O’Rourke Middle School Building Council Retreat Minutes
Monday, January 28, 2008
2:45PM
 Library Classroom

Attendance:  Janet Bianchi, Patty Munsey, Suzanne Rayome, Amy Clark, Karen Shipston, Robbie Paine, Valerie Wadsworth, Lori Moore, Kate Kilmer, Judy Brinkman, Nancy Pearse, Penny McDonnell, Don Germain, Robin Gawrys

1. Review of the Minutes:  The minutes from the December 17, 2007 meeting were accepted with one correction – page 2, item 5, bullet 6 – “504 has dramatically improved in the last year…”.
2. Biennial Review:  The biennial review from the State Education Department was discussed and processed for submission.
3. Standing Committee Reports:
   1. Class Night:  An agreement has been reached to meld the Class Night and Awards Ceremonies into one evening with some significant modifications from the delivery of similar past programs.  The committee representatives will meet with building administration on February 5, 2008 to plan the evening.  Arrangements for the dance are progressing under the theme “Music of the Decades”.
   2. Health and Safety:  The H&S committee is scheduled to meet on January 29, 2008 to discuss the following items:  District and building initiatives, Safe Routes to School Grant, School Safety Report, Training and Drill Audit, traffic improvements, student survey results.  It was noted that concerns regarding the school maintenance of quality climate control were being addressed through a comprehensive analysis and intervention process, monitored by the Health and Safety Coordinator Katie Zyskowski, administration, and custodial and maintenance staff. 
   3. Committee for Academic Excellence:  The Committee for Academic Excellence will meet on January 31, 2008 to discuss honor rolls, summer school placement criteria and other items related to the pursuit of academic excellence for our students.
   4. Spirit Days:  The first in a series of building wide spirit day activities was a great success.  Others are scheduled for the future to help to continue to build a collaborative and respectful school climate.
   5. Transition Committee:  A meeting of the Transition Committee will be scheduled for the near future to discuss a historical document being created that outlines transition initiatives developed and implemented over the last few years.  From that document it is hoped that a comprehensive plan for future programs and activities will be formulated.
   6. Recommendations:  The Council agreed that consideration for spreading the work of the committees, including their meeting times, over a more reasonable time schedule is necessary.
4. Pyramid of Interventions/PAT:  The members discussed the Pyramid of Interventions, PAT team structures and related initiatives.  Many mid year course corrections are being taken to evaluate the work and redefine protocols and structures to make them more viable, student centered, etc.  It was pointed out that goal parameters have been met and exceeded to date however; this zealous agenda has caused us to further evaluate the effectiveness of these measures in the greater scheme of our work.
5. Grade 6 Spirit Day:  An overview of the conceptual nature of the 6^th grade spirit day was presented to the members.  The quarterly workshop format is designed as a team building, transition exercise for students, with incentives built in to motivate and reward them.  The workshop format, which has expanded each session, is also designed to integrate curriculum and provide for enrichment experiences above that standard curriculum.  Students choose from a wide range of workshop offerings presented by staff and parent volunteers including:  dancing and aerobics, cooking, jewelry making, arts and crafts, baby sitting certification courses, and a variety of other experiences.  The program has proven to be a great motivator and a resounding success that students look forward to each quarter.  Different ways to reward volunteers for their generous donation of time and resources, future funding, and other ideas pertaining to the program were also reviewed.
6. Parking Lot:  New signs have been purchased to help direct traffic and temporality ease some of the pains of AM drop off.  Highly visible cones with “drop off” directions have been placed by the music room doors.  Do not enter signs have been added to the East side of the lot to improve one way traffic flow through that corridor.  Other measures to improve traffic flow and safety are under consideration.
7. Cabinet Update:  The following items were discussed at the January Cabinet meeting:  ELA test administration, WAVE, Pyramid of Interventions/PAT, staffing configurations with enrollment considerations, SMART Goal progress and future planning, and final exam schedules.
8. Demerit System:  A lengthy discussion regarding the merit of our modified demerit system took place.  Overall, there are fewer students with demerits this year and fewer chronic, repeat offenders.  We also have dramatically fewer students who have exceeded their participation quotas.  However, concerns linger over how students can work off demerits and the timeliness of this process.  The workshop format for demerit reduction, four to date, has proven extremely successful, but has become a burden to our AP and Dean organizing, presenting and managing the program.  Improvements in the communication process with parents has enhanced the delivery of the program and virtually eliminated many of the appeals we have seen in the past.  This communication networks includes timely letters and phone calls, parent conferences, and immediate administrative intervention on all demerit slips that come directly to the office, to name a few.  Items that may be considered for future discussion are:  double jeopardy (do we give demerits and a consequence on referrals?), how do we make students more responsible for their choices, are there alternatives to the demerit system and do we need them, do we create and enforce an academic referral, do we need a formal restricted list, how can we be more proactive and responsive to students’ needs, etc…
9. Building Goals:  A mid year analysis of progress toward completing our building goals and SMART goals is being processed for Council review in the near future.
10. Open Agenda:  There were no items presented under the open agenda portion of the meeting.