BOE_CCSRep_11142007

Crestone Charter School Report to the School Board

Director Kathryn Brady

November 14th, 2007

1.0 Enrollment

• We are currently at 67 students, 65 FTE.

2.0 Finance

§Our FTE reflects that we are 32.3% of the total district budget. 

3.0 Education and Curriculum Development

3.1 Staff

• Staff and Governing council met for a work session on Saturday, November 3^rd at LINK from 10 am to 5 pm. The session was facilitated by David Billesbach. We discussed portions of Academics Ends 4, including qualitative and quantitative assessments at CCS. We brainstormed in small groups on ways to dispel the myth that learning could not be “fun” and that an experiential program was not also a rigorous academic program.
• Staff has been meeting for two-hour faculty meeting sessions weekly. Planning process includes language arts programming, gifted identification, and classroom design of the new facility.
• Charlie will attend the National Science Teacher’s conference on the 9^th and 10^th. 

3.2 Students

§Primary students began a school garden project with help from Shumei volunteers. Campus wide, students will participate in a work day in the garden. Composting has begun in each class, and we have a new composter on the elementary play yard to support our gardening project.

§Intermediate students continue their Taiko drumming six week session at Shumei.

§Early Elementary students complete swimming lessons at Hooper pool 11/9/07. EE begins their unit of study on American history which includes making hand crafts such as beeswax candles and quilting.

§EE students studied wildlife at Alamosa refuge as part of their science activities and participated in exploring the indoor hands on exhibits to learn the functions of the wetlands. In mathematics, EE students estimated pumpkin seeds and would be in all of their pumpkins and made a graph of their estimates. Estimates ranged from 74 to 10,000 seeds. In preparation for multiplication, students practice counting forwards and backwards by ones, 2’s, 3’s, 5’s and 10’s. The older children are learning the value of pennies and nickels.

§Bat Fair was offered by Intermediate students as a project culmination of their study and research on Bats. Students created a black-light room with colorful reports and guided tours of bat models they had created to scale. The entire west campus took guided tours throughout the afternoon of 10/31 and parents joined the class for a tour and discussion at day’s end.

§LINK students have been focusing on a river continuum study, collecting data and conducting hydrogen molecule buffering experiments in class. The data they are collecting through their research is submitted to the EPA and used in a world-wide river study.

§Middle School students began painting bird houses for the Holiday Craft Fair. MS students are also preparing for a harvest dance at the White Eagle and have invited Moffat Middle School students to attend.

§A school wide “thankfulness” initiative has been kicked off this month by parent volunteer, Karen Potter. Students have been encouraged to express their thankfulness when they witness a kind deed by fellow students. They have made “amber leaf” necklaces and pencils holders to gift to students they observe doing something kind or generous for someone else. The idea is that these recognitions will start a ripple effect of gratitude and giving. This initiative will culminate in the CCS Community Potluck on 11/19/07, 11:30 am, at the POA hall with special recognitions to participants and sharing in community. Parent volunteers will help provide side dishes and clean up. 

4.0 Facility and Transportation

§Bathroom sinks in the EE and Intermediate building will be fitted for new drain pipes to allow proper drainage. The new sinks are smaller than those previous and because of their height are not draining properly during high use. 

5.0 Faculty and Staff

§Nothing to report this month.

6.0Fundraising

§Members of Governing Council have each pledged donations towards the NFC committee to help with printing of brochures and meeting supplies.

7.0 Parents and Stakeholders

§A parent volunteer group has been intiated by Karen Potter. The first event was a very successful “trunk or treat” on Halloween where families parked their cars between town park and the community center and children trick or treated parade-style by cars where parents handed out goodies from their “trunks”.

§Parents will participate in the CCS Thankful Feast Day at POA hall November 19^th at 11 am.

8.0 Land Search and New Facility

• The NFC met 11/7/07 and discussed details of upcoming proposal to POA
• Brochures for the NFC have gone through a final edit and thanks to a contribution by Governing council will go to print once edits are made. .

9.0 District

§BOE meets November 14th

§Accreditation Committee met and finalized draft of rubric. It was agreed that we will begin collecting evidence for the committee to review in a trial run this year. Each school will be given a large binder with folder inserts to compile information pertaining to district accreditation.

§Collaboration Committee completed brochures for realtors and other local agencies to disperse to families interested in educational choices in our area.

10.0 Community Acknowledgements

• Thanks to Karen Potter for her work as a parent volunteer in spear-heading the Trunk or Treat for Halloween and the “Amber Leaf Awards” initiative.