Anna-Jonesboro Community High School Board of Education met Oct. 18.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School held its regular meeting. Upon roll call at 6:00 p.m. the following members were present: Mr. Osman, Dr. Blakely, Mr. Partridge, Mr. McGrath, Mrs. Ashby, Mr. Vosburgh, and Mr. Bailey. Also present was Superintendent Wright, Mr. Finders, and Principal Detering.
On motion by Dr. Blakely and seconded by Mr. Partridge to approve the Agenda as written. All members present voting yes. Motion carried
On motion by Mrs. Ashby and seconded by Mr. McGrath to approve the Consent Agenda which contained the following items: approval of board minutes on 9/20/21; approval of closed session minutes; approval of payment for bills, acceptance of financial reports and publication of the Annual Statement of Affairs. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
Recognition of visitors: Zack Plott, Jill Adams, Mark Matthias, Tora Neal, Jackie Dent, Melissa Durden, Keisha Hileman, Laurie Partain, Bob Dover, Michael Hurley, Dawn Roach, Gail Miller, Bill Boltnick.
The items of interest from Student Council were as follows: Hello, my name is Avery Osman and I am the homecoming coordinator for the student council. This year our homecoming theme was Out Of This World. We had spirit days throughout the week consisting of PJ day, Jersey Day, Space Day, Blue and White day, and Class Color day. On Friday we held the homecoming parade. We had about 80 entries in the parade. It was overall a huge success. Friday night’s football game at half time we held coronation. Tabitha Smith was our Homecoming Queen and Beto Vaca Diez was our Homecoming King. The next evening, Saturday, we held the homecoming dance. For the first time ever we had the dance outside! The dance was beautifully decorated with fall decor. There were over 340 people who attended the dance this year. Overall homecoming was very successful! We will be hosting a blood drive on October 27th in the lower gym 8:30-3:00. We would appreciate any donors!
The items of interest from the teachers were as follows: Students in Mrs. Hase’s Resource Management class recently researched the job they are interested in and interviewed someone who does that job. They also created Resumes, Cover Letters and References and had mock interviews conducted by community members in class for the future job that they want. The interviews this semester were done by Mike Chamness, Lance Meisenheimer, Dori Bigler and Kathy Bryan. Melanie Lasley from AJ National bank also came into Mrs. Hase’s classes to talk about how to build credit and obtain loans. The Student Services Department has held two application drives for senior students so far. On 9/20, Blake Goforth assisted all present seniors in completing the free Shawnee Community College application online. On 9/30, Ms. Webb, Mrs. Miller, and Mrs. Wainscott helped 30 students who had made appointments complete over 60 applications. In addition, with the assistance of our ISAC representative, Amelia Blakely, Ms. Webb and Mrs. Miller held FAFSA completion appointments for senior families during PT Conferences on 10/4. 5 families participated, and we hope to have more on the 10/28 PT Conference date. Amelia was also present to give a financial aid presentation to parents. Other events happening in the Student Services office this month include the Shawnee Senior Experience field trip on 10/7, SIU Day on 10/20, and several university admissions rep visits. Amelia Blakely is also having regular office hours with us to assist students with financial aid and college apps. The department is hosting a 31 day Self-Care Challenge in observance of Emotional Wellness Month. Students who participate in the challenge will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for prizes. Auditions for the spring production of “Spongebob Squarepants The Musical” will be held November 29-30, with an informational meeting during Advisory on October 25. Stage Crew will begin working in October/November and the cast will begin rehearsals in December. Performances will be March 25-27, 2022. Ms. Maze recently took over the club GSA (Gender Sexuality Alliance) which is a supportive and affirming environment for straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans/transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students. At the first meeting Ms.Maze had 34 students that attended, and several came after asking if it was too late to join. The idea of GSA is to provide support to the LGBTQ+ community and its allies and to stop unintentional and intentional anti-LGBTQ language and promote tolerance and education. Unfortunately, many students do not feel safe being their true authentic selves at school or at home. On Friday Oct 15, Over 40 students and teachers chose to participate in National Coming Out Day by wearing bracelets, rings, necklaces, socks, shirts, face masks and pins to show their support to each other. Though this Holiday was on Monday Oct 11, students were eager to celebrate together the courage it takes for those to come out to their friends and families. Ms. Maze has begun scheduling speakers to come in and talk with her group about mental health, creating safe spaces for conversation, how to counter negative comments and behaviors, and many more. The message Ms. Maze hopes to spread through GSA is no matter what our differences may be, everyone deserves to be treated with compassion, love, respect and dignity. The Ag Construction Class toured Medwedeff Forge and Design and H&R Agripower on September 30th. The students learned about different career and scholarship opportunities on the tours and saw what options they have after graduation. The FFA Chapter Officers attended the SIU Career day on October 1st. They heard from Former Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Eric Hargan and toured University Farms. FFA Members Abigail Dahmer, Timothy Plott, Hunter Chapman, and Carmin Smith competed in the Section 24 Soil Judging Contest. They placed 2nd as a team and Hunter was the 5th place individual. Hunter and Timothy also placed 6th in the Tractor Driving Contest. We hosted the Section 24 Ag Sales Contest on October 14th. Our team placed first. Team members were Campbell Belcher, Abigail Dahmer, Breckstin Schaefer, and TJ Macy. They advanced to the District 5 Contest on October 19th. Ms. Cleghorn’s Culinary Arts classes are planning a Christmas Party for everyone at AJCHS as part of their event planning lesson. The students are very excited to put their time and effort into something they all feel we desperately need. Formal invitations will be going out soon and we look forward to making this event a huge success. The Marching Wildcats are most of the way through their fall season. They placed 2nd at Murphysboro’s Drums at Appletime, 4th at Potosi MO’s Bi-State Invitational, and 3rd at Park Hills MO’s Rebel Invitational this past weekend. Their final competition is this Saturday at Ste. Genevieve High School at 2:15 pm. Mrs. Richbourg’s Ecology classes will be starting a research project with the AP biology class from Marion High School on Thursday. They will be collecting biodiversity data and lichen samples at the Cache River. The lichen samples will be processed for tardigrades and they will then be identified. The types of tardigrades that are found will indicate the health of the Cache River ecosystem.
Mr. Finders reported on Professional Development and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support.
Principal Detering reported on Failing Grade Report, Homecoming, Lunch/Advisory Period Considerations, and Discipline.
Superintendent Wright presented his administrative report. He reported that the ESSER III grant was approved and the use of the funds plan was updated on the website. He discussed the TIF Proposal by the City of Anna and how it would impact our district. He updated everyone on the status of our summer construction projects and reported that we received an extension for our FY21 AFR audit.
On motion by Mrs. Ashby and seconded by Dr. Blakely for the board to enter into Closed Session for: (1) The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employee of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public to determine its validity. 5ILCS 120/2 (c)(1) The placement of individual students in special education programs and other matters relating to individual students. 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(10) On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion Carried. Board entered closed session at 8:09.
On motion by Mr. Partridge and seconded by Mr. McGrath to return to regular session at 8:22. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion Carried.
On motion by Mr. Osman and seconded by Dr. Blakely to approve Darren Bailey as delegate to the IASB Conference. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mrs. Ashby and seconded by Mr. Osman to approve hiring Beth Frank as a part time Health Aide. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion Carried.
On motion by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Partridge to approve John Basler as volunteer girls basketball coach and Jacob Brimm as a volunteer boys basketball coach pending background check. All members present voting yes. Motion Carried.
On motion by Mr. Bailey and seconded by Mr. Vosburgh to approve hiring Baylie Denny as an assistant girls basketball coach to replace Blake DeRocher. On roll call, all members voting yes. Motion Carried.
Other Business:
On motion by Mr. Osman and seconded by Mr. Bailey to approve the purchase and installation of full height toilet partitions for restrooms. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion Carried.
On motion by Mr. Partridge and seconded by Dr. Blakely to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 8:55 p.m. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.
The next regularly scheduled Meeting is Monday, November 15, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in the District Office.
https://aj81.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/October-2021-Minutes.pdf
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