General Nash Home and School Meeting - Minutes
Thursday, November 10, 2016 7:00 p.m.
Nash Library
Due to mandatory training, Mr. Winkle will not be in attendance for this meeting. This appears to be the final time this year where this ongoing training will conflict with Home and School meetings.
November:
11 School Store open for Grades 2 and 3 11 Jumpin' Jacks - 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
14-18 American Education Week
14-15 Parent Visitation Day
17 Mini Book Fair - 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
18 School Store open for Grades K and 1
23-25 No School (Thanksgiving Break)
December:
2 Nash Spirit Day - Fashion Disaster Day
8 Holiday Shop
10 Holiday Shop/Breakfast with Frosty/Silent Auction - 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
23 Holiday Sing-a-Long
26-31 No School (Winter Break)
January:
6 Nash Spirit Day - Pajama Day
12 H & S Meeting - 7:00 p.m. (Guest: Josie Charnock, NPSD Board member)
16 No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
17 Social Media & Internet Safety Night (An adults only program)
24 Wendy's Dining Night Out
31 Family Activity Night - Drums Alive
Open Forum Q&A
- Parents asked if it was possible to have more opportunities to meet and chat with Mr. Winkle (like the events this past week during conferences). There were parents who would have liked to attend, but they found out the event at the last minute through Nash News and weren't able to arrange their schedules. There was discussion of possibly having an event after school or in the evening and we talked about the different ways an event like this could be advertised - examples given were a direct email blast from Mr. Winkle, Nash News, Twitter, E- Communications, Bi-Weekly Envelopes, H&S Facebook group.
- A question was asked about the CDT test that is being piloted in one fourth grade and one fifth grade class at Nash this year. Mrs. Boquist explained that this is a diagnostic assessment for math.
- There was discussion about how the school district is reacting to any issues resulting from the presidential election (other schools have been in the news due to graffiti, bullying, etc.) Mrs. Boquist shared that in a conversation with Mr. Winkle on Wednesday, he said he had encouraged classroom teachers to downplay the "who voted for whom" talk and to be on alert for any negative issues which did not really surface at Nash. Ms. Catto confirmed this.
- A parent asked if Mr. Winkle and/or any of the Nash teachers were still riding on the buses. Mrs. Koch explained that this was a temporary plan. There are video tape (with audio) cameras on all the buses and the school district has access to the recordings. Another parent asked why the district is using an outside bus company in addition to the district owned buses.
- There was much discussion regarding the parent drop-off and pickup procedures. The Home and School created a parent survey about this topic in response to many parents coming to the board with their concerns. The survey was made available to all Nash families online last week and parents can respond to it through November 18. To date, the survey has had 63 responses. The survey results will be shared with Mr. Winkle and the Nash staff. Parents are concerned with the ongoing safety issues occurring during the arrival and dismissal times. Some of the issues that were shared at the meeting included: children being dropped off and picked up in the parking spaces in front of the building and on Liberty Bell Drive which means that there is foot traffic on the brick walkway and in the crosswalk nearest to the buses and going across Liberty Bell Drive; parents arriving too early for the parent drop- off; children walking throughout the lower parking lot during arrival/dismissal; consistency with all arrival/dismissal procedures for all parents; consistency with staff coverage and responsibilities; and the amount of traffic backing up onto Liberty Bell Drive and onto Bustard Road; and cars that are driving around waiting buses to get into the parking lot.
- A question was asked about the possibility of doing another survey to see when would be the best time for H & S meetings to be held so that the majority of parents are able to attend. Mrs. Boquist said this could be investigated.
Treasurer's Report - Steph Sharkey
-The March-a-Thon was very successful!
Principal's Report (provided by Dana Koch and Teri Kratz - Nash Secretaries) (Mr. Winkle was unable to attend the meeting this evening as explained above.)
- Dana and Teri will be sharing with Mr. Winkle all that has been discussed this evening. Dana also reminded us that we can share pictures from Nash events on the NPSD's Phan Fare website.
Teacher's Report - Ms. Catto
- Ms. Catto shared that the teachers were very thankful for the First Friday treats last week. They also enjoyed following the progress of the March-a-Thon on the hallway bulletin board. The staff also gave a shout out for the start of the Drama Club and shared that the students are really excited about it. The staff asked (along with the Drama Club) if it would be possible for other clubs to start at Nash and an example that was given was a possible sign language club. Other NP schools have Girls On The Run clubs that have been successful. If someone has an idea, they should present it to Mr. Winkle for his approval.
New Business
- Parent drop off and pick up procedures survey: This topic was covered earlier in the meeting during the Open Forum section. Parents were reminded that the survey results are recorded anonymously.
-Impact bin reminder: This is a work in progress, but we were reminded that only soft items (not fragile items that can break) should be placed in the bin. Parents are asked to not place items in the bin during the parent drop-off and pickup times of the school day. We will continue to hold clothing drives during the Nash car washes.
Previous Business - None
Coordinator's Reports
- Winter Carnival: Kristen Mallitz is still looking for someone to shadow her this year since she will be stepping down as the coordinator after this year's carnival.
- Mini Book-Fair: The mini book-fair is being held on Thursday, November 17, 2016 from 6:30 to 8:30pm. There will be guest readers that night and the committee is still looking for volunteers to help.
- Silent Auction is being held during the Holiday Shop and a flyer will be going home soon. There will be 7 theme baskets (one for each grade) and in addition to that, Disney Park Hopper Passes and an American Girl doll were donated for the Silent Auction.
- The March-a-Thon was a big success and we received great feedback from the teachers and staff on what went well and on what things can be improved. Participation was down from 69% to 60% this year - not sure why, but it is something to be aware of when planning for next year. A suggestion that came from the staff was that the March-a-thon be more of a school-wide event. The committee and the Nash staff agree that the format of the day (grade levels participating during specials) works well, and that perhaps we could plan for a short assembly the morning of the March-a-thon to bring the school together. A suggestion from a parent, and supported by the committee, was to schedule to March-a-thon for later in the week on a Thursday or Friday. These suggestions were shared with Mr. Winkle at a previous meeting this week. He agreed that we could further investigate both of those suggestions.
Thank you to Natalia DelloBuono and Ryan Baitinger for babysitting this evening!
Our next Nash Home & School meeting will be held on Thursday, January 12 at 7:00p.m.