SHEPHERD SCHOOL NEWS. Superintendent s Message

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1 SHEPHERD SCHOOL NEWS November, 2016 No. III Superintendent s Message As we move into the middle of the school year the search for a new Superintendent is underway and gives us an opportunity to look to the future of the district. With a new superintendent we will have new opportunities, but we will still have some of the same issues that will need to be addressed. We still need to look to a building bond to improve the facilities for our students. We lack an appropriate library, kitchen and cafeteria, science rooms for the high school and middle school, as well as needed rooms in the elementary to allow us the opportunity to remove annex 1 and have our students in an adequate and safe building. In the last bond we were looking to improve our gym space, this was as much for the community as it was for the students. We are constantly being asked by the public to use our gyms, but we are currently not able to meet all of the requests with the schools needs taking first priority. I hope that we as a community look to the future of the district, not the past, when a bond issues is once again placed before the public. We will also need to pass levies each year to allow us to have the resources to provide for our students and staff. We need to be able to compete with the districts around us as far as providing compensation for our staff and supplies and resources for our students. Remember, the district is the largest employer in Shepherd. We are the largest restaurant, transportation system and incorporate the greatest use of technology in Shepherd. Keeping this entire system running requires funds and we have made the greatest use of funds without asking for additional resources from the community. This includes new boilers and HVAC system for the middle school and high school, repairs to the roofs made this summer, keeping our staff trained and keeping them up-todate with the most current teaching strategies and methods. All of this has been done without asking for additional funds from the community. We will need to ask for and receive levy support if this is to continue in the future. Thank you for your support of the district and all the hard work the staff does everyday for your children, grandchildren and students in Shepherd. Sincerely, Dan Jamieson 1

2 BOARD MINUTES September 14, 2016 A regular Board Meeting of the Trustees of Shepherd School District #37 was held Wednesday, September 14, 2016 in the Board Room of the Administration Building. Chairman Carl Openshaw called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. Pledge of allegiance was recited. Members present: Jeff Branson, Jason Buyse, Russ Curry, Carl Openshaw, and Carl Parker. Members excused: Julie Hinkle and Jamie Mertz. Superintendent Dan Jamieson, District Clerk Janice Ripley, MS Principal Rich Hash, Elem Principal Autumn Kring, and AD Jeff Armstrong were present for the entire meeting. HS Principal KJ Poepping was excused. CONSENT AGENDA An Elementary motion was made by Russ Curry, seconded by Carl Openshaw to approve the Elementary business claims and accounts to include August claims A High School/Joint motion was made by Russ Curry, seconded by Carl Parker to approve the High School business claims and accounts to include August claims and the approval of the August regular minutes and August 22 nd and 30 th work session minutes. Both motions passed unanimously. HEARING OF THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS INFORMATIONAL Building use requests: As listed in the agenda Bus Inspections Water Missing Children Report Nurse s Report Resignations Marcia Muilenburg Assistant Cook No action. OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS Human Resources It was recommended to hire the listed staff. Baylee Riley MS Cross Country Coach Sub list as presented with the addition of Lisa Mosher An Elementary motion was made by Russ Curry, seconded by Carl Openshaw to approve hiring the MS Cross Country Coach as listed. A High School/Joint motion was made by Jason Buyse, seconded by Jeff Branson to approve the substitutes as listed. Both motions passed unanimously. Out of District Students An Elementary motion was made by Jeff Branson, seconded by Carl Openshaw to approve the Elementary out of district students as listed. A High School/Joint motion was made by Jason Buyse, seconded by Carl Parker to approve the High School out of district students as listed. Both motions passed unanimously. Graduation Date It was recommended that graduation for the Class of 2017 should be Sunday, May 21, 2017 at 11:00am in the SHS Gym. A High School/Joint motion was made by Carl Parker, seconded by Jason Buyse to approve May 21, 2017 at 11:00am for the graduation date and time for the Class of Motion passed unanimously. Add Activity Account for Class of 2020 It was recommended to add an activity account for the class of A High School/Joint motion was made by Russ Curry, seconded by Jason Buyse to approve opening a new activity account for the Class of Motion passed unanimously. Selection of Consultant to Run Supt. Hiring Process The Board was not ready to take action on this item so it was moved to a report during standing committee reports. No action. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS Mr. Parker stated that he has visited with two companies that would be interested in conducting the Superintendent Search/Hiring Process. They both have presented their company well with some of the same process for both. After some discussion it was decided to hold a meeting Tuesday, October 4, 2017 at 6:30pm in the Administration Board Room to do phone interviews with both of these companies. Board members were asked to send any questions that they would like asked of these companies, to the Clerk by Friday, September 30, The Clerk was asked to compile all the questions into one list to be used during the interviews. ADMINISTRATION REPORTS The administrators highlighted their reports. OPEN SESSION TOPICS FOR NEXT MEETING EXECUTIVE SESSION TOPICS FOR NEXT MEETING ADJOURNMENT Time of adjournment: 7:03pm. 2

3 PTO News Santa s Secret Shop is scheduled for December 7, 8, and 9 th. Santa s Secret Shop is an opportunity to buy low cost gifts for their family and friends. The average gift price is $3, and very few items exceed $7. A flyer will be sent home with students before the Thanksgiving Break. If you want to be involved with PTO activities, contact Mandy Somerville, President, mandysomerv@hotmail.com, School Dismissals November No School BOARD WORK SESSION MINUTES October 4, 2016 The Trustees of Shepherd School District #37 held a work session Tuesday, October 4, 2016 in the Board Room of the Administration Building. Chairman Carl Openshaw called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. Pledge of allegiance was recited. Members present: Jason Buyse, Jeff Branson, Julie Hinkle, Carl Openshaw, and Carl Parker. Members absent: Russ Curry, Jamie Mertz. District Clerk Janice Ripley was present for the entire meeting. SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH DISCUSSION Conference calls were made to two companies; McPherson N Jacobson, LLC and School Exec Connect to help make the decision if the Board will pay a company to run the Superintendent Search, or do it on their own. After the calls were made there was some discussion between the advantages of going with one company or the other, versus doing it on their own. A general consensus was made and a recommendation will be brought to the Board meeting Wednesday, October 12, 2016 for a vote. No action taken. ADJOURNMENT Daylight Savings Time Ends November 6, 2016 Don't forget to "FALL BACK" 1 hour Time of adjournment: 8:50pm. 3

4 ELEMENTARY NEWS Dear Shepherd Community, It is hard to believe we are already in the month of November. It is almost time for the first trimester report cards to come home. Please look for these the first week of November. On September 27 th we put on our First Annual Grandparents Lunch. We had over 220 grandparents join their grandchildren for chili and cinnamon rolls. I have heard great feedback from staff, students, parents, and grandparents. We look forward to making it even better next year. The students have been working hard to prepare for student-led conferences. They are all excited to show what they have accomplished so far this year and also share the goals they have set. Student-led conferences are an opportunity for students and parents to celebrate the progress already made this year and also to discuss a plan to help students meet their goals. Last year I applied for a grant through Phillips 66 to help fix the playground equipment and purchase additional technology for our special education classrooms. Just before school started we found out that we will receive a $38,000 grant to pay for these two projects. I was able to order some of the items with our grant money. So far we have ordered 30 ipad minis, cases, keyboards, and a charging cart. These ipads will be used by the two SPED teachers in the elementary building. Any additional technology money will be used to add Chromebooks to the fourth and fifth grade computer lab. I am in the process of ordering the new playground pieces. Dates to keep in mind: October 20 th -21 st - MEA Days (no school) October 28 th - Students of the month assembly and Phillips 66 coming out to receive thank you cards from students October 28 th - End of 1 st Trimester November 8 th & 10 th Student-Led Conferences (4-7 PM) Sincerely, Autumn Kring Elementary Principal Holiday Programs December 12, :30 5th Grade 9:30 3rd Grade 10:30 2nd Grade 12:30 4th Grade 1:30 Kindergarten 2:30 1st Grade All Programs will be in the High School Gym 4

5 MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS To Shepherd Community: Hello to all! This is a busy time of year, and the weather is unpredictable at times. We have had snow, rain and just about every kind of weather over the past few weeks. We are enjoying a great start of the school year in the middle school. Students are working hard, and getting settled into their responsibilities as students. We talk a lot about respect, responsibility and discipline, and our students are demonstrating all of these characteristics to the best of their abilities. We recently took our 8 th graders to MSU- Bozeman for their college tour in correspondence with our NEU program, and it went very well. We actually had a student who has never talked about college to his parents, is now talking about going, which is why we do these kind of programs. We have the 6 th and 7 th grade tours coming up soon. We are again doing our Student Led Conferences in the middle school. We have all conferences scheduled, and hope to have all the parents show up and spend twenty minutes discussing their child s education. At this age, students need to be in charge of their education, and this is a good way to talk to their parents about how things are going, and why things aren t going as well. We have had over 90% turnout at SLC over the years, and we hope this will continue. Teachers in the district will be attending MEA days to further their professional development. These days are given to every district in the state for our teacher to get professional development in their academic area. It is a good opportunity for them to collaborate with other teachers around the state. I hope to see more of our teachers attending these conferences, as it is a good experience. We will continue to strive to be the best middle school in the state, and that is a goal of every staff member in our building. We continue to get better, and so do our students. Thank you for all the support. Respectfully Yours, Rich Hash Shepherd MS Principal SHEPHERD HIGH SCHOOL Well, it s Fall. I can honestly say that I both love and hate the Fall season. I love it for the fact that I can start preparing my Christmas lights. On the other hand, my OCD issues have a tough time dealing with the leaves on the ground, especially after I have just mowed or raked. But anyway, enough venting for now. School is well under way. Classes have been busy and productive. Extra-curricular activities have been exciting and entertaining. Students and staff have been positive about all that is happening. It s just been a great start to the school year. I would like to take a moment and comment on the discipline for this year. As of this writing, we have had approximately 25 write-ups for the year. At first thought, you may think that is quite a large number. However when compared to last year at this same time, we had approximately two times that amount. So, I would just like to thank the students for behaving themselves and doing what is right. Please keep up the great effort. Also as I am writing this newsletter, we are in the middle of Student-Led Conferences. I must say that I am happy with the turn-out thus far. Even though we haven t spent a tremendous amount of time preparing for the conferences, at this age, students know what is expected and know what to do. And, they just get it done. Sometimes I think we make things more difficult than it needs to be, but in the case of SLCs, the students are showing me that sometimes keeping it simple is the best option. Anyway, for those that have already attended Thank You for being a part of your student s education. For those of you that will attend today, Thank You as well. Some upcoming items of interest for parents include: ASVAB for juniors on Nov. 1 FREE College Application Day on Nov. 1 Veterans Day on Nov. 11 Picture re-takes on Nov. 14 Yellowstone County Art Museum Reception on Nov. 17 from 5:00-7:00 MAPS Assessments for freshmen and sophomores on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 MAPS Assessments for juniors and SPED and Title seniors on Dec. 6 and Dec. 8 KJ Poepping, High School Principal 5

6 Shepherd November Lunch Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 1 Lasagna With Gravy SaladBar 2 Philly Cheesesteak 3 Nachos with Ground Beed 4 Hot Dog 7 Bean Burrito 14 Chicken Nuggets 21 Chicken Alfredo 8 Pulled Pork Sandwich 15 Ham and Potato Bake 22 Country Fried Steak Mashed Potatoes 9 Grillee Cheese Sandwich Tomato soup 16 Turkey & Gravy Mashed Potatoes 23 Pizza Sticks 10 Ravioli 17 Chicken Crispito 24 NO SCHOOL Happy Thanksgiving! 11 Cheese Pizza 18 Tater Tot Casserole 25 NO SCHOOL 28 Whole grain Corn Dogs 29 Sloppy Joes on a Bun 30 Chili Cinnamon Rolls MENU IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE 6

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8 SHEPHERD PUBLIC SCHOOLS PO BOX 8 SHEPHERD, MT