St. Christopher School

The School Advisory Board met on May 13.

Members Present: Jack Daniels, Principal; Mary Carr Popik, Chair; Marta Nissen, Carol Fiore, Mary Jane King, Jay Coffey, Rob Lembree, Lordes Ulloa.
Members Absent: Father Richard Kelley, Fred Daniels, Nick Dahl.

We began the meeting with the School Board Prayer.

We welcomed new board member, Lourdes Ulloa to the community.

The minutes of the April meeting were not available to be reviewed and approved. They will be sent to everyone via email.

Principal’s Report

Jack reported on the State of the School Parent Meeting held on April 23rd. About 80 people attended with a good mix of grades. Several parents of students who do not currently attend St. Chris but are registered for next year also attended. At the meeting, Mary gave a brief overview of the financials—we are healthy; Carol provided a playground update and the need for more funds to finish paying for the playground; Marta gave an update on fundraising and development.

The playground has been approved by the Nashua Planning Board. 22 trees were felled last weekend. The excavation will happen this weekend. We are thankful to St. Laurent Tree Service and Crisp Excavation for donating their services to the playground. The Playground Build Date is set for Saturday June 6. We need volunteers. Also, we need to raise an additional $25,000 to cover additional legal and engineering fees as well as finish paying for the fence. Almost all of the money raised to date was contributed during the 2007-2008 school year, and 65% of that came from grants and alumni, not parents. Now we need parents’ help to finish the job. There are many ways to contribute—buy a brick, donate $ directly for a specific piece of equipment, participate in the St. Christopher Walk/Run on June 5th. All funds raised during that event go to the playground fund. Watch for the thermometer at the school to track our progress. The board also brainstormed additional opportunities to raise the final funds. We recognize the burden on parents and we appreciate your ongoing generosity.

We briefly reviewed enrollment for next year. Pre-K enrollment is growing in both the ½ day and Full-day classes, as is K enrollment. The current volunteer room will be needed next year for another pre-K classroom, so Marta’s office will be moved and a new one constructed in the alcove of the computer room. We see the positive effects of our programs and the changes we have made and are making. Those effects are evident in our children and in enrollment. Higher enrollment is the key to maintaining or lowering tuition!

We have 6 new students who have joined the school since September 30! Keep up the good work and good word—referrals are our biggest source of new students.

We are twinned with St. Patrick Church and St. Louis de Gonzague Parishes and working together for the betterment of all three.

Advancement/Development

Marta updated the group on the fall fundraiser for all three schools (IJ, NC and St. Chris). This event replaces the Country Fair. We are still looking for a name for the event. Each year, the lead school for this fundraiser rotates, and 2009 is the year for St. Chris. We have taken a leadership position, getting buy-in from the other schools on what the event could/should be. It will include both a calendar raffle for the month of October and a cash raffle. The tickets will be sold during the month of September. It will be held on Saturday October 17 at Bishop Guertin and will include a performance by nationally known a capella and school choruses from NC, IJ and SC. We have a volunteer group working to organize the event and are looking for additional volunteers. The calendar raffle includes great gifts like cash, gift certificates to restaurants, ipods, etc.

Marta briefly reviewed the results from the bus survey. We have responses from Nashua Catholic as well. There is a lot to be done on this project and while we believe it is worthwhile, we cannot have everything ready for the 2009-2010 school year. We are looking at 2010-2011. We appreciate the ongoing help of Fred Daniels and John Kocsis who have been moving this project forward.

Budget

We are on budget for the current fiscal year. On May 6th, we met to discuss Capital Investments and Improvements to the school. The items on the table are: updating technology, including a new server; painting the inside of the school including classrooms, offices, bathrooms, stairwells and hallways; lighting in the classrooms, ways to make the heating system more effective—especially in 2T, 2W, 6E and 6W; and the bus. We are working to revise/update an effective technology strategy for the school and individual classrooms. We continue to invest in the school—this year, we purchased a new milk refrigerator, new shades for the school, updated the security system, hired a Director of Advancement (Marta) and contributed to the funds to purchase a new stove for the church hall.

Upcoming dates and events