October, 2008

Hello Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to the new SY 2008-2009 at Mannheim Middle School. This corner is to let you know that the MMS SAC is available for YOU and your Student (s). Our first meeting was held September 10, 2008. Below are a few questions you may be asking…

1. What is SAC? School Advisory Committee.

2. What is the purpose of SAC? (1) To address YOUR issues and concerns to the MMS Principal.

3. Who is on the SAC? The SAC is made up of parents (like you), teachers, the school counselor, the school liaison, and a student council member.

The SAC is here for YOU! We meet the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 3:15 at the MMS. Our next meeting is October 8, 2008. If you need any concerns or issues to be addressed, please submit them before the next meeting’s date.

YOU and your STUDENT(s) matter to us. Don’t let your issues or concerns go unheard.

If you should have any concerns or issues, please contact your SAC chair, Mrs. C through the MMS office.

SAC Meetings

SAC Minutes

SAC Minutes

September 10, 2008

Attendance: Ms. Sheila Smith, Mrs. W C (chair), Mrs. S H, Mr. R G (parent), Mr. R W, Mrs. C W (SLO), Mrs. L J (parent), Ms. E W (counselor), Mrs. S.

Absent: Mrs. L (secretary).

Introductions of School Advisory Committee (SAC). Please see list of names in attendance.

Reviewed and approved last School Year 2007-2008 (May 12, 2008) minutes. Mrs. S seconds the motion.

Principal’s Brief:

The start of the school year opening was a success—things are working out fantastically.

• Ms. Smith reviewed block scheduling from last year and states it has been implemented for the 2008-2009 School Year. It appears to be working smoothly, just a matter of adjustments and adaptations for students. MMS students are taking classes at the High School as our school schedule reflects their schedule. Parent/teacher conferences will be a “Command Day” for parents.
• MMS is fully staffed: Science teacher is onboard, starting September 22, 2008; Gifted and Math teachers are coming onboard soon, from the states of Mississippi and Georgia (looking forward to their arrival); school enrollment is at 310, projection was 309; and the Assistant Principal (AP) slot was not granted, need 350 students in order to fill the slot. Ms. Smith was teaching Algebra until a staff member was hired.
• Transformation—no definite date; however, it will impact ~79 students, with ~230 to remained; therefore, MMS will remain operational. (Side note), the MMS is not closing; however, there is a possibility that things may change by next year. As things change, Ms. Smith will address those issues and concerns. Frank Roehl is vigilant that things will go according to plans; most importantly, is being here for the kids.
• SAC training—Ms. Smith will give admin time for staff members to attend. Mr. G and Mrs. C stated it may not be a problem for them; however, both need to know in advance.

New Business:

SAC focus for the SY 2008-2009

• Issues and concerns from last year were addressed as a mean to provide solutions in a timely manner.
• Start a column in the MMS newsletter, with submission by the 22^nd of each month (Mrs. C).
• Mrs. W introduced to the committee “reintegration training for the staff” that will assist parents and students of deployed soldiers. “Living in the New Normal” is a training program offered to military families in case of tragedies or any other issues of concern. This training builds a foundation of support to decrease catastrophic experiences within the families. There is no training for kids. It is a two-day course. She will provide more information to the School Counselor.
• Mrs. W (School Counselor) will start pre-deployment counseling classes for the students. This class will focus on (1) returning from deployment, (2) deployment, and (3) PTSD. Deployment issues will be addressed in a variety of settings to support our students and families.
• Mrs. W has a slot on AFN Radio, titled “Mannheim Minutes” to be recorded on Mondays and aired on Tuesdays. The goal is to get more positive publicity for the Mannheim community.
• Mr. G (parent) will be SAC representative at the next IAC meeting. Tentative dates are: Oct 21^st, Jan 6th, Mar 23^rd, and May 18^th at the Command Headquarters. Dates and times are subject to change.
• A question addressed to the Principal from a parent: Is it okay to film students about deployment issues? For legality purposes, parent should contact DSO for guidance.
• Fully staffed PTA committee (Yeah!).
• Ms. Smith or Mrs. C will contact Mrs. L (secretary) to ensure she is okay.

Issues and concerns:

• Inadequate lunch workers: Ms. Smith and Mr. W have assisted the cafeteria workers in serving lunch in the absence of regular employed workers. Ms. Smith has addressed this concern to the SAC. She has addressed it to Ms. M (AAFES manager), stating that “in the absence of her regular employed workers, she sends no one to replace them.” One worker, Ms. C, is very sick, and no one has been sent to replace her. SAC agreed that this issue is better addressed with the Installation Advisory Committee (IAC). Mrs W (SLO) will address this issue with the IAC stakeholders.

Next meeting on Oct 8, 2008 at 3:15.

Meeting adjourned at 1615 hours.

wpc

SAC Minutes, March 12, 2008

Ms. Smith, Ms. C, Ms. SJ, Mr. W, Ms. Zamor, Ms. L, JC, JT, JC.  Open forum meeting.  Invitations extended to Mannheim Military Community. Parents in attendance as was well as Dr. Knudson, Assistant Superintendent.

Minutes from February 13, 2008 meeting approved.

Principal’s Brief:
Terra Nova testing is going well.  PTSA is providing snacks. There is more math focus this year to get scores up.
SIP is March 21, 2008.  Improvement goals and strategies as well as math vocabulary will be worked on.
District Music Fest hosted here in Mannheim for the first time.  Darmstadt, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg band students came.  The ---- Army Band taught the students which was very well done.
Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity is hosting an all day oral reading event on March 28, all parents are invited to attend.
Read Across America was successful with many parents and member of the community coming in to read to the students. SSR is Wednesday morning during home base.  Everyone in the school reads during this period.
The 3^rd quarter ends 3 April.  The 4^th is a teacher workday.  April 18^th is parent conference day.
D.A.R.E. will be in the 8^th grade March 24^th, 26^th, and 28^th.

New Business:
Ms. B brought up issues which indicated a need for an open forum to Ms. C. Ms. B asked if she could speak on behalf of all parents present. One parent object to having Ms. B speak on her behalf, therefore Ms. B would only ask questions.
Mandatory tutoring for 8^th grade. A parent asked if any child could attend. Ms. SJ answered that tutoring is available in the media center on Tuesday after school.
Ms. C read the parent concerns which had been brought to her and Ms. Smith’s attention (see enclosed Mannheim Middle School Topics for March 12, 3008).
Ms. Smith answered that tutoring is only mandatory for 8^th grade because the need there is the highest (high level of low grades).  Ms SJ added that 8^th graders needed also to be prepared for high school.  Tutoring sessions are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons fro 1500-1630. The tutoring is supervised and there are high school tutors available. Teachers are also present to help. Students work in groups. Library passes are available and contrary to the belief of some, students are allowed to use the restroom.  Only three parents had ever visited as of March 12^th. The program is working since grades are up. Ms. Smith checks on the students and they tell here they don’t want to be there so they work harder to get their grades up. They are motivated to do better.  Ms. Smith is considering a Homework Club for next year because of the increase in deployments, students are going to need more help. Some students will need a quiet place to get their homework done as some children are distracted in their home environments. Children who do their homework do better in school overall. Saturdays are also an option.

Homework policy—Ms. Smith stated that homework counts no more than 10% of the total grade. Students should have no more than 1-11/2 hours of homework each night. Parents are encouraged to communicate with teachers if they see a problem. A child who does not do homework is also not prepared for in class quizzes/tests.

Home Base—Home Base at the end of the day is like high school. In middle school however it is a place for team building. Announcements are made and it is a place to start the day. Sometimes it can turn into a study hall. Ms. Smith would be open to other options and suggestions however she also has to follow the middle school concept.

Teacher SIP—Ms. Smith addressed rumors of SIP days being used improperly. She assured the forum that no teachers were out sick on those days. School improvement training was being held in house and from DODDS. Parents are allowed to attend. The next SIP is March 21^st. A parent asked if DODDS offers training for teachers. Ms. Smith is looking into that. Some new training is available from the school nurse.

Field Trips—Money is available. Some teachers do field trips and some don’t. Parents are asked to speak to teachers about scheduling. Field trips must be standards based. Requests can be done via computer. There are security issues and cut off numbers but classes could be broken up to go separately. Chaperones must also be available. A parent asked if chaperoning a field trip is considered administrative leave for someone employed. LTC F will check with CPAC. Perhaps this would increase parental involvement. Local Strassenbahn is a transportation option.

Progress Reports—These are mandatory if a student is receiving a D or an F. Parents will be notified midterm.  Some teachers do weekly progress reports however this is not a requirement. Gradespeed lets parents see quickly how a child is doing. Sometimes this is not always up to date as teachers may not have input all grades. A parent asked what Gradespeed is. Another parent explained and said it was a positive tool. Another parent asked if it could be made mandatory for all teachers to input grades into Gradespeed and whether Ms. Smith had the authority to make this mandatory. Ms. Smith answered that she did not have this authority. It was asked how long is reasonable to wait for a progress report after asking for one even if a student is not receiving a D or F to which Ms. Smith suggested speaking to the teacher again after 3-5 days. Gradespeed is a way to better foster communication between teacher and parent. A suggestion was mad to send progress reports electronically rather than relying on hard copies. Ms. Smith answered that not all parents had access to computers and using the hard copy was also a way of having the student shoulder some responsibility. If there are concerns it is important to go to the teacher first and if the situation can’t be resolved at that level then approaching Ms. Smith or Ms. Zamor.

Course Syllabus—Every class should have one. DODDS has curricular mappings. Math, for example, must be followed exactly to make transfers to other schools easier. Ms. Smiths support having parents sign and return their child’s syllabus to ensure they know class rules and expectations.

Discipline—A parent asked why her child was being punished as part of a group when it was others abusing a privilege. Ms. Smith agreed and explained the issue stemmed from the whole 7^th grade being told water was no longer allowed during recess since students had begun throwing water on each other.  Ms. Smith does not support mass punishment and assured the parent it had been a quick reaction to that particular situation and that it would not happen again.

7^th Grade Bathrooms—Some boys have been urinating on walls and floors. To date (March 12^th) the perpetrators have not been caught. Teachers are being told to lock the bathroom doors.  There are however plenty of opportunities for students to sue the restroom during the day. A child is not denied a bathroom need. Parents are invited and willing to monitor bathrooms during the school day. The issue has not yet been completely resolved. A parent suggested having CID come in if it happens again to act as a deterrent.

Ms. C thanked parents for attending. Encouraged communication between parents and teachers. Ms. B want to address staffing issues but doesn’t know to whom.  Ms. C said other issues could be addressed after the meeting was adjourned. Any other issues should be directed to Ms. smith and use should be made of her open door policy.

Next SAC meeting will be May 12, 2008.

Meeting adjourned at 1610.

February 13, 2008

Ms. C, Ms. SJ, Ms. A, Mr. M (Acting AP), Ms. L
SAC President, Ms. C will send out email reminders of upcoming SAC meetings.
Minutes from January 16, 2008 meeting were approved.

PRINCIPAL’S NEWS:

Teams of teachers will be realigned next year to allow for staff cuts
PTSA sponsored a deployment breakfast 2 weeks ago which was very successful
LTC ___ met with students who have parents deployed on Monday (very helpful to students).
Principal Honor Roll kids were treated to lunch by Ms. Smith last quarter.
Terra Nova is March 10-14 with make ups the following week. PTSA will be providing snacks.
Mandatory tutoring for 8^th graders who have 2 or more D’s and F’s is alive and well and working (Tues/Wed/Thurs) in MPR.
We still need mentors for some of our students. POC is Mr. T (counselor). This is a program for students who need a little extra help/attention/time and effort. Administrative Leave can be used for those employed.
We now have school wide Sustained Silent Reading on Wednesday morning during home base.
ALPHA PHI ALPHA fraternity is once again sponsoring a Reading Literacy competition. on March 28. We need judges, please contact Ms. Smith if you are willing to judge.
Next year there will be five teachers per grade level rather than 6 teachers in 2 man teams.
Tutoring is still available on Tuesdays for anyone who is interested.

NEW BUSINESS:

March 3-7 is Read Across America Week. Guest readers are needed from 0800-0830 during Home Base. Ms. H (Read 180) is the POC for this event. Read Across America Day is March 6^th.
Musical Fest will be March 6-7. This is for DODDS wide middle schools who want to participate. Bands and Workshops held by ____ Army Band from __________. There will be over 100 additional students in the school. A concert will be held on the 7^th.
Pictures retakes will be February 25, 2008.

The next SAC meeting will be held May 14 because of Spring Break.

The next meeting is March 12, 2008 at 15:05

SAC Meeting

January 16, 2008

Present:  Ms. Smith, Ms. C, Ms. A, Ms. L, Mr. W, J. C., K. L.

Minutes from November 14, 2007 meeting approved.

Ms. C will not be available for after school tutoring as she has other commitments.  She would; however be available on an appointment, as needed basis.

Cafeteria Issues:

Ms. C addressed the salad bar issue as not being cost effective as “throw aways” are paid for.  On average, only 3 large salads were sold to teachers.  Pre-made salads are available everyday.  Ms. M could address more questions.  The biggest issue was waste.

Ms. C discussed the 7^th grade claim that there is not enough food by the time they get to the cafeteria.  Mc. C will try to put out as much a’la carte as possible.  It’s difficult to predict how many high schoolers will be coming for lunch everyday, although it seems more have been coming to the middle school lately (possibly weather related). The number of a’la carte items is decided after the lunch count every morning.  Those with a negative lunch account are not able to eat a’la carte, but will be fed “main line’ foods.  It is challenging to gauge amounts and specific items students will buy.  The amounts had been increased this week and there had been much more waste.  Uneaten food (fruit etc.) may not be collected.  Ms. Smith stated that she would like MMS teach not to have to do a lunch  count as various Middle/High schools throughout DODDS do not do so.  Ms. C will try to make “main line” lunches work without this count.  There are always two entrees on main line.  A registered dietician in Texas makes the decisions regarding the menus.  Ms. C reminded the committee that teachers/student and school employees can have Horizon lunch accounts.

Principal’s Brief

Tutoring is mandatory for 8^th graders who are getting 2 or more D’s or F’s on their report cards.  This tutoring will be Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursday from 1500-1630.  Ms. Smith stated student complacency is a contributing factor to the increase in poor grades.

The Assistant Principal slot hs been cut for next year.  A middle school without an Assistant Principal is very difficult to run.  It was projected that MMS would have 309 students attending school during the 2008/09 school year.  350 students must be enrolled however to warrant an AP.  The projection date cutoff date was September 30^th.

MMS is losing three teachers positions as well.  Ms. Smith was not certain where the projection numbers were coming from.  It is approximated that upwards of 100 students will have at least one parent deployed during the 2008/09 school year.  It is anticipated theat disciplinary issues related to deployment issues will increase.  This issue is the main reason for the need of an Assistant Principal at MMS.  Nine teachers are leaving/retiring/PCSing.  Ms. Smith will not have to cut teachers because of this attrition.  This staffing loss average out to losing one teacher per grade level.  The class set-up will change.  There will be approximately 21 students per class.  98 students are projected to be in the 7^th grade next year.

New Business:

Mr. W asked Mr. C (Student Council Representative) why high schoolers were allowed to “cut” into the lunch line.  Officially, this is not authorized.  Representative was also reminded that Student Council was responsible for finding another Student Council Teacher Representative as Ms. S was leaving in April.

If Ms. L were able to change the Minutes format to Word, Mr. W would be able to scan the document and add it to the school newsletter.

The next SAC meeting is scheduled for February 13, 2008.

SAC Meeting

November 14, 2007

Present: Ms. Smith, Ms. Z, Ms. C, Mr. W, Ms. SJ, Ms. L, Ms. V

Minutes fro the October 10^th SAC meeting were approved. 

Ms. B is currently in the US.  No information available as to whether she will return.  Ms. L has volunteered to become PTSA President.  One more parent representative will be needed.

Ms. C has accepted the position of SAC Chairperson.  Ms. L accepted the position of Secretary.

Principal’s Brief

A Math/Science teacher is still need for 7^th grade.  Ms. Smith has changed the format from 4 man to 2 man teams which is a temporary solution until another teacher can be hired.

Ms. Smith met with General – November 14, 2007 regarding the Assistant Principal position.  Enrollment for the 2007/2008 school year is down which may pose a problem for the Assistant Principal slot for next year 2008/2009

School pictures are back.  They were taken Oct 25^th and were sent home on November 14^th.  “Buddy Pictures” and possibly class photos will be taken in the spring.

The first quarter of the school year has ended.  Students who received more than on “D” or “F” and need additional help will be receiving counseling starting this week.  Ms. Smith has gone through all of the reports and this is a situation affecting, for the most part, only 8^th grade.

In the 7^th grade “Eraser Burning” has become an issue.  School Nurse has sent information to parents about this problem, specifically regarding infection, self mutilation.

“Mustang Bucks” are an ongoing incentive program at the middle school.  Students may receive the “bucks” for positive behavior/acts or displaying attributes of a Mustang.  This includes 6 attributes of worthiness and positive character.  These coupons may then be redeemed at the General Store.  Students have requested specific items be made available in the store.  Age appropriate items will be available for students to purchase.

School Newsletter will be changed to WORD format since many parents have trouble opening the newsletter in its current form.

New Business

A 7^th grader has approached Ms. Smith regarding the availability of a la’ carte items at lunch.  It seems there is not enough food by the time 7^th graders eat.  The Cafeteria Supervisor will be invited to address the SAC committee to see how the issue can be resolved.  Apparently the loss of the salad bar has become another issue.  Both students and teachers ate from it in years past.  AAFES determined however, the salad bar did not make sense financially and it was removed.  A “pre-order” salad option has been offered.  The question was raised “why does AAFES have the monopoly on the school lunch programs since there are plenty of military mess halls available in the area.”

Parent-Teacher conferences were a big success this quarter.  The open format worked well.  Mention will be made to teachers regarding some parents monopolizing the teacher’s time during the morning of the conferences.  Specific issues with a student should be addressed during scheduled afternoon meetings.

“Necking” has become a problem at the Middle School.  This refers to students slapping one another on the back of the neck.  Efforts to curtail this behavior include suspension to show “No Tolerance”.

Grades are now available on the web.  A form must be filled out to confirm sponsorship of each child.  Mr. F the educational technologist can be contacted in order to register.

IAC

1. There was a situation in which some adults who live in the building next to the school were “harassing” some middle school students after school.  Due to a specific incident involving a resident’s motorcycle an MP will be outside the school until 4 pm every school day.

2. Procedure for notifying a student of a parent killed in Iraq/Afghanistan will be changed.  Phone calls will no longer be acceptable.  Someone from the chain of command must come to the school in person in order to initiate support for the student immediately.

Ms. C will help after school tutoring on Tuesdays.  Parents will be asked permission to make sure students are allowed to attend these sessions.

Ms. V asked about security issues for German Christmas markets and why classes/groups of students were not able to go.  Ms. Smith responded that open air venues were a more accessible target for terrorist activity.  These markets also sell items which may be deemed unsafe/inappropriate for students.  Some requests to go to the markets have been/are being approved for specific “very good” reasons.

The next SAC meeting will be December 12, 2007.  Ms. Smith and Ms. Z will not be able to attend.  If parents have issues/concerns they may contact Ms. C.

Last Update  11/14/08