Parents Group Meeting NOTES, October 17, 2005

About 35 parents were in attendance as well as Principal Brian Levesque, Housemaster Eric Jackson, and Guidance Director Kim Marinan. Kate Cocco introduced herself and the RHS staff to the parents. Mr. Levesque talked about the Small Learning Community and then answered questions from parents, some of which had been e-mailed in to Jeff Carlson or Kate Cocco of the Parents Group. Mr. Levesque talked about how the staff is enforcing rules, such as not allowing food out of the cafeterias. As a result, the school is cleaner. The student code of conduct is being enforced evenly for students and most students, even if privately, seem to appreciate it. The Small Learning Community is working well. There are 6 core teachers who just teach 9th graders. 125 students were selected to be in the program. Students who had indications of being headed to fail one or more classes have been warned about the importance of NOT failing. The staff is trying to keep the students involved and make them aware of help that is available to them. A survey of parents will be conducted to gauge how the parents feel the program is working. There is also a Student Success Committee in place to help students transition from VCMS to RHS. Mr. Levesque responded to questions that were e-mailed from parents – Bathrooms? There is one girls’ and one boys’ bathroom open. A second girls’ bathroom is open near the cafeterias at lunch time. Smoking in the bathrooms has decreased and the staff is investigating either a sign-in for the bathrooms or an $88 fine for anyone caught smoking in a bathroom. As a side note, the School Improvement Committee is looking into alternatives to suspensions, which is now the punishment when students are caught smoking in school. Three parents have volunteered to be on the Committee. Parents being called? An electronic attendance system is now used inside the school, so parents should be getting a phone call in a timely manner when students are absent and parents have not called in to report the absence. It is quicker now for the attendance office to know which students are absent on any day. Note – when a student returns after an absence, a note should still be sent in explaining the absence. Healthy Lunches? A new district cafeteria supervisor started in mid-September. The sandwich line is open, so students can get fresh sandwiches at all lunches, rather than the main offering, if they choose. Parents mentioned portion size is sometimes small and sometimes it is unclear what the main offering is, and questioned if a vegetarian option could be offered. Mr. Levesque said he would look into all these concerns and he added that a voucher or bar-code system for payment is being investigated. The parents group may invite the cafeteria supervisor to a future meeting. It seems like sometimes the students aren’t aware of what is available to them for lunches. Students will be involved in the plans for the new cafeteria. One parent suggested that Board of Education members stop in to experience a meal at RHS. Independent Studies? Mr. Levesque indicated his willingness to give credit to 11th and 12th grade students for independent study if there are clear goals and measurable results expected. Work on the yearbook falls into this category and those students will be given credit. There will be a newspaper this year, at least for a few issues. Since it is sold for $.25 a copy to raise money, we don’t want to put it on a web site for free, but perhaps we could post the fact that it is available and what is in the paper, since it is often an eye-opener for parents who get a copy. “Looking for the Good”? Mr. Jackson and Mr. Levesque both talked about the importance of “Catching them doing something good”, both in school and at home. Mr. Levesque’s goal is 2 positive contacts a week and Mr. Jackson talked about pulling students out of class briefly to compliment them on something. They also talked about greeting students outside school every morning to make sure they have their tie on correctly and to refrain from wearing white sneakers after Labor Day (only kidding). Mr. Levesque said that about 60 seniors out of about 300 do NOT have senior privileges. Dances and Security? One parent had mentioned that the scene outside the school after dances can be crazy with lots of cars and kids not really paying attention. Other parents agreed with this and Mr. Levesque said he would try to make sure that staff or chaperones are outside to keep an eye on the situation. Senior Project? Mr. Levesque said that he felt the concept of seniors doing a senior project is a great idea. It would be of the student’s own choosing of something interesting to them. The School Improvement Committee was looking into this. One parent felt this would add another burden onto seniors but Mr. Levesque felt that the benefits outweighed any negatives. One parent mentioned Office Applications as a course that is required but since much of the content is covered at VCMS, she wondered if this should be a required course. Mr. Levesque said he would look into this concern. The meeting ended about 8 PM but many parents stayed for a time, talked, and enjoyed coffee and donuts. Several members of the Board of Education were present and stayed to talk with fellow parents. This was a good meeting.