Chatham Swimmers To Join Berlin/NewLebanon Team
by Bob Gallucci
At its June 9 Meeting, the New Lebanon School Board approved the merger of its swim team with the Chatham swim team by a 5-0 margin. The New Lebanon swim team has been merged with Berlin for many years, and now the team will be augmented with swimmers from Chaham, assuming the Chatham School Board and the Section 2 ruling body approve it. [private]The Board heard a series of presentations during its meeting. First up was an enthusiastic presentation by members of the high school travel club about their trip to Costa Rica. Many pictures of the group swimming, kayaking, zip lining and playing soccer with the locals were shown, and the students explained the volunteer aspect of the trip, which had them fertilizing coffee plants and painting warning markers at the sides of mountain roadways. The students said the trip broadened their awareness of other people’s culture and that “it was the best experience of their lives.”
From the Athletics Dept. Rick Arket let the Board know that even though none of the athletic teams won any sectional games, he was very pleased with all of the athletes, particularly their academic achievements.
Michael Los of the business office reported a significant cost savings from a new health care plan offered to retirees. Thirty-four of the District’s 55 retirees agreed to switch to the new plan, resulting in a 14% savings.
He also reported a change from Oneida Herkimer Madison BOCES to Questar III to handle the District’s payroll and general ledger accounting functions, which should have no effect on cost or services provided.
Patty Gallup from transportation reported receiving an outstanding audit from the NYS DOT. Also, congratulations are in order to Harold Curtis who was given an award by the AAA of the Hudson Valley for his 30 years service as an outstanding bus driver for the District.
David Hawkins and Maureen Squier gave an outstanding presentation on the programs and improvement to the library services. A 7th and 8th grade book club started this year, which has been very successful, and various computer programs which allow kids to do basic computer programming were enthusuatically embraced by both students and librarians. The presentation also showed the course of the beautiful remodel of the High School library which took place this year.
Hillary Watts then gave an overview of the pre k program that is completing its first year at the Elementary School. The program provides the children with reading, math, communication and social skills, readying them for the next phase of learning. There are openings for next year, so if you are interested, please call.
Meghan Evans of the counseling staff described the way that she reaches out to students over the course of their high school years to steer them towards a more successful post-high school career, emphasizing that developing a relationship[ over several years is the key to being an effective counselor. She also reported on a survey done this spring of 2015 graduates of the New Lebanon High School. 69% of the graduates went on to higher education, 12% went into the military, and 19% went to the work force.
Both Rick Arket of the MS/HS and Andrew Kourt of the Elementary School reported decreases in disciplinary actions over last year. And continuing in the good news vein, Elementary School principal Andrew Kourt informed the Board of the successful field trips to the Liberty Science Museum in New Jersey and the many trips to historical places in and around the capital area.
Time for public comment was offered twice during the meeting, but there was no public comment from the small audience present.
The Board went into executive session before adjourning for the night.
There is a shortage of host families to house international students who would like to attend New Lebanon schools. It presents an opportunity to bring another culture into your household. Please call the high school if you are interested.
Graduation is Saturday June 25.[/private]