The Chapman Outlaws basketball team visited the board
office and presented the board a plate of cookies to thank them
for the use of district facilities for basketball practice. Under
non-agenda items, Trudy Barker shared a thank you picture from the
CHS Band for the board's support of their trip to Dallas. She also
discused putting district information in the Home Guide. This is a
publication that provides information on housing and schools to
newcomers to the area.
Cathy Griffee, Parents as Teachers coordinator, gave a
report on the upcoming April 5th presentation for families
entitled, Raising Happy, Healthy Children, 10 Things You Need To
Know. The presenter, Margaret "Peggy" North-Jones is a sought
after, nationally recognized speaker. Families can expect to
learn: 1) How children become confident, respectful, responsible
and successful, 2) Simple, common sense ideas that address every
child's need for routines and rituals, 3) How to say "NO" in a
world that says "YES", and 4) How families can make the most of
their time together. This special event will take place at the
Chapman High School Auditorium. A free light meal will be provided
prior to the presentation with serving beginning at 5:30 pm and
ending at 6:15 pm. Free childcare for all ages will be provided at
the high school beginning at 6:15 pm and the actual presentation
will begin at 6:30 pm and end at 7:45 pm. Griffee is the
chairperson of this event being planned by the Family Forum of
Dickinson County. Funding for the event is being provided by the
Community Foundation of Dickinson County, Smart Start of Dickinson
County, and the 8th Judicial District Community Corrections. This
is an event for families with children 0-13 from throughout
Dickinson and neighboring counties that you will not want to
miss.
Janet Meyer & Renee Jury, third grade teachers at Chapman
Elementary, shared their Flat Stanley projects with the Board of
Education. The teachers read the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
to students about a bulletin board that falls on Stanley and makes
him flat. He finds there are advantages to being flat. One of them
is to travel to visit his friend in California via the mail. The
students each made a flat person to be mailed to someone in
another state or country. The host family is encouraged to include
some pictures of "Stanley" participating in various activities in
their area and mail them back. Included in the information is
geography, weather, population, etc. As "Stanley" travels back to
school the students anxiously await to share information learned
from their Flat Stanley's trip. Janet & Renee then make
posters for each child to be displayed in the halls. The whole
school enjoys viewing these posters. The teachers feel it is a
wonderful Social Studies project. If you have a chance, you might
stop by Chapman Elementary and see what the students have been
doing.
Dick Hall, CHS Principal, and Bruce Hurford, CMS Principal,
discussed class offerings and enrollment at their respective
buildings. There are a wide variety of courses offered at both
levels which give students a broad range of educational
opportunities. Mr. Hall and Mr. Hurford also indicate the number
of students enrolled in each of the classes. Besides the core
classes at the middle school, students can also take Drama,
Broadcasting, Newspaper, Current Events, and Mechanics. CHS has a
large spectrum of offerings that enable students to prepare for
their post high school years whether it be the work force,
community college, or a four-year college.
Donna Davis informed the board of the schedule for the
upcoming Parent Teacher Conferences. School will dismiss at 1:00
pm on Thursday, Feb. 16 and there will be no school on Friday,
Feb. 17. Conferences will be Thursday evening from 5:00 pm to 9:00
pm and on Friday from 8:00 am to 11:00 am. The partnership between
parents and the school is very important. Parents should make
every effort to attend conferences. Try to arrange your schedule
so at least one parent can be there. Your attendance shows the
school and your child that you are serious about their education.
Be prepared for the conference by writing down any questions you
may have to ask each teacher. Share with the teacher the things
that you appreciate and any concerns that you may have. Here are
some other ways that you can get involved in your student's
education: •talk with your child every day about his or her
school experiences, successes, and worries, •read the school
handbook and all notices that the school sends home, •consult
your child's teacher or school staff whenever you have concerns,
•attend open houses, school events, and programs for parents,
•stay aware of your child's academic progress and praise all
earnest efforts and accomplishments, and •review homework
assignments each day and help your child organize time and work.
Remember -- your attention and involvement show your child that
school is important. By working together, we'll be sure your child
has a successful school experience.
Each principal explained the inservice activities planned
for their building for Monday, Feb. 20. Elementary teachers have a
presentation on Dinah Zike's Graphic Organizers including a make
and take session. They will also discuss READI Committee
information and work on their building crisis plans. The day will
also include PLC (Professional Learning Communities) work and
completion of math formative assessments. Middle School Teachers
will have a morning presentation from Glenn Wiebe on "Clasroom
Instruction That Works". In the afternoon, teachers will be
reviewing the latest strategies implemented for reading and math
across the curriculum and preparing for "Irish Days" activities.
CHS teachers will be working on PLC and departmental scheduling in
the morning, and in the afternoon will have a presentation from
Glenn Wiebe on "Classroom Instruction That Works".
Construction is under way on the second house being built by the
Construction Technology class at CHS. The house will be auctioned
on Saturday, May 6, 2006. The time will be announced at a later
date. The board voted to provide four $750.00 scholarships for
Construction Technology students from the proceeds of the sale of
the house.
Resignations were accepted from Julie Winans as CHS
Dishwasher, Pam Keener as Chapman Elementary Secretary effective
at the end of the 2005-2006 school year, and Dennis Sidener as
Driver Education Instructor. The board approved the new assignment
of Savannah Witt as CHS Dishwasher. Contracts were extended for
one year for Jerri Kemble, Satellite Schools Principal, Bruce
Hurford, CMS Principal, Kevin Suther, CHS Assistant Principal, and
Dick Hall, CHS Principal.
Dick Hall reported that he is awaiting a decision from Notre Dame
University's general legal council regarding the use of certain
common-law or registered trademarks of the university by Chapman
High School. Notre Dame owns trademark rights to the slogans
"Irish" and "Fighting Irish" as well as the logos of a shamrock
and the "Fighting Irishman" or "Fighting Leprechaun".
In
other business, the board approved new policies MI - State
Education Agency Relations: Quality Assurances and JGCBA -
Automated External Defibrillators (AED), approved the
out-of-district applications from Kirkland Babin (BR, Gr 5),
Benjamin Davis (CMS, Gr 7), Christian Davis (CHS, Gr 9), and
Marijah Stephenson (CHS, Gr 9), and approved emergency substitute
applications for Lori Wright, Tammy Smith, and Danielle Nely.
REMINDER - PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES & TEACHER
INSERVICE
SCHOOL DISMISSES AT 1:00, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2006
NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2006
NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2006
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