April 28, 2011
HINGHAM SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL (SEPAC)
Hingham Public Schools
April 28, 2011, 9:30 a.m.
Central Office Conference Room, 220 Central Street, Hingham, MA 02043
Meeting Agenda
Introduction and Rules
Acceptance of Minutes: - March 23, 2011 & April 13, 2011
Treasurer’s Report
Communications:
· Receipt of letter from Federation for Children with Special Needs
· E-mails from: Jen Milia, Nicole Hammers, Johanne Pino of Mass. Advocates for Children
Questions & Comments:
· Audience comments are always welcome as agenda items are discussed. In addition, SEPAC has set aside ten (10) minutes on this agenda to enable members of the audience to raise questions and make comments on any matter of general concern. To facilitate this process, interested parties are asked to provide the Hingham SEPAC Chairpersons or the Hingham Public Schools Director of Student Services with the nature of the question/comment, in writing, prior to the start of the meeting.
Old Business:
· Creation of a SEPAC budget
· SEPAC introductory letter and questionnaire
· SEPAC election
· SEPAC 2011-2012 calendar (speakers, newsletters, fundraising)
New Business:
Announcements & Adjournment:
· SEPAC voting to take place on May 3, 2011, from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. in the School Dept. Conference Room
· SEPAC presentation on the district’s anti-bullying policy to take place from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the School Dept. Conference Room
· May 25, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. is the next SEPAC meeting with Dr. Loud
· Upcoming School Committee & Budget meetings:
May 9 School Dept. Conference Room
May 23 School Dept. Conference Room
June 6 School Dept. Conference Room
June 20 School Dept. Conference Room
Meetings will begin at 7:30 p.m.
The provision of Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) according to federal and state laws and regulations related to the education of children with disabilities includes the following areas: Assessment of Students, Student Identification, Parent and Community Involvement, Curriculum and Instruction, Student Support Services, Faculty, Staff and Administration, School Facilities, Program Plan and Evaluation and Record Keeping.
Meeting Minutes
Present: Donna Keaney, Jean Garrity, and Dr. Loud.
The meeting was called to order at 9:40 a.m. by co-chair Donna Keaney.
The minutes from the March 22, 2011, and April 13, 2011, meetings were approved.
Treasurer’s Report: The final income from this year’s antique show was $3201.40.
Communications: Jean reported that she received a letter from the Federation for Children with Special Needs requesting funds for a presentation they did for us in May 2009. Jean will contact Leslie Leslie at the Federation for clarification.
Jean also received an invoice from South Shore Therapies for the April 13, 2011, presentation. She will forward this to Kim Cross so the SEPAC can remit payment.
Donna Keaney received an e-mail from Jen Milia, psychologist at East Elementary School, offering to do another presentation for the SEPAC next year. Her focus would be siblings of special needs children.
Donna also received an e-mail from Nicole Hammers with information about a financial planner who is looking to come in and do a presentation on insurance, guardianship, etc.
Donna received another e-mail from Johanne Pino from Mass Advocates for Children informing our SEPAC that they have a new presentation on the anti-bullying law. They also have a workshop on autism. Dr. Loud was wondering if they were a non-profit organization.
Old Business:
Budget: Kim will begin to work on a budget for a future meeting. She will also plan on meeting with John Ferris to transfer our account.
SEPAC Survey: Jean spoke about creating an online survey for our members to take to provide some feedback for the SEPAC Board. It was suggested to keep the survey brief to encourage people to respond. Jean will look into what types of free services are available to assist us with creating a survey. This will be discussed further at the May meeting.
SEPAC Welcome Letter: It was decided that the SEPAC will have a welcome letter that will go out at the end of summer/beginning of the school year to all parents of children receiving special education services in Hingham. This will give us an opportunity to explain further what the SEPAC is and encourage parents to become involved. If our calendar for speakers, presentations, meetings, etc is finalized we would like to also include that information in the welcome letter. Jean will work on a draft to bring to the May meeting for the board members to review and edit.
SEPAC Elections: Elections are set for May 3, 2011. Information about nominations and the election was posted. The nominations have been received. Mary Dixon-Smith will serve as the election coordinator. Donna showed a draft of the ballot that will be used on May 3.
SEPAC Calendar for 2011-2012: Topics of interest for next year include: showing the movie “Including Samuel” perhaps during Inclusion Week (December 5 – 9, 2011); College Planning for students with special needs and learning disabilities; Dr. Ross Greene; Dr. Ned Hallowell; Social Thinking; and “Let’s Get Organized” from Family TIES. At the May meeting, board members will bring more ideas with potential costs for each program or presentation.
Director of Student Services Report: Dr. Loud took a moment to thank the officers of this year’s SEPAC for all of their hard work and dedication.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jean Garrity
Co-Chair
Hingham Public Schools
April 28, 2011, 9:30 a.m.
Central Office Conference Room, 220 Central Street, Hingham, MA 02043
Meeting Agenda
Introduction and Rules
Acceptance of Minutes: - March 23, 2011 & April 13, 2011
Treasurer’s Report
Communications:
· Receipt of letter from Federation for Children with Special Needs
· E-mails from: Jen Milia, Nicole Hammers, Johanne Pino of Mass. Advocates for Children
Questions & Comments:
· Audience comments are always welcome as agenda items are discussed. In addition, SEPAC has set aside ten (10) minutes on this agenda to enable members of the audience to raise questions and make comments on any matter of general concern. To facilitate this process, interested parties are asked to provide the Hingham SEPAC Chairpersons or the Hingham Public Schools Director of Student Services with the nature of the question/comment, in writing, prior to the start of the meeting.
Old Business:
· Creation of a SEPAC budget
· SEPAC introductory letter and questionnaire
· SEPAC election
· SEPAC 2011-2012 calendar (speakers, newsletters, fundraising)
New Business:
Announcements & Adjournment:
· SEPAC voting to take place on May 3, 2011, from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. in the School Dept. Conference Room
· SEPAC presentation on the district’s anti-bullying policy to take place from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the School Dept. Conference Room
· May 25, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. is the next SEPAC meeting with Dr. Loud
· Upcoming School Committee & Budget meetings:
May 9 School Dept. Conference Room
May 23 School Dept. Conference Room
June 6 School Dept. Conference Room
June 20 School Dept. Conference Room
Meetings will begin at 7:30 p.m.
The provision of Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) according to federal and state laws and regulations related to the education of children with disabilities includes the following areas: Assessment of Students, Student Identification, Parent and Community Involvement, Curriculum and Instruction, Student Support Services, Faculty, Staff and Administration, School Facilities, Program Plan and Evaluation and Record Keeping.
Meeting Minutes
Present: Donna Keaney, Jean Garrity, and Dr. Loud.
The meeting was called to order at 9:40 a.m. by co-chair Donna Keaney.
The minutes from the March 22, 2011, and April 13, 2011, meetings were approved.
Treasurer’s Report: The final income from this year’s antique show was $3201.40.
Communications: Jean reported that she received a letter from the Federation for Children with Special Needs requesting funds for a presentation they did for us in May 2009. Jean will contact Leslie Leslie at the Federation for clarification.
Jean also received an invoice from South Shore Therapies for the April 13, 2011, presentation. She will forward this to Kim Cross so the SEPAC can remit payment.
Donna Keaney received an e-mail from Jen Milia, psychologist at East Elementary School, offering to do another presentation for the SEPAC next year. Her focus would be siblings of special needs children.
Donna also received an e-mail from Nicole Hammers with information about a financial planner who is looking to come in and do a presentation on insurance, guardianship, etc.
Donna received another e-mail from Johanne Pino from Mass Advocates for Children informing our SEPAC that they have a new presentation on the anti-bullying law. They also have a workshop on autism. Dr. Loud was wondering if they were a non-profit organization.
Old Business:
Budget: Kim will begin to work on a budget for a future meeting. She will also plan on meeting with John Ferris to transfer our account.
SEPAC Survey: Jean spoke about creating an online survey for our members to take to provide some feedback for the SEPAC Board. It was suggested to keep the survey brief to encourage people to respond. Jean will look into what types of free services are available to assist us with creating a survey. This will be discussed further at the May meeting.
SEPAC Welcome Letter: It was decided that the SEPAC will have a welcome letter that will go out at the end of summer/beginning of the school year to all parents of children receiving special education services in Hingham. This will give us an opportunity to explain further what the SEPAC is and encourage parents to become involved. If our calendar for speakers, presentations, meetings, etc is finalized we would like to also include that information in the welcome letter. Jean will work on a draft to bring to the May meeting for the board members to review and edit.
SEPAC Elections: Elections are set for May 3, 2011. Information about nominations and the election was posted. The nominations have been received. Mary Dixon-Smith will serve as the election coordinator. Donna showed a draft of the ballot that will be used on May 3.
SEPAC Calendar for 2011-2012: Topics of interest for next year include: showing the movie “Including Samuel” perhaps during Inclusion Week (December 5 – 9, 2011); College Planning for students with special needs and learning disabilities; Dr. Ross Greene; Dr. Ned Hallowell; Social Thinking; and “Let’s Get Organized” from Family TIES. At the May meeting, board members will bring more ideas with potential costs for each program or presentation.
Director of Student Services Report: Dr. Loud took a moment to thank the officers of this year’s SEPAC for all of their hard work and dedication.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jean Garrity
Co-Chair
