Kensington School Board Minutes

February 8, 2006

 

The Kensington School Board met on Wednesday, February 8 , 2006. In attendance were: Mrs. Dana Donovan, School Board Chairperson; Mrs. Alice Mower, Mrs. Cheryl Camacho, School Board Members; Mr. Paul Flynn, Associate Superintendent of Schools; Mrs. Barbara Switzer; Principal.

 

Mrs. Donovan called the meeting to order at 6:24 PM.

 

The minutes of the following School Board meetings were unanimously approved by the board:

            December 15, 2005, January 11, 12, 19 and 26, 2006

 

Mrs. Switzer gave her report as follows:

·        The KES Times and February Calendar were reviewed by the board.

·        Sargent Camp personnel were in attendance on February 1st to meet with the children and later to meet with parents from Kensington, East Kingston and Newfields to give an overview of the camp and answer any questions they may have.

·        The Cultural Passport program celebration was held on February 2nd from 6:00 – 8:00 PM with singing, dancing and Chinese food. The evening was well attended and much fun.

·        Jump for heart is scheduled for February 15th.

·        Mrs. Switzer noted that the 2nd session of Grade Level meetings are scheduled for the end of February.

·        The Student Council is in the process of ordering supplies for the School Store which will hopefully open after February vacation.

·        Mrs. Switzer stated that the High School students who are working with KES students on the School Newspaper are very responsible and committed to the project.

·        After-school Enrichment has begun and some of the offerings are Lego Club, Games Club, American Girl Club, Karate, Spanish and Skills Baseball.

·        Report Cards were sent home on January 23rd. Mrs. Switzer reported that she had received a few calls from parents who had questions/concerns regarding the new report cards but also received positive feedback from several parents who found the amount of information to be most useful in understanding what skills their children had attained. Mrs. Switzer stated that she appreciated the amount of time it took teachers to complete the report cards.

 

Mrs. Camacho stated that she too had received a number of calls from parents who expressed their disappointment in the lack of letter grades. Mrs. Camacho noted she understood the amount of time it took to complete the report cards. Mrs. Camacho stated that some parents indicated that the card was harder for students to understand. Mrs. Camacho reminded parents that the new cards are a pilot program and will be reviewed by the end of the school year. Mrs. Donovan noted she heard from several parents who indicated their concern that there were no narratives written on the upper grades report cards.  Mrs. Switzer stated that the SAU #16 Grade Reporting Survey will be sent to all SAU parents for input and she may add a few additional questions regard KES’ report card. The surveys will go out in March/April and Mrs. Switzer will share the results at a future meeting. Mrs. Quimby, who was in attendance, stated she and others would like the opportunity for input. Mrs. Baker, also in attendance, indicated she loved the new report card.

 

Mr. Flynn gave his report as follows:

·        Mr. Flynn noted that Kensington is a SB2 Town and that the town will vote on the School District Warrant as well as the School District Officers on March 14th. Only East Kingston, Stratham and Brentwood hold traditional School District meetings.

·        Mr. Flynn stated that there will be a Warrant Article on the Brentwood School District Ballot to make it a SB 2 Town.

·        Mr. Flynn gave an overview of the various Warrant Articles for the surrounding towns in the SAU.

·        Mr. Flynn noted that SAU#16 Chairs will meet on February 15th.

·        The new high school is still on budget and on time and hopefully will be turned over to the COOP in June.

·        Mr. Flynn reported that there will be a new Student Information System on board for the new school year entitled Power School.

·        The COOP Deliberative Session is scheduled for February 9th.

·        Mr. Flynn reviewed some of the ongoing testing for SAU#16 schools.

·        The First Review of the following policies was completed:

BIE – Board Member Indemnification

JH-     Attendance, Tardiness and Truancy

JICH- Drug and Alcohol Use by Students


The meeting adjourned at 7:10 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Margaret Ruggeri

School Board Secretary