Manchester Hears Presentation On Community Mentoring
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Keri Koenig-
Every Thursday volunteers, known as community partners, have been taking the time to meet with kindergarteners and first-grade students for their lunch period. Many of these people are local business owners who participate.
First-grade teacher Kathy Domenico said in the video that her students loved the program.
“They always knew when Thursday was. They always looked forward to that time with their buddy,” she said.
Rosen explained that it was the teacher’s responsibility to match the students with each mentor. They also had to contact the volunteer if the student was absent on a Thursday, but this was very rare, she said.
Board member Tim McLaughlin was also a mentor this year to a young first-grade boy.
“At first he was very shy. I asked him a lot of questions. I eventually must have said something funny because he laughed and that broke the ice. He told me what he liked to do in and out of school. I really enjoyed it and I think my first-grader did too. Over the summer we plan to meet to get an ice cream at the Dairy Queen,” McLaughlin said.
There was a survey at the end of the year, and overall the children loved the experience. The teachers of Manchester Elementary would like to continue this program and expand it. There were 10 volunteers this year and they would like to expand to at least 20 volunteers. It would be desirable for the children to remain buddied with their mentor, the school board heard.
Renovations are happening at many of the Manchester Community Schools. The administration office and high school parking lot have been repaved. New gutters and a new sign are being installed at Manchester Elementary School. All schools are receiving a few renovations for restrooms.
The iPads have been abandoned for Chromebooks. Scott Bumgardner explained that the “teachers needed a balance between the textbook and a device.”
The schools decided they would like to distance themselves from Apple. Hopefully, there will be fewer issues with games and damages. Financially, it is more responsible to use the Chromebooks because teachers still wanted to use some physical textbooks, the board heard. Manchester Community Schools could not afford both iPads and textbooks. But, with Chromebook, the children will actually get to keep the devices because of textbook fees.
There was an iPad auction earlier this month and 650 units were sold at $145 each. This easily raised the funds to make the technology switch.
Manchester High School Principal Nancy Alspaugh attended her last school board meeting. She spent 31 years with MHS, and the last 18 years were as principal. She spent 44 years total working in education.
Though she is officially retired, she still wants to be involved. She plans to attend games and events to still remain apart of the community, she told the board.[[In-content Ad]]
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Every Thursday volunteers, known as community partners, have been taking the time to meet with kindergarteners and first-grade students for their lunch period. Many of these people are local business owners who participate.
First-grade teacher Kathy Domenico said in the video that her students loved the program.
“They always knew when Thursday was. They always looked forward to that time with their buddy,” she said.
Rosen explained that it was the teacher’s responsibility to match the students with each mentor. They also had to contact the volunteer if the student was absent on a Thursday, but this was very rare, she said.
Board member Tim McLaughlin was also a mentor this year to a young first-grade boy.
“At first he was very shy. I asked him a lot of questions. I eventually must have said something funny because he laughed and that broke the ice. He told me what he liked to do in and out of school. I really enjoyed it and I think my first-grader did too. Over the summer we plan to meet to get an ice cream at the Dairy Queen,” McLaughlin said.
There was a survey at the end of the year, and overall the children loved the experience. The teachers of Manchester Elementary would like to continue this program and expand it. There were 10 volunteers this year and they would like to expand to at least 20 volunteers. It would be desirable for the children to remain buddied with their mentor, the school board heard.
Renovations are happening at many of the Manchester Community Schools. The administration office and high school parking lot have been repaved. New gutters and a new sign are being installed at Manchester Elementary School. All schools are receiving a few renovations for restrooms.
The iPads have been abandoned for Chromebooks. Scott Bumgardner explained that the “teachers needed a balance between the textbook and a device.”
The schools decided they would like to distance themselves from Apple. Hopefully, there will be fewer issues with games and damages. Financially, it is more responsible to use the Chromebooks because teachers still wanted to use some physical textbooks, the board heard. Manchester Community Schools could not afford both iPads and textbooks. But, with Chromebook, the children will actually get to keep the devices because of textbook fees.
There was an iPad auction earlier this month and 650 units were sold at $145 each. This easily raised the funds to make the technology switch.
Manchester High School Principal Nancy Alspaugh attended her last school board meeting. She spent 31 years with MHS, and the last 18 years were as principal. She spent 44 years total working in education.
Though she is officially retired, she still wants to be involved. She plans to attend games and events to still remain apart of the community, she told the board.[[In-content Ad]]
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