ROSE TREE MEDIA SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS Legislative Agenda March 26, 2009 7:30 p.m. I. Call to Order II. Approval of Minutes A. B. III. Penncrest High School Hi-Q Team Creating Competent Kids Reports A. B. C. D. E. VI. Legislative Meeting of February 26, 2009 Bus Bid Openings of February 27, 2009 Educational Presentation A. V. Roll Call Presentations and Awards A. IV. Pledge of Allegiance Student Liaison Reports School Reports Superintendent’s Report Solicitor’s Report President’s Report Scheduled Presentations (Limited to Five Minutes Each) A. B. Agenda RTMEA Healthy Communities Initiative 1 March 26, 2009 VII. Unscheduled Presentations (Limited to Three Minutes Each) A. VIII. Old Business A. IX. Policy #249 Bullying/Cyberbullying – See Attachment A New Business A. B. X. Rose Tree Media Residents Personnel 1. Terminations a. Professional b. Non-Instructional 2. Nominations a. Professional b. Non-Instructional 3. General a. Unpaid Leave of Absence b. Supplemental Contracts Overnight Trips 1. Penncrest High School Swim Team – Swimming Championships in Danville, PA 2. Penncrest High School Science Olympiad – State Tournament at Juniata College 3. Penncrest High School Science Olympiad – National Tournament in Augusta, GA 4. Springton Lake Middle School Science Olympiad – State Competition at Juniata College Finance A. B. Agenda Purchasing 1. Bid Award General 1. DCIU Board Member 2. Plan Con-K Project Refinancing 3. Budgetary Transfers 4. Adjustments to 2008-2009 Budget 5. Sunday Use of Facilities 6. Proposal from G. D. Houtman & Son. Inc. 7. Submittal of PDE-3074 – See Attachment B 8. Penncrest Grading Committee 9. Compass Learning 10. Easement Agreement – See Attachment C 2 March 26, 2009 C. D. XI. Financials for February 2009 Bill lists for February 2009 Adjournment ANNOUNCEMENT There will be an executive session of the School Board for matters of personnel at 6:30 p.m. prior to the Informational Session of April 23, 2009, at Springton Lake Middle School. The Legislative meetings are recorded on tape. Agenda 3 March 26, 2009 EXCELLENCE TODAY FOR TOMORROW Rose Tree Media School District 308 North Olive Street Media, Pennsylvania 19063-2493 Telephone: 610-627-.6000 Fax: 610-891-0959 www.rtmsd.org Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools To: From: Date: Subject: I. Grace A. Eves, Board Secretary, Director of Management Services Members of the Board of School Directors Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D., Superintendent Grace A. Eves, Board Secretary February 26, 2009 Minutes of the February 26, 2009, Legislative Meeting Call to Order Roll Call Pledge of Allegiance Board Members in Attendance: Students: Nicalia Thompson Matthew Toal Nicole Sassaman Linda Kinsler-Fox, President Veronica Barbato Peter Barry Nancy Fronduti John Hanna Nancy Mackrides William Montgomery William O’Donnell Jeffrey Pettit Also in Attendance: Ron Baldino, Supervisor Maint. & Oper. Pat Barta, Supervisor of Special Educ. William Bennett, Principal ILE Eric Bucci, Ass’t. Principal, PCHS Anne Callahan, Dir. Human Resources Susan Evans, Asst. Principal, PHS Grace Eves, Dir. Management Services Angela Gilbert, Dir. Elem. Teaching. & Learning Ron Harris, Network Specialist Ralph Harrison, Ass’t. Principal PHS Anthony Jackowski, Ass’t. Principal SLMS Joyce Jeuell, Principal, SLMS Minutes of February 26, 2009 -1- Mack Johnson, Management Specialist for SMS and FMS Denise Kerr, Superintendent of Schools Bonnie Kinsler, Transportation Director Patti Linden, Dir. Tech. & Info. Sci. Kim McCann-Roller, Info. Tech. Spec. Chip Olinger, Athletic Dir. PHS Roxanne Schupp, Supv.Business Oper. Steve Quinn, Asst. Principal, SLMS Steve Taylor, Dir. Sec. Teaching & Learning Katherine White, Principal, MES Thomas Kelly, Solicitor 2/26/09 The Legislative Meeting of the Board of School Directors of the Rose Tree Media School District was held on Thursday, February 26, 2009, at Springton Lake Middle School. The meeting was called to order by President Linda Kinsler-Fox. II. Approval of Minutes A. B. Legislative Meeting Minutes of January 22, 2009 Special Legislative Meeting of February 10, 2009 Mrs. Fronduti moved and Mrs. Mackrides seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 79 Resolved, that the Board approve the Legislative Meeting Minutes of January 22, 2009 and the Special Legislative Meeting of February 10, 2009. The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell, Jeffrey Pettit NAYS: III. None Presentations and Awards A. Nancy Mackrides – Former School Board President Recognition Mrs. Mackrides moved and Mrs. Barbato seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 80 Resolved, that the Board recognize Nancy Mackrides for her dedicated service as President of the Rose Tree Media School District Board of Directors. The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell, Jeffrey Pettit NAYS: None Minutes of February 26, 2009 -2- 2/26/09 At this time Dr. Joyce Jeuelle, Principal of Springton Lake Middle School and students, made a presentation to the School Board recognizing their dedication and service to the Rose Tree Media School District. IV. Educational Presentation A. Inauguration 2009 – Rose Tree Elementary School V. Reports A. School Reports – In Official Legislative Minutes of February 26, 2009 B. Superintendent’s Report - In Official Legislative Minutes of February 26, 2009 C. Solicitor’s Report - In Official Legislative Minutes of February 26, 2009 D. President’s Report - In Official Legislative Minutes of February 26, 2009 VI. Scheduled Presentations A. RTMEA – Sandy Staiger, President B. Healthy Communities Initiative, Dana Riker, Executive Director VII. Unscheduled Presentations A. Rose Tree Media Residents – None VIII. Old Business A. Policies 1. Public Records (Right To Know) Policy #801 – Second and Final Read Mr. O’Donnell moved and Mr. Montgomery seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 81 Resolve, that the Board approve the Public Records (Right To Know) Policy #801. The proposed policy was discussed at the January 2009 and February 2009 Finance Committee Meetings (See Attachment A in the Official Legislative Minutes of February 26, 2009). The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: NAYS: Minutes of February 26, 2009 Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell Jeffrey Pettit None -3- 2/26/09 IX. New Business A. Personnel 1. 2. Terminations a. Professional b. Non-Instructional Nominations a. Professional b. Non-Instructional Mr. O’Donnell moved and Mrs. Fronduti seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 82 Resolved, that the Board approve the following Personnel section: 1. Terminations a. Professional - None b. Non-Instructional - None 2. Nominations a. Minutes of February 26, 2009 Professional 1. Susan Coyne, Long-Term Substitute Elementary Teacher, effective January 26, 2009, at the annual salary of $49,182, Master’s/Step 1 to be pro-rated for the second semester. Ms. Coyne received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Cabrini College. She is assigned to Glenwood Elementary replacing Marianne Whiteman who was on leave and has now been reassigned on a temporary basis. 2. Berit Haahr, Long-Term Substitute Reading Specialist, effective February 9, 2009 at the annual salary of $49,182, Master’s Degree/Step 1 to be pro-rated. Ms. Haahr received her Bachelor’s Degree from Bryn Mawr College and her Master’s Degree from Cabrini College. She comes to us from Upper Merion Area School District where she has served as a Reading Specialist. She is -4- 2/26/09 IX. New Business A. Personnel 2. Nominations a. b. Professional 2. (continued) assigned to Rose Tree Elementary replacing Cathy Poulos who has been reassigned. NOTE: Ms. Haahr is being hired pending completion of her pre-employment paperwork. 3. Jason Lazarow, Homebound Instructor for the 2008-2009 school year at the rate of $44.00 per hour. 4. Casie Gaebler, Long Term Substitute Social Studies Teacher, effective February 23, 2009 at the annual salary of $44,202, Bachelor’s/Step 1 to be pro-rated. Ms. Gaebler received her Bachelor’s Degree from Immaculata University. She is assigned to Springton Lake Middle School replacing Maureen Auerbach who is on leave. NOTE: Ms. Gaebler is being hired pending completion of her pre-employment paperwork. 5. Elizabeth Battista, Director of Summer School, 2009 at the annual salary of $4,000. 6. Al Heinle, Assistant Summer School Director, 2009 at the annual salary of $3,000. Non-Instructional 1. Minutes of February 26, 2009 George Truesdale, Grounds/Maintenance, effective February 17, 2009 at the rate of $17.20 per hour. Mr. Truesdale is assigned to Maintenance and Operations replacing Carl Holland who was reassigned. NOTE: Mr. Truesdale is being hired pending completion of his pre-employment paperwork. -5- 2/26/09 IX. New Business A. Personnel 2. Nominations a. Professional (continued) 2. Laura DelCasale, Support Staff I, effective February 10, 2009 at the rate of $11.14 per hour. Ms. DelCasale is assigned to Indian Lane Elementary replacing Chris Nolan who was reassigned. NOTE: Ms. DelCasale is being hired pending completion of her pre-employment paperwork. 3. Frank Finsterbusch, Grounds/Maintenance, effective February 23, 2009 at the rate of $17.20 per hour. Mr. Finsterbusch is assigned to Maintenance and Operations replacing Jack Dunne who was reassigned. NOTE: Mr. Finsterbusch is being hired pending completion of his pre-employment paperwork. 4. Isabelle Boudazin, Substitute Food Service Worker, effective February 27, 2009 at the rate of $9.75 per hour. NOTE: Ms. Boudazin is being hired pending completion of her pre-employment paperwork. 5. Anthony Discala, Custodial Night Supervisor, Indian Lane Elementary for the 2nd semester 2008-2009 at the annual salary of $500.00. 6. W. Clement Smith, Substitute Bus Driver, effective February 10, 2009 at the rate of $19.69 per hour. Mr. Smith is assigned to the Transportation Department. The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell Jeffrey Pettit NAYS: None Minutes of February 26, 2009 -6- 2/26/09 IX. New Business A. Personnel 3. General a. Supplemental Contracts Mr. O’Donnell moved and Mrs. Mackrides seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 83 Resolved, that the Board approve the following: 1. Andrea Drinkwine, Video Club Sponsor, at the rate of $12.00 per hour to a maximum of $1,112.00. 2. Recommend Board approval of the Penncrest High School Spring Athletic Supplemental Contracts for the 2008-2009 school year. See Attachment B 3. Recommend Board approval of the Springton Lake Middle School Spring Athletic Supplemental Contracts for the 2008-2009 school year. See Attachment C 4. Michele Frisoli, Event Chaperone, Penncrest High School, at the rate of $55.00 per event. 5. Brian Reilly, New Teacher Mentor, effective February 29, 2009 at the annual salary of $443.22. The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: NAYS: ABSTAIN Minutes of February 26, 2009 Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell None Jeffrey Pettit -7- 2/26/09 IX. New Business A. Personnel 3. General b. Student Expulsions Mrs. Fronduti moved and Mr. Pettit seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 84 1. Expulsion of Student #40345 Resolved, that student #40345 be permanently expelled from the Rose Tree Media School District effective January 29, 2009, including all activities therein, through and including the 2009-2010 school year, pursuant to the Due Process Hearing Adjudication herein. Student may be eligible to apply for re-admittance to the school district for the start of the 2010-2011 school year. 2. Expulsion of Student #40347 Resolved, that student #40347 be placed at an Alternative Education Placement effective February 6, 2009, for the remainder of the 2008-2009 school year. Student may not be on Penncrest property, pursuant to the waiver of the Due Process Hearing signed by student’s parents. Minutes of February 26, 2009 -8- 2/26/09 IX. New Business A. Personnel 3. General b. Student Expulsions (continued) 3. Expulsion of Student #30098 Resolved, that student #30098 be permanently expelled from the Rose Tree Media School District effective February 17, 2009, for the remainder of the 2008-2009 school year, including all activities therein, through and including the first semester of the 20092010 school year, pursuant to the waiver of the Due Process Hearing signed by student’s parents. Subject to the student’s performance at the alternative school placement, the student may be eligible to apply for re-admittance to the school district for the start of the 2009-2010 school year. The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: NAYS: Minutes of February 26, 2009 Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, William O’Donnell, Jeffrey Pettit William Montgomery -9- 2/26/09 IX. New Business B. Overnight Trips 1. 2. 3. Penncrest High School Future Business Leaders Association – FBLA – State Competition – Hershey, PA Penncrest High School Chorus – Music Festival, New York City, NJ Penncrest High School Band – St. Patrick’s Day Parade Charleston, SC Mr. O’Donnell moved and Mr. Hanna seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 85 1. Penncrest High School Future Business Leaders Association FBLA State Competition – Hershey, PA Resolved, that the Board approve the Penncrest High School FBLA attending the State Competitions in Hershey, PA, on March 30 – April 1, 2009. 2. Penncrest High School Chorus – Music Festival - New York City, NJ Further resolved, that the Board approve the Penncrest High School Chorus attending a Music Festival and Broadway Show in New York City, NY, on April 24 – 25, 2009. 3. Penncrest High School Band – St. Patrick’s Day Parade Charleston, SC Further resolved, that the Board approve the Penncrest High School Band perform in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and tour Charleston, SC, on March 11 – 15, 2009. The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: NAYS: Minutes of February 26, 2009 Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell, Jeffrey Pettit None - 10 - 2/26/09 IX. New Business C. Policies 1. Policy #249 Bullying and Cyberbullying – First Read See Attachment D in Official Legislative Minutes of February 26, 2009. D. Calendar 1. 2009-2010 School Year Calendar Mr. O’Donnell moved and Mr. Hanna seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 86 Resolved, that the Board approve the 2009-2010 School Year Calendar. See Attachment D in Official Legislative Minutes of February 26, 2009. The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: NAYS: Minutes of February 26, 2009 Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell, Jeffrey Pettit Nancy Mackrides - 11 - 2/26/09 X. Finance A. B. Purchasing - None General 1. 2. 3. Audit for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2008 Budgetary Transfers Rose Tree Elementary School – Roof Replacement Professional Services Mr. Hanna moved and Mrs. Mackrides seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 87 1. Audit for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2008 Resolved, that the Board accept the results of the audit for Fiscal year ended June 30, 2008. 2. Budgetary Transfers Further resolved, that the Board approve the following Budgetary Transfers: FY 09 –127 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: AMOUNT: TO: AMOUNT: Learning Support – Supplies Learning Support – Textbooks Learning Support – Equipment $52,000.00 Learning Support – Other Professional Services $52,000.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed to reallocate IDEA funds to the proper accounts. Minutes of February 26, 2009 - 12 - 2/26/09 X. Finance B. General 2. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –126 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: AMOUNT: Learning Support – Supplies $5,219.89 TO: Learning Support – Salaries Learning Support – Benefits Learning Support – Equipment Rental Learning Support – Travel Learning Support – Educational Software 5,219.89 AMOUNT: RATIONALE: Transfer needed to reallocate IDEA funds to the proper accounts. FY 09 –117 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: AMOUNT: Regular Instruction – Technology Supplies $3,775.00 TO: AMOUNT: Instruction & Curriculum – Supplies $3,775.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Elementary Teaching and Learning to purchase MP3 Players and CD Boom boxes for all four elementary schools. FY 09 –128 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: AMOUNT: Instruction & Curriculum – Supplies $1,550.00 TO: Instruction & Curriculum – Visiting Artists Program $1,550.00 AMOUNT: RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Springton Lake Middle School to pay for the February 25, 2009 performance of Key Arts Productions. Minutes of February 26, 2009 - 13 - 2/26/09 X. Finance B. General 2. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –130 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: AMOUNT: Instruction & Curriculum – Supplies $1,000.00 TO: AMOUNT: Regular Instruction – Travel $1,000.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Penncrest High School monthly travel expenses. 3. Rose Tree Elementary School -Roof Replacement Professional Services Further resolved, that the Board approve a contract in the amount of $12,800 to Roofing Resources for the roof replacement at Rose Tree Elementary. (See Attachment F in Official Legislative Minutes of February 26, 2009.) The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: NAYS: Minutes of February 26, 2009 Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell, Jeffrey Pettit None - 14 - 2/26/09 X. Finance C. D. Financials for January 2009 Bill Lists for January 2009 Mrs. Fronduti moved and Mrs. Mackrides seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 88 Resolved, that the Board approve the following: Financial Reports January January January January 2009 2009 2009 2009 Treasurers Reports Investment Reports Summary Expenditure Status Report Revenue Status Report Bill Lists January 2009 General Fund Bill List $ 2,164,438.71 January 2009 Imprest Fund Bill List $ 6,063.00 January 2009 Capital Fund Bill List $ 245.23 January 2009 Bond Series 2004 Bill List $ 36,814.60 January 2009 Bond Series 2007 A & B Bill List $ 493,625.87 January 2009 Activities/Special Revenue Fund $ 16,769.42 $ 2,717,956.83 The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: NAYS: Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell, Jeffrey Pettit None Minutes of February 26, 2009 - 15 - 2/26/09 XI. Adjournment Mr. O’Donnell moved and Mr. Hanna seconded a motion to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION: 2008-2009 – 89 Resolved, that there being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. The aforementioned resolution was declared adopted by the Chair, the vote being: AYES: NAYS: Linda Kinsler-Fox, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell, Jeffrey Pettit None ______________________ Grace A. Eves School Board Secretary Minutes of February 26, 2009 - 16 - 2/26/09 ROSE TREE MEDIA SCHOOL DISTRICT BID OPENING MINUTES February 27, 2009 A bid opening was held on February 27, 2009, at 2:00 p.m. in the Education Center, 308 North Olive Street, Media, PA 19063. Present were: Bonnie Kinsler, Transportation Director, Phil Quinzi, Garage Supervisor, Roxanne Schupp, Supervisor of Business Operations, Grace Eves, School Board Secretary, Donna Rottenberk, Business Office Witness, 4 bidders. Bids in the following category were opened and read by Grace Eves: 3 – 10 Passenger Student Vans 3 – 48 Passenger Conventional School Buses 2 – 72 Passenger Conventional School Buses M. A. Brightbill Body Works, Inc. Lebanon, PA 17042 Rohrer Bus Sales Duncannon, PA 17020 Wolfington Body Company, Inc. Exton, PA 19341 Whiteside Chev., Buick, Pontiac St. Clairsville, OH 43950 Bids will be tabulated and presented to the Board of School Directors. ________________ Grace Eves Board Secretary III. Presentations and Awards 1. Penncrest High School Hi-Q Team Resolve, that the Board of School Directors recognize the Penncrest High School Hi-Q Team and their coach, Michael Ludwig, for winning the Delaware County Hi-Q Championship. Background The Penncrest Hi-Q team won a resounding victory in the championship match which was held in the Penncrest auditorium on March 4. The final score: Penncrest 64, Haverford 38, Radnor 31. Penncrest achieved the highest score of any school in the competition. This win marks the eighth time in the history of Hi-Q that Penncrest has claimed the trophy. The Hi-Q team consists of seniors: Celia Castellan, Katie Davis, Elizabeth Freeburg, Joe Hooker, Liz Madara, and Alex Senko. Juniors: Jackson Buttery, Katie Ferguson, Isabel Janmey and Jen Walker. Coach Michael Ludwig has been with the team for 29 years. III. Presentations and Awards 1 March 26, 2009 EXCELLENCE TODAY FOR TOMORROW SCHOOL REPORT’S – March 2009 GLENWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Library This year four winning entries were submitted by Glenwood students to the Middletown Library. Winners were: Nicky Verderame, grade 1; Nick Dumont, grade 2; Mark Dumont, grade 4; and Victoria Gieder, grade 5. Their bookmarks will go on to a competition at the county level. In February, students finalized their entries for the writing contest where they were to revise a piece they had written earlier in the year. Winners were chosen and honored. Their stories will be showcased on the Language Arts website in March. Students were then invited to participate in a poetry contest. This contest is run by Middletown Library and allows the students to explore any kind of poetry writing they wish. As with the previous contest, winners from each grade level will be chosen and honored at Glenwood. Health As we change the calendar from February to March, we leave behind Dental Health Month and move into “Go for the Greens Month.” After having a lesson in February about maintaining healthy teeth, Glenwood students are ready to bite into some healthy foods. In March, we will be focusing on healthy green foods such as green vegetables and fruits, and will have a taste testing of some raw green vegetables and dip in the cafeteria during lunchtime. Mrs. Taylor, Glenwood’s school nurse, will be reminding the students about the importance of eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day and will be sending a newsletter home to parents to reinforce the health eating message we are promoting in school. Physical Education Becki Carman, a graduate of both Glenwood and Penncrest was welcomed home recently as a very special guest speaker. Becki, a former javelin and discus champion at Penncrest, majored in Exercise Science at Cabrini College. She now uses her expertise to train individuals and teams at the Parisi Speed School at the United Sports Training Center in Downingtown. The students in three physical education classes and the members of Mrs. Barry’s Walking Club were fortunate to benefit from Becki’s vast School Reports 1 3-26-2009 experience as an elite athlete and trainer. They participated in a sample workout that included tips on how to warm-up properly using dynamic motion. Becki shared methods to improve speed, acceleration, and agility. She emphasized that training with a focus on proper technique at all times is the secret to minimizing bad habits while maximizing potential. Guidance This month The Student Ambassadors hosted bus driver appreciation breakfast, where our student ambassadors hosted a thank you breakfast for all of the hard work our bus drivers do. The students interviewed the bus drivers and expressed their appreciation of them. This activity was part of a larger discussion of gratitude, and how important it is to have in life. Second Grrade Second Grade commemorated Saint Patrick’s Day by celebrating Green Foods Day. Each child donated a green cuisine and partook of the meal. Before eating, we made bar graphs of the foods, and venn diagram to compare the characteristics of the foods. We concluded by sharing our imaginative St. Patrick’s Day stories with the class. Mrs. Grace-Green’s class celebrated Women’s Equality Month by learning about women who they believed are worthy of a national holiday. Each student gathered five names of extraordinary American women. They created a list and compared, contrasted and assessed each woman’s contributions to society. With great consideration and deliberation, and after eliminating exceptional women such as Ruby Bridges, Betsy Ross, Marie Curie and Rosa Parks, they eventually decided on 18 women. Each student chose one of the 18 women and created a graphic organizer using Kidspiration. They presented their findings to the class and they took on difficult task of cutting the list down the eight. The students worked in pairs to create a PowerPoint that organized their information. Posters were created and speeches were written in Microsoft Word. Mrs. Grace-Green’s class presented their findings to Glenwood’s other second grade classes and they all voted for the woman that they believe was most deserving of a national holiday. We tallied our findings using the Graph Club. Afterwards, Mrs. Grace-Green’s class composed a letter to President Barack Obama, stating that we believed it is time to honor a woman with a national holiday and gave the name of our winner. Second grade recently completed an economics unit in social studies. Throughout the unit, students had experience banking and earning/losing money through real life activities and situations. Our culminating activity was to have students create their own stores, signs, and goods/services to sell. On "Market Day" students sold unique goods and services to their classmates, demonstrating their social interaction skills, making change, finding deal, witnessing supply and demand, experiencing competition in the market place, and counting profits. Third Grade During March, Glenwood celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday and Read Across America. As a school, we celebrated by wearing special clothing to remind us that "reading can take you anywhere" and "reading can brighten your day." Individual classes celebrated their own way. Some classes wore their pajamas and read all day while others invited in guest readers. Also in March, the students finished up their entries for the Young Poets of School Reports 2 3-26-2009 Delaware County Poetry Competition. Two Glenwood winners were chose from each grade level. Their poems were then made into a book and displayed in the school library. All entries were then sent to the Middletown Library to be entered in the county-wide competition. Third grade enjoyed a trip to Lankenau Hospital where they learned about the body systems and how to keep themselves healthy. This came as an extension to the health learning they've been doing in the classroom. The students had fun making posters for each of the body systems, as a way to unwind after the stress of the PSSA. Fourth Grade We recently met with parents during our conferences where students had the opportunity to lead the conference. In doing so, students were able to share examples of their work and also highlight their strengths. The Passport to History Program was recently introduced to fourth grade. Students can visit historical sites in Delaware County while earning stamps on their passports towards prizes and rewards. AGP Mr. Anthony Grisillo and Mr. Charles Keeler will be presenting three sessions at the National NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) later this month. The three sessions are: Forget the Three R’s, Just Teach Science – A session showing teachers how to integrate other curricular strands in to science education. To the Moon Alice! Or How to Build a Rocket to Send Someone Far Away – A session discuss model for the Moon, its size and distance, while providing hands-on experiences for students to build rockets and surface landers and to simulate an actual NASA mission. Lights, Camera, Science! – A session sharing methods to implant video and videography into the classroom. Mr. G’s fifth grade classes will be researching their family histories and Ellis island. They will be creating I-Spy jars to reflect what they learn. Mr. G’s third grade classes will be researching and creating brochures for various National Parks. Mr. G’s fourth grade class will be creating a video about Glenwood’s ecosystem. INDIAN LANE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Mrs. Katie Durant, one of our Kindergarten teachers, is one of 19 Delaware County teachers to receive the Excellence in Teaching Award. Katie is an outstanding teacher who shows outstanding performance of her daily responsibilities and devotion of time and energy that go beyond the basic requirements of her position. The Delaware County Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes outstanding and dedicated teachers in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union created this award in 2007 in partnership with Delaware County Intermediate Unit. All recipients will be honored at Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union's Partners in Learning Banquet in April 2009 and recognized in an edition of the Delaware County Daily Times. Kindergarten Mrs. Durant's, Mrs. Huebner's and Mrs. McMorrow's classes celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday together. They made "Cat in the Hat" hats and shared their favorite Dr. Seuss stories. All the boys and girls came to school in their PJs to read comfortably together! School Reports 3 3-26-2009 First Grade In science, the children are now into our Balancing and Weighing unit. They have been exploring the concept of balance through trial and error, before being introduced to it more formally. The children are also exploring the concept of weight and how balance is affected by it. Next, they will be creating mobiles, utilizing what they have learned. In addition, the children were treated to an assembly which went along perfectly with our unit. An Kenya-based acrobatic team amazed the children with their feats of...balance! The first graders participated in the Media NAACP's African American History poster contest. The children created unique posters which highlighted what they had learned from their research. Indian Lane was pleased to discover that 4 of the winners were from Indian Lane! Second Grade We are reading a variety of Fairy tales to learn about story elements (setting, characters, main idea, problem, solution, and special numbers.) We wrote and published our first fairy tale in February. The students' stories were wonderful! We are still planning to perform a "reader's theatre" sometime this month. We began our science unit on Solids and Liquids. We explored and observed the properties of solids in February. We will begin exploring the properties of liquids in March. Fifth Grade Teachers and students in grade five are participating this winter/spring in Journey North’s Mystery Class project in which students try to find ten secret classes “hiding” around the globe. The central clue is the changing amount of sunlight (photoperiod) at each site. Students first use only sunrise and sunset times, and later receive geographic, climatic, and cultural clues about each site. In the meantime, they also track day length in their hometowns. On this inspiring eleven-week journey, young geographers must use reasoning, graphing, and research skills to pinpoint exact locations of the mystery classes. This investigation demonstrates that, as spring sweeps across the Northern Hemisphere, day length changes everywhere on earth. Students learn that this is related to the tilt of the earth’s axis in relation to the sunlight striking the planet. They discover that this is what drives seasonal changes, which, in turn, affect the entire web of life. Students develop a deep grasp of these important concepts because they puzzle them out in real time as the project unfolds over two and a half months. AGP Mr. G’s fifth grade classes will be researching their family histories and Ellis Island. They will be creating I-Spy jars to reflect what they learn. Mr. G’s third grade classes will be researching and creating brochures for various National Parks. Mr. G’s 4th grade class will be creating a video about Indian Lane’s ecosystem. Homework Club Homework Club continues to be a huge success for students. This optional after-school program gives students an opportunity to get started on their homework and teachers are on hand to answer any questions and give extra help. It is held most days after school in the library until 4 p.m. School Reports 4 3-26-2009 Parent/Staff Basketball Game The Parents and Staff of Indian Lane once again participated in a Pre-March Madness Basketball Game to support the NK Smiles Scholarship Fund. The NK Smiles Scholarship Fund is in memory of former teacher, Norm Kelly, a beloved teacher in the Rose Tree Media School District for many years. The event raised more than $2,000 for the scholarship fund. Friday night, February 27th, proved that the Indian Lane community is truly special in the way that Teachers, Staff and Parents work together for the benefit of our students. Thank you Joe Arsenault and Patti Casey for getting this event organized and to everyone who helped in the planning, volunteering and cheering for our teacher and parent players! A good time was had by all. Spirit Week The week of March 9-13 became a “mad-house” at Indian Lane. Indian Lane students and staff celebrated Spirit Week to help raise money for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. This was an optional fund raiser, run by the Student Council, where students were asked to donate a few dollars, if possible, and dress in the “Theme of the Day”. Monday was Hawaiian Day, Tuesday was Philadelphia Sports Day, Wednesday was Crazy Hair Day, Thursday was Pajama Day and Friday was Crazy Hat Day. This fun-filled week is just what the students needed leading up to PSSA testing. Even our bus drivers got in the Spirit! Broadcast Club The televised, student-led interviews continued throughout the month with student Joey DiProsperos interviewing Mr. Nick Fortunatus, Executive Director of the Media Youth Center. Joey asked Mr. Fortunatus some interesting questions about his job and responsibility with the Media Youth Center. The students learned that the director of the Media Youth Center is responsible for the success of the Center, which includes writing grants and marketing. Also interviewed this month was Mrs. Nancy Mackrides, past President of the School Board. Student, Mary Rayer, interviewed Mrs. Mackrides and gained some valuable knowledge about her background, her interests and responsibilities when she served as President. MEDIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PSSA “Prep Rally” To lighten the mood in the days leading up to the state-mandated PSSA tests, students in grades 3 - 5 participated in a PSSA “Prep Rally!” Penncrest cheerleaders, under the direction of Penncrest teacher Jessica Anderson, and magician David Smith’s “One Man Sideshow” created lots of excitement for our third, fourth and fifth grade students. The cheerleaders lifted Mr. Goldfarb, Ms. Fetterman, and Ms. Deady to the ceiling as they led a cheer spelling out P-S-S-A! David Smith’s Sideshow included magic tricks, juggling, contortions, music, and lots of dry humor. The students were thoroughly entertained and enthused. Mr. Murphy, our guidance counselor, coordinated the event. Once all the excitement of the “Prep Rally” subsided, the students buckled down and did their best on the PSSA test! School Reports 5 3-26-2009 Title I Parent Dinner Meeting Teachers Katherine Echeverria, Brittani Lutterman, and Carol Mitchell organized a dinner meeting for parents of students who receive Title I reading and math support services. More than fifty children and their parents attended the evening meeting, dined on pizza, visited the parent resource center located in Media’s library, and enjoyed a reading magic show. Dr. Gilbert facilitated the parent information session. Parents expressed appreciation for this opportunity to meet with each other and learn strategies to help their children achieve in school. Aaron Goldfarb, Carol Shapero, and Liz Coulter assisted by providing child care. Professional Development Helen Conahan- Dettrey, Literacy Consultant, met with teachers at each grade level, our learning support teachers, and our reading specialists to review students’ progress monitoring data and develop literacy strategies teachers can utilize to support student engagement and achievement. Michael Kuhn, Compass Learning Trainer – Mr. Kuhn, Compass Learning trainer, recently conducted a workshop for third grade teachers and students. All third grade students now have Compass Learning accounts and can access their accounts at school and home. Mr. Kuhn helped students explore the many ways they can use the lessons to improve fundamental skills, engage their senses, and practice reasoning, investigation, questioning, communicating, and problem solving skills. Compass Learning is a web based, interactive software program designed to improve math skills. March Featured Artists of the Month Julia Mullaney- Grade 1- Color wheel kaleidoscope; Kayla Hunter- Grade 3- Mona Mitcha Matcha; Daniel Kaplan- Grade 5- circular weaving Please stop by the office to enjoy and appreciate the work of these budding artists! Kindergarten Kindergartners celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday and created a rhyming Dr. Seuss. Children wore their pajamas to school and brought in their favorite Dr. Seuss books. In social studies, kindergarten students have been concentrating on how to get along with others and how to be a friend. They created a kindness garden and friendship fish. Grade One The first graders at Media School celebrated Read Across America Day – which stretched into Read Across America Week - by focusing on Dr. Seuss as an author/illustrator. By using various stories by this famous author, the children were able to enjoy reading as well as practice using those 12 Powerful Words. The children predicted what the king would do when he realized his kingdom was being ruined by the green, gooey, Ooblek (Bartholomew and the Ooblek.) They were able to explain the lessons Dr. Seuss was trying to teach us (Sneetches, Horton Hears a Who!, and The Butter Battle Book.) Of course they had to support those explanations. The students compared the stories to one another and discussed some ways that a reader can tell that a book is written by Dr. Seuss. They took some time to evaluate the books read, and we took a class survey to determine our favorite Dr. Seuss book – which we then graphed. The day – which School Reports 6 3-26-2009 stretched into a week – was a successful way for our students to celebrate the joy of reading. Grade Two In second grade, Brenda Millette's class presented a biographical, historical musical of Christopher Columbus as a kickoff for the second grade’s language arts/social studies unit on biographies. Grade Three The third grade is studying the solar system in science. We are trying to maximize the cross-curricular potential of the unit. For example, students will learn research skills as they do several projects during the unit. The first project is a report on a planet. The emphasis is on paraphrasing, information gathering and the use of multiple sources. We are able to use some of the multi-leveled texts in our book room, leveled internet sources identified by Nettrekker, and books from the school library. The culminating assignment is an independent project designed to teach children that “research is fun!” Students pick a topic of interest, gather information from multiple sources, and present the information in any way they choose, as long as the presentation shows evidence of their research. Past projects have included power-points, videos, plays and t-shirts. One student did a “mockumentary” of black holes, using her grandmother and younger sister as black hole experts. Grade Four Fourth grade students took the lead during our most recent parent conferences. For the student-led conferences, the children were prompted to reflect on the work they had completed. They had to look through their work samples and find examples of good points and work they needed to improve. They had to generalize by coming up with themes or concepts by which to classify their work. They also reflected on their behavior and work habits. The children each set a goal for the future, either a short term or long term goal. The grade four social studies program includes participation in the Passport to History Program. This includes visits to local historic sites in Delaware County. To prepare for our study of Pennsylvania, we attended Once Upon a River, a play that featured Pennsylvania history, including a focus on Native American cultures and Quaker influences in this area. For our poetry unit, the classes gained experience in writing poetry as well as studying various poetic forms. We used poetry to find figures of speech like similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, and personification. In Mrs. Gruber's class, parents have been visiting over the last several weeks. At least seven parents have come in to share favorite stories or poems from their childhood. The purpose of this activity was to involve parents in our school day and to prompt the students to experience diverse examples of literature. Some of the work shared included the poem "Casey at the Bat" and the book Ferdinand the Bull. Grade Five In celebration of Black History Month, Mr. Goldfarb & Mrs. McGeehan’s classes created an illustrated timeline of the Civil Rights Movement which is hanging in the atrium. To complement the timeline, Mrs. Loveland-Smith’s class completed mini-biographies of some African Americans to Remember, which are also on display. School Reports 7 3-26-2009 All fifth grade students have been researching, taking notes, and crafting research projects since January. Students are making final revisions, and we are looking forward to reading the final papers which will be handed in next week. Mrs. McGeehan’s class met with their Media Providence Friends’ School partners and participated in another antibullying awareness and work session. All classes have been preparing for the PSSA tests. We have been analyzing exemplars, reviewing content, and discussing test-taking strategies. AGP (Gifted Support) – Gr. 1 - 5 Third grade students are exploring space – and the inventions and technologies made by people to help us learn more about space in a unit on space exploration. Students will begin a research project so they can teach their classmates about a technology such as a probe, satellite, rover, space shuttle, rocket, etc. Third grade students were recently visited by a local, renowned newspaper writer and author, Rich Westcott. Mr. Westcott spoke with the students about how to write a newspaper article, conduct an interview, and use the 5 Ws + 1 H (who, what, when, where, why and how). Students asked many questions and are now ready to begin writing for the Mustang Review. Fourth grade students performed a musical, historical play about the Lewis and Clark expedition for their families and the fourth grade classes. Students had studied about Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery as part of their geography unit on the United States, and practicing for the play was their synthesizing activity. Fifth grade students are exploring their families’ heritage through a unit on Immigration. Several students have already successfully located the ship registry and other documentation for some of their ancestors’ arrival through www.EllisIsland.org. Mrs. Williamson and Ms. Whiteman attended the Delaware County Intermediate Unit’s spring conference on Gifted Education titled: “More than a Test Score.” Keynote speaker Stephanie Tolan is an author and is also well known as an advocate for extremely bright children. Mrs. Williamson attended three break-out sessions throughout the day that included “Acceleration to Meet Gifted Learners’ Needs”; “Using Thinkfinity, an Educational Search Site with Gifted Learners”; and the “Use of Internet-based Programming for Gifted Students.” Music March 12th marked the fourth grade “Celebration of Music.” This interdisciplinary program highlighted many activities directly from music class that were connected to the social studies theme Regions of America. Student favorites included a recorder version of “Ode to Joy,” a folkdance to “Erie Canal,” and the ever popular “Fifty Nifty United States,” written by Ray Charles. Family and friends came to enjoy our music classroom model presentation. Library School district librarians met with public librarians and members of the community, such as former Glenwood principal Mary Ellen Goldfarb, to develop a plan to celebrate National Poetry Month in Media. The week of April 20- 25 will be designated as Media’s First Annual Poem in Your Pocket Week. Everyone will be encouraged to carry a poem in their pockets. The purpose is to share this poem - which you have either selected or written – with as many different people as possible during the week. During that week at Media Elementary School, we will, once again, turn the library into a Poetry Café. School Reports 8 3-26-2009 Students’ families, as well as administrators and members of the community, are invited to attend and share poems. Art In cooperation with Stroud Water Research Center, students in grades four and five decorated seven rain barrels which will be placed in different locations throughout Media Borough. Each class selected a theme that involves water and gardens. Some examples are butterfly, bird, water, Japanese, and vegetable gardens. Borough maintenance personnel, RTM maintenance, community members, and students are all working together to help prevent storm water erosion and make our borough a greener place to live. Physical Education In physical education class, students in grades 3 -5 completed a unit on basketball skills and lead-up games. Fourth grade students also completed a health lesson on maturation. Mrs. Shapero led the maturation lesson for girls, and Mr. Murphy and Mr. Goldfarb led the lesson for boys. Ms. Nietz is conducting a before-school basketball clinic for all interested fourth or fifth grade students. ROSE TREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Academically Gifted Program The academically gifted fourth grade students from Rose Tree Elementary attended a performance of Mrs. Williamson’s academically gifted class play at Media Elementary about the Lewis and Clark expedition. The fifth grade students explored their families’ heritage through a unit on Immigration. Several students were successful with locating the ship registry and other documentation for some of their ancestors’ arrivals through EllisIsland.org. Third graders explored space and the inventions and technologies made by people in a unit on space exploration. Students began a research project so they can teach their classmates about technologies like probes, satellites, rovers, the space shuttle and rockets. Mrs. Williamson attended the Delaware County Intermediate Unit’s spring conference on Gifted Education titled: “More than a Test Score.” Keynote speaker Stephanie Tolan is an author and is also well known as an advocate for extremely bright children. She also attended three break-out sessions throughout the day that included Acceleration to meet gifted learners’ needs; Using Thinkfinity, an educational search site with Gifted Learners; and the Use of Internet-based Programming for Gifted Students. Music The month of March is “Music In Our Schools Month.” Rose Tree Elementary students in grades K-5 celebrated by participating in a national sing-along concert sponsored by the National Music Educators Association. The “world's largest concert” featured essay winners who wrote using this years' theme "Music! Just Imagine..." Three essays from Rose Tree Elementary were entered in the National Music Essay contest. Our own Riley McGowan, a second grader, is a national winner. He was featured on the concert DVD which was viewed by elementary students all over the nation. Congratulations to Riley and the entire school for doing a beautiful job participating in the World's Largest Concert in March. School Reports 9 3-26-2009 Reading All grades received push-in reading instruction for support and enrichment. K-2 focused on phonics, fluency, and comprehension; grade 3 worked on strategies for spelling and for identifying figurative language in text; and grades 4 and 5 concentrated on guided reading and writing skills. One of our favorite third grade lessons involved teaching personification in fiction and poetry, using the book Fall Is Not Easy by Marty Kelley and the poem “April Rain Song” by Langston Hughes. First Grade First grade had an amazing month! The students reviewed their math facts by holding their very own March Madness! Each day the children took a timed math test with the goal to beat their personal best! It was exciting and challenging for these masterful mathematicians! First grade also completed their daily practices and participated as a grade level in the Rose Tree Revue! What a wonderful evening! Third Grade A new Science Unit has been added to the third grade curriculum: Land and Water. The third grade teachers from Rose Tree were trained by the DCIU and received the materials this past fall. They worked together to develop lessons which included hands-on experiments, teaching of the scientific process and reading/writing in this content area. As a follow-up lesson, two guest speakers, one undergraduate Drexel University student who works in the Material Engineering Lab, and one grad student from Indiana University of PA studying Physics came to speak to the students. They shared how researchers and scientists work together making and recorded observations as well as predictions and conducting experiments. There was no cost to the district since both guest speakers were treated to a Wimpy's lunch. (Their moms, Mrs. Barnes and Mrs. Naylor, also promised to cook and bake them their favorite meal and dessert.) Fifth Grade The fifth graders celebrated Black History Month with a visit from Ned Hector. Noah Lewis is a re-enactor from the Revolutionary War period. He has researched the role of Ned Hector and portrays him as a teamster and participant in the Battle of Brandywine. The students had a visual lesson concerning the battle strategies of the Patriots and the British at Brandywine. They also participated in a mock loading of cannon. Many students were able to participate in the different roles artillery men took. The students were also able to ask questions. They may continue to research Ned Hector through his web site. Parent/Teacher Conferences Parent Conferences were a smashing success! We had 97% attendance during the conference days and had additional conferences scheduled the following week bringing our total to 99%! Parents and teachers are to be commended on the effort put forth to meet and discuss each child’s progress. School Reports 10 3-26-2009 SPRINGTON LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL Competitions At the Science Olympiad Competition held at Cabrini College, sixthth & eighth graders at Springton Lake Middle School qualified for the state championships! This is the first time that Springton Lake has made the state level competition!!! Congratulations to eighth graders Kathleen Axelrod, Nick Caggiano, Andrew McGroarty, Amanda Prokup, and Justin Schumacher; sixth graders Robby McLaughlin, Max Miller, Ruturaj Patil, Peter Somaru and Brendan Hanna. Students will head to the state competition held at Juniata College in early May. Congratulations to the team and Coaches Doug Gramo and Bond Perket for their commitment and dedication. Congratulations to Springton Lake's Geography Bee Winner, eighth grader Jonathan McNally, who has now qualified to represent SLMS at the state finals to be held at Penn State April 3. A talented group of our seventh & eighth graders performed at E.T.Richardson Middle School at the Delaware County Middle School Band Festival. The students practiced many hours off site with six other middle schools to present the wonderful performance. It was truly a spectacle of talent, cooperation and friendship. Our musicians included: Christine Lombardo, Jessica Schultz, Lacy Rankin, Hayley Sundra, Justin Schumacher, Gabriela Coote, Suzanne Hamilton, Sarah Nellis, Amanda Prokop, Nick Caggiano, Bob Long, Michael Cohen, Matt Falkenstein, Matt Woznicki, Joe Sita, Tommy Crowding, and Sumil Patel. Our Band Director Alan Reno conducted the all-county band in the Gershwin Classics. Our music teacher Joe Fisher, who took over for the conductor from Haverford who became ill, conducted the students as they performed Symphony No. 9. Hoops for Hope The sixth annual Hoops for Hope faculty/student basketball game was a great success. We raised $2,200 for the Hope School in Africa. The final score of the game was Students 81 – Faculty 79. UNRAAVEL Most students are being taught an effective strategy to use when reading or working on math. All staff were taught and worked with the strategy from educator Larry Bell at an inservice program earlier this year. Perhaps it is something you can review at home. Nearly all classrooms have the poster of each of the steps. The UNRAAVEL strategy is: U--underline the title, read the title as you underline it (it will help you to know what the selection is about); N-now predict the passage; use prior knowledge from similar passages, use pictures, graphs, etc.; R-run through and number the paragraphs; this will help you to locate the answers later; it makes it easier to organize your thoughts; A-are you reading the questions?, so you know what to look for; the questions usually explain the whole passages, do not answer anything yet; A-are the important words circled?, these are usually "answers", write one or two words that tell what they mean; V-venture (read) through the passage, read carefully through, if you don't understand it, reread it; Eeliminate any obviously wrong answers; cross out any silly answers, do not try to find the exact answers yet; L-let the questions be answered, write the paragraph and line number where you found the answer (or inferred answer) next to the question. For Math-U- School Reports 11 3-26-2009 underline the question. N-now predict what you think you need to do to solve the problem. R-read the word problem. A-are the important words circled, especially clue words? Aapply the step(s) you chose to solve the problem. V-verify your answer (is it reasonable; does it make sense). E-eliminate wrong answers. L-let the answer stay or rework the problem. Eighth Grade Semi-Formal More than 200 eighth graders enjoyed the music, snacks and their friends on February 20. Gone were the blue jeans, sneakers and boots--and in their place were ties, suits, shoes/high heels, and silk, satin and chiffon dresses. What a glorious sight--a great time was had by all, including the chaperones! Art Ms. Sycz’ eighth grade students are now relying on problem solving skills and clay techniques that were demonstrated to create sculptures of figures with personality. In addition to creating an interesting character, craftsmanship as well as structural soundness are goals. Grade seven students are now approaching the midpoint process of a printmaking lesson. Students used the elements of line and shape to create three solid drawings. Students have chosen one to be the subject of a relief print. At this point students are transferring the image on to the printing plate and will soon been inking the plate creating numerous prints. Color harmonies will be discussed and implemented in the inking process. Sixth grade students have begun sculpting a bird using basic forms learning more clay techniques in the process. After the bird is completed, students will create a base which will reflect a natural environment for the bird. Students will try to replicate textures found in nature into their clay sculptures. After the clay sculptures are fired, students will use acrylic paint to continue adding natures color and accenting the texture in their clay. In Mrs. Going's eighth grade classes students have begun their Ceramics unit, a highlight of the 8th grade year! After 2 years learning techniques and many of the "how to's" with the clay, the students have been asked to develop a character out of greenware ( you can ask them...this is clay that has not gone through a formal heating process) which is in proportion, with the head of an animal or human being, in human clothing. Always a treat to see what they come up with!! This unit is in conjunction with their study of the Masters of the Renaissance, specifically Michelangelo with a comparison to French sculpture, August Rodin some 400 years later and to his protégé Constantine Brancusi! Seventh grades have finished a major review of the Elements of Art. Now moving on, they will begin a printmaking unit, stressing the printed art form and the works of French artist, Toulouse Lautrec, with a discussion of how poster art came about. This will lead into the beginning of a study of The Principles of Art. Sixth grades are FINALLY (as they've put it) moving to their ceramic unit! They will study the Native American Fetishes, based on the ancient stone carvings of the Zuni Tribe and the fantastic wood carvers of Oaxacan, Mexico when its time to add color. This unit will instruct many of the basic techniques and vocabulary words for working with clay! Miss Lauren Buck will be coming from the University of the Arts to student teach with Mrs. Prior. During our in-service time last month, the art teachers participated in a workshop at the Brandywine Museum. The visit was well worth the trip! It fit in so well with Dr. Taylor's presentation on "Motivation". The four activities set up for us modeled three motivational School Reports 12 3-26-2009 activities that could easily be used at all three levels to promote critical thinking. The first activity combined observation, drawing, and poetry in a relatively short amount of time. The second activity in which we compared and contrasted several works of art not only allowed us to learn about the artist, but had us look at mood, composition, point of view, and color. Choosing an illustrative work of art to be selected for publication served as a great way to motivate us to look at the work for its compositional qualities. My favorite activity motivated us like a reality show motivates teams to win a prize. In this case we served as several committees vying for a work of art for the lobby of our school. We had to defend our reasoning for choosing the work. I was quite impressed with our guide, Jane Flitner, and felt that she chose extremely relevant activities for our goal for the day. I felt appreciative that we were able to have opportunity meet as a whole department and spend meaningful time at the museum. Guidance The guidance department has just completed eighth to ninth grade scheduling. We met we each student individually to discuss their choices for high school. We continue to organize and conduct guidance groups and classroom lessons at all three grade levels. We are preparing for PSSA testing and also organizing a Career Symposium which will be held for 7th and 8th graders on May 1st. Library LaVerne Motley, Jo Dizon and Winnie Host attended an all day workshop entitled Engaging Students in Making Good New Ideas. The workshop, presented by Jamie MacKenzie, focused on how to equip students with the skills to build their own ideas and make up their own minds about the most important issues of life. Participants learned techniques to direct student inquiry results in synthesis, invention, imagination and novelty rather than just the accumulation of facts. Mrs. Motley, assisted by Winnie Host, presented a break-out session at the District in-service the following Friday, entitled Encouraging Higher Level Thinking skills that directly applied the ideas from that workshop. LaVerne Motley and Winnie Host co-presented at an induction meeting for new teachers. The focus of the presentation was the resources and services that make the library indispensable. Instruction and hands-on experiences were incorporated. District librarians are sponsoring a Poem in Your Pocket Week from April 20-25 modeled after the original celebration created in New York City. During the week everyone in the community will be encouraged to carry a poem in their pockets. The purpose is to share this poem – which has been selected or written – with as many different people as possible including friends, family, classmates, teammates, your dentist, the barber, a policemen, shop keepers, the postman, plumber, and so on. If those people have a poem to share as well – all the better! RTM librarians are partnering with retired principal Mary Ellen Golfarb, Media and Middletown Public Libraries, the Media Fellowship House and the Mad Poets Society in this endeavor. An initial planning meeting was held during lunch for the project collaborators on February 13. Mrs. Motley attended a meeting at Welsh Valley Middle School for a PSLA “Best of the Best” Book Review Committee. This is the third year she has served as a member of this committee that reviews K-8 books that have received at least two awards during the previous year. The panel will present their reviews at the PSLA Conference in April. School Reports 13 3-26-2009 In preparation for a visit by this year’s visiting author, Will Hobbs, Mrs. Motley provided book talks for every language arts class at Springton Lake. The talks focused on Will Hobbs’ life, career and writing including a selection of book talks. In addition to the books in the library, the Office of Curriculum supplied books for each language arts teacher to insure that students have the opportunity and time to read his work before April 15, the day of his visit. Students in Ms. Bendistis’s seventh grade language arts classes were to read adventure books for their book chats this month. Mrs. Motley prepared PowerPoint presentations for each of the classes and delivered book talks to provide them with a varied selection of materials from which to choose. The presentations were then posted on her teacher pages so that any students who may have been absent or needed to refer to it could access them from home or school. In conjunction with a unit on ratios, Mr. Johnson’s seventh grade math students conducted research in preparation for designing and creating advertisements. Consumer Science students from Mrs. Heckman’s 8th grade classes came to the library to research available housing. Students had been assigned an occupation and a salary and were required to develop a family budget based on their income. Mrs. Baker’s health classes came to the library to conduct research on safety and first aid responses to natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and floods). Math Sixth grade students have been vigorously preparing for the PSSAs. Teachers have been doing their best to keep the lessons fun and interesting in order to give the students the best chance to excel on the test. Due to the timing of the PSSAs this year, there are some concepts on which the students have not had formal instruction yet. Teachers are filling-in these gaps while reinforcing concepts previously taught this year. We are confident that our students will try their hardest and do their best on the 2009 PSSAs. Like the six graders, the seventh grade math classes have also been doing some lastminute preparing for the PSSA next week. Some teachers review for these important assessments through daily warm-ups, extra-practice activities, and cumulative chapter reviews. Practice workbooks of sample multiple-choice and open-ended questions may be used in review as well. Parents, sample practice tests for some extra “at-home” review, can be found at the Pennsylvania Department of Education website—look under assessment. In addition to this preparation, we are continuing with our work with ratios, fractions, percents, and differences in “Comparing and Scaling.” Using ratios and proportions can be useful in solving a variety of problems. The “part to part” comparison of a ratio is used and applied in everyday life, for example, advertising. Our Algebra I classes are just completing Chapter 10 which dealt with working with polynomials and factoring. We learned how to add, subtract, and multiply polynomials; how to factor polynomials, and how to solve polynomial equations by factoring. Like everything else, the more we practiced factoring, the easier it got! Our Pre-Algebra classes are continuing to work with rational numbers and are beginning to work with irrational numbers, like 2 or ∏ . We are working toward being completely prepared for what high school Algebra I has in store for us! School Reports 14 3-26-2009 PE The students were exposed to a multicultural games unit where they had to experience games from Switzerland, Israel, Germany and England. Students learned about the origins of the activities in addition to some background about the area that these games were developed. Classes who were in the weight room continued to learn about the different machines and exercise physiology components. In addition, students participated in team triathlon challenges where the students as a group tried to complete a half triathlon in three classes. The students recorded their work with the aid of pedometers and added their combined totals for their teammates and class periods. In the main gym, students participated in a volleyball unit that covered the basic types of hits; serves court set ups and team movement, learning the appropriate times for the various skills and game strategy. Students also participated in lead up games to get the feel of an actual volleyball match. Science Sixth grade students have been learning about ecosystems around the world. They have been researching the human impact on these environments and the organisms that live there. They have been creating food web posters and PowerPoint presentations to share their information with the class. Eighth grade Science classes are working on chemical properties of matter. Students are learning how and why certain chemicals react to form compounds. PENNCREST HIGH SCHOOL National Merit Scholars This year, eight Penncrest seniors - Andrew Barney, Daniel Consoli, Katherine Davis, Elizabeth Freeburg, Samuel Moffat, Paul Romanov, Alexander Senko, and Daniel Smith have been identified as National Merit Scholars and seven seniors - Greg Allison, Nilesh Jambhekar, Sunwhee Kim, Anne Mroz, Matthew Munin, Jessica Richardson, Lawrence Weathers have earned commended status. These students were among the 16,000 eligible semifinalists who earned the highest performing scores on the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) administered in October 2007; more than 1.5 million students participate worldwide. Approximately 90% of the semifinalists attain finalist standing, and half of those are selected as Merit Scholarship winners which carries the Merit Scholar title. Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Celia Castellan has been selected as a recipient of the 2009-2010 Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship. This award, funded through The Comcast Foundation, recognizes high school seniors from Comcast communities for commitment to community service, academic achievement, and demonstrated leadership. To acknowledge these accomplishments, recipients receive a one-time grant of $1,000. Rotary Students of the Month Adam Panichi (senior) and Jessica Cadorette (junior) are the Media Rotary Club Students of the Month for February. They were recognized at a luncheon at the Towne House in Media. Seniors Daniel Consoli and Lacey Dungan were the Glen Riddle Rotary Club School Reports 15 3-26-2009 Students of the Month for January/February. They were recognized at a luncheon at Barnaby's in Aston. Interact Penncrest Interact hosted several Media Rotarians at the First Annual Penncrest Interact Luncheon. Interact members Chelsea Keeler, Celia Castellan, Lacey Dungan, Lindsay Gaskins, Jacki Turet, Edward Chan, and Adeeb Minhaj shared their experiences in Interact, and the Rotarians discussed their involvement as service leaders in the community. Special thanks to Elise Ettien and her staff for catering the luncheon. Mr. Gregg, Mr. Harrison, Mr. Bucci, and Dr. Evans were co-hosts for the event. Business News Ten Future Business Leader students attended an academic workshop for girls sponsored by the Widener University School of Business Administration. The agenda included a panel of successful business women, networking tips, Widener Toy Compan6 simulation game, developing business plans, transition to college and work life and lunch with business professors. Humanities News Mrs. Kuntz's Humanities students, many first-time opera-goers, attended an amazing performance of Puccini's Turandot at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. The free tickets were provided by The Sounds of Learning, the education outreach program at The Opera Company of Philadelphia. Language Arts News Sophomore Jennifer Angeline won first place in an essay contest sponsored by Optimist International, Media chapter. Optimist International chose "The Power of Youth" as this year's topic. The contest was open to students in grades 9-12. Jennifer will receive her award at a breakfast given by the local chapter. Math News Of the students who participated in the American Math Contest in February, Senior, Dan Consoli qualified to move on to the second round which is the American Invitational Math Exam. He will participate in this contest in March. Music News The Penncrest Jazz Band performed with seven other high school bands at the Jazz Along the Brandywine Festival in Unionville. Penncrest took home honors for Best Sax Section, Best Trumpet Section, and an Overall Best Soloist award for junior tenor saxophonist Walter Kelly. The Penncrest Indoor Drumline competed in a Tournament of Indoor Association contest at Avon Grove High School in West Grove Pa. The drumline was competing in Intermediate A Class and received a score of 60.8 for 1st Place. Junior, William Murphy, successfully navigated through three levels of Pennsylvania Music Educator Association's choral festivals. He will be representing PHS and RTM at the PMEA All-State Festival in April in Valley Forge, PA. School Reports 16 3-26-2009 Social Studies News Ms. Abelson, Mr. Danson, Mr. Nolen, and Mr. Smith accompanied 103 students to the Media Theater on Friday, Feb. 28 to see the premier of a new educational film produced by the Pennsylvania Veterans Museum. Entitled "Women in the Military: Willing... Able...Essential," the film was a great opportunity for the students to learn about the role that women have played in US military engagements from the Revolutionary War to the present. There were many veterans present and it was an honor to salute their service. The Social Studies Department established a close working relationship with the PA Veterans Museum under the leadership of John Pauley, and new coordinator Ben Danson plans to continue to work closely with this vital local resource as they continue to develop new educational materials for use in the classroom. World Language News The following four students earned top honors in two different languages in the World Language Department District Contests. Brian Berry (French and Spanish) Amer Chatila (Latin and Spanish) Marianna Gazzara (French and Spanish) and Colleen McGeehan (French and Spanish) Musical Penncrest's production of Godspell runs Friday and Saturday, March 27 and 28, at 8:00 p.m, and Sunday, March 29 at 2:00 p.m. Conceived and originally directed by JohnMichael Tebelak, with music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Godspell is one of the biggest off-Broadway and Broadway successes of all time. Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew, and featuring a sparkling score by Stephen Schwartz, Godspell boasts a string of well-loved songs, led by the international hit, “Day By Day.” Drawing from various theatrical traditions, such as clowning, pantomime, charades, acrobatics and vaudeville, Godspell is a groundbreaking and unique reflection on the life of Jesus, with a message of kindness, tolerance, and love. The ensemble of talented cast members includes junior Jon Friestedt as Jesus, senior Alex Vuocolo as John the Baptist/Judas, and an ensemble of Followers including Rianna Black, Jake Donnelly, Andy Brown, Andrew Barney, Sarah Vuocolo, Kathy Teal, Emily Sheehan, Nicalia Thompson, Maddie O’Donnell, Shea Gaffney, Ryan Moore, Maria Benedetti, Steph Duross, and Becky Ferguson. Team ASSIST There’s a new club in town! Team ASSIST is a group of "Amazing Students Servicing, Instructing, and Supporting Technology" at Penncrest High School. This staff-sponsored, student-run program, developed by Mrs. Andrea Drinkwine, is designed to have students involved as a vital part of the technology initiatives at Penncrest--to enable them to become agents for change, enhance their learning, and support others in the process. Students receive appropriate training based on their area of interests, abilities, and talents, learn 21st Century “real-world” skills, and are able to earn school service credit. These students will provide assistance and service in the following areas: Video Production, Technology Communications, Technical Support, and Technology Resources. Students Kevin Cardella, Miranda Cavaliere, Philip Hirst, Sam Lafferiere, Matt Munin, Max Nachamkin, Ian Opitz, and Jake Yamaki are the club’s initial amazing members. Check us out on the web at PHS Technology--Team ASSIST! School Reports 17 3-26-2009 Little Lions The Little Lions Club started the first week of March. Fifty-seven high school students will prepare lessons for and learn from13 preschoolers over the next 11 weeks. Model United Nations The Model United Nations club is attended a preparatory conference at the Union League of Pennsylvania. The conference is to help students prepare for a Model United Nations simulation in April. At the prep conference, students attend seminars/lectures on topics such as, Multinational Corporations and Development, Infectious Diseases, Multinational Terrorist Groups and Conflict Diamonds. Students will then explore these topics from the perspective of the countries they were assigned for the simulation. Students were also briefed on parliamentary procedure which is the protocol followed in the United Nations sessions. Hi-Q The Penncrest Hi-Q team won a resounding victory in the championship match which was held in the Penncrest auditorium on March 4. The final score: Penncrest 64, Haverford 38, Radnor 31. Penncrest achieved the highest score of any school in the competition. This win marks the eighth time in the history of Hi-Q that Penncrest has claimed the trophy. The Hi-Q team consists of seniors: Celia Castellan, Katie Davis, Elizabeth Freeburg, Joe Hooker, Liz Madara, and Alex Senko and Juniors Jackson Buttery, Katie Ferguson, Isabel Janmey and Jen Walker. Coach Michael Ludwig has been with the team for 29 years. Delaware County Technical School News DCTS hosted the annual SkillsUSA competition. Three Penncrest students won medals. Muwana McCrae earned a bronze medal in the Job Interview category. He was judged on his knowledge of employment procedures in the field of Business Administration. Stephen Clinton earned a gold medal in the Action Skills category. He was judged on his ability to demonstrate and explain entry-level skills used in the field of Residential Wiring. Timothy Douglas earned a gold medal in the Advertising Design category. He was judged on his creativity and computer application skills in the field of Graphic Design. Teacher News Mrs. Linda Flexon has been accepted for the NCTA 2009 Study Tour to China and Vietnam this summer. The Asian Studies Center (ASC) at the University of Pittsburgh will conduct a Study Tour to China and North Vietnam for alumni of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) between June 21/22-July 11 (tentative), 2009. She completed a 30 hour seminar through the NCTA & World Affairs Council several years ago, which qualified her to apply for this study tour. The program will be valuable for both courses she teaches, World Cultures and International Relations. Athletics Two new school records have been set for Girls’ Indoor Track. At the DVGTCA Consolation Championships, Juli Beck tied the Girls 55m Dash school record of 7.3 seconds. The old record is held by Diana Warner and was set in 1983. Two nights later, at the DVGTCA Meet of Champions, Lauren Tusar set a new school record in Triple Jump of 36' 2". The old record of 35' 10.25" was set in 1987 and was held by Kate School Reports 18 3-26-2009 Moore. Kayla Graves and Lauren Tusar were named to the 2009 All-Delco Team for girls track. Boys’ Track team returned from the State Indoor Championships with a pile of medals and some records to go with them. Nick Bonaventure had the highest finish of the day with a third place effort in the 3000 meter run. His time of 8:44.00 shattered his own school record by more than 12 seconds. He also broke the county record by 4 seconds and now ranks 9th in the nation. The 4x400 relay team of Matt Bundy, Brendan Robert, Tres Moore, and Anthony Batch took a 6th place medal in a new school time of 3:22.83, besting the old mark by more than 4 seconds. They are now ranked #17 in the nation. Matt Bundy was a double medalist as he also won an 8th place medal in the 60 meter high hurdles. His time of 8.34 seconds is the third best time in school history. Other top ten finishers included, Anthony Batch in the 400, and the distance medley relay team of Bonaventure, Neil Campbell, Tres Moore, and Greg Allison, both with 9th place finishes. Senior Jim Resnick won double honors at the PIAA Class AAA Southeast Regional tournament at Oxford High School. Jim won the 171-pound weight class and was also voted as the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler. School Reports 19 3-26-2009 EXCELLENCE TODAY FOR TOMORROW Rose Tree Media School District 308 North Olive Street Media, Pennsylvania 19063-2493 Telephone: 610-627-.6000 Fax: 610-891-0959 www.rtmsd.org Grace A. Eves Director of Management Services Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools To: Members of the Board of School Directors Denise C. Kerr, Ed. D. Superintendent From: Grace A. Eves, Director of Management Services Date: March 10, 2009 Subject: March 10, 2009 – 8:15 PM Finance Committee Minutes Chairperson: John Hanna _________________________________________________________________________ In Attendance: John Hanna, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Linda Kinsler-Fox, Nancy Fronduti, Nancy Mackrides, William Montgomery, William O’Donnell and Jeffrey Pettit Also in Attendance: Dr. Denise Kerr, Anne Callahan and Grace Eves _________________________________________________________________________ 1. William Montgomery, IU Board Member term expires June 30, 2009. The term of William Montgomery as an Intermediate Unit board member representing the Rose Tree Media School Board expires on June 30, 2009. The School Board will need to officially designate a candidate from among its membership for a term commencing July 1, 2009 and ending June 30, 2012. Based upon legislation enacted in 1983, a Board of Directors of a local school district must, during a regular board meeting, and by a majority vote, designate a candidate for a vacancy on the Intermediate Unit Board. Action: Item to be moved for action at the March 26, 2009 Legislative meeting. 2. PLANCON K PLANCON K documentation will be submitted to PDE. PLANCON K is used if a reimbursable bond issue is refunded, refinanced or restructured. Proceeds of the Bonds will be used to provide funds for and toward currently refunding the outstanding General Obligation Bonds, Series of 1999 and 2002 of the School district and to finance various capital projects of the School District. Action: Item to be moved for action at the March 26, 2009 Legislative meeting. 3. Copier Leases The Administration recommended entering into a 36 month lease with Corrigan Manning for copiers. Action: Item to be moved for action at the March 26, 2009 Legislative meeting. 4. Budgetary Transfers (Public School code section 609) when funds are not available for a proposed appropriation, a legal transfer from one class of expenditure to another may be made in the last nine (9) months of the fiscal year by the board. FY 09 –135 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Learning Support – Supplies Learning Support – Textbooks Learning Support – Equipment AMOUNT: $37,851.65 TO: AMOUNT: Learning Support – Other Professional Services Learning Support – Tuition Learning Support – Equipment Rental Learning Support – Books & Subscriptions $37,851.65 RATIONALE: Transfer needed to reallocate IDEA funds to the proper accounts. FY 09 –151 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Regular Instruction – Supplies AMOUNT: $8,630.00 TO: AMOUNT: Instruction & Curriculum – Books and Subscriptions $8,630.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Penncrest to properly code Language Arts books purchased from Perma-Bound and Books 4 School. FY 09 –145 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Ground Services – Repairs and Maintenance Service AMOUNT: $7,513.12 TO: AMOUNT: Building Services – Supplies $7,513.12 4. Budgetary Transfers (continued) RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the Maintenance Department to buy supplies. FY 09 –156 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Instructional Technology – Repairs and Maintenance Service AMOUNT: $5,000.00 TO: AMOUNT: Instructional Technology – Supplies $5,000.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the Technology Department to buy supplies to repair workstations. FY 09 –139 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Gifted Support – Supplies AMOUNT: $4,750.00 TO: AMOUNT: Student Accounting Services – Other Professional/Technical Service $4,750.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the Census mailing. FY 09 –147 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: School Sponsored Student Activities – Supplies AMOUNT: $3,978.00 TO: AMOUNT: School Sponsored Student Activities – Rental of Vehicles $3,978.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Penncrest’s Science Olympiad team to travel to their competition. FY 09 –144 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Regular Instruction – Supplies AMOUNT: $3,000.00 TO: AMOUNT: Instruction & Curriculum – Books & Subscriptions $3,000.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Media Elementary to purchase books for classrooms to correspond with curriculum. 4. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –134 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Regular Instruction – Supplies AMOUNT: $2,500.00 TO: AMOUNT: Instruction & Curriculum – Books & Subscriptions $2,500.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Media Elementary to purchase trade books for the Science curriculum. FY 09 –141 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Gifted Support – Supplies AMOUNT: $2,500.00 TO: AMOUNT: Student Accounting Services – Other Professional/Technical Service $2,500.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the Census mailing. FY 09 –149 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Fiscal Services – Equipment AMOUNT: $2,332.15 TO: AMOUNT: School Sponsored Athletics – Equipment $2,332.15 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Springton Lake to replace the wrestling mats which are needed for the safety of the students. FY 09 –140 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Gifted Support – Supplies AMOUNT: $2,250.00 TO: AMOUNT: Student Accounting Services – Other Professional/Technical Service $2,250.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the Census mailing. 4. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –132 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Regular Instruction – Textbooks Instruction & Curriculum – Supplies AMOUNT: $2,176.92 TO: AMOUNT: Regular Instruction – Books & Subscriptions $2,176.92 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Indian Lane Elementary to purchase Science leveled readers for all grade levels. FY 09 –138 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Alternative Education Instruction – Travel AMOUNT: $2,000.00 TO: AMOUNT: Alternative Education Instruction – Supplies $2,000.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the ERC to purchase general supplies. FY 09 –148 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: School Sponsored Student Activities – Supplies AMOUNT: $1,850.00 TO: AMOUNT: School Sponsored Student Activities – Travel $1,850.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Penncrest’s Science Olympiad team’s lodging during their competition. FY 09 –153 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Instructional Staff Development - Dues & Fees AMOUNT: $1,250.00 TO: AMOUNT: Regular Instruction – Travel $1,250.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed to register Eric Bucci and Ralph Harrison of Penncrest for the Model Schools Conference. 4. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –142 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: School Sponsored Student Activities Dues & Fees AMOUNT: $1,240.00 TO: AMOUNT: School Sponsored Student Activities – Travel $1,240.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed to register Penncrest students for the Student Leadership Conference in Harrisburg. FY 09 –143 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Other Community Services – Dues & Fees AMOUNT: $1,078.00 TO: AMOUNT: Other Community Services – Supplies $1,078.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for refreshments and awards for the young men’s minority book club at Penncrest. FY 09 –157 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Regular Instruction – Textbooks AMOUNT: $1,000.00 TO: AMOUNT: Regular Instruction – Travel $1,000.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Glenwood’s participation in upcoming conferences in association with Arcadia and DVMSAC Action: Item to be moved for action at the March 26, 2009 Legislative meeting. 5. Substitute Comparison The total amount for substitutes for the 2007-08 school year was $707,237.53 The total current year to date amount is $368,355.21. While comparing year to date figures for last year and this year, substitute expenses are lower in the current year. This can be attributed to fewer employees on leave during that time. Anne Callahan will prepare substitute reports in April. Action: Discussion 6. 2008/2009 Budget Comparison As of 2/28/2009 the District has expensed 79.67% of expenditures and has received 89.71 % of revenue. Action: Discussion There is a budget adjustment in the amount of $172,692 resulting in an increase for a total budget of $76,304,077.34. The District received additional funds from grants and fees that will be used towards expenses for Title programs, Classrooms for the Future and transcript, lab, and parking fees. Action: This item will appear for action at the March 26, 2009 Legislative meeting. 7. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Stimulus Package) update The District will tentatively receive $1,072,000 in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to be used for special education expenses. Additional information will be available in the near future. Action: Discussion 8. 2009/2010 Budget Update The budget process begins in early fall and continues throughout the year until adoption of the final budget no later than June 30th. This year the preliminary budget was posted to the public on January 2 and adopted at the January 22nd board meeting. The adoption of the preliminary budget does not mean a stop to the budget process, but a continuation of evaluating revenues and expenditures as more current data becomes available. The preliminary budget for the 2008-09 school year had a tax increase of 5.5% utilizing $2,800,000 of fund balance. The 2008-09 final budget approved in May of 2008 had a tax increase of 4.8% utilizing $2,137,111 of fund balance. The preliminary budget for the 2009-10 school year had a tax increase of 6.33% utilizing $2,137,111 of fund balance, which is the same amount of fund balance used for the final 2008-09 budget. The total expenditures of $80,899,990 represented continuation of current programs, increased benefit costs, 4.5 new positions, and curriculum book replacement cycle for science and social studies. The revenue budget reflects a modest increase in assessment, lower rate of return on investments, and a slight increase in federal funds. The revised budget includes a 4.81% tax increase, which is less than the 6.33% tax increase that was presented at the December 9th Finance Committee meeting. The increase equates to an annual tax increase of $239.62 on an average assessment of $236,106. The revised preliminary tax increase of 4.81% is close to the final tax increase for the 2008-09 budget, which is 4.8%. Total expenditures for the revised 2009-10 budget are $79,562,757 and include reductions in debt service, leases, benefits, conference and software expenses and includes 4 additional positions, and classroom supplies for a new autistic class. The Administration will continue to review the budget to make adjustments as we continue through the budgeting process. Action: Discussion The next Finance Committee meeting will be held on April 21, 2009 at 8 p.m. EXCELLENCE TODAY FOR TOMORROW Rose Tree Media School District Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools 308 North Olive Street Media, Pennsylvania 19063-2493 Telephone: 610.627.6000 Fax: 610-891-0959 www.rtmsd.org Anne D. Callahan Director of Human Resources To: Members of the Board of School Directors Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D., Superintendent From: Anne D. Callahan, Director of Human Resources Date: March 20, 2009 Subject: Minutes of the Personnel Committee Meeting – March 3, 2009 Board Members in attendance: John Hanna, Peter Barry, Nancy Fronduti, Linda Kinsler-Fox, N. Mackrides, Chair, J. Pettit, V. Barbato Also in attendance: A. Callahan, D. Kerr, A. Gilbert, P. Barta I. Items for Legislative Meeting – Anne Callahan The items to be considered at the legislative meeting of March 26, 2009, were reviewed. Additional items will be added prior to March 26 and a revised agenda will be posted for the Board on March 20, 2009. Action: All items will be included on the agenda of the legislative meeting of the Board of School Directors on March 26, 20009, for a vote of the full board. 2. Autistic Support Program at Springton Lake Middle School and Penncrest High School A plan to add an Autistic Support Program at Springton Lake Middle School and at Penncrest High School was presented by Dr. Angela Gilbert and Dr. Patricia Barta. The plan is an effort on the part of the district to provide appropriate programming within the district for students identified on the Autistic spectrum and to reduce the number of Autistic students who are placed outside of the district in order to meet their special needs. The plan will require the addition of one special education teacher and one instructional assistant at Penncrest High School. It is believed that the program can be implemented at Springton Lake Middle School within the current staff allocation. The primary reason for the addition of this program is to better serve the needs of our students and to provide for their educational needs within the least restrictive environment as required by Chapter 14 regulations. In addition to allowing students to remain within their home school, the cost savings will run between $38,000 and $40,000 for each student who remains in the district rather than being placed outside of the district. These savings will offset the cost of additional staff required to implement the program. Action: The Department of Teaching and Learning will move forward with the planning of this program. The additional staff will be added to the 2009-10 budget. The next meeting of the Personnel Committee will be held on Tuesday, April 14, 2009, at 7:45 PM in the Education Center Board Room. EXCELLENCE TODAY FOR TOMORROW Rose Tree Media School District 308 North Olive Street Media, Pennsylvania 19063-2493 Telephone: 610-627-.6000 Fax: 610-891-0959 www.rtmsd.org Grace A. Eves Director of Management Services Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools ___ To: Members of the Board of School Directors Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D. Superintendent From: Grace A. Eves, Director of Management Services Date: March 10, 2009 Subject: March 10, 2009 - 9:15 PM - Operations Committee Minutes Chairperson: William Montgomery ___________________________________________________________________ In Attendance: William Montgomery, Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, John Hanna, Nancy Mackrides, and Jeffrey Pettit Also in Attendance: Dr. Denise Kerr, Ron Baldino, Dennis Cini and Grace Eves ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Glenwood – Sewer Easement Agreement KRPM, L.P. was granted a sewer line easement for the property they own which abuts Glenwood Elementary School to service development on their property. Within 18 months from the date of the agreement the District shall grant KRPM, L.P. easement for construction, maintenance, or replacement of a sewer line in the easement area. KRPM, L.P. is seeking a 6 month extension. Action: Discussion 2. Sunday Use of Facilities – Penncrest High School Review School Board Policy 707- Use of School Facilities for Sunday use at Penncrest High School Background This item was discussed at the Personnel Committee Meeting on December 2, 2008. Penncrest is opened on Sundays thru March 31, 2009. This was approved at the December 18, 2008 Legislative Meeting. The Committee recommended extending the Sunday usage until June 30, 2009. Action: Item to be moved for action at the March 26, 2009 Legislative meeting. 3. Bus Bids Nine bid packages were mailed to vendors. Four bids were received at the Bid Opening held on February 27, 2009 for three -10 passenger vans, three - 48 passenger conventional school buses and two – 72 passenger conventional school buses. The Administration is recommending the bus bids be awarded to the following: Award includes upgrading engine from 210HP to 220 HP @ $440 per bus. The bid breakdown is as follows: M. A. Brightbill for 3 – 48 Passenger Conventional School Buses M. A. Brightbill for 2 – 72 Passenger School Buses Rohrer Bus Sales 3 – 10 Passsenger Student Vans Total Award $209,550.00 $144,920.00 $127,710.00 $482,180.00 Action: Item to be moved for action at the March 26, 2009 Legislative meeting. 4. Update on 2009 Capital Projects - Dennis Cini a. Penncrest Athletic Field/Smedley Tract – B & J Excavating Change Order No. 4 not to exceed $60,000 to resolve erosion conditions along embankment. Work for the erosion conditions along the embankment at Penncrest Athletic fields will go out to bid. Action: Discussion b. Proposal from G. D. Houtman & Son, Inc. for Professional Services for the Design and Construction phases of the Education Center parking lot not to exceed $7,260. Action: Discussion c. PDE 3074 forms for the following three projects (see attachments) Education Center Paving Project Glenwood Elementary School Renovations – Phase II Rose Tree Elementary School Roofing Project Action: PDE 3074 forms for non-reimbursable work subject to advertising and bidding requirements are required to be submitted to PDE. This item will be moved for action at the March 26, 2009 Legislative meeting. The next Operations Committee meeting will be on April 21, 2009, 9:00 PM. Rose Tree Media School District 308 North Olive Street Media, Pennsylvania 19063-2493 Telephone 610.627.6028 Fax 610.565-5317 www.rtmsd.org Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Linda Bluebello, Ed.D. Director of Pupil Services To: Members of the Board of School Directors Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D., Superintendent From: Linda Bluebello, Ed.D. Date: March 13, 2009 Subject: March 10, 2009 Pupil Services Committee Meeting Minutes Chairperson: Mrs. Nancy Fronduti Board Members in Attendance: Nancy Fronduti, Nancy Mackrides, Peter Barry, Veronica Barbato, Linda Fox, John Hanna, Bill O’Donnell, Jeff Pettit Others in Attendance: Dr. Denise Kerr, Dr. Linda Bluebello OVERNIGHT TRIPS One student from the Penncrest High School Swim Team will attend the State Swimming Championships in Danville, PA, on March 12 – 15, 2009. The approximate cost to the district will be $430.00. Action: Approval will be on the March 2009 Legislative Agenda. The Penncrest High School Science Olympiad will attend the State Tournament Juniata College on March 30 – May 2, 2009. The approximate cost to the district will be $4,500.00. Action: Approval will be on the March 2009 Legislative Agenda. The Penncrest High School Science Olympiad will attend the National Tournament in Augusta, GA, on May 13 – 17, 2009. The approximate cost to the district will be $4,500.00. Action: Approval will be on the March 2009 Legislative Agenda. The Springton Lake Middle School Science Olympiad will attend the State Competition at Juniata College on April 30 – May 2, 2009. The approximate cost to the district will be $3,660.00. Action: Approval will be on the March 2009 Legislative Agenda. CONTRACTS The current Athletic Trainers’ contract with Riddle Memorial Hospital ends this school year. Dr. Bluebello presented a draft of the renewal contract for Board review. The Board discussed suggestions for changes in contract language and requested additional comparative financial information. POLICY Dr. Bluebello reviewed the second draft of Policy #249 – Bullying & Cyberbullying with the Board. (This policy is mandated by the PDE.) The board reviewed language in Policy #249 – Bullying & Cyberbullying and clarified the reporting of incidents of bullying/cyberbullying. Action: Policy 249 will be on the March 2009 Legislative Agenda for second read and approval. UPDATES Food Services RFP Dr. Bluebello shared that four companies submitted proposals for Food Service Management Companies. Proposals are currently being reviewed and evaluated. Presentations by the top Food Service Companies will take place during the latter part of March and include representatives from all stakeholder groups. The next meeting of the Pupil Services committee will be April 21, 2009, at 7:00 pm at the Education Center. OFFICE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING TO: Members of the Board of School Directors Dr. Denise Kerr, Superintendent FROM: Dr. Angela Gilbert, Director of Teaching and Learning - Elementary Dr. Steve Taylor, Director of Teaching and Learning - Secondary DATE: March 4, 2009 RE: March 3, 2009, Teaching & Learning Committee Meeting Minutes Chairperson: Mr. Jeff Pettit Board Members in Attendance: Veronica Barbato, Peter Barry, Linda Fox, Nancy Fronduti, Nancy Mackrides, Jeff Pettit Also in Attendance: Susan Evans, Angela Gilbert, Denise Kerr Recommendations of Penncrest Grading Committee Dr. Evans continued the presentation begun in January of Recommendations of the Penncrest Grading Committee. Dr. Evans presented a historical context for the discussion about grades reported as numerical values. She then presented the committee recommendations, as follows: Grades should be reported as numerical values to the first decimal (e.g., 93.6) rather than as letter grades on the report card. This would align the report card with the Grade Book system utilized by teachers daily. A numeric system is highly favored by colleges and universities. There will be a one time cost associated with this shift as changes to the Pentamation system will be required. Teachers would begin reporting grades as numerical values in 2011. Classes with enrollment of less than 15 students should be reviewed to determine whether they should be run as follows: by exception (e.g. AP BIO and AP CHEM); combined (e.g. LATIN III and LATIN IV); eliminated (e.g. COMPUTER APPLICATIONS w/3 students); balanced with another “over-enrolled” class within the department (e.g. large ART I and small ADVANCED CERAMICS). Dr. Evans provided the rationale for each of the recommendations and answered the Board’s questions about each. She will submit in writing finalized numbers to the Board as soon as they are available. Proposal for Compass Learning Odyssey Ownership Dr. Gilbert presented the proposal from Compass Learning for ownership of the Odyssey program, including Math, Science and Social Studies. She recapped the use of technology to support mathematics over the last six years. Dr. Gilbert explained how Boxer Math more than doubled in price before being discontinued. At that point, a focus group including Dr. Gilbert, Dr. Taylor, Mrs. Linden, teachers and principals collaborated on the selection of a new technology program to support mathematics and selected Compass Learning. The group decided on a subscription purchase of Odyssey for the 2007-2008 SY, at a cost of $54,055. This amount was also requested for the 2008-2009 SY and 2009-2010 SY. Compass Learning has submitted a proposal for an ownership model which would allow all students in grades K-8 to access the programs, as opposed to the select students under the subscription model. The cost would be $108,990, with no additional cost to RTM until May 2011. At that time, the district would be responsible for a hosting fee of $3600 per site/building. This ownership model could potentially save the district over $125,285 over the next five years alone. Compass Learning will accept payment in full or two payments over the next several months. A “one time payment” could be made utilizing the allocation for 2008-2009 and funds from budgetary reserve. The “two payment” option would combine the use of current funds from 2008-2009 budget with the funds requested for the 2009-2010SY, with an interest charge of $2,566. Jeff Pettit stated that once the Board approves the purchase, the payment option should be an administrative decision, including the input of Business Officer, Grace Eves. Dr. Kerr recommended that the Board approve the purchase. ACTION: A resolution for the approval of the Compass Learning proposal for ownership of Odyssey will be on the March 2009 Legislative Agenda. Rose Tree Media School District 308 North Olive Street Media, Pennsylvania 19063-2493 Telephone 610.627.6000 Fax 610.891.0959 www.rtmsd.org Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Patti Linden Director of Technology and Information Science To: Members of the Board of School Directors Denise C. Kerr, Ed.D., Superintendent From: Patti Linden Date: March 6, 2009 Subject: Technology Committee Meeting Minutes for March 3, 2009 Chairperson: Mr. Peter Barry Board Members in attendance: Linda Fox, Nancy Fronduti, Peter Barry, Veronica Barbato, John Hanna, Jeff Pettit, Nancy Mackrides Also in attendance: Denise Kerr, Patti Linden, Kim McCann, Mack Johnson, Jeanette Verdeur, Sara Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Fitzpatrick Keystone Integrators Program Presentations Each year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education sponsors a recognition program for district Keystone Technology Integrators. Each district is allowed to send two representatives to a Regional event competition for selection to the Keystone Technology Integrator Summit in July at Bucknell University. This year, RTM’s selections are Jeanette Verdeur and Linda Flexon. Their submissions of work were presented to the Board of Directors via video. Jeanette Verdeur, music teacher at Media Elementary, presented “Music Meets Technology” where she demonstrated how her elementary students use the SMART Board and laptops to learn about and create music. Students demonstrated in the video how they connect with their learning and with one another using software such as Music Ace, Finale, and Reason. Linda Flexon, social studies teacher at Penncrest created a video that was explained by Sara Fitzpatrick, ninth grade Global Studies student. The students in the social studies video explained how Ms. Flexon’s web site and Interactive Whiteboard resources allowed them to be more engaged and more collaborative in their learning. Sara helped to explain how useful the laptops were in using “Wikis” where students are able to contribute to their learning and explain concepts to one another using their own language. The regional competition for these videos will take place on March 10. Planning for Summer E-Tools Academy The Technology Department is planning for an “E-Tools Academy” for professional development in using interactive electronic tools in the classroom. Tools such as SMART Boards, classroom response systems, and microphones for podcasting will be offered to teachers who attend the Academy for three and one-half days in August. Patti Linden shared the website with the Board of Directors where teachers will have to complete an application process for entry into the Academy. She also shared the costs associated with the Academy. The plans are preliminary and can be modified, but are modeled after the “E-Tools for Classroom Instruction” workshop that has taken place the past four summers. Next meeting: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Education Center Board Room ROSE TREE MEDIA SCHOOL DISTRICT PRESIDENTIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS – EXECUTIVE SESSION “In accordance with the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, executive sessions of the School Board were held on the following dates to review and discuss matters permitted under Section 8 of the Act.” February 26, 2009 March 3, 2009 March 12, 2009 March 26, 2009 There will be an executive session of the School Board for matters of personnel at 6:30 p.m. prior to the Informational Session of April 23, 2009, at Springton Lake Middle School. The Legislative meetings are recorded on tape. VIII. Old Business A. Policies 1. Policy #249 – Bullying/Cyberbullying – See Attachment A Resolve, that the Board approve the second and final draft of Policy #249-Bullying & Cyberbullying. Background Policy #249 – Bullying & Cyberbullying is mandated by the PDE. The board reviewed language in Policy #249 – Bullying & Cyberbullying and clarified the reporting of incidents of bullying/cyberbullying. This policy was discussed at the February and March 2009 Pupil Services Committee Meetings. VIII. Old Business 1 March 26, 2009 IX. New Business A. Personnel 1. 2. Terminations - None a. Professional b. Non-Instructional Nominations a. b. IX. New Business Professional 1. Elaine Replansky, (.5) Special Education Teacher, effective March 30, 2009 at the annual salary of $45,690, Bachelor’s/Step 6. Ms. Replansky received her Bachelor’s Degree from LaSalle University. She comes to us from Chichester School District where she served as a Special Education Teacher for the past 4 years. Ms. Replansky is assigned to Springton Lake Middle School replacing Todd Brown who will serve as (.5) Special Education Team Leader in addition to his responsibilities as Special Education Teacher. NOTE: Ms. Replansky is being hired pending completion of her pre-employment paperwork. 2. Todd Brown, (.5) Teacher Leader for Special Education effective January 26, 2009. This position will be in addition to Mr. Brown’s (.5) Special Education Teacher responsibilities. Mr. Brown is assigned to Springton Lake Middle School. 3. Josephine Dizon, Assistant Summer School Director, 2009, at the annual salary of $3,000. 4. Craig Casner, Summer Scheduler for the 2009-2010 school year at the annual salary of $4,000. 5. Sarah Graham, Summer Scheduler for the 2009-2010 school year at the annual salary of $4,000. Non-Instructional - None 1 3/26/2009 IX. New Business A. Personnel 3. General a. Unpaid Leave of Absence 1. b. IX. New Business Maureen Auerbach requests an unpaid leave of absence commencing May 6, 2009 and terminating June 30, 2009 for purposes of child rearing. Supplemental Contracts 1. Mark Williams, Penncrest High School Event Chaperone for the 2008-2009 school year at the rate of $55.00 per event. 2. Eileen McIntyre, Rose Tree Elementary Chorus Director, correction from 1.0 to .5 at the annual salary of $624.00. Chorus runs for half the school year. 3. Eileen McIntyre, Rose Tree Elementary, Handchime Club Sponsor for the 2008-2009 school year at the annual salary of $417.00. 4. Enoch Stevenson, Girls Assistant Varsity Track Coach at the annual salary of $3,753.00. 5. Nancy Gheysens, (.5) New Teacher Mentor, effective February 9, 2009 at the annual salary of $239.85. 6. Tracey Fritch, (.5) New Teacher Mentor, effective February 9, 2009 at the annual salary of $239.85. 7. Margaret Barney, Art Club Sponsor, Rose Tree Elementary, effective February 23, 2009 at the annual salary of $208.50. 2 3/26/2009 IX. New Business B. Overnight Trips 1. Penncrest High School Swim Team – Swimming Championships in Danville, PA Resolve, that the Board approve the Penncrest High School Swim Team attending the State Swimming Championships in Danville, PA, on March 12 – 15, 2009. Background One student from the Penncrest High School Swim Team will attend the State Competitions in Danville, PA. The approximate cost to the district will be $430.00 for this trip 2. Penncrest High School Science Olympiad – State Tournament at Juniata College Resolve, that the Board approve the Penncrest High School Science Olympiad attending the State Tournament at Juniata College on March 30 - April 1, 2009 Background The Penncrest High School Science Olympiad Team will attend the State tournament at Juniata College. The approximate cost to the district will be $4,500. 3. Penncrest High School Science Olympiad – National Tournament in Augusta, GA Resolve, that the Board approve the Penncrest High School National Tournament in Augusta, GA, on May 13 – 17, 2009. Background The Penncrest High School Science Olympiad Team will attend the National Tournament in Augusta, GA. The approximate cost to the district will be $4,500. IX. New Business 3 3/26/2009 IX. New Business B. Overnight Trips (continued) 4. Springton Lake Middle School Science Olympiad – State Competition at Juniata College Resolve, that the Board approve the SLMS Science Olympiad team attending the State tournament at Juniata College on March 30April 1, 2009. Background The SLMS Science Olympiad Team will attend the State tournament at Juniata College. The approximate cost to the district will be $3,660. . IX. New Business 4 3/26/2009 APPENDIX X X. Finance A. Purchasing 1. Bid Award Recommend the following bids be awarded in the categories listed, such recommendation being the lowest bid received from a responsible bidder, kind, quality and materials having been considered. a. Buses Award includes upgrading engine from 210HP to 220 HP @ $440 per bus. The bid breakdown is as follows: M. A. Brightbill for 3 – 48 Passenger Conventional School Buses $209,550.00 M. A. Brightbill for 2 – 72 passenger School Buses $144,920.00 Rohrer Bus Sales 3 – 10 Passsenger Student Vans $127,710.00 Total Award $482,180.00 Background A bid opening was held on February 27, 2009. This was discussed at the March 10, 2009 Operations Committee. b. Copier Leases Lease Agreements – Copiers/Duplicators – All District Buildings Resolve, that the School Board approve a three year lease with Corrigan Manning Company for the upgrade of copier/duplicator equipment. Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania CO-STARS contract. X. Finance 1 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance A. Purchasing 1. Bid Award b. Copiers (continued) Maintenance Agreement – Copiers/Duplicators – All District Buildings Resolve, that the School Board approve a three year maintenance agreement with Corrigan Manning Company for the copier/duplicator equipment. Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania CO-STARS contract. Background The copier/duplicator units will be replacing current equipment. The current equipment leases have matured. There will be no increase to the budget. The upgrade of equipment will result in a cost savings to the District. This was discussed at the March 10, 2009 Finance Committee meeting. B. General 1. DCIU Board Member Resolve, that the Board designate William Montgomery as the candidate to the Delaware County Intermediate Unit Board of Directors for a term commencing July 1, 2009 and ending June 30, 2012. Background The term of William Montgomery as an Intermediate Unit Board member representing Rose Tree Media School District, expires on June 30, 2009. The Rose Tree Media School District Board of Directors must designate a candidate for a term commencing July 1, 2009 and ending June 30, 2012. This was discussed at the March 10, 2009 Finance Committee Meeting. X. Finance 2 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General 2. Plan Con-K Project Refinancing Resolve, that the School Board approve submittal of PLANCON K Project Refinancing documentation to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the 1999 and 2002 bond issues. Background This was discussed at the March 10, 2009 Finance Committee meeting. 3. Budgetary Transfers (Public School code section 609) when funds are not available for a proposed appropriation, a legal transfer from one class of expenditure to another may be made in the l last nine (9) months of the fiscal year by the board. Resolve, that the School Board approve the following budgetary transfers: FY 09 –135 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Learning Support – Supplies Learning Support – Textbooks Learning Support – Equipment AMOUNT: $37,851.65 TO: AMOUNT: Learning Support – Other Professional Services Learning Support – Tuition Learning Support – Equipment Rental Learning Support – Books & Subscriptions $37,851.65 RATIONALE: Transfer needed to reallocate IDEA funds to the proper accounts. X. Finance 3 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General 3. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –151 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Regular Instruction – Supplies AMOUNT: $8,630.00 TO: AMOUNT: Instruction & Curriculum – Books and Subscriptions $8,630.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Penncrest to properly code Language Arts books purchased from Perma-Bound and Books 4 School. FY 09 –145 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Ground Services – Repairs and Maintenance Service AMOUNT: $7,513.12 TO: AMOUNT: Building Services – Supplies $7,513.12 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the Maintenance Department to buy supplies. FY 09 –156 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Instructional Technology – Repairs and Maintenance Service AMOUNT: $5,000.00 TO: AMOUNT: Instructional Technology – Supplies $5,000.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the Technology Department to buy supplies to repair workstations. X. Finance 4 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General 3. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –139 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Gifted Support – Supplies AMOUNT: $4,750.00 TO: AMOUNT: Student Accounting Services – Other Professional/Technical Service $4,750.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the Census mailing. FY 09 –147 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: School Sponsored Student Activities – Supplies AMOUNT: $3,978.00 TO: AMOUNT: School Sponsored Student Activities – Rental of Vehicles $3,978.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Penncrest’s Science Olympiad Team to travel to their competition. FY 09 –144 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Regular Instruction – Supplies AMOUNT: $3,000.00 TO: AMOUNT: Instruction & Curriculum – Books & Subscriptions $3,000.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Media Elementary to purchase books for classrooms to correspond with curriculum. X. Finance 5 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General 3. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –134 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Regular Instruction – Supplies AMOUNT: $2,500.00 TO: AMOUNT: Instruction & Curriculum – Books & Subscriptions $2,500.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Media Elementary to purchase trade books for the Science curriculum. FY 09 –141 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Gifted Support – Supplies AMOUNT: $2,500.00 TO: AMOUNT: Student Accounting Services – Other Professional/Technical Service $2,500.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the Census mailing. FY 09 –149 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Fiscal Services – Equipment AMOUNT: $2,332.15 TO: AMOUNT: School Sponsored Athletics – Equipment $2,332.15 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Springton Lake to replace the wrestling mats which are needed for the safety of the students. FY 09 –140 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Gifted Support – Supplies AMOUNT: $2,250.00 TO: AMOUNT: Student Accounting Services – Other Professional/Technical Service $2,250.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the Census mailing. X. Finance 6 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General 3. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –132 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Regular Instruction – Textbooks Instruction & Curriculum – Supplies AMOUNT: $2,176.92 TO: AMOUNT: Regular Instruction – Books & Subscriptions $2,176.92 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Indian Lane Elementary to purchase Science leveled readers for all grade levels. FY 09 –138 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Alternative Education Instruction – Travel AMOUNT: $2,000.00 TO: AMOUNT: Alternative Education Instruction – Supplies $2,000.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for the ERC to purchase general supplies. FY 09 –148 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: School Sponsored Student Activities – Supplies AMOUNT: $1,850.00 TO: AMOUNT: School Sponsored Student Activities – Travel $1,850.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Penncrest’s Science Olympiad team’s lodging during their competition. X. Finance 7 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General 3. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –153 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Instructional Staff Development - Dues & Fees AMOUNT: $1,250.00 TO: AMOUNT: Regular Instruction – Travel $1,250.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed to register Eric Bucci and Ralph Harrison of Penncrest for the Model Schools Conference. FY 09 –142 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: School Sponsored Student Activities Dues & Fees AMOUNT: $1,240.00 TO: AMOUNT: School Sponsored Student Activities – Travel $1,240.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed to register Penncrest students for the Student Leadership Conference in Harrisburg. FY 09 –143 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Other Community Services – Dues & Fees AMOUNT: $1,078.00 TO: AMOUNT: Other Community Services – Supplies $1,078.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for refreshments and awards for the young men’s minority book club at Penncrest. X. Finance 8 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General 3. Budgetary Transfers (continued) FY 09 –157 Fund 10 General Fund FROM: Regular Instruction – Textbooks AMOUNT: $1,000.00 TO: AMOUNT: Regular Instruction – Travel $1,000.00 RATIONALE: Transfer needed for Glenwood’s participation in upcoming conferences in association with Arcadia and DVMSAC Background This was discussed at the March 10, 2009 Finance Committee meeting. X. Finance 9 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General (continued) 4. Adjustments to 2008-09 Budget Resolve, that the Board approve the following adjustments to the 2008-09 Budget. 2008-2009 BUDGET Revenues Expenditures 73,954,703.00 2,137,111.00 76,091,814.00 - 76,091,814.00 76,091,814.00 Updated 2008-2009 Budget Approved October 23, 2008 76,105,794.17 76,105,794.17 Updated 2008-2009 Budget Approved January 22, 2009 76,131,385.34 76,131,385.34 23.00 240.00 370.00 30.00 76,812.00 30,000.00 161.00 310.00 79,653.00 23.00 240.00 370.00 30.00 76,812.00 30,000.00 161.00 310.00 9,653.00 Available Fund Balance Changes to Original Budget PC - Guidance Transcript Fees PC - Lab Fees - FCS PC - Parking Fees PC - Lab Fee - Technology Education Classrooms for the Future Grant Classrooms for the Future Coach Grant PC - Field Trip - English Glenwood Elementary School Student Fees - GW Helping GW Title I Grant Final Approval (14,907.00) Title II Grant Final Approval 172,692.00 Subtotal of Changes 76,304,077.34 Updated 2008-2009 Budget (14,907.00) 172,692.00 76,304,077.34 Background This item was discussed at the March 10, 2009 Finance Committee meeting. X. Finance 10 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X Finance B. General (continued) 5. Sunday Use of Facilities – Penncrest High School Resolve, that the School Board approve to extend the Sunday usage of Penncrest High School thru June 30, 2009, in accordance with School Board Policy 707- Use of School Facilities for Sunday use at Penncrest High School. Background This item was discussed at the Operations Committee meeting on March 10, 2009. 6. Proposal from G. D. Houtman & Son, Inc. Resolve, that the Board approve the proposal from G. D. Houtman & Son, Inc. for Professional Services for the Design and Construction phases of the Education Center parking lot, not to exceed $7,260. Background This was discussed at the March 10, 2009 Operations Committee meeting. X. Finance 11 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General (continued) 7. Submittal of PDE 3074 - See Attachment B Resolve, that the Board approve submittal of PDE-3704 to Pennsylvania Department of Education, for non-reimbursable work subject to advertising and bidding requirements for the following projects: See Attachments B Education Center Paving Project Glenwood Elementary School Renovations – Phase II Rose Tree Elementary School Roofing Project Background This was discussed at the March 10, 2009 Operations Committee meeting. X. Finance 12 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General (continued) 8. Penncrest Grading Committee Resolve, that the Board approve the recommendations of the Penncrest Grading Committee: That Penncrest maintain its current practice of leveling courses and using the total cumulative average in order to calculate weighted GPA and class rank. That class rank still be calculated by way of a weighted GPA, but not be made available until the Junior year other than in extraordinary circumstances. That AP courses earn an additional .5 weight when calculating weighted GPA and class rank. This change should be implemented beginning with the class of 2012. That exam days be scheduled in January, at the end of the first semester, for the administration of midterm or final exams. The schedule should be modeled on the current exam schedule used in June. That grades be reported as numerical values to the first decimal (e.g., 93.6) rather than as letter grades on the report card. Background The Penncrest Grading Committee met over a two-year period to consider a number of issues related to grading, leveling, and ranking at Penncrest. Members of the committee, which was chaired by Mr. Danson and supervised by Dr. Evans, included administrators, teachers, students, and parents. Recommendations from the Committee were discussed by the Board at the January, February, and March 2009 Teaching and Learning Committee meetings. The Grading Committee intends none of the recommendations to be implemented until the 20102011 school year. X. Finance 13 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General (continued) 9. Compass Learning Resolve, that the Board approve a proposal from Compass Learning for ownership of Odyssey, an online program designed to support students in math, social studies and science. Odyssey will be available to all elementary and middle school students at a cost of $108,990. Hosting fees of $3600 per building per year will begin in May 2011. Background There has been an increase in the use of technology resources to support curriculum, instruction and student achievement. Costs for these resources have continued to increase as programs become more sophisticated and versatile. For example, the cost of Boxer Math, the program implemented five years ago, increased from $5,520 in 2003 to $12,600 in 2007, before being discontinued. Collaborating to find another math support for students, Dr. Gilbert, Dr. Taylor, Mrs. Linden and a group of teachers and administrators decided on a subscription purchase of Odyssey for the 20072008 SY, at a cost of $54,055. This amount was also requested for the 2008-2009 SY and 2009-2010 SY. Compass Learning has submitted a proposal for an ownership model which would allow all students in grades K-8 to access online math, social studies and science programs. The cost is $108,990, with no additional cost to RTM until May 2011. At that time, the district would be responsible for a hosting fee of $3600 per building (Glenwood, Indian Lane, Media, Rose Tree and Springton Lake). This ownership model could potentially save the district more than $125,285 over the next five years. This item was discussed at the March 2009 Teaching and Learning Committee Meeting. X. Finance 14 3/26/09 APPENDIX X X. Finance B. General (continued) 10. Easement Agreement – See Attachment C Resolve, that the Easement Agreement between Grantors, including the Rose Tree Media School District, and Grantee, KRPM, L.P. as identified therein, be approved to grant to Grantee access to Berry Lane, Middletown Township, in order for Grantee to install a sewer line through and under the said Berry Lane in accordance with the terms and conditions of the said Easement Agreement. Background This agreement is a follow-up to the prior Sewer Line Easement Agreement, which permits the sewer line easement to go from Glenwood Elementary through and under Berry Lane. Other grantors along Berry Lane have granted this easement. X. Finance 15 3/26/09 No. 249 ROSE TREE MEDIA SCHOOL DISTRICT SECTION: PUPILS TITLE: BULLYING/ CYBERBULLYING ADOPTED : REVISED: 249. BULLYING/CYBERBULLYING 1. Purpose 2. Definitions SC 1303.1-A The School Board is committed to providing a safe, positive learning environment for district students. The Board recognizes that bullying at any time creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, detracts from the safe environment necessary for student learning, and may lead to more serious violence. Therefore, the Board prohibits bullying by district students. Bullying means an intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act or series of acts by a district student directed at another district student or students, at any time, that is severe, persistent or pervasive and has the effect of doing any of the following: 1. Substantial interference with a student’s education. 2. Creation of a threatening school environment. 3. Substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school. Bullying, as defined in this policy, includes cyberbullying. 3. Authority SC 1303.1-A The School Board prohibits all forms of bullying by district students. The School Board encourages students who have been bullied to promptly report such incidents to the building principal or designee. The School Board directs that complaints of bullying shall be investigated promptly, and corrective action shall be taken when allegations are verified. Confidentiality of all parties shall be maintained, consistent with the district’s legal and investigative obligations. No reprisals or retaliation shall occur as a result of good faith reports of bullying. principal or designee. Page 1 of 3 249. BULLYING/CYBERBULLYING - Pg. 2 4. Delegation of Responsibility Each student shall be responsible to respect the rights of others and to ensure an atmosphere free from bullying. All reports of incidents of alleged bullying should be reported to the principal and the Superintendent or his/her designee. SC 1303.1-A SC 1303.1-A SC 1303.1-A The Superintendent or his/her designee shall ensure that this policy is reviewed annually with students. The Superintendent or his/her designee, in cooperation with other appropriate administrators, shall review this policy every three (3) years and recommend necessary revisions to the School Board. School District administration shall annually provide the following information with the Safe School Report: 1. School Board’s Bullying Policy. 2. Report of bullying incidents. 3. Information on the development and implementation of any bullying prevention, intervention or education programs. The Student Discipline Code, which shall include disciplinary responses to behaviors related to this policy shall be reviewed annually with students. 5. Guidelines SC 1303.1-A Title 22 Sec. 12.3 Pol. 218 This policy shall be accessible in every classroom. The policy shall be posted in a prominent location within each school building and on the School District web site. Interplay With Other School District Policies Nothing in this policy shall prevent school employees from enforcing or imposing discipline or fulfilling their professional responsibilities under other school district policies or student disciplinary rules. Page 2 of 3 249. BULLYING/CYBERBULLYING - Pg. 3 Education SC 1302-A, 1303.1-A Pol. 236 The School District may develop and implement bullying prevention and intervention programs. Such programs shall provide district staff and students with appropriate training for effectively responding to, intervening in and reporting incidents of bullying. Consequences For Violations SC 1303.1-A Pol. 218, 233 A student who violates this policy shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action consistent with the Student Discipline Code. References: School Code – 24 P.S. Sec. 1302-A, 1303.1-A State Board of Education Regulations – 22 PA Code Sec. 12.3 School Board Policy – 218, 248, 815 PSBA New 7/08 Page 3 of 3 NON-REIMBURSABLE WORK SUBJECT TO ADVERTISING AND BIDDING REQUIREMENTS X Purchase or Lease/Purchase of Modular/Relocatable Classroom Project Costs for Non-Emergencies >$10,000 INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Prepare specifications/drawings as needed. 2. Complete one application for each set of bid documents. 3. Provide completed address mailing label for the board secretary. 4. Submit only the application form. Do not submit any other documentation such as the advertisement, plans, specifications or a completed specifications checklist. 5. Send the completed application to the Department of Education, Division of School Facilities, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333. Any questions regarding the completion of this form should be directed to the Division at (717) 787-5480. SELF-CERTIFICATION APPLICATION FOR NON-REIMBURSABLE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DISTRICT/AVTS: Rose Tree Media School District (RTMSD) BUILDING/SITE NAME(S): District Education Center COUNTY: Delaware (Include all building(s) and/or site(s) on which work will be completed.) The person to be contacted if there are any questions about this application is: Dennis Cini, Manager of Capital Projects, RTMSD 610 627-6010 Contact person's name and position Telephone Number (including extension) TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $ 65,000 WORK DESCRIPTION Check the appropriate boxes that apply to this project: Asbestos Abatement/Removal Boiler Repair/Replacement X Paving/Resurfacing Flooring Repair/Replacement Roof Repair/Replacement Remove/Replace/Upgrade Storage Tank(s) Install Fiber Optic Lines/Network Cabling/Data Cabling Lease/Purchase or Purchase of Relocatable/Modular Classroom(s) School Building/District Administration Office Addition or New Construction. Perform the following calculations to determine if Act 34 of 1973 applies to this project. See the instructions for additional information. ÷ sq. ft. sq. ft. X 100 = % Architectural Area of the Architectural Area of the Act 34 Percent Addition or New Building of the Existing Structure (round to 2 decimal places) Other: Check the construction codes and/or guidelines selected for this project: BOCA OTHER: DEP EPA L&I X NEC OSHA X PADOT PA UCC IBC X BOARD CERTIFICATION The Board hereby applies to the Department of Education for approval of the plans and specifications for the work described above. The Board certifies that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, construction bid documents comply, or will comply, with applicable laws, regulations and policies, and the project will not pose a hazard to the health and safety of users. Specifications include all applicable statements set forth in the current PDE document entitled "Required Clauses for Specifications." Construction contracts will not be entered into prior to PDE approval. If the Board proceeds with this project, the lowest responsible bidder(s) will be selected. The Board also certifies that the above-described work will proceed whether or not additional on-site work that is subject to Act 34 of 1973 goes forward. BOARD ACTION DATE: 3/26/09 VOTING: AYE Signature, Board Secretary NAY ABSTENTIONS ABSENT Board Secretary's Name, Printed or Typed Date District/AVTS Address PDE USE ONLY PDE USE ONLY Based on the Board's representation to the Department that (1) the requisite laws, regulations and standards have been met; and (2) this project will not present a danger to the health or safety of the users, the plans and specifications for the project are approved as meeting the requirements of the school laws of Pennsylvania and the policies and regulations of the State Board of Education. PDE # REVISED JANUARY 1, 2005 Approved by the PA Department of Education Date PDE-3074(a) NON-REIMBURSABLE WORK SUBJECT TO ADVERTISING AND BIDDING REQUIREMENTS X Purchase or Lease/Purchase of Modular/Relocatable Classroom Project Costs for Non-Emergencies >$10,000 INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Prepare specifications/drawings as needed. 2. Complete one application for each set of bid documents. 3. Provide completed address mailing label for the board secretary. 4. Submit only the application form. Do not submit any other documentation such as the advertisement, plans, specifications or a completed specifications checklist. 5. Send the completed application to the Department of Education, Division of School Facilities, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333. Any questions regarding the completion of this form should be directed to the Division at (717) 787-5480. SELF-CERTIFICATION APPLICATION FOR NON-REIMBURSABLE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DISTRICT/AVTS: Rose Tree Media School District (RTMSD) BUILDING/SITE NAME(S): Glenwood Elementary COUNTY: Delaware (Include all building(s) and/or site(s) on which work will be completed.) The person to be contacted if there are any questions about this application is: Dennis Cini, Manager of Capital Projects, RTMSD 610 627-6010 Contact person's name and position Telephone Number (including extension) TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $ 1,000,000 WORK DESCRIPTION Check the appropriate boxes that apply to this project: Asbestos Abatement/Removal Boiler Repair/Replacement Flooring Repair/Replacement Paving/Resurfacing Roof Repair/Replacement Remove/Replace/Upgrade Storage Tank(s) Install Fiber Optic Lines/Network Cabling/Data Cabling Lease/Purchase or Purchase of Relocatable/Modular Classroom(s) School Building/District Administration Office Addition or New Construction. Perform the following calculations to determine if Act 34 of 1973 applies to this project. See the instructions for additional information. ÷ sq. ft. sq. ft. X 100 = % Architectural Area of the Architectural Area of the Act 34 Percent Addition or New Building of the Existing Structure (round to 2 decimal places) X Other: HVAC, ADA and Interior Renovations Check the construction codes and/or guidelines selected for this project: BOCA OTHER: DEP EPA L&I X NEC OSHA X PADOT PA UCC IBC X BOARD CERTIFICATION The Board hereby applies to the Department of Education for approval of the plans and specifications for the work described above. The Board certifies that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, construction bid documents comply, or will comply, with applicable laws, regulations and policies, and the project will not pose a hazard to the health and safety of users. Specifications include all applicable statements set forth in the current PDE document entitled "Required Clauses for Specifications." Construction contracts will not be entered into prior to PDE approval. If the Board proceeds with this project, the lowest responsible bidder(s) will be selected. The Board also certifies that the above-described work will proceed whether or not additional on-site work that is subject to Act 34 of 1973 goes forward. BOARD ACTION DATE: 3/26/09 VOTING: AYE Signature, Board Secretary NAY ABSTENTIONS ABSENT Board Secretary's Name, Printed or Typed Date District/AVTS Address PDE USE ONLY PDE USE ONLY Based on the Board's representation to the Department that (1) the requisite laws, regulations and standards have been met; and (2) this project will not present a danger to the health or safety of the users, the plans and specifications for the project are approved as meeting the requirements of the school laws of Pennsylvania and the policies and regulations of the State Board of Education. PDE # REVISED JANUARY 1, 2005 Approved by the PA Department of Education Date PDE-3074(a) NON-REIMBURSABLE WORK SUBJECT TO ADVERTISING AND BIDDING REQUIREMENTS X Purchase or Lease/Purchase of Modular/Relocatable Classroom Project Costs for Non-Emergencies >$10,000 INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Prepare specifications/drawings as needed. 2. Complete one application for each set of bid documents. 3. Provide completed address mailing label for the board secretary. 4. Submit only the application form. Do not submit any other documentation such as the advertisement, plans, specifications or a completed specifications checklist. 5. Send the completed application to the Department of Education, Division of School Facilities, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333. Any questions regarding the completion of this form should be directed to the Division at (717) 787-5480. SELF-CERTIFICATION APPLICATION FOR NON-REIMBURSABLE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DISTRICT/AVTS: Rose Tree Media School District (RTMSD) BUILDING/SITE NAME(S): Rose Tree Elementary COUNTY: Delaware (Include all building(s) and/or site(s) on which work will be completed.) The person to be contacted if there are any questions about this application is: Dennis Cini, Manager of Capital Projects, RTMSD 610 627-6010 Contact person's name and position Telephone Number (including extension) TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $ 160,000 WORK DESCRIPTION Check the appropriate boxes that apply to this project: Asbestos Abatement/Removal Boiler Repair/Replacement Flooring Repair/Replacement Paving/Resurfacing X Roof Repair/Replacement Remove/Replace/Upgrade Storage Tank(s) Install Fiber Optic Lines/Network Cabling/Data Cabling Lease/Purchase or Purchase of Relocatable/Modular Classroom(s) School Building/District Administration Office Addition or New Construction. Perform the following calculations to determine if Act 34 of 1973 applies to this project. See the instructions for additional information. ÷ sq. ft. sq. ft. X 100 = % Architectural Area of the Architectural Area of the Act 34 Percent Addition or New Building of the Existing Structure (round to 2 decimal places) Other: Check the construction codes and/or guidelines selected for this project: BOCA OTHER: DEP EPA L&I X NEC OSHA X PADOT PA UCC IBC X BOARD CERTIFICATION The Board hereby applies to the Department of Education for approval of the plans and specifications for the work described above. The Board certifies that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, construction bid documents comply, or will comply, with applicable laws, regulations and policies, and the project will not pose a hazard to the health and safety of users. Specifications include all applicable statements set forth in the current PDE document entitled "Required Clauses for Specifications." Construction contracts will not be entered into prior to PDE approval. If the Board proceeds with this project, the lowest responsible bidder(s) will be selected. The Board also certifies that the above-described work will proceed whether or not additional on-site work that is subject to Act 34 of 1973 goes forward. BOARD ACTION DATE: 3/26/09 VOTING: AYE Signature, Board Secretary NAY ABSTENTIONS ABSENT Board Secretary's Name, Printed or Typed Date District/AVTS Address PDE USE ONLY PDE USE ONLY Based on the Board's representation to the Department that (1) the requisite laws, regulations and standards have been met; and (2) this project will not present a danger to the health or safety of the users, the plans and specifications for the project are approved as meeting the requirements of the school laws of Pennsylvania and the policies and regulations of the State Board of Education. PDE # REVISED JANUARY 1, 2005 Approved by the PA Department of Education Date PDE-3074(a)