St. Mary School Board - St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic School

2018-2019 School Board Members

Next Meeting: January 8th @ 6:00 p.m.

Mission Statement:

St. Mary School provides an authentic Catholic education. This education allows students to be life-long learners with an understanding of the call to service.

St. Mary’s Catholic School Board

Minutes

August 7, 2018

Present:  Mr. Adams, Laura Fortman, Angie Jansen, Mrs. Taube, Joni Lazoff, Andrea Winkle, Kim Hesher, Melissa Cass, Shari Targgart, Lynette Gerard, Katie Mullins, Kevin Strater

Absent: Father Daniel

Opening - School Board Prayer

Welcome of New and Returning Members

Approval of May Minutes

• Minutes corrected and approved
• To be posted to the website this week

HASA Report: Kim

• Next Meeting August 22nd @ 6:30pm
• Planning on Trunk or Treat this October
• Color Run in May made approx. $600 profit, hopefully this event will take place again next May

Committee Reports:

1.  Finance & Development – Mr. Adams

• Funding is in place to begin the HVAC project
• Next Meeting of Parish Finance Council is in September

  2.  Catholic Identity- Andrea

• Amendment regarding vacant board seat 2nd reading tonight-see below

3.  Enrollment & Marketing-Joni

• New Website has launched!
• Won “Best Float” in the Avilla parade 
• Discussion ongoing re: Major Fundraiser / Gala
• Possible dates in March or April

4.  Principal Evaluation-Laura (In Spring)

• Nothing new

  5.  Strategic Planning- Update from spring/summer-Angie

• No new updates from the summer
• Committee to meet after a board meeting later this year
• Angie working on a “template” 
• Deadline to turn into Diocese is Spring 2020 

2018-19 Committee Sign-ups and Chairs

• Roster will be printed and distributed at next meeting

Old/Ongoing Business:

1. Policy Agreement(3) Change in Constitution- Andrea

• 1st Reading was 5/1/18, 2nd reading tonight 

2. Walking Path/Fence

• Received another quote and the price increased, due to a specific fence that needs to be installed
• No grant proposals have been officially written yet
• Walking path has been tabled for now due to lack of funding 

New Business:

1. After School Activities

• Programs fall, winter, & spring sessions
• Fall: Soccer, pottery, robotics, cheerleading
• 5 weeks starting September 10th
• 3-4 pm (different class each day) 
• $20 per class
• Sign up by August 31st

2. Labor Day Festival Basket Raffle-Sign up

• Sign-up sheet passed around
• Big thank you to Kim Hesher for set up!

3. Parish Council Meeting sign up

• Sign up sheet passed around 

4. Ice Cream Social and Back to School night Thursday, August 23^rd

• ^{Hope to see everyone there!}

5. Developing a Marketing Team

• There is a need to expand and have a core team to manage marketing endeavors. 

6. Picture of SB members for Website

• Done

School Administration Report

• Painting of the Church is going well, hopefully School mass will be back in the church next week.
• HVAC system is the next project, units to be ordered and work to begin soon.
• Welcome to our new staff! Mrs. Ball, Mrs. Eagan, Mrs. Gabet, Mrs. Hauck, Mrs. Lazoff, Mrs. Rupley, Mrs. Bovin
• Summer projects: new (used) Desks, white boards, new website
• Upcoming projects: Awning grant, SSSG grant, New iPads for lower grades, new printer contract
• Only running one bus this year 
• First E-learning day, Sept. 6th, curriculum day 
• Virtues program: Hope
• 20 new iPads for grades K-3
• older iPads going to Pre-K
• Lunch prices were raised $0.10
• NWEA 3x this year
• ILEARN-adaptive to student progress
• we are now compliant with technology standards

Pastor’s Report

• None- Father absent

Other Business: 

• None

Parish Council: August 21^st 7pm - Laura 

Adjournment with a prayer

Next School Board Meeting: September 4, 2018 @ 6PM

Monthly Committee meeting: Marketing 

Annual School Goal: 

"Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer."  Romans 12:12

Mission Statement:

St. Mary School provides an authentic Catholic education. This education allows students to be life-long learners with an understanding of the call to service.

St. Mary’s Catholic School Board

Minutes

May 1, 2018

Present: Mr. Adams, Brian Myers, Carrie Rupley, Laura Fortman, Angie Jansen, Mrs. Curtis, Mrs. Taube, Mrs. Yoder, Joni Lazoff, Andrea Winkle, Shane Clouse, Kim Hesher, Melissa Cass, Shari Targgart, Lynette Gerard, Katie Mullins

Absent: Father Daniel, Kevin Strater

Opening - School Board Prayer

Welcome New Members: Shari Targgart, Lynette Gerard and Katie Mullins!

Approval of April Minutes

HASA Report: Kim

- Cupcakes & Canvas event was well attended with approx. 38 painters, cost was $400

- Color Run registrations @ 25 people currently, hoping to double that number over the next week

- Providing various supplies for upcoming field day 

- Next meeting Wednesday, May 16th-election of officers to be held

Committee Reports:

1.  Finance & Development - Brian

- Parish Finance Council held 4/18/2018 with the following key highlights of interest to the 

School Board:

• Reviewed excellent financial progress being made since kick-off of 2018 Capital Campaign in January 2018
• It’s working: people are giving because they see a plan, are regularly informed of progress, and can believe in the reality of the near-term results to follow.  Now PFCIC is focused to deliver those results.
• Lifetouch provided a presentation of their Parish directory services to the Council
• No cost to Parish and numerous benefits, includes support reconnecting with inactive parishioners
• Brian Myers took the action to seek candidate to lead this effort
• Two areas School Board can continue to focus upon to support the financial stability of the Parish:
• Enrollment growth through promotion and outreach.  Promote the gem we have here.
• Building community within the Parish and with Sending Parishes.  Embrace the gem we have here.
• Next Parish Finance Council will be held 7/19/2018 @ 6:00 pm

  2.  Catholic Identity- Andrea

- See Old/Ongoing Business below

- Discussion regarding “getting back on track” to make sure we are completing all tasks outlining 

  in the handbook

3.  Enrollment & Marketing-Joni

2017-2018 Achievements

• Updated the brochures that promote our school (English/Spanish version), distributed 
• Worked to develop a more current web site, giving the school more options for marketing, and reaching out on social media  (improving the school’s “first impression”)

*Goal is to have the new website revealed at start of 18/19 school year!

• Joni & Heather took part in an online course for Catholic School Development/Advancement/Marketing
• Met with the priest at Immaculate Conception Church Kendallville to discuss ideas for welcoming the Hispanic community into our school and improving the promotion of our school within their parish. We need to revisit this next year 
• Met with the priest at St John Bosco in Churubusco to discuss visiting their parish and speaking before the congregation about our school and what our school can offer (follow up will be taking place)
• Reached out to alumni before the Labor Day Festival, inviting all alumni to attend and visit the alumni table at the festival. The turn-out brought more updated alumni contact info.
• Alumni received a Christmas letter asking for consideration when donating for the Holiday season

Goals for the 2018/2019 School Year

• Establishing a larger “marketing core team”  This could include non-school board members, staff, parents, parish members and possibly even alumni. 

*Key Questions: How many people ACTIVELY promote our school? How many people know EXACTLY what to promote and market year to year?

*Define our ten key points to promote, sell and/or “shout out” to all publics every year.

• Creating “welcome folders” for new St Mary families. These folders would include all registration paperwork, info about the lunch program, Scrip, HASA, Spirit Wear, Voucher Program, possibly something faith based, car decal, and a newsletter filling in parents on the new and exciting things happening within the school. A folder that really says, “We are excited you are here!”
• A video promoting our school that can be shared via the web site and on social media. We discussed it this year but were unable to work on it.
• Hope to gather the addresses from sending parishes of families who have children of St Mary school age but are not sending their children to this school. Once we have a more targeted group, we can send some kind of a mailer to these families. (idea: a letter to prospective families identifying benefits they will receive at our school based on experience from a parent)

Ideas to build relations with Alumni & Grow our Alumni Database

• Career Day
• Alumni form for enrollment suggestions
• Homecoming by decades
• Homecoming honoring former teachers
• Interactive web page
• Improve use of social media
• Publication: Then and Now

Challenges 

• How can we invite, involve, and engage more of alumni into the life of our Catholic School?
• How can we better educate and have everyone (faculty/staff, students and parent) understand that Enrollment Management is everyone’s responsibility?
• How can we stop so many “nickel and dime” fund-raising efforts and move more toward inviting people to invest in our mission and vision?

4.  Principal Evaluation-Laura 

- Completed & Submitted

  5.  Strategic Planning- Brian

No more Strategic Planning Committee meetings this school year

• Maintain School Board leadership, engagement and support of efforts that are already in motion across the Parish (Church and School) to meet the key emphasis areas of the Strategic Plan:
• Curriculum and School Improvement
• Enrollment, Staffing and Marketing
• Facilities and Capital Improvement
• Finance and Development
• We’re already executing to a modified master plan, far advanced from that captured in the 2014-2019 Strategic Plan, to bolster the key emphasis areas outlined above
• Committees keep marching forward, documenting your work and results and planning the vision of what’s next, and we’ll have a good percentage of what we need to start developing the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan over the next year and a half.
• 2020-2025 Strategic Plan due spring 2020

Old/ Ongoing Business:

1. Change in Constitution

1. Article IV (2)(C) Representative Members
2. Article IV (3) Elected Members

- First reading of proposed changes

- August will be second reading and review

- September will be the final reading and vote on changes

- Consider including more specific dates & deadlines for recruiting new board members 

2. Calendar 2018-19 update

- Thursday, September 6 will be an E-learning day 

- Friday, September 7 is a NON- E-learning day- teachers will be at Professional Development

New Business:

Officer Elections: President, Vice President, Secretary

-Eligible Members: Melissa, Angie, Kevin, Joni, Andrea, Laura

-All officers voted on by unanimous vote 

2018-19 Officers

President: Laura Fortman

VP: Andrea Winkle

Secretary: Angie Jansen 

School Administration Report

- Confirmation and First Communion coming up soon

- Last I-Step tests have been administered, i-Learn to replace I-Step next school year

Pastor’s Report

Father Absent

Other Business: Avilla Freedom Festival Parade June 23rd

- Theme is movies this year

- Laura to provide a wagon again, decorating date will be announced

Parish Council: Carrie Rupley

- No Attendance 

Adjournment with a prayer

Next School Board Meeting: August 7, 2018 @ 6PM

Monthly Committee meeting: New Members 

Annual School Goal: 

“For nothing will be impossible for God” Luke 1:37