; Mr. Paul Flynn, Associate Superintendent of Schools; Mrs. Barbara Switzer, Principal.

 

The meeting was called to order by Mrs. McDonough at 7:15 PM.

 

Mrs. McDonough stated she had received a request from a parent who wished to serve on the Bus Safety Committee. Mrs. Donovan will contact the parent about the request.

 

Mrs. McDonough submitted her resignation effective February 13th. (see attached letter). Mrs. Spinosa thanked Mrs. McDonough for all her efforts while on the School Board. Ms. Culver thanked Mrs. McDonough on behalf of the staff and the Kensington Education Association. Because of Mrs. McDonough’s resignation there will be a one-year position for School Board on the March Ballot to finish out her term of office.

 

Melissa Brockelbank gave a brief overview of the PTO activities and invited the board to the Spaghetti Supper planned for January 20th. Mrs. Brockelbank also stated that as a third grade parent she supported the field trip to Ellis Island.

 

Mrs. Spinosa and Mr. Estey were in attendance. Mrs. Spinosa thanked the board for their support and reported that, after speaking with PE teachers and others,  both Mr. Estey and she felt it appropriate to request that the board approve moving the location of the climbing wall from the kitchen side of the multi-purpose room to the middle of the opposite wall. The rationale for the request was that moving it to the center wall opposite the kitchen would encourage expansion at a later date. The entire meeting proceeded to the multi-purpose room to view the wall. Upon returning to the meeting room, Mr. Flynn stated that he appreciated looking at the possibility of expanding the climbing wall but from a curriculum standpoint he noted that the Gymnastic Unit of PE would run for perhaps a month. Mr. Flynn went on to say that perhaps some time the District would like to purchase fold-out type bleachers for concerts etc. and they would need to be placed on the long wall. Mr. Flynn stated that he needed to look at the big picture and addressed the lack of storage in the multipurpose room, the fact that perhaps sometime in the future another PE teacher would not emphasize rock climbing in his/her curriculum, An Artist in Residence may want to place a mural in the room, some day space requirements might dictate dividing the room in two to create two learning spaces etc.

 

Mrs. Mower asked if the wall would be used for anything other than PE. Mrs. Spinosa answered that the wall could be used by individual classroom teachers to promote team building, trust etc. Additionally, Mrs. Spinosa stated that the Occupational Therapist currently uses the multi-purpose room for physical activities and feels certain that the wall will be used for additional OT activities.

 

It was asked what was required to take the wall down and move it to a different location. Mr. Estey answered that the wall is put up with 6 bolts per panel. Discussion ensued about being able to move the wall in the future if need be.

 

Mrs. McDonough asked Mr. Switzer’s opinion on where the wall should be located. Mrs. Switzer answered that she liked the idea of placing the wall where it had room for expansion and she felt that it would indeed be used by the Occupation Therapist as well as classroom teachers.

 

Mrs. McDonough suggested that Mr. Flynn and Mrs. Spinosa continue dialogue as to the placement of the wall and make a final decision. Mr. Flynn voiced his concern that it could start a precident that he was uncomfortable with.

 

Mrs. Mower stated that perhaps the wall should be placed on the shorter wall and it could be moved at a later date should it be necessary.

 

Mrs. Donovan moved to place the wall at the new location with the understanding that it could be moved someday. The motion was not seconded.

 

Mrs. Mower moved to place the wall on the original location with the stipulation that the board will revisit the decision in a year and move it at that time if necessary.

 

Mr. Estey stated he felt uncomfortable with the stipulation to revisit the decision in a year section of the motion.

 

After further discussion, Mrs. Mower withdrew her motion.

 

Mrs. Mower then moved to approve the relocation of the climbing wall to the new location with the understanding that once affixed to the wall it will be under the control of the District. The move was seconded by Mrs. Donovan. A vote was taken and was in the affirmative.

 

Mrs. Spinosa thanked everyone for their consideration.

 

Tammy, D’Agostino, Susan Haug, and Chris Culver (grade 3 teachers) were in attendance to discuss the Ellis Island field trip. Mrs. D’Agostino stated that after the parent meeting, which was held on January 4th, forty families signed up for the trip from a total of forty-seven families.

 

Mrs. McDonough stated that the board members had received phone calls or emails from 11 parents who voiced their concerns regarding the trip. Many parents agreed to the trip with the stipulation that they be chaperones and be included in the tour.

 

Mrs. McDonough applauded the efforts of the teachers in setting up the trip. Mrs. McDonough suggested that the trip be put off for a year and felt that the teachers had laid the groundwork for next year. Mrs. McDonough suggested they start earlier next year. After further discussion it was determined by the board not to approve the Ellis Island field trip.

 

Mrs. Switzer gave her report as follows:

·         KES Times and Monthly calendar were reviewed.

·         Terry Farrish, children’s author, visited the school and spoke with all the classes about writing.

·         The Holiday Concert, held on December 15th, was well received by the school community.

·         The school will be celebrating MLK Day as individual classrooms not as a school-wide assembly.

·         The Cultural Passport Program will be happening at KES over the next two weeks. Jasmine Shah will be here teaching the children Indian dances during PE classes. The Nicholls family will visit the school with a video of their bicycling trip across India.

·         Sy Montgomery, Author and Naturalist, will be here on Friday, Jan 21st to share her experiences with the children.

·         Grade Level Math meeting are scheduled over the next few weeks with staff from East Kingston and Newfields.

·         A number of Website Courses for staff are scheduled in February with Brooke Petrucelli and Kathy Weise.

·         Staff from Tufts University will be at KES on February 1st for a workshop on “Learning to Read by Reading” (LRR).

·         The second after-school Enrichment Session will begin in late January. There are many great offerings.

 

The board unanimously approved a Field trip to Timberlane Performing Arts Center on April 2nd for members of KES Chorus. The chorus will participate in a music festival.

 

The board unanimously approved the fifth grade field trip to the Museum of Science on February 3rd but asked that, in the future, any lengthy trips not be scheduled during the winter months.

 

Mr. Flynn gave his report as follows:

·         Mr. Flynn gave the dates of the First and Second Sessions as well as the School Meeting dates for each of the SAU # 16 towns.

·         The principal’s search is ongoing. Hopefully, four additional candidates will be chosen during the upcoming interview sessions with three finalists being chosen by early February.

·         The High School project is moving along with an expected completion date of June 1, 2006.

 

Mrs. Donovan moved to approve the amount of $2,271,390.00 with the default budget of $2,189,098.00 for the operating budget for the 2005-2006 school year. Mrs. Mower seconded the motion. A vote was taken and was in the affirmative.

 

Mr. Flynn stated that he has not received any correspondence relative to the $10,000.00 bequeathed to Kensington School District.

 

The following Kensington/SAU 16 Policies were unanimously approved by the board as a First Reading:

            KCB- Community Involvement in Decision Making

            KEB- Public Complaints about School Personnel

            KEC-Public Complaints about the Curriculum or Instructional Materials

            KED-Public Complaints about Facilities or Services

            KF-Use of School Facilities

            KH-Solicitations in Schools

            KHB-Advertising in the Schools

            KI- Visitors to the Schools

            LC-Educational Research

            BDF-Advisory Committees to the Board

            IHAE-Physical Education

            IJNDB-Technology Integration

            JEC-Manifest Education Hardship

            JH-Student Absences and Excuses (revised)

            JH-R1-Grades K-8 Student Absences and Excuses-Rules

            JH-R2-Exeter High School Student Absences and Excuses-Rules

            JHB-Truancy

JHB-R-Truancy

            JHC-Student Release Precautions (revised)

            JICD-Student Conduct, Discipline and Due Process (revised)

 

On behalf of the School Board, Mrs. Donovan thanked Mrs. McDonough for all of her time, expertise, and efforts while serving as a member of the Kensington School Board.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Margaret Ruggeri

School Board Secretary