Call to Order

Michael Hussin called the meeting to order at 7:45 PM.

Minutes

Minutes of June 22, 2005 unavailable. 

Announcements and Public Comment

Michael said that he and Jere had been at PelhamSchool on the first day and that the building and grounds had never looked better.  He thanked George Graiff and his student helpers for working so hard over the summer..

Superintendent’s Update

The Superintendent shared the list of Pelham graduates and the colleges they will attend.  Dr. Hochman shared that over the summer a K-12 mathematics curriculum was developed.  This curriculum will be followed up by mathematics workshops and coaching at the different levels.  At the elementary level, teachers will work with consultants on the Investigations and Connected Math materials.  The Middle School will work on refining their Connected Math units, and the High School will work on the IMP program.  On Friday before school started the district had a barbecue for all the people who worked over the summer.  On Monday and Tuesday there was the new teacher orientation, and on Wednesday morning all of the staff met at the high school to celebrate the opening of school.  Dr. Hochman and Michael Hussin were at PelhamSchool on Thursday morning when the buses rolled into the parking lot, and they were happy to see the warm feelings between adults and students.  Rena Moore reported that the Back-to-School Picnic was cancelled because of predicted thunderstorms that did not occur.  However, several families came anyway and had a wonderful time.  The first few days went very well with the exception of one bus that is late for the afternoon run.  There are 118 students in PelhamSchool this year.  The Kindergarten teachers attended special training this summer, which has helped them have a very smooth beginning of kindergarten.  Pelham, Amherst, and the Region received an Autism grant, which will provide training for all staff.  Joan Levy attended the Schools Attuned training, and Deb King attended de-escalation training which she will share with the staff.  The Back-to-School Assembly will be at 9:30 AM on September 12^th.  Open House is scheduled for October 5^th from 7-8 PM.  The school has two scheduled activities to help raise fun for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.  A sixth grader has begun a cash collection for the Red Cross, and a fourth grader is spearheading a bake sale on Saturday, September 10, during Recycling.  Dr. Hochman said that there have been discussions in all the classes and that all the schools are involved in some fundraising events.  Meg Gallagher has replaced Judy Brooks, and Kate Hersey and Jenny Woody are coteaching fifth grade, while Suzanne Quinlan is on child rearing leave.  Dr. Hochman also reported that the handicapped lifts were not repaired over the summer and that the walkway to library was removed to facilitate drainage.   There are two committees established to discuss finances.  On September 14, a regional finance group will meet with Richard Hatch to discuss regional assessments.  Michael Hannahan and Jim Duda are Pelham’s representatives.  The other group is a Town Budget Planning Group in Amherst to help the Amherst committees work more closely together. 
Summer maintenance work was completed on the univents, and the safety inspections were completed.  Rena Moore reported that there were five roof leaks in the new addition.  Inspection by the maintenance department found that at least 3 of them were caused by uninsulated pipes, which were insulated.