SAC - Meeting Minutes

St. Joseph School
School Advisory Committee (SAC)
Meeting Minutes

September 10, 2003

Committee Members
Sr. Christina Marie Luczynski, Principal

George Hebert, Chair	Mike Malone, Chair Development
Laurie Donofrio, Vice Chair	Carolann Manno, Chair Welcoming
Peggy Knauf, Secretary	Dane Overfield, Chair Technology
Lisa King, Treasurer	Open, Chair Enrichment
Jennifer Caccavale, Chair Special Events	Open, PreK - Member-at-Large
Kelley Callahan, Chair Fundraising	Open, PreK - Member-at-Large
Donna Dedee Doyle, Chair Public Relations

Attendees: Sr. Christina Marie, L. Donofrio, P. Knauf, L. King, J. Caccavale, D. Dedee Doyle, C. Manno, D. Overfield, K. Lechner, B. Sabik, D. Waidl

The meeting was called to order. Sr. Christina opened with a prayer.

June SAC Minutes – No changes. J. Caccavale moved to approve; seconded by K. Lechner; unanimous approval.

Budget Review – The final budget for the 2002-03 school year was reviewed. The proposed 2003-04 budget was reviewed and discussed. Expenses associated with certain line items were clarified. Changes from the prior year budget were noted.

The Penfield Public Library has requested the donation of two large bulletin boards on which the art of St. Joseph students will be displayed. Previously, the art was displayed on the wall in the Children’s Room of the library, however, the method used to hang the artwork has caused some damage to the paint. The bulletin boards would be used to avoid any further damage. SAC has agreed to fund the purchase of these bulletin boards; the associated cost is expected to be small.

Committee Reports

Principal’s Report – Sr. Christina noted that the school year has started well. The current enrollment has increased by one student over prior year enrollment. A few additional students are scheduled to enroll later in the school year. The Preschool program began this week, as did the After-school care program. Background checks on staff conducted pursuant to the new Diocesan policy were completed over the summer. Certain volunteers who meet criteria established in the Diocesan policy will also need to have background checks done. Currently, the cost associated with these checks is being borne by the Diocese.

The results of the NYS Math tests taken last spring have been received. St. Joseph School scored in the 94^th percentile.

The information given on the Volunteer Forms has been accumulated and distributed to the various SAC committee chairs.

School photographs will be taken October 6 and 7. All SAC members (chairs and co-chairs) and lunch monitors are asked to have their pictures taken for security badges at 10:15am on October 6^.

Development – Discussion surrounded coordination between the Development Committee and the Public Relations committee to inform alumni of current activities at St. Joseph. The possibility of an Alumni Newsletter was discussed.

Sr. Christina has been asked to be the Principal Liaison of the Diocesan Development Committee.

Enrichment – Actively seeking a permanent Chair - G. Hebert currently acting as chair; Creative Themes will not be returning to facilitate extracurricular activities. The protocol has been established to enable teachers and/or parents to propose to run after-school clubs. Leaders would receive a small fee for their efforts. Anyone interested in proposing to lead a club or wanting additional information should contact the office or G. Hebert.

Fundraising – The magazine drive is currently underway. Communications surrounding the wreath sale in November should make clear that it is not a fundraiser for St. Joseph’s School, but for a charity.

Public Relations – The Public Relations committee would like to resurrect some type of regular newsletter this year, the form and substance of which still need to be decided. D. Dedee Doyle stated that the committee will continue to try to raise the community’s awareness of St. Joseph’s by submitting stories and pictures to various media.

Special Events – School/Parish picnic is scheduled for this Sunday, September 14. Planning meetings for this event were held over the summer. Mass will be held at noon in the church with the picnic immediately following outside. Volunteers have been contacted. The committee is responsible for tent & grill rental, set-up, food purchases and deployment, DJ, and clown. K. MacFarlane will oversee children’s games.

The Sock Hop will be October 24, 2003 from 7-9:00 pm. There will be a new DJ this year. Volunteers should be contacted shortly.

Technology – Five new IBM machines were donated by two St. Joseph families through the IBM Matching Grants program. Two used Pentium II-class machines were donated by one graduating 6^th-grade family and one current family.

The school network is slowly being taken advantage of: accounts will be updated for new students, two shared network printers will be installed which will be accessible to all machines, the hot lunch program will be installed on the network to make access and utilization easier. The computers in the computer lab need to be cleaned up to make them run more efficiently.

M. Caito is now the school website’s Webmaster. Anyone with digital photos of school events should email them to Mike at mcaito@rochester.rr.com.

Welcoming – New family and preschool playdates in August went well. Thank you to Therese Cavuoto for organizing the preschool picnic. Opening date coffee was well attended. Grandparents Day is September 26, 2003 - more information will be forthcoming.