Medicine Hat School District No. 76

MEDICINE HAT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 76

REGULAR MEETING

A G E N D A

TUESDAY, APRIL 19TH, 2005 - 7:00 P.M.

I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

II. ADOPTION OF MINUTES

Presentation and adoption of the Minutes of the Regular Board and Committee of the Whole meetings held on Tuesday, March 15th, 2005.

WDP

III. CORRESPONDENCE

1. Copy of thank you card received from Jaclyn Myndio re thank you for nominating her for the Edwin Parr Award

WDP

Enclosure No. 1

Page No. 1

2. Copy of letter, forwarded to Dr. Linda Rossler, dated March 17th, 2005, received from Keray Henke, Deputy Minister, Alberta Education re Update on implementation plans for the Grade Level Achievement reporting initiative

Enclosure No. 2

Page No. 3

3. Copy of letter, forwarded to All Zone 6 School Superintendents, dated March 18th, 2005, by Mr. Doug McDavid, Director, Zone 6 Services Branch re Analysis of School Jurisdiction 2002-2003 Annual Education Results Reports 2004

Enclosure No. 3

Enclosure No. 3 is included in Trustees' Board Packages as a Separate Enclosure.

4. Copy of letter, forwarded to Mr. Doug Pudwell, dated March 23rd, 2005, by the Honourable Dr. Lyle Oberg, Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, re funding for pilot Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system using the Alberta SuperNet

WDP

Enclosure No. 4

Page No. 5

5. Copy of letter, directed to the Board of Trustees of Medicine Hat School District No. 76, dated March 31st, 2005, received from Mikayla Rossetto, re thank you for the award for Speech-Solo Mime received at the Rotary Music Festival

WDP

Enclosure No. 5

Page No. 6

IV. RECOGNITIONS/ACCOMPLISHMENT

1. Lucas Meier, Medicine Hat High School Student

. Lucas Meier, student at Medicine Hat High, did very well at the local Science Fair. He won best in Physical Science 9 and 10 division and best overall in the Grades 9 and 10 high school division. Congratulations Lucas on your achievement.

2. Michael Hosanee, Connaught School Student

. Michael Hosanee, student at Connaught School, is a provincial finalist in the 2005 Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Alberta Branch – Grade VI Essay Contest. Michael received, from the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, a certificate and CPA pin to commemorate his participation in the contest. Congratulations to Michael on the essay he submitted on the topic of Mauritius, homeland of his father.

3. Recognition of Schools which participated in the 2005 Telethon

The Board would like to recognize the schools that performed at the 2005 Telethon on March 13th. Without the participation of these students, the cooperation of staff and parents, a Telethon such as this would not be possible. The choirs at the following schools are to be commended for their hard work and commitment to their music programs: Central Park, Herald, Elm Street, Crestwood, George Davison, Connaught, Riverside, Ross Glen and Medicine Hat High. Also, the drama programs at Medicine Hat High and Elm Street, and the Handbell program at Vincent Massey are to be thanked for their contribution.

4. Basketball Team Accomplishments

· Medicine Hat High School Senior Boys placed 1st in the 4A South Zone Championship. This championship game was held in Lethbridge in front of 3000-3500 fans. This standing advanced them to provincials held in Calgary. At the provincials this team was awarded the prestigious Sportsmanship Award.

· Crescent Heights High School Vikings Senior Boys basketball team won the Palliser League Championship undefeated. They went on to win 3A Zones for the first time in 23 years. At provincials they placed 7th out of 62 participating teams.

· Crescent Heights High School Junior Varsity Girls were the Palliser League champions.

Congratulations to all the teams and coaches on your hard work and dedication to the game of basketball and making our District proud of all its sports teams and their accomplishments.

5. Rotary Music Festival Participants

A big congratulations to all students and classes that participated in the Rotary Music Festival. The Board is very proud of the effort and time expended by the students and teachers in preparation for and attendance at the Festival. This prestigious event is attended and enjoyed by many community supporters.

III. PRESENTATIONS

1. Telethon

Larry Henderson and Ken Sauer, Directors of Medicine Hat Public Schools’ Education Foundation, will be at the meeting. Unfortunately, Mrs. Glenda Houlston, Chair of the Telethon, is unable to attend. The Board of Trustees would like to congratulate the Education Foundation on the excellent job they did in organizing and carrying out another successful Telethon. A Telethon of this magnitude would not be possible without the dedication of individuals such as Dr. Henderson, Dr. Sauer, Mrs. Houlston, members of the Education Foundation, and volunteers.

2. Hockey & Baseball Academy

Chad Frey, Academy Teacher, Linda Davidchuk and Tom Mortlock, Vice-Principals of Alexandra Junior High School, will be on hand to inform the Board about the Hockey & Baseball Academy program.

3. International Education

Allan Thompson, teacher at Medicine Hat High School, will be in attendance to highlight his trip overseas promoting our School District and its International Education Program.

4. Parent Link Centres

Chris Christie, Executive Director of McMan Youth Services, and John Powell, Principal at Southview Community School, will inform the Board about Parent Link Centres.

5. Common Planning/Professional Development Days

A committee of school and senior administrators have prepared a PowerPoint presentation to take to school staffs on Common Planning/Professional Development Days. This presentation went to staffs on February 5, 2005 to get feedback on 4 options: status quo, late start Mondays, early release Wednesdays or Fridays. Staff and school council feedback was collected on a SWOT analysis sheet. Dr. Rossler will share information on the PowerPoint and continued process to make a decision for May 3, 2005 Board meeting.

6. Provincial Special Education Review

A special education programming standards review was completed in Medicine Hat School District No. 76 during a five day period from January 10-14, 2005. The review team consisted of Field Services and Special Programs Branch and two central office special education staff members from school jurisdictions in Zone 4. The report has now been received. Kathy Hall-Deibert, Director of Special Education, will be present to discuss recommendations from the report.

LR/KD

Enclosure No. 6

Enclosure No. 6 is included in Trustees' Board Packages as a Separate Enclosure.

7. Medicine Hat School District No. 76 Special Education Review

An internal special education review was undertaken in January to February, 2005 by a team of Mark Bevan, Kathy Hall-Deibert, Chris Massini and Linda Rossler. The internal report is now complete as well. Mark Bevan and Linda Rossler will share the recommendations from the Medicine Hat School District No. 76 Special Education Review.

LR/MB

Enclosure No. 7

Enclosure No. 7 is included in Trustees' Board Packages as a Separate Enclosure.

IV. ITEMS FOR ACTION

1. School Resource Officer Agreement – Medicine Hat School District No. 76 and Medicine Hat Police Services

Attached for Board consideration is a copy of a Source Resource Officer Agreement. This Agreement is between the City of Medicine Hat and Medicine Hat School District No. 76 and provides for services by two Police Officers to act as School Resource Officers.

This Agreement is for the school year September 1st, 2005, to August 31st, 2006,

Dr. Rossler will speak to this Agreement.

It is recommended that the Board approve the School Resource Officer Agreement between the City of Medicine Hat and Medicine Hat School District No. 76,

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Enclosure No. 8

Page No. 7

2. 2. Policy 511: Recognition for Major Secondary Extra-Curricular Activities

The Co-coordinating Committee has reviewed Policy 511 and suggested a few changes, as indicated on the enclosure.

It is recommended that the Board of Trustees approve Policy 511: Recognition for Major Secondary Extra-Curricular Activities as submitted.

Enclosure No. 9

Page No. 10

V. DELEGATIONS

VI. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

1. Medicine Hat Public Schools’ Education Foundation

Minutes of the Medicine Hat Public Schools’ Education Foundation meeting held on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005, are attached for information.

Mr. Riley will speak to these Minutes.

It is recommended that the Board receive the Minutes of the Medicine Hat Public Schools’ Education Foundation meeting held on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005.

WDP

Enclosure No. 10

Page No. 11

2. Alberta School Board’s Association Zone 6 Meeting

Mr. Greg Bender will update Trustees with regards to the Zone 6 meeting held on Wednesday, April 6th, 2005.

VII. ITEMS FOR INFORMATION

1. Alberta Education 2005-2006 Funding Announcements

a) Base Funding

New Funding Rates for the School Year 2005-1006 were received on Wednesday, April 13th, 2005.

The new rates provide the District with an additional $261,000 over the amount which was expected and presented to the Board during a meeting held in March, 2005.

There also appears to be additional funding provided, on a one-time basis, however it is difficult to determine if these announcements are all new monies.

b) One-Time Funding

Alberta Education announced on March 22, 2005 that school authorities will receive an additional 12.8 million this school year for textbooks and other classroom resources. Attached is a copy of the letter from the Minister of Education.

As well, for Trustee information, is a copy of Mr. Pudwell’s Memorandum to all Principals, Secretaries and Bookkeepers advising them that Medicine Hat School District No. 76 has received $147,000, along with a list indicating how the monies will be distributed to each school based on the February 28, 2005, enrollment.

LR/WDP

Enclosure No. 11

Page No. 15

2. Bullying Brochure

Bullying is a community issue that needs to be defined to be addressed. Medicine Hat School District No. 76 has developed a bullying brochure to go out to all families in our schools to share information and provide guidance and direction on how to deal with bullying. It takes a whole community to address this issue. Reporting is the first step. Intervention and positive discipline deter bullying.

Dr. Rossler will share with the Board the brochure that will be going out to families.

Enclosure No. 12

Enclosure No. 12 is included in Trustees' Board Packages as a Separate Enclosure.

3. efi – Case in Point – Production Workflow Solutions

Trustees are provided with a document independently prepared by efi, a company that provides the software which assists in the operation of the Docutech located in the IMC Print Centre.

WDP

Enclosure No. 13

Enclosure No. 13 is included in Trustees' Board Packages as a Separate Enclosure.

2. Medicine Hat School District No. 76-Pupil Enrollment for the period ended March 31st, 2005

Enclosure No. 14

Page No. 18

X. MOVE TO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

It is recommended that the Board move to Committee of the Whole to discuss certain confidential matters.

WDP

XI. RECONVENE TO OPEN BOARD MEETING

XII. ACTION ARISING OUT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

XIII. ADJOURNMENT