Hollywood School PTA  

Riverside Public Schools  •  District Ninety Six

BULLETIN From The BOARD

                                PLEASE POST

June 23, 2009

The Board of Education conducted a public hearing to amend the 2008-09 budget on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 in the Learning Resource Center at Hauser Junior High School beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Following the Call to Order, Supt. Lamberson presented to the Board two (2) revisions to the final 2008-09 budget to more accurately reflect actual revenues and expenditures that occurred during the school year.  The budget was adjusted upward by $135,000.00;  $90,000.00 of this increase was allocated for additional special education services provided to District 96 students by the LaGrange Area Department of Special Education due to a higher than anticipated number of IEP students.  The remaining $45,000.00 was applied to increased property, casualty, liability and workers’ compensation premiums as a result of the upheaval in the insurance industry.

Immediately following adjournment of the public hearing, the Board held its regular business meeting for the month of June in the Learning Resource Center at Hauser Junior High School beginning at 7:37 p.m.

The Board approved the items listed under the Consent Agenda as follows:

• Minutes of the Regular Business Meeting of May 19, 2009; Minutes of the Closed Session of May 19, 2009.
• Financial Statement as of May 31, 2009.
• Payment of General Invoices – Schedule A-688.
• Accepted the resignations of Hauser Language Arts teacher Laurie Brodhay and Elementary Technology teacher Barbara Margolis.
• Approved a parental leave of absence request from Reading Specialist Janet Kucek for the 2009-10 school year.
• Accepted the bid from Fox River Foods for general groceries in 2009-10.
• Adopted the Cook County Prevailing Rate of Wages, effective June 1, 2009.
• Approved instructional staff assignment changes for the 2009-10 school year as presented in the personnel report:

                        Staff Member                          Transfer To                                        From

                        Valerie Brackett                       3^rd Grade/Central                                 3^rd Grade/Hollywood

                        Alison Manson                                    AM KITE/PM Paraprofessional/Blythe      Paraprofessional/Hollywood

• Approved the appointment of instructional staff for the 2009-10 school year as presented in the personnel report:

                        Staff Member                          Position                                               Location

                        Stephanie Becker                     AM Kindergarten/PM KITE                 Hollywood

                        Heidi Burks                             Full-time Kindergarten                         Ames

                        Christopher Harvalis                5^th Grade                                              Ames

                        Allison Kamp                          Resource Teacher                                Central

                        Danielle Mrzaek                      3^rd Grade                                              Hollywood

                        Alex Whitlaw                           AM KITE/PM Paraprofessional           Ames

Following approval of the items listed under the Consent Agenda, Board President Nancy Jensen thanked retiring teachers Laurie Brodhay and Barbara Margolis for their many years of dedicated service to the students and families of District 96.

With certain revisions, the Board adopted the remaining for (4) sections of the draft Board Policy Manual that is posted on the District 96 website:

• Section 2:  Board of Education
• Section 5:  Personnel
• Section 6:  Instruction
• Section 7:  Students

The Board adopted a resolution amending the 2008-09 budget as presented by Dr. Lamberson in the public budget hearing.

The Board adopted a resolution determining that the tentative budget hearing for the 2009-10 fiscal year will take place on September 15, 2009 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Ames Elementary School.

The Board adopted a resolution determining the dates of the 2009-10 fiscal year as July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010.

The Board adopted a resolution authorizing the transfer of $100,000.00 of interest from the Education Fund to the Transportation Fund to support the increasing cost of transportation for special education students.

The Board determined that the Closed Session Minutes of December 16, 2008 through June 16, 2009 should remain closed and confidential.

The Board approved the employment and reappointment of Jonathan E. Lamberson, Ph.D. as Superintendent of Schools through October 31, 2013.

Informational Items:

• Dr. Lamberson received a letter from the Illinois State Board of Education acknowledging the district’s strong performance in meeting the requirements of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004.  Special Education Director Dr. Mary Polk noted for the Board that District 96 was evaluated in several areas and achieved the highest possible score.
• Enrollment as of June 5, 2009 was 1,487 students.

Future Meeting Dates:

• August 18, 2009 – Regular Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. Hauser Junior High School LRC.

Before those games and puzzles go into the garage sale pile, consider donating your gently used items to Hollywood School! A parent committee is working with school staff to revamp indoor recess (when the weather doesn’t permit kids to be outside). Instead of TV, we want to have other options for the kids to enjoy.

 Here are some examples of useful items:

Games – Trouble, Connect4, Dominoes, card games (Uno, Old Maid, Blink)

Wood building blocks, pattern blocks, Legos, Tangrams

Easy craft items (embroidery thread for friendship bracelets, etc.)

Puzzles

Books – word search, crossword puzzles, I SPY

Hopscotch mat/rug

 More info about the indoor recess program will be available once school starts, but we’d like to start collecting items now. If you have items to donate, please make sure toys, games, or puzzles have all pieces. Contact Laura Meehan (485-5492; lsmdem@aol.com) to drop off items.

 Thanks!

Dear Parents:

I am pleased to introduce our new team members, and know you will join me in welcoming them to our Hollywood School Community!

Ms. Danielle Mrazek will be joining us as the new third grade teacher. Ms. Mrazek is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in Elementary Education. She comes to us from Maplebrook Elementary School in Naperville (NCUSD 203), where she filled a maternity leave in 3rd grade in 2007-08 and was assigned as a full-time 3rd grade teacher for the 2008-09 school year. Ms. Mrazek will bring boundlless enthusiasm and the spirit of volunteerism to our community.

Ms. Stephanie Becker will step into the kindergarten position at Hollywood. Ms. Becker has a B.A. in Human and Community Development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from National-Louis University. After completing her practicum and student teaching experience in kindergarten, Ms. Becker filled a long-term substitute assignment in first grade. She comes to us from South Elementary School in Glencoe, where she has served as a first grade teacher for 2008-09. Ms. Becker became an honorary Aussie in 2006 after spending a semester abroad – Crikey!

We look forward to having Dani and Stephanie join the “starting team” at Hollywood, and can’t wait to begin our adventure together for 2009-10.

Have a marvelous summer!

Vicki DeVylder
Principal

First of all, a big THANK YOU to Maureen Stanko and her Field Day committee for organizing, once again, a fun and active day for all of our kids this past Monday. Thanks, too, to all of the parent volunteers who spent the day setting up, supervising classes, running games, making lunch, including our preschoolers, and more! It was truly a memorable event!

Congratulations go out to our students, too! We’re proud of all their accomplishments this year, celebrated at the annual Awards Ceremony on Monday.

And don’t forget to join fellow Hollywood families tomorrow morning on the lawn for coffee and treats while the kids finish up in their classrooms.