Call to Order
Introductions:
Alison and Chris attended.
Approve Minutes:
Minutes from September and November approved
Officers/Committee Reports:
We did our Basic Rights workshop in November. We are looking for people who are willing to help us put together workshops for the spring.
Planning Workshops for the coming year:
a. Jan MRC at the high school – MRC has services available to students starting at age 16, both funded and unfunded experiences/internships. Notification should be coming out soon on the date of the workshop. The presentations are somewhat like a job fair, where students hear from the different programs/get a chance to talk to them.
b. others . . .Beyond Booksmart? Transition night in the spring (Gibbs, Ottoson). OT/PT, Rec Fair?
c. Executive Functioning workshops? Many presenters out there, but most are pretty expensive. In the past, when we had Sarah Ward, we split the cost with another district. If a workshop is on a popular topic, we get a larger turnout. Our most popular presentation (Demystifying Neuropsych) drew about 30 people. Cindy Bouvier is willing to take a parent forum and focus on a SEPAC topic, such as executive functioning.
d. ILD in Lexington
e. Carla Leone – Mindfulness workshop
f. Sibling support workshops
g. emarc in Wakefield. Riverside offer workshops/groups
APS Staff Reports:
-We’re starting to hear the budget presentations this week and next week. As the high school building project moves forward we’ll hear more about the budget and potential tax override.
– Hardy building project is progressing, the Lake street playground is completed.
Public Participation / New Business / Open Discussion:
-Deb has been finding someone who does WordPress for a living who can work on the SEPAC website. She has the logo and is working on it. Once it’s complete we’ll contact Dan to link it to the APS website. We currently don’t have access to the current website, which is not up to date.
– Deb wanted to know if anyone ever applied for an AEF grant. Grants have to be sponsored by teachers/staff in the district and must be something that has longevity and is sustainable without grant funding. Social Emotional Learning was funded by grant from AEF and partially sponsored by Sped and Sara Burd. The elementary principals are proposing an initiative around reading. Julie Dunn is our district’s grant writer, and there are other smaller grants out there. Some are very specific in scope, but she’s someone to contact.
-District is a member of the Apple consortium. Dr. MacNeal just attended conference. FCSN has 3 day training for a SEPAC member and administrator, but the days are 8am to 5pm, and it’s difficult to find willing volunteers.
Announcements:
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Adjourn
Arlington SEPAC 