001All right, good evening everybody. It's it's 6 o'clock. It's time to get started. Um I would like to call to order the November 18th, 2025 Picosen School Board meeting. The first item of business, uh, Miss Stud, could you please get up and lead us in the pledge of allegiance? >> Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Please pause for a moment of silence. You may be seated. Today our quote comes from Albert Einstein. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Carol. Are there any additions and or modifications to the agenda for tonight?
002>> Chair, we have no additions or modifications to the agenda this evening. >> Thank you, Miss Carol. Okay. Um I guess we'll start off the night with uh Miss Perie, could you help us out with recognitions? We've got a lot tonight, I can tell. >> Chair Burbage, members of the board, community members, and colleagues, thank you for being with us this evening. We are very excited to recognize a few different people and organizations. The first of which is our senior of the month as soon as it comes up. I'll go ahead and get started. So, we are very proud to announce Picosen High School senior of the month for November. This student has served as drum major for a marching band during both junior and senior years and was selected to perform in this year's
003Macy's Great American Marching Band in New York City. She has served as section leader and the student pit orchestra conductor, both roles showcasing her ability to lead, collaborate, and elevate those around her. This student has worked as a collaborative pianist for three years and has placed in multiple instrumental competitions such as first place in the 2024 Picosen Lions Club Band Competition and second place in the Eleanor Williamson piano competition. She has attended master classes with professional pianists and has was selected as the 2022 Williamson Family Remembranceing Scholarship Performer. This senior has consistently excelled in advanced courses and is a member of the National Honor Society, MU Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, Roappa Social Studies Honor Society, and the Tri Music Honor Society. Her consistent participation in the all district band from 2022 to 2025 and
004the Old Demia University Honor Band in both 2425 reflect her ability to balance rigorous academics with high level musical performance. And if you've heard her play before, it is very it's just beautiful. It's amazing to listen to her play. As I said earlier, this month is about to get better for our senior of the month as she travels to New York City next week to be part of the Macy's Day Thanksgiving parade. We're very excited. So, please tune your TV next Thursday to celebrate our November Senior of the Month, Miss Avery Pesahana. There we go. We want to recognize another familiar face for her tremendous accomplishment of being the state champion and class 2 cross country this fall. Elizabeth Trant took first out of 96 other runners from across the state with a run time
005of 18 minutes and 40 seconds. Even more impressive is that the second place came in almost a full minute after her, which showcases her tremendous ability to persevere and push herself to incredible heights. Then after running those three miles, she then went to support her field hockey team on states on the same day. We'll be discussing their amazing accomplishments in just a minute. Even though Elizabeth high school career is not over yet, she has earned 11 state individual titles as well as a 12th as part of a relay team. Alongside many other peers here tonight, she's been part of the field hockey team that has achieved state runnerup three times. Her educational career path has her attending Princeton in the fall, where we hope to continue to hear of her continued accomplishments. Please join me
006in congratulating Elizabeth Trant on adding another state championship to her incredible resume. Picosen High School field hockey once. once again had an amazing season under the guidance of coach Darcy Shapesy and her incredible coaching crew. Last weekend, the team traveled to Northern Virginia to compete for state champion against TAB and had a high energy game that went two to three. Our ladies fought until the very last moment and with a tight game and they showed tremendous tenacity. This year's season consisted of 86 goals and only giving up half of that, which would be 43 goals to other teams. Their final record was 18 wins and five losses where they earned 251 corners and defended 116 corners of which 42 were from tab in three different games. Each game was exciting to watch but three in
007particular where they won in overtime. As I call your name, can you please come up and accept your certificate and then stay up here to my to your right um where we could take a team photo. Lee Bold, second team Bay Rivers and first team all region. Lucy Carpenter, Annabelle Crockett, Sophia Denono, Addison Forest, second team Bay Rivers, and second team all region Ashley Gross. honorable mention Bay Rivers and first team all region Caroline HARPER TEGAN HORNING Ashlin AJ JONES first team Bay Rivers and first team all region Casey LAW Morgan Martinez, Leila Nunnelly, second team all region, Alana Robinson, Kaitlyn St. JOHN Aubrey Struck, Alexi Ticko, second team all region, Samantha Ticko, first team Bay Rivers, and first team all region, Elizabeth Trant, SIENNA WILLIAMSON, CHLOE WILKOVICH. I also wanted to take a moment
008and say something about coach Chapaze who has been coaching with Pakosen for 17 years with a total of 28 years under her belt as a coach. She has led this team to countless victories including state champions and runner-up multiple times over. We are very grateful for her dedication to her athletes and would like to congratulate her on yet another amazing season. ASSISTANT Coach Deb Bunting, Assistant Coach Courtney Dunar, Assistant Coach Evan Lily, Assistant Coach Lissa Swanson, MANAGER KHLOE CARPENTER, MANAGER LAUREN JONES, manager Charlotte Jordan, manager Bentley Martinez, who I believe IS and I'm not sure if um Sarah Watermelon is here, but she's our athletic trainer and also a a large contributor to the our teams at the high school. So, we want to recognize HER AS WELL. OKAY. SO, WE'RE GOING TO DO A
009PICTURE. We'll probably have to move up front. Yes. Yeah. >> Please be patient with us as we try to get multiple rows going. >> Want to get up and take pictures. Come on up. >> Yeah. Move up in front of this table like >> and then go down that way. Anybody? >> Anybody have pants? >> No jeans. >> Um, maybe squat down. Good idea. Yeah, front row squat. Ready? One, two, three. And again for good measure. >> Hold on. and I'll post all of their beautiful faces from faces from the presentation that you didn't get to see. So you can see um we have some very really great pictures of everybody. That concludes our recognitions for the evening. OH, >> Elizabeth Trant AGAIN and our ladies field hockey team. Thank you everybody. And at this
010time, if anybody needed to leave before head on out, >> you're more than welcome to stay. >> Elizabeth go back to Elizabeth. >> Hold on. We got someone taking a photo really. >> Oh, they're >> I can send it to anybody. Thank you. >> Thank you. You did that. I think they left. So pressure on the sun. >> All right. Thank everybody who's coming and going. Um, moving along, uh, we'll move on to presentations and reports. Uh, first up is instructional update from Miss Odd. All right, that was going to be scary if I had to present without my slide deck. I was going to do like Pictionary for you. Good evening, Chair Burbage, school board members, Superintendent Tilllet, staff, community members. Tonight, I will be showcasing the Picosen Middle School Symphonic Band as they
011prepare to perform at the Virginia Music Educators Association conference this week. Imagine if I had to give like a reenactment of their performance. That would be that would be special for us. The Picosen Middle School band, led by Mr. Randall Lawson has been selected to perform at the 58th annual Virginia Music Educators Association Conference or the VMEAS which is taking place this Friday in Norfick, Virginia. Picosen Middle School is the first middle school band selected to perform at the VME in all 58 years from the peninsula. Picosen Middle School is a current blue ribbon VMA school. This blue ribbon distinction is the highest award given to music programs in Virginia and recognizes excellence in band, orchestra, and coral performance. All top eligible performing groups must receive a final superior rating at the VMEA District Concert
012Performance to qualify for this award. It should be noted that Picosen High School is also a blue ribbon school. In addition, the Picosen Middle School Band was recognized as a Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association Middle School program of honor for the 2425 school year. These next couple of slides highlight the members of the Picosen Middle School Symphonic Band and the instruments that they play. We want to congratulate these young people on their accomplishments, dedication, and the pride they bring to our school community. Each of these musicians demonstrates what can be achieved when talent, effort, and determination come together. Their remarkable accomplishments also reflect Mr. Lawson's exceptional guidance and vision for the Picosen Middle School band. The photos that you just saw of the students here are actually part of a program that was created
013for this Friday. and to create this program. In addition to a few other things, Picosen Middle School had some sponsors and they would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to their sponsors whose contributions helped to make this program that you see that I'm sure the students and families will treasure. In addition, they supported the purchase of new instrument, musics, shirts, and lunch for our students as they go on this very special field trip this Friday. We deeply appreciate our community and business partners for their unwavering support of our schools. And finally, we're excited to give you a preview of Friday's performance. Last week, the band performed for Picosen Middle School students and staff. So, please enjoy Across the Desert Sands by Michael Orur performed by the Picosen Middle School Symphonic Band. Heat. Heat. la. Nah
014nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah. Happy birthday. Yeah. Heat. Come on. Hallelujah. Heat. Heat. should note that this is open to the public on Friday. I believe the performance is 10:00 a.m. at the Norfick Sherin. And so, of course, if you would like information about joining for that, um, just let us know. We can work with you there. And you might be thinking, well Ashley, you said you were going to present on data from the state and the state has not released it. So we have given you this performance instead. Hope you seems better a better deal for you guys. Um but in December I hope to share a full update. So expect quite a presentation from me in December once that data is released in addition to uh our strategic
015plan updates, program of studies and advanced coursework. Can't be too many questions for that one tonight, right? No questions. Thank you, Mr. Roberts, for the operational update. Well, good evening. I'll start talking while I get that set up. Um, good evening members of the board. Uh, super superintendent Mr. Tilllet, community members and staff that are present. There we go. Thank you. I can't say that my presentation is going to be as entertaining. Uh, that middle school band is amazing. Uh, kudos to them. But I do want to start off with talking about transportation. Um, bus patrol was something that you guys approved for us to sign uh with this company that does the stop arm cameras, if you remember, and also supplementing with some interior and exterior cameras. Um, it's taken a little bit longer
016than we expected to get this to the finish line. Uh, for a good reason. We've been working with our attorney every step of the way to vet um the negotiations back and forth with the contract. And some of the key points that we were um needing in the contract uh is one to make sure when they say there's zero cost to the vision that that upholds. So um the technology fees will be written off. That is in the current version that's in our attorney's hands again for the last check. Uh so that was the the the big huge check we were waiting on to to get in there and it is now. Um the PCP involvement also we just wanted to make sure that we're protecting oursel and our resources that we're not overextending any
017employee or staff member on our side for these violations which that verbiage is in there. The only thing that the you know attorney keeps on bringing our attention to is the term of the contract which is 5 years. Um but that's kind of a non-negotiable for bus patrol because they need that length of time to recoup the funds for all the equipment and technology which is understandable. Um, but just so everybody knows, at no time, no matter if there's, you know, a million violations or or zero, um, at no time will there be cost to our division. And again, that not only comes with a stop arm camera for the safety, but also the interior and exterior cameras that our admin can use um to handle discipline uh to to live stream in and emergency
018situations. It gives us a way better system for video on those buses. So, just a little update there. Um we are anticipating signing this month uh with bus patrol and uh could be as early as December for the install and when we come back from winter break we could be um using this new technology. So we'll keep you updated. The safety committee uh meet uh met again and uh the bigger discussion there was on the open gate systems again. Um all the admin SSOs SRO's got their login. uh we played with the devices a little bit uh start talking about first uh school that's going to be implemented within um and then we're going to start fine-tuning this uh with that certain school which will be the high school um very shortly to start using
019these devices on the campus. So um we also talked about bus discipline discussions um and also threat assessment training for anyone in the division that are on those threat assessment teams. It's just a good time of year to have a refresher um for those courses and DCJS will be leading that. The project updates um tennis courts did want to put out there that we did decide to close the tennis courts until the repairs are made just due to safety concerns. Those cracks are not only just cracks now they're kind of peeking causing ridges uh which could be a trip hazard. Um we are working on alternative um options for the tennis team just in case we can't get the product or project to the finish line in time for the season for their practices and
020games um ahead of time. Uh we will be awarding the PHS roof project this month as well. Uh we have a couple of vendors we're still looking at. Um hopefully by this week we can uh notify them and start um you know that process which will um hopefully go quicker. Um you know that's a large roof. It's 114,000 square feet. So time is of the essence. Also, we want to kind of cash in on some prices if we can get some materials ordered before the the new year. So looking forward to that. And uh another group of trailers did move off the PES campus. Uh we're working on cleanup on that site and definitely looking forward for the remaining ones to leave as well so we can start looking what to do with that um
021piece of land. All right, some exciting news. Um girls wrestling as you've heard in previous board uh meetings for some comments from the public. um has been recognized as official individual sport uh by VHSL this year. Um our athletic budget in the support with some community organizations can handle if uh approved tonight. In your reading file, you'll find more information on this, but if approved tonight, we do have the funding for this year um for the matches um the coaching. Uh they even had some offers for some supplies and materials from these community organizations to really help out. So, um, you know, and then if it if approved, you know, the following years, we'd want to put this in the budget, but for right now, we can swing this um this year immediately. So, if
022approved, we'd be seeking a coach uh so these um girl wrestlers can have a chance at uh you know, trying out this year and uh you know, going through practices and and having matches. So, um you know, exciting news. Uh definitely read your read and follow if you hadn't already and uh looking forward to to the getting this off the ground. Um, also there's a resolution there to donate two mowers to the city. Um, we've had three mowers for a few years. We at one point decided to try to do it ourselves. It wasn't sustainable. We are retaining one of those mowers just in case we have to do some touch-up mowing and things of that nature ourselves, but the city helps us so much on our fields um and ground sometimes anyway. So, giving
023them those those mo mowers just makes sense. I mean, they help us so much. Um, they are very low hours and very very nice mowers. So, we do just not want them to to set and rot. So, I think that's a good move if if approved. And basically, that's all I have unless you have questions on the open gate weapons detecting system. Is the idea when they are installed at the high school, would it be I mean I know they're not permanent because they're mobile units, but would the IBM be that they will be in use every day for those entering and exiting the high school daily? Everyone would go through there or is there just curious what the use is planned for those right now? >> Sure. Well, you know, security is a really
024hard thing to talk about through the public because, you know, you don't want to give away too much of what you're trying to do. But to kind of answer your question, um, a lot of school divisions do it the way that you just stated it every day, every kid, every bus, every everything. Um, but a lot of them do random as well, like they'll just pick certain days, certain locations, certain buses. So, you know, we're in that planning phase to see what works best for our division and going from there. >> So, they will these are remain mobile units essentially and they correct. They aren't being installed anywhere. They will tilt it to anything. Understood. Yep. I just had I guess a follow-up question on the tennis courts. Um I last time we spoke you
025were getting I guess a second. >> Right. >> Do you still anticipate that we'll be able to repair those courts within this fiscal year or is that potentially being pushed back? >> Right. So it really depends on weather. Um you know that that's going to be a huge obstacle um more or less because you know payment turn it takes a certain temperature and it has to be rising for um so many days. There is a cure period for the pavement before it can be sealed and then painted with the lines and that usually takes about 30 days. So, it really would just depend on how big of a weather break we get in the spring to see when we can launch this. >> But, uh to add to that, we you you do have in
026your packet as I I know you've noticed um the carryover fund uh proposal. Um, Chair Burbage and I met with uh the city manager and mayor um yesterday >> um to discuss some details of um the process um that we do every year as well as the the beginning kickoff of budget season um to start those conversations and um in that carryover request is the somewhere around a half million dollars to repair those tennis courts. The the go the goal is if passed tonight by this board and then the city will take it up in their December meeting, if that is approved, the money will be available to start that project immediately. >> Good. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Roberts. Next up is uh Miss Spence. Good evening, Chair Burbage, members of the school
027board, Mr. Tilllet, and the school community. In tonight's finance report, we will review the school's fisc year 25 financial audit report, discuss the fiscical year 25 carryover request, as Mr. till it just referenced earlier and provide updates on the FY27 budget. The fiscal year 25 audit was conducted by Brown Edwards. The school division does not have its own separate financial report. It is included as a component unit in the city's annual comprehensive financial report which you have at your seat. As part of the audit, the auditors issue several reports stating with the report starting with report of the independent auditor which outlines the scope of the audit and confirms that there were no significant findings whether on the city side or as the as a component unit for the schools. The compliance section of the
028audit includes an additional audit opinion and I'm pleased to report that this auditor's opinion was unmodified for both the financial statements as well as the financial reporting which is the highest possible opinion. The single audit opinion is not included this year as it was in the past because the federal government has not yet released its annual compliance supplement for auditors. Brown Edwards has completed the single audit and is just waiting for that document and so far has reported no compliance issues. The single audit report will be issued once the federal guidance is released. Before we w move on, I want to take a moment to recognize some very special individuals in the audience. This year's successful audit was truly a team effort and it would have been impossible without their dedication, expertise, and hard work
029throughout the year. So, we have Karen, Lindsay, April 1st, Carol, Carol, if you could all please stand. And unfortunately, Keely Sullivan could not be with us tonight. Your attention to detail, commitment to excellence, and collaborative spirit have made a real difference. From keeping everything on track to ensuring the accuracy and compliance, your efforts behind the scenes are truly remarkable. I am deeply deeply grateful to have such an outstanding group of people to work alongside. Thank you so much for everything you do. We really appreciate it. Thank you. OKAY, on to the superintendent's fiscal year carryover request, which is part you have a reading file in your board packet. At the end of fiscal year 2025, the schools retained a balance of 21,929 required for a state tech grant match along with excess funds totaling $1.6
030million. As previously mentioned in prior board me meetings, many school divisions faced difficulties in hiring staff last school year as it was reported to you in the prior year, leading to substantial savings from unfilled vacancies. According to Virginia state regulations, school divisions are not permitted to retain these excess local funds and instead the locality may reappropriate those funds. The superintendent is requesting that the city council allows the school system to reappropriate the 1.6 million for the following items. We'll first start with the capital improvement plans. We're asking for 1,262,980 to fund various projects which you've already approved in our our capital improvement plan that was presented to the city council. one of which is $271,700 for the uh high school fire alarm. There's $434,700 for the middle school middle school gym air conditioner and $561,897
031for the high school tennis courts. In addition, for curriculum and revisions, we're asking for 267,800 for curriculum updates and revisions to comply with the new Virginia Department of Education standards. regarding maintenance needs, $46,945 for a high school hot water heater replacement as well as $25,000 for high school basketball hoop replacements, which we were trying to get over the finish line by June 30th, but we couldn't due to um uh vendor issues. I will just make a note that um as Mr. an um Andrew had mentioned earlier yes in last um board meeting we have very few vacancies now which is a great thing. So we do not anticipate these type of vacancy savings in the future as you've experienced for the last two years. Okay. So, the process for the fiscal year 2027 budget, moving
032on to that, uh, November 7th, all the budget submissions um were received from the principles and the directors, and I really appreciate all the hard work you guys put into that. Um, December 17th is now the anticipated release date for the governor's budget proposal, Governor Yncan. Um, of course we all know in January we're going to have a new governor come in, so we're um we'll see what happens there. Um, January 14th, 2026, the general assembly will convene. This year will be a 60-day session because um that's what they do every two years. And January 20th is when the superintendent will present the budget update during a work session. So February 17th is when we're going to present our proposed budget. Unfortunately, the general assembly doesn't um doesn't adjourn until like a month later, March
03315th, and then the public hearing on the superintendent's proposed budget is March 17th. Once the general assembly adjourns, the governor, the new governor then has a set amount of days that they can act on it. We can only act on what we get typically what the governor proposes in December which will be Governor Yan's budget. And that concludes my presentation for this evening. If you have anyone has any questions, entertain them now. Okay. >> Thank you, Miss Spence. Miss Carol, do we have anyone signed up for public comment? >> We have no one signed up for public comment tonight. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. Moving along to next section will be the consent agenda. Um for the consent agenda, we have item A, approval of financial reports. Item B is authorization to change appropriation
034and to accept and expend funds in accordance with attached request. Item C is approval of personnel action. Item D is approval of minutes for October's regular meeting. Item E is approval of item disposal list. That's it for the consent agenda. Um, can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda, please? >> So, move. >> I have a second. >> Second. >> Are there any comments about the consent agenda? >> Comments. Okay. Miss Carol, the vote, please. >> Dr. Bartlett, >> I. >> Mr. Dow, >> I. >> Vice Chair Dubose, >> I. >> Miss Jones, >> I. >> Mr. Maxwell >> I >> Miss Orsbborne >> I >> chair Burbage >> I >> vote passes 70. >> Thank you. Okay. Moving along to other matters for consideration. Um part 8A consideration of approval of superintendent's
035request to city council for use of carryover funds. Can I get a motion to approve the superintendent's request? >> So move. >> Can I have a second? >> Second. >> Any questions, comments, or discussion? >> Okay. Uh, Miss Carol, the vote, please. >> Dr. Bartlett, >> I. >> Mr. Dow, >> I. >> Vice Chair Dubose, >> I. >> Miss Jones, >> I. >> Mr. Maxwell, >> I. >> Miss Orsbborne, >> I. >> Chair Barbage. >> Hi. Vote passes 70. >> Thank you. Uh, next item, item B is motion to authorize the superintendent of Picosen City Public Schools to offer girls wrestling as an official sport for the 2025 2026 school year and in future school years. Can I get a motion to approve a girls wrestling team for Picosen? So move. >> Second. >> Any
036questions or discussion? I just have a question. So the if this is approved tonight, what does this look like for the girls for this year? They can get started now. >> It be a full program sanctioned by the Virginia High School League. Correct. >> Full program and the the gym space, the scheduling, all all the things for this season are ready to roll. >> Absolutely. I think the singlets have already been purchased uh in anticipation of our um female athletes uh participating on the the boys team and um now after the Virginia league has approved officially the girls team, we would like to launch it and give the the girls an opportunity to to build this program. And I guess whenever the coach is determined, maybe some communication could go out to absolutely the folks
037from the interest meeting or whatever names they have accumulated for these girls and >> that information will be to come for this winter sports season. >> Absolutely. Yeah. The first step is is your approval and uh once that happens then we can move very fast in launching the the the program. I would just like to commend everybody for moving this so quickly. >> I think it's great. Personally, I I think it's great to have a separate program. I think we need a separate program um for a number of reasons. So, I I'm excited about that. I don't think the answer was to combine the two. I think this is personally um definitely go. >> Yeah, I do want to um while we're discussing it, uh give a big shout out to the Picosen Wrestling Association
038that came to the table. uh you know this community is well known around the Commonwealth um uh for a wrestling program for many many years and uh they have um uh volunteered to participate financially um so we didn't have to wait a whole budget cycle to do this as you know we budget a year in advance um and that they have generously offered to to help support this program launch and then of course we'll include that in our budget budget uh proposal for FY27 uh and future years. But um this gave us an opportunity to move fast without the typical plan for a year budget and build which is what I'm I'm used to. But I so I do want to uh thank publicly the uh Picosen Wrestling Association and of course the athletic uh
039staff at the high school who have um uh worked quickly to to make this thing happen this year. I've never actually seen that happen um in one budget cycle um or without a full budget cycle, I should say, to be able to fund the program, but um uh it's exciting and uh I I don't know a a a community that deserves more uh uh a solid wrestling program that than one that has um uh built one and sustained one for many many years. So, we're hope this same legacy starts now with the female program and continues. >> There's very few things on school board you get to get be excited about voting on. It's a lot of budget. This one, being a father to two girls, I'm excited to vote for. So, I think that
040there's some young ladies here that are pretty excited about the program starting as well. So, um, I'm looking forward to watching y'all and, um, I'm excited for the whole program as a whole. So, um, any other questions or comments? Okay. Um, Miss Carroll, the vote, please. >> Dr. Bartlett, >> I. >> Mr. Dow, >> I. >> Vice Chair Dupose, >> I. >> Miss Jones, >> I. >> Mr. Maxwell, >> I. >> Miss Orsbborne, >> I. >> Chair Barbage, >> I. Vote passes unanimously 70. >> Okay, moving along to the last item. Item C is motion to approve resolution number 25-01, resolution transferring schoolowned personal property to the city of Picosen. Um, can I get a motion to approve the transfer of property? >> So move. >> Can I get a second? >> Second. Any questions,
041comments, or discussion? >> Can we raise them? >> Can we only if you cut grass? Um, >> no other questions, comment. Miss Carol, the vote, please. >> Dr. Bartlett, >> I. >> Mr. Dow, >> I, >> Vice Chair Dubose, >> I, >> Miss Jones, >> Mr. Maxwell, >> I, >> Miss Orsbborne, >> I, >> Chair Burbage, >> I. >> Vote passes 70. Okay. All right. Moving along. Section nine, uh, communication and or other matters by school board andor superintendent. We'll start with Miss Stud. >> To start off with the Posen Primary School. Um, I'm pleased to share that this month has been incredibly positive and productive for our PPS community. Our our parent teacher conferences were well attended, providing meaningful opportunities for families and teachers to connect around student progress and goals. We also hosted
042a successful literacy family night which brought great superhero energy to the building and helped place many new books in the hands of our students. Families enjoyed engaging hands-on activities designed to support learning at home and the turnout reflected our community's strong commitment to literacy. Additionally, our school community demonstrated tremendous generosity during our canned food drive. Thanks to our family support, we collected over 3,000 items, which in pounds equal 2,324 lbs worth of donations that will directly benefit local families in need. The participation and spirit shown throughout the drive truly reflect the strength of our school commu community. Overall, we have had a month of strong engagement, partnership, and school pride. Moving on to Pagosen Elementary School. We are thankful for our students, staff, and families this Thanksgiving season. We closed out October with our first
043quarter of Bullbucks celebrations and loved seeing the costumes that students wore on Halloween. Our music teacher, Miss Ferris, and third graders presented a patriotic themed music program early this month featuring songs from each branch of the military. We continued the patriotic theme by welcoming our students with their veteran family members for our annual Veterans Day breakfast. We had an incredible turnout and appreciate those who were able to start the day with us. We also thank our counselor, Miss Davis, for coordinating this event and Mr. Lawson along with his middle school band for playing at our Veterans Day breakfast. Our fall book fair is taking place this week and our families are invited to a special family night this Thursday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Families can visit the book fair and the different grade level
044pods for hands-on activities in literacy and math. Our teachers have been meeting with students parents over the past month and on conference day. We are grateful for the time our parents have been able to give in hearing about their children's performance in the classroom. We look forward to continued partnerships for this school year. Thank you for your support of Picosen Elementary and have a happy Thanksgiving. November has been a busy and exciting month at Picosen Middle School. We completed school picture makeups and retakes, administered the math student growth assessment to all students in grades 6 through 8 math classes, and welcomed families for a very successful parent teacher conference day. A major highlight was our first career fair which featured 31 professionals representing all career clusters. There was even a horse. These guests spent two
045class periods engaging with our eighth graders and sharing insights about their fields. Last Thursday we hosted the pre prevmea symphon symphonic band concert under the elite direction of Mr. Lawson. Our symphonic band will perform at the Virginia Music Educators Association conference on Friday, a prestigious honor for which we are incredibly proud. To close out the month, our eighth grade students are looking forward to their field trip to Washington DC next Monday. We are thrilled to share that 23 Picosen Middle School students were selected for the District V middle school chorus and will perform at CNU in February. In addition, we are exceptionally proud of Amelia Ramirez, who was selected for the ACDA, Southern Regional Honor Corps, and will represent Picosen in March in Memphis, Tennessee. Picosen Middle School was also awarded $3,096 in grants from
046the Picosen Education Foundation support that we deeply appreciate and that makes a meaningful difference for our students. Finally, we congratulate our November Golden Bull students of the month. In sixth grade, we have Noren Perez. In seventh grade, we have Colin Coin. And in eighth grade, we have Zuen Gee. We wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving, and we are truly grateful for our outstanding school community for our high school. Thank you to all who participated in parent teacher conferences. It it is exciting to see so many families taking advantage of this important opportunity to collaborate as a team and thank you to the PTO to for providing a super lunch for our staff. We thank everyone for coming to check out the popup sale this past Saturday. Thank you as well to Picosen Education Foundation for
047providing three grants to PHS. We appreciate your support more than you know. Congratulations to the 17 students who made district chorus. We are so proud of you. Congratulations to our band for achieving a superior rating on their state marching assessment and completing a wonderful marching season with the winter band concert coming up on December 17th. And don't miss the winter chorus concert on December 10th. The junior class hosted a pickle ball tournament this weekend and there was so much fun to be had by all. Congratulations to the one act drama team for competing at regionals this weekend. They placed fourth with a special best actor award given to Heather Jensen. Congratulations to all of our fall sports teams including competition cheer for finishing third at in the state. Elizabeth Trant for winning the state cross
048country meet. The girls cross country team for finishing sixth. the boys cross cross country team for finishing 10th and Isaac Wines for finishing fourth. Football for advancing to the regional semifinals and winning the Bay Rivers District. Volleyball for being regional champions and field hockey for placing second in the state. Winter sports triyouts have begun and we look forward to an exciting season ahead. As always, check the Island Times on Parent Square for important updates from PHS. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mr. Maxwell. >> All right. Uh, as always, I will begin with a preemptive echoing of what my colleagues will say that I will inevitably forget. Um, I also want to start with the personal one today. I want to thank my wife holding down the fort while I donate my time here on the
049school board, but most especially today because it is her birthday. So, happy birthday. Um, congratulations to the senior of the month, Miss Avery P. Um, very impressive resume. Again, as always, uh, very, um, I'm always very impressed with the resumes every month. Saying it, uh, congratulations to her. Um, congratulations to Miss Elizabeth Trent, another outstanding student, idol number 11, and I'm sure more to come. 18 minutes and 40 time. That's that's very impressive. Uh, congratulations to Varsity Field Hockey team uh, for their accomplishments. Really congratulations to all the fall sports teams. I know we just heard heard the whole list. I couldn't kind of jot them all down. Um congratulations to all the district band and chorus honores. Um special congratulations for the upcoming performance for the PMS band that us was awesome. Um and
050and looking forward to and see uh their performance at the VMAS. Um, again, first first middle school uh band in to perform with that is it's quite an honor. Uh, putting our city on the map like that. Um, also for the PHS band for their superior rating see them on on the Thanksgiving Day parade. That'll be uh another thing put us on the map. So, congratulations to them. Thank you to the safety committee and the SRO and admin. um discussions we have there are always valuable um very important to and think about the safety of our students. Uh thank you to the audit team that was previously recognized for coming through the financial audit. Um thank you to the wrestling program and everyone that was involved in in making this, you know, milestone accomplishment today.
051Looking forward to seeing boys and girls on the wrestling mat this season. So thank you for all that. Um, special congratulations to the gold bulls and I think that is down. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Maxwell. Mr. D, it's really hard to always follow him. He's got like a really good list back here, but congratulations. I can't wait to see you guys ladies on the mat. Um, and congratulations to all our recognitions, the middle school band. I can I hear about it all the time from my daughter. I cannot wait to see how good he does. I'm sure it's going to be amazing. So, I will just echo everything that he said and end y'all's time. >> Thank you, Mr. D. Morsborn. >> First, I just wanted to share SEAK, which is the
052special education advisory committee, is sponsoring a float in the parade. So, I know a parent square message went out from Miss Worerin a couple days ago. if you're interested finding out more information about that. I want to say congratulations to all of our student athletes and our band for finishing up the fall season. I know football's got a little bit more to go. Um and congratulations to our ladies to start your football your football team, your wrestling team. Sorry, it's been a long day. And um also to all of our students who tried out for all districts. I was there. It was um a little tense outside just watching all the kids file in, but it's a great thing. And if you get a chance to go watch our middle schoolers in February at CNU,
053it's an awesome experience. >> Thank you, Dr. Bartlett. >> Because I'm I'm next. Um, but I would like to There's a lot to be thankful for this um month of November. Um, including all of our student athletes for sure and our student musicians. I spent half of my career teaching middle school and I can tell you our bands never sounded like that. So that's really splendid. Um, I'd like to, um, finish my comments by mentioning that 10 months ago on January 21st, uh, we had a lot of public comments concerning girls wrestling. And that was when we met the Haywoods, Hatchets, the Crosses, and youth coach Derek Goodson. They made a I mean, we can't react when people make public comments. Their passion really moved me and so I was so happy to make the
054motion to recognize girls wrestling as an official. So, bravo for that and happy Thanksgiving. >> Thank you, Miss Jones. >> Yes. um so many people to recognize and say congratulations to. So I will not repeat the list, but it is not for any lack of excitement and pride in all of the accomplishments we saw tonight. And um just as a particular note, I do personally follow field hockey very closely. And just to call attention those ladies who just were the state runnerup that we saw this evening, they went into their field hockey game last weekend as the underdogs. I mean the TAB field hockey team who won was unbeatable in theory, you know, I mean they are on about a 100game winning streak, no exaggeration, but for our ladies who have played them a couple
055times this season to go in and mentally prepare, the preparedness they showed for that game, the determination, the loyalty, um it is just truly to be commended and I just wanted to call specific attention to that to come out of that game with a 3-2 loss is truly incredible. So, just had to speak to that specifically. I think it's exactly what high school sports is all about. It is teaching mental toughness. It's teaching preparedness. Um, and just kudos to them. But again, um, moving on to another exciting girls sport, um, wrestling. Thank you all for being here. Excited for what's to come. Um, we have a lot to do to get rolling and I think it's going to be a fantastic season with even more to come in the f excuse me in the future.
056So, thank you all for that. I'm very excited about that. Um, on the music and band side, I heard a spectacular concert last week put on by Mr. Lawson and the middle school symphonic band. Um, they deserve every bit of that um, place at the VMEAS. It is truly remarkable how fabulous that band is. and I'm excited for that experience for all of those musicians on Friday. Uh, Miss Spence and team, congratulations on a very successful audit. Mr. Roberts, thank you for the time on the bus patrol. Um, I it's important to get that contract right. It's a big deal and thank you for the extra time and um, attention to that. Um, I had a lot of other notes, but I think they've all been covered. So, I will say a happy Thanksgiving to
057all and um good luck to our winter sports teams that are starting and um a happy Thanksgiving to everyone. >> Thank you, Mr. Devose. You know, it's kind of funny because like when you're up here, you turn around and as the presentation goes on, you make mental notes about what you want to talk about and then everybody turns around and gets to steal your thunder about what you want to talk about. So, um, you know, um, I one comment about the middle school band. You know, a lot of people don't realize that those those those students have only been playing an instrument for one, two, maybe two and a half years. Um, and to to have that level of expertise that's up there, um, you know, not only does it um, you know, really underscore
058the talent that we have, but also, you know, uh, Randall and, uh, everything he does, but, you know, I think one of the things that, you know, really impresses me more than anything else is just what our community is. I mean, we're a sleepy little town of 12,000 people and look at everything that we accomplish, you know, from arts to sports, you know, and we we, you know, we talk about those things time and time again every single school board meeting and it never gets old, you know, we truly have an amazing community. So, um, just want to thank everybody for for being a part of it. Thank you. Um, I'm going to reiterate a few things. Uh, first the senior of the month, Miss Avery. I can't I'm sorry I can't pronounce your last
059name. Um, I'm She's amazing. I'm looking forward to seeing her in the Macy's Day Parade. Um, Elizabeth Trent, cross country, winning the state championship, and then literally she was a minute ahead of the second place finisher. So, it was almost like she had time to finish, get in her car, and then she was driving to the state championship in field hockey. So, um she's an amazing athlete. Uh I've enjoyed watching her over the years and I think what did we say 12 state championships. Um so, congratulations to her. Uh the girls field hockey uh coming in second place to TAB is that was pretty amazing because they beat us a few times earlier this year soundly. Um they are I think this was their fifth state championship in a row. So they are a very
060good team. So uh congratulations to our girls field hockey team. Uh the young ladies that are starting the girls wrestling program um guys should be proud, your parents should be proud. you guys are starting something amazing here in Picosen and I look forward to watching it develop and grow. Um, you know, you guys are awesome. So, congratulations. Uh, the symphonic band to make to be able to go to the VMEAS, first band, middle school band in 58 years. Um, they're really good. Uh, I'm going to see if I can get down there on Friday. And good luck to the football team this Friday. I got to go to the game this past Friday. It was uh pretty cold. I think it might actually be colder this weekend. Uh and then happy Thanksgiving. So, Arty, >>
061a very enthusiastic echo of all the things said today. Um and happy Thanksgiving. >> Okay, Miss Carol, is there any additional material for board review? >> Chair Burbage, there is no additional material tonight. >> Okay. Well, I adjourn the meeting.