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Council Notes October 19 2023

Council Meeting Notes
10/19/2023
Agenda: Skylines Copy Council Agenda 10/17/23

Call to order:  6:07 PM

Introductions: Led by Mike Tadros - We introduced ourselves, our roles at the school, our children, and what books we have on our nightstands.

Unity Box:  Horizons sees everyone and the many difficult issues in the world.  Community members can share your respectful thoughts by putting letters into the Unity Box and reading letters that others have written.  The box will be in the office so that all can contribute.

Hawk Happenings: 
Kim Poplawski (Kindergarten Teacher): Slideshow Kindergarten students took a field trip to the WOW Museum related to their EL unit.  This was their first yellow bus experience!  Great photos!  Yay!
Kristin: “BVSD Is the Place to Be Showcase” - Slideshow.  It was a very successful night and every visitor to the booth got attention from our wonderful staff and volunteers.  There was plenty of swag including very popular Horizons’ branded fidget balls.
Mia Seymour (¾ Teacher): Curiosity Hour” - This is a new program for 3/4 classes in which students get to explore whatever topics they are curious about.

-Congratulations Mia!  Impact on Education Grant for Innovation in Multiplication!
-Congratulations Kate!  Impact on Education Grant for Neurodiversity!

Parent Board Chair Election: Mike Tadros is the sole candidate for this role.

  • Motion to Elected Mike Tadros as Parent Board Chair.
    Second
    Concorded

Committee Introductions: 

  • FRC: Financial Review Committee: Committee that reviews Fund 11 and Council Budgets to be sure actuals align with what was budgeted.  First Thursday of every month, 2:30 - 3:30.

  • Development Committee (formerly Fundraising): Having fun together as we prepare for our annual Artastic event, CO Gives Day (11/1 through 12/5), and figuring out how to leverage corporate employee matches to increase our donations.  How can we build fundraising excitement among the entire community?  Will there be a dunk tank for GBC and Kristin?  A pie throwing booth?  Get involved to make your ideas count!  First Wednesday of every month 2:30 - 3:30.

  • EDB: Equity, Diversity, & Belonging: EDB brings professional development to staff, hosts a Banned Book Club, and hosts a Horizons Book Fair.  We had a very engaging discussion about transportation options for our school that would enable children with transportation barriers to attend.  How can we get community responsive programming?  Second Tuesday of the month.  In an effort to allow more participation EDB decided to vary the meeting times. Even months (Oct, Dec, Feb, Apr) 2:30 - 3:30, Odd months (Nov, Jan, Mar, May) 5:30 - 7:00.  

  • HCG: Horizons Community Group: Builds up the Horizons community!!  Enlists 2 parent liaisons per class to help with classroom & school wide engagement.  HCG also organizes so many fun events like the Fall Dance, Coffee Connections, Pizza Fridays, Spirit Week, Parent Engagement Evenings (11/15 is the next one!), speakers, and so much more!  Liaisons meet on the last Tuesday of the month 8:30 - 9:30.  The HCG Steering Committee meets a few times a year.  Anyone can attend either meeting or become a liaison!  It takes many volunteers to make our events great.  Join us! 

  • DAC: District Accountability Committee: John Bogosian is our representative to the district.  The last DAC meeting was focused on declining enrollment across BVSD.  We engaged in a group discussion about how to get more district funds for a reimbursed FTE (special education teacher). First Tuesday of the month evenings   

New Business: 

  • Open Enrollment: We are planning 3 events: 2 morning and 1 evening open house.  The morning  events will start at 8:45am and the evening event will start at 5:30pm and will have a tour stop at Council so prospective parents can get a feel for the level of community connection and participation that parents are asked to engage in at Horizons  the November Council meeting.  This will help prospective families understand how special Horizons is, and also the commitment that Horizons involves.

  • There was a suggestion for after the November Council meeting to shift the start time to 5:30 pm to make them more accessible.  

Adjourn: 8:10 PM