Attendance was great today!  There were 15 members and 6 guests present!  

 

Adriana Lozada, a prospective member, attended her 2nd of 3 required meetings, and will be inducted soon.

 

The club celebrated February birthdays, today, with a delicious cake, provided by Kelli Whigham.  Thank you, Kelli!

 

Jennifer Richmond, president, was unable to attend due to illness.  We missed you, today, Jennifer!

 

1.  Penny Slavik will be writing several articles, for the San Marcos newspaper, to draw attention to San Marcos Kiwanis club, and what we do for the community.  She has asked for any personal stories and pictures of past Kiwanis events.

 

2.  Member Surveys:  Several weeks ago, Jennifer Richmond sent out a survey for members to fill out and return.  As of this time, she only received 6 surveys back.  It is important that all members fill out this survey, as it will assist in planning future events and activities for the club.  Jennifer will try to print off copies to bring to the meeting, so members can fill them out, before leaving the meeting.  Members can also pull up a previous email, sent by Jennifer, and fill the survey out, online.  

 

3.  Requested donations:  Last evening, during the board meeting, 2 donation requests were addressed. These requests were from Buck n Good BBQ and San Marcos High School Diamond Line Dance Team.  Both are still being reviewed, and will be addressed at a later time.

 

4.  Grant Writing:  Jennifer Richmond will be attending a grant writing workshop, at the San Marcos Library, on Mar. 5th.  This workshop will be hosted by Community Action, Inc, and is open to anyone that would like to attend.  If you are interested, you can sign up online.

 

5.  Kiwanis International Day of Giving:  During next week's meeting, the club will talk about donating.  If any member is interested in donating individually, you can do so by going online to the Kiwanis International Site.

 

Dr. Darren Ochoa-Cole talked about books, and the importance they have in helping children master basic skills of learning.  These skills include hearing sounds, putting sounds together to form words, combining words to make sentences, etc...  He emphasized that the more students learn to read, the fewer will fall behind.  He explained that many programs are offered to enhance learning such as dual languages, expanded advanced coursework to include college courses, and the use of technology.  Dr Ochoa-Cole emphasized that it was important to meet the needs of students both through academics, and through their mental well-being.  The latter are achieved through communities in schools, social/emotions counselors, and family/community engagement.    

 

Dr. Terrance Sanders talked about Student Outcomes over the last 2 school years.  He explained that schools are rated using "distinctions", as a way to compare SMCISD schools' performance to that of other schools.  This comes from testing and other factors.  These 'distinctions" also help to show how students are growing each year.  Dr. Sanders stated that each campus was showing growth.  To improve student outcomes, Dr. Sanders explained that there was a lot of partnerships in the community for students not heading to college.

 

Mr. Bernie Sandoval is responsible for overseeing student transportation, building facilities, and equipment needs.  He has worked closely using Bond 2023 by coordinating the "transformation of schools, one project at a time."  He discussed some of the improvements to the school district campuses.  Bonham Preschool has improved lighting, and Goodnight Junior high received improvements to their band hall.  Mendez was rebuilt completely and will have a July 2026 move in date.  The old Mendez will then be demolished.  Also, the San Marcos High School received improvements on their band hall, the "Black Box" theatre and extra classrooms were added, and more parking has been made available.  He also explained that a $17 million swimming pool is still in the construction phase, but upon completion, it will be something that the community will be able to utilize, as well.

 

Ms. Denise Garcia spoke on the budget, and where the school district gets its money. She explained that there were 3 main funding sources: those being local funding, state funding, and federal funding.  Each student is allotted a specific amount of money from this funding, to go to the running of the entire district.  Ms. Garcia explained that attendance, rather than enrollment is the deciding factor for the amount of money the district receives.  What this means is that money is only calculated on students actually in the building.