Fatima school board members at last Wednesday’s meeting decided to relax restrictions on preschool and allow students to attend classes without masks after Superintendent Chuck Woody noted that summer school will start without requiring students to wear masks.
Summer school will begin June 2 with 236 elementary students and will be a project-based curriculum.
High School Principal Sharyl Kelsch reported that for the first time, Fatima will be offering some high school credit classes during summer school, including physical education, health, computer animation, and credit recovery.
“I have around 50 kids in those classes that will be coming and earning high school credit for those,” said Kelsch. “We did not have enough interest to offer it to junior high this year based upon the number of kids interested in registering.”
* Summer school bus routes were approved as submitted, and the board hired teachers for the session.
In other business, Kelsch informed board members that she was looking at implementing Trauma-Informed Care in the high school. According to Kelsch, this is not trauma in the sense of what the usual definition means and that the way some students process events needs to be met with understanding.
“If you have children whose parents are divorced, have a parent who maybe is an alcoholic, if there is a death in their family, that can be considered trauma for those kids,” Kelsch explained.
* Ferrellgas was awarded the contract to fill the district’s preschool propane needs. The price for bulk deliveries to the preschool is set at $1.45 per gallon. Ferrellgas is the owner of the tanks used by the preschool. MFA was awarded the contract for transport deliveries with their price set at $1.06 per gallon.
* A contract with Office Depot for the purchase of 400 cases of paper at $24.25 per case was also approved.
* Board Members voted to continue Career Ladder. Board President Doug Luebbering noted that Career Ladder has been part of the teachers’ salary package for quite a while and is compensation for tutoring students.
* Board members accepted resignations from English Language Arts and yearbook teacher JoAnna Baughman, who will be replaced by Stacia Schollmeyer. Also, Jeff Adamson resigned from his coaching position.
* The board agreed to solicit bids to replace flooring in the elementary music room.
* A tuition increase for out-of-district students attending Fatima was approved, from $6,700 to $7,610.33.
* Bills were approved for $343,319.54.
* The next meeting is scheduled for June 16 at 7 p.m.
REPORTS
Woody told the board he had been asked about the possibility of the district doing an eighth-grade graduation ceremony much like the sixth-grader's “Moving on Up” ceremony. Board members decided against the suggestion, saying the sixth-grade ceremony is to highlight the fact that students are moving from one building to the next.
Special Education Director Kristie Scrivner told the board that the district’s Speech Implementer Model has been extended through the 2021-22 school year. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) was originally going to terminate it at the end of the year.
* Parochial services will be provided on campus during the 2021-22 school year.
* The caseload for special education teachers as of May 14 was 106 students.
Curriculum Coordinator Janah Massman announced student testing was complete and drawings for prizes were held for students in grades 3-6 who completed testing.
* Massman informed the board that they are in the process of working on the writing curriculum for elementary students next school year.
In her report, Kelsch said the high school finished the year with 366 referrals. Tardiness was the biggest infraction, followed by cell phone use, which only had 28 referrals.
“I want to go on record saying thank you to the students for their cooperation following the guidelines and rules for that,” said Kelsch. “They come to the office when they need to make a phone call or check a voicemail. They are playing by the rules and I definitely appreciate that.”
* High school students held their band and choir concerts.
* Virtual and video award presentations were made.
* The National Honor Society held inductions for two classes. There were no inductions last year so seniors were inducted just in time to graduate.
* Seniors held a balloon launch in memory of Caden Haslag, who was killed last summer in a tragic car accident.
* Attendance for the year was 93.6%, and the high school finished with 99 seniors, 96 juniors, 107 sophomores, 108 freshmen, 64 eighth-graders, and 47 seventh-graders.
Elementary School Principal Mellissa Wright reported PTO Field Day was held on May 11 and was a huge success. Wright told board members the sixth-grade Moving on Up” ceremony was a great time for students and that they received their awards, watched a memories slideshow, and had snacks.
* Each grade level celebrated a year-end event.