St. Mary’s School Board Minutes

September 19, 2007

Guests: Tony Allen

Board President, Gene Soukup called the meeting to order and John Boyle gave the opening prayer. Board members present included: Gene Soukup, Merri Schneider, Sharon Spencer, Jill Everitt, Mel Ohri, John Boyle, LuAnn Shields and Jim Sibbel, along with Norm Hale, Father Nigli and Alice Marx. Board members absent was Dian Edwards.

Tony Allen was recognized as the only guest, who was here to discuss the final revision of the criteria for Athlete of the Year. This criteria has been amended to include Cross Country, Wrestling and Softball. Every effort has been made to bring equality to the scoring method, as each sport available to the athletes has now been included in the criteria. The new rules will take effect as of this academic year. Points will be recalculated based on the new criteria. Any student athletes that have prior drug, alcohol or tobacco violations will be given a waiver for past offenses. The clause regarding deductions for these offenses will not be retroactive but will be effective beginning August 15, 2007. To be considered for this award, student athletes must participate in three sports each year beginning with the 2007/2008 academic year. After a brief discussion, motion was made by Mel Ohri, seconded by John Boyle, to approve the new scoring method. Vote: All in favor, None opposed. This information will be communicated to all the 7-12 grade students and their parents in a letter from Gene Soukup and Father Nigli. For clarification on past records, and the point scoring system, questions should be addressed to Tony Allen, Athletic Director.

After review of the proposed agenda, a motion was made by LuAnn Shields, seconded by Jim Sibbel, Vote: All in favor, None opposed.

After review of the August meeting minutes, it was determined that the school goals submitted by Norm Hale should be added.. A motion was made by John Boyle, seconded by LuAnn Shields, to approve the amended minutes from the August 22 meeting. Vote: All in favor, none opposed.

Pastors’ Report :

I. Archdiocesan Tuition Assistance – Father Nigli reported that $12,888.30 has been received by St. Mary’s families for scholarship assistance for this school year. The Archdiocese has approved this amount to assist our families.

II. Catholic Schools Symposium – This meeting will be held at NECC Lifelong Learning Center on September 20, 2007 at 7:00 p.m., and will cover a comprehensive overview of the archdiocese. 1) Catholic Identity and Culture; 2) Academic Excellence; 3) Accessibility and Affordability; 4) Responsibility of all Catholics. These are the areas our school should be concentrating on and working upon.

III. School Transportation – The two school vehicles are busy with transporting students back and forth for band at the Public Schools. With the great number of students participating in band, there is a need for a third vehicle for students. We may need to look at possibilities down the road for this transportation system, as it is difficult to find third vehicle and volunteer parent to assist with rides.

IV. Dress Code – Page 66 of the Parent/Student Handbook addresses the dress code for Senior pictures. Father asked that the following statement be stricken from the Parent/Student Handbook: “Students shall be informed of this policy prior to the end of their junior year.” Since the dress code is stated in the handbook, this will also be addressed in a letter to all 7-12 families, this should serve as notification for all families going forward. The previous policy will be grandfathered for this year’s seniors. Motion made by LuAnn Shields, seconded by Jill Everitt, to strike the aforementioned statement from the handbook. Vote: All in favor, none opposed. Discussion was held regarding dresses for prom mass. All shoulders must be covered by a shawl. This discussion involved making an effort to have additional shawls (if available) to provide for the females that come to mass without shoulders covered. No one will be allowed to proceed up the aisle in church with the prom attendees, unless they abide by this rule. This will also be included with the letter to all 7-12 parents.

V. Review of upcoming calendar – Father asked that we have all St. Mary’s students stand for the Right to Life Chain on Sunday, October 7. All students K-12 that attend in uniform and stay for the whole activity will receive a “jeans day” on a pre-determined date. Homeroom mothers will be asked to assist with the elementary students. LuAnn Shields and Jill Everitt will coordinate the event.

VI. School Improvement Campaign - Father Nigli gave an update on the campaign for school improvements. The building committee continues to meet with the architect with additional changes. Father Nigli has received tacit approval of the construction plans. Until there is a final draft, he will not receive a final, signed-off approval. In the next few weeks, he expects to receive this final approval, and plans to have the groundbreaking will be early to mid-October, attended by the community and Chamber of Commerce.

Principal’s Report

I. School Climate/Homecoming Week – Everything with homecoming week has been lots of fun. Father asked to thank the Cheerleaders and their sponsors for the extra touches for the coronation and bonfire events. A suggestion was made to provide a platform for those who are speaking at the bonfire. Staff had expressed some concerns regarding a couple of the activities that have been traditionally part of the homecoming activities. A few activities have been revised, and Mr. Hale has made some concessions after discussion with the student body.

II. Enrollment - Mr. Hale reported that there are currently 214 students in K-12. The high school is currently at 91 students (28% capacity), the elementary is at 123 students (50% capacity). This figure is holding steady with last year’s enrollment figures. If the school was at full capacity, it could hold 500 students, and at the current enrollment we are at 38% capacity. This was based on lab capacity, classroom capacity, etc. In an era when many schools are seeing lower enrollment figures, St. Mary’s is still maintaining. This is very promising.

III. WAIT Training – Turnout for the WAIT Training was excellent. Mr. Hale asked whether all Board Members had been provided with enough information to determine whether St. Mary’s Schools should adopt the WAIT Training curriculum. Gary Cvhala and Camille Ohri would teach this curriculum. If approved, 7-8 grades will have five sessions beginning in October of this year. 11-12 grades will take this training at the beginning of April. 9-10 grades will also be presented with this training, however the dates have not been determined at this time. Gene Soukup asked for a motion to approve this program to be implemented in the school. A motion was made by LuAnn Shields, seconded by Sharon Spencer to approve this curriculum to be presented in our school for grades 7-12. All in favor, none opposed. Any parents who choose for their children not to participate in this program will be asked to sign a waiver.

IV. Athlete of the Year Revisions – This discussion was held with Tony Allen at the beginning of the meeting.

V. Calendar Discussion (Spring Break) – Since we now have teachers who are teaching in both St. Mary’s and O’Neill Public Schools, Spring Break will be aligned with both schools. Mr. Hale will discuss this issue with the teachers, and this matter will be tabled until the next board meeting.

VI. Sweatshirt (New Logo) – At homecoming, the logo winner, Bryce Heiser will be presented with a sweatshirt which has the new logo. These new sweatshirts will be allowed for students to wear as sweatshirts for school uniforms. The cost for these shirts will be $16, and they will be available in the next few weeks. Motion to adopt the new red sweatshirt and logo into the acceptable dress code will be added to both elementary and high school handbooks was made by John Boyle, seconded by Mel Ohri. Vote: All in favor, none opposed.

VII. School Board Goals – Gene suggested that we should do a better job of following parliamentary procedure. Sharon Spencer presented a handout with the proposed goals for the 07/08 Academic Year. Father described the process of how he would like to have these categories for goals put into objectives. Gene stated that we will discuss these in more detail at the next meeting. Father mentioned that while outlining the financial objectives for the school, he would like to know the school improvement objectives while he is doing financial planning. Board members will review and come to the next meeting prepared for discussion to set goals and objectives.

VII. New Family Sponsors for Back To School Activities - Since it is the responsibility of all Catholics to support Catholic education, we must be very progressive and proactive in our approach to new families to the community and school. Father recommended that we review ways to promote St. Mary’s Schools. Sponsor families will be assigned to new families to the school, and they will welcome them, helping to introduce them to other families.

LuAnn Shields and Gene Soukup commented that they felt that Confirmation was very nice.

With no need for executive session, the meeting was adjourned with a motion to adjourn by Luann Shields, seconded by Jim Sibbel. Meeting was adjourned with a closing prayer led by Father Nigli.