Garden Elementary School Advisory Council Minutes

October 16, 2007

Present: John McQueen - Principal

Gabrielle O’Berry – SAC Chairperson

Lauren Hunt - Data Coach

Theresa Butler, Aggie Harrison - Teachers

Lisa Saul - Classified

Gary Gray, Denise Mattmuller, Dot Moore – Community Members

Maria Clapp, Terry Sochacki, Victoria Stultz, John Via - Parents

JaneAnn Jennings – PTO/Volunteer/Five Star School Coordinator

1) Welcome/Introduction of New Members: Mrs. O’Berry welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked each member to introduce him/herself. New teacher representative, Theresa Butler, was welcomed. Mrs. Butler is replacing Rachel Hallman.

Maria Clapp, Terry Sochacki, and John Via attended the PALS Annual SAC Training at Laurel Nokomis School on 9/27/07. They reported that they appreciated the training and thought it was helpful.

2) A+ Monies: Mr. Skow, Faculty Leadership Council Chairperson, presented information concerning the decision from FLC’ as to the distribution of the A+ monies which totaled $62, 865. Mr. Skow reported that all representatives agreed to the following: $3,200 would go to the children to reward them for their hard work. Each student will be given a $5 voucher to use at our upcoming book fair. The rest of the funds, $59,665, will be divided equally among all Garden staff members. SAC members stated that they liked how each child would be rewarded, especially with books. SAC members also liked how each staff member was being recognized for their contributions to the Garden Elementary School community. Garden’s School Advisory Committee reached consensus with Faculty Leadership Council on how to disperse Garden’s A+ monies.

3) Budget: Gabrielle O’Berry reported on budget items. Monies spent included: New Family Orientation items @ $27.34, TeacherWeb pages @ $1,152, and Character Education incentives @ $910.10. Aggie Harrison stated that the families enjoyed the Character Education Celebration held on October 12. She also stated that she liked how Mrs. O’Berry went around to each classroom to award the responsible students personally. The whole class became a part of the celebration. Mrs. O’Berry will hold 7 more celebrations to recognize the efforts of the children displaying good character. The next celebration is for friendship and is on November 15 at 7:30 AM. Mrs. O’Berry thanked SAC for their support.

The end balance for the October 16, 2007 meeting was $7,208.38.

Joanna Davis, art teacher, submitted a request for $165. The money would be used to cover travel expenses so she could attend the annual Florida Art Education Association conference. Mrs. Davis’ request was approved. SAC members stated that Garden’s art program is an important part of our children’s lives.

4) Theresa Butler was approved by Garden’s staff to replace Rachel Hallman.

5) SIP or School Improvement Plan: Mr. McQueen reported that Garden’s School Improvement Plan has been accepted. Our school is scheduled to present the SIP to the School Board on April 15, 2008.

6) Open House: Mrs. O’Berry stated that Garden’s Open House would be on November 8. The Book/Science Fair would be going on that evening from 5:00 – 8:00 PM. The classrooms will be open as follows: 5:30 – 6:15 for

K – 2nd and 6:30 – 7:15 PM for 3rd – 5th.

7) Website: Mrs. Saul told SAC members about the website www.goodsearch.com. It will give Garden Elementary one cent each time someone uses this search engine. It will be a link on our school’s website.

8) Other:

•Five Star School Criteria: JaneAnn Jennings, Five Star School Coordinator for twelve years, reported that she had just attended the School Board meeting to pick up our Five Star School certificate for the 2006 – 2007 school year. SAC thanked Mrs. Jennings for her commitment and dedication. Mrs. Jennings will continue to compile data for SY 2007-08. Attendance at SAC meetings is a piece of the criteria, so Mrs. Jennings reminded committee members to call the office to let us know if you have an emergency and can not attend a meeting.

•Dot Moore reminded everyone to get out and vote for the penny sales tax. Dot reminded us we can vote early. She told us that the penny surtax is not a new tax. It’s a tax that funds capital improvement projects like roads, parks, and schools. The tax fills a gap caused by cuts in federal and state funds for these projects.

•Mrs. O’Berry reminded everyone about the Harvest Festival. It will be held on October 26 from 5:00 – 8:00 PM. Come on out for some great food, games, and fun!

9) Next Generation Learning; John McQueen reminded us that the five pillars of Next Generation Learning are Quality, People, Services, Resources, and Safety. He highlighted all the wonderful aspects of Garden Elementary.

Then he asked us to have a dialogue about the following questions:

What can we do for you and your child? What can we do for your school? How can we move forward together? The suggestions were written down so the Garden community could refer to them. Mr. McQueen thanked everyone for attending the forum. Many wonderful ideas and suggestions were compiled and will be addressed.

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM.

The next SAC meeting will be on Thursday,

November 15, 2007 @ 3:30 PM.

We will meet in the front conference room.

(Babysitting will be provided.)