Monthly PTG Meeting
Minutes
Intros/announcements
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Please consider taking on leadership role for
next year’s PTG board-need volunteers!
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Looking for small committee to consider next
year’s budget; contact Chris Rietz to be on the
committee or offer suggestions
Fundraising – Anita Krasno
§ April 25 - Family Fun Night – coordinator is Deb Mulligan
§ Still looking for a few volunteers: need supply coordinator; Daithe will do much of the entertainment coordinating, but needs some assistance night-of; could use some help calling donors/soliciting donations; may need help staffing Just Coffee booth night-of. Contact Anita is you’re available to help.
§ May 6 – Plant sale pick-up at Marquette; order forms out soon; includes annuals and gift certificates to greenhouse; will try to coordinate selling perennials cash and carry at same time. More info to come.
Principal Reports:
Michael Hertting –Lapham
§ Ice skating finally happened – wonderful event; pictures posted
§ Started swimming in past week or so
§ Continue dressing kids for cold weather – playground is messy/wet
§ “Make a Difference Team” met 4 times after school; 2nd graders take on more ownership role in school; they give input on upcoming programs/special days/events
§ Need to buy new dryer – phy ed teacher currently taking clothes home each night (related to swimming)
§ Please return survey that was included in last newsletter
§ Received allocations; Lapham pretty much the same for next year; now qualify for specials to be there .4 (which is a .10 decrease from last year) – especially in music and art, specials are only there 2 days; currently have 53 kindergartners registered for fall, projected to have mid-70s.
Andrea Kreft-Marquette
§ Lots of kids/staff sick; stress washing hands – getting healthy
§ Dream Camp going well – kids love it – championship games coming up in April
§ Acts of Kindness month: writing positive comments on paper strips when see someone in the act of doing something kind. Will create paper chains that will go around cafeteria when completed.
§ Climate surveys going out soon. Please complete and return. Kids previously completed; contact Andrea if you want to see results.
§ WKCE results should be in the mail within the next few weeks.
§ Preparing for next year’s class placements; asking for parent input on your child’s placement
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Meeting this Thursday to discuss
Anne Fisher – Affiliated Alternatives
§ Getting positive feedback on Affiliated Alternatives within Lapham
§ Affiliated Alternatives students help out in phy ed; assist with Rena dance class; tutor in math classes; participate in Marquette Mile – beneficial for students on both ends.
Presentation on
Literacy Instruction (Approaches Lapham uses for Literacy)
§ Balanced literacy (guided reading) and/or direct instruction
§ WKCE/WAA – what does it measure? Levels categorized as Advanced – Proficient- Basic-Minimal; we combine Advanced and Proficient and compare district-wide and statewide; Lapham/Marquette continue to be higher than both
§ 90 minutes of literacy work each day
§ Direct instruction: works through specific curriculum, prescribes how/what/order; determines essential knowledge skills; includes a teacher script (allows teacher to focus on student); has unique print; focus on natural language and rapid pace; in a group, students answer together; ensures each student is getting instruction; every error is corrected every time/right away; phonemic awareness taught explicitly; monitoring of student lessons (every 5 lessons); each and every detail is thought out; nothing really left to chance – quite prescriptive
§ Balanced literacy: looks at each child and where the child is at (more fitted to each child); teachers determine based on evaluation; variety of texts used to support child; guided reading lessons focus on prior knowledge and children making connections; program focuses on guided reading; teachers model what good readers/writers do; children are taught to self-monitor; ask children – does it makes sense? Does this sound right? Does this look right? Errors often become teaching points; teachers really think about how child problem solves – try to get at how child is thinking; reread familiar text to build fluency; teachers have flexibility and professional judgment; the needs of individual child drives work; MMSD provides material and training
§ Commonalities between the two: both attend to phonics piece; both conduct important pre-assessments; both grouped by reading level; fluency and accuracy are reading quality both aspire for their readers; both use reading boxes in the classroom
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Bottom line - A highly educated and committed
staff make the difference, no matter what program or approach is used.