Gunnison Valley Elementary Community Council Minutes
(Approved)
October 6, 2022
3:00 PM GVES Faculty Room
In Attendance: Arleen Jensen, Erin Cherry, Heidi Avery, Cheltzey Larson, Marci Childs. By zoom: Mindy Coates
1 - New Members - We have three new members on our council this year - Heidi Avery, Cheltzey Larson and Mindy Coates
2 - Member responsibilities video link - Member responsibilities were reviewed with the committee. A handout was provided including a video link with more information. Part of the video was viewed at our meeting. Rules or order and procedure were discussed and agreed upon.
3 - Election of officers - Officers were elected. Chairman will be Marci Childs with vice chair being Cheltzey Larson.
4 - Review/approve minutes - Minutes were reviewed by the committee. A motion was made by Marci Childs to accept the minutes. Second by Erin Cherry.
5 - Funding - Arleen reviewed the Trustlands and TSSA funding breakdown with the committee explaining the reasoning behind each expenditure.
6 - School Data - Reading and Math - BOY data was reviewed by the committee. Data was explained and discussed for both reading and math. Our goal is to have 80% of our students on or above grade level on the EOYAcadience testing and 50% for RISE testing in math and language arts by the end of year. We discussed the need for more at home help with meeting our goal. Teachers are working hard at increasing students' scores by individualized teaching methods and extra help with paraprofessionals. It is felt that more at home interaction and less screen time would benefit our students. Parents are encouraged to spend at least 20 minutes a night reading with their students and spending time interacting and talking with their children.
7 - Trustlands plan - Our 2022 - 23 school year Trustlands plan was reviewed with the committee. Committee members were given a copy of the plan to keep for future reference.
8 - TSSA plan - Our TSSA plan was also reviewed. The TSSA plan is very similar to our Trustlands plan. Our plan and budgets were explained and reviewed.
9 - Safe Technology and Digital CItizenship - Our schools' safe technology and digital citizenship responsibilities were explained to the committee. A handout explaining our school responsibilities for keeping students safe while accessing the internet and using technology was reviewed and what we are doing was addressed. Digital citizenship is taught weekly either by our district technology specialist or by our school technology specialist.
10 - Safety principles - Bulldog strong - Our safety protocols were reviewed with the committee. Fire drills, along with other drills, are practiced or reviewed monthly. Our mental health counselors, the school nurse, Elise and Kaitlyn also have a monthly plan for students, teaching different character traits on a monthly rotation. Our Bulldog Strong matrix was reviewed with the committee explaining how we are working toward building more respect and ownership of actions at school. We will also be working on building teamwork, service, gratitude and being kind in our school community.
11 - Wellness policy - Our district wellness policy was provided for each committee member. The wellness policy has to be reviewed quarterly. Members were asked to read over the policy and we will review it at the November meeting.
12 - PIC - Arleen is working on finding someone who will head up the Parent Involvement Committee. Surveys were sent out to parents and they are being correlated with committees as they are returned.
13 - Halloween parade - We will be having a Halloween parade on Halloween day at 1 pm. All students are invited to wear their costumes to school that day. Students should be able to get into and out of their costumes and to use the restroom unassisted. Also, costumes must be school appropriate. No masks or weapons will be allowed at school.
14 - Christmas celebrations - Our school Christmas program will be held at the high school gymnasium on December 12 at 6:30 pm. A matinee performance will be held at our school that day at 1 pm. Local 10 will broadcast the matinee performance. Mr. Allred is composing a special song for our school to perform at the program that pertains to favorite winter family activities.
15 - Questions/Concerns - Arleen addressed a concern about a presentation that the counselor gave about personal space and appropriate touch. The general consensus of the presentation was that it was beneficial for children, giving them common language to use in their lives. One of the main phrases that was discussed was a “red flag touch”. Parents felt this was a good way for children to communicate an uncomfortable or inappropriate touch.
Arleen also talked about our school theme for the year which is “Together we are Champions”. This theme will be used throughout the year for celebrations and other activities.
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Approved - Marci Childs, Chairman