SLT Minutes on March 3rd, 2015

 Mrs. Rao shared with the group that Mr. McConnell (Michelle McConnell’s husband) has volunteered to create a new Hershey the Hawk that is more kid-friendly and appropriate for the elementary setting. The group would like to make minor modifications to the image. It was suggested that Mr. McConnell create 2-3 different images and then have the kids vote on a winner for our new mascot. This will be rolled out at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.  Teacher Assistant Survey o Questions 2, 3, and 4 were positive. 8 of the 9 assistants feel valued by the teachers. 6 of the 9 assistants feel valued by administration. 6 of the 9 assistants feel that their time and skills are being used appropriately and most effectively. o Questions 1 and 5 need improvement. 4 of the 9 assistants feel they are receiving necessary communication in a timely manner. 4 of the 9 assistants feel that their concerns are being heard and acted upon. o Teacher Assistants would like a collaborative space in the school and a Teacher Assistant day. o Mrs. Rao suggested scheduling a PD day for the teacher assistants led by the facilitators. o A suggestion was made to allow the teacher assistants to each lunch together once a month. A possibility would be to have volunteers or classroom teachers monitor the lunch room to make this possible.

 Washam Buddies o We had more teacher requests for buddies this year than we had volunteers. o Teacher Feedback: . The teachers spoke very highly of their past and present Washam buddies and the program. . Parents spoke highly of the program and feel that they are supported by the teachers and are adding value to the school. . Teachers would like to have a Washam buddy weekly. . A suggestion was made to have breakfast & lunch buddies and parent volunteers come and eat with the students. . For next year: Mrs. Denton would like to have specific sign-ups for the program (reading buddy, math buddy, lunch/breakfast buddy) . Mrs. Denton will present suggestions on ways to improve the program later this year. . Suggestions were made to contact Wells Fargo about their reading volunteer program.

 Scheduling Committee o Teachers are asked to go back to their teams to get suggestions for next year’s schedule. Each grade level needs to have a representative. Please let Mrs. Rao know who the representative will be in two weeks (by March 17th). There will be a 10 minute after-school meeting in the near future to share the grade level concerns.

 Communication o Please be sure that you are communicating with your team about the SLT minutes each week.

 Boosterthon Update o We have received pledges from 24 states and 2 countries o 24% of the students have received pledges o 56% of the students have registered o 10% of the money will go back into the classroom o the remaining money will go to purchasing science kits, math manipulatives, Do the Math, LLI kits.

 Our next meeting will be April 14th. o Next month’s agenda: Summer Reading Program & Grading Policy suggestions