School Board
Minutes
Red Rock Central
District No. 2884
Monday, November 21,
2011
The regular monthly meeting of the Board of
Education, District No. 2884, was held in the Board Room in Lamberton on
Monday, November 21, 2011. Members
present were Bierl, Clarke, Erickson, Johnson, Rogotzke,
and Stavnes.
Kelsey was absent. A quorum of 6
was present. Superintendent Brennan,
Principal Goetstouwers, Lead Teacher Riley, Derek Stevenson, Lynn Keck, Denise
Clarke, and Joe Dietl were also in attendance.
Chairman Rogotzke
called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Johnson
and unanimously carried, to approve the agenda as amended, the minutes of the
October 17, 2011 meeting, and the treasurer’s report.
Lead Teacher Riley reported the
following: The end of October and most
of November have proven to be busy for the elementary students in Jeffers. October 19th was our annual
Grandparent’s Day. The theme this year
was “You’re Paw-sitively Grand.” The stage was decorated with many animal paws
and the children sang songs that had to do with animals. The program lasted approximately an
hour. Then the grandparents were invited
to have refreshments and visit their grandchildren’s classrooms if they
wished. We had impressive attendance
once again. November 7-10 was our annual
Scholastic Book Fair. Mrs. Pederson puts
in several hours organizing and selling the books to help attain free books for
our library. We truly appreciate all of
her hard work. This year the total
amount of sales was $4,221.18. From that
amount Mrs. Pederson gets to spend $2,286.00 on books for our school. Once again we participated in the “Toys for
Tots” program. Our students were asked
to bring in loose change to put into a container in each classroom. Our students collected $761.00 so 761 books
go to “Toys for Tots.” Because of this,
Mrs. Pederson was also able to spend $761 on books from the book fair for our
library. My step-daughter who teaches in
Benson, told her faculty about the mold situation we had in our library last
fall. They organized a book drive for us
and we recently received 8 boxes of new and used books from them with more to
come in the future. We have been
overwhelmed with the kindnesses of others.
Parent-teacher conferences were held on November 10th. Once again we held the conferences in the
gym. We had an excellent turn out with
most of the teachers reporting that they either had 100% attendance or only one
or two parents who didn’t come. Some of
those parents who couldn’t make it Thursday night, came for conferences the
following week. Also on November 10th,
we had a Veteran’s Day program at the Jeffers site. The program began at 2:15 and lasted for
about half an hour. The children sang
patriotic songs while doing sign language.
Students helped demonstrate how to properly fold a flag while Norm
Johnson read the meaning of each fold.
Mrs. Paplow’s kindergarten class had written
their thoughts on who they thought a veteran was for an assignment. These thoughts were also read at the
program. I have those thoughts attached
to this report. More explanation was
added to their thoughts and was done very well.
Veteran’s Day is a very important event every year in Jeffers. Karen Beranek from
the Lamberton Public Library informed me that a children’s author, Paul Zoch from Jackson, will be giving a presentation on
November 25th at 4:30. Karen
will be coming to Jeffers on November 22nd to read one of the
author’s books to each grade level and told about the author’s visit on the 25th. She wanted our students to be familiar with
his books before his presentation. We
will be looking forward to her visit. On
November 23rd we will be having a lyceum entitled, “Fitness for
Fun.”
Principal Goetstouwers reported the
following: The 1st quarter
was a success! We found that there were
less F’s and D’s and more A’s.
Student-Parent-Teacher conferences were held and had a good turnout. All teachers reported that they visited with
most, if not all, of their advisees/parents.
It was quite busy from 5:30-8:30 p.m. as most teachers didn’t have any
more parents approach them after 8:30 p.m.
The Veterans’ Day Program was held in the gym on November 10th. Thanks to Mrs. Dunn and Duane Erickson for
setting this up, Floyd Kumerow for being the guest
speaker, and all the students for being so quiet and respectful throughout the
program. The students performed the
musical, “Guys and Dolls” and did a very nice job. Mr. Kelsey, Mrs. Frasher, and Mr. Van Maasdam
worked many long hours with this large group
November
21, 2011 – Page 2
of actors and the result seemed to be well
worth it. A big thank you goes to the
community members involved with the musical:
Jeremiah Frasher, Paula Derickson, Russ Derickson, John Derickson, Paul
Mattison, Aleida Van Maasdam, Mike Halgeson, Linda Meier, Kathy Tetrick,
Jeannie Kelsey, Clayton Hubert, Anita Runck, Bruce Olson, Marilyn Zwaschka, and the parents who prepared meals. We received a grant that allowed our 10th
graders to take part in an “Ecology Bus” and learn more about prairie
ecology. Students explored a prairie in
the Storden area, discussed the history of prairies,
how they shaped the environment in our region, and learned more about the
plants and animals that live in it. New
Horizons Crisis Center will be presenting on “Relationships” to our 9th
graders the first week of December. Fall
sports are over and the winter sports have begun. Congratulations to the volleyball team for
making it to the section semifinals!
Board Member Johnson reported that he
attended a meeting of the Tri-County Joint Powers Board at the Red Rock Ridge
School in Windom on November 9th.
We currently have 5 students attending there.
A letter from Bryce Pack, A.D. was shown to
the Board. The letter was sent to
parents of 6th grade Girls’ Basketball players and was regarding 6th
grade girls practicing with the 7th grade girls’ basketball team if
they wish.
Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Stavnes and unanimously carried, to pay claims in the
amount of $98,675.55. Receipts were
$558,715.05.
Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Erickson
and unanimously carried, to approve the attached policy regarding Behavioral
Intervention as written.
Upon motion of Erickson, seconded by
Johnson, and unanimously carried, to approve the attached Memorandum of
Understanding regarding the Retirement Incentive that the Board has offered the
teaching staff. This is a one-time event
that may not be repeated as a general past practice.
Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Johnson
and unanimously carried to begin Board of Education meetings at 6:30 p.m. the
months of December 2011 – March 2012.
Discussion was held regarding: moving the 5th grade to the
Lamberton building, letter from Greg Abbott of MSBA, State aid, ways to save
money in the District, the referendum brought in about $200,000 this year,
rehiring of teachers, letter regarding Retirement Incentives and cost savings,
budget projections, the School Board Convention, building repairs that have been
completed, Prom date has been set for April 14th, and setting the
date of December 12th at 4:00 p.m. for the Finance Committee to meet
in the Lamberton Board Room.
Upon motion of Clarke, seconded by Bierl
and unanimously carried, to adjourn at 9:48 p.m.
_________________________________ _______________________________
Alan J. Clarke, Clerk Denise
Clarke, Recorder