Lexington (MA) High School Senate

LEXINGTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-FACULTY SENATE

2005-2006

Moderator Peter Lubershane, Assistant Moderator Sam Kafrissen, Secretary Peter Kim

DATE: 5-3-06

Today's Agenda: Announcements

Open Comments

Committee Reports

Community Service Resolution

New Business

Minutes from Meeting: 4-26-06

I. Call to Order: Meeting is called to order at 7:50 by Moderator Lubershane

II. Approval of Minutes: 1) It should say "women are strange beasts…" not "men".

2) Senator Savariano was here.

III. Approval of Agenda: Agenda Approved.

IV. Announcements: 1) Freshmen Semi-Formal is on May 19th. Tickets go on sale in lunch.

2) Today's the Day of Silence. Let's respect those who are silent.

V. Open Comments: No Open Comments.

VI. Committee Reports: 1) Communications committee will meet after school in Room 633 today.

VII. Community Service: 1) Motion to replace the old community service resolution with the new one passes.

2) The revised resolution allows us to disseminate information better so that the system can be discussed and reformed. The report is supposed to guide the discussion and involve the entire school.

3) Assistant Moderator Kafrissen feels his words were misrepresented in the last meeting. He thanks Community Service Committee for their efforts. The homeroom is not a natural group. Academic classes are better equipped for this. Putting the burden on teachers gives them the huge clerical responsibility. The 990 hours program couple years ago was a nightmare. This is not the correct approach.

4) Homeroom is a natural group. Freshmen use homeroom initially to get adjusted to the new school. Homeroom has the capacity to change. There can be special homerooms to hold discussions about community service. Change will take a long time but the new resolution tells us how to get there.

5) Homeroom teachers guide you freshmen year. Many kids in homeroom are the in the same freshmen English and history classes.

6) There is a concern of lack of faculty support of this bill. If there is no central authority, this is not done right.

7) Even if we get a discussion going, it won't be a lot due to lack of time. We're also getting more divided because now hundreds of homeroom teachers will carry the responsibility.

8) Any discussion is worth having and homeroom can be changed.

9) Homeroom discussions are not engaging.

10) It will increase the corruption.

11) We all agree that the system is broken. The committee decided against an authoritarian approach because they wanted to get the community involved. The resolution is not aimed at shifting responsibility. Report has to convince the faculty to do the recommended things. This bottom-up approach is a good approach. People are afraid but the answers are in the report.

12) Currently, we have a centralized group. Homeroom will maintain this and also provide the forum for discussion. We have a communication problem and homeroom is a mode of solving that problem.

13) Homeroom teachers have better relations with kids than counselors that kids go to few times a month.

14) The mission statement said we as the faculty have to step up and do our part. This resolution is the starting place for that.

15) Community service program is messed up. This is the best way and it's all we have. It's not final so let's try it out.

List of Senators Absent from Senate meeting: *Denotes excused/notified absence.

Buttaro* Collins Ghazarian Stulck Chaulet Lane Perlman

Shen DSewell Girondel* Kresser Williams* Sherburne*