Goessel district earns publication awards, board hears

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN CYNTHIA GOERZEN
Goessel school board chairman Lynel Unrau told the board at the Dec. 11 meeting that USD 411 had received two publication awards at the Kansas Association of School Boards convention.

Unrau said the school received a certificate of merit for the school newsletter and a certificate of excellence for the school’s brochure that Nancy Miller designed.

Junior high math/science teacher Bruce Stucky, junior high English teacher Joel Hesed, and counselor Janna Duerksen attended the meeting to report on the national junior high conference they had attended Nov. 1-3 in Nashville, Tenn.

Junior/senior high school principal Curt Graves, sixthgrade teacher Chad Lindeman, and para educator Mary Rosfeld also attended the conference.

“We appreciated your support in sending us,” Graves told the board.

Stucky also thanked the board and reported that a session he had attended focused on the need for laughter, the need for passion in teaching, the need for classroom management skills, and fun ways to present math basics through games.

He said laughter increases learning by 70 percent and is good for health.

Stucky demonstrated how quickly he could add five numbers that each had six digits. He did not use a calculator, but he raced with a board member who did use a calculator.

Stucky was done long before the board member was done punching numbers into his calculator. Then Stucky explained the process.

Hesed said he is using concepts that he learned at the conference. He had attended a session by a neuroscientist who said that everyone “pictures.”

Therefore, Hesed is using visual aids in his class.

“Students need to relate to what they learn,” he said.

A speaker he heard told the audience that students need to review a concept 10 minutes after they first hear it, 24 hours later, and seven days later. He said research shows that method of reviewing is effective.

Since he has only been using the concepts he learned at the conference for a short time, he does not know yet if they will work for him.

However, he said he now uses the concepts “literally every day.” He thanked the board for providing the opportunity to attend the conference.

Duerksen also thanked the board and said she attended a session called “What happened to parenting?” She said she wants to make sure parents understand the transitions their children will encounter in entering the sixth grade and high school.

She said she would like to invite Jon Jantz to provide a session for parents about parenting, bullying and dealing with difficult children. She said there is an effort to work on the bullying issue in school.

Duerksen said she also attended a session called “Teach me; I dare you,” where the speaker stressed that students need caring; they need lessons that are interesting, relevant, and worthwhile; and they need to be challenged.

She also learned a tip for teachers: At the end of a test ask students what they studied that was not on the test and give them extra credit for that.

Graves said he learned about lesson-plan templates and about supportive supervision. He said intrinsic motivation is important.

“The real key is your teachers and having relevant lessons,” he said.

Enrollment projections

Business Administrator Chet Roberts reported on enrollment projections and the resulting loss of funding.

He said USD 411 has 269 students this year, with a full-time equivalent of 261.5. He predicts that the school district will be down by 12 students next year, with 258 students and 249.5 FTE.

Each year would see a decrease, and by the 2010-11 school year, USD 411 would have 209 students, with an FTE of 202.5.

“That will be a lot of kids that we don’t have,” he said. “It’s not a pretty picture…. The solution is that we grow the community.”

Fast briefly mentioned efforts of the Goessel Development Task Force. Board member Richard Drake said there is a demand for rural housing.

Other business

In other business, the board:

heard Graves say the high school band and choir Christmas concert would be at 2 p.m., Dec. 21. John Fast, elementary school principal and superintendent, said the grade-school program would be 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 14.

heard Fast report that state assessment test scores would be released Dec. 12.

heard Fast say that work is progressing to get the new computers ready for state assessments. He said the new computers in the junior high lab are a “huge improvement.”

Drake expressed concern about computers for agriculture classes.

Graves responded that agriculture education teacher David Graham has a plan for computers.

heard Fast review efforts to maintain strong staff morale and encouraged board members to interact with teachers.

heard Fast tell about 39 grandparents/senior citizens who visited the elementary school recently. He would like to involve them for tutoring.

Graves said he is in the beginning stages of planning “self-selective” reading, where volunteers read to students one-on-one. He said 25 to 30 volunteers would be needed.

Fast said it would be customized for each grade.

heard Drake say the Marion County Special Education Cooperative lease agreement for the Florence facility is $40,000 a year for three years, which equals $120,000.

He said the MCSEC board will have a meeting with superintendents in February to address the question: “What will serve the students best?”

approved the purchase of 30 uniforms for a cost of $5,998.19 from Stewart Sports.

High school football coach Justin Coup, who presented bids for the uniforms, said Stewart Sports is offering a 10 percent discount until Jan. 1.

“It’s nothing fancy,” Coup said of the uniforms. “That’s what we wanted.”

He said the price would be $1,000 less than the last time football uniforms were ordered because the school is not ordering as many.

heard Unrau report he sensed growing discontent at the Kansas Association of School Boards convention with the No Child Left Behind program. He said NCLB does not address creativity and ingenuity in education.

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