EAST ROCKAWAY UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT        

East Rockaway, New York

Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

7:30 P.M., February 23, 2010 – East Rockaway Jr./Sr. High School

Preceded by a Presentation on Social Studies and a Public Forum

 

MINUTES

 

Present:  Members of the Board of Education: Marie Girace, Linda Schmidt, Vicki Alspector, Neil Schloth, Michaelene Abbott-Cooper; Superintendent, Dr. Roseanne Melucci; Director of Finance and Operations, Marcy Tannenbaum; District Clerk, Denise Lobascio.

 

 

1.      The meeting was called to order by Marie Girace at 8:10 pm and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Vicki Alspector.

2.      Upon motion by Linda Schmidt, seconded by Neil Schloth, the minutes of the January 19, 2010 Board of Education meeting were unanimously approved.

3.      Acknowledge Receipt of Financial Reports

4.      Correspondence – None


5.      Action Agenda

A.     Personnel
Upon motion by Linda Schmidt, seconded by Neil Schloth the following items #1-5 were unanimously approved:

 

1.      Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, accept the resignation of Gina Sardegna from the position of permanent substitute teacher, effective February 1, 2010,  and approve the probationary appointment of Gina Sardegna to the position of Teacher Assistant, effective February 2, 2010 through February 1, 2013 (tenure area: teaching assistant;  certification status: professional) at the prorated Step 1 annual salary set forth in the East Rockaway Teachers Association Contract for Teacher Assistants for the 2009-2010 school year.

2.      Accept the resignation of Mary Ann Sidoti from the position of teacher aide effective March 10, 2010. 

3.      Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, approve the appointment of Maribeth Frankini to the position of part-time monitor, effective February 24, 2010, at the Step 1 hourly salary set forth in the East Rockaway Food Service and Monitor Union agreement for the 2009-2010 school year. 

4.     Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, approve the following temporary assignments at the hourly salary approved by the East Rockaway Board of Education: 

a.       Louis S. Perri, athletic supervisor, effective March 8, 2010

b.      Roberto DeJesus, substitute food service worker, effective February 24, 2010

c.       Angela Ingenito, substitute food service worker, effective February 24, 2010

d.      Paula Abramson, substitute teacher, effective February 24, 2010

 

5.     Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, approve the continuation of the “emergency, conditional” personnel appointments for the following individuals pending receipt of notification of their fingerprint clearance from the State of New York, Department of Education


NONE  

B.     Other Items
Upon motion by Vicki Alspector, seconded by Michaelene Abbott-Cooper, the following items #1-8 were unanimously approved:

1.     Accept the independent audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009.

2.     Accept a donation in the sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars from the Tides Foundation for the support and further implementation of the social emotional literacy program and approve an increase in Budget Code A2110-400-01-0401 by the sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars. 

3.     Approve the spring 2010 coaching schedule.

4.     Authorize the District Clerk to nominate the following individual, Gale Ross-Srulevich, as a candidate for one of three seats on the Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services. 

5.     Approve the appointment of Jill Russo to serve as a Parent Member for District CSE meetings. 

6.      Approve the contract with Lynbrook UFSD for special education services for Student I.D. 180006967 for the 2009 -2010 school year and authorize the President of the Board of Education to execute the agreement between the Board of Education of Lynbrook UFSD and the Board of Education of East Rockaway. 

7.     Approve the admission of Hewlett-Woodmere Student I.D. No. 180006965 to attend the ALPSS Program at East Rockaway Public Schools for the 2009 -2010 school year and authorize the President of the Board of Education to execute the resulting tuition agreement between the Board of Education of East Rockaway UFSD and the Board of Education of Hewlett-Woodmere UFSD.

8.     Approve the maintenance agreement with Acorn Media for the Infinity LMQ and authorize the President of the Board of Education to execute the agreement on behalf of the Board of Education. 

 

C.     Budget Transfers
Upon motion by Neil Schloth, seconded by Linda Schmidt, the following items #1a& b were unanimously approved.  Item c was tabled until such time the amount of the transfer could be verified.

 

1.      Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board of Education approves the following budget transfers:

a.       Transaction No. 10-0020

b.      Transaction No. 10-0021

c.       Transaction No. 10-0022 - Tabled

 

Upon motion by Linda Schmidt, seconded by Michaelene Abbott-Cooper, the following items D&E were unanimously approved:

D.     Approval of CSE Recommendations

E.      Approval of CPSE Recommendations

6.      Policy Matters:

1.      Policy No. 4.912, Purchasing Authority was adopted.

7.      Superintendent’s Report.

 

Here’s what’s happening in our schools.

At Rhame Avenue the fifth grade is currently learning about Chinese New year.  We have two students from China who are teaching everyone some Chinese.  On Tuesday, February 9th, the third grade classes had their first enrichment lesson with Mrs. Healy, our Enterprise teacher.  The students worked on geography.  Grade 6 had an assembly on cyber bullying with Police Officer Doxwell.  They discussed items such as emails, texts, and bullying.  Presidents' Day was celebrated with activities about the founding fathers, including reading poems and short stories.  The grade 3 East Rockaway Technology Project is on display at the East Rockaway Public Library as the library’s screensaver.  4th grade students have just completed PowerPoint presentations that compare life in the 1700s to life today. Topics included: popular names, using the bathroom, sending messages, taking a picture, size of U.S., clothing, food, etc.  Fifth grade students have created mock extreme weather forecasts that were filmed using the Flip video camera.  Sixth grade students created book "trailers" with the aim of getting other students to read their book selection. This project was created in Photo story and available on Geri Strugatz’s website: www.erelementarycomputers.blogspot.com.  Thank you to the Rhame Avenue PTA for a Game Show Assembly which tested skills and concepts for the grade levels in a fun and entertaining way.  Children are participating in the Six Flags Read To Succeed Six Hour Reading Club.  If they read 6 hours at home, they get a pass for Great Adventure.  144 students participated in JamBlast 2010.  Grade 3 students are reading Hoot and Frindle and the students in grade 6 are reading The Devil's Arithmetic, and Number the Stars. Our kindergarten classes are celebrating the 100 day of school this week.  3rd grade students at Centre had an owl assembly as part of their science studies.

From the High school business department Mr. TJ Moore, who is a resident of the town and a successful CPA, will be visiting the accounting class and speaking about career opportunities in accounting, different types of jobs within the field, the need for good accountants and answering student questions.  We thank Mr. Moore for volunteering his time.

            In ELA this month the secondary students are reading the following:

Freak the Mighty, To Kill a Mockingbird. A Streetcar Named Desire, Adventures of     Huckleberry Finn, and The Awakening.

In social studies students are learning how to examine historical events from different perspectives, the foundations of global civilizations and cultures. a global study of WWII, evaluating major historical events from the US perspective and creative comparative analyses on the costs of vacations, homes and other big ticket items.

The math and science departments are developing a summer assignment for students in grades 7-12. 

The District musical, Wizard of Oz, played to a near sell-out crowd for three outstanding performances with rave revues.  It was an outstanding production.  Congratulations to the students and staff who participated.

The varsity boys’ basketball team was the undefeated conference champions.  They had a very exciting game and lost in OT in the Nassau county “C” championship game to Friends Academy.  The girls’ varsity basketball team was also conference champions and Nassau County “C” champions and will play on Saturday, 2/27, for the County small school championship and then on March 9 in the regional championships.  We congratulate Mr. Joe Lores who was named 2009 New York State Coach of the Year.  Please be advised that spring sports begin March 9!

Our SEDL program is gaining a positive reputation and we were recently visited by the members of the Brentwood school district.  During the visit our guests spoke to students and teachers about our program. 

The SEL words for the month are:

6th grade-envious, hostile, arrogant, attitude

7th grade-stress, frustration, loyalty

8th grade- arrogant, prejudice, intimate

The surveillance camera project is almost completed.  Signs will be posted indicating that the property is under surveillance. 

Mr. Howard and Mr. Cimorelli proudly announced that the Middle School Robotics Team placed 1st in the Research Project category “Creative Presentation” on Saturday, 2/6. The contest was held at Berner Middle School in Massapequa. The team also finished 10th out of 31 in the robot mission challenges. This win qualifies us for the Long Island Championship to be held on February 28 at Longwood High School.

Ms. Corapi put in a request a while ago for a set of thirty free knitting kits. Last week we received a box with thirty knitting kits. The kits are meant as a teaching tool to enable students to learn how to knit as well as a service learning project. The students will knit a 7" X 9" rectangle to donate to the sponsoring organization, The Warm Up America Foundation. They are using the rectangles to make blankets for the homeless and other needy people. Ms. Corapi will do this project with students after school on Wednesdays starting on 2/24/10. It will last for about 4 to 6 weeks depending on the students’ interest in this activity.

Enterprise Art Workshop begins this week grades 4, 5, 6.  Enterprise team of 4th graders won Monday night's Trivia Challenge at UCPN.  This is the second consecutive year that we have won.  We get to keep the trophy for a year and will then get a plaque to keep indefinitely.   On Monday night we were awarded a plaque for being champions last year.  Our student team consisted of Kathleen Peknic, Andrew Schwarzman, and Peter Wilson.   The 6th grade team competes tonight.

I received a letter from a community member regarding the article in the Heralds about Eileen Verity.  The letter complimented the teachers who had the pleasure of instructing Eileen.  Congratulations to Eileen on her award.

Other news includes: CA Student Council Island Harvest coin Drive Feb 1-12; a reminder that our Elementary Chorus will be performing "America the Beautiful" on 3/14 at the NY Islanders game; students in our anti-bias club participated in a workshop relating to prejudice; Rhame Avenue Student Council had a Water Drive for Haiti; last month’s approved calendar is on our district website; H1NI vaccinations are still available - a list of locations is available on the back table.

I also want to remind you that there will be three propositions on the ballot this May—the budget and the two reserve funds; technology and facilities. The reserves are not a request for additional funding.  It’s a vote to be able to release the money and spend it on designated projects for technology and facilities upkeep.  If you would like to learn more about the budget please join us at the next budget advisory committee meeting which will be on Monday, March 8th. 

Coming in March the Census Bureau will be mailing out questionnaires.  The more people that send the forms back, the fewer people that have to be visited by the enumerators.  Not only does this reduce the cost of the census but it improves the accuracy of the count.  Child eligibility count, data from the census, is used for some federal funding.  Please make sure you send in your information so the school district can received all that it is entitled to.

That concludes my report.

 

8.      Privilege of the Floor
One community member remarked on the promo design going on at Rhame Ave.

Another community member asked for clarification of Other Items #7.

Another community member asked what the difference was between Other Items #6 & 7.

 

9.      Board Member Comments
Neil Schloth – Thank you to the Social Studies group, Mr. Poland, Ms. Loftus, Ms. Buscema, Neil and Courtney. My gratitude goes out to everyone involved in the Wizard of Oz, you did an extraordinary job. It took a lot of dedication and hard work.  Congratulations to Joe Lores, he too is very dedicated. Thank you for coming.

 

Linda Schmidt – Thank you Mr. Poland for a fine presentation. It’s nice to know what the children are learning. It is nice to see the interaction in the classroom. Seeing the Wizard of Oz was a great evening with my kids.  Thank you for coming.

 

Michaelene Abbott-Cooper – Thank you for the presentation. It’s nice to see the smart boards being used. The Wizard of Oz was great.  Thank you for coming.

 

Vicki Alspector – I noticed while listening that the Education Foundation donated the maps used in tonight’s presentation and the robotics club equipment. I will not be running for another term. Just thought I would let you know early.

 

Marie Girace –

Thank you Vicki for all your years of service. Thank you to the Social Studies department. It is sure different from my high school Social Studies classes. There is a flyer here on the table describing the responsibilities and duties of a board member. You have to work, but it is a wonderful service to provide. Congratulations Joe Lores.  Thank you for coming.

 

10.   Adjournment
Upon motion by Linda Schmidt, seonded by Neil Schloth and unanimously approved the meeting was adjourned into executive session at 8:40 pm

 

11.  Reconvention

The board reconvened into public session at 9:59 by Marie Girace.

 

12.  Upon motion by Neil Schloth, seconded by Michaelene Abbott Cooper item C1c, budget transfer #10-0022 was unanimously approved.

 

13.  Adjournment

Upon motion by Vicki Alspector, seconded by Linda Schmidt, and unanimously approved, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 pm.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

           

 

Denise Lobascio

District Clerk