Highlights from Site Council meeting Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Talent Development Training & Engagement Plans
The first of four talent development trainings for teachers has taken place. The goal of the Talent Development training is for all LHCS teachers to get additional academic tools that support differentiation and the engagement of all students in the classroom. Some fun new tools have already been introduced. There will, however, be challenges to implementing some of the ideas due to the Minneapolis Public Schools Focused Instruction that teachers are currently required to use. Talk to your teacher to find out more about how this training is being applied in your child’s classroom.
As part of the LHCS engagement plan, the Upper Campus held its first all-school assembly in the gym. This is a new event that will happen each quarter at Upper Campus. At the first assembly, HERO awards were given, student leadership groups were announced, and a charitable effort called “Gratitude Grams” was introduced. And of course, LHCS spirit!
The popular HERO awards program will be introduced soon to Lower Campus students. This monthly award honors students who are respectful, responsible, safe, and ready to learn every day they come to school. Teachers select students who are positive contributors and making a difference in our school community. Watch for information about the Lower Campus BUZZ Team!
Knowledge Bowl- LHCS hosted its first Knowledge Bowl and it was a rousing success! Thank you Middle School teacher Matt Streit, parent volunteers, and students, who all helped make this event a huge success. LHCS placed 1st, 2nd and 9th out of 23 total teams! To check out more about Knowledge Bowl, visit here.
Academic Interventions- Academic interventions begin soon for students at both campuses. Students are identified by the District, using test score information, as requiring additional support. These interventions take place every day over 6-8 weeks as a classroom pull-out. If you have questions about your student and academic intervention, please contact your campus administrator.
A similar plan, called “Project Prep” is being implemented for our DCD students.
Subcommittee Updates
STEM – STEAM Day (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) is coming to Upper Campus! The STEM subcommittee is working with Trisha Power to bring STEAM Day to Upper Campus this January. STEAM Day is in its third year at Lower
Campus, and will take place at Lower Campus in December (look for your packets!) and in the spring. Upper Campus STEAM Day will take place sometime in January. Parent and community volunteers are needed to make these events happen. If you or someone you know is interested in sharing STEAM-based talents with our students, please contact Trisha Power at trisha@buildwithbella.com to volunteer.
Equity and Diversity – The Equity and Diversity Student Leadership work group has spent the fall implementing a new student leadership model, getting all teachers updated and trained in Families All Matter (FAM) curriculum, and introducing the new Dare2BReal options class for middle school students. Next steps: Looking into how the student leadership model could work at Lower Campus, and cyber bullying as it pertains to the school environment.
The Parent Involvement and Community Celebrations work group has supported new fall events at LHCS, including; the peace parade, the gratitude program, and an event for Native American Parent Involvement Day on Nov. 20th. The work group is also working in collaboration with the Academic Sub Committee to support the parent book club reading of "Mindset".
Communications – At the October Area C meeting about enrollment policies, questions were raised about how our District and community will respond to specific enrollment challenges including: Do we allow more students into classrooms that are already full? Do ELL students get sent out of their community if their community school doesn’t offer services? What should District priorities be, choice or community schools? How should students be placed? LHCS was used as an example of a school that is full and that does not have the physical capacity or funding to provide services for all learners.
Academic – LHCS Site Council is starting to consider whether applying to be a Community Partnership Schools (CPS) is in the best interest of our students and community. The subcommittee visited with the Lower Campus leadership team to get feedback from teachers. Teachers and parents have a lot of questions about CPS. This will remain an ongoing topic.
PTA – PTA fundraising is on track for the year. Parties Galore events start next week. Scholastic fundraiser brought in 4-5k for books. It was approved to buy a Dragon Costume!
The next Site Council meeting is Tuesday, December 16 from 5-7pm in the Lower Campus art room. Parents are welcome.
For more information about Site Council, including access to meeting minutes, click here.