SMC Minutes 12/08/2015 In Attendance In Attendance Julia Parr Olivia Rosengren Megan Johnson Madelyn Johnson Kayla Rekdahl Faith Jerde Grace Ramlet Zak Keniston Eli Kessler Brook Reiter-Putnam Lillie Schoenhals Lydia Rzeszutek Brooke Kulsrud Mr. Libby Members Dr. Bobbi Anderson-Hume Ms. Tracy Burman Ms. Angie Benson Ms. Shannon Esboldt Ms. Janet Hunt Ms. Jennifer Jones Ms. Kara Merrifield Ms. Dawn Nordin Ms. Nada Peterson Ms. Kari Rehrauer Ms. Janell Tibodeau Ms. Coral-Lyn Wyman Mr. Greg Zutz Guests Student Council Social Studies Teacher 1. Introduction of Guests Mr. Libby and a number of the Grade 7 social studies students attended to present their civic action plan. Others attended to earn credit for class. 2. Approval of Agenda Mr. Zutz called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. The agenda was reviewed and Ms. Rehrauer motioned an item be added regarding the Creativity Festival. Ms. Merrifield second, the agenda was approved with the modification to include a discussion on the
Creativity Festival. 3. Approval November Meeting Minutes Mr. Zutz requested clarification on Section 9, Membership Clarification, page 5, line 3. He would like the word clarified changed to summerized the discussion that most of. Ms. Rehrauer motioned to approved with noted change, Ms. Merrifield second. Minutes will be modified. Motioned passed. 4. Mr. Gehring and Students - We Act Mr. Libby attended on Mr. Gehring s behalf and thanked the SMC for sponsoring this year s We Day event and presented the SMC with a poster signed by the students who attended from cores 71, 72, and 76. In all, the 7th grade students completed 1,095 hours of community service in a 2 ½ week time span. Mr. Libby and students presented their student action plan to increase school spirit and help make SFMS a tight-knit community. Brook Kulsrud discussed the benefits of a school mascot and Lillie Schoenhals discussed a new trophy case to promote Middle School students accomplishments who perform in High School activities. This allows those students to share their success with others. Other ideas include Spirit Fridays, Spirit Week, and Core Calendars to promote fun, school pride, and awareness of happenings at school. Lydian Rzeszutek along with Mr. Libby presented eight mascot ideas, ranging in cost between $300 - $1800. Total costs should not exceed $2000. Costs associated with purchasing the mascot will be acquired through fundraising efforts tied to spring sports, spirit week and pep fest. Mascot selection will be made by student votes. Votes can be purchased for $1 each. The mascot raising the most money will be the one purchased for the school. Mr. Libby feels the overall cost is less than $2 per student. They anticipate the Vote fundraiser will bring in approximately $1200 and they are asking the SMC to pay the difference, if necessary. Should the fundraiser bring in more than the cost of the mascot, they would donate the excess to the SMC to support future events. The group would like to host a pep fest in mid February to promote spring sports. Dr. Hume stated that this ties into our goals perfectly. Ms. Benson questioned sizing of the mascot and Mr. Libby advised the costume is adjustable to fit a variety of sizes. Ms. Wyman addressed district rebranding and asked if the district has a say in what our mascot looks like. Dr. Hume will follow-up with the district. The question was asked if the mascot should mirror that of the high school as well. Mr. Zutz wants to make sure the mascot is of quality and durability. Other concerns would be heat factor of suit and cleanability. Mr. Libby confirmed the mascot would be used for Middle School activities and pep fests. Mr. Zutz reminded Mr. Libby he would need to come back in January for the open ended funds request. 5. Financial Report It was addressed the Yankee Candle fundraiser needs to be a future agenda item to determine how they funds earned would be applied to technology. It was explained the negative balance on the Great American line item was due to the fact core revenues were
estimates and we would leave those amounts in tact. Ms. Esboldt advised she recently received an email to order holiday items to support the school. Core 63 was changed to Core 76 this year. Change Line Item 3 to read Core 76. Line Item 18 currently reads Core 76. No funds have been entered in this line item. Open Line Item 18. Line Item 10, SMC Expenditures, balance needs to be evaluated and modified to reflect expenditures from July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015. This will be done on the next Financial Report to reflect an accurate expenditure for this school year. Ms. Rehrauer motioned to approve the Financial report with said changes. Ms. Wyman second the motion. Financial Report approved. 6. Savings Account Managers/ Holders Dr. Hume explained Joe Haeg and Dale Johnson are still listed as signers on the SMC savings account. It was suggested Dr. Hume and Ms. Mickelburg become account holders on this account as their roles are constant, unlike the other roles on the SMC that rotate. Dr. Hume also informed the group that with Ms. Tommerdahl s departure, Ms. Mickelburg and herself were added as holders on the SMC Checking account. Dr. Hume made it clear that she does not want to handle money but is a signer on the account should a need arise. Ms. Wyman motioned to approve Dr. Hume and Ms. Mickelburg as account holders for both the SMC Savings and Checking accounts. Ms. Rehrauer second. Motion passed. 7. Donation for Courage Retreat room The Courage Retreat utilized room at Grace Lutheran Church for Day 3 of the retreat. Instead of a facility use fee, they asked for a donation to the church. After discussion, Rehrauer motioned we donate $200. Ms. Tibodeau seconded. Motion approved. 8. Principal Sharing In an effort to bring some organizational effectiveness, agenda items need to be submitted by 3:00 p.m. the Thursday before the next schedule SMC meeting. This was agreed upon by the group and Dr. Hume will send an email to all staff advising of such. Ms. Trebesch did not get back to Dr. Hume if there was a revamped price for an increase purchase of guitars nor did she schedule to be added to the agenda for this month. To be in compliance with the guidelines of the SMC, we will table this for one month. As a result, the group defined the rules that a requestor needs to appear or send a representative on their behalf to address questions/concerns. In addition, they need to make sure their second meeting gets on the next agenda. Our November student Bingo goal was no Ds or Fs on their first trimester report card. We have had great response with kids meeting goals and appreciating the rewards. To earn December s reward, students must have zero calls/visits to the Study Center. We are currently looking at our building schedule and starting the conversation to develop our own area learning program (what the Oakland Cooperative currently does for us). We have approximately 36% of our students staying after school, involved in activities. We are offering 13 TSP programs, free of charge, demonstrating that kids have missed having things to do after school. In the fall, volleyball and soccer are back at the middle school level. We do need to buy equipment, but the phy ed department can take advantage of that equipment as well.
After break, a new round of activities will start and some are getting full already. Dr. Hume advised these programs generate revenue for the district and speaks to the hard work Ms. Jones and Ms. Wyman have done. Our Activities/Athletics have quality coaching, school spirit, and provides a sense of belonging and pride. We set a mandate to fill every activity bus and we are. We will have activity buses for all Middle School activities. And, all students in enrolled in an activities/athletics program received a t-shirt. Ms. Benson questioned if students have to dress up on game/event day. Mr. Zutz stated by doing so it identifies what kids are involved in. Dr. Hume stated after the holidays, we will begin entertaining clubs - card games, bible study, etc. For these groups, we need a responsible person to be in charge - not necessarily a licensed teacher. Mr. Zutz stated morning announcements need to announce the results of events and Dr. Hume agreed along with the results of the HS events our students are a part of. Ms. Benson asked if their was an admission charge for Middle School events. Dr. Hume advised at this time we do not charge and the Mississippi 8 Conference does not have guidelines at the middle school level. Everything is being created from ground zero. Ms Merrifield asked about concessions at events. Dr. Hume advised the Washington DC students are selling concessions before events at this time. Mr. Zutz advised we may want to spearhead potential problems with concessions and other internal groups wanting to profit. Ms. Benson questioned snacks for participants. Ms. Wyman advised snacks are provided for students part of a TSP program. Those registered for athletics/activities do not receive a snack. 9. Staff Member Sharing Ms. Rehrauer would like to hold off on discussing the Creativity Festival for this meeting and would like an agenda item added for next month - Creativity Festival 2016. Ms. Wyman stated that Betta would like some volunteers to help on Friday from 2:30-6:30 p.m. with Yankee Candle pick-up orders. Ms. Mickelburg will also send an enews tomorrow. Ms. Wyman advised the Winter Wonderland Dance is ready to go for Friday and an indoor snowball fight. DC trip students are selling milk and cookies. Ms. Wyman is in desperate need of volunteers as only one has signed-up. A staff member has asked if they could be paid to chaperone the dance in lieu of volunteering. Dr. Hume would like this to be an agenda item for next month for official consideration. 10. Parent Sharing Ms. Tibodeau heard a student say It may be your last year of teaching, but it is my first year of learning... she would like to see that shared at a staff meeting. Ms. Benson stated her daughter liked the dilly bar and Acapulco gift certificate for the November reward. Ms. Esboldt shared her son really liked how he was informed he was selected to go to the
Creativity Festival. He had a great time and liked how he was randomly chosen to go to different things. 11. Student Council Rep Sharing The Student Council has received complaints about the food served at lunch, expired milk and the crowded lunch room. Additionally, they would like to be able to earn rewards so they could eat lunch outside. Dr. Hume will address the lunch issues with Nutrition Services. She agrees the small lunch room is crowded for some lunch shifts. She suggested the whole class work together to address Nutrition Services. Write a letter and present to the district. They need to have a solid plan of attack and make sure everything is about education. Student Council would like to see Chess Club added back to as an afterschool program as well as offer activity buses after the school dances. Dr. Hume liked these ideas. 12. Items to be Added to Next Month s Agenda: Yankee Candle Fundraiser Spending Ms. Trebesch Guitar Funds Creativity Festival 2016 Activity Night Compensation for Staff Ms. Rehrauer motioned to adjourn. Ms. Merrifield seconded. Meeting adjourned at 4:24 p.m.