Education Commission Meeting Minutes - January 26, 2006
Members Present:
Martha Siegel, Lisa Renken, Kim Neltner, Dick Klus, Jim Siegel, and Kevin McCabe.
Visitor:
Mary Ellen Smith (Liaison to/from PPC).
Ex Officio Members present:
Jean Margello, Father Paul Gebhardt, Michelle Heyob
1. Prayer - Father Paul opened the meeting with a prayer.
2. Announcements
Our next meeting will be March 16th. We need to get our phone numbers, etc… to Tom Bove so he can put them up on the website. Kim will get the meeting minutes to Tom so that he can also put those on the parish website.
3. Approval of minutes from November
Motion to approve the November minutes with one change - by Dick, seconded by Jim.
4. Communication from parish members
None at this time.
5. Reports
A) Father Paul
Father commented on the Futures Project. He said that OLR, St. Clare and St. Margaret Mary have announced their closings. St. Bart’s is working on consolidation with OLR and St. Clare. We have reached out to them and offered their parishioner rates for them to come to St. Vivian School. Only St. Margaret Mary has really taken us up on the offer. Lisa brought up the question, “Is our Open House extra important this year, because of this?” Lisa also wanted to know if there is concern about the closing of St. Vivian’s School in the near future. Father and Jean reassured everyone that the school is solid and that it will be another 5-6 years before we have to consider our options. Jean said that it will be in the Friday notes and in Quicklets; that people need not worry for now – things are going strong. Father Paul reported that the representatives from the CRHP group did not come to the meeting. We will try to communicate better, so that they can be here for the next meeting and we can discuss parish adult education.
B) Jodie Bender
She is not able to be here. No report.
C) Jean Margello
Jean reported that ten of the 8th graders scored in the top 40 of Roger Bacon’s entrance test. Eight students were offered Leadership Scholarships from Roger Bacon, and one received a 10,000 Academic Scholarship. One 8th grader received a scholarship to Ursuline Academy. All of the boys from St. Vivian that took the test for St. Xavier, were accepted.
Terra Nova Scores - Jean passed out papers showing the results from the Terra Nova testing, done back in October 2005. The scores get better every year, as the students get used to test taking. The second graders were strong in most areas, but Math was the “problem area”. Fourth grader’s scores were even higher. The students did very well and all are average or above in intelligence, according to their test scores. The sixth graders are also doing VERY well, with 12 students scoring above average. For these 12 students, the Reading and English programs may need supplementing. Math and Science scores were very good for the sixth grade. The Eight graders are a strong academic group! They scored very high scores. Jean passed out another paper showing the “Archdiocesan Median National Percentiles”. This shows that the longer children are in school, the higher they score on their IQ tests. This is apparent by looking at the Terra Nova results between the years of 2001 and 2005.
High School Survey - 20 surveys were turned back in. Most say that St. Vivian School prepared them well for high school except for the increase in the amount of homework. Also St. Vivian School can improve by teaching the children Bible Scripture and how to look up passages. Some had a hard time adjusting to high school at first, because of the greater number of students in high school.
Catholic Schools Week - A calendar of events was passed out. Catholic Schools week goes from Jan. 29th through February 3rd. Mr. Joe Deters is the “Distinguished Graduate”. We may receive some media attention.
Emergency Plan - Mary Ann Johnson (School Secretary) is working on it; it is nearly completed and ready to go into the classrooms. A Homeland Security Grant for schools in Hamilton County was received. There will be two training sessions. This grant will provide emergency kits for every classroom. Springfield Township Police, Firemen, etc…will come out to do a safety evaluation of St. Vivian’s premises.
Health and Wellness Policy - St. Vivian School has obtained a grant. The first meeting between Jean, the gym teacher, the cafeteria dieticians, the school nurse, Linda Ortman and parent representative, Julie Bergmann, was held earlier in the week. Pedometers or heart monitors were suggested as good items to buy for the students. The Archdiocese gave a sample wellness plan to go by. The new Health and Wellness Plan will be brought to the Education Commission for approval before it is adopted for next school year.
D) Temporal Affairs
Kevin is the liaison. Kevin said that in the Temporal Affairs meeting it was discussed, that for a student to receive tuition assistance, there will need to be something in writing, some sort of documentation (proof), of a family’s financial situation.
E) Parish Pastoral Council
Mary Ellen Smith is our liaison. Mary Ellen said that the November 28th meeting with all parish commissions was good and there were many excellent ideas that were brought up. Everyone wants to do this again, after all of the parish surveys are handed in.
6) Old Business
Emergency Plan - Next week the Emergency Plan will be ready to go into the classrooms. They will be kept near the door in each room, easily accessible.
Adult Education Sub-committee - Father Paul said that people felt “dissed” by Matthew Kelly in November. (Matthew Kelly’s “people” put-off having him as a speaker for our Church Mission, and wanted to reschedule for a later date.) Because of this, he has not been rescheduled. The Mission for next year will be looked into.
Commissions Meeting - As stated by Mary Ellen, the meeting was great. There was a question brought up - If a sub-committee about adult education is to be formed, then perhaps they need to join with the Worship Committee? Father Paul addressed this by saying that it would be best to have two separate committees with two distinct purposes, but that there can be a crossover.
7) New Business
End of MeetingReview of Tuition Policy - Martha passed out papers showing the changes made, which now include dates. Kevin (our liaison to Temporal Affairs) stated that the part about an “in home visit” should also be changed. He said there are increasing assistance requests and that it is important that families now show documentation of financial status. This is so that the program is not taken advantage of, and that it is based on need. “Specific and limited monies” refers to this. Martha said that the in home visit seemed invasive; a meeting with the family and documentation should be enough. There was a motion to approve this change, and it was approved by a majority of “ayes”. Kevin also wanted everyone to know that some schools/parishes have fund-raisers to support the tuition assistance program. Martha thought this was a good idea and suggested that Kevin bring up to the Temporal Affairs that an alumni group could be started to provide this.
Motion to adjourn by Dick, seconded by Jim.