Posted by MSC on 10/23/2020
“They’re like a NASCAR pit crew getting every desk clean, sanitized and ready before the next lunch.”
—MS Principal Phil McManus, about the lunch cleaning & disinfecting team from our cleaning vendor
Band class practices under the “big-top” tent
Meeting highlights:
- Dr. Harvey shared an update on the first three days of Hybrid Learning at Masco
- This update doc includes photos of traffic, lunch-time and the “big top” tent
- Systems in place have performed well - students and staff have been great
- Cleaning/disinfecting between lunches has been very thorough and efficient
- IT issues that resulted in slow connectivity being resolved
- Yes, free lunches are unlimited - students can get back in line for seconds, thirds
- Talking with Dept. Heads about figuring out more time for teacher prep
- “This year every teacher feels like a first-year teacher— and the first year of teaching is really hard.”
- Dr. McManus shared an update on the first three days of Hybrid Learning in the Middle School
- His slide presentation features pros, cons and photos
- Students have been great with all the rules and procedures
- Increased class time has been positive for middle school students so far
- Attendance rate higher than average year over year for October
- Smoothing bumps as they go
- Student SAB representative Lindsey Byman shared her perspective, including student interest in participating in revising the schedule. Her full statement is available in summary notes.
- School Committee Responsibilities and Protocols
- School Committee is responsible for “leadership in district vision, policy, budgeting, planning, program evaluation, and advocacy.” (from doc linked above)
- “It is the Superintendent’s responsibility to oversee personnel issues and to manage the day-to-day operations of the district. It is the School Committee’s responsibility to evaluate the Superintendent’s effectiveness in these matters.” (from doc linked above)
- SC members should work to direct concerns through the Chain of Command.
- SC members like to hear from all stakeholders (Dept Heads, teachers, students, families, community) through appropriate channels in order to better understand and inform decisions about policy, budget, superintendent, vision and planning.
- Anti-racism Resolution was passed unanimously
- Met with History / English Dept Heads, who had shared this letter
- Developing action items and resources based on the resolution
- Policies are being developed, and will work with MASC on reviewing, hosting
- Community Relations will meet 10/28
- Planning a Listening Session evening of Mon. 11/16
Further notes can be found in the Summary Notes* from the 10/21/2020 meeting. *These are not meeting minutes and not intended to be a transcription of the meeting.
Masco resources:
- Want to stay up-to-date on communication from Masco? Use the Masco App to consolidate Masco messages in your Activity Stream. Emails, blog posts, resources, as well as student grade updates, too.
District highlights:
- Oct. 22 Morning Update
- TTT article about student-led petition for schedule reconsideration
- Boys soccer 2-0 to start season
- Girls soccer: Masconomet’s Guerriero, fellow seniors leading the way
Community resources:
- TriTown Council hosted a Parent Program: "The Secret Life of Tweens & Teens" - A 2-part interactive program with licensed therapist Jon Mattleman. Recording of Part 2 available through 10/25.
- SEPAC is an excellent support resource for families. Follow them on facebook!
- School Committee meetings: Due to covid-19 limitations on in-person meetings, public comments must be submitted in writing to our Chair by noon the day of a meeting. Watch our meetings live or recorded. Email questions, comments or concerns to the committee Chair, Carolyn Miller, at cmiller@masconomet.org
NEXT SC Meeting:
Our next regular School Committee meeting will be Wednesday, November 4 at 7pm.
Meeting agendas, minutes, documents, and videos are posted on-line at: https://www.masconomet.org/domain/41
