LA CAÑADA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

School Site Council Meeting

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

3:15 p.m.

 

 

CALL TO ORDER

 

Bonnie Bair called the meeting to order at 3:23 p.m.

Attendance was as follows:

 

Staff

Parents

Ex-Officio

Susan Bornhurst

Bonnie Bair

Ivette Ellis

Nancy DeBoer

Lisa Brownfield-Davidson

Kaitzer Puglia

Barb Drange

Emilie Larcher

 

Sue Fuelling

Linda Reisz

 

Donna Stassel

Joy Smith

 

 

Jacob Tujian

 

 

 

 

OLD BUSINESS

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES 

The September 26, 2006 minutes were brought forth for review.  Joy Smith moved for the approval of the September minutes and the Special Meeting minutes of October 4, 2006 with revisions, and Barb Drange seconded the motion.  The motion was unanimously passed.

 

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

SCHOOL SAFETY

 

Mrs. Ivette Ellis, LCE Principal, discussed various safety-related issues. Since the Amish School incident, the staff has taken a hard look at all safety-related issues. A lot of procedures are in place to help with the school’s safety, but no amount of steps or precautions will ever guarantee a fully safe environment. Some of the main items included:

 

Badges, Vests & Stickers: Mrs. Ellis mentioned that all staff carry badges and all volunteers, especially at the lunch hour, have an orange vest. All visitors are asked to sign-in and obtain a green sticker.

Bonnie Bair suggested that all volunteers also get badges. This can be looked into, but cost and tracking may make it impractical.

Emilie Larcher suggested that have a page or link on the web-site (both LCE & the PTA sites)  to provide updated information, titled “School Safety Awareness.”

Mrs. Ellis mentioned that in divorce or separation cases, parents need to provide all updated legal documents. This information is updated in the school’s database and pop-up as on-screen alerts when the student’s info is looked at.

Mrs. Ellis mentioned that it is crucial for all parents and staff to always raise their level of awareness, in all School Safety issues, not only for violence cases but also for earthquakes, fire, etc, to keep children as safe as possible.

Mrs. Ellis also mentioned that Mr. Jim Stratton is coordinating with City and other officials for overall emergency preparedness training.

 

 

REPORTS

 

The following Monthly Reports were provided:

 

Principal’s Report

 

Cameras: Mrs. Ellis mentioned that Vicki Brown, LCE Computer Teacher, has found out that Sony may take back the existing defective cameras and repair them. The school will approach the PTA with the request for new cameras which are more user-friendly, and cost approximately  $2,500 (7 cameras for around $300 each).

 

Reading Intervention: Mrs. Ellis mentioned that for the first time ever, the school is offering Reading Intervention from Kindergarten all the way to 6th Grade. She discussed the schedules and the enrollment for the program.

 

Time Capsule: Mrs. Ellis advised that this Wednesday through Friday, the 4th Grade will be visiting the Time Capsule. The 6th Graders completed their Pali Mountain trip last week.

 

Developmental Assets: Mrs. Ellis advised that staff are scheduled for a training on November 1, 2006. There is a web-site at www.Search_Institute.org. The Developmental Assets are 40 identified assets that students need in their lives to succeed in school and as adults. One of the biggest and most crucial asset is the interaction of students with non-parental adults, such as teachers. Different assets come from different sources, such as school, home and religion.

 

 

B.         Chair’s Report

                        None

 

 

C.        PTA Report

Fundraising / Halloween Haunt: Kaitzer Puglia mentioned that the Halloween Haunt is scheduled for the upcoming Saturday, October 28, 2006. The event has been heavily advertised, including painted cars. Family and parental support has been tremendous. There will be new activities for the children and a silent auction with amazing items. Many people are expected to volunteer. Having the One-Check Order form made a huge difference in terms of collecting sponsorship. In the future, the One-Check Order form may be available on-line.

 

Membership numbers in the PTA: Kaitzer mentioned that our PTA membership numbers are doing great. It costs $7 to join the PTA. She encouraged everyone to join if they have not already done so.

 

Lion Wear: Joy Smith mentioned that the Lion Wear will be available on Thursday, October 26, 2006.

 

GATE Report

 

Linda Reisz, GATE Parent Representative, mentioned that she attended the Advisory Board Meeting. Linda informed the Council that the after-school programs running from February to May still need instructors. Linda mentioned that the pull-out program started this week.

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

The meeting was adjourned at 4:32 p.m.

 

 

Submitted by:

Jacob Tujian

Site Council Secretary, 2006-07