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DICKENSON COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD Regular School Board Meeting November 23, 2015 5 p.m. – Dickenson County School Board PRESENT: John Skeen, Chairman; Susan Mullins, Vice-Chairman; Rocky Barton; Shanghai Nickles; Donald Raines; Reba McCowan, Clerk; and Haydee Robinson, Su- perintendent. ROLL CALL AND MEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY CHAIRMAN, JOHN SKEEN: Chairman, John Skeen—Called the November Regular Meeting to order and noted that all Board Members were present. Also present are our Division Superintendent, Haydee Robin- son, and Clerk, Reba McCowan. At this time we will have our Pledge of Allegiance and then a Moment of Silence. Please be seated. Board Members we have an Agenda to approve. If there are no revisions, we need a motion to accept the Agenda as presented. Mrs. Susan Mullins—I make a motion that we approve the Agenda. Mr. Donald Raines se- conded the motion. All votes aye. Chairman, John Skeen—The Agenda is adopted as presented. GOOD NEWS FROM OUR SCHOOLS: Chairman, John Skeen—The first item on our Agenda is Good News From Our Schools. Mrs. Robinson: Superintendent Robinson—Mr. Skeen and Board Members we are doing something a little bit different today. I have invited all of our administrators to attend and as the 1st Semester is ending, I wanted them to have the opportunity to share some of the good things that are hap- pening in our schools. We do this at each of our principals’ meetings, and it is quite moving at times and funny at others. But it really gives us a sense of how much is going on in our buildings and what good things are going on with our children and our staff. You can see all of our principals here, so I am going to ask Ms. Willis to come to the front and speak to our Board, please. Ms. Sherry Willis—I am just going to talk to you a little bit about what is going on in No- vember at Ervinton Elementary School. It has been a busy month for us. First off is Veter- ans’ Day where we had our traditional Veterans’ Day ceremony. We had eight veterans and two of their wives that came to our celebration. It was a simple ceremony, but it was very moving. Every one of our children took part. Our Pre-K and Kindergarten children sang a song. Our 1st Grade children led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Our 2nd and 3rd Grade chil- dren held up sentence strips announcing all of the things that we are allowed to do in this 1 country because of these brave men and women that served our country like going to church, going to college, owning a home and those kinds of things. Our 4th Grade students had spe- cial hand-made cards for the veterans. Our 5th Grade students read poems that explained Veterans’ Day and the importance and significance of it. Then everyone in the entire schools gave them a standing ovation. We invited them over to our cafeteria for coffee and donuts. We had a poster in the cafeteria that had been signed by the faculty, staff and students. We also had a display of portraits of the students and faculty family members in all different branches of the service. It was a very simple ceremony, but it was very moving and very touching. Also, Ervinton Elementary School has been going through a review. Our State person was with us last week. She seemed very impressed by Ervinton Elementary School and what she saw. We went to the 2nd Grade and learned about Egypt, and we were talking about the Nile River and when it spills its banks and leaves the silt. They talked about Virginia and where we lived and what we used for fertilize for our gardens. She seemed very surprised how the children were rattling off the answers. She said that she didn’t remember learning that until she was in upper elementary or high school. I know that out of that classroom, two of the children had questions, and one boy said that he thought there were going to be visitors in the class today. He was so engaged that he didn’t even know they were there. Another child asked why those people left because they weren’t finished yet. (Ha, Ha!) They wanted them to stay a little longer We also visited a 3rd Grade class where they were talking about author’s purpose which they study all year long. They were talking about whether the author was trying to persuade, in- form or to simply entertain us. They were talking about inferences which are very hard for 3rd Graders. They have to look for the hints because it isn’t written in black and white. We will have Parents’ Day tomorrow. We already know that 100 parents are showing up so we expect a huge crowd. After school tomorrow, we are decking the halls (please don’t tell the fire marshal) to cele- brate Christmas. If you stand still very long, you may get decked out too. We are having a very busy time, and I was just so proud of my students and my teachers when the visiting committee came. My heart was just about ready to burst. I could not have been prouder. I see that every day, but you never know when you have people come in how the children are going to behave or react. But they didn’t even notice us. They were simply doing what they do every day, and I was extremely proud of them. Thank you. Superintendent Robinson—Thank you, Ms. Willis. Any questions? Mr. Deel and Mr. Neece are here if they would like to come to the front. Mr. Dennis Deel—I’m not as good as Sherry. I had to write mine down because I know I would forget. When I received the email from Mrs. Robinson, I wasn’t sure how far back I needed to go. So I included several things. 2 For the month of November we started out with our non-perishable items collection. I think the thing that got me the most was the gentleman came over to the school, and when he walked in and saw the stack and said that he had to go get a bigger truck. So he came back a couple of days later with a bigger truck. Superintendent Robinson—It was amazing. Mr. Dennis Deel—We are trying to implement something in our school called PIS—Positive Influence for our School. The cafeteria is our focal point right now. We are not trying to get it under control but trying to manage it a bit better. Ms. Sutherland is our new Guidance Counselor, and she is working on a back pack program with United Way. We are also working closely with the Masonic Lodge this year who are trying to help me get coats for our needy children. We are looking at the end of the year what would be a good perfect attendance incentive. We have not quite gotten it figured out yet, but we have a couple of ideas. Also, we have one young man at our school who was diagnosed with bone cancer. So we have been taking up money for him throughout the year. Classroom observations—Mr. Neece and I have been in each classroom at least once and some multiple times. 2nd Grade was building sugar cube pyramids. Kindergarten took white t-shirts and made In- dian shirts by attaching beads to them. They did this for Parents Day. Typically we walk around the rooms to see that the teacher is on task. The kids are working hard, and everyone is up doing their job. 4th Grade built tooth pick bridges. 5th Grade was dissecting seeds and doing leaf collections. That is pretty much the observed instructional part. The status of my student learning based on the information provided from our first bench mark tests gave us several things for us to celebrate. As a matter of fact, our 2nd Grade really stood out. We are definitely proud of what they did. Our teachers are all using the CIP model as their main lesson plan or as a supplement to what they are doing. That is obvious from our bench mark scores. Also, I think this would be a good time to say thank you for considering Ms. Holly Fleming and Ms. Jennifer Rose moving into my school. I think the particular grade level that Holly was placed in was very, very needy. I am hoping that we will be able to pick up that group this year. 3 Lastly, our special activities—at the beginning of November we had our day time fall folly. This past Friday was our Parents’ Day, and we fed 761 parents and students. I thought that was a good turnout. Surprisingly, I knew most of those folks. I guess it is because I am from over there, too. Also, earlier in the year I had a church group come up from North Carolina. They brought with them a shoe box sized tote which was worth approximately $25 for each student in the school. I thought it was amazing that they would do that. The boxes had things like toothpaste, tooth brushes, socks and anything they thought the kids could use. They also had pencils and paper and stuff like that as well. We started something new this year called Star Student at the school. Each week on Friday morning I identify those students who have done something without being told such as pick- ing up trash or helping another student carry their books to their room.

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