• Heritage Elementary School

    School Community Council

    Minutes

    Wednesday, November 9, 2022

     

    In attendance: Lance Robins, Maria Jones, Sara Anderson, Andrea Linton, Ysabel Segovia, Kendal Welker, Melisa Richardson

    Guests: Angela Sorensen, Jenni Theophilou, Matthew Mallory, Gretchen Gibbs, Shalayne Merrill, Bonnie Bickers

     

    1. Welcome to Heritage Elementary School Community Council.

     

    1. Review SCC Minutes from last month (October).

     

    1. Approve last meeting’s minutes from October.

    Motion to approve 1st Sara Anderson

    Motion to approve 2nd Kendal Welker

     

    1. Heritage Safety Week review 

      1. Thank you PTA for doing such a great job organizing it!

      2. Kindergarten - 6th grade students were taught internet safety during their computer lab. Students spent 30 minutes talking about email rules and manners, and how to stay safe on the internet. Older students also learned typing while learning about safety.

      3. All students (kindergarten - 6th) were taught kindness and anti-bullying during their library prep. Mr. Mallory used binoculars to show students how you can see things you don’t normally see. The students enjoyed it.

      4. Students participated in a kindness challenge. Students were encouraged to complete 10 acts of kindness to win an ice cream party. Students had a DJ, gratitude journals, exercise challenges, and they decorated the playground with chalk. Everything went well. 

     

    1. Safe School Information (Angela Sorenson and Jenni Theophilou)

      1. “Safe Routes to School” 

        1. For updated information about routes to help students get to and from school safely, please see the Safe Routes Utah website. Heritage’s specific site can be accessed here. The site shows stop signs, and crosswalks with crossing guards. 

          1. Green lines show the suggestions for the best way to get to school. Not every road is marked in green, but the main roads are marked in green. We have two crossing guards on the roundabout west of the school that are doing a great job assisting the children. Things are working well. 

          2. There is a green line that indicates that children can get to the school from the back walkway.

          3. Nibley City got funding to make 1200 W a thoroughfare. 1200 W will connect to 1000 W. There was a question on if the roundabout will become very busy in the future.

          4. Nibley City is interested in making 1200 W the main safe walk route instead of 1000 W. Jeni Theophilou feels like 1000 W is safe because so many children use it and she would rather have her children go through 1000 W instead of 1200 W. Children have to cross at 2980 S alone if they go down the east sidewalk of 1200 W, or they have to walk through a construction zone if they walk on the west sidewalk on 1200 W.

          5. There was a discussion of a “bulb out” where the road narrows and landscaping extends so you are forced to slow down. Jeni says studies say this slows down traffic better than a 4-way stop. They are interested in installing some to slow down traffic. 

          6. Many students are using orange flags at 1000 W and 2980 S to stay safe. 

          7. Jeni is talking with Nibley City about concerns like students crossing unassisted at 1200 W and 2980 S. Kendal will also be a voice at city meetings.

     

    1. Kids Empowered is scheduled for November 21, 28, and 30.

      1. Discusses bullying and gives students confidence. Parent permission slips are required. All of the grades are included. Parents are invited to come.

     

    1. PBIS (Matthew Mallory)

      1. The state has partially funded a positive behavior plan (Positive Behavior Intervention Support)

      2. There are signs throughout the school that talk about things like bathroom, hallway, and playground etiquette.

      3. This program includes the 6th grade kindness committee and the morning service club.

      4. The 4th graders are learning life skills. This program encourages students to not smoke. It teaches self esteem, communication, and how advertisements convince people to smoke. Mr. Mallory said that studies show that people don’t usually start smoking after high school, so the goal is to talk to students now.

      5. An example of a sign was shown. It talked about playground safety (students should listen to the recess aides, play running games in the grass, stay in the designated boundaries, go down the slide feet first, etc.). The signs word things positively and do not include “no” statements.

      6. We are creating a positive culture at our school so our students want to be here.

      7. Last year we did a kindness night that was funded with this plan. We are hoping to do this again this year.

      8. We had a kindness plan before, but now it is funded.

      9. Mr. Mallory goes above and beyond and his help is appreciated.



    1. Reading Counts Information (Gretchen Gibbs)

      1. Reading Counts is up and students are taking quizzes.

      2. Librarians in the past were teachers, but we couldn’t hire Ms. Gibbs as a teacher, so her hours are limited. Ms. Gibbs has been staying late and is doing a wonderful job. She’s passionate about the library.

      3. There will not be Reading Counts assemblies this year.

      4. Certificates follow the Iditarod and represent perseverance. Awards are given as follows: 

        1. 20 points: Pup

        2. 50 points: Team Dog

        3. 100 points: Swing Dog

        4. 250 points: Lead Dog

        5. 500 points: Iditarod Champion

        6. 1000 points: Hot Dog

        7. 2000 points: Lone Wolf

      5. Reading Counts is meant to motivate and help students read.

     

    1. RISE Testing Data from prior year (Shalayne Merrill)

      1. Testing data is available on our school website

      2. Current technology counts:

        1. We have 31 classes in kindergarten - 6th

        2. 733 students

        3. 66 student classroom iPads

        4. 534 student classroom Chromebooks

        5. This technology is important to measure benchmarks. The more benchmarks we do, the more scores go up because we can adjust teaching to address needs.

      3. Teachers need devices (such as computers, speakers, microphones so that all students can hear the teacher, document cameras, short throw projectors). All of these devices are standard in our rooms.

      4. Testing information is important because it helps us determine which academic areas that need improvement and helps us set tangible, measurable goals. We can then use the funding to meet these goals.

      5. Our proficiency scores from last year are as follows:

        1. Third Grade Proficiency:

          1. ELA: 60%

          2. Math: 70%

        2. Fourth Grade Proficiency:

          1. ELA: 57%

          2. Math: 68%

          3. Science: 55%

        3. Fifth Grade Proficiency:

          1. ELA: 63%

          2. Math: 68%

          3. Science: 69%

          4. Writing: 7/10

        4. Sixth Grade Proficiency:

          1. ELA: 62%

          2. Math: 54%

          3. Science: 73%

     

    1. Teacher needs/wants for the upcoming year.

      1. There are many stipulations on what the money can be used for. 

      2. Technology: We rotate and upgrade technology on a 4-year rotation, but hopefully it will last us 5 years. 

        1. Examples: teacher computers, televisions, microphones, document cameras, student Chromebooks, iPads, headsets, microphones, etc.

      3. Para-Professionals:

        1. Examples: reading aides, Amity Interns, classroom aides, etc. Most of our money this year is going to this category and it is a huge benefit to our school in addressing things like reading needs.

        2. We have about 103 employees in our school. 

     

    1. After-school information (Bonnie Bickers)

      1. The after-school program serves 75 - 100 in the afternoon (150 are registered). Any student can come in the afternoon, but there is a registration form.

      2. There are about 50 kids in the morning. There is an ESL teacher to help.

      3. The program is held Monday through Thursday unless it is a short week. It goes until 4:30 in the afternoon. There is a bus to take students home. The program is not held on Fridays because teachers have afternoon meetings on Fridays.

      4. Students have an incentive to finish homework so that they can play and participate in activities.

      5. Most of the grades have a teacher in that grade level to teach and help the students. 

      6. We have a $50,000 grant that will last 3 years to support this program. This is our second year. 

      7. The before-school program is by invitation only for kids that might have gaps. They get help in math and reading. We’ve started the Amira Program. It tracks students’ reading fluency, helps students with pronunciation, and is very helpful. We also use iReady that gives students an assessment to determine where the gaps may be. Teachers will review with students on test days to help students prepare and to give them a confidence boost. Students can learn in a small group. It is no-cost because of the grant that we received. It is a big help to students and parents. 

      8. The after-school program is available to kindergarten through 6th graders.

      9. The before-school program is available for 3rd - 6th graders.

      10. Ms. Bickers has been an amazing help to our school.

     

    1. AAPPL Testing 

     

    1. Update on how this was handled in the computer lab (Shalayne Merrill)

      1. Students in 3rd-6th grade DLI are taking the AAPPL test this week. They will finish on Friday. The 3rd and 5th graders are taking a speaking test, and they are almost done. The 4th and 6th graders are taking a listening, reading, and a writing test. They’ll finish these tests in the next two days. Most students are on the last writing test. The deadline is in December, but we administer the AAPPL test in advance to accommodate students that are sick, absent, or that need extra time. 

    2. Students will continue taking the AAPPL test through the 8th grade. In the 9th grade they will take an AP test. They will take a bridge class in 10th grade. It is a 3000 level class at the university. There is an AP Spanish class at Mountain Crest, but they don’t have a bridge class. Logan has the AP Spanish class and the bridge class. You can dual enroll between schools too.

    3. Discussion about the teachers’ responsibilities with the AAPPL test (Maria Jones)

      1. Teachers have been certified to know how to administer and help students prepare for the AAPPL test. Teachers have been giving students tests to prepare every day.

      2. We’re hoping that students will get the AAPPL results at parent-teacher conferences.

      3. Ms. Jones is working towards a degree in administration, interning at our school for her degree, teaching, and has been an excellent help to our school.

     

    1. School Land Trust spent year to date

      1. Total Funds: $107, 416.78

      2. Spent: $45,926.40

      3. Left: $61,490.38 (57.24% left)

      4. We have literacy deficiencies from COVID, and we were able to make even smaller reading groups this year to address it.

      5. $94,669 went to paraprofessionals this year.

      6. We can’t carry more than 10% of the funds. We need to spend the funds this year.

     

    1. Other Items

      1. Our website includes a list of our teachers and our specialists and the prep schedule. Ms. Merrill does a great job with our website and teaches other web specialists in the district. We will list the Amity Aides on this page soon. 

      2. We made almost $200 from the Zupas kickback night.

      3. The PTA has a Facebook group with information about things like parent-teacher conferences, reading information, the book fair, the flu vaccination clinic, no-school days, etc.

      4. The PTA page on our school website has information such as the PTA newsletter and minutes. 

      5. Spring reports due dates are set by the district.

     

    1. Motion to Close this meeting:

      1. Motion to close 1st Kendal Welker

      2. Motion to close 2nd Melisa Richardson

     

    1. Thank you for attending