December 12, 2016Minutes

Meeting was called to order at 3:30 pm.

Announcements

Principal ReportDr. Jennifer Guthals

  • This is the time for Kindergarten, Preschool and Open Enrollment registration. Please especially encourage any parents of preschool children to register soon since they might not be aware of the upcoming deadlines.
  • The Kidzing concert is at Vance Brand Auditorium on Tuesday 12/13 at 7pm.
  • The Kidzing float won 2 prizes in the Longmont Parade of Lights. The prize money will go to the Kidzing fund and the choir will also receive an ice-skating party.
  • Miss Sampish announced an attendance of 25 families at a recent parent night and was very pleased with the turnout.

Parents’ Committee for the ArtsJoanne Kirves

  • In the spring we will do an Artist in Residence using a percussion theme. Students will build their own drums in Art class, learn to do some simple drumming in Music, and do some dance with them in P.E. class. Ideally this will culminate in a performance for the school. Volunteers are welcome to help in all aspects of this project and we are hoping it can become a permanent part of Fall River.

Budget reportRachel Van Sambeek

  • Funds raised at the Restaurant give-back nights ($325 from Freddie’s and $710) will be used to help make updates to the teachers’ lounge as part of the teacher appreciation gift this year. Any concerns or questions regarding this decision are welcomed.

Guest Speaker

Glenna Alexander-SVVSD Gifted Services, Sandra Whisman – Fall River GT teacher, Dawn Spencer – GT Site Leader:

  • Discussed how students are identified for the GT program using a range of data including cognitive, behavioral and learning criteria. It is up to the state to determine this set of qualifications.
  • Giftedness can have concerns in the following area:
  • Can excel in one or more areas and have deficits in other areas,
  • Process or memory deficits,
  • Executive function concerns,
  • Disengagement/lack of motivation,
  • An Advanced Learning Plan is created which is a live, legal document to help the student, parents, and teachers focus on the goal challenging the student appropriately. If changes are needed to the ALP, it is suggested that you contact the GT site coordinator, GT teacher, principal, or GT district coordinator. Overall, the classroom teacher is the best start for any issues involving implementing GT programming for the individual student.
  • The Universal Goal is to help students learn to effectively advocate for themselves and work with their teacher to create the best academic plan for them at their level.
  • At Fall River, Dawn Spencer will work to keep parents informed of any pertinent GT information.
  • Sandy Whisman runs the GT classes that are held in the morning before school. These are broken into Primary (grades 1 – 3) and Secondary (4 & 5) classes. Math classes utilize various versions of the Equations game – which can be purchased for home use on Literacy uses Passionate Readers Group which culminates in a presentation about books read and studied in class.
  • This year’s STEM night will include projects from the Invention Convention.

Meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm.

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