YMSPG

Meeting Minutes 11-13-07

Game room coin drive was very successful. Just over $3,000 was raised.

Steve Bishop said the game room has generated a lot of enthusiasm. Since middle school students don’t wear snow pants and aren’t allowed to play in the snow at recess, he thinks that there will be more students taking advantage of the game room during the winter months. It is a great place to work on social skills, working together to have fun. It’s not a structured activity so they must use their social skills. To avoid over crowding, there is a ticket system in use. 7 tickets are allotted to each homeroom each day the game room is open. Steve is working on getting one teacher volunteer to help the parent volunteer in the room. More parents are needed to staff the game room so that it can be open more often. If parents can commit to 1 day per month, or week to help out, please contact Scott Cogger at the middle school or at scogger@yorkschools.org.

Next week is conference week. The parent group is supplying snack trays for the teachers as they spend most of the day and evening there. If you have been contacted to bring in something, thank you and please have it there by Tuesday morning.

The Parent Group will also be filling cookie/treat bags for all staff members in December. Please consider contributing some homemade cookies or candies to this effort. For more info email us at ymspg@yorkschools.org

Next Meeting – December 13^th in conjunction with the elementary schools at YMS. Dwight Bardwell, Tim Fitzgerald and Dr. Henry Scipione will explain what their last proposal to the state of Maine is for school consolidation. It’s a busy season, but it’s important that parents understand what’s happening, so that they can help to make informed decisions.

Kent Kilgore – Health

The curriculum has changed over the last few years and now health which used to be covered in science class is now covered in Health as a part of the phys. Ed department. Using a trimester this allows more time and can cover emotions and health questions. One trimester is dedicated to team sports, 1 to fitness – human body structure and function, healthy living – good food choices, and 1 on health which is done in a classroom with desks and chairs. This curriculum was available at open house and online at yorkschools.org

The teachers are proud to tie all 3 together.

The 3 teachers have different approaches but all cover the same material. Mr. Kilgore is more discussion based and Ms. Schambach and Marois are more project based.

Classes are a place where students feel safe and can open up and ask questions, sensitivity to student’s feelings are very important. They stress that students must make choices and they are there to guide them to make healthy choices.

Cover conflict management, human sexuality.

If you would like to view any of the movies that are used in Health class feel free to call the school and make an appointment that fits your schedule. You can view the movie in the library. They are looking to update the movies as some of them are a bit dated. There is nothing on the films that kids, adults or teacher would feel uncomfortable with.

In class they cover the bases that don’t always get covered at home. When specific topics are covered that require discussion, students are asked to write questions on anonymous index cards and pass them in at the end of class. Questions can then be discussed at the next class. That way inappropriate questions don’t interrupt class. Students have a lot of incorrect knowledge. The misconceptions are revealed at school. The truth is less scary than what kids think they know. They know a lot, so don’t thing they don’t know. Sources of information are older siblings, friend’s older siblings, a friend’s dad has a magazine under the bed, you don’t always know where they get their information from.

We are all on the same team.

A teaching tool is “if you don’t know, you need to have all the facts, to look at the pros and cons. If you know all the facts ok, then you can make a solid decision, if you can’t make a solid decision it’s better to walk away.

Portland’s of the world are breaking new ground, we are not Portland. What is a little known fact is that there are public health clinics that operate inside the schools. Not just a school nurses office.

We are a different community.

Young kids now spend a lot of time alone at home, and at other kid’s homes. Who they are hanging out with and what the rules are at their friends homes is important to know.

Projecting an image that is something you stand for and want to be known as is a journey that takes a long time. You find a lot about how you want to be by hanging out with different groups.

Talk about different circles and social structures, what do they act like, how do they act, how do you make choices on how you want to project your image.

If you feel like your labeled and you don’t like it how to show kids who you really are – try to avoid labeling kids and what to do about it.

Social and emotional health. Relationships – kids are in control of their own destinies. They should feel good about the rights and don’t feel bad about the wrongs- making honest, solid decisions – creating confident self esteem.

Other support pieces at YMS are the guidance office which arrange social groups and friendship groups.

Teaching kids how to navigate socially in a community. School has taken this on as a big part as there are less neighborhood opportunities and more structured activities.

Do 5^th graders watch the movie together??

Risky behaviors are putting yourself in a position where you don’t have control over yourself, how not to through caution to the wind. Tobacco, drugs and alcohol.

Kids can find their talent work in many different activities.

Teachers have eyes and ears to pick up abnormal behavior as kids go from the café to recess and in the hallways. All teachers are looking out for social behaviors.

Phil Roy – Homework

Guidelines 50-6-70-80 minutes of homework.

Record homework in plan books.

7^th & 8^th graders have big changes because they have more teachers.

Organization is extremely important.

Study skills and managing time are the most difficult for students. We like to have teachers have strong communications with parents. The plan book is a common and strong tool for communication between parents and teachers.

Parents need to look at plan books

Homework doesn’t cover new material, but goes over, practice, research or read about what happened in class. Homework is individual, some do it right after school, some like to relax and do it later. Parents need to provide a place and time to do homework. Should be consistent. It’s not easy, but an important routine.

Teachers on 7^th & 8^th grade teams manage big projects together. Team meeting time 2x week. They try not to overwhelm.

7^th * 8^th grade subjects every other day – best practice is to get homework done on the day it’s assigned.

On line possibilities, in the future, but it’s important to work with your child and go over the plan book and what’s in it.