Agendas and Minutes

February 25

SFES and District Updates

• Parent Survey is being sent today
• Discuss promoting the beautification day 
• Ms Thomas to ask Beta club to support
• Safety - Rich Todd - Director of School Safety
• Culture: What does a safe school culture look and feel like? How do we continue to build a culture of safety?
• Prevention: How are behavior concerns identified early? What happens when a child expresses any type of fear? Are there systems to intervene with known possible problems/issues before they escalate? What role does mental health support play in overall school safety?
• Parent communication and engagement: What should parents reinforce at home about safety? How can parents report concerns anonymously or safely? Are there other ways parents can help with anything regarding safety?
• Readiness of the Staff: How are staff members prepared and trained to handle emergency situations? How are substitutes prepared to follow safety procedures?
• Emergency preparedness: How are drills adapted for young children, so they understand but aren’t scared? How often are drills reviewed for effectiveness? How do teachers explain drills/emergencies to students? How would reunification with families work in a real emergency?
• Building Access: What procedures are in place for volunteers and visitors? Are there additional thoughts to help keep our school buildings safe? Are playgrounds and outdoor spaces monitored adequately?

Next Steps:

• Prompt participation with families to complete the survey
• Put in colt courier for teachers to promote survey in newsletters–make blurb
• Czapla will make an eye catching promotion for teachers to send out with equipment to bring
• Need to add date to the Hoofbeat news and a sign up form to gauge interest and what equipment
• March 15
• Lacrosse team from NAFO coming
• Rich Todd started with a presentation to review safety from a district level
• Discussion of bus expectations sent from the district
• Communicate from school about how to talk to kids about drills–especially for K/1

Next Meeting Date
March 25th

January 28

SFES and District Updates

• Budget Request Items
• Small Capital 
• Large Capital
• Instructional
• Improve Game Room (ideas)
• Beautification Tour outside to see what needs done. Decide areas and a date.
• NAESP Application
• Achievement Gaps

Next Steps:

• Extra funds to use found in budgets (state funds = use or lose, educational fund = use as soon as can)
• Discuss needs of the school  
• Teacher wish lists being collected  
• New Benches / Trash cans with logos
• Staff mail room
• Using for beautification and potential game room updates
• Beautification - March 15 @ 2:00-5:00, make up date possibly March 22nd
• Casey make Canva flyer (add donations for supplies - potentially) 
• Leaves out of the front garden bed. 
• Mulch front trees (put rocks in borders as triangle shape) 
• Weeding in playground areas
• Painting concrete titles inside bus loop / add picnic tables 
• Garden in back is TBD (sensory) 
• Larger garden area - maybe secret garden type update / classroom garden
• Playground needs - 
• Ask for more Turf (3-5 playground)
• Turf inside Gaga ball pit
• Soccer balls, footballs, basketball nets, basketballs. 
• Fresh paint on basketball court
• Soccer Goals (metal)
• News crew - new video technology to record the school news (TBD)
• Game room - STEAM games, request donations, Twister, chess, large checkers, coloring books, busy books, mini bowling.
• ask kids what they want and tell Mr Fantone
• Need to get some kind of sound barrier. 
• Need air fresheners 
• Paint a wall in black chalkboard paint and have a basket of chalk. 
• Mini Kitchenette & tools 
• Working on NAESP (similar to blue ribbon) school application - will provide results when they come in if awarded. 
• Future Meeting Topics
• Safety
• Tutoring onsite - Mr Young said the board is continuing to discuss. 
• Reach out to Safety (put plan together for beautification)
• Discuss promoting the beautification day 
• Ms Thomas to ask Beta club to support

Next Meeting Date
February 25 at 4:30 pm 

November 29 

SFES and District Updates
Presentation for Mr. Young
Questions for Mr. Young
  

• Projected growth?-- people, programs, schools 
• There is a decline in growth this year. Especially K-2. 
  • General timeline for next rezone? 
• Maybe in 4-5 years. Depending on growth.
  • What is the timeline for high school growth/new buildings?
• No plan from a new HS at this time. There are two lots that FMSD owns for possible growth.
• District priorities
  • What are the separate priorities for elementary vs middle/highschool. 
  • Will class sizes remain? Teachers, to provide their feedback on cap sizes per classroom - keeping class sizes low (family feel). 
• Could see it rising a little bit due to funding, resources, staffing needs (ex. SPED). Goal to stay as long as we can.
• Crossing guard updates. 
  • There are crossing guards at schools with cross walks.
  • There are ideas/suggestions to allow trained crossing guards by the police department.
• Allowing tutoring after school. It would benefit the child and teacher.
• Policy of making money at school, teachers would have to rent the space.
• Teacher & Staff (Teacher Assistant) Pay Increases
• First item that goes in our budget.
• SC doesn’t always fully fund districts.
• School landscaping - schools responsibilities for basic landscaping/beautification needs. 
  • Funds to pay by the district?
• Opportunities to stay closely aligned - maintaining equity among all school populations.

October 29 

SFES and District Updates

1. Prep Discussion on Proposed Topics for Mr. Young (Nov Speaker)
2. Plans for fall beautification day: needs, date(s), etc. 
3. Confirm plans for Veterans Day
4. Behavior Academies - put on hold 
5. Threats

Mr Young: 

• Quick overview and update of SFES culture, test scores. Could leverage the “get to know SFES presentation”. 
• Projected growth?-- people, programs, schools 
• General timeline for next rezone?
  • What is the timeline for high school growth/new buildings?
  • District priorities? 
• What are the separate priorities for elementary vs middle/highschool. 
  • Will class sizes remain? Teachers, to provide their feedback on cap sizes per classroom - keeping class sizes low (family feel). 
  • Crossing guard updates. 
• Educational Clubs afterschool - teacher lead math/ELA clubs (similar to Let Me Run, Chess Club, etc… but to support those who want attentional help.  Would be teacher volunteers (paid by FMSD and/or parents). 
• Teacher & Staff (Teacher Assistant) Pay Increases
• School landscaping - schools responsibilities for basic landscaping/beautification needs. 
  • Funds to pay by the district?
• Opportunities to stay closely aligned - maintaining equity among all school populations. 

Beautification Day:

• Fall - give to PTA for planning/funds
• Select a day in March (before K registration (4/1 - 4/2). 
• Sensory garden - will be a part of Eagle Scout project. 

5th Grade Graduate Gift:

• Fence panels - Mr. Fantone to investigate current fence options. 
• Last resort - hand prints or something similar (not painted rocks). Wall, writing letters, breakfast

Hands-Off, Check-In Check-Out, Civility, Organizational Skills, Social Skills, Upstander, Motivation, and Emotional Regulation. These academies are designed to help individuals develop targeted life skills such as communication, problem-solving, and self-confidence.   

• Thoughts?
• Threats - Flyer to help parents understand the protocol of a child making threats in the school environment. 
  • Mr Fantone included a positive tone to introduce it in Hoof Beat. 
  • Mr Fantone to send a separate message (with or without attached flyer) to introduce the objective and protocol and why this is important to the entire school.  “We are taking proactive steps to make our school a safe place.”
  • Teachers to potentially add a print out of the flyer in Tuesday’s send home folders

Next Meeting Date
Nov. 19, 2025 at  5:30?

September 30

SFES and District Updates

• Report Card Data
  • Overall Rating
  • Goal: Student Perceptions of Social-Physical Environment
• School Updates
  • Teacher and Support Staff of the Month: Harmon and Nash
  • Enrollment: 536
  • Book Machine (delivered)
  • Winthrop Interns (7)
• Plan for Veteran’s Day: 11.01.25
  • Breakfast
  • Activities?
• Pumpkins? Put on hold till next year or future. 
• Feedback for Curriculum Night
• First place was RiverTrail, 2nd Gold Hill, and Springfield was 3rd. 
• 6/11 rated as excellent - all in FMSD. 
• Blue Ribbon $6,500 - will hold off in 2025-26, looking towards next fall 2026-27. 
• Area to focus on is the student/parent perception of social-physical environment.
  • Could depend on where students are taking the survey compared to how they respond. 
  • Potential for misunderstanding the questions and/or what bullying means. 
  • Parents survey was more positive then students. Any negativity went towards Silfab. 
  • IDEA: To run an internal survey to gather additional feedback between district surveys. 
• Veteran’s Day - the cafeteria will serve food. (photo/bio, thank you cards, decorations, wall of honor) 
  • Ideas: Letter Writing to veterans, Choir could sing for them at breakfast, bring in extra halloween candy to donate,
  • Add address of veterans who won’t be at breakfast  to google form. 
  • Need volunteers to put up veteran wall on 11.10.25 (8:30 am - Monday). 
  • Deepa, Natasha, Chrissy 
• Craft Night - Pumpkin Auction on hold - maybe think about a Spring Flower idea. 
  • Build-a-Colt - STEAM Night (Feb) - looking to move to Wednesday? 
• Curriculum Night - good feedback, could be helpful to offer child care, offer a live-stream, add Coaching University for parents. 

Future Meeting Topics
October?
November speaker-Grey Young.

• Speaker/Topics: 
  • Beautification Day (March)
  • Discuss topics for Mr. Young in November:  Strategic Plan, goals for next three years, talk about small family feel in FMSD, what does growth look like for FMSD. 

Next Meeting Date
Oct 29, 2025
Nov. 19, 2025
Will try 4:00 - 5:00 pm for the October 29 meeting. 

August 27  
Welcome-Dinner
Introductions
Name, positions, why on SIC, something about yourself

SFES and District Updates

• Roles/Election 2 years
  • Chairperson - 
  • Vice-Chairperson - 
  • Secretary - 
• Staff/School Updates
  • PLC Model School
  • SC Ready
• PTA/Community Involvement
• Meeting Times?
• Support Staff and Teacher of the Month

Next Steps:

Molly McColl - Chairperson
Justin James - Vice Chairperson
Secretary - Chrissy Ball

• Aaryn Marsters explains what a PLC Model School is and how we earned that achievement (observations, data analysis, and explanation of our collaborative process.  
• We discuss possible Blue Ribbon School processes, is it worth it?
• PTA involvement and community increase different ways to support teachers.

Future Meeting Topics

• Share Report Card Data
• Budget
• Beautification
  • Service Projects
  • Beautification ideas: 
• Fund raise with families sponsoring bags of mulch and flowers
• Need dates-Fall and Spring?
• Service projects:
• School wide initiatives 
• Safety: Rich Todd come to speak
• Jocelyn Young or Waiksnis-Discus new state laws and new implementations
• Have PTA come in the spring and discuss the budget

Next Meeting Date
October 1st
Discuss next meeting if an alternative time would work
Discuss adding more elements to Veterans Day
Letters and candy ideas
Pumpkins decorating
SC READY data

Questions and Comments