Kathleen Del Col called the meeting to order at 9:30 am. There were approximately 40 parents in attendance. Representing the administration were Dan Haron, Principal, Paul Ribeiro, Director of Guidance Services, and Patti Schoknecht, Administrative Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator.
The minutes from the 10/20/09 meeting were approved.
Principal’s Report. Dan Haron reported that first quarter report cards were mailed on Thursday, November 12th and they were generated by the ASPEN system for the first time. He encouraged people to review the report cards and make sure they are okay. The report cards can also be viewed on the ASPEN Portal under transcripts. There were no audience questions about how to navigate through ASPEN.
Dan reported that DHS will be piloting the Senior Internship this spring. The Senior Internship Committee will be visiting senior English classes this week to describe the program. Essentially, 30 seniors will have an opportunity to get an internship locally during the last 4 weeks of school (in lieu of attending classes). Each student will have a faculty mentor who will be in daily communication with the student. Participation in sports will not be affected.
Theatre 308’s fall play, Curious Savage, will be performed on Thursday, 11/19 through Saturday, 11/21 at 8pm in the DHS auditorium.
Guidance Department Report. Paul Ribeiro reported that 9th graders continue to meet with guidance counselors; they are pulled from study halls. If your freshman hasn’t had a meeting with their counselor, they should go to the guidance office and make an appointment.
The PSAT results should become available to DHS about the 2nd or 3rd week in December. They are working on how to distribute them.
On December 2nd, there will be a Junior college planning night.
First quarter report cards were mailed to schools that students requested they be mailed to (today). Because the report card is not an “official” document, the Guidance Department suggests that the students can mail them to the Admissions counselors themselves and attach a note telling the school how interested they are, what they have been doing this fall, etc. It is a good opportunity for the student to connect with the college.
Co-Chairs Report. Thanks were given to Cissy Van Ingen and the Fundraising Committee for the non-event fundraising effort which was very successful, the Hospitality Committee for today’s refreshments, Valli Baker and Student Wear for the great sales, the Communications committee - Jen Fitzpatrick, Jean Juan, Debbie Coley and Monica Walsh - for keeping us up to date, Nominating Chairs – Sandy Coots and Deb Suckow - who have started on the 2010/2011 slate, Susan Lattimer and Carolyn Kyritz for today’s awesome program, to the Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda panelists: Susan Marks, Heather Shea, Lauren Calahan, Jayme Stevenson, Nancy Large, Susan Morrison and to Phyllis Weihs for moderating, and a special thanks to Alexia Duker and Irene Trautmann and their committee for hosting over 100 college reps over the past several months.
We were able to make some additional appropriations to the ALP Program for busses to take them to their community service programs and we agreed to provide some funding for the wiring of the temporary lights, which are up and running allowing football and field hockey to continue practicing. Kathleen read a letter from Don Fiftal wherein he thanked the DHSPA for giving so generously to the various DHS Departments.
We are adding a DHSPA meeting on January 12th, mark your calendars. The meeting is just before mid-term exams. Freshman parents who are curious about the exam schedule and don’t want to wait for that meeting can find a lot of information in the Freshman Parent Survival Guide, which can be viewed or downloaded under the PARENTS section of the DHS website (www.darienps.org/dhs).
The Board of Ed has made us aware that they are expecting another very difficult budget year. Enrollment is expected to grow at DHS so there will be staffing needs. Proposals have been submitted for new classes: Multivariable Calculus, AP Studio Art, Ceramics III, Comparative World Religions, and Web Site Design. The CMT/CAPT test results are on line at: www.ctreports.com.
Treasurer’s Report. Elizabeth Cortright reported that our income and expenses are close to being on plan. She asked that those volunteers with expenses submit them on a timely basis.
Committee Reports.
Program. There will be a January 12, 2009 meeting which will focus on Meaningful Summer Options, whether they are academic, wilderness, adventure, language immersion, etc. On February 2, we will have a clinical psychologist.
The Depot. The Depot’s big fundraiser is the Depot Wrap Up, where community members can bring their labeled and sorted gifts to the Depot Elves to wrap. The minimum donation for this service is $20, but parents are asked to donate commensurate with the amount of gifts they are bringing to wrap. The Depot would like any scotch tape, wrapping paper that families might want to donate. The Darien Sport Shop is selling a blue/white knot necklace symbolizing blue wave pride. 20% of the proceeds will go to the Depot.
Program. Susan Lattimer introduced Jordan Metzl, a physician specializing in Sports Medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. Dr. Metzl shared his philosophy on sports and why they are important and how to make them very beneficial and safe. He went over some of the most common injuries for adolescent athletes, primarily ACL tears and concussions. He stated that the current focus is not so much how to fix the injuries but to study how injuries can be prevented. More information is available on his website: www.drjordanmetzl.com.
Susan Lattimer then introduced Dr Osherow, a Darien orthodontist, who spoke about the different types of mouth guards. He suggested that customized mouth guards are the best, because they don’t fall out and you can talk with them in. Under Armour now has a mouth guard that they are promoting but it is likely no better than the customized kind, although it is 5 times the price of a customized mouth guard (appx $80). There is a Maher mouth guard which purports to reduce the risk of concussion. Families can contact Dr. Osherow with specific questions if they would like.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 am.
Upcoming meetings: January 12, 2009 – Meaningful Summer Opportunities
Coffee at 9:00am, Meeting at 9:15am
Lynn B: 11/18/09