NMS Parent School Support Committee

November Minutes

2010-12-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School PSSC
Meeting Minutes
2010-11-17

Attendees:

Alan Atkins (principal)
Marcie Connors (vice-principal)
Pat Campbell
Mitch Claybourn
Tracey Grattan
Lynn McMinniman
Marg Milburn
Shauna Miller
Don Richardson
Heather Touchie-Blakely (teacher rep)

Guests:
n/a
Regrets:
Francene Patterson

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm.
Approval of Minutes

The minutes for the November 17 meeting were approved as circulated.
Call for Agenda Items/Approval of Agenda

The agenda was approved as presented.

Additional Items (added at meeting):
• NMS website (Shauna)
• Awards for crossing guards (Shauna)
• Evergreen proposals (Marg)

Mitch welcomed Marg Milburn as a new member of the NMS PSSC. He also welcomed Marcie Connors, NMS’s new vice-principal.
Friends of NMS Update
The Friends of Nashwaaksis Middle School will have their annual general meeting on Thursday, November 18 at 7 pm at NMS. Alan thanked Friends for their continuing support of activities at the school that improve education and student life.
D.E.C Report

It is expected that a representative from the District Education Committee will be named for the NMS catchment area in the near future.

Action Item: Alan to follow up with District office on DEC representative.
School Improvement Plan

Alan provided an update on activities under the School Improvement Plan, which focuses on two themes: Academic Improvement (literacy and numeracy) and Positive Learning Environment.

On the literacy objectives, he noted the efforts being made to build classroom libraries for all home rooms and contacts made to better integrate the Nashwaaksis Public Library into school activities.

Alan reported that middle schools across District 18 are examining the potential for new school timetables for the 2011-12 school year which will improve flexibility in class time, to permit greater focus on key subjects and give teachers more time for planning. The addition of LTT (Learning Together Time) three days each week has given teachers additional time for team planning.

Principal’s Report

Netbooks: The rollout of netbook computers for grade 6 students will now proceed. Meetings for parents in grade 6 and 7 will be held during the week of Nov. 22 to inform parents on the use of the netbooks and to seek parental permission for students to bring the computers home with them evening. Alan explained this is necessary because the netbooks must be recharged overnight and the school does not have the capability to charge all the netbooks at once. Lynn suggested that this issue be fully explained to parents who may otherwise ask their children to leave the netbooks at school and use their own home computers for homework.

Alan said the netbooks have been well received by 7 and 8 students who received them last month and he is hopeful for a successful extension of the program to the grade 6 classes.

School Review: The process for the triennial school review is now under way. A school internal committee has been meeting regularly and the external review group will visit the school during the week of November 22 to meet with administration, staff, students and PSSC members. A meeting of the external and internal committees will be held on December 13 to discuss the findings of the review committee. The review’s findings will be incorporated into the School Improvement Plan.

New Grade 7 Class: In order to accommodate an unanticipated increase in enrolment, a 5th core class for grade 7 has been created. Students have been allocated from the existing 4 classes and a teacher has been hired on a temporary basis. A permanent teacher hiring for this new class is expected in the coming weeks.

Recent Activities:

• Oct. 19-21: English book fair
• Oct. 18: UNICEF collection begins. Students raised nearly $5,000 for UN children’s charities.
• Oct. 21: visit by author Valerie Sherrard
• Oct. 22-25: NMS students participated in Tim Horton’s Camp in Tatamagouche, NS. Administration will review the camp experience to determine future participation by the school.
• Oct. 28: school dance (470 students attended)
• Nov. 2: Friends of NMS meeting
• Nov. 3: Take Your Kids to Work Day – a number of former NMS students, now in grade 9, returned to the school for this event.
• Nov. 10: Atlantic-Pacific Math Competition
• Nov. 10 & 12: Remembrance Day activities, including visit to CFB Gagetown Museum
• Nov. 17: Sugar Pie event to celebrate bilingualism and francophone culture at NMS
• Nov. 18: Friends of NMS annual general meeting.
• Nov. 22: 1st term report cards will be sent home
• Nov. 25-26: parent-teacher interviews

Action Item Follow-up

Action Item: Alan will check with District office regarding DEC representation on the NMS PSSC for the 2010/11 school year.

• Alan to follow up with District office for the December PSSC meeting.

Action Item: Alan and Mitch to develop criteria for selecting student representatives to PSSC.

• Alan and Mitch to meet on this and report back at the next meeting.

Action Item: Alan to check on status of spring 2010 school wellness survey results.

• Survey results have been received and will be distributed to PSSC members in advance of the December meeting.

Action Item: Alan to see to installation of locks in washroom cubicles throughout the school.

• Alan reported that this has been done.

Action Item: Mitch to bring back suggestions for key themes and activities to the November PSSC meeting for further discussion & decision.

• PSSC members discussed cyber-bullying, drug abuse and greater awareness of PSSC activities as potential projects for 2011. This will be discussed again at the December meeting.

Additional Items:

Shauna commented on recent additions and improvements to the content on the school website as a useful resource for parents and students. She also asked that information on the PSSC posted on the NMS website be updated.

Action Item: Alan will see that up-to-date information on PSSC membership and meetings is posted on the school website.

PSSC discussed ways to honour crossing guards who serve the Nashwaaksis area. Shauna noted that Safe Kids Canada sponsors a favourite crossing guard award and suggested that local staff be nominated. There was a further discussion of ways for the school to honour all the crossing guards serving area students. It was agreed that student involvement in this is very important.

Action Item: Mitch will follow up with City staff on crossing guards serving the NMS area. There will be a further discussion of this at the December PSSC meeting.

Marg noted that funding is available from various corporate and non-profit sources to upgrade school grounds. She suggested that the school seek “evergreen” funding for school improvements.

Action Item: Marg to provide more information on “Evergreen” funding at the next PSSC meeting.

Mitch noted that a report on the PSSC orientation session hosted by the District on October 21 at Bliss Carmen Middle School has been circulated to all PSSC members.

Next Meeting/Meeting Adjournment

Next Meeting: Wednesday, December 15 @ 7:00 pm

Meeting was adjourned at 8:20pm

March Meeting Minutes

2010-05-03T12:32:00.001-07:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Meeting Minutes
2010-03-15

Attendees:
Don Richardson Tracey Grattan Sherry Thomson Shauna Miller Andrew Rowe
Pat Campbell Alan Atkins John MacKenzie Mitch Claybourn

Guests:
n/a
Regrets:
Tracy Allen Anne Small Heather Touchie-Blakely Carol Coleman (DEC)

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm.
Approval of Minutes

The minutes for the January 11 PSSC meeting were approved as amended. The minutes for the February 15 meeting were approved as presented.
Don identified two updates to the minutes from January. Tracy recirculated the minutes and they were approved via email by Alan and Mitch at the March meeting.
Business Arising from the Minutes
Grade 8 teacher Mike Smith is NMS’ nominee for the Premier’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. An application was filed with the Department of Education in late February.

Alan clarified that funding that PSSC has agreed to provide to support the continued use of the Synervoice messaging service will be provided for the 2010/11 budget year.

Work is progressing on the installation of concrete barriers along the school’s access. To date, 35 new barriers have been installed and 25 more will be put in place by the end of April.
Call for Agenda Items/Approval of Agenda

Additional Items (identified prior to the meeting):
• Report on school budget [ Alan]
• School Awards event [Alan]

Additional Items (added at meeting)
• n/a
Friends of NMS Update

Carry Forward – A Friends representative will be invited to provide a report at the April meeting.
D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep

Carry Forward – A DEC report will be provided at the next PSSC meeting.

School Improvement Plan Update & Overview – Alan Atkins

• The SIP committee held its first meetings this past week.
• Supply teachers have been engaged so that participating teachers can attend scheduled committee meetings during the school day.
• Teachers are currently reviewing the list of possible objectives to be included under the 2 main goals of the plan (academics and positive learning environment)
• School will be seeking 2 students to take part in review of the Plan. Students are generally chosen from the current grade 8 class, but consideration will be given to involving students from other grades.
• PSSC members will also be given an opportunity to provide input.
• A final draft of the SIP will come to PSSC members for approval at the PSSC’s May meeting.
• The three-year plan is reviewed on an annual basis and can be adjusted based on input from PSSC, parents and staff.
Action Items from Last Meeting
Action Item: Invitation to Fredericton police force to discuss meeting to provide information to parents on drug abuse in youth.

Result: Carry Forward – Mitch will seek to arrange this for April PSSC meeting.

Action Item: Alan to post invitation on school website to parents to see their children’s assessment results.

Result: Carry Forward – Assessment results have not been approved for release by the Department of Education. Invitation will be issued once release approval has been given.

Action Item: Alan to add to the SIP that NMS implement grade level school sports teams.

Result: This is being discussed by the school’s SIP development committee.

Action Item: Development of a school student survey.

Result: Carry Forward – Mitch and Alan to bring forward proposal to April PSSC meeting. PSSC members asked to provide suggestions for this via e-mail.

Action Item: Carol to determine if DEC supplementary funding can be repurposed. The PSSC will move ahead and use this money for our future drug session

Result: Carry Forward – Carol to report at future meeting.
Principal’s Report

School Activities:

• Well-attended meeting on French Second Language program held Feb. 12.
• NMS Grade 8 students visited the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly on Feb. 16, where they were introduced on the floor of the House.
• Local author Peter Clarke visited the school on Feb. 19.
• Teachers participated in Stepping Out training program on Feb. 21-22. This program encourages the integration of language arts skills into all aspects of the school curriculum.
• A student talent show was held on Feb. 24
• A Partners For Youth outing was held on Feb. 25.
• The Winter Carnival Day scheduled for Feb. 26 was cancelled due to weather.
• The first meeting of the SIP committee was held on March 8 with a full morning meeting held on March 11.

Principal’s Activities:

• Alan is participating in the school review at Keswick Ridge School. Principals are asked to participate in at least one review per year as an opportunity to learn from other schools’ experiences and integrate best practices.
• Alan will be attending a workshop on “21st Century Learning” being held in St. Andrews during the week of March 22. Encouraging signals are being received from the Department of Education regarding new directions in the use of technology in schools. As a leader in the early implementation of laptop computers in classrooms, Alan said NMS is facing significant challenges to replace its aging supply of classroom computers.

Disciplinary Issues:

• Alan reported on an incident at the February 25 NMS school dance which has caused staff to review current rules regarding cell phone use on school property. An incident arising from the inappropriate use of a cell phone by a student led to police being summoned and a student being suspended from school for disciplinary reasons.
• As a result of this incident, PSSC members agreed to support the principal’s decision to fully enforce school policy regarding cell phone use during school dances. In future, students will not be permitted to carry cell phones into a dance. Students found using a cell phone for calling, texting or photographic purposes will have their phones confiscated. They will be allowed to use them when the leave the dance to contact their parents.
• PSSC also agreed that the school ask the Fredericton Police Force to provide uniformed officers for security purposes at future dances. Mitch will check on prices for this service.
Action item: Mitch will check on prices for the Fredericton Police Force to provide uniformed officers for security purposes at future dances.
• Rules regarding appropriate dress by students and prohibition of non-NMS students will also be fully enforced at future dances.
• Action item: Alan will inform students and parents of the full enforcement of these school policies prior to the next school dance, to be held in April.
• Action item: Alan will provide PSSC members with a description of the threat assessment process at the committee’s next meeting.

Additional Items

School Budget: Alan reported that the school’s budget for fiscal 2009/10 is on target. The fiscal year ends on March 31.

2010/11 enrollment: Alan reported that, based on current projections, NMS will have one fewer grade 6 class next year than in the current year. This would result in the loss of 1 teaching position. This is the result of the decision to offer French Immersion at both northside middle school, which reduced the number of feeder schools providing students to NMS. Overall enrolment is currently expected to decline by 20 students next year, although the long-term outlook is for a return to growing enrolment in future years.

School Awards: Alan invited parents and PSSC members to attend the school awards event, to be held on June 24 & 25. Academic, social and sports awards will be presented to students.

LHHS Theatre: PSSC members agreed to support a letter being prepared by the Leo Hayes High School PSSC, calling the fulfillment of the commitment to construct a school theatre at LHHS.

Next Meeting/Meeting Adjournment

Next Meeting: April 12 @ 7:00pm

Meeting was adjourned at 8:10pm

February Meeting Minutes

2010-05-03T12:30:00.001-07:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Meeting Minutes
2010-02-15

Attendees:
Don Richardson Tracey Grattan Tracy Allen Carol Coleman (DEC) Andrew Rowe
Pat Campbell Alan Atkins John MacKenzie Mitch Claybourn Anne Small
Heather Touchie-Blakely
Guests:
n/a
Regrets:
Sherry Thomson Shauna Miller

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:10pm.
Approval of Minutes

Don identified two updates to the minutes from January. Tracy recirculated the minutes and they were approved via email by Alan and Mitch.
Call for Agenda Items/Approval of Agenda

Additional Items (identified prior to the meeting):
• Side Walk Barriers [ Alan]
• Policy 703 [Alan]
• Student Survey [Mitch]
• School Web Site [Mitch]
• PSSC Chairs Meeting [Mitch]

Additional Items (added at meeting)
• n/a
Friends of NMS Update – Alan
Election
• Approximately 40 people voted
• New co-chairs are Janice MacFarlane, Cindy Chase, Mary Martin
D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep

PSSC Chair Meeting
• Well attended
• Discussion of whether the supplementary funding be discontinued due to limited funding and size of requests but the chairs felt that the application for funds was still valuable
o Carol suggested that they will probably have the same amount of money but try to cover one major project per year and then divvy up the remainder between other schools

Premier’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
• Carol encouraged us to submit a nomination for this award
• Members are to forward names to Mitch and Alan by Wednesday, February 17 so they can submit a nomination
School Improvement Plan Update & Overview – Alan Atkins

• A committee of 9 school staff members was finalized February 15
• Monday, March 8 will be the first meeting of the committee
• PSSC & students will be invited in after this meeting
• The final SIP will be no longer than 3 pages
• Alan will review the current SIP to see if there are items to carry over to the new plan
Principal’s Report

Synervoice
• Alan is requesting that the PSSC budget be used to cover the cost of synervoice
• This is very valuable, especially in terms of calling home regarding attendance
• The proposed school magnets are cost prohibitive
• Mitch asked the group if we support synervoice – all present agreed
Miscellaneous Items
• Hoping to replace the lights in the theater
• The school raised $4500 for ‘Help for Haiti’
• Discipline numbers are down significantly from this time last year. Alan feels this is directly related to positive things happening in the school
• Position for Grade 6 Math teacher has been filled
• Grade 7 classes going to the Legion
• January 26/27 – teachers attended ‘Stepping Out’, language arts program aimed at integrating LA into all subject areas, training 1/3 of the staff each time
• January 28 – school social, 150 in attendance
• February 1 – meeting with the City Police to work on development of a ‘Policemen’s Challenge’, looking at doing this in May
• Junior Achievement presentations
• Geography challenge
• Haiti talent show & other fundraisers
• Interim Reports went home on Friday, February 12
• Teacher’s Appreciation lunch last Friday put on by Friends of NMS
• Students are participating in a UNB Wellness survey

Computers in the class
• Alan expressed concern over the aging computers within the school
• He is encouraged by positive talks about the 21st century learner
• Anne expressed a desire to see a provincial-wide IT strategy
Action Item Follow-up

Action Item: Alan to arrange for communication home reminding folks about the designated sidewalk area.

Update: See side walk barriers discussion below.

Action Item: Mitch will contact the police to invite them to come to the next PSSC meeting to facilitate planning this event.

Update: Mitch indicated that Jan couldn’t make this meeting but hopes to make the meeting in March. Carry forward.

Action Item: Alan will speak to teachers regarding the proposal to share year plans with
parents and will bring back recommendations to the PSSC at the next meeting.

Update: Looking at rolling out the sharing of the year plans in September. Mitch also requested information on the sports schedule be sent home at the same time.

Action Item: Alan to post an invitation on the school website for parents to see their children’s assessment results.

Update: There is still an embargo on some of the results, so Alan can’t share these results at this point in time. Carry forward.

Side Walk Barriers

• The district had extra money and agreed to purchase the requested side walk barriers to line the school driveway
• 35 new barriers are already there and we are expecting 50 extra in April to extend the barriers from the street to the school
• Tracy Allen asked if we had ever heard anything back on our request to the city to investigate having a crossing guard at the bottom of the school driveway
• There has been no word so Anne will follow-up on this request with the city

Policy 703 – Positive Learning & Working Environment

• Available on the District website
• The school is required to produce another report related to this policy
Athletics
• Anne expressed appreciation to Alan for attending a school basketball game
• Anne also asked Alan to pass on praise for Alex Yaychuk in his role as athletic director
• Mitch requested that Nasis implement Grade level teams instead of the mixed levels
• Anne requested that Nasis find more opportunities for students to participates in athletics
Student Survey

• Mitch would like us to implement a student survey to compliment our new SIP
• Mitch & Alan are going to work on developing this
School Web Site

• Nasis was granted DEC supplementary funding to redesign the school website
• Mitch reported that the district is going to be providing support for school websites in the coming school year
• All members present agreed that it doesn’t make sense for us to spend the time and money for the web design since we will be able to receive support from the district in the near future
• Carol will look into whether the DEC supplementary funding can be repurposed
PSSC Chairs Meeting

• 21st century learning discussed, student voice considered as part of this
• Recycling programs are inconsistent, some schools do, some schools don’t
• STEM expo coming up in March, Alan will speak to Science teachers to see if there is interest
• April 16/17 - Educating Today for Tomorrow
Agenda Building

• Tracey Grattan requested that Alan report on the school budget at a future PSSC meeting
Next Meeting/Meeting Adjournment

Next Meeting: March 15 @ 7:00pm

Meeting was adjourned at 8:25pm

April Meeting Date

2010-04-06T08:27:00.001-07:00

Please be advised that our meeting date for April is the 13th, not the 6th as stated on the Blog.

PSSC Meeting Minutes

2010-03-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Meeting Minutes
2010-01-11

Attendees:
Pat Campbell
Alan Atkins
Tracy Allen
Carol Coleman (DEC)
Mitch Claybourn
Don Richardson
Tracey Grattan
Sherry Thomson
Shauna Miller
Andrew Rowe
Mary Rowe (FofNMS)
Heather Touchie-Blakely

Guests:
n/a
Regrets:

Anne Small
John MacKenzie

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm.
Approval of Minutes

Motion to accept the minutes from December by Don, seconded by Sherry.

Call for Agenda Items/Approval of Agenda

Additional Items (identified prior to the meeting):
· Snow Plows/Removal [Mitch]
· Friends of NMS Amendments to Constitution Issues [Mitch]
· Teacher communication home regarding curriculum and how parents can support the learning outcomes at home [Sherry]

Additional Items (added at meeting)
· PSSC Communication [Andrew]
· Report on Achievement [Tracy]
Friends of NMS Update – Mary Rowe
Election
5 nominations were received for the 3 positions of co-chairpersons
Elections will take place on January 13 & 14
The results of the election will be announced at the Annual General Meeting of Friends, which will be held on January 18th
Recent Accomplishments
13 volunteers assisted with supervision at the Christmas dance
Friends decorated the office for Christmas
Friends Constitution
Amendments to the Friends constitution have been proposed
Mitch had initially been concerned about how this was communicated but Mary offered clarification and explained that, although neither the constitution nor the amendments were circulated to all Friends members, there was an email sent out to the Friends’ email list which indicated that the amendments had been proposed and identified the website where more information could be obtained

On behalf of the PSSC, Sherry acknowledged the current executive of Friends for their contributions over the past two years.
D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep

The first meeting of the DEC for the new year will take place on Thursday, January 14
There will be a meeting of PSSC chairpersons on January 21@6:30pm
Carol mentioned that she is involved in meetings regarding the First Nations Enhancement Initiative, where programs are under development to specifically address needs of first nations students
Action Item Follow-up

Action Item: Alan to arrange for communication home reminding folks about the designated sidewalk area.

Update: Carry-forward. Alan asked for some clarification on what type of information the PSSC would like to have communicated and will take care of this in the near future.

Action Item: Alan to bring a sample of the misconducts.

Update: See ‘Behaviour Tracking’ below.

Action Item: Mitch will contact the police to invite them to come to the next PSSC meeting to facilitate planning this event.

Update: Mitch spoke to Jan Smith but she was unable to attend this meeting. She is very interested in assisting us and will either attend our next meeting or find another representative from the police department who can come speak with us.
Behaviour Tracking (Action Item Follow-up)

Alan handed out two behaviour tracking forms to the group. The yellow form is used by school teaching teams to track minor behaviour issues. In the situation where a misconduct is severe, or there are several less severe issues recorded by the team, the pink tracking form is used. This form is designed to collect data that can subsequently be entered into a software product for behavior tracking that is provided by the district.

Sherry asked which behaviours had the highest rate of occurrence. Alan indicated that bullying was by far the biggest issue and that this mostly takes place outside, on the school grounds.

Alan explained that when pink forms are submitted, parents of both the victim(s) and the perpetrator(s) are contacted. He also explained that at principals’ meetings, statistics generated from the data provided on these forms are review and that Nasis is currently down in incidents reported.

Shauna asked about what information is passed on to high schools as students move on to Grade 9. Alan explained that teachers send the high school individual reports on each Grade 8 student and staff from our school also participate in transition meetings with high school Methods & Resource/Guidance to share information about students that may need extra support upon entering high school. The actual discipline files are not passed on, but are kept here at the school and are available for high schools to refer to, if the need arises.
School Improvement Plan Update & Overview – Alan Atkins

The January 5 Professional Development session was used for school improvement planning. School staff were split into teams and were asked to identified what Nasis Middle is doing well and also come up with a wish list of what they would like to see. The next staff meeting, on January 13, will be used to identify a smaller working committee. Once this committee is established, the PSSC will also be given the opportunity to provide input.
Principal’s Report

Nasis has 9 basketball teams
Snow Plows/Removal

Alan will be speaking to those responsible for snow removal to ensure that they shovel out at the end of the driveway so kids can use the sidewalk beside the driveway. He also explained that we are in need of a path for kids to enter the school after getting off the school buses.
Teacher Communication Home Regarding Curriculum

Alan proposed to talk to teachers regarding sharing team ‘year plans’ with parents. Members agreed that this would be very beneficial and help parents better support the learning outcomes at home.

Action Item: Alan will speak to teachers regarding the proposal to share year plans with parents and will bring back recommendations to the PSSC at the next meeting.
Report on Achievement

Tracy expressed concerns about the numbers reported in the school’s Report on Achievement, which was sent home before Christmas. Although Nasis Middle students are doing well with reading, writing and Math scores suggest there are some issues to overcome.

Sherry asked what the school does with this information. Alan indicated that Nasis is implementing standardized Math and Language Arts testing at the school to help diagnose school-specific weakness and address them. He also mentioned that the Department of Education is currently in the process of changing the Math & Literacy (Writing & Reading) curriculums. In addition, the school has literacy and math mentors who are working directly with marginal students.

Carol mentioned that the DEC will be discussing assessments and what the district will be doing to address identified problems at upcoming meetings. She encouraged members to attend the meetings to hear these discussions.

Action Item: Alan to post an invitation on the school website for parents to see their children’s assessment results.
PSSC Communication

Andrew feels that we as a PSSC need to improve our communication to our school community. The PSSC website has incorrect information about our meeting dates and he suggests that we should be doing a better job at advertising our meetings, especially when we have special guests attending (e.g. Mike O’Brien, city councilor).

Members also identified issues with not receiving meeting minutes and agendas in a timely manner. Tracy suggested that we specify a timeline for each of these to be published, to help those responsible manage their time accordingly. It was agreed that meeting minutes should be circulated to members no later than two weeks after the meeting and that meeting agendas should be sent out at least one week before the meeting.

Members reviewed the published meeting dates and adjusted them to be more consistent, following the ‘1st Monday of the month’ rule, when feasible. Dates for the remaining PSSC meetings are as follows:
Monday, February 1, 2010 Monday, March 8, 2010 Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010 Monday, June 7, 2010

Don Richardson kindly offered to take minutes at the February 1 meeting.
Miscellaneous
Youth Blast
Mitch was promoting the city sponsored ‘Youth Blast’ events taking place at Nasis Middle on Saturdays between 8:00pm and 10:15pm
These are for middle & high school kids & the cost is $4
Kids spend 1 hour in the fieldhouse and 1 hour in the pool
H1N1 Clinic
Shauna acknowledged Nasis Middle for being very supportive and welcoming to public health staff when they were at the school offering H1N1 immunization
Next Meeting/Meeting Adjournment

Next Meeting: February 1 @ 7:00pm

Meeting was adjourned at 8:25pm

PSSC Meeting Minutes

2010-03-15T06:14:00.000-07:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Meeting Minutes
2010-02-15

Attendees:
Don Richardson
Tracey Grattan
Tracy Allen
Carol Coleman (DEC)
Andrew Rowe
Pat Campbell
Alan Atkins
John MacKenzie
Mitch Claybourn
Anne Small
Heather Touchie-Blakely

Guests:
n/a
Regrets:

Sherry Thomson
Shauna Miller

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:10pm.
Approval of Minutes

Don identified two updates to the minutes from January. Tracy recirculated the minutes and they were approved via email by Alan and Mitch.
Call for Agenda Items/Approval of Agenda

Additional Items (identified prior to the meeting):
· Side Walk Barriers [ Alan]
· Policy 703 [Alan]
· Student Survey [Mitch]
· School Web Site [Mitch]
· PSSC Chairs Meeting [Mitch]

Additional Items (added at meeting)
· n/a
Friends of NMS Update – Alan
Election
Approximately 40 people voted
New co-chairs are Janice MacFarlane, Cindy Chase, Mary Martin
D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep

PSSC Chair Meeting
Well attended
Discussion of whether the supplementary funding be discontinued due to limited funding and size of requests but the chairs felt that the application for funds was still valuable
Carol suggested that they will probably have the same amount of money but try to cover one major project per year and then divvy up the remainder between other schools

Premier’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
Carol encouraged us to submit a nomination for this award
Members are to forward names to Mitch and Alan by Wednesday, February 17 so they can submit a nomination
School Improvement Plan Update & Overview – Alan Atkins

A committee of 9 school staff members was finalized February 15
Monday, March 8 will be the first meeting of the committee
PSSC & students will be invited in after this meeting
The final SIP will be no longer than 3 pages
Alan will review the current SIP to see if there are items to carry over to the new plan
Principal’s Report

Synervoice
Alan is requesting that the PSSC budget be used to cover the cost of synervoice
This is very valuable, especially in terms of calling home regarding attendance
The proposed school magnets are cost prohibitive
Mitch asked the group if we support synervoice – all present agreed
Miscellaneous Items
Hoping to replace the lights in the theater
The school raised $4500 for ‘Help for Haiti’
Discipline numbers are down significantly from this time last year. Alan feels this is directly related to positive things happening in the school
Position for Grade 6 Math teacher has been filled
Grade 7 classes going to the Legion
January 26/27 – teachers attended ‘Stepping Out’, language arts program aimed at integrating LA into all subject areas, training 1/3 of the staff each time
January 28 – school social, 150 in attendance
February 1 – meeting with the City Police to work on development of a ‘Policemen’s Challenge’, looking at doing this in May
Junior Achievement presentations
Geography challenge
Haiti talent show & other fundraisers
Interim Reports went home on Friday, February 12
Teacher’s Appreciation lunch last Friday put on by Friends of NMS
Students are participating in a UNB Wellness survey

Computers in the class
Alan expressed concern over the aging computers within the school
He is encouraged by positive talks about the 21st century learner
Anne expressed a desire to see a provincial-wide IT strategy
Action Item Follow-up

Action Item: Alan to arrange for communication home reminding folks about the designated sidewalk area.

Update: See side walk barriers discussion below.

Action Item: Mitch will contact the police to invite them to come to the next PSSC meeting to facilitate planning this event.

Update: Mitch indicated that Jan couldn’t make this meeting but hopes to make the meeting in March. Carry forward.

Action Item: Alan will speak to teachers regarding the proposal to share year plans with
parents and will bring back recommendations to the PSSC at the next meeting.

Update: Looking at rolling out the sharing of the year plans in September. Mitch also requested information on the sports schedule be sent home at the same time.

Action Item: Alan to post an invitation on the school website for parents to see their children’s assessment results.

Update: There is still an embargo on some of the results, so Alan can’t share these results at this point in time. Carry forward.

Side Walk Barriers

The district had extra money and agreed to purchase the requested side walk barriers to line the school driveway
35 new barriers are already there and we are expecting 50 extra in April to extend the barriers from the street to the school
Tracy Allen asked if we had ever heard anything back on our request to the city to investigate having a crossing guard at the bottom of the school driveway
There has been no word so Anne will follow-up on this request with the city

Policy 703 – Positive Learning & Working Environment

Available on the District website
The school is required to produce another report related to this policy
Athletics
Anne expressed appreciation to Alan for attending a school basketball game
Anne also asked Alan to pass on praise for Alex Yaychuk in his role as athletic director
Mitch requested that Nasis implement Grade level teams instead of the mixed levels
Anne requested that Nasis find more opportunities for students to participates in athletics
Student Survey

Mitch would like us to implement a student survey to compliment our new SIP
Mitch & Alan are going to work on developing this
School Web Site

Nasis was granted DEC supplementary funding to redesign the school website
Mitch reported that the district is going to be providing support for school websites in the coming school year
All members present agreed that it doesn’t make sense for us to spend the time and money for the web design since we will be able to receive support from the district in the near future
Carol will look into whether the DEC supplementary funding can be repurposed
PSSC Chairs Meeting

21st century learning discussed, student voice considered as part of this
Recycling programs are inconsistent, some schools do, some schools don’t
STEM expo coming up in March, Alan will speak to Science teachers to see if there is interest
April 16/17 - Educating Today for Tomorrow
Agenda Building

Tracey Grattan requested that Alan report on the school budget at a future PSSC meeting
Next Meeting/Meeting Adjournment

Next Meeting: March 15 @ 7:00pm

Meeting was adjourned at 8:25pm

Minutes December 09

2010-01-14T11:11:00.002-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Meeting Minutes
2009-12-07

Attendees:
Pat Campbell
Alan Atkins
Tracy Allen
Carol Coleman (DEC)
Mitch Claybourn
Anne Small
Don Richardson
Tracey Grattan
Sherry Thomson
John MacKenzie
Guests:
Mike O’Brien, City Councilor
Regrets:

Shauna Miller
Andrew Rowe

Heather Touchie-Blakely

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm.
Approval of Minutes

Motion to accept the minutes from November by Sherry, seconded by Anne.
Friends of NMS Update – Alan Atkins

Munchie Table – November 12/13
Firefighters Challenge – November 19
H1N1 Clinic – November 25
Healthy Eating initiative – Taco Soup
Upcoming: Christmas Dance – December 17th
Nominations for Friends of NMS: Dec 7-11; Elections: Jan 13
D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep

Traffic Issue

Carol raised our concern with the D.E.C., they are sympathetic to our cause.
PSSC Orientation

This was successful, areas of discussion included
Supplemental Funding

Our request for funding was approved but the notice has not been received by the school yet.
Action Item Follow-up

Action Item: Mitch will invite a representative from the police and the city councilor for the school zone to attend a PSSC meeting to discuss this concern about school traffic patterns.

Update: Mike attended the meeting and was presented with our concerns regarding the traffic load at the bottom of the school driveway in the mornings. Mitch provided statistics collected on November 6th. Mike committed to look into getting a crossing guard.

Alan reported that he and Gary have a line on some surplus jersey barriers from the Smart Center. Alan took the opportunity to request that Mike also influence these negotiations.

Action Item: Carol will bring the issue of safety of pedestrians along the driveway forward at the next D.E.C. meeting.

Update: Done

Action Item: Alan to arrange for communication home reminding folks about the designated sidewalk area.

Carry forward

Action Item: Alan will arrange for communication home regarding availability of milk.

Update: Done December 7

School Improvement Plan Update & Overview – Alan Atkins

The school is conducting annual Math testing and will start Language Arts testing as well.

In relation to the SIP goal of providing a Positive Learning Environment, Alan noted that there has recently been an increase in involvement of students and a decrease in misconducts.

Action Item: Alan to bring a sample of the misconducts.

Alan explained that his goal is to have the new SIP ready by March. Alan plans to invite parents from the PSSC and the school community to provide input.
The current SIP is status quo while we’re working on the new SIP.

Agenda Building: PSSC to provide input in the new SIP, related to student involvement
Principal’s Report

Take your child to work
Write Traits in service PD for Language Arts – November 4
Report Cards – November 9
Soccer Tournaments – October
Friends NMS AGM - November 4
Remembrance Day ceremonies – November 10
Friday Frenzy (celebration for top sellers in fund raiser) – November
Float in Santa Claus parade
Healthy Eating Day – November 26
Student & Teacher Perception surveys done, still getting parent surveys back
Christmas Concert – December 2
Leo Hayes Band – November 30
Junior Achievement Presentation to Grade 7

Anne requested an update on the handling of situations of abuse of cell phones:
School has not been confiscating phones but has relaxed the rules, allowing students to use them before and after school hours
Schools have been instructed not to look at any phones

Call for Agenda Items/Approval of Agenda

Additional Items (identified prior to the meeting):
· Proposal for education evening for parents, to speak about drugs, planning session for next meeting (Dec)
· Tell Them From Me: review last year’s data at next meeting (Dec)
· Snow Plows/Removal

Parent Education Evening – Drugs

All agreed that we should move forward with this issue. Mitch suggested that we contact the city police for input. It was suggested that we also invite parents of Grade 5 parents from the feeder schools for NMS.

Action Item: Mitch will contact the police to invite them to come to the next PSSC meeting to facilitate planning this event.

Alan would like to bring the city drug dog into the school to check lockers. Alan is proposing that the school do extensive communications leading up to this to ensure parents are well informed.
Tell Them From Me

Alan distributed a Tell Them From Me report from May 3, 2009.

Highlights:
Participation in Sport & Clubs both low, which is influencing the SIP goals
Snow Plows/Snow Removal

Mitch mentioned that last year the end of the driveway got very narrow. Mitch suggested that some form of indicator be placed so that the plows have a target for width.

Alan also mentioned that there are issues with students crossing the traffic circle twice. Alan mentioned that they would like to divert the walking traffic away from the traffic circle.

Agenda Building: Teacher communication home regarding curriculum and how parents can support the learning outcomes at home. [Sherry]
Next Meeting/Meeting Adjournment

Next Meeting: January 11 @ 7:00pm
Meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm

Minutes - November 2009

2010-01-14T11:11:00.001-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Meeting Minutes
2009-11-02

Attendees:
Andrew Rowe
Alan Atkins
Tracy Allen
Carol Coleman (DEC)
Mitch Claybourn
Anne Small
Don Richardson
Heather Touchie-Blakely

Sherry Thomson
Regrets:

Shauna Miller
Pat Campbell

Tracey Grattan
John MacKenzie

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:10pm.
Approval of Minutes

Motion to accept the minutes by Anne Small, seconded by Andrew Rowe
Friends of NMS Update – Andrew Rowe

Andrew distributed a written update from the Friends of NMS to the group. Highlights of Friends activities include:
· Approximately $9500 in profits from book fairs to be used to build classroom libraries
· Corn boil was huge success
· Firefighters Challenge next big event (Thursday, November 19)
· Friends are providing a ‘Munchie Table’ for teachers during parent/teacher interview time (November 12 & 13)
· Friends nominations for co-chairs accepted from December 7 through 11 with elections to take place on January 13, 2010
D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep

PSSC Orientation
The PSSC Orientation held October 22nd was poorly attended, therefore the D.E.C. has organized another Orientation event for November 19 @ 6:30pm at Kingswood Lodge.

Supplemental Funding
The D.E.C. has reviewed the sixteen supplemental funding requests that were received. There is a meeting on November 12 to make decisions on how to distribute the $5000 of available funding. The D.E.C. is considering alternatives to the current method of distributing this supplemental funding. This will be a discussion item at the PSSC Orientation.
Action Item Follow-up

Action Item: Tracy to prepare & submit application for supplemental PSSC funding [2009-09-28]

Update: The supplemental funding request was submitted on November 15. It is currently under review by DEC (see above).

Action Item: Mitch will invite a representative from the police and the city councilor for the school zone to attend a PSSC meeting to discuss this concern about school traffic patterns. [2009-09-28]

Update: Mitch provided the ‘Crossing Guard Location Guidelines’ and is proposing that we determine whether or not we meet the criteria. The area in question is the bottom of the front driveway.

New Action Item: Mitch will prepare a grid for counting (to track traffic, pedestrians crossing driveway, pedestrians using sidewalk by driveway). Don & Mitch will meet Friday morning to take the first count. After collecting the usage information, Mitch will set up a meeting with the city to present the request. If the request does not move forward, we will invite Mike O’Brien to the next meeting to discuss other options.

Action Item: Mitch will invite Wanda Bauer to attend a future PSSC meeting to discuss this request for barriers along the school driveway. [2009-09-28]

Update: Mitch provided a copy of email correspondence between Alan & Wanda Bauer. This email indicates that there is currently a budget freeze.

New Action Item: Carol will bring the issue of safety of pedestrians along the driveway forward at the next D.E.C. meeting.

Action Item: All PSSC members are requested to contribute ideas to Mitch for ensuring the continued safety of students walking along the school driveway. [2009-09-28]

Update: Anne proposed using spring loaded pylons in lieu of concrete barriers. She felt these might be more cost effective and could easily be removed for snow removal. Alan felt that the daily setup & removal would not be practical during the winter months. This continues to be an area of significant concern to the PSSC.

New Action Item: Alan to arrange for communication home reminding folks about the designated sidewalk area.

Action Item: Alan to work on communication/promotion to students to let them know that they can get subsidized milk and consider options for making this more accessible. [2009-09-28]

Update: A milk vending machine has been installed. The school has also arranged for a separate line-up in the cafeteria for milk, cookies & various baked goods. Grade 8 students assist with staffing this additional line. Sherry requested that communication go home regarding this new service.

New Action Item: Alan will arrange for communication home regarding availability of milk.
Ideas for subsequent PSSC agenda items include:
· Parent Involvement
· Safety Around the School
o Proposal for education evening for parents, to speak about drugs, planning session for next meeting (Dec)
· Snow Plows/Removal
· Tell Them From Me
o review last year’s data at next meeting (Dec)
· Parent/Teachers Meetings
o Same format as previous years (evening are teacher requested, first part of morning are parent requested, later part of the morning are walk-ins)
· Meet the Teacher
o Review this in May for next fall
School Improvement Plan Update & Overview – Alan Atkins

Alan provided a quick review of the SIP. Measurement of whether ideal targets have been met will be done during the school review process, which takes place next school year.

The PD on Thursday, November 12 will be focused on the SIP. Nasis will be looking at three specific areas: literacy, numeracy/science and communication. One of the January PD days will also be dedicated to SIP development. The new SIP will be a 2-3 year plan, starting at the end of this school year.
Principal’s Report
Kids now
UNB nurses are delivering this awareness program in several classes. Each class will visit 5 or 6 stations, learning about such health related topics as nutrition, self-esteem and drugs.
Magazine campaign
The magazine campaign was highly successful, resulting in about $76,000 in sales with about 1/3 coming directly back to the school.

Miscellaneous items
· Breakfast program resumed
· School safety week completed
· French & English Book fairs
· PD session October 8 & 9: Focus on literacy & numeracy
· Interim reports canceled but phone calls went out to parents of those students perceived as struggling
· Grade 7 literacy assessment Oct 19-22nd
· Halloween Dance held October 29
· Drugs confiscated from several students at the school
· Intramurals are working well
· Swimming on Mondays
· Math Mentor 2 x 2 month periods
Call for Agenda Items/Approval of Agenda

Proposed Agenda:
· PSSC Budget 2009-2010 [Mitch]
· Update School Website re: PSSC & Meeting [Mitch]
· Vending Machines [Tracy]

Action Item: Alan will look after updating the PSSC information on the school website

All agenda items carried forward to next meeting.
Next Meeting/Meeting Adjournment

Next Meeting: December 7 @ 7:00pm
Meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm

PSSC Meeting Minutes

2009-11-25T11:29:00.000-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
2009-09-28

Attendees:

Andrew Rowe Alan Atkins Tracy Allen Gary Gallant Mitch Claybourn
Shauna Miller Pat Campbell Anne Small Heather Touchie-Blakely Sherry Thomson
Tracey Grattan John MacKenzie Don Richardson Carol Coleman (DEC)
Regrets:
n/a
Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm
Welcome/Introductions

Welcome was extended to our new PSSC member, Don Richardson and our guest NMS Vice-Principal Gary Gallant.
Call for Agenda Items/Approval of Agenda

Proposed Agenda:
• Election of PSSC Chairperson & Secretary
• D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep
• Principal’s Report
• Friends of NMS Update
• D.E.C. Supplementary Funding

Additional Agenda items:
• Ease of Purchasing Subsidized Milk
• Impact of Six Day Cycle on Physical Education
• Foul Language

Motion to approve agenda by Tracy, seconded by ?
Election of PSSC Chairperson & Secretary

Mitch Claybourn elected chairperson by acclimation.
Tracy Allen elected chairperson by acclimation.
D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep
Student Voice
Carol announced that Mike Jacobs (FHS) has been elected as a student representative to server with the D.E.C. for a 1 year term.
PSSC Orientation
This year’s PSSC Orientation will take place on October 22, 2009. Further details were to be announced when available.
Supplementary Funding
Request to the D.E.C. for supplementary funding are due on October 15th.
D.E.C. Supplementary Funding

All agreed that a request for funding be submitted to redesign the school website. Mitch, Alan & Tracy agreed to work as a subcommittee to prepare & submit this request, with assistance from Gary, who is involved in supporting the current website.
Principal’s Report
School Improvement Plan (SIP)
Alan reported that the PD Day on November 12th will provide insight into developing our new SIP & setting some SMART goals. He expects the SIP to have primarily an academic focus, based on current provincial & district priorities.
Soccer Fields
The two lower soccer fields are closed for repair.
Morning Traffic Patterns
Alan explained that he received a call from the District regarding concerns raised about morning traffic congestion on Carrington Lane. The first attempt at rectifying this situation involved both the bus & car traffic proceeding around to the front of the school. This caused extreme congestion & confusion in the traffic circle at the front of the school. The current solution is to have all bus traffic, except special needs buses, stop by the pool & use the parking lot to turn around. Car traffic continues to be directed to the front of the school.

Concern was raised by parents that there is now traffic congestion & confusion on Fulton Avenue at the end of the school driveway. Several proposals for managing this congestion were raised but these require coordination with the city & police.

Action Item: Mitch will invite a representative from the police and the city councilor for the school zone to attend a PSSC meeting to discuss this concern about school traffic patterns.

Concern was raised over students walking into the school in the morning along the school driveway and the lack of sidewalk. It was reiterated that the PSSC has requested that the jersey barriers be extended along the length of the driveway. Alan indicated that this request has been passed on to the district but no funding is available at this time.

Action Item: Mitch will invite Wanda Bauer to attend a future PSSC meeting to discuss this request for barriers along the school driveway.

Action Item: All PSSC members are requested to contribute ideas to Mitch for ensuring the continued safety of students walking along the school driveway.
Meet the Teacher
The school Meet the Teacher was held on September 23, 2009. One PSSC member suggested that they found the team presentation approach much more beneficial than visiting individual teachers, mostly due to time constraints.
Events in the School Calendar
School Terry Fox Walk – September 25, 2009
French Book Fair – September 29 – October 1, 2009
Magazine Campaign – starts September 29, 2009
School Safety Week – October 5 – 9, 2009
Literacy Support
Annette Stehouwher is providing literacy support at NMS, in hopes of increasing reading competency for non-SEP students who have been identified as requiring assistance. This support will be provided in an intensive block, starting with Grade 7 students. Identified Grade 6 students will receive support after Christmas and Grade 8 students, closer to the end of the year, just prior to provincial assessments.
Friends of NMS Update
Mary Rowe reported that the Friends of NMS have refreshed the bulletin board in the front foyer of the school. It is now nicely decorated and labeled ‘What’s New at Nasis?’.
Ease of Purchasing Subsidized Milk
Shauna Miller raised concern over students being reluctant to purchase subsidized milk at the cafeteria due to line-ups at lunch. Alan communicated that student just buying milk are able to move to the front of the line but Shauna felt many may be reluctant to do this as they be seen as simply cutting in. Shauna would like to propose having a separate location for those just purchasing milk. Gary also mentioned that the school is looking into milk vending machines, however, this milk would not be subsidized.

Action Item: Alan to work on communication/promotion to students to let them know that they can get subsidized milk and consider options for making this more accessible.
Impact of Six Day Cycle on Physical Education
Concern was raised over the students not receiving adequate physical education. Alan confirmed that each student receives only two 45 minute periods of physical education per six day cycle, instead of 90 minutes/week, as was the case last year. This does not meet provincial requirements for physical education (120 minutes/week). Alan explained that the school does not have enough qualified staff to meet this requirement and even if the school did, it would mean cutting back on other valuable programs such as Art, Music, Shop, etc. Instead the school has introduced a noon-hour intramural program, has ‘Walk, Talk & Rock’ daily in the Fieldhouse, and the students also have noon-hour pool time available.
Foul Language
Concern was raised by a parent that there is a great deal of foul language heard on the school grounds. Alan indicated that there is an ongoing effort to control this. There is policy explained in the student handbook and offending students are dealt with on an individual basis, as situations arise.
Agenda Building
Ideas for subsequent PSSC agenda items include:
• Parent Involvement
• Safety Around the School
• Snow Plows
• Tell Them From Me
• Parent/Teacher Meetings
Next Meeting Date & Meeting Adjournment

Motion by Tracy, seconded by Shauna: PSSC meetings will be scheduled for the 1st Monday of each month.

The next Nasis Middle PSSC meeting will be held on Monday, November 2, 2009 @ 7:00pm.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm

PSSC Meeting Minutes

2009-11-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Meeting Minutes
2009-11-02

Attendees:
Andrew Rowe Alan Atkins Tracy Allen Carol Coleman (DEC) Mitch Claybourn
Anne Small Don Richardson Heather Touchie-Blakely Sherry Thomson
Regrets:
Shauna Miller Pat Campbell
Tracey Grattan John MacKenzie

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:10pm.
Approval of Minutes

Motion to accept the minutes by Anne Small, seconded by Andrew Rowe
Friends of NMS Update – Andrew Rowe

Andrew distributed a written update from the Friends of NMS to the group. Highlights of Friends activities include:
• Approximately $9500 in profits from book fairs to be used to build classroom libraries
• Corn boil was huge success
• Firefighters Challenge next big event (Thursday, November 19)
• Friends are providing a ‘Munchie Table’ for teachers during parent/teacher interview time (November 12 & 13)
• Friends nominations for co-chairs accepted from December 7 through 11 with elections to take place on January 13, 2010
D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep

PSSC Orientation
The PSSC Orientation held October 22nd was poorly attended, therefore the D.E.C. has organized another Orientation event for November 19 @ 6:30pm at Kingswood Lodge.

Supplemental Funding
The D.E.C. has reviewed the sixteen supplemental funding requests that were received. There is a meeting on November 12 to make decisions on how to distribute the $5000 of available funding. The D.E.C. is considering alternatives to the current method of distributing this supplemental funding. This will be a discussion item at the PSSC Orientation.
Action Item Follow-up

Action Item: Tracy to prepare & submit application for supplemental PSSC funding [2009-09-28]

Update: The supplemental funding request was submitted on November 15. It is currently under review by DEC (see above).

Action Item: Mitch will invite a representative from the police and the city councilor for the school zone to attend a PSSC meeting to discuss this concern about school traffic patterns. [2009-09-28]

Update: Mitch provided the ‘Crossing Guard Location Guidelines’ and is proposing that we determine whether or not we meet the criteria. The area in question is the bottom of the front driveway.

New Action Item: Mitch will prepare a grid for counting (to track traffic, pedestrians crossing driveway, pedestrians using sidewalk by driveway). Don & Mitch will meet Friday morning to take the first count. After collecting the usage information, Mitch will set up a meeting with the city to present the request. If the request does not move forward, we will invite Mike O’Brien to the next meeting to discuss other options.

Action Item: Mitch will invite Wanda Bauer to attend a future PSSC meeting to discuss this request for barriers along the school driveway. [2009-09-28]

Update: Mitch provided a copy of email correspondence between Alan & Wanda Bauer. This email indicates that there is currently a budget freeze.

New Action Item: Carol will bring the issue of safety of pedestrians along the driveway forward at the next D.E.C. meeting.

Action Item: All PSSC members are requested to contribute ideas to Mitch for ensuring the continued safety of students walking along the school driveway. [2009-09-28]

Update: Anne proposed using spring loaded pylons in lieu of concrete barriers. She felt these might be more cost effective and could easily be removed for snow removal. Alan felt that the daily setup & removal would not be practical during the winter months. This continues to be an area of significant concern to the PSSC.

New Action Item: Alan to arrange for communication home reminding folks about the designated sidewalk area.

Action Item: Alan to work on communication/promotion to students to let them know that they can get subsidized milk and consider options for making this more accessible. [2009-09-28]

Update: A milk vending machine has been installed. The school has also arranged for a separate line-up in the cafeteria for milk, cookies & various baked goods. Grade 8 students assist with staffing this additional line. Sherry requested that communication go home regarding this new service.

New Action Item: Alan will arrange for communication home regarding availability of milk.
Ideas for subsequent PSSC agenda items include:
• Parent Involvement
• Safety Around the School
o Proposal for education evening for parents, to speak about drugs, planning session for next meeting (Dec)
• Snow Plows/Removal
• Tell Them From Me
o review last year’s data at next meeting (Dec)
• Parent/Teachers Meetings
o Same format as previous years (evening are teacher requested, first part of morning are parent requested, later part of the morning are walk-ins)
• Meet the Teacher
o Review this in May for next fall
School Improvement Plan Update & Overview – Alan Atkins

Alan provided a quick review of the SIP. Measurement of whether ideal targets have been met will be done during the school review process, which takes place next school year.

The PD on Thursday, November 12 will be focused on the SIP. Nasis will be looking at three specific areas: literacy, numeracy/science and communication. One of the January PD days will also be dedicated to SIP development. The new SIP will be a 2-3 year plan, starting at the end of this school year.
Principal’s Report
Kids now
UNB nurses are delivering this awareness program in several classes. Each class will visit 5 or 6 stations, learning about such health related topics as nutrition, self-esteem and drugs.
Magazine campaign
The magazine campaign was highly successful, resulting in about $76,000 in sales with about 1/3 coming directly back to the school.

Miscellaneous items
• Breakfast program resumed
• School safety week completed
• French & English Book fairs
• PD session October 8 & 9: Focus on literacy & numeracy
• Interim reports canceled but phone calls went out to parents of those students perceived as struggling
• Grade 7 literacy assessment Oct 19-22nd
• Halloween Dance held October 29
• Drugs confiscated from several students at the school
• Intramurals are working well
• Swimming on Mondays
• Math Mentor 2 x 2 month periods
Call for Agenda Items/Approval of Agenda

Proposed Agenda:
• PSSC Budget 2009-2010 [Mitch]
• Update School Website re: PSSC & Meeting [Mitch]
• Vending Machines [Tracy]

Action Item: Alan will look after updating the PSSC information on the school website

All agenda items carried forward to next meeting.
Next Meeting/Meeting Adjournment

Next Meeting: December 7 @ 7:00pm
Meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm

PSSC Meeting Dates

2009-11-12T07:03:00.000-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School PSSC
Meeting Dates
2009 - 2010

October 5, 2009
November 2, 2009
December 7, 2009
January 4, 2010
February 1, 2010
March 1, 2010
April 6, 2010
May 25, 2010
June 7, 2010

PSSC Meeting Minutes - September 28, 2009

2009-11-12T07:02:00.000-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School

Attendees:

Andrew Rowe Alan Atkins Tracy Allen Gary Gallant Mitch Claybourn
Shauna Miller Pat Campbell Anne Small Heather Touchie-Blakely Sherry Thomson
Tracey Grattan John MacKenzie Don Richardson Carol Coleman (DEC)
Regrets:
n/a
Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm
Welcome/Introductions

Welcome was extended to our new PSSC member, Don Richardson and our guest NMS Vice-Principal Gary Gallant.
Call for Agenda Items/Approval of Agenda

Proposed Agenda:
• Election of PSSC Chairperson & Secretary
• D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep
• Principal’s Report
• Friends of NMS Update
• D.E.C. Supplementary Funding

Additional Agenda items:
• Ease of Purchasing Subsidized Milk
• Impact of Six Day Cycle on Physical Education
• Foul Language

Motion to approve agenda by Tracy, seconded by ?
Election of PSSC Chairperson & Secretary

Mitch Claybourn elected chairperson by acclimation.
Tracy Allen elected chairperson by acclimation.
D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman, D.E.C. Rep
Student Voice
Carol announced that Mike Jacobs (FHS) has been elected as a student representative to server with the D.E.C. for a 1 year term.
PSSC Orientation
This year’s PSSC Orientation will take place on October 22, 2009. Further details were to be announced when available.
Supplementary Funding
Request to the D.E.C. for supplementary funding are due on October 15th.
D.E.C. Supplementary Funding

All agreed that a request for funding be submitted to redesign the school website. Mitch, Alan & Tracy agreed to work as a subcommittee to prepare & submit this request, with assistance from Gary, who is involved in supporting the current website.
Principal’s Report
School Improvement Plan (SIP)
Alan reported that the PD Day on November 12th will provide insight into developing our new SIP & setting some SMART goals. He expects the SIP to have primarily an academic focus, based on current provincial & district priorities.
Soccer Fields
The two lower soccer fields are closed for repair.
Morning Traffic Patterns
Alan explained that he received a call from the District regarding concerns raised about morning traffic congestion on Carrington Lane. The first attempt at rectifying this situation involved both the bus & car traffic proceeding around to the front of the school. This caused extreme congestion & confusion in the traffic circle at the front of the school. The current solution is to have all bus traffic, except special needs buses, stop by the pool & use the parking lot to turn around. Car traffic continues to be directed to the front of the school.

Concern was raised by parents that there is now traffic congestion & confusion on Fulton Avenue at the end of the school driveway. Several proposals for managing this congestion were raised but these require coordination with the city & police.

Action Item: Mitch will invite a representative from the police and the city councilor for the school zone to attend a PSSC meeting to discuss this concern about school traffic patterns.

Concern was raised over students walking into the school in the morning along the school driveway and the lack of sidewalk. It was reiterated that the PSSC has requested that the jersey barriers be extended along the length of the driveway. Alan indicated that this request has been passed on to the district but no funding is available at this time.

Action Item: Mitch will invite Wanda Bauer to attend a future PSSC meeting to discuss this request for barriers along the school driveway.

Action Item: All PSSC members are requested to contribute ideas to Mitch for ensuring the continued safety of students walking along the school driveway.
Meet the Teacher
The school Meet the Teacher was held on September 23, 2009. One PSSC member suggested that they found the team presentation approach much more beneficial than visiting individual teachers, mostly due to time constraints.
Events in the School Calendar
School Terry Fox Walk – September 25, 2009
French Book Fair – September 29 – October 1, 2009
Magazine Campaign – starts September 29, 2009
School Safety Week – October 5 – 9, 2009
Literacy Support
Annette Stehouwher is providing literacy support at NMS, in hopes of increasing reading competency for non-SEP students who have been identified as requiring assistance. This support will be provided in an intensive block, starting with Grade 7 students. Identified Grade 6 students will receive support after Christmas and Grade 8 students, closer to the end of the year, just prior to provincial assessments.
Friends of NMS Update
Mary Rowe reported that the Friends of NMS have refreshed the bulletin board in the front foyer of the school. It is now nicely decorated and labeled ‘What’s New at Nasis?’.
Ease of Purchasing Subsidized Milk
Shauna Miller raised concern over students being reluctant to purchase subsidized milk at the cafeteria due to line-ups at lunch. Alan communicated that student just buying milk are able to move to the front of the line but Shauna felt many may be reluctant to do this as they be seen as simply cutting in. Shauna would like to propose having a separate location for those just purchasing milk. Gary also mentioned that the school is looking into milk vending machines, however, this milk would not be subsidized.

Action Item: Alan to work on communication/promotion to students to let them know that they can get subsidized milk and consider options for making this more accessible.
Impact of Six Day Cycle on Physical Education
Concern was raised over the students not receiving adequate physical education. Alan confirmed that each student receives only two 45 minute periods of physical education per six day cycle, instead of 90 minutes/week, as was the case last year. This does not meet provincial requirements for physical education (120 minutes/week). Alan explained that the school does not have enough qualified staff to meet this requirement and even if the school did, it would mean cutting back on other valuable programs such as Art, Music, Shop, etc. Instead the school has introduced a noon-hour intramural program, has ‘Walk, Talk & Rock’ daily in the Fieldhouse, and the students also have noon-hour pool time available.
Foul Language
Concern was raised by a parent that there is a great deal of foul language heard on the school grounds. Alan indicated that there is an ongoing effort to control this. There is policy explained in the student handbook and offending students are dealt with on an individual basis, as situations arise.
Agenda Building
Ideas for subsequent PSSC agenda items include:
• Parent Involvement
• Safety Around the School
• Snow Plows
• Tell Them From Me
• Parent/Teacher Meetings
Next Meeting Date & Meeting Adjournment

Motion by Tracy, seconded by Shauna: PSSC meetings will be scheduled for the 1st Monday of each month.

The next Nasis Middle PSSC meeting will be held on Monday, November 2, 2009 @ 7:00pm.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm

Agenda - September 28, 2009

2009-09-25T04:35:00.000-07:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
September 28 2009
Agenda

7:00 Call to order

Welcome / Introductions

Approval of Agenda

Election of Chair

Election of Secretary

D.E.C Report- D.E.C Rep- Carol Coleman

Principal’s Report

Supplementary Funding

New Business

Next meeting October¬¬¬ _____

Adjournment

PSSC Elections

2009-09-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

The PSSC nominations shall close at the end of the grade 8 PSSC presentation at "Meet the Teacher" on September 23 at approximately ____ pm. If an election is required, voting will start shortly there after by the Office and will end at the end of the evening, _____pm. Please see the attached nominations form
***********************************************************************************
PSSC NOMINATION FORM
(Complete and return to the Principal)

PSSC ADVISORY COMMITTEE

_____________________________________School

As a parent or guardian of a child in this school, I wish to become a candidate for election to our PARENT SCHOOL SUPPORT COMMITTEE.

_____________________________ ____________________ ____________
CANDIDATE’S NAME CANDIDATE’S SIGNATURE DATE

_____________________________
TELEPHONE NUMBER OF CANDIDATE

I have been seconded by a parent or guardian of a child in this school.

______________________________ ________________________
SECONDER’S NAME SECONDER’S SIGNATURE

Note: Candidates may be asked to make a short statement (1-2 minutes) on election night. Candidates are also encouraged to provide information about themselves, and why they are running for election. You can include this information below, or send a separate document, for posting at our school.

June 8, 2009 Minutes

2009-06-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

Minutes of Meeting
NMS – PSSC Committee Meeting
June 8th, 2009.
Attendees:
Shauna Miller Sherry Thomson Tracy Allen
Tracey Grattan Andrew Rowe Heather Touchie-Blakely
Alan Atkins (Staff) Carol Coleman (DEC Rep) John MacKenzie

Regrets: Anne Small Pat Campbell
********************************************************************************************
Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 P.M.

1. Welcome and Approval of Minutes
• Minutes of the May meeting will be combined with these minutes and distributed together.

2. D.E.C Report - Carol Coleman
• The District Education Plan for 2009 – 2013 was finalized with specific measurable targets identified. Information on this plan can be found on the DEC portal.
• Next year there will be a student on the DEC selected from the 5 Student Councils in the District.
• DEC approved the budget for next year.
• A request was made for a member of the Nashwaaksis Memorial school PSSC to attend one of our PSSC meetings. We are happy to have someone attend one of our PSSC meetings.

3. Friends of NMS Update - Andrew Rowe (for Mary Rowe)

• Friends of NMS had a Booth set up for Grade 5 Parents meeting.
• Friends held their Annual meeting and year end meeting.
• Friends are still having parents volunteering for the Grade 8 celebration/events.

4. Principal’s Report (Alan Atkins)

• To offer the Post Intensive French (PIF) which replaces the Core French in 2 years, we will move to a new 6-day cycle rather than our current 5 day schedule. To deliver the PIF there must be two blocks of instruction (80 minutes) together. The new schedule will mean that there will be 36 periods every 6 day cycle. With the 6 day cycle there is still 2 gym days. The benefit is that NMS will be able to offer an inter-mural program at lunch time due to the schedule change. The Immersion program will stay as is.
• Alan stated that he handed in the NMS Annual Report to the School Board.
• NMS received 9 awards at the recent Drama Festival.
• NMS won the UNB All Science Challenge. We should have received the second place award. Work is underway to ensure that happens.
• Grade 8 Parents presentation was well attended – 90 parents attended.
• Ottawa Trip was a success again this year.
• All students from the feeder Grade 5 schools were here for their visit prior to starting at the school in the fall.
• The St. Mary’s First Nations put on a Career Fair. NMS sent a bus load of grade 8’s to this. The Fair was interactive/hands on.
• We had our HPV inoculation for the girls.
• Hearing and vision testing were held for Grade 6 students.
• There was a good turn out for Grade 5 Parents Night. It was mostly attended by the parents of students that will go into the PIF program.
• Friends of NMS held their Annual General meeting.
• The tack and Field district competitions were held.
• The Grade 6 Science Assessment was held . The Grade 8 Math assessment is upcoming.
• The Hiking Club went to Fundy this last weekend.
• The Disabled Adults and Children conference was held here this last weekend. The group would like to make it an annual event here.
• June 17th is the Grade 8 celebration/events.
• We have not moved the recess to the lower field due to the wet weather and requirement for the track to be used for other activities.
• We will have a number of staff changes.

5. Follow up on previous action items

Student Voice – There is no additional update at this time. We are looking for 1 or 2 student representatives to participate in our PSSC meetings for the fall.

Nutrition and exams - Shauna posted a note on the blog covering meal ideas and the importance of students having a healthy breakfast and lunch before exams. A talk mail message was also sent to parents. Fruit was provided to students prior to the Grade 8 exams so the students could focus on the exams verses being distracted by being hungry.

NEW ITEMS

6. Budget
• There is a committed $2000 for the PSSC for the upcoming year.
• If applying for a grant to get a supplemental $500 from the District, we need to request it early in September.

7. Parent Involvement = Student Success!
• Increased parent involvement is known to support student success at school.
• The question was raised, what can we do as a PSSC to get more engagement of parents in the student life at NMS?
• In particular, how can we get more fathers engaged in the school? One suggestion was sponsoring either a hockey night or Indy race in the theatre. We could have a “dad’s” day – walk and talk at lunch. We need to look at non school hours for these events as well as during school hours.

Action: Andrew to schedule a visioning/planning workshop to brainstorm a number of suggestions to increase Parent Involvement in the NMS school community. During the workshop we will also look at the other SIP activities. Participants for the workshop to include Friends of NMS, PSSC members, some students and other parent volunteers.

Meeting adjourned at 8:10 P.M.

Next meeting – September 2009.

2009-06-08T04:55:00.000-07:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
June 8 2009
Agenda

7:00 Call to order
Approval of Agenda
Approval of May Minutes
D.E.C Report- D.E.C Rep- Carol Coleman
Principal’s Report
Action Item Follow-up:

– It was suggested that students be asked to attend future PSSC meetings.

– Shauna will write a note; including meal ideas, on the importance of a healthy breakfast and lunch before exams which will be added to the blog. A talk mail message will also be sent to parents. If there is money remaining from the vegetable and fruit grants it could be used to provide fruit to students who did not have a healthy breakfast.

PSSC Budget

Discussion- Parent involvement = Student Success!

New Business

Next meeting September / October

Adjournment

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin173.shtml

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http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr312.shtml

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr200.shtml

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/voice/voice094.shtml

April Meeting Minutes

2009-06-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

Minutes of Meeting
NMS – PSSC Committee Meeting
April 20, 2009

Attendees:
Anne Small Pat Campbell Shauna Miller
Sherry Thomson Mitch Claybourn John MacKenzie
Andrew Rowe Alan Atkins (Staff)

Regrets: Heather Touchie Carol Coleman (DEC Rep) Tracey Grattan Tracy Allen
********************************************************************************************
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm.

1. Welcome and Approval of Minutes
• Minutes of the March meeting were presented and approved.

2. Friends of NMS Update - Mary Rowe PSSC liaison
• See attached submitted written report.

3. D.E.C Report - Carol Coleman

• None. Carol was unable to attend the meeting.

4. Principal’s Report
o Full day vision statement workshop to be held this Thursday. The mission statement may be revised.
o NMS participated in speeches both school wide and District wide in both French and English. Alan advised that the Oratorical contest is often held at NMS
o Tony Cox, a guitarist from South Africa performed to selected school students, particularly those that play guitar.

Action: Mitch to send an electronic copy of the Parent’s Conference Planner to Alan.

o Tell them from me program. The last 1/3 of NMS students will be participating in the survey. Bullying is still an issue at the school.
o Turn around achievement awards will be held this week. Travis Augustine is the recipient of this award from NMS this year. Alan will be attending the awards event.
o Members of PSSC, Friends of NMS and Alan will be going to a meeting to see how to get more volunteers into the school. This program is being run by the DEC.
o The National under 16 boys and girls wrestling championship was held here. At one point there were 1400 people at the school. The NMS infrastructure was not sufficient to handle the large number of people. Recommendations will be brought forward including to divide large groups into two different venues. Parking was an issue.
o Parent teacher interviews were held April 8 & 9th. There were a number of no shows. The District is always looking at the number of contacts during this period including e-mail, phone calls and face to face interviews.
o Fredericton is becoming a smart city. An individual from New York was here to evaluate Fredericton as part of this competition. Of 6 NMS classes he visited, 5 of them were on the laptops. He was very impressed with the school.
o The Tatoo will be on with all the grade 8 classes. Also having a grade 7 presentation about abuse – It’s not your fault.
o Leo Hayes peer mentors are here this week on April 24th to give the grade 8’s some information on what to expect in High School.
o SIP – Positive learning environment issues; meetings will be held with students in the theatre to advise them about focusing until the end of the year.
o A team will re-write the curriculum for 2nd Step – This is an anti-bullying program in the school.
o Finishing evaluation for “D contract” teachers. Haven’t heard yet who we will be getting back to the school next year.
o On Wednesday students will be wearing green in recognition of Earth Day.

NEW ITEMS

5. Discussion: Use of outdoor areas around the school
o PSSC has endorsed the suggestion to try the large field as a trial outdoor area for the students. Moved Sherry Thomson, seconded Pat Campbell.

6. Student Improvement Plan (SIP)

• Request was made for all members of the PSSC to have a copy of the SIP so we can see how we can better support the items on the plan.

Action: Copy of SIP to be distributed to PSSC members. Discussion on this to be held at the May PSSC meeting.

7. Follow up to Previous Action Items

o The Leader in Me –Pat to provide a website address to Alan on this program so the administration can explore whether this program would be an option for NMS. Theleaderinme.org. Pat to resend the link to Alan.

o Schedule presentation on the Developmental Assets program for the PSSC. Alan to talk to the students and Valerie who attended the program.

o Alan to forward article on sexting to PSSC members and also will have it posted on the BLOG. Articles on sexting distributed at the meeting today.

o Andrew to send note to the DEC for support and direction on the cell phone policy. Completed. Received a response today. Andrew advised that the note will be on the agenda for the May 7th DEC meeting.

o Student Voice – Administration has not heard anything on this to date. Alan will forward information when he receives it.

o Alan to arrange to have information on the Green Matters essay and Earth Day hour posted on the BLOG. Completed.

Next meeting – May 11, 2009 7pm.

Friends Report to the PSSC - April 20, 2009

1. Teacher Appreciation Week- We had 20 volunteers who contributed to our luncheon on Feb. 10,2009. The teachers and staff were very appreciative of the vast amount of food our volunteers served up.

2. Feb 13,2009- We informed parents of the need for coaches at the school in part of an email we sent out, as per PSSC request.

3. Talent Show- Feb 19/20, 2009. Two of us helped with the final preparations for the Talent Show back stage. We spent Thursday and Friday organizing the kids, working with timing, calming pre performance jitters. It was a lot of fun.

4. Pink Shirt Day Feb 25, 2009- The office and hall were decorated by parent volunteers and kids as part of the national anti bullying campaign. All staff and hundreds of kids participated by wearing pink. It was a fun way to promote Anti bullying. The school was spot lighted on CBC, the Gleaner and Northside News.

5. Women's CIS Volleyball Trip- 3 parents supervised 46 students who went to UNB to watch the game.

6. Winter Carnival Feb 27, 2009- A group of parents served hot chocolate to children participating in outside activities on the 27th. We used the home ec room to heat up the hot chocolate. Special thanks to the cafeteria and to Janice MacFarlane for loaning the urns to do this with.

7. Knitting- A parent volunteer, Lynn Thibodeau has graciously offered to teach the kids to knit at lunch hour. It was on the announcements. Hopefully we will start this week.

8. Easter Decorating- We put up a few decorations in the office to make it more festive on March 26, 2009.

9. Easter Eggs- For Easter/PT interviews the teachers were treated to Easter eggs with chocolate and an inspirational quote.

10.Healthy Eating Initiative- Taco Soup- prepared Thursday April 16, 2009 in the evening and served
during the morning of the 17th. We had volunteers come out Thursday and then volunteers come out Friday. The volunteers really appeared to enjoy themselves and the kids had positive feedback on the soup.
11. Volunteer Week- This is national volunteer week. We had planned to have an event Thursday the 23rd over noon hour but have cancelled it. Due to conflicts for the time and many didn't feel they had done enough to warrant recognition, we have put this on hold. Many of our volunteers just want to help out .....

12. School Dance- April 29, 2009 will be the next school dance. An email was sent out today to volunteers regarding supervision of the event.

13. Grade 8 celebration- will get involved once information is sent out to the grade 8 parents.

May 11, 2009 - Agenda

2009-05-08T06:06:00.000-07:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
May 11 2009
Agenda

7:00 Call to order
Approval of Agenda

Approval of March 2009 Minutes

D.E.C Report- D.E.C Rep- Carol Coleman

Friends Report – Mary Rowe

Principal’s Report

Discussion: SIP update
Nutrition and exams

Action Item Follow-up:

Action: Mitch to send an electronic copy of the Parent’s Conference Planner to Alan.

Action: Copy of SIP to be distributed to PSSC members. Discussion on this to be held at the May PSSC meeting. (done)

New Business

Next meeting date: June 8 2009

Adjournment

March 25, 2009 Meeting Minutes

2009-05-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

Minutes of Meeting
NMS – PSSC Committee Meeting
March 25, 2009

Attendees:
Anne Small Pat Campbell Shauna Miller
Tracy Allen Sherry Thomson Mitch Claybourn
Andrew Rowe Alan Atkins (Staff)

Regrets: Heather Touchie Carol Coleman (DEC Rep) Tracey Grattan John MacKenzie
********************************************************************************************
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.

1. Welcome and Approval of Minutes
• Minutes of the February meeting were presented and approved with one amendment – Add follow up item - Posting of the DEC parent survey – posted on the blog. Ask parents to fill out the survey. Send out talk mail.

2. Friends of NMS Update- Vicky Patterson PSSC liaison
• See attached submitted written report.

3. D.E.C Report - Carol Coleman

• None. Carol was unable to attend the meeting.

4. Principal’s Report
o There are planned changes for northside middle schools. A driver of this change was the need to offer similar programs in all middle schools. The changes mean that over the next 3 years, around Nashwaaksis, we could have a smaller school population as some of the feeder elementary schools that have been coming here, will be redirected to other northside middle schools. Current students at NMS will be grandfathered (will complete all 3 years). It is estimated that 50 kids will be going to Devon that we usually had coming to our school. Next year we will still have 30 classrooms, however over the subsequent 2 years we will reduce overall to have an estimated 6 fewer homerooms. We will lose some funding that is based on student population. There will be staff changes.
o We are preparing for the Memphis Committee meeting – Laptop Institute. Recent budget cuts will impact the laptop program. It is unknown at this time how these cuts will impact our program.
o A geography challenge was held for grade 6.
o A committee is working on the NMS Vision statement for the school. This will be presented to the PSSC.
o A talent show was held on February 20
o The Winter Carnival was held prior to the March break.
o The anti-bullying day where kids wear pink went well.
o The Crash Test Dummies drummer spoke to the kids. City Police helped to sponsor that event.
o The field house committee announced that new bleachers will be coming. Potentially the field house will be closed for the full month of August.
o On March 11th a big challenge was held where all students and those in the school at the time chomped on an apple at once.
o Cleaning staff in the building are doing a good job and are also friendly. We received favourable comments from the district and Alex Dingwall.
o Creative Clothing came in for one lunch hour. There was a small uptake on this.
o We are completing school-wide speeches. The NMS oratorical contest is to be held on March 25th.
o The under 16 wrestling tournament will be held at NMS in May.
o The Grade 8 celebration is scheduled for June 16 or June 18. This involves a full day of activities including going to the lake, a BBQ and a dance. There will be a formal dance held.
o Food services – We are continuing to review the food being provided in the vending machines to ensure it meets nutritional guidelines. The challenge is letting the vendors know what the acceptable food items are. Usage of the cafeteria is down.

5. Follow up to Previous Action Items

• Add students to the committee on fruits and vegetables grant proposal along with Kim and Alan.

• Alan to talk to teachers about options to food rewards (i.e. in lieu of pizza parties)

• Friends of NMS to spread the word that we need coaches/more parental involvement in order to establish more school sports teams. – Friends of NMS have not met to discuss this item.

• Alan to arrange for a note on the BLOG about the DEC Parent Survey. Also a voice mail to be sent out asking parents to fill out the survey.

NEW BUSINESS:

6. Parental Involvement in NMS, in particular upcoming parent-teacher meetings
• How can we get the word out on the importance of parental involvement at the upcoming parent-teacher meetings? The concern is that the parents of the kids that need help, are not showing up at the parent-teacher interviews. We could be proactive by taking attendance at the fall meet the teacher night and then following up with the parents that were absent. Also, we could lead the parents to the classrooms after the initial meeting. An e-mail parent-family list is helpful. We could invite parents to come to some of the events (i.e. talent show, oratorical contest).

Action: The Leader in Me – Can this program be brought to NMS? Pat to provide a website address to Alan on this program.

Action: Schedule presentation on the Developmental Assets program to the PSSC.

7. Electronics Policy

• How are we doing in enforcing the cell phone policy? There are problems with students being distracted by the cell phones. There is some research from Europe there are health hazards for those under 20 using cell phones. Alan has done some research on the legal limits of administering the cell phone policy. What is being proposed is that the device be taken away from the student, put it in an envelope and then call the parent to come pick it up. We need to get the parents buy-in on this. Alan made a presentation on the approach to deal with this at the last principal’s meeting. This issue has been brought to the attention of the District and Kelly Lamrock.

Action: Alan to forward article on sexting to PSSC members and also will have it posted on the BLOG.

Action: Andrew to send note to the DEC for support and direction on the cell phone policy.

8. Talk Mail Program for NMS

Alan informed the committee that NMS will be buying the School Connects program for our Talk Mail program for the new school year.

9. District 18 new priorities

Alan informed the committee that there is a new program called Student Voice. A suggestion was brought forward that NMS participate in this. Alan advised that we will be awaiting further information on this.

Action: Bring forward this for further information/discussion at the April meeting.

10. Green Matters essay contest

There is a Green Matters essay contest as posted on the City of Fredericton website.

Action: Alan to arrange to have information on the Green Matters essay and Earth Day hour posted on the BLOG.

11. Stem Expo

An inquiry was made re NMS involvement in the Stem Expo this year. Alan informed the committee that NMS had some entries this year.

Next meeting – April 20, 2009 7pm.

Agenda - April 20, 2009

2009-04-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
April 20 2009
Agenda

7:00 Call to order

Approval of Agenda

Approval of March 2009 Minutes

D.E.C Report- D.E.C Rep- Carol Coleman

Principal’s Report

Discussion: use of outdoor areas around the school

Action Item Follow-up:

Action: The Leader in Me – Can this program be brought to NMS? Pat to provide a website address to Alan on this program
Action: Schedule presentation on the Developmental Assets program to the PSSC.
Action: Alan to forward article on sexting to PSSC members and also will have it posted on the BLOG
Action: Andrew to send note to the DEC for support and direction on the cell phone policy.
Action: Bring forward student voice for further information/discussion at the April meeting
Action: Alan to arrange to have information on the Green Matters essay and Earth Day hour posted on the BLOG.

New Business

Next meeting date: May 11 2009

Adjournment

February Meeting Minutes

2009-03-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

Minutes of Meeting
NMS – PSSC Committee Meeting
February 9, 2009

Attendees:
Tracy Allen Sherry Thomson Shauna Miller
John MacKenzie Alan Atkins (Staff) Mitch Claybourn
Andrew Rowe Carol Coleman (DEC Rep) Tracey Grattan
Heather Touchie-Blakely Pat Campbell

Regrets: Anne Small

Guests:
Mary Rowe (Co-Chair of Friends of NMS)
********************************************************************************************
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.

1. Welcome and Approval of Minutes
• Minutes of the January meeting were presented and approved

2. Friends of NMS Update- Mary Rowe for Vicky Patterson PSSC liaison
• The Annual General Meeting was held on January 13, 2009.
• As part of the fruit and vegetable grant, a fruit trifle including mixed berries, melons, peaches was provided to the students.
• Raised $190.20 at the Bake Sale. Proceeds to go to the Anti-Bullying program.
• Teacher appreciation is this week including a luncheon on Tuesday. There are 20 volunteers involved in this.
• Meeting with Alan to discuss future activities for NMS for the remainder of the year.
• Go to http://friendsofnms.blogspot.com/ for more details on the activities of the Friends of NMS

3. D.E.C Report - Carol Coleman

• Refer to attached written update from Carol Coleman for DEC activities.

4. Principal’s Report
• Alan gave an update on the school review at Barkers Point School. He indicated it was a valuable exercise for him however it was quite time consuming
• Annual General Meeting for Friends of NMS was held on
• Developmental Assets program held.
• Peter Clark reading held with Grade 6’s .
• Press conference with Microsoft signing was held. The program being offered is phase two of a three-phase plan of providing educational software packages to schools
• There were approximately 350 kids at the school dance last week. Dance was well received.
• Alan gave an update on the survey -Tell Them from Me (TTM) which is administered three times per year. This is a national survey which gives a snap shot of the student’s perspective of the school in the areas of student engagement, student wellness, and the school climate. Last week the second round of surveys was administered involving approximately 210 – 240 students. The third time that the survey will be administered this year will be in May. One observation was that the language in the survey was too advanced for grade 6’s, which might have an impact on the results. To resolve this, grade 8’s will be sitting down with the grade 6’s to help them understand the survey. From the survey results, it was recognized that NMS needs to look at how to address the below average scores in the category of participation in sports and other clubs. Some of the information from the survey will be shared with students.
• Geography Challenge to be held this week.
• As part of School Improvement Plan, teachers will be working on a vision for the school as part of the professional development days this week.
• French Immersion meeting with Alex Dingwall to be held this week.
• Variety Show is scheduled for February 20.
• The annual Winter Carnival will be held the last week before March break. As part of the carnival, the drummer from the Crash Test Dummies will be coming in to do a motivational speech (grade 7 & 8 only)

5. Follow up to Previous Action Items

Action – Alan will talk to the secretaries and guidance councillor and determine how to get the message out to the girls about the availability of these products and how to request them. COMPLETED.

Action – Shauna to advise the parent who approached her on this issue to tell his/her child to discuss this with the guidance councillor. COMPLETED.

Action: Alan to get back to Anne about a comparison of sports fees between schools. COMPLETED.
Alan did a survey of other 3 middle schools. We charge $80/student/sport. Devon charges $40/student/sport. Albert charges $50/student/sport and for varsity/JV up to $250. George Street charges $25/ student/sport and up to $250 for varsity/JV.

Action – Friends of NMS to spread the word that we need coaches/more parental involvement in order to establish more school sports teams. – Friends of NMS have not met to discuss this item.

Action – Alan to have the meetings dates noted on the BLOG. COMPLETED.

NEW BUSINESS:

6. Nutrition

Concern was raised over how NMS is adhering to the nutrition policy. There was a grant started through the Department of Wellness, Culture & Sport. The purpose of the grant was to promote students eating more fruit and vegetables. Funding is provided as a flat amount per middle school as well as an amount per student. Schools need to request yearly for the grant and provide a report of what was done with the last year’s funding. Discussion was held around what should be provided under this program.

Concern was raised that there were non-nutritional items sold as part of a fund raising event. It was identified that many other nutritional items were provided as part of the fund raising event as well.

Request that the removal of non-nutritional items from vending machines be expedited.

Action – Add students to the committee on fruits and vegetable Grant proposal along with Kim and Alan.

Action – Alan to talk to teachers about options to food rewards (i.e. instead of pizza parties).

Next meeting – March 16, 2009 7pm.

March 16, 2009 - Agenda

2009-03-10T05:02:00.000-07:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
March 16 2009
Agenda

7:00 Call to order

Approval of Agenda

Approval of February’s Minutes

D.E.C Report- D.E.C Rep- Carol Coleman

Principal’s Report

Discussion on how we can get the word out of the importance of parental involvement at the upcoming parent-teachers meetings.

Action Item Follow-up:

– Add students to the committee on fruits and vegetable Grant proposal along with Kim and Alan.

– Alan to talk to teachers about options to food rewards (i.e. instead of pizza parties).

New Business

Next meeting date: April 20th 2009

Adjournment

January 12, 2009 - Minutes

2009-02-10T06:47:00.000-08:00

Minutes of Meeting
NMS – PSSC Committee Meeting
January 12th 2008

Attendees:
Tracy Allen Sherry Thomson Shauna Miller
John MacKenzie Alan Atkins (Staff) Mitch Claybourn
Andrew Rowe Carol Coleman (DEC Rep.) Tracey Grattan
Anne Small Heather Touchie-Blakely

Regrets:
Pat Campbell
Guests:
Mary Rowe (Co-Chair of Friends of NMS)
****************************************************************************************************
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.

1. Welcome and Approval of Minutes
• Minutes of the December meeting were presented and approved with one change – Update attendees to include Heather Touchie who was erroneously missed from the list of attendees.

Action – Sherry to update the minutes and send them to Andrew for official posting onto the NMS website.

2. Friends of NMS Update- Mary Rowe for Vicky Patterson PSSC liaison
• Annual general meeting is scheduled for January 13th
• Nominations – Vicky Patterson, Mary Rowe , Mary Leo Dick – appointed as co-chairs of Friends of NMS for this year
• Go to http://friendsofnms.blogspot.com/ for more details on the activities of the Friends of NMS

3. Principal’s Report
• School improvement plan update
• Cross grade Math exam this week. Looking for a baseline. The same test will be administered at the end of year.
• Writing code prepared for all subjects (all grades)
• SIP goal – curriculum list for grade 7 teachers.
• Alan at school review at Barkers Point this week.
• Cafeteria usage – allowed some groups to go down early; basically rotating the grade levels to reduce congestion and increase usage of the cafeteria
• Signing by MicroSoft to be held on January 22nd at the school as NMS is the laptop school in the District. MicroSoft will want to see the laptop project. Minister will be here for the signing. No other details on this are available at this time.
• Attendance letters been distributed. NMS has between 10 – 15 students who do not attend regularly. NMS sends out monthly attendance letters and makes calls.
• Gr. 7 classes starting Legion tours which involves going through the museum and then attending a lecture. They also discuss freedoms that we enjoy due to the sacrifice of the veterans.
• Leo Hayes band was here performing before Christmas
• Two Christmas concerts were held involving NMS students
• Alan reviewed current staff changes. See main site for details.
• Cross diagnostic testing scheduled this week.
• HPV testing scheduled this week for girls
• Alan reported that he is attending a middle school developmental assets workshop on Friday.

4. D.E.C Report
• Questionnaire going on line this week

• Action – Alan and Carol to put a note on the BLOG about this. Also a voice mail to be sent out.

• PSSC chairs 2nd orientation meeting to be held on January 15th
• Reviewed operating budget. Supplementary funding approved as requested by various PSSC’s in the district.
• The Laptop Institute has announced that NMS is the 2009 school spotlight Award recipient. NMS is the first public institution to have been chosen as the Spotlight School.
• Refer to attached written update from Carol Coleman for additional DEC activities.

5. Follow up to Previous Action Items

• Glenda Saint report - Executive summary from Glenda Saint report distributed. Alan advised that PSSC members that they can get a copy of the full report from him.
• BLOG Update - BLOG – names have been corrected. Dates for the meeting need to be updated.
• Request to update October 2008 minutes – Protocols state that a change cannot be made to previous minutes that were approved. Correction to the previous minutes (re Home and School) noted in December 2008 minutes.

NEW BUSINESS:

6. Access to feminine protection products
• A parent requested that more efforts be made to provide access to feminine protection products for the girls.
• Currently the guidance councillor or secretary can provide these. As well most teachers have them available in the classroom.

• Action – Alan will talk to the secretaries and guidance councillor and determine how to get the message out to the girls about the availability of these products and how to request them.

7. Access to microwaves. – Particularly for students with health concerns.
• A parent brought up the suggestion to have access to microwaves, particularly for students with health concerns that need to bring in special food.
• It was reported that NMS had microwaves in the classrooms up to last year. However they were removed as they caused electrical overloads and congestion problems in the cafeteria. There is some availability of students to microwaves based on special circumstances but it depends on the teachers. This is done on a case by case basis.

Action – Shauna to advise the parent who approached her on this issue to tell his/her child to discuss this with the guidance councillor.

8. Parity of sports fees between NMS and other schools.
• A parent was inquiring about how schools set the fees for participation in sports activities. Alan stated that the individual school sets their own fees.
• There was a question about the don’t pay, don’t play policy. A concern was raised about how the school will support underprivileged kids under this policy. Alan said there is money that is available, however this is not advertised.

• Action: Alan to get back to Anne about a comparison of sports fees between schools.

9. Discussion held on how NMS could be more inclusive in school sports teams
• Similarly to last meetings discussion, there was a question raised about how NMS could be more inclusive and permit more students to have the opportunity to be on a school sports team. Similar to other schools, there tends to be a small group of students that play on most of the sports teams that represent the school. The question which was raised was, is there something that we can do to have more teams/give every student who wants to, an opportunity to play on a school team not just the more athletic students. There was a suggestion to have some developmental school teams. Unlike drama and band which is completely inclusive, sports teams have very limited spots.

Action – Friends of NMS to spread the word that we need coaches/more parental involvement in order to establish more school sports teams.

10. Schedule for upcoming PSSC meetings
• The PSSC meetings for the year will be held on Feb 9, March 16, April 20, May 11, June 8

Action – Alan to have the meetings dates noted on the BLOG.

Next meeting – February 9, 2009 7pm.

Agenda - February 9, 2009

2009-02-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

PSSC Committee Meeting
February 9 2009
Agenda

7:00 Call to order
Approval of Agenda
Approval of December’s Minutes
Friends of NMS update- Vicky Patterson
D.E.C Report- D.E.C Rep- Carol Coleman
Principal’s Report

“ Tell Them From Me” student survey results

Action Item Follow-up:

• Sherry to update the minutes and send them to Andrew for official posting onto the NMS website.

• Alan and Carol to put a note on the BLOG about this. Also a voice mail to be sent out.

• Alan will talk to the secretaries and guidance councillor and determine how to get the message out to the girls about the availability of feminine protection products and how to request them

• Shauna to advise the parent who approached her on microwave issue to tell his/her child to discuss this with the guidance councillor.

• Alan to get back to Anne about a comparison of sports fees between schools.

• Friends of NMS to spread the word that we need coaches/more parental involvement in order to establish more school sports teams.

• Alan to have the meetings dates noted on the BLOG

New Business

Next meeting date: March 13th 2009

Adjournment

December 8, 2008 Minutes

2009-01-19T11:05:00.000-08:00

Minutes of Meeting
NMS – PSSC Committee Meeting
December 8th 2008

Attendees:
Tracy Allen Sherry Thomson Shauna Miller
John MacKenzie Pat Campbell Alan Atkins (Staff)
Andrew Rowe Carol Coleman (DEC Rep.) Tracey Gratten
Mitch Claybourn Anne Small Heather Touchie Blakely (teacher rep)

Regrets: Barb Brittany

Guests:
Mary Rowe (Co-Chair of Friends of NMS)
****************************************************************************************************
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.

1. Welcome and Approval of Minutes
• Alan welcomed Barb Brittany as the new PSSC member. Minutes of the November meeting were presented and approved with minor changes.

Action – Sherry to update the minutes and send them to Andrew for official posting onto the NMS website.

2. Nomination and Election of Officers of PSSC
• Mitch Claybourn stated that after 1 ½ years he was stepping down as Chair. Only one name was brought forward for the position of Chair of the PSSC – Andrew Rowe. Andrew was appointed into the position by acclimation. Discussion was held on whether to appoint a Vice-Chair. No one volunteered for this position so there will be no Vice-Chair. In the event that Andrew is not available to attend a meeting, Alan will Chair the meeting. Sherry Thomson was appointed into the position of Secretary by acclimation.
• Alan expressed his appreciation to Mitch for his support on the PSSC and other support he has provided to the school over the years.

3. Friends of NMS Update- Vicky Patterson PSSC liasion
• Food Bank Support – more than a ton of food and monetary donations were received for the Food Bank.
• Fire Fighters Challenge - there were11 volunteers for the Fire Fighters Challenge. There was a nice write up in the Gleaner on the Challenge. Vicky expressed thanks to Tim’s who donated the coffee.
• Parent-Teacher munchie table – there were 18 volunteers who sent in food for this.
• Friends of NMS decorated the office for Christmas which the students and staff appreciated.
• Christmas dance & bake sale – to be held this week. 25 parents volunteered to bake and 4-5 volunteered to work on the table.
• New anti-bullying campaign.
• Junior Achievement program – the Grade 6 program is done. The Grade 7 program is to be done in January. First time ever, every class is participating.
• Friends of NMS was asked by another school in District 18 to use/adapt their constitution. This demonstrates that this new innovative organization works well.
• Elections – Dec 1st – nomination form posted on the blog. Forms were sent off to parents. Election date in January 12.
• See written update at http://friendsofnms.blogspot.com/ for more details as well as Appendix A.

4. Principal’s Report
• Remembrance Day celebrations went well.
• HPV immunizations were held
• CD/PD Days held.
• Field house meeting held on November 17th.
o Concern was raised over the issue of night supervision.
o Bleachers are to be replaced within the next 2 years. 75 – 85K.
o Renovations completed to date include new curtains, new floor, and new roof. There are no additional capital costs required for the field house in the foreseeable future.
• Report cards/Parent Teacher interviews were held on Wednesday and Thursday. Administration is currently gathering information and reviewing the results/stats.
• NBTA Council Day held on Nov 21st – Engaging the 21st Century kids. Theme through each generation – we can’t rely totally on technology.
• Grade 8 math assessments. Alan distributed the results of the provincial middle level mathematics assessment. 60% of students are at the appropriate and above level, NMS received the highest “in town” middle school results.
• Brent & Alan participated in threat assessment 2 training.
• Kids and parents loved the Fire Fighters Challenge.
• Parent Survey – 250 – 350 estimated returns.
• Tell Them From Me (TTFM) – Anti-bullying program held.
• Badminton Finals – Our team was the winner.
• T-Shirt/clothing sales happening this week.
• NMS teachers participated in technology conference to be held in Memphis. NMS was selected to present this summer on the laptop program from our perspective. First pubic school to be the guest speaker at this international event.
• School Improvement Plan (SIP)
• Completed survey on SIP with teachers. Reviewed progress to date. Adding more information and projects to the SIP using SMART goals. Developmental Assets – participated in this.
• January 8 & 9 Math test to be held for the whole school. This will be developmental to diagnosis/see weak spots in our curriculum. Will be doing a post-test at the end of the year.

5. D.E.C Report – Carol Coleman

• District Education Council – setting priorities exercise. Sending out a survey in January to all parents/administrators/public at large. Asking for areas of focus. Focusing on 6 main areas:
• Academic excellence (NB3)
• Diversity of academic subjects
• Focus on school culture (raising the bar as far as academic excellence, second language)
• Healthy student, healthy schools (emotional and physical aspects)
• Quality of teaching (in order to achieve certain academic goals)
• Focus on communication (parents, teachers, administrators, PSSC)

6. Action Item Follow-up
• Copy of Glenda Saint report not yet available

• Update on the UNICEF program - Collected $6000 for the UNICEF program.

• Nutrition Policy – Shauna Miller reviewed content of vending machines and provided a list of healthy options to replace items that are in non-compliance of the Nutrition Policy. Sub counter is not doing well.

• Talk mail system - Alan reported that the program, SchoolConnects is available through SynreVoice Technologies Inc. This program is used at George Street and could be a good option for NMS. Alan is exploring this further. Estimated cost would be $1500/year. There is no Rogers/Aliant preference. It goes to all phones.

• PSSC Blog Update - Main link shows last year’s committee. Alan will ask Kim to update this.

New Items

7. E-mail received from Paula Colter.
• There hasn’t been a formal Home & School tried in this school. October Minutes of PSSC should be amended to reflect that there was no formal Home & School tried at NMS, rather an informal one.

Action – Alan to have the minutes amended to reflect the nature of the Home & School activity tried at NMS.

8. Communications between teachers and students.
• Alan noted that we communicate well with our parents in many different ways. However, e-mail takes more time than anything for our teachers. E-mails between teachers & parents are trending towards being negative. Need to encourage face to face and/or phone conversations to improve communications particularly when dealing with issues.

9. Technology & French language – Tracy Allen
• Tracey asked if there was any way to guide students on research techniques on the web in French. Recognized that this is a challenge if students search in English and then translate.

Next meeting – January 12, 2009 7pm.

Appendix A
Friends of NMS Update

Food Bank
The food bank folk were shocked the amount of the donations. They said there was more than a tonne of food which, to purchase, would cost the food bank more than $2400.00. There were monetary donations as well. There was a nice write up in the Gleaner & Northside News.

Firefighter's Challenge
"Burning Down the House 2008" was November 25,2008. 11 volunteers gave their time to help with the set up and/or running of the obstacle course during the day long event. We thank Tim Horton's who organized the donation of coffee and muffins from their Main Street Store.

Parent-Teacher Interview Munchie Table
During the November 19th and 20th Parent Teacher Interviews, we were fortunate to have 18 volunteers send in food items for our "Munchie" Table. Got a lot or positive feedback from the stagg.

A few ladies went in again to help Kim with Show choir costumes.

Christmas decorating- Based on the Halloween decorating of the office’s success, the 3 co- chairs decorated the school office for Christmas.
Christmas Dance Bake Sale (close to 25)
To make the upcoming Christmas Dance (Thursday Dec. 11) a bit more festive for the kids, we will be selling some Christmas baking. As an allergy precaution, we asked that no nut products be used, and that a recipe card/ list of ingredients be included. This should add some fun to the children's night. (Proceeds from the sale will be used towards the school's Anti-Bullying campaign - which is our December need of the month).

Christmas families used to done annually at NMS, but hasn’t been done at the school for 3 years. The money from the baked items not sold at the dance will be sold over lunch break Friday and it’s proceeds will be combined with the $72.52 from the Pumpkin contest for this cause).

JA- grade six classes were done last week. Grade 7 will be done in January. First time in 31 years JA will be into the school to provide courses for all grades/classes at NMS.

Mr Atkins received an email from an elementary school in District 18 asking for permission to
use our Friends of NMS Constitution and Guidelines to use as a template for them to form a similar task based group to replace their existing Home and School. We are very flattered by their interest.
Friends of NMS Elections- Nomination Forms and Information (blogged Dec 1) sent home Dec 2-3, Voice mailed today or tomorrow. Cut off is December 12. Election date TBA January.

PSSC Meeting Dates

2009-01-13T11:39:00.000-08:00

Future dates for PSSC meetings:

February 9, 2009 - 7:00 p.m.
March 16, 2009 - 7:00 p.m.
April 20, 2009 - 7:00 p.m.
May 11, 20090 - 7:00 p.m.
June 8, 2009 - 7:00 p.m.

2008 - 2009 Parent School Support Committee

2008-12-10T05:59:00.000-08:00

Members:

Andrew Rowe (Chair)
Sherry Thomson ( Secretary)
Heather Touchie-Blakely – Teacher Rep
Tracy Allen
Barb Brittany
Pat Campbell
Mitch Claybourn
Tracey Grattan
John MacKenzie
Shauna Miller
Anne Small

Ex Officio Member:
Alan Atkins ( Principal )

DEC Representative:
Carol Coleman

December 8, 2008 - Meeting Agenda

2008-12-10T05:57:00.000-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
December 8th 2008
Agenda

7:00-7:05 Welcome Barb Brittany as new PSSC member, Approval of October’s Minutes and Approval of November’s Agenda

7:05-7:09 Nomination and Election of Officers of PSSC (chair and vice chair)

7:05-7:10 Friends of NMS update- Vicky Patterson

7:10-7:15 D.E.C Report- Carol Coleman

7:15-7:35 Principal’s Report

7:35 -7:50 Action Item Follow-up

1. Provide a copy of the Glenda Saint report to the PSSC (Alan)

2. Provide a copy of the UNICEF program to the PSSC (Alan)

3. Nashwaaksis Middle School Annual report and feedback from Diane Wilkins Provide a summary of the feedback from Diane Wilkins regarding the NMS Annual report (Alan)

4. Nutrition Policy: Policy # 18-711 and Appendix A Provide FAQ’s of different products to Alan (Shauna Miller)
Review vendor machines and advise Alan of items that are in non-compliance of the criteria and suggest options. (Shauna Miller)

5. Talk mail new soft ware (Alan) Check into the system that Leo Hayes and FHS use (Alan)

6. PSSC Blog updated (Alan)

7:50-8:20 New Agenda Additional Items (identified prior to or at the meeting)

1. Email dated November 23rd, 2008, from a parent re: home and school (Mitch)

8:20-8:30 Additional items added at meeting

Adjournment

November 10th Meeting Minutes

2008-12-10T05:37:00.000-08:00

Minutes of Meeting
NMS – PSSC Committee Meeting
November 10th 2008

Attendees:
Tracy Allen Sherry Thomson Shauna Miller
John MacKenzie Pat Campbell Alan Atkins (Staff)
Andrew Rowe Carol Coleman (DEC Rep.)

Regrets:
Mitch Claybourn Anne Small Tracey Grattan
Guests:
Mary Rowe (Co-Chair of Friends of NMS)
**********************************************************************************************************
Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm

1. Welcome, Approval of Minutes
· October’s meeting minutes were approved as presented. Moved Tracy Allen, Seconded Pat Campbell.

2. Friends of NMS update- Vicky Patterson PSSC liaison
Vicky Patterson gave an update of the Friends of NMS activities from last month. Highlights include:
Received positive media coverage in the Northside News about the Bookfair as well as many favourable calls from parents.
Held Grade 6 Welcome BBQ and Coil Boil on October 2, 2008.
Supported the Magazine Campaign
Held Scholastic French & English Book Fairs – Combined profits $6200. Proceeds to go to the purchase of books for the school and for curriculum resources for the administration.
September Need of the Month – NMS Breakfast Program – Received great response.
October Need of the Month – Fredericton Food Bank – Received hundreds of non-perishable food items.
Held first ever Jack-O-Lantern contest – Profits of $72.52 donated to the Christmas Families Fund at the school.
See written update at http://friendsofnms.blogspot.com/ for more details
Upcoming events for November include
Fire Fighters Challenge, Teacher Appreciation Lunch, Healthy Eating Initiative
Nominations for the positions of the 3 Co-Chairs will be accepted from December 1, 2008 until 3pm December 12, 2008. Nominations forms will be made available just prior to these dates and will be posted on the Blog. Elections will take place on Jan. 7, 2009 and Jan. 8, 2009.

3. D.E.C Report- D.E.C Rep- Carol Coleman
Carol Coleman gave an update from the D.E.C. Two major meetings held:
· Parents Forum held on October 16th – Objective was to gather input from education stakeholders as they develop priorities for their four-year mandate.
· Training/Orientation for PSSC Members – Communications was highlighted as a key area of focus.
Carol gave highlights from the Grade 5 and Grade 8 Mathematics Assessment:
· The briefing note provided by the Department of Education about the Grade 5 Provincial Mathematics Assessment reported that the goal of the government of New Brunswick is for 90% of students to meet or exceed the appropriate achievement level, with 20% of those at the strong achievement level. Provincially, 65% met or exceeded the appropriate achievement level in Mathematics. 68% of District 18 students achieved Appropriate or Strong Achievement.
Go to http://www.district18.nbed.nb.ca/dec.htm for minutes of the DEC meetings. Standard practice is that the meeting minutes will be posted the 1st Thursday of the month. The Podcast is posted the Friday following the DEC meeting.

4. Principal’s Report- Alan
School safety week was held on October 6 to 10. The objective of the school safety week is to help students, teachers, parents and administrators increase their awareness of the need to keep our schools safe. Activities held included fire drills, school bus evacuations, lock down drills, and school evacuation exercises.
Magazine campaign – Was down 25% from last year. This will have an impact on the programs that the school can offer.
Participated in Junior Achievement for Grade 8 (all classes).
Teacher Professional development days are scheduled for October 14 and November 10th. Will be working on school improvement plan (SIP) including incorporating SMART goals into the plan.
Held school dance on October 30th. Over 400 students went to the dance representing ¼ population. The dance went well. However, feedback from the students included the dance was too short and there was too much light.
Installed new seats in the theatre. Thanks to Mr. Springer for his efforts here.
Opened Re-connecting room on October 21st. Purpose of the room is to support students as they transition back to school who have been away for any number of reasons (i.e. sick, disciplined). Three – four students/day are using this service.
Grade 7 LA assessment is upcoming. The assessment will occur over a 3-day period. Expect to have results after Christmas.
Held Bookfares – Alan expressed his appreciation to the Friends of NMS for their great job in organizing the two bookfares.
Held Remembrance Day ceremonies on November 7th. The students were well behaved.

Action: Provide a copy of the Glenda Saint report to the PSSC (Alan)

5. Action Items Follow-up
School Improvement Plan (SIP) (Alan)
· The teaching staff have review this. A new document is expected in the new year. We are in year 2 of a 3-year plan.
Maximizing our outdoor space (Alan)
· Test of the use of new areas will be held in the spring. Students will need to go through the front door to access the new areas.

Action: Provide an update on the UNICEF program to the PSSC (Alan)

6. Nashwaaksis Middle School Annual report and feedback from Diane Wilkins- Alan

Action: Provide summary of annual report to PSSC (Alan)

7. Nutrition Policy: Policy # 18-711 and Appendix A –Alan
New criteria on nutrition was released in August and is available on the website.
Training with Chartwells was cancelled.
Question was raised – Do we provide the students adequate time to eat healthy, since it takes longer to eat healthy food verses fast food? Challenge as contractually teachers must be given 1 hour duty free. Looking at providing a Sub bar.
Concern raised that the pizza and ice cream rewards given to classrooms may be giving the wrong message. Alan will consider option options as opposed to “non nutritional” items.

Actions: Provide FAQ’s of different products to Alan (Shauna Miller)
Review vendor machines and advise Alan of items that are in non-compliance of the criteria and suggest options. (Shauna Miller)

8. Availability of qualified French speaking substitute teachers. –Alan
It is recognized that this is an issue. Retired teachers have a teaching cap of 20 days.

9. PRA Time (practical and related arts) and the Health Curriculum- Alan
Home economics is gone from the curriculum. Health is taught in PRA (some teaching time may be lost due to storm days).

10. Talk mail new soft ware- Alan
Aliant and Rogers are not compatible with the school’s software for Talk mail. We are not able to reach some parents due to the constraints.

Action: Check into the system that Leo Hayes and FHS use (Alan)

11. Dance admittance procedure-Alan
A list was posted identifying the students that were not granted admittance to the dance. There were concerns with this. A new method to be developed. The “no dance” list of students will be made available to screen attendees on the night of the dance.

12. Nomination of new Parent Rep. to PSSC
Barb Brittany was nominated and approved as a new Parent Rep. to the PSSC. Nominated by Andrew Rowe and seconded by John MacKenzie.

Action: Advise Barb of the results of the nomination (Andrew)
Advise Mitch of the results of the nomination (Alan)

13. Nomination of Officers of PSSC
As per the PSSC guidelines, nominations for the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer positions are to be held yearly. Nominations to be held at the next meeting.

Action: Send nominations to Alan by November 24th (current PSSC members)

14. PSSC Blog
The PSSC Blog is not current.

Action: Alan to have the Blog updated.

15. Inclusion of more students on Sports Teams - Shauna
Discussion held on the fact that it is always the same students on the sports teams. Is there a way to ensure better inclusion? It was recognized that this is an issue. However, no feasible alternatives to respond to this were identified, as it would need to be a policy change for all the schools.

Next Meeting – December 8th 7pm - room 200

November 10, 2008 - Meeting Agenda

2008-11-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

7:00 -7:05 Welcome, Approval of October’s Minutes and Approval of November’s Agenda

7:05-7:10 Friends of NMS update- Vicky Patterson

7:10 -7:15 D.E.C Report- D.E.C Rep-Pat Campbell

7:15 – 7:35 Principal’s Report

7:35 -7:50 Action Item Follow-up

1. School Improvement Plan ( see copy) – Alan

2. Maximizing our outdoor space- Spring-Alan

7:50–8:20 New Agenda Additional Items (identified prior to or at the meeting)

Naswaaksis Middle School Annual report and feedback from Diane Wilkins- Alan

Nutrition Policy: Policy # 18-711 and Appendix A –Alan

a) Are we in compliance?

b) Are there other ways to motivate students to action?

Availability of qualified french speaking substitute teachers. –Alan

PRA Time (practical and related arts) and the Health Curriculum- Alan

Talk mail new soft ware- Mitch

Dance admittance procedure-Alan

8:20-8:30 Additional items added at meeting

Adjournment

PSSC Minutes - October 8, 2008

2008-11-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

Attendees

Tracy Allen Mitch Claybourn Tracy Gratten
John MacKenzie Andrew Rowe Ann Small

Regrets

Sherry Thompson Pat Cambell

DEC Rep

Pat Coleman

Absent

Shauna Miller

Staff

Alan Atkins

Guests

Mary Rowe (Chair of Friends of NMS)
Mary Leo Dick (Co-chair of Friends of NMS)
Vicky Patterson (Co-chair of Friends of NMS)

Call to order
The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm
Andrew Rowe was asked to record the minutes for this meeting. To appoint the secretary at the next meeting.
Motion to approve Junes meeting minutes: moved Tracey Allen: no vote occurred as no other members were present at the June meeting other than the chair.
Agenda
The agenda was approved with the following addition:
- Update of “The Glenda Saint Report”
Friends of NMS report (Vicky Patterson PSSC liaison)
- They are a task based group with 86 volunteers at this point (62 same time last year)
- Review of activities of the parent volunteer group from June to date including: Grade 8
celebration, grade 6 BBQ, volunteer forms, needs of the month, French book fair and, Corn boil. Details on Friends of NMS Blog
School improvement plan (Mr. Atkins)
- Has been translated to “Smart language”
- 9 pages → 3-4 pages
- 3 year plan / 1year in (starting year 2)
- Copies to be emailed to members
Action Item follow up…
Spirit Committee
- Valerie (Guidance) involved
- Monthly meetings
- Motivation for students
- Activities for students
- 11 of 787 students involved
- Look to increase number of students involved
- More training in the future?
Update Friends of NMS and Home and School (Mr. Atkins)
- Had 5 meetings over the summer to finalize the Constitution and Guidelines for Friends of NMS.
(posted on the Friends of NMS Blog which is attached to the NMS Blog)
- Friends of NMS fits the needs of our school and is working well
- Home and school has been tried in the past and has failed twice
- The question was asked, why not have both groups?
We have one group working well; there is no need for a second group.
Outdoor Space
- Long term plan, “ to reduce crime by environmental design”
- More information to be provided at the next meeting
Grade 8 Celebration
- Provide parents with the information earlier in the school year that the school is planning a
celebration including a dance.
- Hope that Friends of NMS can provide the “Muscle” to pull off a successful celebration this year as they did last year.
Dividers on the walk way (Mr. Atkins)
- Only go 2/3rd way down main entrance
- Want more for safety
- Funding is the issue
Principals Report
- 787 students/44 teachers/75 staff total
- Magazine campaign ongoing
- Safety week completed
- Professional Learning Committees (PLC) next Tuesday: sharing ideas between schools
- Interim reports next week
- Report cards out November 20/21st
- Teacher hired for re-connecting room, served 150 students last year (from 1 day to 1 month) to help them with school learning. Valuable tool for all middle schools.
- Question: 701 and police check required for all coaches? Yes, athletic directors look after this.
Additional items
- DEC hosting training and orientation session for PSSC members October 28th
- “Parenting in the 21st century” 7 week course on effective parenting of teens. Mitch to email
information to members.
- After school detention program: used for discipline, not used by all teams, note sent home to
parents one day prior to detention as they have to arrange for transport home.
- Talk mail, paper communication and blog for school special events
To carry remaining agenda to next meeting
Next meeting
Monday November 10th (tentative)
Submit agenda items by November 1st
Agenda to be sent out 1 week in advance
Adjournment
Meeting ended 8:40pm

Respectfully Submitted Andrew Rowe

Next meeting - November 10, 2008 - 7:00 p.m. - Reconnecting Room - NMS

Next PSSC Meeting

2008-10-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

We will be holding our next PSSC meeting on Thursday, October 9th at 7:00 p.m. in the conference room at Nashwaaksis Middle School.

PSSC Minutes

2008-09-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
June 12, 2008

Members Present
Mitch Claybourn – Chair
Karen MacLean
Deanna Stewart-McGarry
Tracy Allen
Theresa Pyke

Ex-Officio Members:
Members Absent
Susan Knorr
Lori MacMullen – Secretary
Lisa Rousseau
Heather Touchie-Blakely – Teacher Rep
Tina Brewer

DEC Representative:
Bill Corby (Regrets)
Glenda Saint – School Performance Coach
Alan Atkins – Principal

Welcome, Approval of Minutes, Approval of Agenda

· Minutes from last meeting were not prepared for this meeting and will be reviewed and approved via email.
· ACTION: Tracy to assume responsibility for writing up minutes from May and June meetings.

Action Items Follow-up
· Spirit Committee - ACTION ITEM (Carried to June meeting): Alan to have Mary contact Mitch for an update of activities.
· UPDATE: Mitch has still not been contacted by Mary. Mary is leaving NMS for a year term at LHHS. Follow-up on spirit committee activities required in the fall.

· ACTION: A review of the TalkMail call lists will be done to ensure that the call lists reflect the current school population.
· UPDATE: The review of TalkMail has not been done yet. It is possible that a new tool, accessible to all phone services, will be available in the fall. Follow-up on home/school communication processes required in the fall.

Additional items

Initiative to improve NMS Outdoor Space
· Mitch, Tracy and Alan have been meeting to brainstorm about making better use of the outdoor space around NMS
· They have identified problem areas around the school and will be coordinating with the City and Police to make these areas more visible to reduce the amount of drug use going on
· There have also been discussions about using different areas for noon hour use to encourage more physical activity (soccer fields, tennis/basketball courts, track), which will require adjustments be made to the current supervision model and traffic patterns
· Redevelopment of other areas (e.g. the baseball field) will be discussed in coordination with the City as a long term initiative
· It was proposed and approved by the PSSC that concrete dividers beside the school driveway be extended down to the field area to ensure that people do not park there and to clearly identify an area as sidewalk for pedestrians.
· ACTION: Alan to contact Wanda ?? as the district to initiate a request for this improvement.

School-sponsored Grade 8 celebration
· As discussed in the March PSSC meeting, the school is sponsoring an informal Grade 8 celebration to be held on June 19. This will be an all day event, including a trip to Killarney Lake, a BBQ and a dance in the evening. The event has been promoted via talk mail and on the school website
· Follow-up: PSSC members request that this event be promoted earlier in the school year to ensure parents and students know and are excited about the official celebration.

Staffing shuffles
Alan discussed all the staffing shuffles that will take place this year. (?Do we want details listed here?)

Principal's report
Alan and Glenda presented the record of parent/teacher communications (re. Student progress) that took place around report card time. This, in addition to face-to-face parent teacher interviews reflect that parents are actually interacting with teachers more this term than last.

Dramafest at STU went well

An issue was taken with the message conveyed in the school production ‘Three Wishes’. In the future, the school administration, in coordination with the District, will be scrutinizing future endeavours.

6 Science Assessments, 7 Math Assessments, 8 Math Assessments were just written. Follow-up: The PSSC is requesting that there be consistent communications to parents regarding assessments, ahead of assessment dates. This year, some were communicated through the homework blog, some through the school home page, some not at all.

Nurses visited the school to do optional vision & hearing tests for Grade 6.

Jeff Whipple and Constable Jan Smith hosted a parents information session on social networking (e.g. facebook, msn). This event was poorly attended but contained very important information for parents. It was suggested that in the future, these types of events involve the students which may entice parents to attend to be supportive.
Science Fair, Band Performance, Grade 5 visits & parents have all taken place at the school over the past month.

The school Track & Field team placed second in the Districts. The top performers (i.e. those that placed in the top 6 of their event) are competing at the Provincials on June 16.

There are 30 students entering the Core Grade 6 program this fall that have gone through Grade 5 Intensive French. These children will all be together in one class but Alan is unsure how the school will be able to support them with an enriched French experience. He will be working with the District to adjust the curriculum to suit their needs.

The school track & fields days took place this week. Participation was an issue with the older grades.

Glenda's term as school performance coach is coming to an end. She feels the perception surveys illustrate that the school has made gains. We now have a concise School Improvement Plan, which will be implemented over the next year. The superintendent is responsible for follow-up moving forward, along with PSSC chair. Glenda is currently repairing her final report, which Mitch asked to be shared with the PSSC.

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
May 8, 2008

Members Present
Mitch Claybourn – Chair
Karen MacLean
Deanna Stewart-McGarry
Tina Brewer
Tracy Allen
Theresa Pyke

Ex-Officio Members:
Members Absent
Susan Knorr
Lori MacMullen – Secretary
Lisa Rousseau
Heather Touchie-Blakely – Teacher Rep

DEC Representative:
Bill Corby (Regrets)
Glenda Saint – School Performance Coach
Alan Atkins – Principal

Welcome, Approval of Minutes, Approval of Agenda

School Improvement Plan

· Alan held a staff meeting to checkpoint the SIP

Action Items Follow-up
· Spirit Committee - ACTION ITEM (Carried to June meeting): Alan to have Mary contact Mitch for an update of activities.

· ACTION: Alan to ensure that teachers who have identified students needing support for lunch are aware of the options and opportunities available to them.
· UPDATE: Alan communicated this information to all teachers

· Year end trip – The question of year end trips was discussed and the committee indicated that as these trips are being planned guidelines such as adhering to educational themes and supporting local businesses should be followed.
· ACTION: Alan to bring this information to the next staff meeting.
· UPDATE: Year end trips were discussed in the staff meeting.

· ACTION: Alan will meet with the parents interested in forming a home and school committee as well as the Friends of NMS parents to indicate that formalizing the home and school committee will be the preferred approach for 2008 – 2009 and that in conjunction with the PSSC, these two committees will form the foundation to support, encourage and enable parental involvement at NMS while at the same time allow for transparency and formality in the overall process.
· UPDATE: Alan reported that he has met with both groups and has communicated that the school supports the formation of a formal organization, with documented procedures, including the requirement for an annual election process. Alan, in agreement with Alex Dingwall, does not feel it necessary for this organization to belong to the provincial Home & School Association, as this adds extra cost to members with little benefit. However, the formalized organization will require a formalized charter, transparency in operation, financial accountability with the school handling all group finances, and formalized involvement in the PSSC by providing a representative to sit on the PSSC and report on group actions. With respect to the election process, PSSC members felt that this would be most inclusive if it were held in the fall. Alan indicated that the interested parties wanted to run the election before the end of the school year, which is similar to the timing of a formal H&S election. The main concern of the PSSC was that this did not give incoming Grade 6 parents an opportunity to participate, meaning that only approx 1/3 of the school’s parents were considered as potentials for the executive. All parents would be able to participate as volunteers during the school year.

Additional items

Continuing Problems with TalkMail
· Concern was raised over the accuracy of the TalkMail call lists and how effective this tool is at reaching a reasonable portion of the school community
· Although it was acknowledge that many homes do not use Aliant services and therefore do not benefit from TalkMail, it will be continued for the time being
· ACTION: A review of the TalkMail call lists will be done to ensure that the call lists reflect the current school population.

Meeting Schedule

· Thursday, June 12 (Agenda Planning for 2008 – 2009, with meeting starting at 6:30pm and including supper)

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
April 10, 2008

Members Present
Mitch Claybourn – Chair
Lori MacMullen – Secretary
Karen MacLean
Tina Brewer
Tracy Allen
Theresa Pyke
Heather Touchie-Blakely – Teacher Rep

Ex-Officio Members:
Members Absent
Susan Knorr
Lisa Rousseau
Deanna Stewart-McGarry

DEC Representative:
Bill Corby (Regrets)
Glenda Saint – School Performance Coach
Alan Atkins – Principal

Welcome, Approval of Minutes, Approval of Agenda

School Improvement Plan

· Alan provided the committee with an overview of the activities underway in the school relating to the school improvement plan including;
· School Leadership & Communications
o Team meetings, curriculum meetings, staff meetings are being held often and regularly
o The teacher handbook has been updated, consolidated and provided to all teachers – will continue to evolve and be renewed.
o The student handbook also continues to evolve and is provided to all students an parents each year
o More classroom walk thru’s are planned however getting them done is proving to be problematic
o Interim reports are now in place for each term

Second Step (anti-bullying program)

· Second Step is an approach to bullying based on a more positive proactive approach – teaching kids empathy, how to be a good friend, etc. versus a focus more on the negative aspects.
· The program is provided in English only
· Heather Blakely Touchie indicated she found the program to be positive and effective however sometimes difficult to implement to its fullest potential

Action Items Follow-up
· Spirit Committee - ACTION ITEM (Carried to May meeting): Alan to have Mary contact Mitch for an update of activities.
· Hot Lunch Program - Based on a request from a concerned parent information with respect to the number of children who may benefit from such a program was solicited from teachers. Based on the information collected, it is estimated that there are approximately 19 children (out of the total school population of ~860) who may benefit from such a program.
· It was noted that a program to provide money to students (i.e. “Caf Cash”) is available for students who need it. This program is monitored for inappropriate use and action taken as required. The option to go to the breakfast room at lunch time is also available to students who need lunch.
· DECISION: The committee determined that the programs currently available (i.e. Caf cash, breakfast room) were sufficient to meet the needs of the students.
· ACTION: Alan to ensure that teachers who have identified students needing support for lunch are aware of the options and opportunities available to them.
· Year end trip – The question of year end trips was discussed and the committee indicated that as these trips are being planned guidelines such as adhering to educational themes and supporting local businesses should be followed.
· ACTION: Alan to bring this information to the next staff meeting.
· Grade 8 Celebration – The teachers and administration are planning a Luau and dance again this year. Events to include a BBQ, trip to Killarney Lake during the day and then a Hawaiian themed dance in the field house that evening. This event is much more cost effective than other events held in the past.
· The issue of a school supported formal has been brought up once again. The decision remains that the school will not be supporting/sponsoring a formal.

Principal’s Report
· Perception Survey – Alan and Glenda provided the results of the perception surveys undertaken in November 2007. Glenda also provided an interpretation of the results of the results from this year as compared to historical data (2006).
· Year book photos and books are complete and ready to be ordered.
· 4 students attended Stem Expo this year – Mike Smith will be taken a more active role in this next year.
· Report Cards will be distributed April 11. Parent Teacher interviews are scheduled for April 17 & 18 with same format. Information will be collected once again with respect to parent interactions prior to, during and after the formal interview times
· A leadership session is planned for teachers for the afternoon of April 18.
· A professional learning communities survey will be undertaken to see how well NMS is providing and developing professional learning communities.
· The focus for curriculum development at NMS is on writing for next year with pre and post testing with the continued development of an “NMS” approach to curriculum in each of the major areas.

Other Items
· Printing of Student’s Work at Home – some parents have expressed concern with respect to the amount of printing being requested for homework and assignments.

· Heather indicated that she, and she believed most teachers, provide options for students – email to the teacher, etc. to mitigate impact of printing at home however there will be times when it will be required.
· What is the impact of the French Second Language changes to NMS? Alan indicated that he expects it to be status quo for 2008 with student impacts minimal. It is estimated that there will be 1 late immersion class and 3 early immersion classes for the fall 2008.
· Alan reported that preliminary discussions with respect to first rounds of FTE allotments, teacher assignments, etc. have begun.
· Mitch attended the District’s PSSC dinner event and passed along thanks to the committee on behalf of district.

Friends of NMS and the Proposed Home and School Committee for 2008 – 2009
· Interest in forming a home and school committee for the 2008 – 2009 school year has been expressed by parents of Grade 6 students coming to NMS in the fall of 2008.
· In balancing the support and interest of the current Friends of NMS group, the interest of parents to form a home and school and the need to encourage and support parental involvement in the school in a formally recognized and transparent manner, the committee supported the decision of the administration to support the creation of a formal home and school committee at NMS for the 2008 – 2009 school year.
· ACTION: Alan will meet with the parents interested in forming a home and school committee as well as the Friends of NMS parents to indicate that formalizing the home and school committee will be the preferred approach for 2008 – 2009 and that in conjunction with the PSSC, these two committees will form the foundation to support, encourage and enable parental involvement at NMS while at the same time allow for transparency and formality in the overall process.

Agenda Items for Next Meeting

· Continuing problem with talk mail

Meeting Schedule

· Thursday, May 8
· Thursday, June 12 (Agenda Planning for 2008 – 2009)

Field trips
The question was asked how teachers choose what each class does for field trips. There seems to be quite a number of trips to the Bucket club.

Selection Process for Big trips (e.g. Space Camp, Ottawa trip)
There is the perception that the selection process for these trips is not always fair. It was suggested that there be a formally defined process for wait list management, and that the wait lists be made publicly available. ACTION: Alan to take a look at this for next year.

Concerns Raised by Departing PSSC Member
Frustrated and questioning if there is real interest in having parents involved at the school as volunteers. Many times offered to help but not actually called to do anything.
Issues with students being given inconsistent or no consequences for poor behaviour.
Concerns with laptop program: not use to writing notes but will need to be able to in high school; laptops in poor working order without spares; D.E.A.R. time spent on computers, not necessarily used for ‘reading’; access and use of MSN (through Facebook) during class time
Inconsistent enforcement of school rules and code of conduct
Poor follow-up from the VP’s office
Quality of homework sheets (French sheets with penciled in English)
Poor turnaround on marking tests and projects.

PSSC Committee Meeting Minutes - March 13th, 2008

2008-05-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

Members Present
Mitch Claybourn – Chair
Karen MacLean
Tina Brewer
Tracy Allen
Theresa Pyke
Heather Touchie-Blakely – Teacher Rep

Ex-Officio Members:
Alan Atkins – Principal

Members Absent
Lori MacMullen – Secretary
Susan Knorr
Lisa Rousseau
Deanna Stewart-McGarry
Glenda Saint – School Performance Coach

DEC Representative:
Bill Corby (Regrets)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Welcome, Approval of Minutes, Approval of Agenda

School Improvement Plan
• A problem solving team (including Alan & Mitch) will be struck to investigate the facilities we currently have.
• Review Second Step (anti-bullying)
o Are teachers finding it valuable?
o Keaghan did a PD session on “One-to-One”

Action Items Follow-up
• TTFM – this information has been posted on the monitor however it is still not on the BLOG.
• Spirit Committee - ACTION ITEM: Alan to have Mary contact Mitch for an update of activities.
• Fundraising for G White – Mitch to check with the parent and get back to Alan if the family wants this sort of attention/assistance. Due to the storms and March Break the Winter Carnival fundraising event was not able to take place.
• Year end trip – Trips should stick to educational themes. Alan to raise the year end trip issues at the next staff meeting.
• Grade 8 Celebration – The teachers and administration are planning a Luau and dance again this year. Events to include a BBQ, trip to Killarney Lake during the day and then a Hawaiian themed dance in the field house that evening. This event is much more cost effective than other events held in the past. Staff did it all last year, however Alan expects Friends of NMS to support and promotion this year.
• Hot Lunch program – The Healthy Minds budget is approximately $2000-$3000/year. The committee discussed bringing the issue to the teachers attention to see what percentage of the student body are affected. A memo will be circulated to them for their input. If the need is there, this initiative would be looked at to start in the fall, perhaps with the assistance of the Friends of NMS. Alan checked with the other middle schools in our area to see what they are doing. Devon use only snack foods and centrally locates at guidance area, George got out of providing snack foods and will provide cafe-cash to the students only if their parents can be reached.
Action Item: Tracey to draft the memo, Alan to circulate to the teachers.

Other Items
• Community Theatre – LHHS is looking into having a community theater built. This plan is still in the initial stages. The need is there. This was an election promise by TJ Burke. LHHS needs to get community support (letters of support)
• PRA / Home Economics – It is not a mandated part of the middle school curriculum. Funding is an issue. NOTE: if this program ended, the time could be used to supplement the phys ed time – currently it is only 90 min/week, but should be 120.

Principal’s Report
• Education announcement tomorrow re: future of French Immersion Program
• Night time travel: District has a new policy on night time travel. Due to this change, the Space Camp Trip has been modified (extended one day) in order to avoid travel at night. George St. was able to get the last day compressed in order to have students home before the “midnight deadline”.
• Laptop protocol: a new laptop protocol has been developed by Jeff Whipple. Mitch will review and then distribute to PSSC group.
• New Sound Fields: 39 classrooms have been equipped with sound field systems. The phys-ed department has experimented with 2 sound fields in Field house, however are unable to position them in a way which will work.
• Fieldhouse curtains: the curtains are ordered and are expected to be installed by the end of April or early May.
• Smartboards: the school is now equipped with 26 smartboards. (22 new plus 4 existing)
• DEC/PSSC: Reminder to all to confirm attendance to Lana Henry for the dinner next Wednesday.
• Award for Teaching: the discussion was about creating an award to recognize outstanding teachers. Who would make the nominations - Alan? PSSC? Staff? Parents? We discussed that homeroom teachers would be more likely nominated because more kids/parents know them however the M & R teachers are equally deserving (perhaps more so in some cases!) Karen Godsoe-Daigle would be a great first choice
• One-to-One Laptop Conference – 12 representatives from NMS (including 8 teachers) will be going to Memphis

Minutes of Meeting - January 10, 2008

2008-02-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
January 10, 2008

Members Present

Mitch Claybourn – Chair
Lori MacMullen – Secretary
Karen MacLean
Lisa Rousseau
Tina Brewer
Deanna Stewart-McGarry
Heather Touchie-Blakely – Teacher Rep
Tracy Allen
Theresa Pyke

Members Absent

Susan Knorr

Ex-Officio Members:

Alan Atkins – Principal
Glenda Saint – School Performance Coach

DEC Representative:

Bill Corby (Regrets)

Guests:

Jeff Whipple
Vicki Patterson
Susan MacKenzie
Colleen Thomson

7:00 – 7:05 Welcome and Introductions

7:05 – 8:30 Action Items from Previous Meeting

Developing and delivering a safe computing program based on the information from the district and the other programs.

Jeff provided an update on the initiative currently underway at Leo Hayes being developed by students for students. The plan is to have this presentation given to students.

Due to the rescheduling of the Discipline Information Session for parents in late January, Jeff has recommended that we schedule the parent information session for third week of February. Mitch also suggested that we video the session for posting on the site.

Web Site – Lisa is working on a new look and feel for the web site. Jeff is also now monitoring the number of hits to the web site – currently we are averaging 300 hits per day.

Parent – Teacher Communications: In response to previous discussions surrounding communications between teachers and parents with respect to student progress, Glenda provided stats collected from teachers over a 7 week period showing a variety of methods by which parents communicate with teachers. This information has also been provided to district office. This information will also be collected during the time before and after the second interview period.

Discussion ensued around the use of this information going forward as well as the usefulness of the mid-term report used at NMS.

Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Results: 230 students out of 825 participated in the first round of the survey with 1/3 being surveyed in February and the remaining later in the year.

Glenda provided a overview of some elements of the data collected during this session as a comparative to NMS last year (whole of year), a replica school and to other middle schools in taking the survey. It was noted that the survey is given in English.

In the various areas that were reviewed, including school climate, effective learning time, student advocacy, disciplinary climate and teachers' expectations for success, NMS scored above the replica school and scored above or on par with other participating Canadian schools.

Other areas reviewed included student wellness with NMS students scoring higher on self-esteem and lower on depression than the replica school and other Canadian schools. Anxiety problems and bullying were above the replica school but on par with other Canadian schools. In the student engagement cluster, NMS had a lower rate of participation in school sports while participation in clubs was within the range of other Canadian schools.

ACTION ITEM: Jeff will post the report to the blog where parents can download and review the results.

School Improvement Plan

Mitch provided an overview of the process by which the SIP was developed including the number of meetings, who participated, how the review committees (internal & external) were used, etc.

Alan reviewed the SIP with the objective of the discussion on the SIP was to provide the PSSC with the opportunity to comment on and add to the SIP, the priorities and the action items.

Discussion Items Included:

• Will there be an interim report for the winter term? Yes.

• Will the information provided be focused for the various grade levels, especially for the parents of the Grade 6 students? Yes

• Minutes of the PSSC meetings need to be posted for the year. Alan/Lori to coordinate this with Jeff.

• Alan explained that the delay in presenting the results of the SIP related to the wording and expectations surrounding the delivery of the Second Step Program – a curricular based anti-violence program with the intention to incorporate the content into the subject specific curriculum. Although teachers support the concept and subject, there are difficulties in integrating the content into the subject areas therefore the SIP was changed to reflect a review of Second Step as opposed to implying it would be fully adopted at NMS.

• Lisa provided comment with respect to the SIP and its presentation as being very easy to follow, easy to understand and follow. Alan indicated that this was due to the work of the committee in reviewing, refining and simplifying the material.

• Student handbook has been redeveloped and refined to a one page summary that will be used to provide a consistent set of guidelines/rules for all members of the NMS community. This summary will be provided to parents and students as part of the handbook.

• Are the assessment results from Grade 9/High School shared with NMS in order to feed into the plans for curriculum development? Yes.

• In the document "Kids Come First" there is a specific reference to inclusive education and the requirement to include a reference to inclusive education in the school improvement plan. Will there be a reference made in the NMS School Improvement Plan to inclusive education?

• In response to the Kid's Come First strategy, it was agreed that there be a reference to inclusive education in the NMS SIP

• Action: Alan to follow up with Karen Goodsoe-Daigle with respect to including a reference to this item.

Meeting Minutes - November 8, 2007

2008-01-14T06:07:00.001-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
November 8, 2007

Members Present
Mitch Claybourn – Chair
Lori MacMullen – Secretary
Karen MacLean
Tracy Allen
Lisa Rousseau
Tina Brewer

Members Absent
Susan Knorr
Theresa Pyke
Deanna Stewart-McGarry
Heather Touchie-Blakely – Teacher Rep

Ex-Officio Members:
Alan Atkins – Principal
Glenda Saint – School Performance Coach

DEC Representative:
Bill Corby (Regrets)

Guests:

7:00 – 7:05 Welcome and Introductions

7:05 – 7:10 Approval of Agenda
Approval of Minutes

Moved by Tracy Allen
Seconded by Tina Brewer

7:10 – 7:30 Action Items from Previous Meeting

ACTION ITEM - Alan – to provide a schedule of when the committee can expect to receive assessment results, TTFM, any other input we will get etc in order to include the discussion as agenda topics in the appropriate months.

RESPONSE: TTFM will be undertaken in groups – 1/3 before Christmas, 1/3 in the winter and 1/3 in the spring. This will provide easier administration, provide a snapshot of what is happening at the school at certain points in the year and allow the administration to better utilize the information and address areas of concern throughout the year.

Alan provided the results of the Grade 8 math assessment from June 2007 indicating that this information is being assessed by the Math teachers and will be used to develop strategies to address any areas of concern or areas targeted for improvement.

ACTION ITEM: Jeff, Mitch and Tracy to coordinate the delivery of the program for Target for early November.

RESPONSE: An information session on the 1 on 1 program was delivered by Jeff Whipple, and hosted by the Administration on Nov 1 with PSSC support. Approximately 12 -15 parents attended. The session was video taped and will be made available on the website.

ACTION ITEM: Lori & Lisa will work with Jeff to develop a safe computing program based on the information from the district and the other programs. It was recommended that this session be scheduled for January in conjunction with the planned session for students.

ACTION ITEM: The material provided by the District will be sent to the committee.

Follow up discussion from last meeting: Scheduling of parent teacher interviews and how the time can be better utilized.

Thursday evening interviews are slotted for teachers requesting interviews with Friday being allocated for parents to either request an interview during the first ½ of the morning or drop in during the latter ½ hour of the morning. The scheduling of parent teacher interviews has been discussed over the past three years. Teachers continue to work to accommodate parents as much as possible and parents continue to be encouraged to request meeting times with teachers at anytime during the year – not just at report card time.

After significant discussion, the Committee concluded that the question may be one of how to support a more proactive, welcoming approach for parents to make contact with and communicate with teachers not just around report cards but throughout the year? It was noted that many teams and teachers are using prep time (individual and team) to plan for and make contact with parents as there is currently no formal allocation in the teaching day for parent contact time beyond the formal parent teacher interviews as determined by District.

Items deferred from October:

• Posting of homework – To address the inconsistency within the school, the PSSC recommends that NMS develop a policy to require teachers to post homework regularly and consistently. The use of email as a prime communications process should also be established and communicated as policy to teachers and students.

It was noted that this issue would be addressed as part of the overall “communication with parents” discussion under the school improvement plan item scheduled for November.

School wide activities, clubs, etc. – what is available for students? Parents are not always aware of what is available, etc. and therefore cannot support or encourage their children’s participation Can we develop a list/schedule of the various options to provide to parents.

Alan provided a verbal list of the various activities available to students at NMS.

ACTION ITEM: A complete list will be documented and posted to the web site as an information item for parents.

• Connecting PSSC to the issues being discussed/addressed by the Admin team – as members of the PSSC, we are often approached by other parents with question or requesting information on a variety of issues including security activities, academic activities, etc. It was suggested that the PSSC members be cc’ed on Alan’s regular updates (via email) to staff. What are the issues, implications? What is the recommended action?

ACTION ITEM: Alan will add Mitch to the electronic weekly administrative communiqué for review and distribution to PSSC members as appropriate.

7:30 – 7:35 Announcements

• PSSC Information Session & Orientation – November 13, 2007

7:35 – 7:50 Principal’s Report

• Interim reports were sent out in October. They are now provided in a standard format for all grades and classes.

• Curriculum delivery days for both district and school based curriculum. School curriculum delivery day will focus on cross grade curricular discussions, teamwork principles, positive discipline, etc. It was noted that a communiqué to parents with respect to how the school curriculum day would be used to support teaching and learning would be very beneficial and would provide parents a better understanding of how these days are utilized.

ACTION ITEM: Alan to compile a “did you know” type communiqué on the subject of school curriculum days, what they are used for and the benefit the provide to both the teachers and the students. This information will be provided to parents via the blog and voice mail.

• Curtains have now been removed from the field house. New curtains are on order and hoped to be delivered over the Christmas break. Scheduling of activities for both NMS and other users of the facility (and therefore revenue) has been negatively impacted as a result of the delay in replacing the curtains.

• The school dance was attended by an estimated 500 students. Security was provided by a private company (significantly less cost than the city police). It was noted that there were many parents at the dance as well. Mitch provided the music as well making announcements throughout the evening relating to activities, etc. at school (sports team placement, etc.).

• Student Parent Perception Survey: The surveys were sent earlier this year and this may impact the results especially for grade 6 parents and new to the school parents.

ACTION ITEM: Alan will look into the possibility of a later send out date next year however there may be implications for the data being available for use by the school in a timely manner.

• The Remembrance Day Assembly will be held tomorrow – November 9. Due to the nature of the event it will be held in the theatre by grade level.
•
The Fireman’s Challenge will be held on November 22nd. Parents are welcome.

• Glenda provided a copy of the results of both the internal and external review process,

• It was noted that there have been an increase in the number of fires around the school, increased drug use etc. with a focus on the wooded area in front of the school.

ACTION ITEM: Mitch will draft a letter to the District and/or City indicating that the Committee is concerned about these events and would like to request that a program such as “Reduce Crime by Environmental Design” be undertaken for the school property.

7:50 – 8:20 Other Agenda Items

• The Provincial Education Strategy – Discussion with respect to the overall strategy and where we might be able to take advantage of new programs or initiatives to support the school improvement plan and our priorities.

ACTION ITEM: Committee members were asked to review the provincial education strategy prior to the next meeting as context for our discussions on the school improvement plan. Please see http://www.gnb.ca/0000/kidsfirst-e.asp.

• Enrichment Programs: What programs are available to students – both from the school and the district? We need an inventory of the programs available – along with the criteria. There are also other areas where “enriched” programs are available within the curriculum, starting in the classroom. The selection and support of enrichment programs should also be reviewed within the school improvement plan priorities. Discussion with respect to extra curricular activities versus academic enrichment would also be very helpful for this item.

Discussion: District enrichment programs are limited to selected students – if parents feel that students require or would benefit from these programs they should be directed to discuss the issue with their child’s teacher and Alan as appropriate.

It was also noted that there are a variety of enrichment activities offered both within the classroom by teachers as well as outside the classroom.

• Educational Based Fairs Is there a way to identify the various district driven fairs and expos in order to target the ones we want NMS to participate in?
• Science Fair (April) – Looking at possibility of participating this year.
• Heritage Fair – Jonathon Carrier has agreed to coordinate this.

8:20 – 8:30 Other Business

City of Fredericton is developing a youth services website and is asking for input from groups, communities, etc. with respect to what is available for youth in the city. Mitch to provide URL.

Fredkids.com will be hosting a family learning series in November – see www.fredkid.com.

Youth Blast will be starting up again this week. It runs from 8 – 10:15: 1 hour in the gym, 1 hour in the pool – every Saturday night – organized and drop-in activities. Supervised. $2 for the individual events or $4 for both.

Discussion of the School Improvement Plan was deferred to December.

Introduction of School Improvement Plan – the plan is being updated by the Admin team to reflect the results of the review process undertaken during the last school year (Note: Good material has been provided in the district orientation session relating to the School Improvement Plan and the role of the PSSC.) The discussion at PSSC will focus on the items we are directly involved with or play a role in supporting.

Meeting Minutes - October 18, 2007

2008-01-14T06:06:00.001-08:00

Nashwaaksis Middle School
PSSC Committee Meeting
October 18, 2007

Members Present
Mitch Claybourn – Chair
Lori MacMullen – Secretary
Karen MacLean
Susan Knorr
Tracy Allen
Lisa Rousseau
Tina Brewer
Theresa Pyke
Deanna Stewart-McGarry
Heather Touchie-Blakely – Teacher Rep

Members Absent

Ex-Officio Members:
Alan Atkins – Principal
Glenda Saint – School Performance Coach

DEC Representative:
Bill Corby (Regrets)

Guests:
Jeff Whipple – Technology Mentor

October – Supporting Effective Communications with Parents

7:00 – 7:05 Welcome and Introductions

Mitch provided an ice-breaking activity to help committee members get to know each other.

7:05 – 7:15 Approval of Agenda

7:15 – 7:20 Planning Document Review

Meeting Schedule: In order to address the conflict with the DEC meetings, the PSSC meetings will be held on the second Thursday of each month. The new schedule will be as follows:

• November 8
• December 13
• January 10
• February 14
• March 13
• April 10
• May 8
• June 12

Budget: The PSSC’s budget is $2400 and must be spent before March 31.

Agenda Building: The School Improvement Plan will be a standing agenda item on each meeting agenda.

ACTION ITEM - Alan – to provide a schedule of when the committee can expect to receive assessment results, TTFM, any other input we will get etc in order to include the discussion as agenda topics in the appropriate months.

Update October: Math assessment results are available now, the schedule for TTFM will be available in November.

7:15 – 7:30 Principal’s Report

• The new School Improvement Plan is currently under development with a small working group which includes Mitch. The plan will be a three year plan and will reflect the results of the internal and external reviews undertaken last year as well as input from staff and other stakeholders including PSSC. A draft plan will be provided to the group at the next meeting. Mitch provided a summary of the results of the internal and external review – an update reflecting the final results will be provided at the next meeting. The school improvement plan will reflect a number, but not necessarily all, of these items.

• Parents, teachers and students will be surveyed at the beginning of November as part of a provincial wide survey.
• Safe School Activities – a variety of activities including fire drills, lock down, evacuations, etc. were undertaken successfully.
• Student Code of Conduct – each classroom has developed a student code of conduct for the classroom using the school code of conduct
• Rev. Robert Jones provided two shows during the Harvest Jazz and Blues festival as part of the Blues in the Schools program.
• Meet the Teacher Night – Alan asked for feedback on the grade by grade approach. There was some confusion with respect to meeting the PRA teachers. This will be looked at for this year.
• Another successful Space Camp was completed in September.
• Field House – new curtains are in the process of being ordered; new bleachers have been identified as the next priority.
• Staff Changes: 2 positions will be vacant at Christmas and replacements are being looked into.
• French Book Fair – This initiative was coordinated by the Friends of NMS. Total amount raised was $10,200 of which 60% is returned to the school in books for the classrooms.
• Terry Fox Run and World Record Walk were undertaken in Sept.
• Magazine campaign underway and going well – goal is to sell $90,000 – which would put NMS in top 3 schools in Canada.
• Partners for Youth – There has been an increase in interest resulting in the need to use a selection process. Students already in the program will be considered first. The program is being delivered by Fred Connors and Michelle Cormier.
• A variety of other program including drama, music, hiking, etc., continue to be provided to students.

• Friends of NMS: Alan provided an overview of the objectives of the group and indicated that he planned to meet with them to discuss and identify possible programs and initiatives that the group may want to undertake during this year and where appropriate over multiple years. This information will be provided to the PSSC for input and comment as appropriate. Operating principles or guidelines for the group include:

• Accountability will be to Alan with respect to how the money is collected and accounted for; all money will go through the school accounting system; Alan will also work with the group to develop a list of priority projects and initiatives and will provide an update to PSSC on a regular basis.

• Band Program: Alan explained that as a result of the district eliminating funding for the band programs, the band program is now funded by a parent committee. Discussions with the band parent committee last year indicated that they felt there could be more support from the school.

• ACTION ITEM: In order to determine if the various programs in the school are receiving the support they need, the committee asked Alan to provide a list or summary of all of the extra and co-curricular activities and programs available in the school indicating if they were parent or teacher led and the amount of support provided (financial and in-kind). This summary will provide the context for further discussions.

Questions for Alan:

• What is happening with respect to the students from McAdam Ave school who participated in the Intensive French program?

• Enrichment programs are planned for these students along with other students in the class who may benefit. Alan indicated that this is a new program for NMS and will be monitored throughout the year along with what is happening in other middle schools in the district.

7:30 – 8:00 Proposed or Planned Information Sessions for Parents

• Meet the Laptop Program Night – Hosted by the Administration of the school with PSSC support – Mitch in conjunction with Gary & Jeff.

Jeff provided background on the one-to-one program (i.e. laptop program) indicating that although the government has put the current program on “hiatus” he expects that it will continue to expand. NMS currently has 570 students with laptops.

Jeff also provided some background on the concept of “21st Century Literary” referring to need to teach our students how to manage the amount of data and information available to them in order to prepare them for their future.

The question posted was do we need to schedule the meet the laptop session every year?

DECISION ITEM: The committee agreed that this event should be planned as an annual event and as early as possible in the school year. The information provided at the session should also be posted on the schools website. The session should cover both the logistics of the program as well as how the use of the laptop supports the curriculum.

ACTION ITEM: Jeff, Mitch and Tracy to coordinate the delivery of the program for Target for early November.

• Technology and Kids - Cyberspace – sponsored by PSSC - what you should know and why do you need to care?

Jeff provided an update on the district initiatives including a project with the leadership students at Leo Hayes to develop an information session on cyber security for middle school students and other initiatives undertaken during safe school week.

ACTION ITEM: Lori & Lisa will work with Jeff to develop the program based on the information from the district and the other programs. It was recommended that this session be scheduled for January in conjunction with the planned session for students.

ACTION ITEM: The material provided by the District will be sent to the committee.

• Discipline Program – an information session for Parents outlining the policy, the process and the principals around the program at NMS (i.e. problem solving, restitution, etc.) It was suggested that an outside speaker be engaged as part of this session – timing will be an issue.

Update: The District was not interested in supporting the engagement of an external speaker at this time. Notwithstanding this, the committee still sees value in holding this session – Alan will discuss this session with Mary Walton and Brent Springer as well as pursue opportunities to partner with other schools to bring in an outside speaker. The target delivery for this session will be late November.

8:00 – 8:30 Items for Discussion

• General Communications Overview – a one pager outlining the various types and means of communication used by the school and for what purposes. This should be provided to the parents as soon as possible outlining the prime and secondary forms of communication. Will we/can we downplay paper and focus on email, web and phone? What are the risks? Is there a way we can set up a hotline for parents to call in for updates, etc?

Update: This issue will be addressed in the School Improvement Plan and will be discussed in that context.

• Parent Teacher Interviews: The number of parents attending interviews is down. One problem is the difficulty to schedule during that time. Team interview versus individual interviews – what are the options - also what about bringing the child to the interview. We need to stress that individual meetings can be arranged at any time throughout the year. Let parents to know that they are available if the times of the interview are not convenient by putting an invitation in the report card letting parents know that other times are available.

Update: We need to look at how this information is being compiled, what it is being used for and is the question really how well is the school communicating with parents?

Follow up for next meeting: To discuss the scheduling of parent teacher interviews and how the time can be better utilized.

The remaining items were deferred to the November Meeting.

• Posting of homework – To address the inconsistency within the school, the PSSC recommends that NMS develop a policy to require teachers to post homework regularly and consistently. The use of email as a prime communications process should also be established and communicated as policy to teachers and students.

• School wide activities, clubs, etc. – what is available for students? Parents are not always aware of what is available, etc. and therefore cannot support or encourage their children’s participation Can we develop a list/schedule of the various options to provide to parents.

• Connecting PSSC to the issues being discussed/addressed by the Admin team – as members of the PSSC, we are often approached by other parents with question or requesting information on a variety of issues including security activities, academic activities, etc. It was suggested that the PSSC members be cc’ed on Alan’s regular updates (via email) to staff. What are the issues, implications? What is the recommended action?

Next Meeting: November – School Improvement Plan

Welcome

2007-12-21T06:18:00.000-08:00

Welcome to this site, dedicated to the workings of the Parent School Support Committee at Nashwaaksis Middle School.

Please feel free to contact an administrator of the PSSC Chair should you have any questions.