LEXINGTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-FACULTY SENATE

2004-2005

Moderator Ben Skier, Assistant Moderator Jim Williams, Secretary Lexy Smith

<http://lhs.lexingtonma.org/senate>

Today's Agenda: Announcements, Committee Reports, Open Comments,

Discussion of Senate's near future, Discussion of Five Open Senate

Seats

Minutes from Meeting: 12-1-04

I. Call to Order

Meeting is called to order at 7:50 by Senator Skier

II. Approval of Minutes

Motion Approved Motion by Chair to approve Minutes of last meeting

III. Approval of Agenda

Motion Approved Motion by Chair to approve Agenda

IV. Announcements

a. Has it been decided whether straw votes are

constitutional?; Robert's Rules says they are not

b. Give your email address to Sec. Smith if you wish to

c. The Senate Day Table sign-up sheet is going around

V. Committee Reports

Communications1. Planning for senate day

2. Currently Advertising the five open senate seats

Executive 1. Discussed the Weighted GPA Bill with Dr. Jones

VI. Open Comments

a. Senator Richardson was highly offended by a certain

T.V. commercial

VII. Senate Day Discussion

a. Identification tags to be attached hats are distributed

b. Any color hat is now acceptable for senate day

c. Senators should encourage friends to come (free food!)

VIII. First Class Bill

Motion Motion by Senator Krensky to discuss the bill formally

Vote: Motion Passes

a. This bill is self-explanatory; it means to decide which

behavior is acceptable for First Class Use

b. A committee will form to facilitate First Class Use and

to determine possible consequences for misuse

c. Senate has the opportunity to oversee the committee

and therefore to become more involved in community

d. Online harassment is now an issue among teachers;

this bill can potentially prevent this

e. Who got the grant for this email service?; Ass't

Moderator Williams got the grant upon seeing that

surrounding school were utilizing this

f. Would senators have to leave their committees

in order to join this one?; No and there will not just

be senators on this committee

g. Because there is already an acceptable use policy

at LHS, how will this bill change that?; the

old policy

just deals with Internet use with no committee in place

h. The point that says that the Communications

Committee will appoint students should be clarified

i. What would happen if a kid did not have Internet

access at home?; kids can use the library Internet

j. Will committee decide which web sites kids can use?

Motion Motion by Senator Paulsen to call to question

Vote: Motion Passes

IX. Discussion of 1991 and 1994 Substitute Bills

a. The senate should be informed of the concern and

recent controversy surrounding substitute teachers and

canceling classes among the faculty

b. The bills had wide-spread student and faculty

support when passed; the original intent was to

improve communication

c. Dr. Jones and many other faculty members are

concerned that the bills are being abused; senate

should be prepared to amend the bill if necessary

d. Two years ago, many parents were pressuring the

administration to allow fewer class cancellations

e. The teacher absence policy at this school has always

been unorganized and moronic; a teacher has little time

to prepare a lesson plan if sick

f. We should deal with the teachers who are abusing this

policy instead of creating a punitive policy for all

g. The work left with a substitute is usually irrelevant

h. Substitute abuse is a real issue at this school; subs do

not create learning environments and some are

well-known for not furthering kids' education

i. Some substitutes are better than others but teachers

have no say in substitute assignments

j. Few substitutes have background knowledge on subject

k. Not all substitutes are lousy but learning opportunities

are lost when a subs lacks necessary knowledge

l. These bills are concerned with quality educational time

m. If the substitute is proficient, some of the students'

educational experiences can be preserved

n. Substitutes are placed in a difficult position because

students are not motivated by them

o. There should be some concrete sub assignment

List of Senators Absent from Senate meeting

*Denotes excused/notified absence.

Doran Atchinson Sullivan Sherbourne Jeon Alspaugh Wilson Choi

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©2004. All rights reserved. This page was created by members of the Oversight Committee of the Lexington (Massachusetts) High School Senate. Please address comments or questions to Karen Girondel