Roll call. >> Miss Castellano is absent. Miss Kicara >> here. >> Dr. Hayden >> here. >> Miss Gunderman >> here. >> Miss Morano >> here. >> Mr. Walsh here. >> Mrs. Zayn >> here. >> We have a quorum. >> Please join me in the Phil flag salute.
I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Good evening everyone. As the
district-wide week of gratitude comes to an end, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the many people who make our schools the vibrant, caring, and resilient communities that they are. This holiday season reminds us of the importance of pausing to acknowledge the collective effort it takes to support
our students. From the great people I get to work with on this board to our dedicated teachers and staff, our administrators, families, and of course, our students themselves. Your commitment to learning, collaboration, and growth is what makes New Providence a special place to live and work. Additionally, I
would like to thank everyone who stepped up as writing candidates for the board of education seat as Joe Walsh and I end our terms in December. Congratulations to Rupa Kale and Amy Le for winning seats. I hope you find the work on the board as rewarding as I have found it for the last 12 years. I wish everyone a
happy and healthy holiday season. And that's all I have. Thank you, Miss Kakar Cicaro. I'll turn it over to Ariel for the student report. Good evening and thank you Dr. Zerley and the rest of the board for having me
tonight. On Monday, October 20th and Wednesday, October 22nd, we hosted students from Koshi High School in Fuki, Japan. Roughly 20 students experienced NPHs for two days and both our visiting students and NPHs students and staff had a great visit. On Thursday, October
23rd, we hosted our high school open house for parents and students of grades six through eight, in which they will be able to see all in which they saw all the wonderful programs, courses, and offerings available at New Providence High School. Coming up this weekend, we have three performances of our fall play, It's a Wonderful Life, on the
21st, 22nd. We eagerly look forward to seeing our students perform. There are shows at 7:30 on both evenings and 2 p.m. a 2 p.m. matinea show on the 22nd. We hope to see everyone there and the best of luck to the cast, crew, and pit.
This week is a new Providence week of gratitude where we are showing our sincere gratitude and appreciation for our amazing teachers and staff. On Tuesday, students and staff wrote out people or things they are thankful for and filled up our cornucopia of gratitude at the high school main office. The marching band played at
Medlife Stadium this this Saturday uh Saturday, October 18th. They played at Ridge High School on Saturday, October 20 uh 25th and at South Brun Brunswick High School on Saturday, November 1st. Marching band once again had an absolute uh absolutely amazing season. This year,
the group raised their overall team and performance scores in each and every competition. Congratulations to the group uh on a tremendous season. With a young team, girls soccer showed flashes of a great team as a as the team upset a group four school in Union. The program's future includes many freshman
and sophomores looking to make a deep run in the county and state tournaments next year. In the first year with the new head coach, the boys soccer team competed with state powerhouses including Westfield, Scotch Plains, and Elizabeth. This earn them this earned the team a spot as a third seed in the state tournament where the season ended
in a hard-fought 3 to2 loss. Going into the season, the boys co cross country team had a chip on their shoulders because of the previous season's shortcomings, but they entered the Union County Conference Championship with a strong attitude and finished first in the Valley Division, also boosting the team's division standing
for next year. The boys team continued to push into the championship meet where they advanced yet again to the Central Group One sectional championships. Girls cross country got third for Central Group One and sixth in the state for group one. A great performance all around.
The football team had a tough start against Cedar Grove, but finished the game with pride in class, including coming back in the second half. There was a record turnout for the game, and the team had an amazing season overall, going undefeated until their loss to Cedar Grove. Despite the tough injuries to save this season, the football team
performed spectacularly. Girls volleyball had a great season as well, where they also made it to section finals before losing to Madison. All four sets were very close and extremely competitive throughout against the one seed Madison. Girls tennis won state
sectionals for an amazing seventh consecutive time in a row to cap another great season. The winter athletic season is already underway with swimming and ice hockey kicking off this past Monday. All the remaining winter sports will be underway this coming Monday. We are excited to see what they can do.
Overall, New Providence High School has been thriving both acetically and academically, and I commend the board for consistently looking out for the needs of students at New Providence High School. Thank you. >> Thank you, Ariel and Mr. Ugluuro for our enrollment report.
>> Good evening, everyone. At Alen W. Roberts, we currently have 595 students. At Saltbrook, we currently have 598 students. At New Providence Middle School, we currently have 392 students. And New Providence High School, we
currently have 661 students for a total of 2,246 students. We currently have 39 students in out of district placements for a grand total of 2,285 students. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Uh good evening, Board of Education members. There are several items this evening that I would like to report on. Before I begin, I would however like the board to know that we are going to table the update number four under my report of the unity day to
next month um as um they need a little more time to come together so they could report out to you on that. Uh the first thing I would like to start with is the PAL softball girls project um girls field project. Uh the PL has currently
raised $34,872 for the project. This donation is scheduled for approval this evening on our agenda. Contractors are actively being consulted to provide updated quotes to inform the final scope of the
work. And as of now, the revised plan is as follows, which is listed in priority order. Number one is the fi full infield a full infield renovation of the front softball field diamond. This field is currently used for PAL middle school
softball games and practices and potentially if we grow our program for JV high school softball games in the future. The second is fencing renovations for the front softball field which will include 8 foot black foul line fencing down both baselines, new
dugout fencing, new ondeck circle, new bench and covered dugout structure. The third is minor field repairs on the backed softball diamond to improve playability in critical areas such as the pitcher mound and home plate. And
the fourth and final is the purchase and installation of a double door shed, which would match the one that's currently here on our varsity softball field with an interior divider wall to provide storage. One half would be for PAL and the other half would be for New
Providence High School athletic um purposes. Following the completion of the project, the PAL will reassess whether a full renovation of the back field is needed, which would include fencing and infield edging. Um, we are
looking to hopefully break ground, get these quotes in, and be able to break ground before the ground freezes for the winter. If we're unable to do that, the project will begin as soon as the ground is thought and we anticipate that will
be in March before the playing season for softball. So, we are definitely making progress and I thank the PL for uh raising the funds of $34,872 uh for the community as well as hopefully for some future pioneers as well.
I'd also like to address uh the fishing email that was unfortunately sent out this past weekend that several staff members and students did receive. I'd like to thank our diligent staff, students, and parents for immediately informing their principles. Mr. Manard
and myself upon receiving this suspicious email. Mr. Manard and his team responded immediately on Saturday night, and he was in direct communication with me several times throughout the evening. Immediate steps that we took was that an email was sent to all staff explaining that a staff
member's email account had been briefly compromised and that a fishing email was sent to some staff and students. Staff were instructed not to respond to this email and to simply delete it because students also received the email. Mr. Manard and I thought it was important
for this email to come from their principles as they would recognize the name. So all the principles sent a communication that same evening to their students in grades 3 through 12 and Miss Mangle did send out an email to all parents to inform them to do the same in
the event their child did receive the email. Since then, Mr. Manard and his team have been working to install additional email filters and screen incoming messages to prevent further fishing attempts. We will meet on Monday as an administrative team and Mr. Manard
will review the incident with us as well as provide additional training that our administrators can share with their staff. Cyber security, as you all know, remains an ongoing priority, and I want to commend Mr. Manard and his team for their proactive response and their
continued efforts to keep our network safe. Last, but certainly not not least, I'd like to wish all of our families, our staff, and our students a happy Thanksgiving. As a part of our board's annual goal, one of our annual goals, we are focusing this year on advancing
staff wellness to support student achievement. And this is because our belief is simple. When teachers feel good, when staff feel good, when people feel good, the people that they're serving, which are students, will feel good in turn. So this week, uh, we are celebrating, as Miss Cicero said, our
gratitude week. On Monday, the entire administrative team visited classrooms to offer a cup of hot coffee. Uh we had a little barista going around on wheels and a fresh apple cider donut and a bit of cheer. The response was
overwhelmingly positive from our entire faculty and staff. And it was a great opportunity for our administrative team to see the great work of our teachers connect with students across the district. On Tuesday, um, as was mentioned by Ariel, each school did
display a cornucopia where students and staff posted notes of gratitude, and that will stay up through Thanksgiving. And to conclude the week, each school is having the opportunity to participate in a fiveminute chair massage session accompanied by a health Q&A, which is
being provided by Alliance Health. I truly wish everyone a restful, happy Thanksgiving and a great start to the holiday season. That's all I have. Thank you, Dr. Zerolley. Now is an opportunity for the public to be heard
on any agenda item. Seeing none, I declare this portion of the meeting closed. I need approval of the minutes for both closed and business meeting for October 16th. So moved. >> Donna.
>> Roll call. >> Mr. Car. I >> Hayden. >> Hi, >> Mr. Dunderman. >> Hi, >> M. Morirana. >> Hi, >> Mr. Walsh. >> Hi, >> Mr. Z. >> I >> action items. Finance. Mr. Walsh. >> I would like to move items one through nine as listed on the agenda.
>> Second. >> No comments. Burn. >> No comments. Uh, roll call. >> Miss Kara. >> Hi, >> Dr. Hayden. >> Hi. >> Miss Gunderman. >> Hi, >> Miss Morano. >> Hi, >> Mr. Walsh. Hi, >> Mrs. Zayn. Hi,
>> Dr. Epson Hayden, education. >> I'd like to move items one through five as listed below. >> Second, >> the biggest one to highlight is the approval of the new not new, but the new Providence School District communications plan, which everybody has
a copy of um at their desk. Uh there were no major changes to the communication plan this year. We're just seeking the annual approval to keep it current. Um, and as we continue working on our board goal of enhancing the the enhancing and communication plan will be updated next year and brought forward
for reapproval again. >> Thank you. Roll call. >> Miss Karao. >> Hi. >> Dr. Eson Hayden. >> Hi. >> Miss Gunderman. >> Hi. >> Miss Morano. >> Hi. >> Mr. Walsh. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Zayn. >> Hi. >> Personnel. Mrs. Gunderman. Uh,
>> uh, I'd like to move to approve items one through eight as listed. Second. Dr. Zerly, you have a something you'd like to point out. >> Yes, thank you. Um, I'd like to congratulate Miss Jerry Fletcher, who I see is here tonight. She will be serving as a teacher aid in our LLD classroom in
Saltbrook. Um, she has substituted with us for um quite some time and she has subbed uh directly in these programs. So, we're very excited to bring her on board. I'd also like to congratulate Miss Elizabeth Bland who is a secretary at Salt Brook School who will be
retiring effective um the end of December. So I'd like to congratulate her and thank her for her service here in the new Providence School District. >> Roll call. >> Roll call. >> MOA. >> I Dr. Hayden. >> Hi. >> Miss Gunderman. >> Hi. >> Miss Morano.
>> Hi. >> Mr. Walsh. Hi. >> Mrs. Zayn. >> Hi. >> Mr. Walsh. board policy. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. Sorry. Sorry, Jerry. Sorry. I forgot you were here. >> SORRY. >> I'm sure Jerry would have applied me
skipping her. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> I tried to let you off the hook. Sorry. >> Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Okay. Now, we're going to do board policy.
>> Okay. I would like to move uh items one and two as listed on the agenda. And I have a question regarding >> do a second first. >> Okay. Sorry. Okay. >> Uh so um regarding regulation 2535
um procedure B11. I would like to determine to what extent the timing is up to the board's discretion. >> I will certainly look into that as soon as possible and get the board uh an answer to that on whether or not the uh there's discretion in going beyond the year.
>> Thank you. >> You're welcome. I'd just like to follow up to say that once Mr. Ugaluro does get some clarification on that, I'll have him speak again to Mr. Walsh. Um, and we'll reach directly out to you and then we
would have that on for second reading if the board decides that they'd like that to be longer than a year. >> We can still approve it because it's first reading tonight. >> It'll still approve. Yeah. >> Roll call. >> M. Ca. >> I.
>> Dr. represent Hayden. >> Hi, >> Miss Gunderman. >> Hi, >> Miss Morana. >> Hi, >> Mr. Walsh. Hi, >> Mrs. Zayn. >> I committee reports, curriculum, instruction, technology. >> Nothing new. Let's >> know it's a slow time of year for everyone.
>> Uh, finance, facilities, safety. >> Not that committee, though. Let's see. >> We met, I'd say, I think three or four weeks ago. Um, and I think everybody got the memo, but there the there's $1.2 million available uh from the bond referendum. Um and the bid advertisement
went out today. Um and it's focused on the high school, Saltbrook, and AWR gymnasiums where we would um uh do the HVAC HVAC project similar to what we um discussed in the bond referendum. Um there will be two alternatives uh added
to that that people can bid on um or biders can bid on I should say. Uh the cafeterias at the high school, middle school, Saltbrook and AWR or the middle school gymnasium. Um and we will plan to go through that process between now and the next meeting which will be December
18th and we'll award the project at that approve the project at that meeting and then the work would commence in June and conclude by August. >> Thank you. Uh personnel, >> we've met twice since the last meeting. I don't know who's talking about slow.
Um so we did meet uh shortly after our last meeting to review our progress to the board goals and one of our board goals is also having um joint sessions. Um so we did um and it's about enhancing our family engagement and communication.
So our committee met with Dr. Zerly and representatives from our parent and community groups um to explore greater efficacy to distribute district uh communications um on an app appbased platform. Um before moving forward um
we'll we'll distribute a survey to all parents um to gather their feedback and preferences regarding communications. Um Dr. Zerley and her team have also already met with three different platform providers. she has selected one that she feels best aligns with our
needs. Um and she'll present a demo to the um administrative team. And then at the next meeting with our community representatives, uh we'll also share examples of how the app would be used and how it works and and functions. Um
really exciting. Uh one of our goals too is also staff wellness and as Dr. Zly mentioned um we're advancing that goal um through this week's gratitude of or week of gratitude. Um and throughout the year we do plan to uh introduce
additional wellness initiatives such as a potential health challenge uh after the holidays um to continue to support staff well-being. >> Thank you. And I I did hear through the grapevine that those donuts were homemade. by the way,
somebody who's very busy making hundreds of donuts. Um, old business, anyone, Jim? No. New business? >> Uh, yes. I just have one item. Um, I have the unofficial school board election results. Um, the county will
certify them. I believe they're doing that today. And then hopefully, um, we'll get notification within the next week or so. And then once we receive the actual notification, the letter from the county, Lauren and I'll start the onboarding process. So uh with that um as you said there was only a write in um
candidates and I'll just give you the top two. Uh the first one was Amy La Prairie with 1,037 votes and Rupa Cale votes and they're both in the audience and CONGRATULATIONS UM, so next month in December, I'll
actually we'll read into the minutes the actual certified election results. >> Perfect. Thank you. Uh, now is an opportunity for the public to be heard on any subject whatsoever. Seeing none, I need a motion to recess to close session
for student matters related to HIB and litigation >> and personnel >> and personnel. >> Motion Joe. >> Second, Stacy. >> Thank you everybody. Have a nice Thanksgiving.