Date: June 11, 2018

Time: 7:00pm-8:30pm

Parent Council Attendees: 

Parent Attendees: N/A

Staff Attendees: Scott Chin, Nadia MacKinnon

1)    Welcome & Acceptance of current agenda (Amanda)

-all were in favour of the agenda

2)    Acceptance of  May’s meeting minutes (Amanda)          

-Chris accepted the minutes, Katherine second the motion

3)    Committee Updates                                                                        

a)    Fundraising Update & Event Planning  (Katherine)

-still gathering items for the silent auction

b)    Parent Engagement  (Sue)

-submitted pro-grant application and waiting for approval

-requested $1000 for math, mental health and modern learning

-receipts have been given to Nadia for reimbursement for pro-grant funds for this year

-lots of plants donated and planted

-large amounts of soil have been donated

-there is 200 feet of hose with a dolly to water the plants and has sprayer; it will be housed in the kindergarten bunker

-signup sheets still need to be developed; possibly have the ECO team manage the sheets at the fun fair

-give volunteers reminders (email, written slip) if they sign up for watering the garden

c)    Yearbook Committee (Karen/Katherine)

-356 yearbooks were ordered and printing has begun

-should arrive in two weeks from last Friday

-Marie will assist with distribution to the students

-on June 25^th yearbooks will be handed out to students

-for those who didn’t purchase a yearbook an autograph page will be emailed and if students want to use it, they can print it and use it

d)    Healthy Schools  (Marie)

-have lice check in the fall and spring next school year

-students were screened recently for lice

-school rechecks hair if they find an egg

-new policy regarding lice allows students to remain in school if eggs are found but if live lice is found then the student would be sent home; the school works with the parents to eliminate the issue

4)    Treasurer’s Report (Kelly)

-no changes

-a revision will be made to the report after the fun fair

5)    Update From School (Scott/ Nadia)

-ball catcher has been purchased and location has been determined

–staffing changes; some teachers leaving and Nadia will be leaving

-area track and fields occurred today

-primary play day is June 14^th from 9-12pm

-regional track and field will be next week

-Jane Philpott came to the school to speak about Indigenous people and recongnizing their rights

-volunteer tea on June 19^th at 8:30am and food will be served; staff volunteered to purchase   food

-there are approximately 75 volunteers

-graduation is on June 26^th at Bill Hogarth High School

-discussion took place about name tags and/or shirts for school council members to have for events

6)    New Business (All)

Silent Auction & Fun Fair

-Pound for Pound donating 4 gift certificates, each for 1 year membership (worth $1500 each)

-kayak was purchased for the silent auction and cost council $166

-payment for wristbands can be made by cash, cheque or school cash online

-volunteers are welcome and may be needed to assist with setup and take down

-school council to try and wear red at fun fair

Fundraising & Event Goals For Next Year

-Northern Karate will hold sessions during lunch hour and all proceeds will go to the school and the school just pays the hourly rate for the instructor; this will start in October 2018

Focus on Improving Communication & Parent Involvement

-discussion about improving communication with parents

-inform parents of who they can contact

-review goals of parents and how staff can meet those goals

-there is a challenge with the whole school communication and also parent-teacher communication

-parents are entitled to arrange a meeting with a teacher

-there is no standardized tool to communicate with parents

-teachers to determine if agendas will be used next year in their class and to communicate this to parents at the very beginning of the year so parents know if they need to buy it or not

-want to build a positive partnership with the school and parents

-improve ways to inform parents how to receive communication for events and how to receive communication about in class tests/ assignments

-the school website calendar should have been updated more often because it was missing some dates (eg. EQAO)

-discussion about sending school announcements via a medium such as twitter/ email

-discussion about possibly condensing the newsletter and adding links

-discussion about an app to send quick messages about assignments/ tests, P.A days, trips, unit topics, celebrations

-discussion about school admin possibly using the Remind app

Review Of This Year

-no discussion occurred

Other

-next school council meeting is September 17, 2018

-open house for next school year is scheduled for September 26th  

-all minutes are now posted on the school website

7)   Motion to Adjourn (Amanda)

-Katherine accepted motion to adjourn, Chris second the motion

Minutes taken by Sabina Khandaker

If any discrepancies in these minutes please contact:

Sabina Khandaker

sabina_email@yahoo.com​