Governance Council

Waterbury Arts Magnet School

School Governance Council Meeting 2/7

7 February 2023 / 9:00 am - 9:30 am / Virtual

Minutes prepared by: Mahasin Gudaf

ATTENDEES

 

Name

 

Position

 

Signature

Nicholas Albini

 

 

Principal

 

Present

Doug Cheatham

 

Speech Pathologist

Present

Jessica Gaddis

General Manager, Shakespearience

 

Present

Peggy Terhune

Palace Theatre Communications Manager/ Educational Coordinator

 

Present

 

Daniel Cocchiola

 

Guest Speaker

Present

 

Mary Case

 

Teacher

 

Present

Mahasin Gudaf

Student

Present

 

 

AGENDA

  1. Discuss what’s been happening in February and the plans for the rest of the school year, as they relate to the students at WAMS.

New Business

 

  1. Introductions
  2. Mr. Albini- important events coming up
  • Three great shows at the Palace Theater, which were very successful
  • Two more shows coming up- She Kills Monsters and Footloose
  • Tri-M Music Honor Society fundraiser- Valentine’s Day themed Coffee House on February 7 from 6:00-7:30 pm, tickets are $5
  • February 10 will be the high school Valentine’s Day Dance
  • February 24 will be the middle school Valentine’s Day Dance
  • Open House occurred the week of week of January 27 for incoming grade 6 students. Ms. case had orchestra students play instruments at start of the event.
  • One more open house in August will occur for the orientation
  • Summer school program flyers will be released for 5th graders transitioning to 6th grade

-students will have summer program for 7th graders transitioning to 8th grade

  •  summer program for 8th graders transitioning to 9th grade will also occur, students can earn half a credit towards diploma with completion of program
  • Prom date and field trip is settled for seniors and 8th graders
  • Field trips for art departments are planned
  • Announcement of teacher of the year, staff of the year, and paired professional of the year will be in the next 3 weeks of February
  • SAT testing for juniors will be on March 23rd
  • Another SAT will occur in the fall for grade 12, both are free
  • Administrators hope grade 11 students take math and other stem courses to ensure the credits are acquired so students can have options such as early dismissal or more electives in their senior year

 

  1. Daniel Cocchiola
  • Remarks about his child’s love for the programs and the opportunities at the school academically and extracurricularly
  • Asks about bridge to Spanish, Albini answers that Waterbury Public Schools gives students ability to start with Spanish 2 in high school after completing Spanish 1 in middle school and earn a credit for Spanish 1 in high school, so students have 2½ credits towards graduation

 

  1. Peggy Terhune
  • After school program runs through February 15

- three more weeks are left, students are working on projects

  • A couple weeks ago students got to see My Fair Lady and had a talk back with the cast

-Cast was very generous and talked to the kids for an hour

  • Tamika Dessalines worked backstage through Learning in the Wings program

 

  1. Mary Case
  • After school strings club being held on Monday and Thursday
  • Piano club being held on Tuesdays
  • Orchestra is working toward their concerts in May

 

  1. Jessica Gaddis
  • Has been attending Mr. Schulte’s directing class
  • Doing a read though of Wind in the Willows adaptation and is taking notes to see if there is anything to change with the script
  • Lucas Peck is directing with Alex, Gaddis will sit with them to figure out audition and performance dates to track with As You Like It reherasals with Shakespeare class
  • Monologue afterschool program doesn’t have a date set

-Mr. Amenta will check with acting and drama teachers for the dates of the program

 

  1. Mahasin Gudaf
  • Valentine’s Day carnation sales will occur on February 13 and 14
  • Senior class officer meeting will be held February 10
  • T shirt contest is being held for seniors to submit designs to be put on a t shirt that will be sold to the senior class
  • Scholarships are being announced in the morning for seniors by Mr. Albini

 

  1. The meeting is adjourned at 9:30 AM by Doug Cheatham; seconded by Mary Case.

 

  1. The Council decided that the next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 7th, 2022 at 9:00 AM, to be held virtually.

 

Meeting Minutes guidelines:

• Publish Minutes as soon as possible after each meeting

• Minutes available to all stakeholders (e.g., binders, shared drive, e-mail, website)

• Send Minutes via email to all team members

 

ACTION ITEMS

  1. Establish Long-term goals for the School Governance Council

NEXT MEETING

Date: March 7th, 2022                                                           

Time: 9:00 AM- 9:30 AM 

Location: WAMS-virtual

Agenda: Next Steps items

Waterbury Arts Magnet School
16 South Elm Street
Waterbury, CT 06706
Phone: 203.573.6300

Fax: 203.573.6325