NWESCA MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, January13, 2011
Karen Arnold called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm
1) Proposed Technology Purchase- Laura Reimer
As part of our Family Friendly Initiative, NWES would like to mount a flat panel TV in
the lobby or main office area. The flat panel TV would be connected to a laptop or
computer and would run a continuous slide show containing: school and district
information, staff and student accomplishments, H&S announcements and upcoming
events, SHC information, pictures of school activities, and other information that would
benefit and welcome our visitors. Home and School would like to purchase the flat panel
TV and mounting bracket for the school at a tax-free status. H&S would consider this as
a donation to the school and not use a mini-grant for the purchase. H&S would like to
use $800.00 from the savings account to cover the costs of the two aforementioned items.
Val Orbel made a motion to approve the spending of $800.00 from savings to purchase
the flat panel TV and mounting bracket and Maureen Werner seconded. All voted in
favor.
2) Special Presentation#1: District Transportation Services- Marianne Cleary.
The Transportation Department is the second largest employee group in the NPSD and
it’s the 6th largest fleet in the State. Roughly 12,000 students are moved in a day on the
145 buses and 18 vans. So far this year the miles traveled total 655,986. The NPSD
Transportation Department is a state certified school bus drivers examining site with
three certified trainer/examiners on site, the Shop Staff has received yearly
commendations from the PA State Police for their efficiency and preparedness in getting
the fleet ready for the annual PSP inspections. We are the only school district in the State
that owns and utilizes an automated rooftop snow removal system (aka The Lambert),
designed in-house with the help of a manufacturer in Canada.
Special Presentation #2: Keystone Exams- Toni Butz
The Keystone Exams are end-of-course assessments given in specific content courses
designed to assess skill level. They were approved on January 8, 2010 with the intentions
of setting a stronger, more consistent high school graduation requirement for students
beginning with the class of 2015. The exams will rollout in two phases- the graduating
classes of 2015 and 2016 will need to show proficiency in four Keystone Exams –
English Composition, English Literature, Algebra 1 and Biology. Phase 2 will have the
graduating class of 2017 show proficiency in six Keystone Exams – two English courses
(Composition and Literature), two math courses (Algebra 1, Algebra 2 or Geometry), one
science course (Biology or Chemistry) and one social studies course (Civics, American
History or World History). The exams will include multiple choice and open-ended
response items. Each Keystone Exam should take approximately 2 to 2.5 hours to
complete, although there are no time limits for taking the Keystone Exams. The District
has several options for counting the Keystone Exams as a graduation requirement and/or
part of the course grade. However, it may not choose to completely disregard the
Keystone Exam results as a factor for graduation. At this time, NPSD has not finalized
what the impact will be for its students. Further information can be found on the PA
Dept. of Education (PDE) website at hhttp://www.pdesas.org/Assessment/Keystone.
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3) President’s Report – Karen Arnold.
Mini-Grant Program: We received another mini-grant application (see attachment to
Agenda)
The proposal for Grant #4 was presented. Mr. Sylvester made a request to purchase two
computer-based program subscriptions- BrainPOP and Ticket to Read. BrainPOP is a
program with animated videos and quizzes that can be used as instructional tools for
introducing topics, reviewing material and /or providing enrichment. The subscription will
allow one computer in each 2nd grade classroom to access this site. Ticket to Read is an
online motivational reading program that allows students to work independently on leveled
fluency and reading skills. Additionally, the students can then access this program at home.
The total amount requested was $375.00. This mini-grant met all criteria. Janet Curlee made
a motion to accept Mini-Grant #4 and Maureen Werner seconded. All voted in favor.
4) Secretary’s Report- Lynn Kulak
The minutes from November were presented. Maureen Werner made a motion to accept
the minutes and Laura Durkin seconded. All voted in favor.
5) Chair Report- Nicole Pohwat (see attached report for additional information)
Mark your calendars for the following upcoming events: Bingo Night- 1/20 and 1/21,
volunteers are still needed- contact Amy Agriss at 215-661-0639 if you are interested in
volunteering, Sixth Grade Winter Olympics 1/28, Second annual Father/Daughter dance
2/4 – keep a look out for information to come home about this event.
Read-A-Thon will kick-off with the NPHS Football Readers in February. The process of
keeping track of reading time has been streamlined; simply initialing a calendar is all
that’s required this year. We will be keeping daily totals and have them displayed in the
cafeteria. Mr. Covone has agreed to shave a whale into his hair and paint it blue if we
meet our goal of minutes read! An information packet will be sent home soon.
Spring Fest- The games portion of the event will potentially include a dunk tank. We are
looking for ideas of a feasible alternative to fill the tank since the event is scheduled for
April and it may be too cold for water.
The assembly “Ben Franklin to the Beatles” has been rescheduled for February 16 due to
the snow day yesterday.
6) Teacher’s Report – Mrs. Rumsey
Provided information by grade level about what the students have been doing during this
month of school.
Sixth Grade news: February 3 will be course selection night for incoming 7th grade
students at Pennbrook.
Home and School Correlate had a name change; it is now- Family Friendly Correlate.
There was discussion on the information parents would be interested in hearing at our
H&S meetings during the Teacher’s Report- one idea was to have a representative from
the different school correlates come out and explain what that correlate specifically
covers.
Reminder about kindergarten schedules for a 2-hour delay- Pre-January 31 AM
kindergarten reports to school, NO PM kindergarten, Post -January 31 PM kindergarten
reports to school at their normal time, NO AM kindergarten.
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7) Principal’s Report – Mr. Covone
Thank you was extended to Home and School, parents and community members for the
generous support of our school- some highlights were: Wednesday envelope
manufacturing, American Education Week, Holiday Shop, “Giving Tree” and the
Principal Story Time at Barnes and Noble. A special note of gratitude to all the NW
families for the thoughtful and generous gifts during the holidays. Thank you!
Intruder Drill- the first of two was held in December. A second drill is being planned for
the spring. Communication will come home prior to the drill.
Standardized Testing Reminders:
PSSA Math and Reading Assessments in Grades 3,4,5,and 6 = March 14 to 25, 2011
PSSA Writing Assessment in Grade 5 = March 28 to April 1, 2011.
PSSA Science Assessment in Grade 4 = April 4 to 8, 2011.
RTII- Dibels –the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills assessment was
administered to all Kindergarten today. Grades 1-3 will take the DIBELS during
February. After administering, each grade level team has a follow-up data meeting to
make instructional decisions.
Winter Weather- it is important to adhere to cold weather guidelines so that our students
can enjoy time spent outdoors. Dress your child in layers, supply a jacket or coat that can
be worn over clothing layers, and provide gloves or mittens and a hat. Thank you for
helping us keep your child safe and warm during this winter season.
Twitter is coming to North Wales Elementary- soon NWES will have its very own
Twitter feed on our school website to provide updates to our families.
Points of interest brought about from audience questions/concerns:
Barnes and Noble night brought in $444.00.
All copying should be done in-house from now on. District has provided each
elementary school with a paper budget.
A Pick-up and Drop-off procedures reminder note will be sent home.
A new parent to our school had made the suggestion of having a Town Hall Meeting
to help foster school community.
Last order of business before the meeting was adjourned- drawing of the winners of the Bring
a Friend Incentive program: Christie Mendez and Maureen Werner. Congratulations!
8) IMPORTANT DATES:
1/7 & 1/8– MLK Holiday – No School
1/20 & 1/21 – Bingo Night (6:00-6:30 PM for pizza and 6:45 PM – bingo begins)
1/24 – Kindergarten Registration Begins at ESC
1/24 – 1/28 – Art Goes to School Week at NW
1/28 – 6th Grade Winter Olympics
2/4 – Father/Daughter Dance
Meeting was adjourned at 10:04 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Lynn Kulak
Lynn Kulak
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