Minutes of the Meeting on Wed - October, 01 2008
Attendees
Approximately sixteen parents including committee members attended the meeting.
Meeting Opened
The meeting was called to order at 6:35 p.m. by Christopher Carter. The parents in attendance were introduced and then Chris explained briefly the purpose of the World Languages Bazaar on Thursday October 9, 2008 and other upcoming events such as the Hypnotist event scheduled for October 24. Chris and Connie explained the proceeds from the Hypnotist event is for the senior class.
Headmaster’s Report
Ms. Aaronson discussed the following:
In September, a little over 1700 students were enrolled but some students have left the school for different reasons. The school’s enrollment is now 1699.
The teachers and administrators had a two hour professional development meeting to discuss the use of technology in the classroom. Mr. Lawton (hr318.com) offered to help other teachers set up websites.
MCAS information was discussed and BLA Ranking across the state was as follows:
Grade 10: English Language Arts 3rd; Math 4th; Science 138th;
Grade 8: English 7th; Math 24th; Science 236th;
Grade 7: English 16th Math 17th.
Ms. Aaronson further explained the reason for the low ranking of Grade 8 Science.
Applied Academics will start next Thursday, October 16, 2008. Applied academics are when all classes are shortened every Thursday so that students can do other activities.
AP (Advance Placement) courses were explained. Ms. Aaronson explained that even though AP courses are recommend for students, if your child has never taken an AP course, he/she will be still prepared for college.
Chris raised the questions of the limited amount of AP courses that are being offered at BLA in comparison to other schools and was told that if students are willing to take more AP courses, then the school will offer more by working to increase the number of teachers willing to teach AP courses.
Also discussed was the possibility of mapping out what’s to come for the 7th graders so that they are aware of the expectations going into 9th grade.
Committee Report
Chris explained the website to new parents and Connie explained that we now have tax exempt status and have a Pay Pal account for donations.
Connie explained the different committee positions that are available for the SPC and Site Council. It was recommended that the election for the different positions be deferred until more information has been disseminated to the parent body, which included The Bylaws. This will allow the inclusion of more people for the election process.
Due to the need for one Site Council representative, Aixa Borrero Sanchez volunteered for the position.
Before the close of the meeting, Chris emphasized the importance of parent involvement in addition to some goals that have been set and others that we are hoping to set.
The next SPC meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by,
Yvonne A. Malcolm
October 12, 2008