Youth Commission

1 MINUTES OF A MEETING OF A REGULARLY SCHEDULED 2 YOUTH COMMISSION MEETING 3 VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK 4 COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS 5 November 19, 2014 6 “Lead, Serve, Shine” 7 8 Adult Commissioners Present (4) 9 Carla Slawson-Martens, Chairperson 10 Gary Moriello 11 Jodie Dinelli 12 Melissa Morreale 13 14 Student Commissioners Present (4) 15 Bianca Osinski, Student Chairperson 16 Danny Martens 17 Lucia Bosacoma 18 Brandon Mankoff 19 20 Adult/Student Commissioners Absent (11) 21 David Whitlock 22 Kay Ellen Stein 23 Kelli Christenson 24 Ethan Kirschenbaum 25 Andy Han 26 Adam Wagner 27 Kent Steinberg 28 Grace Elisco 29 Jessica Bresler 30 Zainab Ahmed 31 Shaina Hakimian 32 33 Village Staff Present (2) 34 Jason Batalden, Youth Commission Staff Liaison 35 Gale Cerabona, Recorder 36 37 1. Call to Order 38 Chairperson Slawson-Martens opened the meeting & Commissioner Osinski, Student Chairperson, called 39 the meeting to order in the Terrace Room of Village Hall, 1225 Cedar Lane, at 7:03 p.m. A quorum was 40 present. 41 42 2. Welcome & Introduction of New Members 43 Everyone introduced themselves, & new members were welcomed. 44 45 46 47 48  Page 2 Minutes of the November 19, 2014 Youth Commission Meeting 1 3. Approval of Meeting Minutes 2 Commissioner Moriello moved, seconded by Commissioner Martens, to approve the minutes of the 3 October 15, 2014, Youth Commission meeting with the correction to include pre-kindergarteners on 4 page 3, line 1. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 5 6 4. Hear from the Audience 7 There was no audience. 8 9 5. 2014/15 Upcoming Calendar of Events 10 a. Operation Santa Claus 11 Commissioner Moriello stated everything is going well. Wish lists for 650 students have 12 been satisfied & potential sponsors were turned away. He noted that Monday, December 5, 13 2014, is the deadline for gifts. The event is on Thursday, December 11, 2014, at 9 a.m. & 14 lasts 2-3 hours. Student Commissioners should advise Gary if they’ll be attending. An 15 excused absence (from school) would be granted for those student commissioners who 16 appear. Commissioner Osinski volunteered to attend. 17 18 b. Quiz Bowl 19 Student Chairperson for the above, Commissioner Martens, advised of the purpose of the 20 event (noting culture, academic questions, etc.). The time was noted as 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. 21 Commissioner Martens referred to the handout indicating tasks & assigned persons. The 22 following volunteered or were elected: 23  Contact Junior Highs Liaison Batalden 24  Order questions Liaison Batalden 25  Review/edit questions Commissioners Moriello, Osinski, Stein, & 26 Chairperson Slawson-Martens 27  Put questions on slides Commissioner Martens 28  Set rehearsal date TBD in January, 2015 29  Pizza management Commissioner Dinelli 30  Score keeper Commissioners Morreale & Bosacoma 31  Run computer slides Commissioner Mankoff 32  Welcome/introduce YC members Chairperson Slawson-Martens & Commissioner 33 Martens 34  Reading of rules Commissioner Morreale 35  Handing out T-shirts Commissioner Osinski 36  Coin flipper TBD 37  Setting up brackets TBD 38  Handing out medals Commissioner Mankoff 39  Promote membership to 40 participants Commissioner Wagner 41  Take photos, post photos on 42 web site Commissioner Osinski 43  Judges Commissioners Moriello & Stein 44  Readers Commissioners Martens, Kirschenbaum, 45 Wagner, Han, Steinberg, Elisco, Hakimian 46 The “Earn the right to Buy” Lightening Round was discussed.  Page 3 Minutes of the November 19, 2014 Youth Commission Meeting 1 6. Old Business 2 Chairperson Slawson-Martens raised the issue of student chairs being assigned for events. She shared 3 that an outline will be provided for each activity. It was noted that the Youth Commission manages 5 4 events annually. 5 6 Chairperson Slawson-Martens noted upcoming events & recruited the following Student Chairs: 7  Lake Cook Terrace Spring Event Commissioner Osinski 8  Film Festival Commissioner Bosacoma 9 10 7. New Business 11 Regarding the Village Family Dinner, feedback included the food was good. A synopsis of the event was 12 shared for new members. 13 14 Commissioner Morreale suggested the Youth Commission be more involvement in community-service 15 events; opportunities to serve i.e. Earth Day, student tutoring. She noted years ago there was a Student 16 Services Association. Commissioner Dinelli suggested the Youth Commission be a catalyst for junior high 17 students. 18 19 Commissioner Morreale suggested student-led service/volunteer opportunities; getting youth involved 20 in service-based organizations. She stated that teaching kids the importance of service stays with them 21 wherever they go. Commissioner Osinski agreed there is a lack of volunteer opportunities available. 22 23 Commissioner Morreale discussed families in need & recommended a tutoring program. Commissioner 24 Osinski stated she believes a student tutoring program would be prudent at the library. Commissioner 25 Dinelli noted that anyone interested could tutor grade-school students. Commissioner Bosacoma noted 26 there is a class for aspiring teachers. It was stated there isn’t a study-buddy program. An organic 27 approach was suggested (rather than targeted). 28 29 Discussion ensued about being an organizational arm, leading a coordinated effort. Having the Youth 30 Commission lead a study-buddy program was suggested. Students could go to the library & a buddy 31 would assist them. Directly after school or evenings were suggested. It was stated that recruiting would 32 be a task. Suggestions are an electronic sign-up via links, google box, the Arc program, etc. Chairperson 33 Slawson-Martens recommended selling this concept to GBN. Commissioner Osinski stated this could be 34 an outreach program at GBN. Commissioner Morreale suggested also approaching grade schools. 35 Chairperson Slawson-Martens recommended an adult & student chair to promote this concept. 36 Commissioners Morreale & Osinski volunteered. 37 38 Liaison Batalden asked members to consider the following (if a Village event): 39  Is there a model to follow 40  Is there a need for a tutoring program 41  Is it being done elsewhere 42  Liability issues (regarding matching up individuals) 43  Is a budget needed 44 45 Commissioner Morreale stated a budget would not be required. She advised Chairperson Slawson- 46 Martens she would present this concept to Village Trustees & check availability at the library.  Page 4 Minutes of the November 19, 2014 Youth Commission Meeting 1 Chairperson Slawson-Martens suggested contacting GBN to share/inquire about this concept/program. 2 She suggested perhaps a sponsored library event with volunteers by the Youth Commission. 3 4 10. Student Hot Topics 5  Fall Sports are starting 6  Swim Team won Conference 7  Food Drive 8  Freshman (SAT-like) Test 9  Fall Sports Awards Night 10  Andy Han received the 2014 Cook County Sheriff’s Youth Service Medal of Honor (this 11 information was provided via email) 12 13 11. Next Meeting 14 The next Youth Commission meeting will be held on December 17, 2014, & the focus will be the study- 15 buddy program. Commissioner Mankoff volunteered to be Student Chairperson. 16 17 12. Adjournment 18 Commissioner Moriello moved, seconded by Commissioner Martens, to adjourn the meeting at 19 8:27 p.m. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 20 21 22 Respectfully submitted, 23 24 25 26 Gale Cerabona 27 Recorder