001Open evening. What do we have on the agenda? We're reconvening. All right. Well, I'd like to call this meeting to order in open session. Welcome to this evening's hybrid board of trustees meeting being held bo both in person and virtually. This meeting has been made accessible to members of the public on the link at the Merlin School District website as well as on board docs. Any person who requires accommodations to access the meeting has been asked to contact the superintendent's office within 24 hours of this meeting. This meeting is being recorded and may be published online at a later date. And >> what we will go to the flag salute. So, I would love to invite these ex exceptional EDS huskys um from the school newspaper to lead us in tonight's flex salute. So, come
002on up. Ready, begin. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Oh, don't sit down. >> There are handouts. I love it. >> It's a big staff. >> It does. We have over 50 people on staff, right? >> Oh my goodness. I'm a little speechless. >> Oh, thank you very much. >> Well, thank you for this. This is amazing. Um if you could if we could start off by each of you taking a turn introducing yourself and maybe sharing um what you do at the newspaper and and why you do it, why you started. >> Um hi, I'm Addie Bay and I am one of the editors for the newspaper. Um, and the reason why
003I started doing this was because I thought it would be like a really good experience and um, I would like I love learning new skills and I thought that this would be really great for like future references and >> great and I'm also an editor at the news >> and I really like doing because it's I think it's a valuable way to add back to the community and I really think that it's going to help me in high school especially with fostering leadership as well as writing skills. >> I'm one of the writers. >> Uh I joined it because I like writing and like telling stories that happen to like share that. >> So do that. >> Um I'm Horton. I turn into a husky news because I thought it would be really fun and
004like when I joined there weren't a lot of people. Um I'm an illustrator. I really like >> drawing things and I join because I really like helping people and I like I like >> yeah I like being helpful and I thought to like meet people and stuff. >> I'm Jonathan Pan. I'm a writer and I joined because one I think it's really fun and two it's a great source of community service. >> Amazing. Well, I'm very impressed. Shelley, did you have >> Yeah. Um hello. Thank this is I'm like trying to listen to you guys while like flipping through this. This is amazing. And I heard I think Bradley you said that they just had 50 people write like 15 writers 50 people plus on staff. like how does really and are you guys all
005in like one class together multiple class? >> They're different periods >> but um >> you guys all collaborate? >> Yeah, we collaborate during >> Wow. Okay. And I was just curious for Addie and Dana, how did you guys become editors or like Yeah. What's the process? Were you part of the Chronicles for a while? Um >> finding an editor isn't super complicated. >> Oh, she asked people who are especially like interested in being becoming an editor and want to like be more products. and she asks them like saving money and then just like we raise our hands and we talk about why we want to be an editor and then she picks us. So me and Abby are going to only do this for like half the year I think and after this um I
006think there's going to be >> new editors. Yeah. >> Um, but it it's like so Miss she definitely looks for people who have the ability to write like have like like stand a little higher than like other writers maybe so that like we can actually give other people good feedback and we kind of know what we're doing. Um, so she definitely looks for that. It also has to be an eighth grader. >> Oh, okay. >> Yeah. >> And since you guys are all eighth graders, are you guys also all planning for next year as as in as freshman to also be continuously writing and being part of the Yeah. >> Yeah. That's really cool. Awesome. Thank you, >> Brian. I'd say the same thing to students that come. Um, but it's always impressive to see
007eighth graders because you just you see this continuum of students as they've grown and really um you're very capable clearly. Uh the newspaper is neat. I think the idea that you get a chance to really understand what's going on in the community is great. I think your community would actually read it. Uh so I think those things are great. But the reason why you come here tonight uh is all the decisions that we make over the course of the evening are related to students and it's really great that we have a picture of what students are in our school district while we're making those decisions. So our picture is of you and your futures and what we could be doing to support you better. And so having this picture, as silly as it might be
008to come and lead people in the flag salute, um, but we get a chance to see your work and we'll be grounded in what you guys are as students as we approach our work tonight. And so I just want to say thank you. It's an evening. It's Tuesday night. You've got other things you'd like to do along with your parents and your principal, I'm sure. Um, but it's actually really important for us and you'll leave a legacy, a memory of the work that you're doing that will be really positive and so thank you. >> No hard questions for >> the only hard question I do have is what is the hardest thing about putting something as hefty and robust as this? This is just like one. This is the volume three is what I see
009here. So there was two previous volumes. Are they all equally as uh robust in material >> of the different like articles maybe not as maybe not aren't as long but some kind of >> it also depends on like the content. So some um like different topics are a bit more like involved and require more like research and explanation than others. So it also depends on like the topics that are in there. >> It's fantastic. I mean it's it's filled with such great stories and like interviews with the teacher >> and the recipes. I mean that I love the fact that you're taking things bits and pieces what that each individual may be interested in and not just one single topic just sports or comics. It's it's touches on a large variety and I I think
010I can see how uh one could really get into this and um I see it takes a lot of work. It is very impressive and I I really wish you luck on continuing all of this. This is awesome. Uh thank you so much for uh spending so much time and dedication on spreading the culture of your school uh the interests of yourselves and your teachers and your fellow students and um I hope it it just continues to grow. Thank you >> Dr. Cod. I have a thousand things I want to say so I have to you know synthesize but first I'll say it wasn't that hard right like being nervous is a good thing. It means you care. So don't forget that. I want to thank you for taking on this leadership role of writers
011and editors and caring about the newspaper for your school community. It is also a resume builder, by the way. Uh you can put this on your resume as you think about your community service efforts and as you move on into high school. Um I'm just quickly reading some of these articles and really great writing. I am a writer. I love to write. Um I have ideas for books so I might have to hire an editor at some point. So maybe by the time I finish it, one of you would like to, you know, partner with me on that. Um, so I want to say thank you for your leadership and for coming tonight and for your your families that are here to support you and your administrators and that are here to support you and
012um just keep up the good work and just every time I see students like you, I know that our world is just going to be okay and it's very encouraging. So thank you. >> Dr. Cart, before we move, can I Uh, can I can I request that somebody save a copy of that document for me, please? >> Yes. >> Perfect. I have one last question. Are you proud of yourselves? >> Very. We're really proud of you and you should absolutely be proud of yourself. And um, I just want to thank you as well for coming tonight. You did a really good job. And with that, you're welcome to go home. You're welcome to stay, but you're also welcome to go home. >> Thank you. Have a great night. >> Oh, yeah. >> Perfect. >> Facebook.
013thing I react up exactly. >> I don't >> I will report out that there was no action taken this evening in closed. There we go. And move to approval of tonight's agenda. We would like to reconvene in closed following open tonight. So with that change, are there any others or any questions? >> No. Make a motion to approve the amended agenda. >> All right. In a second. >> I'll second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> Comments from the public. Shelley. Okay. >> Uh members of the public may address the board on any subject of concern to you, including those not on tonight's agenda. However, provisions of the Brown Act preclude any action. As an unagendized item, no response is required or permitted from the board or district staff. And as already stated,
014no action can be taken. The board, however, may instruct the superintendent to follow up, which may or may not include placing the item on a future meeting's agenda. If you would like to address the board this evening, please complete the blue public comment card within the first 15 minutes of the board meeting being called to order in public session. On the card, please list the agenda items you would like to speak to. If your comments do not pertain to an agenda item, please write public comment. When your name is called, please come to the podium and state your name and organization that you are representing. Comments are limited to three minutes per board governance manual and it looks like we do not have any public comments this evening. >> All right, good job. We do.
015>> Let's check out with having no public >> right >> superintendent report. >> Sure. I will let you know that people do watch our board meetings on YouTube. You'd be surprised how many could give us an update of that. >> Fabulous. She's had her daughter's last eighth grade basketball game of her >> Oh, here we go. >> So, a couple of things. Okay, next slide. Thank you, Ulyses. So, this year we launched a foundational reading initiative in our kindergarten through 2 grade classrooms where we now include systematic phonics instruction, which is in addition to our small groupoup reading instruction. And the picture on the left, you can't really read it, but it does outline the core um components of a solid phonics program if you're interested. And then the picture on the right is an
016example of one of our students in a I believe it was a second grade classroom, might have been a first grade, where the students are manipulating letters to make words and words to make new words. And so that's part of the UFly um materials that we're using this year. And then the picture in the middle is a proficient reader. You're good. Yeah. Yep. Yep. President's Council, we had that last week. Another great meeting. We heard so many. Fall is so busy with all of their fundraisers and events. And we did hear about many of them reaching their fundraising goals. And we had a great discussion about our emergency protocols and the parent role when we have an emergency. And so we sort of recommunicated out how what what the parent should do when there's an
017emergency, how they pick up their child because a lot of times they want to help and they the president's council was offering to help and we said it's actually helpful if you let us do our jobs and you follow the protocols. That's what will keep everybody safe. So it was a great discussion. Uh next slide. And MEES, this is a picture of MEF. I think that might be at EDS. That's been a busy two weeks announcing the winners of the fall grants. There were a total of 13 recipients from each of our seven Morland schools. Uh along with our homeschool study program, they were also awarded um a grant this fall. And so want to say thank you to MEF. I believe it was over 20ome,000 worth of enrichment grants that went out to our
018schools this fall. So, congratulations to all the recipients and thank you to MEES for their continued support. Next one. This is a fun one, too. Okay, don't don't play it yet. Hold on. Uh oh. Hold on. Get ready for this. So, last time uh Anderson was here, we had Anderson Alligators, and we learned a little bit about the Star Camp that's sponsored by the San Jose Police Department. And we've got a little video that we wanted to show you that has some of our Anderson students on it to give you a another look inside what that camp was like for them. So now you can now you can hit it. >> Yeah, we accept you. believe there's some sound maybe >> but there's never a lot of kind of experiences but a lot of opportunity
019to provide and give back to the >> start teachers are the one sensing strength truth achievement and respect so they learn all the things that basically will make them stronger students friends and strong relationships through the community that they're in. Our students get to rotate through like rock climbing. They get to do art and crafts. They get to do yoga, which is something they're super excited about. Um, and they get to do nature hikes. Um, also night hikes. They get to eat s'mores, which everybody super excited about. We do a fire at the end of each night. Just a special thanks to all our CSOS, dispatchers, patrol officers and sergeants who come and volunteer in their time. Without them, this would not be able to be a dream that is achievable for our students and
020campers. >> Thank you. So, I just want to give a shout out to the city of San Jose and the San Jose Police Department for choosing Anderson students to be able to have this opportunity. Are you getting emotional on me? >> No. >> Okay. I am a little bit >> a little pumpkin. >> Yeah, I know. What a wonderful opportunity for them. And so I was proud to be able to have this partnership and we did not pay a dime. This is free to our students and their families in our school district. So, thank you. Next slide, please. Ulyses. It's time for winter concerts. If you can believe it, I swear it was just August. So these are the dates for our upcoming concert. Those will be on our websites. Those will be on the
021school websites. And so it looks like the first one I actually can't read it without glasses. It is December. You can read it. Oh >> 700 p.m. December 4th if I look up here. All right. With the last one being our honors band 7 p.m. December 16th. So look out for more information. Those will be promoted on social media etc. All right. Next slide. Another, can you believe it? We have set our dates for fall enrollment. For fall of 2026, we start enrollment uh on January 12th. So, these are just some cutie patooties from our last round of pictures. We are uh about to be advertising full swing. Just to let you all know, usually we send out an enrollment postcard to our entire community to get people, you know, excited and direct them to
022the right place. And we decided this year that we're going to put an enrollment section in our annual report that we'll be sending out to the community. Sometimes we do get uh our elderly community wondering why they're getting a an enrollment postcard. Um we like them to invite their grandchildren to come to Morland, but sometimes, you know, we so we thought we'd do two things at the same time. Send out an annual report along with an announcement about our enrollment and dates and such. So, that will be coming. I believe the beginning of December is when we're trying to get that out the door. The next slide. Okay, this is your last chance. The Morland Food Drive is wrapping up. I want to thank everyone who's helped make a difference. We're partnering with the West
023Valley Community Services. If you like, that QR code takes you to a link where you can make a financial donation if you so choose. So, um they do contribute. if you contribute money, they then convert it to number of pounds and there is a little kind of competition with our schools. So um so feel free um on your own time, but to today I believe is the last chance for this. They're they picked up the barrels or they're picking up the barrels. So um I just want to thank uh everybody who did contribute to that. Next slide. Okay. So, in the spirit of giving thanks, this is just a a few uh moments in our school day. I wanted to take time to say thank you to our staff and our families for making our
024district such a special place. I think it's evident to see how the impact that we have on our students, their families. Um you can see the hugs there, the smiles on the faces, the joy that is spread throughout our seven schools. And I think it's a just a nice opportunity to show our impact and the work that we do. Um, so thank you staff for for making our district so special. Next slide. Last slide I promise. All right. So as a reminder, we don't have school next week. Uh, I hope you do take some time, some quiet time with your friends and your family to just sit and be with one another and reflect on all the good that is around us. I think fall is an excellent time. I always, you know, we talked
025about giving thanks and the spirit of generosity, but it's also a time for me to think about renewal. And I love this quote. It says, "The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go." And so just how nature has its own process of showing us grace and beauty and stop you stop those tears and just you know thinking about this and just thinking about how fortunate we are everybody in this room is very fortunate. So regardless of our individual circumstances or what's going on in life it's it's always relative. Um, and so just a gentle reminder to have grace for yourself and others and have a wonderful Thanksgiving break next week. And that concludes my remarks. >> All right. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Board member communications. Uh
026I I'll uh the only thing I I attended the president's council meeting last uh week and uh always an opportunity to kind of see uh ongoings of at each of the different schools from the presidents and all the efforts that go into building that community, building that culture, all the ideas like uh Clover said that um you know there was the fall was robust with like walk-athons and events, uh movie events, uh parent, uh math events, uh things, anything to kind of bring everyone together. And you know, the that's like the intangibles that we um always try to feel to build that culture at each of the schools. So, it's I always want to give out a shout out to all those who volunteer their time to build that culture. Uh the presidents always have
027such great ideas and they always try to pull more people and you want more than just the same usual 5 10 12 people and their efforts are not unrecognized and they they they do all the fundraising and they figure all these things out and we talked about a couple things that they're prepping for the following year. So, um, again, it's not easy and it's it's very challenging, but, uh, they're they're a good group and it's always good to, uh, hear and, uh, hear from each of them. >> And I'll just, um, echo my appreciation. All of us obviously feel this way for MEF um, attending their last meeting. It was just um, so inspiring, frankly, to hear um, the successes of the pumpkin patch. um and the very thoughtful um work that goes into the
028grants program and um and then very quickly into the 5K planning and so um >> and pumpkin patch planning for next year just about. >> Yeah, just Yeah. Well, you know, you got to always be thinking. Um again, that's a really full room. Um and so some really um new faces coming to the table and so that's really exciting. um and those that are not new to the table continue to be in incredible contributors. And so um I too just wanted to say thank you to MEF and and um and to celebrate uh the work and the successes that they're clearly having in support of our students. >> All right. Um so now we're on to the consent. Um unless y'all have something to say. Any questions on tonight's consent? >> Hearing none. Do I
029have a motion? >> Submit a motion to accept uh that to approve the consent items. >> I'll second it. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Uh future meeting dates. We have one in December. It's our organizational meeting. That is a big meeting. That's a big deal. Um, anything on future meeting dates? Shroom, you're back for >> I am back on I I land on the 9th and I'll be at the board meeting. Thank you. >> Fabulous. Anyone else? No. All righty then. Announcements, reminders, requests. >> Request. I have a request. I know we're meeting back in close session. Um, can I have a Zoom link, please, for that meeting? >> Yes. Just go to the same one, Shay Ram, and I'll open it back up. >> Perfect. I'll do that. Thank you. >>
030Anything else? All right, we're closed. Thanks. >> Enjoy your evening. >> Thank you. >> Enjoy your evening. >> Time out. >> Yeah, sure. Down.