St. Mary’s School Board Minutes

November 8, 2006

 

Guests:  None

 

Board President Janet Fletcher called the meeting to order, and Father Nigli began with an opening prayer.  All Board Members present, which included Lawrence Reiman, Janet Fletcher, Merri Schneider, John Boyle, Gene Soukup, Luann Shields and Sharon Spencer, Melvin Ohri and Dian Edwards along with Norm Hale, Father Nigli and Alice Marx. 

 

Dian Edwards made a motion to approve the agenda after additions, and Gene Soukup seconded the motion.  Vote:  All in favor, none opposed.

 

After review of the minutes, including corrections of the October 18, 2006 meeting, Luann Shields made a motion to approve the minutes as corrected, and Gene Soukup seconded.  Vote:  All in favor, none opposed.

 

Pastor’s Report:

·       Father Nigli reported that the decision has been made to hold a full day (May 4) set aside to celebrate the school year.  The day will begin with a special Grandparents’ Mass, which will honor the Senior students Grandparents.  This will be open to the community, and will be followed by a breakfast/banquet in the parish hall.  The meal will be served by the 6th graders and their parents.  After the Senior Class Video is shown, the academic awards will take place.  This will be followed by an afternoon off for the entire school, and then everyone is invited to come back for the athletic/activities banquet hosted by the Booster Club in the evening.  This will allow sufficient time to honor both academics and athletics/activities.

·       Father also reported that he was pleased with the comments regarding the parish auction which took place on November 4.  Many of the school employees and school families took part in the auction.  It was well attended, and raised nearly $80,000.

 

Principal’s Report:

I.                 Student Speaker – Mr. Hale stated that Davida Smidt was planning to approach the Board with a personal appeal regarding moving the graduation into the high school gym.  At that time of this meeting, however, there was not 100% support by the class in the plea to move graduation.  She decided not to attend the meeting.

II.             School Climate –Mr. Hale believes that the school climate is good.

III.         North Central Accreditation – Mr. Hale stated that there is nothing to report at this time.  He will be attending a meeting next week to find out if we will have an exit review.

IV.         Auction – Mr. Hale really enjoyed the auction and felt that it was a tremendous event.  He was pleased to see so many families and school personnel in attendance.

V.             State Lunch Inspection (Tuesday, November 14) – This inspection will be held next week.  There will be a full report at that next monthly meeting.  Dian Edwards asked if some of the proceeds from the lunch program could be allocated towards the Altar Society for maintenance and upkeep of equipment, as this was the original agreement when the lunch program was put in place.

VI.         New Employee, Jayte Butts – Jayte Butts (husband of Neah Galloway) has been hired for 20 hours per week to assist in transporting students to/from band, working in the library (a counselor section is being set up for students to research colleges), and additional custodial staff.

VII.     Volleyball Issues – Janet Fletcher read a letter from Valerie Wecker regarding the grade school volleyball program.  After reviewing the “No Cut” Policy, it was determined by the Board that in the future, any activities/teams from St. Mary’s grade school or junior high will include all of the students who have participated in the activity.   In elementary school, the sports philosophy is developmental, not strictly competitive. All volunteers will be given a copy of the policy regarding equal playing time.  The Board would like to acknowledge that Valerie has done an excellent job with the students, and we are sorry for any hurt feelings with players.  We are always looking for additional volunteers to help with these types of activities as well.

VIII. Curriculum Alignment – Discussion on this topic will be addressed next month.

IX.         Dakota Dome – Janet Fletcher requested information on the Dakota Dome game, regarding how it was set up.  We will play Lynch-Butte at the Dakota Dome for two years, as this is something USD offers to high schools, and we agreed to the program.  The Booster club arranged for a fan bus, and several people reported that this was a very fun ride to the game.  All of the fans and players really enjoyed the game and felt it was a great experience.

 

With no further business and no need to go into Executive Session, the meeting was adjourned with a motion by Lawrence Reiman, and a closing prayer led by Father Nigli.