Intermediate Math League
1. The meeting was held at Prince House in Saugus. Pizza, salad, and soda were served.
2. Awards were distributed and schools were encouraged to take plaques for schools close to them so they don’t have to travel all the way to Austin Prep to pick them up later.
3. Roll call - Twenty-four coaches and officers representing Twenty-three teams.
4. Minutes of the fall meeting were distributed and approved as written.
5. Tabulator’s report by Scott Govoni: Coaches typing the names made his job easier, especially those who emailed the rosters to him ahead of time. He asked that all coaches please check the distributed results for spelling and let him know if there are spelling corrections required.
6. Divisions for next year were distributed.
7. Treasurer’s report by Tony Biscardi for Kelly Hagan-McCormack: Current balance is $5,345.84. This is up from the past four years, which ranged from $4,445 to $4,796. Report was approved.
8. Web-master’s report by Kip Bryan: Most of the “hits” on the web site are recorded from October through March with January being the busiest month. This year, there were tryouts from Kent Findell and Kip Bryan put on the web site that were used by many of the coaches present at the meeting. Past meets are located in PDF format or in word format in the coaches-only section. Username and password were distributed at the meeting. Any other coaches should contact the web-master for that information. There are apx. 200 people on the email notification list for updates to the web site. It is believed parents and students make up a significant portion of those who have subscribed.
9. There was a motion to only post the minutes in the coaches’ section. There was an alteration to that motion to move information of officer stipends and any other information deemed sensitive into the private area. The motion passed to publish an edited version of the minutes on the web site but put any information regarding stipends and other information deemed sensitive in the coaches’ only section. Anyone wishing that information may contact the web-master or the president.
10. Kent Findell encouraged coaches to share their introductions to topics in the public space on the web site. People may email the web-master and he will post it.
11. Test Writer’s report by Kent Findell: Kent announced that he has enjoyed his seven years as test writer but has decided to retire from the position, although he will continue as a coach. Kent explained the problem involving the 4-loop Venn diagram. Kent also pointed out that Kip had been very helpful acting as an extra test-checker for the questions.
12. Topcs for 2007-2008: After some discussion about the number of topics in meets four and five as well as the existence of “identities” in meet 1, it was decided that the topics will remain the same for the coming year.
13. Vaag Mosca was acknowledged for his 32 years of service to the league as coach, vice-president, test writer, web master, and president. He was presented with a plaque by the league.
14. Marylou Bearegard was also acknowledged for her coming retirement from teaching and coaching.
15. Nominations for officers were called for and the slate was approved as follows: President – Tony Biscardi; Tabulator – Scott Govoni; Treasurer – Kelly Hagan-McCormack; Test Writer – Josh Frost; and Web-master – Kip Bryan.
16. The issue was brought up regarding electronic dictionaries for non-English speaking students. It was decided that the league would conform to MCAS standards regarding translation help. Currently, the MCAS rules are that a paper dictionary may be used giving word-to-word translations without explanations. It was also decided that the school or coach would provide such items for the student. MCAS does NOT currently allow electronic devices for translation.
17. The issue of schools with consistently fewer than ten students at the meets was brought up in regard to the frustration the students feel when they lose badly at every meet. After much discussion, it was decided that there will be NO changes in the by-laws, however, individual clusters may make the following unofficial allowance within their cluster: The cluster MAY allow a school with fewer than ten students to have some of the students unofficially compete in an extra category or two so that the score listed at the meet appears more competitive. However, the three categories that “count” must be determined ahead of time and an official sheet MUST be kept and mailed to the league. Also, the VP may only use the three “official” categories when determining the meet awards for highest scorers at that meet, etc.
Respectfully submitted,
President