CMHS introduces new student government, Robb Elementary celebrated as School of the Month, and other news

By Christopher Miller

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – The school board met for two-and-a-half-hours Thursday night for their April Work Session to hear a full agenda of items waiting to be voted on next week.

Superintendent Redmon gave a shoutout to Transportation Supervisor Shelly Ott and Rob Pacella Property Services Supervisor for working with their connections with PennDOT for the recent early dismissal and two-hour-delay due to weather this week. “They were central to getting the kids to and from school safely during the wet weather earlier this week,” Redmon said.

Robb Elementary School, the only remaining elementary school in the city of Lock Haven, was the KCSD School of the Month Thursday evening.

“We call our employees at the elementary school “staffulty,” because we are all on the same level and we are all teachers to the students here,” said school Principal Tyler Barth. “We are very happy to be here tonight to represent our students and their families.”

Robb Elementary School’s goal is #ROBBONTOP with a goal to make Robb the top of what it can be, with the theme being #CHAMPIONS, celebrating a different letter in the word “champions” every month.

School leaders went on to discuss the school calendar for the rest of the year beginning with the “School Showcase” on May 14, displaying what the students have been up to, their hobbies, talents, and school work. “Move-Up Day” is May 15 for fourth graders where they spend a half day shadowing middle school students and learning about the transition from elementary to middle school. “Policy 917/918 Night” is scheduled for May 21 where school leaders discuss the comprehensive school plan and seek parent and community engagement. “Water Day” will be May 30 which has turned into an annual event with an inflatable water slide, and the local fire company turning on the hoses and dousing the playground in hundreds of gallons of water. “Every kid leaves here soaking wet,” Mr. Barth said with a grin. May 1 – June 4 is also called “Robb Gives Back” which is a countdown challenge for the last 25 days of school. Each day, every student is asked to bring in spare change corresponding with the numbered day of school left in the year (24 cents for the 24th day left, 17 cents for the 17th day left, and so on), with all proceeds collected being donated to Sleep in Heavenly Peace, to show students what giving back looks like.

School leaders also have been celebrating the dropping numbers of ODR’s (office referrals) with 81% of the entire school receiving zero referrals for the month of March. They have also been celebrating the sharp drop in student absences due to illness. Robb recently started Coffee & Conversation, where every third Wednesday of the month the school hosts coffee and conversation with parents to gather their input and ideas on how to make Robb Elementary School a great place to be.

Lastly, Robb started a “where are they now” looking at past alumni of Robb School and where they are now in life. According to their data, former students are all over the world working all sorts of jobs in banking and finance, law, medicine, professional sports, education, music, safety and security and military service.

In their student government reports, a representative from Bucktail Middle/High School described recent and future fundraisers to bring funds into the school.

“We will be holding a donut day fundraiser on April 10 with 200 or so donuts for students to buy for $1.50 right when they get off the bus…teachers were given order forms for donuts for themselves if they would like to purchase,” he said. “The Environmental Club held a peanut butter Easter egg fundraiser where we raised almost $1,000 to use toward bus bills for taking us around the community to do things such as collect trash and volunteer work.” “Our softball team is strong this year, leading with a 3-0 record, and our baseball team has seen some big improvements especially in culture and overall mood.” “We would also like you to know that the senior class has passed all of their senior projects and we are really hoping and asking that you can pass our senior class trip request next week – we are very excited for it.”

Central Mountain Middle School government is working with school administration and cafeteria staff to add more snack options to be purchased during the week, and students in seventh grade desire to sit where they want to at lunch, and are working on displaying positive behavior toward achieving their goal.

The recently formed Central Mountain High School student government presented their constitution to the school board Thursday evening. Their mission is to serve, first and foremost as a bridge between students and school staff, faculty, and administrators. To provide a safe, inclusive space for students to grow and learn as leaders, discuss general school/district policies and procedures, and voice their opinions, assessments, and experiences. To empower students to engage in progress, activism, and community service.

The student government structure will contain a General Assembly of 12 students from the 1,100 student body population. Above the general assembly there will be six cabinet members. General Assembly roles will be that any student currently enrolled at CMHS may serve in the General Assembly, the assembly will be comprised of three representatives from each grade in the building, the assembly is responsible for electing a president and the remaining five officers, laws passed by the assembly cannot be bypassed by the cabinet, and that members of the assembly are allowed to self-nominate, requiring a second motion for an officer position.

The Cabinet is composed of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Parliamentarian, Communications Officer, and School Board Representative.

Goals for the 2024-25 school year are that the cabinet will meet with CMHS administration biweekly, the General Assembly will meet weekly/bi-weekly, monthly town hall meetings with the student body will take place, the assembly will act as a voice for students with administration and the board, they will continue to have a presence at monthly school board meetings, and they will effect change at all levels to improve their school.

The 2024-25 Central Mountain High School Student Government Officers are:
President – Jonas Madle
Vice President – Victoria Guthrie
Secretary – McKenna Gray
Parliamentarian – Brody Rhine
Communications Officer – Richard Fantaski
Student School Board Representative – Claire Bowman

In other news, the school district will vote next week to accept a donation of a geriatric bed for use in the CTE program from Robert Pellacore. The bed will be instrumental in the learning experiences of health care CTE students and comes to the district with an estimated value of $2,000.

A student representative of Bucktail High School mentioned that his classmates hope that the school board votes in favor of passing a motion for an overnight field trip for the senior class trip to the Poconos Camelback Lodge.

The school district will be voting on grant application authorizations that could net grants for things such as mental health, digital radios, key swipe systems, and general school improvements.

“I am hoping that our local representative will help champion these grants for us, which usually has a very positive end result when that is done,” board member Lynch said.

Board member Elisabeth Lynch raised questions regarding the final line item on the agenda, the creation of a new position, Director of Human Resources/Federal Programs.

“Can school districts hire a third-party consulting firm to handle human resources matters,” she asked the group, requesting that this items goes into further discussion.