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Minutes 09-25-14 MINUTES OF THE EDUCATION AND YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, 100 E. BOYNTON EACH BLVD. BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON SEPTEMBER 5, 2014, AT 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Mary Morera, Vice Chair Sherri Claude, Board Liaison Carla Colebrooks Carol Lundquist Hattie Miller Loretta Wilkinson, Alternate Kellsie Kershaw, Student, Regular Voting Member Kathleen Wilkinson, Student, Regular Voting Member ABSENT: Steve Waldman, Chair Dr. Tiffany North Valencia Spells Anderson 1. Call to Order Vice Chair Morera called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. II. Pledge of Allegiance/ Moment of Silent Reflection The members recited the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a moment of silent reflection. Self-introductions were made. Ill. Approval of Minutes of August 28, 2014 Motion Loretta Wilkinson moved to approve the minutes. Ms. Colebrooks seconded the motion that unanimously passed. I. Approval of Agenda Sherri Claude, Board Liaison, announced the City was accepting nominations for Grand Marshall for this year's Holiday Parade. Nominations would be accepted through October 24, 2014, and forms were available for those wanting to make a nomination. Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 25, 2014 V. Public Audience Jeanne Heavilin, Sister Cities, announced the theme for the Young Artist and Young Authors Showcase this year was Connecting Communities for Peace and Prosperity and the exhibits will be at the Boynton Beach Mall in March. She noted Chair Waldman had suggested a member may want to serve on the Sister Cities Committee. Ms. Heavilin explained they needed help getting mailings out to the schools and making phone calls. When they meet, it is informal with no set time. After brief discussion, Ms. Kershaw and Ms. Lundquist volunteered to help. Ms. Heavilin also advised the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County has a new program called Building Better Readers. County -wide, 16 schools agreed to participate and the School District of Palm Beach County selected three schools in Boynton Beach. She noted there are volunteer tutors at Rolling Green, Forest Park and Galaxy Elementary School. Each volunteer would work with three first and second -grade students for 25 weeks, twice a week for 30 minutes per session. It is a one -on -one tutorial to supplement classroom learning with Level B through D or E readers. Ms. Colebrooks inquired how the school participates in the program if they were a Title 1 school, and Ms. Heavilin explained they narrowed down the invitation list to the Title 1 schools that have extended hours. Ms. Heavilin handed out bookmarks and information regarding Read for the Record, which is on October 21. 2014, and the book is Bunny Cakes. She acknowledged the friendly competition between the City and other municipalities in Palm Beach County. A big basket of books is awarded to the winner. There will be two awards this year: One for a large City over 20,000 people, and small cities, less than 20,000 people. Boynton Beach won the last two years. VII. New Business A. Donation Request from Boynton Beach High School Visual Arts Academy This item was addressed later in the meeting. B. Donation Requests from Freedom Shores Elementary School (3) Loretta Wilkinson disclosed her children go to Freedom Shores Elementary School which was requesting funds for the SECME Club and for which she is a volunteer. She noted the funds would not benefit her or her daughter Kathleen, who is on the Board. • School Garden Julie Beesley, Teacher at Freedom Shores Elementary School, explained the School was trying to go green and will have a vegetable garden surrounded by a flower and herb garden. Each grade level will have a part in the project. Additionally, a 2 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 25, 2014 butterfly garden is overgrown and it needs to be improved it to attract butterflies. Flower beds need to be reconditioned and mulched and one flower bed should be raised three feet to provide wheelchair accessibility. Paths will be created so students with ADHD can care for the garden. A total of 906 students will participate in the garden project, including the Environmental Club and the aftercare SAC students. They had planned to start October 1 Ms. Beesley spoke to a Master Gardner who indicated sheet composting and placing soil and mulch over that will help the garden thrive. Ms. Beesley wrote a $1,000 grant for the garden which, if successful, would be awarded November 1St. They had planned to plant seeds in November, but the cost of the garden was $2,000. • SECME Ms. Beesley thanked the Board for their prior support of the SECME Club. She noted it was an expensive Club as they have to purchase materials. The Club services 15 students at a time. They enter the district Olympiad and another competition, and the students learn a great deal. Ms. Beesley takes a hands -on learning approach and they apply math skills to create a project. Two students were present and one brought in a gravity ride. The students develop a theme and create something from nothing. She pointed out one of her students won third place. When asked if she had to prioritize her requests, Ms. Beesley responded the SECME Club would be her first priority as it costs about $2,000 to run. • STEM Ms Beesley is also involved in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. The idea with STEM was to bring SECME into the classroom. She had asked for donations for materials from parents, and she purchases the remaining items from her own funds. The STEM program is hands -on learning in the classroom. Her vision, if STEM was funded, was to purchase table -top pool tables to teach force in motion, angles and geometry, and why the billiards travel a certain way. Students will have fun and learn at the same time. The STEM program would require all the students to see Ms. Beesley on a rotating schedule. Ms. Colebrooks praised Ms. Beesley and commented she was doing a great job. The programs require real applications and students have to understand the concepts to apply the concepts. • Visiting Artist for STEAM Project Ms. Beesley presented the request on behalf of Tracy Haynes regarding the Visiting Artist for STEAM Project. Last year, Ms. Haynes obtained a grant, which is no longer available, and they did all their lessons surrounded by a six or seven feet tall paper mache manatee they created. The students studied the manatee, charted their path, 3 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 25, 2014 determined angular directions, adopted two manatees, researched manatees and every part of the curriculum aligned to the program. The students were focused and involved. 0 Reading Oasis Loretta Wilkinson disclosed she is a member of the Kiwanis Club and she was familiar with the Reading Oasis program. The funds would not directly affect her, and she would vote. Ms. Richar, Kiwanis Club Representative, explained the mission of the Kiwanis Club was is to serve the children of the world and this request would benefit the youth of Boynton Beach. Ms. Richar explained the Club partnered with Scholastic Books to hold a Reading Oasis at Rolling Green Elementary School. Kiwanis donated $5,000 and Scholastic Books donated $5,000. The Kiwanis Club was looking for additional donations. Ms. Sanchez, principal at Rolling Green, donated the room and Scholastic Books would provide furniture for it and 1,200 books. Ms. Sanchez planned to open the room during the day as a type of reward and downtime for independent reading for the students. Additionally, the reading Oasis will be open to parents. Since the books will not be checked out, Ms. Richar anticipated some books would disappear, which was part of the reason for the additional donations. There will be a reading station with a headset. The Oasis would be the only one in Boynton Beach and the first one in Palm Beach County. The opening of the Reading Oasis will be Friday November 21 at 5 p.m. to coincide with the School's book fair. Several School Board members would be present and Ms. Richar hoped the City Commission, local legislators, police and fire departments would attend. It would be a community effort and she anticipated the press would be very involved. The prefabricated furniture would be assembled on November 1 St with a backup date of November 8 Painting would occur October 4 th or the 11 The paint was donated by the Lantana Chamber of Commerce, and a Chamber member volunteered to paint. After brief discussion there was agreement the volunteer opportunity should be forwarded to the Youth Volunteer Bank. Ms. Wilkinson pointed out there was the stamping and stickering of books, organization and shelving of them, and there was much to be done. The Greater Boynton Beach Foundation, Boynton Beach Police and Fire Department Benevolent Associations, and the Lantana Chamber of Commerce were involved and this was a great opportunity for positive publicity for the City and Board. The members noted there were six requests for funds and the Board had not finalized their donation for the Adopt-A-Classroom. Ms. Colebrooks explained only elementary school teachers were registered on the Adopt-A-Classroom website. 4 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Be ach, Florida September 25, 2014 Additionally, funds would come from the Harvey Oyer Jr. Community Contributions and the requested amounts exceeded the balance in the fund. The Board discussed the merits of each proposal. Further discussion was held and it was agreed, after the next fund - raiser was held, additional donations could be made. Motion Loretta Wilkinson moved to funnel $100 for the Adapt -A- Classroom to the Visual Arts of Boynton Beach High School. Ms. Colebrooks seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Motion Ms. Colebrooks moved to donate $200 for the Reading Oasis program. Ms. Kershaw seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Motion Ms. Lundquist moved to donate $200 for each request at Freedom Shores. Ms. Kershaw seconded the motion that unanimously passed. C. November and December Meeting Dates Vice Chair Morera explained the Board normally combined the November and December meetings due to the holidays falling on the fourth week of each month. Ms. Claude explained if the Board agreed, the November and December meeting would be held on December 4, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. Loretta Wilkinson explained she had a scheduling conflict. Motion Loretta Wilkinson so moved. Ms. Colebrooks seconded the motion that unanimously passed. VIII. Old Business A. Veterans Memorabilia Museum Vice Chair Morera read a note from Chair Waldman regarding the Veterans Memorabilia Museum. The Board supports the creation of a Veteran's Museum and Learning Center which could present educational opportunities for youth to learn about the heroic efforts of the U.S. Armed Forces. It could be housed on one floor of the Old High School if renovated. If not, any other appropriate facilitiy could be used. 5 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory or Boynton Beach, Florida September 25, 2014 Ms. Claude explained a representative from the Veteran's Speakers Bureau was trying to garner support for this type of museum. The Board was asked to support the concept officially. It was noted there was a recent news article about the representative calling his character into question. Loretta Wilkinson suggested the Board stay out of the matter until the City Commission determined the disposition of the Old High School. While the Board was requested to support a resolution in support of the effort, she was uncomfortable doing so at this time. After further brief discussion, this item would be discussed at a future meeting. B. Adopt-A-Classroom This item was discussed earlier in the meeting and a determination would be made at the next meeting. C. Reading Oasis at Rolling Green Elementary This item was discussed earlier in the meeting. Ms. Wilkinson reiterated volunteers were needed and it was a good press opportunity. D. S h red-A-Thon/Fu nd raising Loretta Wilkinson advised on October 11, 2014, the Shred-A-Thon will be held using a new shredding company, „ The Red Shredder” from Delray Beach was receptive to the event. Ms. Claude forwarded a contract to them. The event would be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the Board would pay $300 to the company to cover the gas to run the truck and pay the employees. When the contract is returned, they will advertise the event. The cost to participants to shred their documents was $5 per banker's box of paper. The event will be at Boynton Beach High School. Loretta Wilkinson would look into using a banner to publicize and direct participants to the event, and recalled funds had been approved for it. Flyers would be distributed to the schools. The event is usually in the press and would be posted on Facebook. It was clarified the entrance to the High School was on Gateway Boulevard. Ms. Beesley inquired if she could obtain some of the shredded paper to be used to create compost for the school garden and there was agreement an inquiry would be made. E. Tennis Carnival Vice Chair Morera was trying to contact the Tennis Pro and she advised general dates were needed so the Pro could approach the Board at Hunter's Run. This was a free event held every year thanks to the Hunter's Run Tennis Club. Thirty children, aged five and up enjoy free tennis lessons and games. The event was started by former Board Member Phyllis Stern who recently passed away. They needed to secure a date so it could be advertised in FunFare Magazine. The Carnival is typically held in April on 6 Meeting Minutes Education and Youth Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 25, 2014 a Saturday. Last year, it was held from 11 to 1 p.m., but it was too hot. It would be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The dates of April 18 and the 25 th were suggested. Ms. Beesley commented she tries to collect empty tennis ball containers for the STEM projects and inquired if an arrangement could be made that she could receive the empty containers and lids from Hunter's Run. She agreed to provide collection containers. Vice Chair Morera agreed to provide her contact information. F. Youth Volunteer Bank/Bob Borovy Award There was no report given. G. Sister Cities A presentation was made earlier in the meeting. H. Boynton Reads Loretta Wilkinson commented Laura Orlove, who ran the program, had left and no one filled in. IX Future Meeting Dates: October 23, 2014 Loretta Wilkinson wished those not present at the meeting who were celebrating the holiday a Happy Holiday. X. Adjournment Ms. Colebrooks moved to adjourn. The motion was duly seconded and unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m. i &�Q,/Kt Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist 100114 7