East Holmes Board of Education discusses new handbooks and many other items of business
The East Holmes Board of Education met Wednesday, June 23, at the East Holmes Central Office, and while they made a multitude of personnel moves, aside from approval for the district to place a levy on the November ballot, the board also discussed the library program.The meeting began with Joe Wengerd, superintendent, talking about correspondence he had received through letters from employees who had retired over the past year.We had some very nice notes from retirees which came to us, expressing their feelings of being very fortunate that they were able to work in East Holmes, said Wengerd. They were very complimentary, and talked about the support the East Holmes board and the administration provides for both students and their families.Matt Johnson, Hiland principal, commended the Power of the Pen Middle School team participants who went to the State Power of the Pen competition near the end of the school year. Although none qualified for honors, Johnson said that the students performed well and the district can be very proud of their efforts.The new handbooks for the 2010-2011 school year were discussed, and then approved, and librarian Lori Pringle discussed the annual Library Media Report with the board. Among the topics she covered was an exiting venture into a growing industry where not only can students gain valuable resources for school work, but they can delve into a field which may open career opportunities down the road.We worked a great deal with Google Apps, said Pringle.Google Apps is a service from Google providing independently customizable versions of several Google products under a custom domain name. It features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites, including: G-mail, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs and Sites. These are concepts which are becoming more visible in todays world, thus avenues of education and employment are opening up in these fields as well, which is why Pringle said they are putting more focus on dealing with Google Apps.Its an exciting addition, said Pringle. As an educational organization, we have unlimited users on the system for student and teacher access. Basically it is using Googles version of Word and PowerPoint, and whats really neat about it is that multiple people can collaborate to work on a PowerPoint-type presentation. The teachers can go in and see revisions and see exactly what the students have done, and students can work on it from school or from their homes.Pringle said that in addition, she had done some training with paraprofessionals within the districts libraries. The paraprofessionals really did a great job, and what they did was so much more than simply checking in and checking out materials, said Pringle, who provided a report on the training sessions to each board member, including comments from each of the paraprofessionals, who reflected on what they were learning.She also gave board members a complete rundown of how each of the districts school libraries are doing, noting that whether they were getting major use or not as much, each was a critical part of the educational process in the district.It seemed as though, all year long, the kids were gobbling up anything fictional, said Pringle.Weve got some outstanding small school libraries at our schools, and they are a truly valuable resource for our children, added Wengerd. Its good to know that our libraries are alive and well and continuing to keep alive that traditional look and feel that we grew up with.The board approved salary changes due to masters degree level achievement for Lori Erf, Austin Kaufman, Jill Lyons and Roberta Troyer. The board approved the addition of Samantha Blizzard as a substitute custodian and to the cooks list, and Joyce Hershberger to the substitute cooks list and aide/secretary list. Also approved: the resignation of Mary Jane Chupp as Winesburg head cook; the transfer of Susan Miller from special needs bus driver to the Bus 5 route for six hours daily; a one-year limited contract for Megan Mullet, Title I teacher; a supplemental contract for Troy Zinck as boys reserve soccer coach; and supplemental positions for David Borter as volunteer girls basketball coach, Jason Mishler as volunteer boys basketball coach, Mark Fowler as cross country head coach, Jena Raber as girls reserve soccer coach and Jesse Wengerd as girls seventh and eighth grade soccer coach.The board also approved a one-year limited contract for Scott Thomas, who will serve as the instrumental music teacher. We are very pleased with the job Mrs. Mooibroeke has done over the past six years, said Wengerd. We are fortunate to be able to replace her with a quality teacher in Mr. Thomas, a former employee. Out of all of our candidates, Scott really rose to the top, and he didnt hesitate to come back to East Holmes.
