School, Energy Boards Meet

The Board of Education met on Monday.

Here are the agenda highlights:

• The board announced that 250 students participated on a recent volleyball lock-in.

• Susan Norlie-Hesnan resigned from the board after 14 years of service, for personal reasons.

• Student representative katie Ashmead reported that two Rockville High School students, Erin Connelly and Rachel Tanni, were honored at a fine arts banquet for the Connecticut Association of Schools.

• Judy Latonie, the coordinator of reading, language arts and social studies and Chris Ozmun, the coordinator of math and science and teacher coaches Jenny Fischer, Paula Hughes, Jen Miller and Emily Trexler presented an instructional coaching report. The teacher coaches started their positions in January and will continue in that capacity until June, 2012.

• Holly Boutwell donated $50 to Skinner Road Elementary School to assist students who may need a new pair of shoes as part of a “Pay-It-Forward” campaign at her church. She made the donation in honor of Phyllis Chase, a longtime nurse at Skinner Road School

• Glenn Burns, a pastor at Rockville Baptist Church, offered to donate $5,000 to Center Road School. Rockville Baptist Church donated $3,000 to Center Road School last year and the funds were used to buy reading books. Center Road expects to use the donation to purchase additional reading books, computers for classrooms, accelerated math supplies and to fund whole-school assemblies that support curriculum.

• Karen Fitzpatrick, a teacher at Rockville High School, requested approval for a trip by her Agriculture Education students to the New York Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo on May 17. Superintendent of Schools Mary Conway approved the request.

• Dennis Timberman, a teacher at Rockville High School, took his advanced placement design/photography students to New York City on March 26 for a photo shoot with the City of New York.

• Agriculture Education teacher Calvin Brodersen informed the board that Sunset Hills Farm of Butler, Pa., has offered to donate two alpacas to the Rockville Regional Agricultural Education Center. The expenses associated with maintaining this donation are not expected to exceed that which is already budgeted next year for the Ag-Ed animal laboratory. A $450 shipping fee to obtain the animals would be covered by the proceeds of the annual Ag-Ed plant sale. The value of the animals is about $10,000.

Mayor Jason McCoy presided over the the second meeting of the Energy Improvement District Board.

Here are the agenda highlights:

• “It is great to see these highly qualified board members come together to look at ways to improve the town’s energy efficiency and to deliver better services to the community'' McCoy said.

• Board members discussed ideas about how to improve Vernon’s energy consumption and reliable ways to improve the use of energy in our community.

 • The EID Board scheduled its next meeting for Monday, April 25, and will likely elect a new chairman, as established by the governing rules adopted at the first meeting on Feb. 24.