August 18, 2011
HINGHAM SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL (SEPAC)
Wednesday, August 18, 2011, 10:00 a.m.
Hingham Public Library - Whiton Room
66 Leavitt Street, Hingham, MA 02043
Meeting Agenda
Introduction and Rules
Acceptance of Minutes – July 27, 2011
Treasurer’s Report:
· Discuss revisions to proposed 2011-2012 SEPAC budget
Communications:
· e-mails sent to SEPAC website
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:
· Hingham Education Foundation (HEF) update
· SEPAC website update
· Update on proposed Fun Run/Road Race for April ‘12
· Final revision of back-to-school letter
· Brief update on antique show
· Update on spring ’12 social skills presentation
New Business:
· Discuss speakers for 12/7/11 presentation
Subcommittee Reports:
HPS Director of Student Services Report:
Announcements & Adjournment:
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, Marisa Ronan, Jean Garrity, and Director of Student Services Dr. Jean Curtis Loud.
Co-Chair Donna Keaney called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
The minutes from July 27, 2011 were reviewed.
Treasurer’s Report: Kim Cross was not present, but sent an e-mail informing Donna that the only change to the account was the $275.00 MassPAC membership check cleared this month.
Funding for the Nicole Hammers and Julie McKinnon Hingham Education Foundation (HEF) grant was discussed. SEPAC needs to send a letter to both teachers informing them of SEPAC’s intent to fund the labor portion of the grant.
Communications: The SEPAC G-mail account has received three e-mails requesting information. Marisa will respond to the third one and Donna will respond to the first two. It was suggested to send all correspondences through the G-mail account as a way to keep a record of our e-mails.
Old Business:
HEF Update: Marisa spoke about the June meeting that took place between SEPAC board members and the HEF board. She reported that this meeting was a very positive, informative meeting. HEF shared some of their ideas regarding how they fundraise, how they organize, and how they recruit volunteers. One important suggestion they shared was to be specific about what you are fundraising for. It helps the fundraising cause to have a specific item or program that all monies raised would go towards. HEF also stated they would be willing to work with us on a possible joint fundraiser. Donna asked if we could send them our information about upcoming events to help publicize them.
SEPAC Website: Marisa reported that the SEPAC website is getting some traffic. There have been 30 visitors viewing 40 pages. Hopefully, once school starts and the website is more publicized there will be more visitors to the website. Our SEPAC survey is also posted on the website, as well as the most recent calendar of events.
Update on Fun Run/Road Race: Jean and Pam are planning on running the Bare Cove Park race and will gather more information as to how the race was organized. This will be discussed further at the next meeting.
Welcome Letter: The revised Welcome Letter was reviewed. We are looking to get this mailing out the first week of school. On Thursday, September 9,, from 9 – noon, we will meet in the school department conference room to prepare the mailing. The school department will pay for two SEPAC mailings each year. The board is thinking of potentially having a SEPAC mailing go out quarterly to inform people of our upcoming events, as well as remind them how to get in touch with us.
Antique Show: Donna informed us that Paula has not heard back from John at Goosefare Antiques as to whether or not he found another Hingham sponsor for the show.
Spring Social Skills Presentation: Marisa and Susan are still working on securing a presenter and will update this at the September meeting.
New Business:
Donna is looking into having two other staff members participate in the December 7 panel discussion. So far Jen Milia has agreed to participate and speak about the difficulties siblings of special needs children face. More discussion regarding this will take place at the September meeting.
Director of Student Services: Dr. Loud informed the board of several personnel changes in the school department office. Both Joan and Ruth retired in June. Kathy Bird is now the new student services administrative assistant, and her hours are 8:30 – 4:30 Monday – Friday. Lisa White is the new clerical assistant, and her hours are 8:30 -2:30 Monday – Friday. Suzanne is at the reception desk. Dr. Loud also reported on several potential grants. The first is a $14,000.00 early childhood grant, which would help to cover the salary of Becky Case. The second grant is a professional development grant worth $47,000.00 called Grant 274.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m.
Meeting Minutes
Present: Donna Keaney, Marisa Ronan, Jean Garrity, and Director of Student Services Dr. Jean Curtis Loud.
Co-Chair Donna Keaney called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
The minutes from July 27, 2011 were reviewed.
Treasurer’s Report: Kim Cross was not present, but sent an e-mail informing Donna that the only change to the account was the $275.00 MassPAC membership check cleared this month.
Funding for the Nicole Hammers and Julie McKinnon Hingham Education Foundation (HEF) grant was discussed. SEPAC needs to send a letter to both teachers informing them of SEPAC’s intent to fund the labor portion of the grant.
Communications: The SEPAC G-mail account has received three e-mails requesting information. Marisa will respond to the third one and Donna will respond to the first two. It was suggested to send all correspondences through the G-mail account as a way to keep a record of our e-mails.
Old Business:
HEF Update: Marisa spoke about the June meeting that took place between SEPAC board members and the HEF board. She reported that this meeting was a very positive, informative meeting. HEF shared some of their ideas regarding how they fundraise, how they organize, and how they recruit volunteers. One important suggestion they shared was to be specific about what you are fundraising for. It helps the fundraising cause to have a specific item or program that all monies raised would go towards. HEF also stated they would be willing to work with us on a possible joint fundraiser. Donna asked if we could send them our information about upcoming events to help publicize them.
SEPAC Website: Marisa reported that the SEPAC website is getting some traffic. There have been 30 visitors viewing 40 pages. Hopefully, once school starts and the website is more publicized there will be more visitors to the website. Our SEPAC survey is also posted on the website, as well as the most recent calendar of events.
Update on Fun Run/Road Race: Jean and Pam are planning on running the Bare Cove Park race and will gather more information as to how the race was organized. This will be discussed further at the next meeting.
Welcome Letter: The revised Welcome Letter was reviewed. We are looking to get this mailing out the first week of school. On Thursday, September 9,, from 9 – noon, we will meet in the school department conference room to prepare the mailing. The school department will pay for two SEPAC mailings each year. The board is thinking of potentially having a SEPAC mailing go out quarterly to inform people of our upcoming events, as well as remind them how to get in touch with us.
Antique Show: Donna informed us that Paula has not heard back from John at Goosefare Antiques as to whether or not he found another Hingham sponsor for the show.
Spring Social Skills Presentation: Marisa and Susan are still working on securing a presenter and will update this at the September meeting.
New Business:
Donna is looking into having two other staff members participate in the December 7 panel discussion. So far Jen Milia has agreed to participate and speak about the difficulties siblings of special needs children face. More discussion regarding this will take place at the September meeting.
Director of Student Services: Dr. Loud informed the board of several personnel changes in the school department office. Both Joan and Ruth retired in June. Kathy Bird is now the new student services administrative assistant, and her hours are 8:30 – 4:30 Monday – Friday. Lisa White is the new clerical assistant, and her hours are 8:30 -2:30 Monday – Friday. Suzanne is at the reception desk. Dr. Loud also reported on several potential grants. The first is a $14,000.00 early childhood grant, which would help to cover the salary of Becky Case. The second grant is a professional development grant worth $47,000.00 called Grant 274.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m.
HINGHAM SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL (SEPAC)
Wednesday, August 18, 2011, 10:00 a.m.
Hingham Public Library - Whiton Room
66 Leavitt Street, Hingham, MA 02043
Meeting Agenda
Introduction and Rules
Acceptance of Minutes – July 27, 2011
Treasurer’s Report:
· Discuss revisions to proposed 2011-2012 SEPAC budget
Communications:
· e-mails sent to SEPAC website
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:
· Hingham Education Foundation (HEF) update
· SEPAC website update
· Update on proposed Fun Run/Road Race for April ‘12
· Final revision of back-to-school letter
· Brief update on antique show
· Update on spring ’12 social skills presentation
New Business:
· Discuss speakers for 12/7/11 presentation
Subcommittee Reports:
HPS Director of Student Services Report:
Announcements & Adjournment:
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, Marisa Ronan, Jean Garrity, and Director of Student Services Dr. Jean Curtis Loud.
Co-Chair Donna Keaney called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
The minutes from July 27, 2011 were reviewed.
Treasurer’s Report: Kim Cross was not present, but sent an e-mail informing Donna that the only change to the account was the $275.00 MassPAC membership check cleared this month.
Funding for the Nicole Hammers and Julie McKinnon Hingham Education Foundation (HEF) grant was discussed. SEPAC needs to send a letter to both teachers informing them of SEPAC’s intent to fund the labor portion of the grant.
Communications: The SEPAC G-mail account has received three e-mails requesting information. Marisa will respond to the third one and Donna will respond to the first two. It was suggested to send all correspondences through the G-mail account as a way to keep a record of our e-mails.
Old Business:
HEF Update: Marisa spoke about the June meeting that took place between SEPAC board members and the HEF board. She reported that this meeting was a very positive, informative meeting. HEF shared some of their ideas regarding how they fundraise, how they organize, and how they recruit volunteers. One important suggestion they shared was to be specific about what you are fundraising for. It helps the fundraising cause to have a specific item or program that all monies raised would go towards. HEF also stated they would be willing to work with us on a possible joint fundraiser. Donna asked if we could send them our information about upcoming events to help publicize them.
SEPAC Website: Marisa reported that the SEPAC website is getting some traffic. There have been 30 visitors viewing 40 pages. Hopefully, once school starts and the website is more publicized there will be more visitors to the website. Our SEPAC survey is also posted on the website, as well as the most recent calendar of events.
Update on Fun Run/Road Race: Jean and Pam are planning on running the Bare Cove Park race and will gather more information as to how the race was organized. This will be discussed further at the next meeting.
Welcome Letter: The revised Welcome Letter was reviewed. We are looking to get this mailing out the first week of school. On Thursday, September 9,, from 9 – noon, we will meet in the school department conference room to prepare the mailing. The school department will pay for two SEPAC mailings each year. The board is thinking of potentially having a SEPAC mailing go out quarterly to inform people of our upcoming events, as well as remind them how to get in touch with us.
Antique Show: Donna informed us that Paula has not heard back from John at Goosefare Antiques as to whether or not he found another Hingham sponsor for the show.
Spring Social Skills Presentation: Marisa and Susan are still working on securing a presenter and will update this at the September meeting.
New Business:
Donna is looking into having two other staff members participate in the December 7 panel discussion. So far Jen Milia has agreed to participate and speak about the difficulties siblings of special needs children face. More discussion regarding this will take place at the September meeting.
Director of Student Services: Dr. Loud informed the board of several personnel changes in the school department office. Both Joan and Ruth retired in June. Kathy Bird is now the new student services administrative assistant, and her hours are 8:30 – 4:30 Monday – Friday. Lisa White is the new clerical assistant, and her hours are 8:30 -2:30 Monday – Friday. Suzanne is at the reception desk. Dr. Loud also reported on several potential grants. The first is a $14,000.00 early childhood grant, which would help to cover the salary of Becky Case. The second grant is a professional development grant worth $47,000.00 called Grant 274.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m.
Meeting Minutes
Present: Donna Keaney, Marisa Ronan, Jean Garrity, and Director of Student Services Dr. Jean Curtis Loud.
Co-Chair Donna Keaney called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
The minutes from July 27, 2011 were reviewed.
Treasurer’s Report: Kim Cross was not present, but sent an e-mail informing Donna that the only change to the account was the $275.00 MassPAC membership check cleared this month.
Funding for the Nicole Hammers and Julie McKinnon Hingham Education Foundation (HEF) grant was discussed. SEPAC needs to send a letter to both teachers informing them of SEPAC’s intent to fund the labor portion of the grant.
Communications: The SEPAC G-mail account has received three e-mails requesting information. Marisa will respond to the third one and Donna will respond to the first two. It was suggested to send all correspondences through the G-mail account as a way to keep a record of our e-mails.
Old Business:
HEF Update: Marisa spoke about the June meeting that took place between SEPAC board members and the HEF board. She reported that this meeting was a very positive, informative meeting. HEF shared some of their ideas regarding how they fundraise, how they organize, and how they recruit volunteers. One important suggestion they shared was to be specific about what you are fundraising for. It helps the fundraising cause to have a specific item or program that all monies raised would go towards. HEF also stated they would be willing to work with us on a possible joint fundraiser. Donna asked if we could send them our information about upcoming events to help publicize them.
SEPAC Website: Marisa reported that the SEPAC website is getting some traffic. There have been 30 visitors viewing 40 pages. Hopefully, once school starts and the website is more publicized there will be more visitors to the website. Our SEPAC survey is also posted on the website, as well as the most recent calendar of events.
Update on Fun Run/Road Race: Jean and Pam are planning on running the Bare Cove Park race and will gather more information as to how the race was organized. This will be discussed further at the next meeting.
Welcome Letter: The revised Welcome Letter was reviewed. We are looking to get this mailing out the first week of school. On Thursday, September 9,, from 9 – noon, we will meet in the school department conference room to prepare the mailing. The school department will pay for two SEPAC mailings each year. The board is thinking of potentially having a SEPAC mailing go out quarterly to inform people of our upcoming events, as well as remind them how to get in touch with us.
Antique Show: Donna informed us that Paula has not heard back from John at Goosefare Antiques as to whether or not he found another Hingham sponsor for the show.
Spring Social Skills Presentation: Marisa and Susan are still working on securing a presenter and will update this at the September meeting.
New Business:
Donna is looking into having two other staff members participate in the December 7 panel discussion. So far Jen Milia has agreed to participate and speak about the difficulties siblings of special needs children face. More discussion regarding this will take place at the September meeting.
Director of Student Services: Dr. Loud informed the board of several personnel changes in the school department office. Both Joan and Ruth retired in June. Kathy Bird is now the new student services administrative assistant, and her hours are 8:30 – 4:30 Monday – Friday. Lisa White is the new clerical assistant, and her hours are 8:30 -2:30 Monday – Friday. Suzanne is at the reception desk. Dr. Loud also reported on several potential grants. The first is a $14,000.00 early childhood grant, which would help to cover the salary of Becky Case. The second grant is a professional development grant worth $47,000.00 called Grant 274.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m.
