001Good evening everyone. Thank you for joining us. Please rise and join the Igian 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. Okay, we're going to begin tonight with our uh student board member report from M. >> Good evening. With the first half of the school year quickly approaching and then all is going well and among the students, the student council ran a very successful toy drive again this year. Um gathering toys from all four schools in the district and delivering them by hand to children in need. It's truly an incredible initiative that's been taken and it makes an amazing impact on the community. The Seer Manage School played a huge role in the drive this
002year, contributing a significant number of toys which were donated to the Desiree Darlings Foundation. So that's incredible. And all the seafood's winter concerts were a huge success this year. The Seafood musicians put on incredible shows all throughout the winter and they exhibited extraordinary talent. And among the student body this year, we have 20 allcount musicians and 24 all county artists, which are two huge numbers that deserve immense recognition. The Secret Middle School also hosted a team building activity activity before break where the students reflected upon their previous team challenges and then collaborated with one another to build the strongest gingerbread towers. These team-based collaborative exercises are super important and beneficial, and they're probably tasty as well afterwards. and the Sea School District, they also hosted a special parent workshop series with a Zoom being held
003on January 22nd focusing on improving attendance. So these workshops are a great opportunity for parents to learn more about the district and to improve the school culture. And then lastly, the Secret Harbor School was also recently recognized for writing the most cards for cops in all of Nash County, which is an initiative taken to express our gratitude for our first responders. This was a true honor for the Se Harbor School as both the Nassau County Police Department and Commissioner Ryder honoring the contributions with the story even making the news headlines which was amazing. And the NCPD also came to the school with their police technology and their all their vehicles for the students which is such a cool experience. And also the varsity wrestling team competed in the 22nd annual Patrick Jay Butler tournament and
004they finished second place this year beating methyl and librook exhibiting true sce pride. So all is going well. That wraps up my report for today and I hope you have a great evening. >> Okay, thank you Matt. And now we'll move on to Dr. Okay. So, um largely we are going to have presentations by our elementary curriculum leaders, building leaders, and the secondary. So, we have all our principles presenting tonight. But before that, I just wanted to make a couple of announcements. As the board knows, we've just finalized the 2627 school calendar. So, that'll be on the website by the latest on Friday. In addition to that, I just wanted to give an update about the UPA and the process that we're in right now. So, um, the application process has ended last week. We
005had our internal auditors do a lottery that has been processed and is done. And at this point, we'll be notifying the families via their email by Friday. So, that's the process for that. Also for board approval tonight are the retirements of two of our very, very loyal Viking teachers. So, first is Karen English teacher over at the middle school. And Karen's been with us since 1995. She started as a probationary teacher. She's done a number of things after school with the kids. She was a drama supervisor, drama director. She was a career day advisor. She's done a number of writings for summer curriculum writing. And she's one of the most positive people and and a person that students are drawn to. So when she came to deliver her letter to my office, I wasn't there
006and I tried to reach her. So then I just walked over to the middle school and again a testament to Karen is that when I went there, two of her high school students from, you know, they had been her students years ago were there convincing her not to retire. So congratulations to Karen and of course we say tons of wonderful things about all of our retirees at the end of the school year. And then next as you know, she's a very beloved teacher here at the manor. It's it's always a bittersweet situation when you have somebody that's a mainstay like Amory um who loves children, who loves the manor and has been such a an integral part and fabric of our community. Um very very happy for her and I told her happy for her,
007a little sad for us. Um but again, Amory is one of those people that has always contributed and contributed positively to the school environment. So we wish them the best of luck and we will celebrate the maj. And with that we're going to call up our elementary curriculum presentations first. So uh it will be Miss Bulka and Miss Prudence and Miss Savage and Good evening everyone. First off, I would like to say thank you to the board of education for approving our funding to support all the things that we're going to be presenting tonight. Um, most importantly, if I can just go to the next >> Thank goodness for you. Um, Most importantly, one of the biggest things that we have um taken on this year is our full-time ICT model. And with that, it's
008reinforcing our commitment to inclusive practices and equitable access to highquality instruction for all learners. We are also grateful to our PPS team for their partnership in thoughtfully rolling out this model this year at the Harbor Matter schools, ensuring strong collaboration and support for students, staff, and families. Um our fulltime ICT model ensures consistent support for students with disabilities throughout the school day. With two certified teachers in the classroom, instruction becomes more flexible and responsive. One of the things that we um really do focus on a lot in um our buildings is the social emotional growth of our students. This additional um support has improved self-confidence in our students. there's a greater independence of uh over time and it gives us an opportunity for proactive behavioral and social emotional support for all students not just students
009with disabilities. >> Um also the instructional time that they have with their special education uh teacher allows for smoother routines and transitions and students experience a more predictable and supportive learning environment throughout the day. So, thank you very much for giving us that opportunity. In addition to the co-eing model, we also have a partnership with a consulting company where the general education and special education teachers are receiving um professional development. They're learning how to share responsibilities for all students. Um learn from each other's expertise and have that common planning together uh to really improve the outcomes of our and achievement of our students. Moving on to our mathematics curriculum. Uh thank you very much for our illustrative math program. It is a work in progress. We are all work in works in progress every single
010day. And our students what we're seeing every single day is they are actively engaged in mathematics. Um the lessons emphasize student discussion, visual models and real world problem solving rather than wrote procedures. Most importantly, the program builds a bridge between the conceptual understanding of mathematics to the abstract thinking, ensuring that students know the why behind the math and not just the how to get an answer. So, that's been the biggest focus for this school year. In addition, our math um committee continues to meet monthly. Um we hadn't met last year monthly just to choose a program, but we thought that it would be best for us to continue that uh work together. And Our focus is reflecting on the the instructional practices of the math program and identifying any strengths, any uh areas of growth
011or any additional professional needs that we might need to address. So um in each great band, we have representatives from each school building so that they are the people who now bring that information back to us so that we can fully support our teachers in continuing the roll out of the of the math curriculum. Thank you. Moving on to uh English language arts. So, our English language arts curriculum hasn't necessarily changed except for that we're really focusing on how do we uh embed the science of reading from the the um advancing literacy um program. So, part of our commitment to the science of reading is really building that phmic awareness am uh and phonics of our students. So just so we're clear on the difference between phmic awareness and phonics. Phenemic awareness is how the
012children hear the sounds. They don't even see print. It's just this listening uh piece of what does that letter what what sound does that letter make? And then we move on to the phonics where it becomes the print seeing the letter and what that letter um uh how do we put those letters together to create words. Through that we have heard which is our nameic awareness program and then foundations which our phonics program and together those skills will then uh build a strong foundation for fluent readers. Moving on to our um focus for grades three to five, we have uh partnered with advancing literacies where we are focused on vocabulary and comprehension. This is also under the um umbrella of science of reading. In grades three to five, instruction shifts from learning to read to
013reading to learn. So a lot of us felt that that our students needed more explicit instruction in vocabulary. So therefore that would be focused on word meanings, word parts and academic language. So this helps them to understand what they're reading and that has been part of um our focus in bringing in the social studies and science back into our block schedules which um it all comes together somehow some way. Um and lastly we um We used funding last year to purchase decodable decodables. Those are books that we use in grades K to two to support that phmic awareness and that phonics instruction. So what we did was we partnered again with advancing literacies to incorporate decodables into the small group instruction in the classroom. So now the students are receiving tier 2 instruction within the
014classroom before even having to leave if need be for AIS instruction. So, it's all coming together. All the stars are aligning and we're getting there. And with that, I send it over to Miss Bulka. >> Good evening, Seer Community Board of Education and Central Office. Proud principal of the Harbor School, Jennifer Basila. So, as Miss Crutus has shared um regarding math and ELA, we also approach our social studies curriculum with a dynamic approach. So we are continuing on K through two with our PNW Bosey's curriculum and three through five with our Nassau Boseis curriculum as well. So it's really important at the elementary level to teach social studies from an interactive lens so that the students can see the concepts in practice. For example, a large focus is on the importance of community helpers and
015how they are an integral part of our world. So as Mr. kind so kindly shouted out. Um, we were so lucky to have the Nassau County police officers visit our school for the Beyond the Badge presentation. The students were able to interact with the police officers, see the police dogs, Winston in action and view the mountain horses, but more importantly is that they saw the connection to the school. And that goes for both the manor and the harbor that we see our firemen, our policemen as part of who we are as a school community. And that presentation further fortified that. In fifth grade, our Commerce Plaza trip is a tradition. All of our fifth graders attend, but it teaches them realworld workforce experience. So this year they actually added some new jobs. So there was
016a science lab assistant. So really cool approach. And the kids come back just busting at the seams to tell you about the experience. And they are dressed like all of us here. So from there they also host a trade fair. So they have to create items to sell or trade um amongst their peers um you know using certain constraints. No food items. Okay, now I have to think creatively. How am I going to make this um squishy item if I can't use flour? If I can't use rice, what else can I use to make this happen? And from there they trade off and they get to see all right, how did my product go? Where are some ways for me to make adjustments? Do I need more? Do I need le? Do I need less?
017And it's a true interactive experience that they never forget. I'm sure all the fifth grade parents over here who had fifth graders can recall what their item was that they had created. >> Oh, what service? Okay, so for our science lessons, um, they're really a moment, it goes back to the habits of mind for me to really capture awe and wonderment for our students to have those aha moments. And as Miss Prudis has referenced, we do have designated times in our elementary schedules for social studies and science. It's not something that's overlooked. It is something that is embedded in the school day and the students look forward to it. Um, so in science, it's creating those core memories for kids. So I'm sure once again we can go back and remember if we closed our
018eyes those moments when we were able to grow and nurture the butterflies and release them out. So the students are nurturing this these insects, giving them names and but going through the process and really remembering what that feels like and releasing them um into the harbor and manor communities. And in fourth grade more interestingly more interestingly as well um they're looking at science in a very unique way. So part of the fourth grade science curriculum is learning about natural disasters. Okay, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis. But the teachers are looking at teaching the students from more an engineering lens. Let's talk about the natural disasters, but let's talk about creating structures that could withstand some of these natural disasters or how we can come back from that. So really looking at science in a unique way, but
019having these students think outside the box of how we could approach these natural disasters, but just getting them to think forward for maybe a career in engineering once they hit the secondary level. And with that, I am proud to introduce Miss Tara Savage, assistant principal of the Arbor School. >> Thank you, Miss Basil. Welcome everybody. Uh, as Miss Basila said, my name is Tara Savage and I am the proud assistant principal at the Secret Harbor School. And tonight, I'm going to start off by discussing some of the amazing steam and coding opportunities that are provided for our elementary children. So both the matter and the harbor schools are fortunate to offer bi-weekly coding lessons that give students opportunities to explore computer programming and debugging skills. Students use programs such as code.org and Scratch Jr. based
020on their grade level and are also being introduced to kiddo which is an engaging new platform that promotes student choice, responsible risktaking and self-paced project creations. And in addition to that, both elementary schools offer very popular steam clubs. For anybody who's tried to get into the steam club, there's usually a waiting list for grades K through five. And these after school programs allow students to participate in hands-on experiments and build creative projects while also developing problem solving and communication skills collaboratively. Okay. Next, I'm going to talk about students and teachers at the elementary level are effectively utilizing technology both in and out of the classroom. So, um, in both elementary schools, students in grades K through two have access to iPads in their classrooms, while students in grades three through five use laptop computers. So,
021these devices support instruction by enhancing student learning and providing easy access to a wide range of academic resources. And we're very excited to share that we are in the process of planning for our fifth graders to begin taking home their devices each day. So, starting hopefully next month, we'll be holding meetings uh with both students and parents to go over expectations, responsible use, and how to care for the devices. So, these conversations will hopefully set everybody up for success as they use their devices um in both locations. And this slide highlights just a few of the many digital tools and resources that are used regularly by students and teachers at the elementary level. So, next I have the opportunity to discuss all of the wonderful things our elementary students are learning in their special area
022classes. So, in their art classes, students engage in hands-on process-based instruction that allows them to work at their own pace while exploring a variety of artistic mediums. And we have two special things, one going on at the harbor and one going on at the manor. At the harbor school, um this year the art students are creating pieces through the art to hearts partnership. And this is a special initiative where students are drawing art pieces to help brighten the halls of pediatric hospital wings. So that was something we were really excited about. And also happening at the Manor, the students are participating um connecting with peers in neighboring districts using an art pal program. So it's similar to a uh pen pal but um in the visual arts. Um so that's really exciting. And the artwork
023our students come home with is truly impressive and highlights the incredible talents across Seabird. In our physical education classes, students participate in a wide range of engaging fitness activities that promote movement, coordination, and overall physical well-being. There's structured games and skill-based exercises. They develop strength, endurance, flexibility, and while learning teamwork, and good sportsmanship. And as as we've discovered, that goes on and carries on through the middle and high school. And one thing that we're really really excited about about our music program, except for I skipped the first part of it, um they engage in singing and movement and begin to learn about performance techniques all while using a variety of instruments. And we're still really excited about this. Talking about NISMA, this year a total of 20 students from both of our schools participated in
024NISMA. They showcased their musical skills at a high level. And out of those 20 students, nine students were selected to participate in the prestigious All County Music Festival. So this is a wonderful testament of the talent and dedication of our young musicians right here in Seafford. And now I will pass it over to my colleague, Mr. Schwarz from the Seafford Manor School. >> Thank you, Mrs. Savage. I am also very, very proud. I know I have to make sure I say very, very proud. Mrs. say she's also very proud. Everyone's very proud. Um, so Lyft, Lyft truly is our innovation hub here at the elementary level. Um, it's a space designed to let our curiosity flourish where students are encouraged to ask questions, explore, create, and problem solve. Students engage in research, project based learning,
025wellness, technology, and integration all in one place. The Lyft program is led by Mr. Maracondo, Mrs. Rosenberg, and Mrs. Cougler. with their backgrounds and expert expertise. They bring the perfect blend of um all their talents pairing strong library and research skills with innovation, fitness, and technology. Uh that balance is what makes Lyft such a unique place and impactful learning for our experience and experience for all of our students. New to Lift this year, we've added 3D pens and 3D printers, giving students hands-on opportunities to design, prototype, and bring their ideas to life. Uh we want to thank the board of ed for all those new endeavors. The kids love it. Um one of my favorite stopping at the lift. It's like a guaranteed smile. It's awesome. Stopping into lift. Um the work done in Lyft
026connects to our mission of preparing students to be active members of a democratic society. Lift encourages students to dig to think differently today so they can collaborate, problem solve, and contribute meaningfully tomorrow. So Lift's awesome. Love um student support services. Every child is supported academically, socially and emotionally and physically. Um this slide really represents the village that is truly behind every student here on the elementary level. Um our student support services ensure that we are meeting the needs of the whole child. Um that includes the physical physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists who support um student development, ENL teachers who support our multilingual learners, social workers, psychologists, behavior consultants, and our access counselor who support students social emotional well-being and of course our nurses who help keep students safe and healthy. These professionals collaborate
027closely with classroom teachers and families. The goal is simple, to remove all barriers to learning so every student can access instruction and feel supported equally. This work often quietly, but it has a huge impact on all of our students. So, thank you to all of our student support services. It's very important. See for scholars brought some props. Someone has a prop. We're doing so much to further the Secret Scholar initiative and it's truly palpable throughout the building. New this year are our key chains. This year we introduced Secret Scholar keychains um that replace the bracelets that were here last year. Every student received a white keychain to signify that we're all secret scholars. And then each teacher received three keychains per trait. And they're able to hand out those keychains each month. They have to
028hand out at least two, but each whatever the trade of the month is, they're going to give out those traits to students that display um that that trait in their classroom. Uh we also have the secret scholar stars here. They're gold. Um Miss Urban has it now. So everybody can anybody that wants to nominate a student for displaying a tree can just walk into the main office, grab one of those sequence scholar stars and nominate them. And at the end of the month, you read them over the announcements. They come down, grab a pencil. It's kind of like a coffee and good system. It's it's awesome. I love reading them. Um kids can nominate each other. We had fifth graders that nominated kindergarteners. We had first graders that nominated fourth graders. So it's a awesome
029system that we have. And then also new to this year are the Seafford Scholar bumper sticker magnets that were given out by special area teachers. Um we gave each special area teacher a bag and they were able to hand it out as they see fit throughout the year. Um the seafood scholar recognition is truly multifaceted as you can tell. Students can be recognized by anyone at any time. Um in addition to the intentional seafood scholar lessons that take place regularly in every classroom. Those lessons teach what the traits look like, sound like, and feel like in real situations. So recognition is not just rooted in instruction. Um not just rooted in in recognition is rooted in instruction, not just celebration, not just in what we give out. We actually teach the lessons which make it
030all come together. >> Extracurricular voyages. So we're proud to offer a variety of extracurricular voyages that are rooted in student interest and further enhance the experience of our great schools. So, at the harbor, we really wanted to highlight our safety patrol. So, those are our identified fifth grade student leaders who truly support all aspects of the building, but most importantly, our kindergarten students who are everyone's all-time favorite um in the building. They're just the cutest. So, they help them to safely navigate to the bus, safely navigate off the bus, and they're just an extra set of eyes and support for our students um as they, you know, enter this new world that's that's kind of scary for a 5-year-old. So, they truly are there to support them in all ways, but also to help us
031with safety uh in the hallway with traffic. Um they are the first to identify a water spill and to make sure that's promptly cleaned up so there is no one getting hurt uh during dismissal. And then we are truly proud to highlight our leaders of tomorrow club. It is currently in the third year and it has really grown um such great traction at the harbor school. So, um, as we know in Seafford, one of our true hallmarks of a Seafford student is leadership and service. And I know our secondary colleagues will highlight in their grade schools, um, some of that tonight. But leaders of tomorrow is the true feeder program for the middle school TLC and the high school BLT. So, it creates that trajectory of leadership um, in the district, which we are proud
032to be a part of. And at the manor, the student council showcases their leadership ski skills through their service to the community through special drives like their Thanksgiving drives, um, holiday gifts, and more. And we cannot forget about the Manor Morning News, which has quickly become one of our favorite channels to watch. Um, it's an innovative way for students to collaborate to report the wonderful happenings at the Manor School and to showcase the skills and talented of and talents of their students. they're truly invested and it really shows um in researching their topics and interviewing um some of the community members. So, we're looking forward to see who they interview next. I am up maybe, but we will see. I am happy to participate and stay tuned for maybe a future episode of the Harbor
033News. >> I'm sorry. There you go, Rich. You can go back to PTA. Thank you. And our PTA partnership. So, I want to shout out one of our PTA members in the audience. Thank you for always supporting us. Our partnership with our Our parent community means the world to us and our dedicated parents make it a point of pride to be at everything in our school and to make sure that they are always enhancing the student experience alongside with us. So most recently we hosted our winter wonderland and snow snowflake villages. As I shared last year the hot item was the crumb vacuum but this year puppy on a stick rain supreme as it typically does. Um and the kids walked out with big smiles with their their little puppies. Um, now we are gearing
034up for PARP, which is pick a reading partner, and we're collaborating on our themes and presenters, and we're looking forward to this literacy journey with our schools and our community. And the next slide just highlights some of what we were able to highlight tonight here. Um, there's a nice photo there from Beyond the Badge with our mounted horses there, some pictures from homecoming, um, as well as the toy drive that benefit, um, Mr. Thson's toy drive as well. And I am proud to introduce it again. Okay, I'm back. So, just to bring everything together, what the district pri priority of supporting the whole child would we want to make sure that everything that we're doing, we want to continue moving forward and like the slide says, sailing ahead. Um, one of the things that again
035we're looking at moving forward is our professional development of our teachers in so many different whether it's the mathematics professional development, the ICT professional development um at ELA collaboration and coaching. We are really focusing on our teachers and their expertise and supporting one another. We have a plethora of fantastic teachers here. We have to focus on strengths like we do with our students. So, we're doing we're practicing what we preach with each other. Um we're also looking at a lot of researchbased instructional practices as well through that professional development. Uh a maj a major priority is to continue strengthening that inclusive practices and ensuring all students feel valued and supported. We are we are continuing to implement our MTSS platform to monitor tier 2 and tier three interventions um and using that data to drive
036instruction in a timely fashion. Uh the biggest shift this year has been at tier 2 interventions happening in the classroom and that has been making a significant difference in the number of children who are being referred as well as the number of children going to AIS. So, uh we're seeing the fruits of this labor really happening as we speak. Um and always beyond academics because we're always looking to support the whole child is we are going to continue to prioritize student voice and leadership and strong parent partnerships because student success is greatest when schools and families work together. And lastly, and this is really the last slide, um we just want to stay connected as much as we can. I know the district has a lot of different um avenues for us to put out
037our information, but at least for the in the harbor. We have our monthly newsletters. We also have our Instagram handles and you know the website. Uh we typically try to put everything up there as well. So feel free, you know, where we basically live and um our doors are always open and our phone is always willing to be answered for you. So um feel free to give us a call. Good, bad or ugly, it's okay. We take it. Um but thank you very much for your um for the time and um I think middle school is up next I believe. Thank you elementary leadership team. And next we have the middle school presentation by Dr. Mr. Good evening everyone. >> I'm Robin. I am the proud principal Middle school with me is the very present
038middle school and we're here to present the army tonight. So um to begin I'd like to thank the board and our central office for everything you guys do for us. I'd like to thank all our teachers. Um I'd like to thank our families too. U middle school takes not a village but like a city block a large city block. It takes a lot right to really get us through these years. Um but also like get the type of kids that we have at the end right. We have incredible thank you incredible students at CERT and um it's because of all of us um all the stakeholders all the partners in this. So thank you to our amazing community. Also a big congrats to Matt kind um having met Matt when he was like two feet
039smaller um as a grader um but seeing him thrive to who he is today is incredible. So congratulations. >> Okay. So, um, we're going to touch upon a number of things today, but at the heart of everything is truly, um, our Seer Scholars initiative. So, something we're going to focus on, um, in particular today, and it'll be kind of like the running theme throughout this presentation. Um, so for scholars is the guiding force to our mission and vision for the future of the middle school. In addition to our uh, scholar trace, we also have the feedback received from our schools to launch uh, redesignation process. Presently, we're working on redesation and also the initial application for the Amly Schools of Distinction accolade. At the heart of both programs is the idea of continued growth, self-reflection,
040and goal setting. In conjunction with our board of education annual goals, we have a robust feedback system available for us to guide our work and plan for the future. With so much feedback, data, and ideas at our disposal, it's incredibly meaningful to have the secret scholar trace act as the glue that connects it all. A large push for the past two years has been making the secret scholar trace visible, meaningful, and understood by our students. One way that we've achieved this is to align our recognition programs at the middle school to our scholar trades. We've collaborated with our schol our shared decision-making committee honesty alignment, refocus uh focusing last year on developing our secret scholar of the month award and our end of the year eighth grade awards. This year, a committee will align our
041quarterly awards to the scholar traits. And one of the fun things about this is that we've opened these award nominations to community members. So um similar to what we just heard with Harvard and um Banner, we have students um nominating each other for um for various awards throughout the year. And we have families also. So one quick little anecdote is that last year um towards the end of the year, a sixth grade um the father of a sixth grade girl who works in the fire department had his entire firehouse nominate his daughter for the principal award. and we got 26 different um nominations all everyone talking about how this one little girl was principled and obviously beyond being blown away by that and like really learning a lot about this girl um what our takeway
042is that the community is using C for scholar language you know like it's really embedding our core values in the community um so it's nice to just see that we're all just kind of jelling into the rhythm of like what we value the most with our students and she won award Um, >> we've also worked to make our scholar trades visible throughout the building. When students walk into the middle school, they are immediately welcomed by super scholar imagery. Beyond familiarizing our community with a shared language, we're also building a culture within the building grounded in high expectations and student potential. And the branding consistently reminds them of these core values. So the next time you're in the middle school, check out our stairwells. Um, this is our phase one. We have a robust phase 2,
043phase three, probably phase four. So, our scholar traits live in our classrooms, too, and ground our teachers and staff in the work of raising amazing students who are also good people. Every Monday morning, students take part in a Monday morning check-in where they participate in community building activities. On the third Monday of each month, students participate in a special secret scholar journaling activity that asks them to reflect on different traits and reflect on where these traits reside in their lives. Scholar traits can be found in our instructional practices, too. Teachers implement lessons with planned components related to scholar traits. For example, completing a project where students reflect on which trait a character in a book best reflects. And often we will see teachers make off-the-cuff references to the traits when they see a spontaneous moment
044to make a connection with their students lives. Our receiver scholar traits live in our advisory program where traits are explicitly taught to students and live in our teaming activities where they're explicitly applied to novel tasks. Our teaming events provide us with opportunities to task students with living and embodying secret scholar traits. Each activity task groups of students within teams to work alongside their teammates to complete a challenging activity. Each activity begins with classwide reflection on which secret scholar trait aided them during the last teaming event. The students then complete the activity and have the opportunity at the conclusion to once again discuss what traits were most important to the success of the group. Hand handon events give students the practical experience of discussing the traits and then observing the useful meaning uh the usefulness immediately
045afterwards. In addition to being fun, they are meaningful. With three events behind us, we look forward to three more during the second half of the year and smaller events introduced as well. Um we are done with like the icing ones. So when your kids come home, they will be clean. So you know, we do appreciate you for the laundry services and um for kind of putting up with all that. Um so the collaboration that students experience during teaming events is mirrored by the collaboration of teachers during the teaming period. Teachers use the valuable time each day to discuss curriculum, plan assessments, and update their assessment calendars. They also work to plan interdisciplinary educational opportunities and collaborate with school leadership. In particular, what Mr. Cle and I most value is the opportunity to work on instructional
046practices with their teachers during this time. For the past two years, our aim has been focused on lean uh learning strategies for classroom engagement, cooperative learning, and enrichment. Our work with the teams revolves around modeling best practices, lesson planning, providing feedback, and arrangement for interpretations. Our teaming work has also provided a venue for a multi-ter system of support team to push in and share important information directly with teachers regarding their students. This has created an avenue for greater collaboration for supporting our students. I will now pass the mic to my amazing assistant principal Mr. Joseph Lee. Thanks, sir. >> Thank you, Dr. Mory. Good evening, board of education. This year, we made a very intentional shift towards instructional growth as a foundation of everything we do at the middle school. We aligned three major structures
047data wise, the instructional cabinet, and the student success committee around one shared goal of increasing student engagement and promoting critical thinking. This alignment ensures that professional uh professional learning, classroom practice, and student behavior all support the same vision. Data wise is one of the engines that drives that work. It provides a collaborative inquiry framework that helps teachers move beyond looking at scores and into how students think and how instructional needs need to change. Through this process, we are building teacher capacity to use data not just to identify needs, but to design lessons that require students to think critically and apply their learning. It also helps us foster a culture of collaborative improvement, continuous improvement, where teams reflect, adjust, and strengthen their teaching practices. And we're already seeing the results of this work in action. Last
048year, our ELA and math teams used data wise to identify instructional focus areas based on student achievement data. After closely analyzing student work and benchmark data, teachers identified common misconceptions in each of these areas and created targeted action plans to address them. As a result, as you can see, across multiple grade levels and subjects, our students demonstrated growth that exceeds regional trends on our assessments that we've given. This tells us that our focus on engaged student centered instruction is producing schoolwide gains that are both measurable and sustainable. So hand in hand is our instructional cabinet. To support our support our instructional focus, we built a strong instructional cabinet model. This creates a shared instructional leadership where teacher leaders and administrators work together to guide practice. The impact of this work on teachers is clear. Last
049year nearly 90% of teachers reported that the instructional focus and the work that we're doing in team meetings has supported their professional growth in their teaching practices. More importantly, that growth translated directly into classrooms where about 85% of teachers reported that they are using the strategies that are taught either daily or weekly within their classrooms, showing that our approach is giving teachers practical strategies they can apply in their classrooms. The instructional cabinet le professional learning alliance for our structural focus specifically increases student discourse, collaboration, visible thinking. It also fosters collaboration and professional growth. while progress monitoring and providing support for teachers can successfully implement strategies so that our students are engaged each and every day in their content. Finally, our student success committee. We align our student success committee to the same instructional vision. The
050committee is made up of teachers, clerical staff, school aids, guidance counselors, our school social worker, our school nurse, and five students just to make sure that we had all perspectives covered when we were taking a look at some of these issues. about 28 members. Together, this team developed policies and procedures that directly address areas of concern with rock building rather than looking at isolated incidents. As a result of this work, we've already seen a decrease in major disciplinary incidents this year. That collaborative datadriven approach is improving student behavior and supporting a stronger learning environment. Just a couple of few quick stats. Since implementing our new revised latess policy, classroom latess has dis decreased by 48%. The introduction of our new discipline ladder and classroom behavior policy has reduced students sent to the office by 92%.
051These systems have also lowered higher level disciplinary actions with suspensions down 30%. This committee has led to clearer systems, engaged classrooms, and more learning. I would like to now turn over the mic back to Dr. So students undergo tremendous changes over the course of their three years in the middle school. Sixth graders who walk in as tiny 10 year olds will walk out looking like division one athletes. Often with the constant change they experience and the increased academic rigors comes the need for a strong team to support their social emotional well-being. At the middle school we are lucky to have two amazing guidance counselors, Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Scaliferry, a compassionate social worker and Mr. Colorado and the tireless psychologist of Miss Harington. Our PPS team provides students with countless opportunities for self-reflection, guidance, advice,
052and kindness. They are critical for supporting our students through middle school life. In addition to being members of various student support committees, they help facilitate meaningful and important programs like our therapy dog visits, counseling groups, and advisory lessons. So the future of the middle school is full of potential and we're excited to see several programs that are developing presently unfold to pay dividends in the future. This year our science teachers have collaborated with Dr. Koella and Emily Kang to familiarize themselves with the New York State NextGen Science Standards and to gain efficacy in the new living environment regions assessment with a goal towards supporting our eighth graders in continuing to achieve high marks in this assessment. For example, 40% mastery rate and over 96% passing rate last year. We plan on implementing our mock regions
053in May and to use the assessment data to plan and drivemies through the month in the buildup to the assessment in June. Another great opportunity our teachers have had this year is to work alongside consultants in learning and growing proficient and collaborative teaching practices. We thank Miss Paulson and Miss Hermel for partnering with us as this initiative and the time it provides to grow in co-eing pairs has been incredibly wellreceived and beneficial. Teachers have increased have increased sense of ownership over all their students and are demonstrating novel practices in classrooms. As a result, our math teachers have benefited from training and building thinking classrooms are engaging in visible learning practices in all grade levels. Besides increased student engagement, they are internalizing mathematical concepts in a meaningful and applicable way. Our sixth grade teachers are preparing
054for the roll out of illustrative math next year. And our algebra teachers are continuing to present students with the opportunity to advance in mathematics. In algebra, 100% of students enrolled in the algebra 1 program last year passed the regions exam. 60% of those students achieved mastery, which outperformed the regions by our region by 30%. This is a reflection on the amazing math instructors in the middle school and the support they receive in developing their curriculum and strong pedagogical practices. All the work invested in developing secret scholars in sixth and seventh grade prepares our students to participate in rigorous eighth grade programs that prepare them for the journey into the high school. Our eighth graders have the opportunity to earn high school credit through algebra 1 participation living environment and eighth grade world language. We continue
055to see in to see increased enrollment in algebra 1 up to 48% of the current eighth grade is in fact enrolled and this demonstrates the high level of preparation our students receive that helps them not only accept the challenge of the accelerated course but also thrive in it. As students also prepare for their high school years by taking part in the seal of civic readiness project in seventh grade and by exploring various subjects of interest through our robust offering of exploratory programs. in particular is the microbes on mass that teaches students practical science applications and computer magic that enriches the CDO curriculum for our sixth graders. As you look as we look towards 2627, we're excited to develop extracurricular programs that speak to the interest of our students and instruct them in 21st century skills.
056We are proposing an expansion of the robotics club advisor position next year to support two coaches necessary to attend first robotics competitions and get the creation of a hackathon club at the middle school. So again, thank you for everything. Um, we are very fortunate to work in this district which is very special. And um, go >> thank you so much and Mr. Pini. And last but certainly not least, our high school team led by Miss Naval, Miss Judson, and Mr. M. Welcome. >> Good evening. My name is Nicole Schneable and yes, I'm also very proud to serve as principal here in the se schools at Sebert High School alongside our dedicated assistant principles, Miss Melanie Judson and Mr. Alex Mante. Together, of course, we would also like to thank the board of education, our central
057office leadership, the SER community for the trust and opportunity to serve our students each and every day, and of course the team that we work with. We're very proud to do so as Mr. Every two years, our high school adopts a unifying theme. And this year, we're proud to say that Secret High School is allin. This theme reflects the message of one of our honorary Vikings, Mr. John Paul Gonzalez, who reminded our Secret scholars that it is the little things that matter. Every positive choice, every act of kindness, and every effort to grow academically, socially, and personally reflects being allin on becoming our best selves. We firmly believe that if we ask our students to write into a philosophy, we must live it and breathe it ourselves. So this year, upon reflection of uh the
058November curriculum presentation that Dr. We thought that it would be beneficial to organize our presentation around all of the Seafford scholar traits because we know you've seen a lot of the high school data already. We begin with the trait of being a risktaker, a quality that has long defined SER high school students. A historic point of pride for our school is that compared to many of our surrounding districts, more of our students choose to engage in challenging opportunities than any other school. And They have those opportunities thanks to everyone's support. Se students have access to a growing broadcasting program, journalism program, both with dual enrollment opportunities through Long Island University, AP research and open AP research and science research programming, an EMT certification, the electrical training center, the seal of civic readiness, the seal of
059literacy. Add to that 22 AP courses and 12 college level courses and it is clear that our students are all in. This year the college board uh recognized 193 award-winning students which is up from 147 last year and we have maintained our status on the college board's AP honor world with a gold designation. Resiliency. Our students are able to take these risks because they stand on a strong foundation of resiliency, one we intentionally build together. Each August, we welcome our incoming families to a workshop titled Raising the Resilient Seaffort Scholar, where we ask our community to partner with us and trust us as their children engage in a productive struggle. We work side by side to reinforce an important truth that not every day is easy and growth often comes from challenge. By embedding the
060philosophies of the growth mindset, the dispositions of the habits of mind, and the ruler approach to emotional intelligence, we are developing students who can persevere, reflect, and adapt. Our goal is clear to nurture strong resiliency for scholars who feel confident taking the important steps from Washington Avenue over to Snro prepared for whatever comes next. Thank you. Mindfulness and student connection. We have created a new tradition at Sever High School, one that has led to a more mindful and connected student experience. From day one of each school year, we set the tone through mindful breakout sessions, counselor connection opportunities, situational awareness assemblies, and intentional relationship building. One cornerstone practice now in its fifth year is our welcome back wellness survey. This survey allows us to gather critical information about every student. Who their trusted adult is,
061who their peer support is, how they feel about school, how they are navigating friendships. That insight allows us to proactively support students and build confidence throughout the year. And we are proud that every single student completes this checkin. Beyond these supports, we invest an unprecedented amount of time developing student leaders. One of them is right here with us tonight. Because strong student leaders create strong student bodies. Our adviserss model what it means to lead with purpose and our students rise to the occasion. Changing the community with every step that they take. Innovators. Mindfulness at Se High School goes hand in hand with innovation. As we continually evolve to meet the needs of our community and the real world, our students thrive when they are given opportunities to create tangible products. Our technology program, a remarkably
062robust program for a school our size, provides that platform. Guided by dedicated teachers, students are designing, building, and producing work that is truly impressive. Our new broadcasting and journalism program uh programs further expand these opportunities, allowing students to create and share meaningful products with an authentic audience. We also continue to see tremendous growth in our vocational pathways with both our EMT and electrical training center program nearly doubling in size since their inception. Innovative platforms such as magma math, inner orbit, and school links support creativity across disciplines and our facilities team uh plays a vital role in continuously transforming our physical space, keeping students engaged, connected, and proudly on campus. Reflective. If we are not reflecting, we cannot continue to grow. And at Sever High School, we are proud to ensure that every stakeholder has a
063voice in that process. One powerful example is our highly active shared decision-making team where students, faculty, and community members collaborate to enhance meaningful corners of school life. Together, they've strengthened our student recognition practices, developed creative ways to encourage students to remain on campus during senior privilege periods, and I'm sorry, expanded community connections, and improved supports for executive functioning skills. In addition, we recently launched a student success task force, bringing faculty, staff, and students together to engage in thoughtful conversations about what it means to develop a strong, responsible, amateur adolescence in an increasingly digital and rapidly changing world. These reflective practices ensure that our growth is intentional, collaborative, and always centered on what's best for our students. Humorous. Sebr High School is nothing if not spirited, and we embrace a sense of humor and joy as
064a part of who we are. With more than 60 clubs and over 30 athletic teams, our students are connected, engaged, and smiling as they find their place within our school community. These opportunities foster belonging, teamwork, and pride both inside and outside the classroom. This year we made meaningful enhancements to two cornerstone programs, National Honor Society and Pathways to Service. Students may now serve in NHS for two years with elevated expectations, deepening both leadership and service commitments. Our Pathways to Service program was streamlined to create clearer recordkeeping and encourage greater community involvement. Together, these improvements reinforce the importance of giving back while helping our students to grow as responsible and engaged citizens. I want to pass the mic over to Mson. >> I thought I should have had humors because I think I'm the funny one,
065but I'll allow Alex have that. Right, Matt? >> Yeah, >> I'm the funny one. >> Yes. >> Good answer. >> At Sever High School, we don't just encourage students to be principles and act principled and act with integrity. We model it through the systems and procedures that support those values. We are incredibly grateful for the partnerships with our behavioral specialist and the ongoing support of the attendance office. Thank you. A special acknowledgement goes to Mr. Tripoli whose leadership has significantly improved the functionality of our attendance systems, supporting increased student engagement and ensuring every student has the opportunity to succeed. Together, we've also seen the impact of our cell phone regulations, creating a learning environment that is focused, distraction-f free, and conducive to student growth. By aligning our structures with our values, we make it possible
066for our students to embody integrity every day. By modeling the concept of networking for our students, we set them up for the next step on their Viking voyage. From college boot camp sessions for students and families to the implementation of school links and an increase in council recruitment trips, we place a strong emphasis on preparing our students for the future. We also provide hands-on experiences like Viking vision day which is coming up in a couple weeks which includes a curriculum fair, counseling sessions, seaffort scholar connections, opportunities within the science research community and bridges between our CDP life skills classes and local career opportunities. Our partnership with the Gary Senise Foundation continues to open incredible doors for our students and we're deeply grateful to our newly founded alumni organization and our family organizations for their time,
067support, and scholarships. By expanding our network, we expand our students potential. We've mentioned our cell phone policy a few times and for good reason. It has had a truly positive impact on our school community. By reducing daily disruption, students are able to focus more fully in class, engage in meaningful discussions, and develop stronger communication skills. These skills don't just make them better students, they help them grow as competent, thoughtful seaffort scholars ready to succeed in college careers and life beyond high school. We're grateful for the support of our staff, families, and students in embracing this polic policy, which continues to strengthen our learning environment every day. As seafood scholars can only be successful if they're constantly looking to grow, evolve, and remain flexible. With that in mind, we're excited about a few initiatives for the
068upcoming year. In response to student interest, we plan to offer a forensics 2 elective, expand dual enrollment opportunities in science with Long Island University, and continue to grow our business program with a new virtual enterprise pro program, which was actually explored firsthand today by Dr. Kennedy and Miss Heler during a field trip. And as always, we want students to know that Seaffort High School is a safe, welcoming space to grow and learn. Together with our facilities team, we're continuing to develop spaces where students can study, connect, and thrive as confident, capable Secret Scholars. This year, we're working on creating an outdoor courtyard for this very purpose, which I think I'm more excited about than anybody because it's going to be awesome and the kids want a place to sort of hang out outside. And so
069we're looking forward to that. At Seafford High School, being allin is not just a theme. It's a way of learning and growing. From taking risk to building resiliency, fostering mindfulness, innovating, reflecting, leading, and acting with integrity, networking, and embracing growth. Our students embody these traits every single day. This work of course is only possible through the dedication of our teacher, staff, adviserss, families, community partners, and everyone here today who inspire our students to push boundaries, take chances, and develop into strong, compassionate, and capable young adults. As we look ahead, we all remain committed to challenging, supporting, and celebrating every student who walks through our doors. Together, we're shaping a future where every Secret Scholar is truly allin, ready to lead, serve, and thrive. And as always, we do it with secret pride. Thank you. >>
070Thank you. Does the board have any questions for any business? Can I have a motion please for consent agenda item 512 included? Any discussion? All in favor? >> I need a motion to item 5. >> Any discussion? All in favor? I need a motion for agenda item 5C 1 and two. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I need a motion for agenda item 5D1 and two. Move it. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> And a motion for agenda item 5. >> Any discussion? All in favor? I. >> This is the resident comment section. Would anybody like to speak? >> Okay. Um correspondence. All received correspondence has been responded to. Um we're going to move on to some new business. Is
071it okay if we do these together? I presume? Okay. Motion for agenda item 8 A 1 through 7. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> I need a motion for agenda item 81 through three. >> It second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> I need a motion for agenda item 8 C1. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? Need a motion for agenda item 81 through five. It >> discussion in favor I. And I need a motion to add to the agenda at 8 the school calendar for the 267 school year. >> Any discussion? All in favor? I. And I need a motion to approve agenda item 8. >> Move it. Any discussion? All in favor? Any miscellaneous discussion items from the board? Okay. Um just thank you again to our building administrators
072for those wonderful presentations. Um it is really a great night when we can see um all that's going on in your buildings. Um there's such wonderful think tanks um that you each have at your disposal and it really does take a villager of several city blocks at times. Um you know from the administrators who are pushing out the new programs to the teachers who um you know are are teaching our students and doing a wonderful job, the PTAs, the community. Um it's really great to see and I love how each year we're just growing and offering new things to our students. Really building well-rounded kids who uh are kind and compassionate and who are smart and so wellrounded. So kudos to everybody who's involved in that. We appreciate all your efforts always. Um and with
073that, go else I too just wanted to thank the building leaders for their fabulous presentations. It takes a tremendous amount of effort, thought, and vision to be able to encapsulate all the work that goes on within a given year. and recognize the work of the entire secret tribe from the teachers, course, administrators and curriculum building leaders and then our parents, our aids, our custodians, our clerical, the entire community comes together and we're able to afford our students these wonderful experiences. So, thank you for doing such a wonderful job of portraying all the great things that we do for our students. And with that, of course, we're very boardation for the support that we have so that we can do these things for our students to support those endeavors. And I would also just add um
074that these presentations that we've seen tonight will be up on the district website under the board tab. So I would encourage families at home and maybe the PTAs can um let your membership know. You know, sometimes as parents we kind of get in the silo of our own kids and whatever building we happen to be in, but it's really nice to see what goes on in the other buildings that will eventually end up in um this is this is what you're buying into Sea Fair. This is where your tax dollars go and it's great to look forward and to see, you know, the amazing things that are that are going on. And really, as a community, we should be really proud. Small district, but mighty. And with that, >> I need a motion to move
075it. >> Any discussion? All in favor? Thanks for joining us.