Town of Rocky Hill
Board of Education
Page 1
TOWN OF ROCKY HILL
BOARD OF
EDUCATION
MEETING OF
Members Present: Peter Arico
Nadine Bell (Chairman)
Kirk
Bostwick
Neil Geldof
Charles
McMonigle
Francis Palazzolo
Anne Schmidt
Jennifer
Viggiano-Grosse
Members Absent: Catherine Vargas
A
meeting of the Board of Education was held on
The pledge of allegiance was recited.
Moved by
Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. McMonigle to accept the minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Mrs. Vargas should be added to the list of those in attendance.
Moved by Mr.
Bostwick, seconded by Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse to accept the minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Town of Rocky Hill
Board of Education
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Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr.
McMonigle, to accept the minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Dr. Vautour reported on
correspondence from Mr. Fell, stating that senior citizens aged 65 and older
will now be admitted free to home high school basketball games. Other correspondence referred to the school
district’s receipt of a $2,500
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
RHTA Liaison Committee
Mr. Bruno wished everyone a happy holiday, and he looked forward to working with the Board next year.
Miranda
Mooney and Derianna Fitzgerald reported from
Alex
Fulco and David Wallace,
Town of Rocky Hill
Board of Education
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about holidays around the world. Second
graders were preparing for the Dancing through the Decades program to be
presented on December 23. They were
reading about each decade, starting with 1920.
Third graders were making cursive holiday candles. They have made gifts to give their families. The fifth grade was raising money so that
they could provide Thanksgiving meals for needy families. The Mustang Service Club raised nearly $1,000
to provide Christmas gifts to the Cromwell Children’s Home. The Rising Stars visited Cold Spring Commons.
Griswold
reporter, Kevin Allegarde, reported on the sixth grade’s winter arts and music
festival scheduled for December 14. The
seventh and eight grade winter concert, with the band and chorus performing, is
to be held on December 15. The Leo’s Club
sold carnations and raised money for Fidelco.
Today was the first basketball game at the middle school, and it was
also the final day of the book fair. The
Student Council has helped six families of need. On January 18, students will take a field
trip to a concert in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The school has a new woodworking club.
Meeting Open to the Public
There was no one from the
public wishing to address the Board on any item not on the agenda.
Committee Reports
1. Personnel
and Negotiations
Mr. McMonigle reported that the Personnel and
Negotiations Committee reached a tentative agreement with the secretary
bargaining unit. They have not met to
ratify their contract. He said it was a
fair settlement and addressed concerns that both parties had.
2. Policy
No
report.
No
report.
Town of Rocky Hill
Board of Education
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4. Curriculum
Mr.
Geldof reported that the Curriculum Committee met on December 13 to preview the
curriculum related items that would impact the 2005/06 budget. New course requests, new textbook requests
and the district-wide program for enhancement of professional development were
discussed. He thanked Mrs. Boutilier for
her time and the presentation she made.
The information she presented would be valuable during the budget
workshops.
5. Professional Development
No report.
6. Facilities
Mr.
Bostwick reported that the Facilities Committee met with this evening. They discussed the RFP and RFQ process as being
put back into the Town Council’s hands to be reworked. The Committee was preparing for that
meeting.
7. Technology
No
report.
8. Transportation/Accommodations
No report.
NEW BUSINESS
9. AP
Scholar Awards
Mr. Pitocco announced that eight students were
recognized as AP Scholars for the 2003-04 school year. Four students were designated as AP Scholars,
scoring a grade of 3 or
Town of Rocky Hill
Board of Education
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higher on three or more AP exams. They were:
Sarah Basiaga, Trevor Harris, Jeremy Ross and Alan Tan. One student, Kristen Basiaga, was named as
an AP Scholar with Honor, receiving an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP
exams, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of the exams. Three students were named AP Scholars with
Distinction. Those students received an
average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams, and grades of 3 or higher on
five or more of those exams. Those
students were Lauren Colello, Haining Gong, and Julie Honan. Certificates were mailed to the students.
10. New Clubs/Activities at Rocky
Mr. Pitocco reported that since last year, there have been several new
clubs and activities initiated at the high school. Mr. Fell has coordinated student affairs, and
teachers have volunteered their efforts.
All clubs listed in the December 3 memo to Dr. Vautour have teacher
advisors who have volunteered their time.
There are eight new clubs since last year.
New activities include: the
Student Photo Wall, Looking into Theatre (January 2005), a Resident Artist,
Hard Truth Assembly (Spring 2005), and a Student Activity/Picnic Day.
Mrs. Bell thanked staff for working with the students on these
initiatives.
11. Reading Research Project
Mrs. Boutilier reported that administration has taken a more in depth
look at how they teach reading in Grades K to 12. Non-fiction is an area, which she felt the
district was not paying enough attention to.
The new CAPT test and the CMT fourth generation have a section entitled
“
Eight teachers in grades four and six will be teaching the skills
utilizing the new materials. During a
five to six month time frame, they will be asked to use the units from the
books. In return for utilizing the
materials, they will be able to keep classroom sets of the material. Other teachers will be teaching non-fiction
the way they did in the past. The
district will be given ten classroom sets of the materials, as well as an
additional credit of $450 for each of nine classes to be used for other
projects by the Zaner-Bloser Company or for the purchase of those materials
next year.
Town of Rocky Hill
Board of Education
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Dr. Vautour commented that the district would be receiving almost
$10,000 worth of material for the benefit of the students and will be moving
the reading comprehension program forward as a result.
12 Competitive Grant Summary
Mrs. Boutilier provided an update on the grants that teachers have been
applying for. Six competitive grants
have recently been given to the school district. Rocky Hill has received funds from the
Enhancing Education Through Technology federal grant
for Smart board technology training.
Marlene Grower has received a Sister School Partnership Grant in the
amount of $2,700, for participation in activities with students from
Four fourth grade teachers from
The district has already received a $76,000 grant to be used for
professional development in the area of elementary mathematics.
Mrs. Boutilier reported that the district has also submitted an
application for a $61,000 grant to the State for use by the high school to form
the Connecticut Education Network, which will allow the district to develop
faster internal communications. Some of
the equipment the district will be able to purchase will alleviate the
bottleneck that is occurring. Rocky Hill
will be involved in the initiative with
13. Public Act 04-181
Dr. Vautour reported that Public Act 04-181 requires school districts
to now have criminal background checks conducted on all school nurses. Criminal checks have been completed on all
school nurses. All new hires, including
volunteers, coaches and secretaries must now have criminal background checks.
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Board of Education
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14. Superintendent of Schools’ Contract
Moved by Mr.
McMonigle, seconded by Mr. Arico, that the Board of Education authorizes the
Personnel and Negotiations Committee to enter into negotiations with Dr.
Vautour for the purpose of discussing his continued employment beyond
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Mrs.
Bell noted the many programs going on at the schools. Budget workshops will be held, starting in
January. Budgets will be delivered on
January 7, and they will be available at the office for the public. Mrs. Bell invited the public to attend the
workshops. She thanked Mr. Turansky and
Donna Wadstrup who have been putting the budget together.
Moved by Mr. Palazzolo, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to adjourn the
meeting at
FAVOR:
ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Respectfully
submitted,
Rosalie
W. O’Neill, Recording Secretary
Accepted
by: __________________________