Don't see that all. Good evening, everybody, and welcome to the Westfield School Committee's meeting for December 15th. Um, all rise through the, uh, nope. Oh, how about we take attendance? Almost. Jeffrey Gunther. Here. Kathleen Hillman? Here. Bo Sullivan. Here. Heather Sullivan. Here. Mike Terrell. Here. Tim O'Connor. Here. Chairman McCabe Here. I'd thank you to all Rise. The Pledge of Allegiance. The flag is over there. I Pledge allegiance to the flag, The United States of America and to Republic for which he stands, one nation under God in the midst
of liberty and justice for. Thank You. Uh, we're gonna go a little bit off script here. Normally we would have, uh, public participation right now up to 15 minutes with the ability of anybody who would like to address the public or the school committee to address for a term of no longer than three minutes. However, we have a, a full host of characters out here in the audience that I'm sure are here for a very specific reason. And if anybody would like to address the school committee on a topic of their choosing, they're more than welcome. We'll leave it open as long as necessary. So would anybody like to say anything tonight?
You guys, you gotta be quiet. Ashley. You gotta be quiet. Aaron, you gonna be quiet? Terry? Quiet. What about you, Dominic? Everybody's quiet now. Alright, let's try it this way. Counselor Fi, go first. Ralph, you wanna come up? Ralph Figgy, 53 Brookline Avenue, Westfield, mass City Council liaison to the school committee. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Tim and Heather for their many years of dedicated service. It's been a pleasure working with you together, cooperatively. We've been able to do a lot of good stuff for the students here in Westfield. It, needless to say, you will be missed, but I have full confidence in your replacements,
and we will continue to move forward in a very positive direction. Again, thank you so much for your dedication and your efforts for the benefit of the students of Westfield. Thank you. Mr. Flaherty, would you like to say anything? Oh, sure. I would love to. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, it's gonna be like karaoke. Nobody goes up at first, and now you're gonna have 50 people hopefully come up. Uh, congratulations to our good friends, uh, Timmy and Heather. It's been a great career. God bless you. I don't know what you're gonna do with every Monday night going forward. I'm sure you will find something. Uh, but congratulations
and thank you so much for everything you've done for the city and all the kids. Thank You. A speech I, I, uh, Brian Sullivan, resident of 12 Sherwood Avenue. Um, I just came for the, uh, acceptance of the December minutes, but seeing, I'm Seeing I'm here, I'll take advantage of an opportunity, um, to thank Tim and Heather. Um, worked with you for many years. Um, and it's easy to celebrate people's longevity when you are on something for a long time. But it's better to thank you for what you did during that longevity because both of you were voices
for the kids and the teachers and the buildings. Um, knowing what I know, and I'm sure the mayor would, uh, agree with me, that you need people that'll stick up for things even when it's the tough one. And you both did that research, advocation, school time, personal time. Your families are here. They know you're always here. Um, so you give up a lot. Uh, Mr. Flaherty asked what you'll do with your time. I can assure you that you're going to have it filled with something because you're just those type of people.
So don't leave the children behind, because like I said, you're a huge voice for them. Uh, the school department was better off for you being here. Um, and I, I want to thank you both for the time I had, um, to work with you and follow you. And, uh, good luck in whatever you choose to do next. Thanks. Anybody else? Uh, Tom Dearborn, representing the W'S Vice President. Um, I had the pleasure of working closely with Heather when we were doing our COVID negotiations and just seeing how well the school committee and the union and the teachers were involved in that process.
Um, we've watched that go forward through current negotiations. And so thank you for the way you've led us there. And as I look forward to moving forward with the union, getting to know the other school count committee members, um, just bringing that relationship forward. Thank you. Thank You. Anybody else? Cam Sullivan? Uh, no longer a Westfield resident, but Although is the first meeting I've attended, I, I feel like, I feel like I've attended a number based on how much you two talked about it, bringing it home. Uh, but it's a testament to how much it meant to both of you
that you would fill us in on what was going on in the school district. I remember when my mom first ran, I was just excited. I thought it meant she was a celebrity and I'd hold signs and, you know, I was so proud of her then. But, you know, as I've gotten older, it means even more to me to see how much she's impacted so many kids. And my uncle Tim as well. So, I know this town will miss you. I'll miss hearing about all these meetings, but I know you guys will find other things to, to fill the time, as everyone said. So thank you for everything you did in the role model you set for all of us. Thank You. Hey, thanks, cam as the eldest child. Okay. Uh, Ashley O'Connor, Tim O'Connor's daughter
and niece to Heather Sullivan. And I just wanna say how proud I am of both of you. I remember the paper came to our house to take a picture of my dad first got on school committee, so celebrity. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, okay. Um, but I'm so proud of both of you. I love you both so much. Happy birthday, auntie Heather. And I'm excited to have my dad around a little bit more on Monday nights, 'cause this was stressful. So Thank you. Anybody else? Oh, boy. I
Would like to first of all, thank my mom for everything she's done for me. She's the reason I'm in the school that I'm in. And without her, there wouldn't be as many people that know about white oak and everything that it's done for me and for the people of Westfield. So, thank you and congrats on both of you. Mr. We talked about this. I didn't expect him to talk. You made your mother cry. It's a good thing. Your customer. What do you think? Let's do it this way. Uh, that way you can actually see a presentation. Um, I don't know if you guys know this, but they're related. Imagine that, huh? Mr. Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan. That's fine.
Mr. O'Connor, can He come up here a second? Mr. O'Connor With the jacket, with the, So no truer words have been ever said that I'm a better man for no intent. Pretty much said simple. He has been to the, my right, uh, for four years. And I, I'm just honored to, to be a part of his team, um, that I kind of inherited through an election. When I tell you that I really relied on him, there have been numerous, numerous, numerous phone calls behind the scenes, taking away from his family time and all those things. He's also not a bad golfer either. But, um, truly, Tim, you will be missed. I wanna thank you for all that you've done
for the city of Westfield. Not just here, but for all of the other things that you involved yourself with. So, Tim, thank you very much. I have this little presentation, Timothy O'Connor Westfield School Committee, 2000 to 2008, 2011 to 2012, 2018 to 2026 in recognition of your commitment and dedication to public service. Thank You. To say that we've become friends is really kinda, it's Crazy. It is. Well, we, when we first met, we like, oh boy, I can't wait for this. Right? Um, you have been absolutely terrific
and wonderful to work with. I'd love every moment that we spent with each other. And when we talk about those things that, um, you know, that go behind the scenes, the, the arguments, the willingness to speak up, the willingness to challenge the status quo, that truly is Heather Sullivan. So thank you for that Sullivan School Committee, 2000 to 2008. I'm seeing a pattern here, by the way, 2018 2026, in recognition of your commitment and dedication to public service. Thank you very, very much for everything you've done. And no kick kick Sullivan's here. Kicks his newly elected school committee member.
You can't have a chair just yet. Anybody else? Public participation still open. Still open going once. Oh, okay. On behalf of the school committee, um, I would like to honor Tim O'Connor. Um, he is the person that was the wordsmith. Every time I did policy, he would say, oh, no, you need to add this. And I'd be like, oh, yeah, you do. You're right. And so he refined a lot of our policies, and he is been also our, our, our vice chair this year. So I would like to thank you
on behalf of the school committee. And we have a present that is, was too cold to be outside, so open it up when you get home. Okay. Thank you. Is there anything else, Mrs. Home Course. Of course. This is to my next door neighbor who's sat with me, who's kicked me a couple of times, but she thought I was not right. Um, she reminded me of things that I forgot.
Um, and I helped her a little bit along the way also. Um, she's the joy in the school committee. She always brings laughter and a giggle, and a, I just love when she's there because she brings joy to this committee. And so, Heather, I'm gonna miss you. Thank you. Thank you. This is really weird to me. I stand with my back to them or you. So I'm gonna do it without scratch. Yeah. Um, come over. I, I didn't know what I was gonna say when it got to be about five o'clock this afternoon.
Um, Brian will know this. There was a day in December of 2019 where I didn't know what I was gonna do that day either, but I needed to talk to a few people, including my family, my wife, my kids, and Tim O'Connor and Heather Sullivan. I called next to see if I was even going to try to be part of this committee, um, under the circumstances that we were going through. And I decided after your guidance, your advice and your answers, that this is where I should be. So I did it seven years later.
I think it was still the best decision I've made to give back to this town. Um, mentors is a word that's kind of thrown around a little loosely nowadays. But the two of you have been there with every question that has come up, not only from me, but all the members that you have served of over the 17 years in the 16 years. Um, I know there was a couple Mayor Sullivans in your past, a Mayor Kana, mayor Hummon, and obviously Mayor McCabe for the last four years.
I know that valued your guidance and your votes and your reasoning for those votes. So saying thank you just doesn't quite seem to answer everything. But that's really all we have right now, is thanks for all your dedication. Um, 16 years and 17 years. The City of Westfield owes you for all those years. Like, like Brian said, you're not gonna go far because trust me, there's gonna be questions that we all still have, and your guidance will still be there for us. We all have your phone numbers. Cam, give me your phone number. I'll fill
You one another meeting after this Kick. I welcome you. Um, you'll be here starting in a couple weeks in January to take one of these two seats. Um, so we have big shoes to fill, and as the mayor said, and as Councilor Fiy said, we know we have people that can do that. So we will keep going, but we will always remember all you did for this town, all you're going to do for this town, and all you did for us. So congratulations. Good luck. Um, couple things, um, from the committee itself, I did, um, call someone to see what the best things were to get you.
And I will give her all the credit in the world Terry was, or she was gonna make it about herself, but she did. She came up with two separate things. So we appreciate that from, from her too. But good luck, uh, and don't go far. Thank you. Thank you, Sullivan. Of course, your Honor. Would you like to? Sure. How, how does this work? Rick Sullivan, 29, wildflower Circle, Westville, mass. Uh, let me just, uh, say thank you to both of you, uh, for your years of service. I think Westfield is very fortunate that our elected officials, um,
not only come from this community, but the reason they serve is because of this community. You always have, in your case, the kids of Westfield and the families of Westfield. First and foremost, there isn't an agenda other than what's best for the kids in the city, uh, which has certainly had you make some tough votes over the years. Um, but as a resident, um, and an elected official myself, uh, those decisions always came from the heart and from what really motivated you. And it was very simple. What's best for the kids. Uh, and I think we have been very fortunate
for your leadership and for your vision, um, and for your voice around the table. Um, that just doesn't happen every single day that people are willing to step forward. I personally understand the personal toll in terms of time and effort. Also, the fact that you need a very supportive family on the other side to be able to serve in these roles. Um, and, you know, I thank all of them, your friends and your family. I know Heather has me on speed dial all the time. So I, I, I can't say I will totally miss all those calls there. Heather, Timmy, not so much.
Um, but we are very fortunate, um, to have you, um, having served as elected officials, uh, and a voice for the, for the kids and the families of this community. And you have made a positive difference in the quality of life and the quality of education, um, of thousands of kids and thousands of families in the city of Westfield. And we owe you a debt of gratitude. Thank you very much for your service. Thank you. Now, as luck would have it, I'm about ready to close public participation. Um, but before I do, I'd like to recognize a member of our school family who passed away. Uh, this week, Alberta Hummon was a nurse with the, uh,
Westville Public School system. So I'm gonna ask you for a moment of silence. Uh, thank you. Thank you, uh, to the O'Connor family. You're gonna get him back. The solid family. God bless you. You're gonna get her back to, uh, motion to recess for a minute. So moved. Second. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Motion passes. Go ahead. Yeah, that's for you guys to leave if you want. That's so you don't have to suffer through The's. If you don't, they gotta stay. I know there's a place waiting for you, so go ahead. I dunno. Ready to do that
On ladies and gentlemen, can you hold on just one second? Heather, did you wanna, did you wanna address the group? Of Course. Just hold on one sec. Heather, did you wanna say something? You're more than welcome to tell. You gonna say something? Oh, Uh, Sure. You're gonna say something. This is, This is quick. I, and I, I wanted, uh, thank you for not Leaving. Sorry, we're in recess, but we're Not in, not in recess. But, um, you know, you, you think about, you think about the, the, the time that they talked about 16 and 17 years. And, um, you know, I was struck how quickly that time goes
by unless you're in a budget meeting here with the school. But, um, so tonight I just wanted to, to say thank you to, uh, the community for trusting me to serve on this great committee. Um, our teachers and administrators. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to education, uh, to our students. Thank you for reminding us why this work matters. All right, I'm getting there. Um, Barry talked about mentors, you know, and, and my mentors were Jim Shea and Tom Daly and Steve Hagan and, and others, and all the mayors that I, I sat with.
Um, thank you for the d you know, just, uh, your commitment to the school community and leadership over, over here to our current mayor. Thank you for the depth of knowledge you bring to this body and for keeping us laughing with your uncanny ability to call the wrong roll call every single time. So, is he laughing? Yes. Right now. Okay. Uh, to the central office administrative team, you're one of the strongest groups I've ever had the privilege to serve alongside. Don't let this school committee push you guys around. Alright. You're too good for that. Um, to my colleagues on the school committee, thank you
for the privilege of serving with you for the friendships we built and for our shared dedication to the schools. Uh, and to my parents. Uh, thank you for instilling in me the importance of education. And finally, to my family, uh, who may not have even noticed that I was gone every other Monday for the past 16 years. Uh, but I was, thank you. Without your support, none of this would've been possible. Parting word to the school committee, two final thoughts. If you have a budget question, don't call me. And if you have a policy question, don't call me. So, but thank you. It's been, it, it's really been my honor
and privilege to be part of this group. And, um, you guys are gonna do great kick. Welcome, welcome aboard. So, um, first of all, I signed that. So that's part of my, uh, I just, the addendum would be that, um, I, as hard as I worked, I got the same. I feel like I got the same in return from, um, the faculty, from the, the students and the, uh, central office, everybody. Uh, I didn't expect to come home with a child.
And, um, so I have a bouncing, you know, 6-year-old I came home with from Highland. And it has changed my life. Um, so he continues to, he's the reason I was inspired to run again. And he's the reason, um, he's a senior now, and it's time for me to go and let others come in and, and make these decisions. But it's, it's truly rewarding and it's truly as hard as it can be at times. The reward back is seeing all of this. So, I appreciate everything. Tim always talks way better than me, so I'll just let him, you know, keep that. Um, but, uh, I can't say thank you enough to everybody.
And, um, welcome aboard, kick. You're gonna love it. And I'm so happy for you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank You. All right. Back to recess. Back to recess. Morning. Make a motion return. So moved. Second. All those in favor? We're back in session. Thank you. It is, uh, I that 7 23 Westfield Technical Academy presentation. That was fun. Good evening everybody. Uh, first of all, I'd like to say, if I knew we were dressing up today, I would've thrown on the Grateful Dead ugly sweater to combat Tim's jacket.
Um, our presentation today is gonna be done by our information Technology shop. Mr. Kevin Grimsley here is our lead instructor. Uh, and unfortunately, I hate to say this, he was also, I was also his seventh grade health teacher before we split the middle schools, if I remember correctly. That Was after That was, it was after I had you at South. Okay. Oh, so he's a Southie. That's good. Um, so he's gonna take over. We have some students here that are gonna help out. Um, uh, Mr. Mayor, you might wanna lock your phone 'cause they might wanna get into it while we're doing the presentation Industry. Right. All right. So I'm Captain Grimsley. Um, these are some of my students. Uh, and you, you guys know Brady, right?
He's one of my former students, Um, Brady. So I just wanna share some of the stuff we've been up to. It's been a long time since I've been in here, and it's been a while since we've really talked about ourselves to the public about what it does in our school. Um, so I'm gonna let Brady control the slideshow. He's, uh, this is my, uh, team of teachers, uh, me. I do development operations in cybersecurity. Um, Scott Lockwood, he is a former tech center employee. He's now a teacher with me, and he teaches the information support services and networking.
And then Dave Flaherty, who I'm sure a lot of you know, um, he came out of city council, decided he wanted to teach, and now he's teaching programming and web development, um, which is what I used to teach. I've shifted over to cybersecurity. Um, Brady doesn't like that this is here, but, um, Brady is a two time national skills conference champion. He is the best in the country at what he does for high school students. Um, he went to a state competition and then a national competition, um, two years in a row
for Internet of Things, smart home installations. And he swept everybody. He beat everyone. It was, it was the greatest thing to watch. He's really good, what he does. I can't stop bragging about him, but he, uh, he doesn't want me to brag about him anymore. I told him that if he goes out to college, he doesn't have to listen to me anymore, but he's still here, so I brag about him too. Yeah. Um, so we do cooperative education. Uh, all of the shops in our school do I think that, uh, it's really easy to see the manufacturing cooperative
education opportunities that are out here in Westfield. But a lot of people don't know when they come to our school that every program has that. Um, I actually have five students that are on co-op right now, and, um, three of them are right here. Uh, will, uh, is, uh, at JBI Solutions along with Caden. One is a senior and one is a junior. So they actually work opposite weeks at the same desk. Um, so I'm still waiting to see if we'll have any staplers in jello or anything. Um, but they are enjoying the, the unique opportunity that they have with JB there. Um, and then I have Wyatt, who's next to Caden, he is working at Westwood Gas
and Electric in the programming department. Um, and they, they've done a few co-ops with us in the past. Um, and I'm really excited for him. This is actually his second co-op. Um, he worked at another company, um, last year and decided that he wanted to try something new. Um, and then I have Kylie Spice, who's not here, and Mason Lee Kelso Kylie's working at Hogan Technology in East Hampton. Um, we do a co-op with them every single year. They've actually kept several of our students on board full time. Um, and then, uh, Mason is at the tech center, which we do every year as well. And they've actually kept several, um, over the summer.
And we actually have a full-time student that was a graduate of mine that's actually promoted through the program there. Um, so there's been a lot of growth for my students. Um, the, uh, pictures there, uh, that's a mock interview that we do every year with the students. All of my advisory members, which we have, um, a large advisory of about 25, uh, people, um, come in and they interview all the students. They kind of do like a speed dating kind of thing where they interview 'em for five minutes and then send 'em to the next table. Um, and they get a, they get to have a quick conversation about what that kid is looking
to do, what kind of skills that they have already earned, um, you know, developed and what they want to do in the future, and, uh, what certifications they possess. And the, um, the, they get a lot of feedback from the advisory members. And they've actually been hired for a few jobs from that. Kylie got hired for Hogan technology, um, because they liked how she interviewed. She actually wanted to do programming. She's doing tech support for Hogan. Um, so that's the kind of, uh, relationship that we've developed through those interviews. Um, students go on co-op, they have to have an 80 or better, um, in our program overall.
Uh, so we're really strict on who's allowed out there and they have to be OSHA certified, um, and or, or be working towards their OSHA certification, um, and, uh, be in good standing with their academics. Um, recently, uh, last week we actually had a collaboration with the tech center where they had a tabletop exercise where they came in and did a cybersecurity, uh, incident and had our students kind of try to figure out what steps they would take to solve that incident. Um, this is something that a lot of, um, companies go through. They hire an outside vendor to train the company,
how legal reacts to something, how, um, HR would react to something, how the marketing team would react to a cyber security attack within the company. Um, my students were treated exactly like those employees. They were not given a watered down version of that. And, uh, we got some really good feedback. Mike Stevin from the tech center, um, alongside, uh, Cyberforce Queue, which is their vendor that does these, um, attack scenarios. Uh, they ran that together and Mike was so impressed that he actually came back the next day to watch our kids do their cyber patriot competition. Wow. Which is the next slide.
Um, cyber Patriot is something that we run every year. This is eight the year 18. I think we've been doing it for about eight or nine years. Um, the cyber, uh, cyber patriot competition runs throughout the entire school year, pretty much from September to about, um, March or April. And, uh, the kids are given scenarios where they have to try to defend a, um, computer system from a, an attack or try to recover data on a computer that already has been attacked.
Um, we did a summer camp, um, where we had some former graduates come in and actually train some of my students that were already doing the competition so that they could try to get better at it. That's cool. So I had students that are actually working in cybersecurity all around New England, um, come in and talk to them and, um, kind of train them on some stuff that I wouldn't have trained them on in school because it's something that's a little more advanced. Um, I think it went really well. Um, there's a competition schedule there that kind of just runs through all the different, um, events
that happen throughout the year. Um, but if we go to the next slide, uh, for the summer camp, um, the blue on the chart is their pres, uh, pre-camp survey where they told us how confident they felt in a lot of the things that we were gonna talk about in the red is the post camp survey. Um, all across the board, it was all positive. So, um, this, this summer camp was funded by a grant from the Mast Tech Collaborative. Um, max Faithy if, uh, any of you have met him, he, uh, does a lot of, um, talks about, uh, cybersecurity throughout the, the state.
And, um, they funded this program as well as, um, some more curriculum building and, um, certification vouchers for my students. Uh, this is the competition as of, uh, last week. Um, it's hard to read from over there, but, um, the senior junior team, which is actually, um, three of the students here, uh, plus two more that are not here. Um, they placed fourth in the state, um, at as of last week. And that was after two rounds of competition with Cyber Patriot. Um, and then the sophomore team, which is, uh,
actually two of them are here. Uh, the other two students over there, they are in a different tier. Um, but they placed fifth in their tier. So they have three tiers, platinum, gold, and silver. Um, platinum is the top 30% in the country. Gold is the, uh, middle 40%, and then silver is the bottom 30%. Um, all of my teams made it into at least gold tier, so they made it into the top 70% of the, the country for the competition. Um, but the, um, senior junior team had a really tough competition this year. Uh, platinum is really competitive.
Um, our teams are going up against the Math and Science Academy and all the other vocational schools across the eastern side of the state, um, that are all training for the same thing. Um, so if we go to the next slide, um, this is after, this is the preliminary, um, score, which is not complete yet, um, from this weekend that just took place and our senior junior team actually moved up into third place. Mm-hmm. But they have a chance to move into second. There's some scoring that has to be done afterwards. Um, so they could end up being third
or second place in Massachusetts for cybersecurity. Um, and then the sophomore and junior and senior freshman team in the gold tier, all finished in the top eight so far, um, which is really good. They all moved up in ranking from where they were in the last round. Um, another competition that they do for the cybersecurity program is a, um, what they call a capture the flag where they try to solve problems. And, um, they, they get a bunch of different Jeopardy style questions and they have to go and investigate and find secret messages on different
websites and try to break into a system, um, and see if they can find, uh, a certain file or something that's in that system. And, um, this is the first year we've competed in it, and our senior team, they finished in the, um, platinum tier for that, which is the top, uh, F 300 teams across the country out of 4,000. So, uh, they did really well. They, our schools ranked 32nd out of all the high schools in the country. Um, and, um, they're, I think they were really proud of the work that they did for that.
Um, there's another competition for that in the spring that we'll get to, um, in April, I think. Uh, so other stuff that we do. Um, so that was all cybersecurity. That was just what I do. Um, the stuff that Mr. Lockwood does with the Tiger Tech Center, he is the computer repair person. He is the network installation person. Uh, so these photos, these are all different jobs that we've been doing in the last two years. Um, different locations that we've been to. Uh, there's a go-cart, uh, Brady. Where was that? That was in Southway track slot car racing. Yep.
So they, they installed some cameras in the slot car racing, uh, track there. Um, they've done some soldering jobs. They do wiring jobs. Um, they dig and run cable underground. Um, just lots of stuff that we do. Uh, all the different services that we offer. We do electronics repair, we do networking, we do computer repair, um, mobile devices. Lots of things that people can come in and actually have done at our school. They just bring it down to our program and the kids fix it and then, you know, you go on your way.
Um, something else that we offer, uh, we've been working with the tech center a lot in the last four or five years, and we've been doing onsite technical support for our school. We are the Chromebook repair people. Um, we are working with the, uh, uh, Westfield River. We helped them set up all the initial technology that went into the school for that after the construction was done. And then, um, again, I I showed you the training opportunities that we've been having with, uh, Mike Steen. And that's, uh, something that we're gonna keep on going with, um, senior site visits.
Uh, something that a lot of people don't know that we do is every month we visit four different senior centers and we, uh, provide free technical support for all the senior citizens that are at those programs. Um, we work with the Westfield Senior Center, the Southwick Senior Center, um, Hamden Village and Southwick Village. Um, so when, uh, we go to the senior centers, um, we can do anything that's scheduled within that timeframe. And we can actually have people come there and, um, give us their, uh, devices and have us walk, walk 'em through how to use 'em. I'd love, um, and we can actually thank, uh,
Cindy Sullivan for that. She started that program with us. That's awesome. Um, and then the Hamden Village, uh, they approached us and asked if we could do something on site for them. So we actually go there and we do house visits. So we actually just go right to those community homes and we work on, you know, the putting up a TV or helping them learn how to use their email. Um, then we do the same thing with Southlake Village, which is a really big, I know if you guys have seen South Lake Village is huge, lots of buildings. And they have the big main facility that we work into. Um, and that's just one way that we give back, uh, because without the community, we wouldn't be where we are.
Um, and, and it helps the kids realize that they can make a difference even if it isn't going and getting a job. Um, and working out there. And then Mr. Flaherty's side with the software development programming, um, we've been actually making websites, uh, for the last two years. He started up a, um, community facing website development, um, program with the kids. So these are actual real websites our kids have made, um, empire Movers, um, pride Machining, Woolcott Realty. And then, uh, we actually just recently made a website
for a b um, sales company. Uh, and we've taken about five or six of them a year. Um, he's actually looking for more. So if you guys know anyone that needs a website, we do 'em pretty, uh, competitively. Um, the, it's a, it's a longer turnaround, but the kids are learning how to do it. And, um, you know, you get on, you get long-term support with us. Um, that's it, I think for that. That's it. Uh, so I brought the kids here because if, uh, you guys wanna ask any questions about their experiences, um, they're all really shy except for Will. So Will might want to come talk.
No, you decide not to come here, will. It's easy. Yeah. So Will will actually, um, he just was, uh, working at Best Buy. He's part of the Geek Squad. Oh, cool. Was part of the Geek Squad. We, uh, we kind of forced him to go on co-op. We said, no, why don't you work during the school day, have your nights so you can catch up on your homework. Uh, and he didn't like that. His mom loved it though. Nice to meet you. Will, will. I love that. You're on the AI team. Yes. AI team. I on the AI committee along with Caden. Caden actually, he's also there. And Jay. Okay. All three of you right here. Yep. Yeah.
So what do we do with the AI committee? Tell him about that. Um, there's one tomorrow actually there is, yes. At, uh, WHS library. And we talk about how, uh, the district can move forward, not completely against ai, but be able to use it in proactive measures so as to not have students lean on it and rely on it instead of learning. Um, good. That's awesome. That's awesome. Uh, yeah, if anyone, if anyone has any questions for any of them specifically or anything? Um, I think it's really interesting that Caden has been using it since seventh grade. Ai.
Ai, yeah. Caden loves his ai. Uh, all of my students love their ai. It's, uh, we probably have the hardest time getting the kids to stop using it in our shop. Um, they'll use it to talk to me. It's, it's ridiculous. That's awesome. That's awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Your information. We appreciate it. I learned so much. Thank you Mr. Ley. Next item, approval of the minutes, I think Tech ac. Yep. Tech student report. Yeah. I'm sorry. She's right there. Oops. That counts.
Hi, I'm Ki Jack here. I'm a junior at Westfield Technical Academy and I'm part of the Aviation program and I'm just tell you a little bit about everything. So let's get started. Um, so this is a very exciting time at W Tech or WTA apologies. Um, for a ninth grade class later this week, as they finish up the exploratory process, they will be selecting their top three choices for their permanent shops. The next time they have Shop week, they'll be in their final destination. So good luck to all the ninth graders in getting their number one choice. Our students continue to want to come
to the school at the place to be. Our overall attendance rate continues to be around 96%. Um, and then Tiger's Pride is cooking. The recent holiday Buffet was a huge success as, once again, reservations were sold out on December 3rd. Tiger's Pride hosted the monthly Veterans Luncheon with thanks to the Westfield Gas and Electric for a sponsoring this event, tiger Talk will be welcoming back Mrs. Groom to the number one rated show on 1 0 7 0.5 F-M-W-S-F-D. Mrs. Groom was away for a bit on a talent scout
and hopes her return will make our ratings skyrocket. Tune in Thursday mornings at 8:00 AM Our winter sports are underway at Tech Boys and Girls basketball, wrestling, swimming track and ice hockey, skiing and cheerleading are available. Over 90 student athletes will be participating this season. This is our largest number of participants in over 10 years. Both our girls and boys basketball teams recorded victories in the opening games last week. Senior golfer, Dan O'Connor, signed a national Letter of intent today in the cafeteria.
In front of his family and teammates, Dan has committed to play college golf at a IC in Springfield, Massachusetts. This is only the second ever WTA athlete to sign an LI. Congratulations to Dan, coach Val and the entire WTA golf team. Um, the WTA construction shop would like to extend. Thanks to all of you that attended the topping off ceremony at the St. James Street Building Project. The frame and walls are up and the new house is really taking shape.
Thanks also goes out to all of the local businesses that donate time and materials so that our students can get this real world experience. Our annual craft fair was held on Sunday, November 30th from nine to 3:00 PM which is sponsored by our PBO. Proceeds from this event will be used for school supplies and scholarships for seniors. Many attended and it was a great success. As usual, thank you to all that. Attended and supported the Horticulture Shop. Received a donation of an electric mini excavator today.
The excavator was donated by the Volvo Corporation through the efforts of Tyler equipment and JL Ray makers and sons. Thanks to these partners for donating this equipment to give our students another educational experience. Second to none. While the weather was below freezing and the task at hand was huge, WTA a's students showed up in a big way, which allowed those honoring loved ones a chance to light up the night in sole remembrance of those affected by cancer. On December 8th, the Cancer House of Hope held their annual
Luminaria fundraiser on the West Springfield Town. Common WTA was well represented with student volunteers from Skills USA and Allied Health. Under the watchful eye of Mr. Vis, the WTA volunteers helped set up over 800 luminary bags and candles for the awe inspiring, uh, evening event. Um, in closing, we wish you all a safe and joyful holiday season and a happy and prosperous new year. On behalf of our students, staff and administration, we would like to thank you
for your generous and continue to support of WTA, the place to be. Nice Job. Thank you. We go. I'd like to make a motion for the approval of the December 1st, 2025 school committee. Many meeting minutes Second. That made in second. Any further discussion? Seeing none all is in favor. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Hold on one second. You guys don't have to stay for the rest of the meeting. If you guys wanna take off, you're more than welcome. See you tomorrow. Unless you wanna sit through, you're more than welcome. Oh, no. This week We'll have the whole place empty before you know I'll stay. Thank you Brady.
Brady, congratulations again on your Congratulations. Good to see you. Thank you. I apologize, I just screwed. No worries. Sure. Alright. Uh, approval of White Oak is private school. I'd like to make a motion for the approval of the White Oak School as a private school for the 20 25 20 26 school year. Second Motion made second. Is there any further discussion? Sure. If you, if you'd like to. I, I, why? Good evening. Why do we do this? Um, well actually it's required by the state that, um, the school committee
and the schools do this review. It's, it's not, you know, in depth, but there are requirements. So we, I represent us, all of us and visit each of the schools. Go over what's their curriculum, what's their time on learning, do they have the inspections they need to have, I mean, all the things that are kind of laid out here. Um, I usually get a nice tour getting to know the people that work there. There's a lot of continuity in these schools. Um, and basically we have to approve 'em annually. So, And that's gonna hold for all three of these applications as they go forward.
So, correct. Thank you very much. Are there any questions for this one In particular? Can I, can I do, could I ask a general question for it at the end? Of course. Of course. Okay. At the end, or should I do it now? Sorry, I'm getting updates from somebody that we're missing right now, so I apologize. You can do it right now if You want. Okay. Um, I'm noticing that we have a lot of Westfield students going to these three different schools mounting to about 140. These are all elementary programs. And I'm wondering what happens to these students after they leave these schools?
Good question. Well, I mean, white Oak is a school that's actually grades one through 12. And so some kids stay and graduate from there. Some go, you know, third grade, sixth grade. So they may come and go in the Westfield schools. Um, Westfield Christian Academy does go through grade eight and like this year they have 83 students from Westfield across the grade. So maybe there's eight to 10 in grade eight. Some come to the high school, some actually go to the Technical academy. Um, some do homeschool. Those are the three areas that I know about.
Some may go to other private schools, but basically, and then the full Gospel Christian School right now is through grade six. And there's like, I don't know, a couple 10 kids per grade. So, um, we do have families that come to Westfield Public Schools after that. So they end up going to our middle school. Is that what you're thinking? That where they go? Yeah. Yes. And the one thing about this school is they're adding on a grade till they get to grade eight. Okay. So they're at six right now. 'cause they were new however many years ago. Yeah. I'm just concerned about the budget. You know, when these students do come to our schools, um,
and they're up they age out of these other ones are we, how do we account for them? That's, Yeah. I mean, there's probably eight to 10 15, so it's not a big bubble. And it's been happening for, you know, some years. Um, we have increased the numbers of kids coming to our technical academy in the last few years. Um, they've come to visit during an open house. They've actually asked like a student to go speak to their student their eighth grade. So, um, you know, it seems to just kind of work seamlessly.
Perfect. Thank you very much. Anything else? All in favor? A opposed? Motion carries. We can do this pretty quickly. Thank you. I'd like to make a motion for the approval of the Westfield Christian Academy as a private school for the 20 25 20 26 school year Motion been made. And second, is there any further discussion saying none. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion Carries like To make a motion for the approval of the full Gospel Christian School as a private school for the 20 25 20 26 school year. Second Motion been made. And second, is there any further discussion saying none. All those in favor a. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.
Great. Thank you very much. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Birthday, Heather. Happy birthday and thank you so much for your service. Birthday buddies. I know, not just same day, but year, same year. Are We saying, are We saying that? And Tim, thank you too for your service. I appreciate it. No, we, I mean it's up to Heather, but I'm done. We're good. We're Good. Alright. I feel a song in my heart. Go ahead, mayor Sing. Item 10. I'd like to make a motion to approve the settlement agreement between Westfield School Committee and Westfield Education Association Unit A teachers for 20 26, 20 29 school years and authorized the mayor to sign on behalf of the committee.
Second. Motion made. And second, is there any further discussion? Dr. Morris, would you like to address the committee? Uh, I'll just be brief. I'm happy to answer any questions folks have, but I just want to thank Dr. Gunther for being the school committee representative, uh, in the process. And, uh, the Westfield Education Association for Collaboration and the give and take that happens when you're involved in negotiations. Thank you, Dr. Thank you. Thank you. Thank You. Any other discussion? Mr. Sullivan? Call the roll please. Heather Sullivan? Yes. Mike Terrell. Yes. Jeffrey Gunther.
Yes. Kathleen Hillman. Yes. Bo Sullivan. Yes. Tim O'Connor? Yes. Chairman McCabe? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all your work. Thank you for your work that you guys do every day in the trenches. Appreciate it. Thanks. You also. Happy holidays. Thank you for working all. Thank you, Matt. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. President. Excuse me. Is that signed by them? Yes. Now you can think, now you can celebrate. Yeah. We're losing this half The number 12. Uh, you guys can go. Alright, next item. Second. Final reading. I'd Like to make a motion for second and final reading by title only
to amend policy file IKF graduation requirements. Second motion has been made. And second, is there any further discussion? Saying none. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion. Carrieds approval was Field Technical Academy Field Trip. I'd like to make a motion for the approval of Westfield Tech Academy Field trip to the New England Air Museum. Windsor Locks, Connecticut. December 22nd, 2025. Second motion been made. And second. Is there any further discussion? Who second? Mr. O'Connor? Ms. Big attention. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed?
Motion carried Approval. I'd like to make a motion to create a new account for the Credit for Life program. Second. Second. Motion been made and seconded. Credit for Life program. Anybody know what that is? So Subbing Motions here. This is Barry. How are you? Oh, look at this. We got two. Two Starge. How are you? I'm well. How are you? Happy Holiday. Happy holidays. The Credit for Life program is an excellent learning experience for our students. They take the skills they learn in financial literacy
and they complete a simulation that is organized by a wonderful group of volunteers and supported by many businesses in the community. They make donations to be able to run this event. And before now, those donations were accepted by the VIPs, um, coordinator and became part of that account just held on to until they were needed.
But we need to create this special account to hold that money now because we are in the process of transitioning to a new 5 0 1 C3 for Vs. We had a period of time, especially through COVID where we didn't have volunteers, and now we are back up and running with Heidi Cody as our volunteer coordinator. And she is working with our accountant, volunteers
and lawyers to get everything back on track. And we believe we will be rebranding with a new name and then the account can close and we will take the money back. Any other questions? All I know is it's a good program. It's fun. Good day. Sullivan. Kathleen Hillman. Yes. Beau Sullivan. Yes. Heather Sullivan. Yes. Mike Terrell. Yes. Jeffrey Gunther. Yes. Tim O'Connor. Yes. And Chairman McCabe? Yes. Thank you very much by The Thank you. Oh, Next up I'd like to make
A motion for the acceptance of the special revenue accounts, including gift accounts and revolving accounts as presented. Second, Second. Motion been made in second. Is there any further discussion? So there hasn't been a lot of changes since the last time I presented, but I did wanna talk about Project Astra. Um, oh good. So, yay. Um, I'm not sure where I left off last time, but Cindy did a lot of research for me trying to find when this account was created. Lots of research. The last thing we could find, I think was back in the nineties where the school committee approved that the funds were to be used to send children to Space Camp in Florida, um,
to provide scholarships for that. So, um, that's the last thing we could find on it. So I talked to Desi and I talked to our lawyers, and they're basically saying at this point, it has been so long since this has been touched and money's been donated. Um, traditionally with accounts where money has been donated, you need to go back to the donors if you plan to use it for a different purpose and get their permission. But what our lawyers are saying at this point is that I can have you all take a vote, um, and we'll use it for a similar purpose. So we'll vote for it to be used for, you know, general science at the middle school. Um, so I couldn't get
that on the agenda in time for, for today. But the next time we do the special revenue accounts, I'll be looking for your approval to kinda rename this account as just a general science account for the middle school. I'm gonna say yes. I'm gonna say yes. Yes. Don't listen to him. I'm a yes all the way. Can you guys keep in mind what Mr. Barry has just spoken about? 'cause I'm gonna bring something up a little bit further on when we talk about, um, um, referral for policy at the school committee level. 'cause I, I really would do want to kind of focus in on, on this particularized issue, but I'll wait until the appropriate time. Any questions? Ms. Sullivan?
Bo Sullivan? Yes. Heather Sullivan. Yes. Mike Terrell. Yes. Kathleen Hillman. Yes. Jeffrey Gunther. Yes. Tim O'Connor. Yes. Chairman McCabe? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Shannon. I just wanna say thank you for looking into that. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Um, so my final words, which I didn't think I signed, but, um, November 28th, 2025 19 batches totaling $181,634 and 97 cents. And December 5th batches, uh,
2025 15 batches totaling 694,009. $495 and 75 cents. Thank you. I'd like to make a motion for the following, acceptance of following gifts, donations donated to Westfield River Elementary School from Grin Barrett Enterprises. The amount of $528 and 80 cents from Stop and Shop Blooming for Good $218 and from Stop and Shop Community Bag Program, $53 all to be for the educational purposes. Gift account donated Southampton Road from Grin
and Barrett in the amount of $500 to be used for the educational purposes gift account and donated to Westfield Public Schools from Evan Roberta Matson in the amount of $100 for West Public School annual Turkey Drive. Second Motion been made. And second, is there any further discussion? Just thank you for the, the generosity, uh, that still amazes me every time. Mm-hmm. Mr. Sullivan. Heather Sullivan. Yes. Mike Terrell. Yes. Jeffrey Gunther. Yes. Kathleen Hillman. Yes. Bo Sullivan. Yes. Tim O'Connor. Yes. And Shannon McCabe?
Yes. Uh, superintendent's update, obviously the superintendent's not here. Um, he had was called away at the last moment. Um, I will update you that it's, uh, it's a better situation than, than was, than it could have been. So life is better there. Um, moving on to the Mayor's update. Um, I want to thank the folks specifically, uh, coach Tom Lewis and, um, his team for the work that they did with the Chambers Memorial. Um, that was something to behold. There were about 800 students present. They were all in mourning colors.
It was, it was truly it, it was unbelievable. Um, Chris is the, um, the Navy Seal who died from, um, in action in, um, in the Middle East. Um, that, uh, plaque was, you guys gave permission to accept the plaque, so that was pretty cool. It was also cool to see Kathleen once again. Oh, geez. Kathleen is everywhere. By the way. We saw her at the Chambers memorial. Right. But we did get to see her as well at the topping ceremony. Oh, I, I see. So, thank you. I, that's what I'm saying. Oh, okay. So I wanna thank you for your continued support
to all that you do with our schools and show up when, uh, whenever there's an event. It was, uh, it was pretty cool. Thank you to Matt. Go for putting that together. School committee update, Mr. Terrell. Uh, just wanna take a couple of seconds to, uh, wish a happy retirement to our friends, uh, Mr. O'Connor and Mrs. Ms. Sullivan. Um, I don't think I, I don't think I can say anything that hasn't been said. Um, but you guys have clearly, you know, uh, always been in this for the right reasons. And, um, you know, your dedication
and your passion for, uh, for the faculty, for the schools, for the kids, uh, has always been, has always been evident. And I know, uh, as Sullivan has, uh, recently started a new job. So I wish her, uh, congratulations in her endeavors. I'm sure. Thank you. Mr. O'Connor will, uh, spend his Mondays working on his golf games at least, hopefully at least that's probably, at least that's what his teammates ask. Better be more than Monday. Uh, but seriously, thank you guys so much for, uh, for your, for your help, uh, here, uh,
for keeping your phones on, uh, wink, wink, right. And, um, and, and for everything that you've done. Really, really appreciate it. Thank You. Thank you. I'd also like to jump in real fast as the, um, the last person to speak here. I think, um, Tim just wanted to thank you for welcoming me to this space. And, you know, we didn't have any relationship before this. And I, uh, have really appreciated your mentorship and guidance and just the way in which you have made me feel welcome over these last couple of years and really have appreciated getting to, getting to know you
and, um, serve with you here. And Heather. Um, the, so funny, I used to say it with a chuckle. Um, I just think that you have been a model of what it looks like to be, uh, committed at all costs to what's right for our kids. And I really appreciated your leadership on, on many things, um, and partnership over these last couple of years as well. So thank you. Thank you everyone. Items for referral to subcommittees. Um, normally there's not a lot going on here, but Kathleen, go ahead. Um, I just wanna say that, um, we're, I've been working
with Bruce Hastings and Dan Paquette and Christine Shea with the, uh, tech admissions policy because of the changes with the lottery, and so we're working on that policy. So just so you know That, that's, um, next, next time out. Can you give us an update on the current status of how you can enter ninth grade without having passed eighth grade? Oh, yeah. Uh, my fingertips. Okay, thank you. Um, anything else? I do have a couple. Um, normally I don't refer anything to subcommittee,
so I don't even know if I'm doing this right. So, uh, special gift to revenue account. Circling back to, uh, the conversation with Mrs. Barry earlier, um, I would like to propose a policy change so that, I don't know who would get this to look at. Um, that we set a sunset clause on any gift that we get. So if we, somebody gives us a gift and they say it's for X purpose and we accept it for X purpose, it sunsets out and goes back to a general purpose fund after say five years of inactivity. Um, it cleans up a lot of this stuff
and it doesn't really matter if it's a rot, uh, a revolving account that was set up or a straight line gift account that's set up. So hopefully, um, somebody will consider that in a policy. And I would also like for a policy to be set for, um, bargaining rules and literally what does it look like when the school committee is bargaining with, um, the other unit, uh, unit A, unit B, unit D, um, the, the secretaries, food, food workers, um, so that everybody has its own set of, of rules
and everybody understands what those rules are moving forward. Um, so if we could get that into the hands of a committee, that would be great. I'm not sure exactly how we do that, but I'm looking at you above. Uh, that's a good question first. The first one I would say we gotta make sure legally we can even do that. So that's, that's I agree with you. Sure. Absolutely agree. I don't, I don't know which policy they're gonna fall under, but that's, this would come under that committee, so Yeah, I, I think we find out what policy it'll land under first and then we move it. Okay. Because I don't think we have either policy. I, I looked, I don't think we have a policy under either one of those, either gifts or, um, bargaining.
If we need to rewrite one or write a new one, then we do Any old business. Can I just, um, do you have just, uh, besides those two events I went to, I went to the Romeo and Juliet play at the high school, and they really do need sound and lighting over there. So I just heard the scene thing. If we can, if we can work on that, I'd appreciate it. Oh, thank you. Sorry. Uh, No, I just, somebody just took me aside at a party I was at two days ago and said the same thing. I could, I could understand, I could hardly understand the actors and they put a lot of work into it.
So Brought It high school. Yep. High school. She Was at a different school. The middle, middle school's the same. We do, She was at the middle school. The audience just terrible. But it's an auditorium. You gotta remember, it's not built for a play. So if it's built for a play, if memory serves me correctly, I may be wrong. I don't want to talk out of school. Ah, See what I did over there, you guys awake? It's funny. Um, is that they've received quotes for, um, audio improvements at West High School. Good. So, um, I know that that's in the work. Don't forget the middle school. I, I think it was a received quote for Westville High School specifically.
I'm not forgetting the middle school. I'm just stating, Or the other school intermediate, Um, which Already forget School committee update. I already did that. Items for subcommittee already did that old business. Is there any old business? There's no old business subcommittee. Reports and recommendations. Are there any reports? Yes. I'd like to make a motion to approve the subcommittee meeting minutes for December 1st, 2025. Second motion been made and seconded. Is there any further discussion? No, I got One. Mr. I I, I have to just, unless he was there, um, by osmosis, you're gonna have
to change Tim O'Connor's name to my name because he wasn't at the meeting when he seconded the motion for the policy file. I think Heather gave it to himself. Could have, could have. I don't know. Did I? Huh? They did what? She seconded. No, no, no. In the minutes themselves. Oh, they've got you listed as seconding motion. You weren't at the meeting. I'm that good. You were, but he phoned it in like usual, but okay. Now I don't remember. Do we vote kicks next school committee? Don't. January 5th, 2026. No, no, no.
Hold on. Pump the brakes and the motion. Uh, all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Can you get that down? Motion carries on. I already did. Well, there you go. I just said Next takes next school committee meeting. This isn't for you yet. You gotta wait. The next regularly scheduled school committee meeting is January 5th, 2026. Mr. O'Connor and Mrs. Sullivan, would either one of you like to make a motion? Oh, Like To make a motion Adjourn. Second. Motion been made in second. And all those in favor? A opposed? Motion carries. We are adjourned at.