Long Lake Central School District Draft Board Meeting Minutes, October 12, 2006 Regular MEETING

ü Approval of the September 14, 2006 meeting minutes.

ü Mrs. Krista Sparks presented the Pre-K & Kindergarten program.

ü Approval of the September 2006 Treasurer Reports as presented.

ü Approval of Warrants #6 and #7.

ü Comprehensive Revenue and Budget Status Reports and Budget Transfers were reviewed.

ü Approval of the 2006-2007 Budget Planning Dates, the May 2007 Board of Education meeting date will be adjusted to coincide with the Budget Hearing on May 8, 2007.

ü The 2005-2006 school year audit will be presented at the November 9, 2006 meeting.

ü A letter was sent to the NYS Education Dept. stating LLCS exemption from the Internal Audit function. This certification must be sent yearly.

ü The six-month asbestos surveillance report was presented and discussed.

ü The Board was informed that Mrs. Gail Seaman attended an immunization seminar and LLCS is up to date on all regulations.

ü Grades 5-8 math curriculum has been reviewed and all is on track. Mr. Crampton stated we have a 70% passing rate on group math scores.

ü Superintendent’s Conference Day is scheduled for Friday, October 20, 2006.

ü Math and English Language Arts test scores will be sent home as soon as they’re received.

ü Open House & Parent Teacher Conference Day will be combined and held on November 14, 2006.

ü The Board approved a vote for Mr. Jules Comeau to fill the term through June 30, 2007 on BOCES of Franklin-Essex-Hamilton Counties.

ü Approval of Adult Education classes to be held this fall.

ü Approval for the Superintendent to sign the American Red Cross Shelter Agreement, our current agreement has expired.

ü Approval of CSE recommendations.

ü Approval for students to attend the Northeast Instrumental Music Festival in Lake Placid, and the Area All State Music Festival.

ü The bus replacement plan was discussed.

ü A safe school survey will be done to review security issues.

ü The NYS Education Department Pupil Transportation District Safety Review Program was presented.

ü Mr. Michael Nerney is scheduled to do a presentation on the teenage brain/drug and alcohol abuse.

Official Board Minutes are available in the Long Lake Central School Business Office during normal Business hours.

SUBSTITUTES NEEDED

Substitutes are needed for our Cafeteria. If you are interested, please call

624-2221 for an application.

Nutrition Tips for Healthy Kids Part 2

Tip #6: Encourage your children to eat breakfast every morning! (Better yet-eat breakfast with your children!)

· Many studies have shown that children who eat breakfast are more attentive & perform better in school.

· Breakfast eaters tend to be healthier. They get more vitamins, minerals & fiber from eating breakfast.

· Breakfast eaters also tend to manage their weight better.
According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), meal-skipping (particularly breakfast) leads to an increased body mass index (BMI).

Tip #7: Aim for 5 fruits & vegetables a day!

Most of us know that fruits & vegetables are extremely good for us, but many Americans (children & adults) aren't eating enough of them. When fruits & vegetables are eaten, many Americans also tend to eat the same ones from day-to-day. The most common vegetable with children is the potato (usually in the form of french fries or chips).

If you & your family are getting 5 fruits & vegetables a day & eating a wide variety of them, keep up the good work! If you need a little work in this area, try some of the ideas below:

· Include a fruit or vegetable with each meal & snack

· Try a new fruit or vegetable each week

· Add berries, sliced bananas or dried fruit to hot or cold cereal

· Have fresh or canned fruit for a snack

· Eat fruit for dessert

· Top pancakes & waffles with applesauce

· Add fruit to your child's lunch box

· Make a smoothie in the blender using fruit, low-fat milk & a few ice cubes

· Freeze canned fruit & whiz it in the blender for a fruit slushie

· Mix dried fruit with cereal & nuts for a tasty & portable snack

· Add peppers, onions & salsa to scrambled eggs or omelets

· Eat baby carrots with lunch or as a snack

· Drink tomato or V-8 juice

· Add veggies to sandwiches (shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, tomato, red onion, green leaf lettuce, etc…)

· Have a side salad with diced tomatoes & shredded carrots & red cabbage

· Dip raw veggies into low-fat salad dressing or hummus

· Sauté onion, zucchini, yellow squash & mushrooms & add to spaghetti sauce

· Make your own homemade healthy pizza. Top it with onion, green & yellow peppers, mushrooms & Roma tomatoes

· Try salsa on top of baked potatoes, eggs or spoon over cooked chicken & fish

· Add several veggies to a stir-fry

· Bake a sweet potato in a 400 degree oven for 45-60 minutes or microwave for 4 to 5 minutes. Top with a little butter or margarine & sprinkle with cinnamon

· Add peas, broccoli or another vegetable to macaroni & cheese

Tip #8: Limit foods high in fat & high in sugar (Ex: chips, cookies, candy bars, soda, fast food, etc…) to a few times per week or less.

· With children, these foods can crowd out healthier foods that they should be eating for proper growth & development.

· These foods pack in a lot of calories for a small amount of food.

· These foods taste good, but have very little if any nutritional value.

· Many people tend to overeat these foods.

· These foods are OK as part of a healthy eating plan, but shouldn't be the majority of what the family eats.

Tip #9: Give children healthier beverages (milk & water) & limit high sugar beverages (soda, fruit drinks, etc…).

The liquids children drink impacts their overall diet!

· About 50% of all U.S. children less than 5 years of age don't get enough calcium.

· Milk intake has decreased & soda/fruit drink intake has increased. Since 1978, soft drink consumption has doubled in children ages 6-8 & non-citrus juice consumption has tripled!

· Once children reach the teenage years, 85% of girls & 60% of boys fail to meet the RDA for calcium, according to the National Institutes of Health.

· Teenage boys on average drink 3 cans of soda per day & teenage girls drink 2 cans of soda per day.

· What's so scary about this is that bone formation is 90% complete at about 18-20 years!

· Not enough calcium puts children at risk for broken bones & fractures, which are currently on the rise.

· Not enough calcium also leads to unhealthy gums & teeth & Rickets (deficiency of vitamin D).

· Rickets was thought to be wiped out back in the 1950's with the addition of vitamin D to milk, but doctors are seeing a resurgence of Rickets due to inadequate milk intake.

Tip #10: Discourage eating meals & snacks in front of the television.

· Eating in front of the television interferes with family social time & children's eating habits.

· Eating in front of the television makes it difficult to pay attention to feelings of fullness. Eating becomes a mindless activity!

· Eating & TV watching are a double whammy! The two together often contribute to overeating & often weight gain.

· Other good reasons to not eat in front of the television & even limit TV watching in general:
Advertising can affect the food choices of children.
Children are bombarded daily with TV commercials promoting fast food, snack foods & soda.
Children watch about 20-30 hours of TV each week!
80% of commercials on children's programs are for unhealthy foods.
By the time kids graduate from high school, they will have watched 15,000 hours of TV, been exposed to 350,000 commercials, 55% of those for food & 65% for heavily sugared products.

Tip #11: Involve your child in meal-planning, shopping & food preparation!

· Children are more likely to eat food if they help choose & prepare it!

· Children get practice in developing cooking skills, which is especially helpful later on when children are older & more independent.

· Teaches them skills that will last a lifetime!

Tip # 12: Be a good role model for your children!

· Children are very attentive & learn eating habits from their parents/caregivers.

Set a good example for your child by following the 11 other eating tips yourself & you will instill healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime!

(Used with permission from the Karen Yontz Women’s Cardiac Care Center Parent-Kid Connection Newsletter)

MUSICAL NOTES

Our Pre-K-12 Winter Concert will be held on Thursday, December 12^th at 7:00 p.m. in the School gymnasium. The students have been working hard on their music for the concert, so please attend and support the music program.

There was a misprint in the last newsletter. The students selected for the Northeast Music Festival were: Chelsey Wallace, Alex Holton, Andy Snide, Dave Andrews, Hannah Lamos, Elizabeth Hamdan, Sierra Olbert, and Colleen Nerney.

LIBRARY NEWS

By Sharon Waagner

With the holidays getting closer with each passing day, wouldn’t it be nice to find an easy recipe for extra time? Well, I certainly don’t have that but I do have one favorite recipe that will help you build time…quality time, that is! When the presents are opened, the meal has been served, and the relatives are headed back home, why not set aside some reading time. The following recipe should serve you well:

HOLIDAY READING RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 comfy chair or couch

1 cozy blanket

1 hour

2 or 3 children’s books

one part imagination

one part entertainment

one part education

Directions:

Settle down with a small child, add ingredients, combine with young minds, layer with humor, drizzle with drama, and let simmer in suspense to produce scrumptious morsels of reading pleasure. Serve daily. No trans fats, no calories. Can be repeated several times daily without adverse affects.

Sometimes all it takes is a careful nudge in the right direction to turn children into lifelong readers. Show them how much fun reading can be by including new books in your holiday shopping. To help you encourage a love of reading, I am including a couple of reading lists. In addition to those listed below, don’t forget the your own personal favorites from years past.

Christmas Reading List:

ü Why Christmas trees aren’t perfect – Richard Schneider

ü A wish to be a Christmas tree –

Colleen Monroe

ü The littlest Christmas tree – Janie Jasin

ü Mr. Willowby’s Christmas tree – Robert Barry

ü The Christmas tree cried – Claudia Cangilla McAdam

ü The legend of the Christmas tree – Rick Osborne

ü The year of the perfect Christmas tree: an Appalachian story – Gloria Houston

ü The night before Christmas – Clement C. Moore

ü How the Grinch stole Christmas – Dr. Seuss

ü The polar express – Chris Van Allsburg

NY Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books – 2006:

ü Hello twins – Carlotte Voake

ü The little red hen – Jerry Pinkney

ü John, Paul, George and Ben – Lane Smith

ü The red lemon – Bob Staake

ü So sleepy story – Uri Shulevitz

ü Adele & Simon – Barbara McClintock

ü Mommy? – Maurice Sendack and Arthur Yorinks

ü Move! – Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

ü Flotsam – Davie Wiesner

ü Gone wild: an endangered animal alphabet – David McLimans

LONG LAKE CENTRAL SCHOOL

DISTRICT PLANNING COMMITTEE

MEETING MINUTES

ü Original District Planning Committee shared decision-Making Plan was reviewed to establish what members are needed to make-up the committee.

ü Mrs. Seaman will look into updated plan requirements.

ü The Committee is still looking for 1 member at large, and 1 elementary teacher.

ü Ideas for Family “U” night for the Health & Wellness committee were discussed.

ü Board games

ü Community members presenting experiences in Travel

ü Wild Center

ü Newsletter survey or article to reach out to the Community for input or participation

ü A Tentative date of February 9, 2006 was presented

ü Open House/Parent teacher conferences will be held on November 14, 2006. Conferences will be held from 3-7:00 p.m., then a welcome at 5:30 and possible Fall Sports awards Ceremony.

ü Open House/Opening Day Planning Committee is established with Jim Pine, Hallie Bond, Gail Seaman, and Kevin Crampton as members.

ü Ms. Christine Michaels will present an overview of the Foundation for excellent Schools in Mr. Pine’s room (room 307) on Thursday, November 16, 2006. Committee members are invited to participate.

ü Movie night was a success. Mr. Pine and Student Council members hosted games, movies, and popcorn for both elementary and High School students.

ü A proposal to send the Weekly activity schedule to parents via mass e-mail was suggested, as the current schedule is not always posted on the website. Mr. Crampton will inquire about timely posting to the existing web-site.

ü Next meeting date is scheduled for December 7, 2006 at 7:00 a.m. in room 316 otherwise room 309.

Guidance News

Please note the January Regents exam schedule included in this newsletter. These exams are used by students to retake a failed exam, attempt a better grade on an exam or for exams offered mid year only. Students need to schedule exams with Miss White in the Guidance Office. Regular classes will occur as scheduled during this time. Students taking exams will need to see their teachers for missed assignments.

Worksheets for the Federal Application for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA) were mailed home in September. These will help senior parents start getting their materials together. Seniors planning on attending college need to remember to file the FAFSA online (preferable) or by paper form as soon after January 1^st as possible.

Juniors have received test scores for the ASVAB exam. PSAT scores should be arriving soon. The ASVAB exam is an aptitude test given to schools for free by the military. It is a requirement for students interested in joining the military, but it can also be useful to all students by giving them information about their strengths and weaknesses with regard to career planning. The PSAT is a practice exam for the SAT I (a required college entrance exam for most colleges.) I have encouraged all juniors to register for either the SAT I or the ACT for the Spring. They were given the registration forms earlier in October. Juniors need to continue working on college research. They will need to narrow their list of colleges this year to 5 or less and complete their college visits in the spring.

College research has been made easy by the internet. There were several websites listed in the last newsletter. If you need help navigating sites or finding a place to start, please see Miss White.

Each year, the college of St. Rose hosts the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Seminar for sophomores in the spring. Each school can send one student to the conference. Registration materials are available in the Guidance Office for interested students.

Veterans who served in the armed forces during the Vietnam or Korean War or during World War II who were unable for any reason to complete high school, may be awarded a high school diploma based on knowledge and experience gained while in the service. If you are interested in finding out more about this program, please contact the guidance office at school for details.

The Klue Scholarship is available to any graduate of Long Lake Central School who is pursuing some form of post-secondary education or career training. Scholarships are awarded based on academic performance. High school senior awards will be based on their overall high school grade point average. High school seniors who are a member in good standing of National Honor Society will receive a bonus. Post-graduate awards will be based on the applicant’s grade point average from the most recent semester prior to submitting the application. The committee will consider the quality and completeness of the applications.

Award amounts vary every year depending on the amount available in the scholarship fund and the number of applicants. The scholarship must be applied for annually. Applications must be postmarked or received in the Guidance Office by May 1^st each year. Copies of applications are available online at the school’s website or by contacting the school. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered by the committee. Prior year graduates will receive only the annual base amount if grades are not received by May 1^st.

Movie Night

Long Lake Student Council sponsored a double feature movie night on Friday, October 27^th, in the Gym. The 2^nd through 6^th grade students had a blast playing games in the gym from 2:45 to 3:30 with Andy Snide, Leah Lamos, Beth Conkey, Elizabeth Hamdan, Alex Holton and Mr. Pine. The elementary students and their chaperones then settled in with popcorn and juice to watch the main event, the Disney film Monster’s Inc.

At 6 pm that same evening secondary students arrived to socialize and eat popcorn before viewing the exciting feature film National Treasure starring Nicholas Cage. The Student Council donated two cases of juice and the popcorn for this fun filled evening which everyone seemed to enjoy.

Watch for more Student Council sponsored events starting in the New Year as we try to play a more active role in providing new and exciting ways for Long Lake students and community members to socialize and have fun. If you have any ideas please contact any Student Council member or Mr. Pine.

Long Lake Central School Mock Election 2006

On Tuesday, November 7^th, as adults across the United States fulfilled their citizenship responsibilities of voting in the mid-term Election, students and adults in the Long Lake Central School Community engaged in a Mock Election put on by the 12^th Grade Participation in Government (PIG) Class. The Mock Election is an annual event that mimics the requirements of the actual election process. In order to vote in this Election participants had to register using an authentic replica devised by Chelsey Wallace. All registration forms had to be filed with our Election Officials, Gary Adams and Leah Lamos, one week prior to the election. The Mock Election followed existing election protocols as voters needed to provide their LLCS identification cards and sign in to be able to get a ballot and vote. The polling booth was setup in the hallway across from the stage with a locked ballot box to place the secret ballots.

In order to create a sense of realism and excitement about the election, Chelsey, Leah, Gary and Mr. Pine also created posters that were placed around school that described the ideals of the major political parties, touted individual political candidates and advised eligible voters of the time and location of the polling site.

Interestingly, the results from the LLCS Mock Election mirrored the actual results with only two exceptions as you can see below.