Randy Mitchell Photograph Image/jpg Photograph Image/jpg Photograph Image/jpg The Allen School Board Met For Regular

The Allen School Board met for regular business Monday.

Board Vice President Frayne Black and High School Principal Chris Grimm were absent.

Administrative

Reports

Administrative reports were delivered by Jeff Hiatt, superintendent, and Amy Mayhue, elementary school principal.

Hiatt spoke about the new gymnasium, and an open house for the new gym, which was held Monday night. Hiatt said a good attendance was reported, and also noted that the gym is not yet 100% complete.

“I want to go back and add some padding behind the west goal, around the window seals,” Hiatt said. “They said we didn’t need it, but as they practice in there, we’ve had some kids get really close, and that’s a sharp edge. So, I think we need to be safer than sorry, and get that padded.”

Hiatt said a few things that weren’t included in the new gym were trash cans. And quite a few were recently donated.

“I want to thank Willis Rinehart for donating (trash cans),” Hiatt said. “They’re big trash cans, they’re real nice. They look really nice.”

Hiatt said much cleaning has been done in the new gym, and only a few minor issues remain. But those issues will be taken care of before the fi rst game, he said.

“Candace Wilson is starting FCA here, it’s a school, but it’s really not a school,” Hiatt said. “FCA is Fellowship of Christian Athletes, we’ve had it here years ago, they said. She’s trying to get a group of kids and take them to an OU football game. I think that is kind of a neat deal. I did this when I was at a previous school. We would load a bus full of kids and take them to an OU game.”

“How is that being funded,” Board Clerk Jami Rinehart asked.

“The kids have to pay for it,” Hiatt said.

Hiatt said the cost is about $35 for each student.

“And she’s got some people in the community that have already said, ‘I’ll fund up to 20 kids if there’s any kids who don’t have the money to go.’ I think it’s a good thing to have here. They key is, they don’t have to be an athlete. It’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, but we’re pushing it through to all our kids. You don’t have to be an athlete.”

Hiatt spoke about vaping.

“We were able to schedule a lady to come talk to our secondary kids, secondary sixth grade and up, about vaping” Hiatt said. “Are they going to stop somebody already doing it? Well, maybe not, but my stance on that is, there’s always that kid who’s on the line. And that kid needs encouragement to not cross the line. There are a lot of unknowns about it right now, and I think our kids think it’s safe, but I don’t think anybody really knows if it is or isn’t at this point.”

Amy Mayhue began by speaking about recently held basketball festivals.

“Last week, we had the kinder through fourth-grade basketball festival at Stonewall,” Mayhue said. “It was well-received, we were well-represented. Most of our kids were there. It was a lot of fun, our kids represented us very, very well, and played really hard. We’ll be hosting that here Nov.

19. So that’s going to be exciting for us.”

Mayhue said Monday the school had its first big family engagement activity which involved head start through fifth grade.

“We had 250 RSVPs to come this morning, and I think we hit it,” she said. “I couldn’t really count, but by food count, we hit our mark. We did donuts and pastries. My family engagement committee is led by Nicki Walden and Jessy Harris. So they came to me and said, ‘This

get ready

for a zombie

invation

Saturday, October 26 the Allen football fi eld come try your skills at our fourth Zombie Chase. There will be no charge for this event, however there will be a registration form and waiver to fill out prior to the race. All participants will receive either a 'Survivor' or 'Infected' medal. This event is being sponsored by the group Define Your Direction. This group seeks to INSPIRE teens and young adults to be leaders in their communities and live healthy lifestyles apart from prescription drug and alcohol abuse. Define Your Direction is a movement of peers, parents, community leaders and educators to change the perception of alcohol and prescription drug abuse in Oklahoma communities. By educating teens and young adults about the dangers of both subjects, they are creating a generation of students eager to participate in their communities, live healthy lives and be positive role models. Through Defi ne Your Direction, you can receive free resources to use when talking to teens about prescription drug abuse and underage drinking. They are grant-funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in collaboration with the Chickasaw Nation and Southern Plains Tribal Health Board. Visit their website at defineyourdirection.com or their facebook or twitter accounts for more information about their organization.

is our idea,’ and I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ So, I think we probably fed like 600 donuts this morning. It was a good time. And our head start kids were so cute, because they just loved having their parents there with them. They were just so sweet.”

Mayhue said the elementary school will start a new gifted and talented program on Fridays. The program will involve will involve writing, reading and science.

Consent Agenda

The board approved the consent agenda, which included the fiscal year 2019-2020 purchase orders and encumbrances: general fund numbers 177 through 198 ($74,692.56); child nutrition fund number 35 ($1,000); building fund numbers 26 through 29 ($4,915.21); bond fund numbers 10 and 11 ($4,174.95); and sinking fund numbers 1 through 4 ($411,325).

The consent agenda also included the treasurer’s report, activity fund report, a resolution to join (OSIG) Oklahoma Schools Insurance Group, a basketball fundraiser and a travel request for a special education workshop.

Action Items

The board also approved action items, which included a vote to approve or disapprove a resolution calling for the annual school board election. The seat to be filled at the election is offi ce number fi ve.

Other action items included discussion and vote considering adoption of new board policies required by Federal Programs as provided by the OSSBA.

Also, Allen Public Schools will be taking the ACT as the locally selected, national recognized assessment for the College and Career Readiness Assessment (CCRA).

The board also approved the concessions activity account which can be used for athletic purposes.