St. Clare School Advisory Council

3/09/06 Minutes

 

Present: Linda Fanning, Fr. Tom, John Ferraro, Tom Fitzpatrick, Amy Leahy, Sr. Moe, John Oswald, Phil Ralston, Kim Wisniewski, Vicky Werner

Absent: Cartie Beckett, Renee Cline, Stephen Michels

 

1. Call to Order and Opening Prayer – Phil provided our great meal and said our opening prayer.

 

2. Recommended Actions

      a. Routine Matters:

      i. The Agenda was accepted.

      ii. Minutes for the February 2006 meeting were approved.

      iii. Relational meeting – About 10 minutes were spent getting to know our fellow SAC members through a relational question.

 

b. Old Business Discussion:

      i. Parent Survey – The survey will be given to parents in the Fall.  Sr. Moe,  teachers who are helping and the Process and Planning Committee will present a draft of this survey at the May SAC meeting.

      ii. New Member Discernment Process – New members will attend the SAC meeting next month.  This is to be held on Wed. April 12th. 

§         The current SAC members will meet at 6:00 p.m. to review the applications for membership and insure that the agenda is clear.

§         Those interested in becoming SAC members will attend from 6:30-7:30.

§         After those interested are dismissed, the current SAC members will choose new members for the coming 3 years. 

  

c. New Business: 

      i. Auction Review – see the Principal’s report on this successful event.

      ii. St. Clare Website Review – the website related to SAC materials needs updating.  The Process and Planning Committee will review the web site to insure that information is accurate and up-to-date.

      iii. Quad Council Meeting – All 4 councils will meet to discuss a mutual interest on Saturday, June 24th, from 8:30 until noon.  The discussion will focus on discussing the settlement for the Chapter 11.  This will be an opportunity to voice fears and questions and make plans.  All members both outgoing and incoming should be in attendance. 

      iv.  The next Town Hall meeting will be held on Thursday, April 6th from 7 p.m. until 8:30.  The focus of the meeting will be “Future Funding of Catholic Education”.  Sr. Moe reviewed the agenda.  SAC members will chair small group discussions and record the information that is discussed.  The other 3 councils will also be invited to participate. 

v. Reminders:

      -SAC Planning Meeting – Saturday, May 20th 8:00 until noon

      -April SAC meeting is on Wed. April 12th (rather than on a Thursday)

      -SAC Chairs – John Ferraro would like for us to consider having a two year term as chair or have co-chairs for the SAC as after the experience of one year, the chair knows more of what needs to occur (and then the term is over).

                                                     

3.   Information/Communication Reports

a. Pastors Report –

·        Toms Trek for Teens – Father Tom is hoping that the training for this Youth Ministry fundraiser will be a cross-generational experience.

·        The Admin Council is currently working on a budget. 

·        During Lent, there is a quiet, centering prayer before the Wed. mass (7:05-7:15 a.m. each Wed.).

·        Sr. Anna reports that there are 150 parishioners in small faith sharing groups this season. (That is a lot!).

·        St. Clare is a member of the Metropolitan Alliance for the Common Good (MACG).  Along with the other members of MACG, St. Clare is working on 4 issues (including health care and housing). On May 10th there will be a focus on health care to see what can be done.

·        The Bishop states that all are working hard for a settlement on the Chapter 11. 

·        Kathy Kowash will be retiring this summer.

 

b. Principal’s Report – Sr. Moe presented the following report:

  • Enrollment: Enrollment is still in flux.  We are screening students on a regular basis with the anticipation that enrollment will exceed 228.  Kindergarten enrollment needs to increase by 5 students in order to have 28. We continue to make follow-up calls as well as receive daily inquiries about our school.  “Potentials” could increase our enrollment by quite a bit.
  • Science Fair: This was a huge success with the quality of the projects/reports improving each year.  Mr. Puccio has purchased the clicker system which allows him to get immediate feedback from students on what they know/don’t know.  He is continually improving both instruction and individual help for students.  Currently, students can get notes from Mr. Puccio if they have been sick as he photographs class instruction and files it on his computer daily.
  • Stanford Testing: We begin formal standardized testing on Monday.  This will be the first year under the new norm in which we are able to make comparisons from one year to the next.  This year’s results will also determine how successfully we have addressed our SIP in math and writing.
  • Auction Results: Jennifer Pinder sent me the Auction results last week.  Here is what we can count on (a conservative estimate on her part):

Total Net:  $ 156,000

To School:  $117,000

To Parish:   $ 39,000

This does not include the Paddle Bid.  The results are astounding!  While we do not know at this writing the allocation to the school, the overall income from the Paddle Bid and Adopt-A-Student is between $65,000 and $70,000.

 

Expected overhead not fully covered in our 06-07 budget

  • Teachers moving over a column due to earned credits (approx. $2,000)
  • Purchase of furniture and supplies for full day Kindergarten (approx. $6,000)
  • Carpet grades 1 & 2 (approx. $3,300)
  • Chairs for middle school students (approx. $7,000)

 

c. PTC Report – Sr. Moe reported that the PTC is also recruiting for fundraising chairs and PTC members.    

d. SAC Committee Reports: 

      i. Finance Committee Report:  The main points were covered in other portions of this meeting.

      ii. Marketing and Enrollment Committee Report:  Vicky suggested that we ask the teachers to prioritize their wants/needs.  Sr. Moe suggested that we remind the teachers of what they requested last year and ask for further input.  The Marketing and Enrollment committee will work on this.   

      iii. Process and Policy Committee Report:   This committee will provide support for the Town Hall meeting, carry out the New Member Discernment process, help finalize the Parent Survey for SAC approval in May and begin planning for the SAC retreat on May 20th.

      iv. Development Committee Report:  This committee is working on the following projects. 

§         Science room development- Tom Fitzgerald and Mr. Puccio are working on ideas.

§         Beautification process – This committee will work with Fr. Tom to prioritize a list of projects related to beautifying the grounds.

e. Chair Report: Please be thinking about officers for next year.  We will vote on these in the May meeting. Also, think about whether the chair should be a two year term, a co-chair format, or leave it the way it is. 

 

Next School Advisory Council Meeting: 

•Wednesday, April 12th 2006 from 6-8 p.m. (Renee has food, drinks and prayer). Our meeting will be held in the Library.

 

Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Linda Fanning