ST. CLEMENT
CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARENT COUNCIL
MINUTES
Meeting held on September 27, 2016
7:00pm – 9:15 pm in the school library
IN ATTENDANCE
Lisa Lippa, Jenn Casuccio, Katie Piccininni, Natalie Young, Stephen Peters, Inés Colucci, Bolette Bossen, Meghan Marcil, Yakup Tecimer, Angie Ieraci, Julianne Ross, Mirna Boulos, Stacey Besko, Jocelyn Bruce, Gail Appiah-St. John, Didy Perugini, Sandra Moreira, Daniela Bottoni, Elisabeth Grassby-Stefan, Vickie Velji, Kalina Rachwal, Anita Lee, Keran McGuire, Lueia Popovia, Colette Pearson, Heather Marelynski, Stephanie Hawkin, Dasha Aruvjo, Tanya Saunderson, Rina Corrado, Danielle Eveleigh, Gnszka, Cheryl Migus-Smart.
CSPC welcomed Mr. Peters to his first St. Clement CSPC meeting and to our school community.
OPENING PRAYER (Mr. Peters)
Recitation of the Prayer – “Harmonizing our Faith through Parish”
ADDITION OF OTHER BUSINESS & APPROVAL OF THIS MONTH’S AGENDA
Approval of September’s Agenda – Julianne Ross & Kalina Rachwal
Addition of Other Business: CPSC Welcome and Introductions moved ahead of the Principal’s Report on the agenda.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING
June minutes approved by Colette Pearson and Meghan Marcil.
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
A very warm welcome to parents that are new to St. Clement CSPC and welcome back to returning parents. The role of our Parent Council is a very important one and by coming here tonight to our meeting, you’ve made an important decision to help make your child’s education the best it can be.
Our Parent Council has three main purposes:
1) Fundraising. We hold many fundraisers throughout the year – from Family Skating Night to Movie Night, to our biggest fundraisers, the QSP Magazine Drive (in November) and the Fall Fun Fair. The money raised goes directly to all of the kids at this school. CSPC purchases much-needed items that are not paid for by the school board including computers and iPads for the classrooms and computer lab, agendas, science workshops, gym equipment, supplementary classroom items, and more recently the newly spray-painted games on the pavement in the schoolyard.
2) Problem-solving. Our Council is integral in problem-solving and achieving results on issues that arise at the school. For example, during the past couple of years, our Council successfully lobbied to lower the speed limit along Bloor; we fought for a much-needed building addition that is scheduled to start this year; we came up with solutions to increase student safety in the schoolyard. These are important issues that make a big difference in your child’s education.
3) A place for parents to have their say. Sometimes we send our children off to school and we feel like we don’t know a lot about what’s going on inside. At our meetings, we receive updates and information from the Principal and staff. Between meetings, our Exec works closely with the staff and administration to ensure that the parent voice is heard.
As per our mandate, which is stipulated by the Board, our meetings only deal with issues on a school, divisional or classroom level, and not specific student issues. However, members of our Exec would be happy to speak with parents confidentially to direct and assist regarding specific issues. We have an appointed Parent Rep who is available to help parents as well.
The CSPC Executive tries to find a balance during meetings to ensure topics are discussed thoroughly, but also need to ensure that we have time to address all agenda topics. Sometimes there’s a need to end a discussion, even when perhaps you’re not ready to have it end.
As a friendly reminder, the CSPC Exec is made up of volunteers who are caring and passionate about our school and student body. We work dozens of hours each month working on CSAC issues and events – not just at our meetings and fundraisers, but behind the scenes too. Whenever you have a complaint, issue or suggestion, please be respectful of that fact.
Your child benefits from everything that gets accomplished by CSAC and we would appreciate your help in any way that you can – fill out your CSPC forms properly, volunteer to take on a specific initiative that may arise at one of our meetings, or to take a shift at one of our events.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT (Mr. Peters)
Thanks to the Community
The Principal’s Report will include a recap of what has gone on in the school over the past month and events that are planned for the upcoming month(s).
Thank you to all the parents that have extended their support over the past month. It has been a very friendly environment; appreciative of the warm welcome.
Mr. Peters has worked for the TCDSB over the past 25 years. He has worked at 9 different schools, 8 of which have been in the west end. This is his 3rd school as an Administrator. He is very familiar with St. Clement’s reputation for having a strong community of staff and parents and is looking forward to being part of the school community.
Past Events
The first School Mass took place last Friday. The mass was beautiful and exemplified the amazing connection between St. Clement parish and the school, and the hard work done by Mrs. Ciufo. The mass was led by the Grade 8 students and the overall behavior of the students was impressive.
The Fall Fun Fair was an incredible event. A lot of effort and work went on behind the scenes to make the event run smoothly. Thanks to the many volunteers including parents, older students, and teachers. This further exemplifies the strong community involvement at St. Clement School.
Upcoming Events
Curriculum night will be held on October 4th and will begin at 6:30pm. There will be two in-class sessions at 6:30 and 7:00pm, followed by an assembly in the gym. Msgr. Zimmer, our school Trustee, Ann Andrachuk, and our CSPC Exec will be presenting information. Mr. Peters looks forward to the opportunity to meet more parents in the community.
Sports & Excursions
There are many athletic teams that have started. Cross-country tryouts are underway. The divisional meet is scheduled for October 12th.
Volleyball practice and tryouts have started. Unfortunately softball had to be canceled this year, as the permits could not be obtained in time due to Work to Rule that continued up to the first day of school.
The level of teacher engagement is quite high, and there are a number of school excursions that have been organized already. FDK students will be going to “Around the Bend” Farm next week.
The Grade 7 & 8 students will be attending “A Taste of the Arts” at Father Redmond High School. The Grade 7 students will be going on Monday and the Grade 8 students will be attending on Tuesday. The Grade 7 students will also be going to Lake St. George at the end of November. The Grade 8 students will be going to Quebec later in the year – parent meetings will be taking place in the upcoming months.
Reptilia will be coming to the school for the Grade 4 students. Pizza Nova will also be conducting an in-service about food and nutrition for the Grade 4 & 5 students.
Ambassador Day will be held on October 19th for the students involved in the “Me to We” program. There are a lot of programs and activities that will be organized this year to enrich the student experience and the staff are working hard to organize and support the many events.
Kiss n’ Ride (PSP)
We need more volunteers for the Kiss n’ Ride program. The time commitment involved is not a long one (15 minutes once per week), but we are short on parent volunteers at this time, both in the morning and/or afternoon.
EQAO
EQAO assessments for Grade 3 & Grade 6 students and CAT4 assessments for Grade 2, 5 and 7 students will take place this year. These tests were cancelled last year due to Work to Rule. The tests will occur in April and May and additional information to parents is forthcoming.
CO-CHAIR REPORT (Jenn Casuccio/Katie Piccininni)
2015-2016 Annual Report
The Annual Report is a report that needs to be completed at the end of the school year by the Executive Committee, as per the Board’s mandate. It is a summary of CSPC’s activities that took place last year, activities planned in the upcoming year as well as any challenges that CSPC faced that the Board may be able to help with.
Building Addition Update
Mr. Peters followed up with the Sr. Manager of Capital Development at the end of August for an update regarding the building addition. At that time they were waiting for permits and approvals from the City. They are hoping to have what they need in place to move forward in November. Mr. Peters expects and will request monthly updates from the Board regarding the building addition. The school community will need to be proactive to ensure that things are moving along. Once the ground breaks there will be meetings held with the developers to ensure plans are in place to maintain and secure the safety of students and staff on site.
Q: Is there any way parents can help move the process along?
A (Exec): Parents are encouraged to contact their City Councilor to ensure that the site plan is approved in a timely manner. The project cannot go to tender until the city site approval is completed.
Safe School Board Advisory Committee
If there are any parents that are interested in taking part in this committee, please let the CSPC Exec Committee know. There are 4 meetings that take place each year. Online registration is open until September 30th.
CSPC Committees
There are a number of CSPC subcommittees that branch off at various points in the year and work to address various items. Please contact the CSPC Executive Committee if you are interested in joining any of them. The following is a non-exhaustive list, as some subcommittees work on an ad hoc basis and can be formed and/or reinstated at any time when deemed necessary:
1) Elections Committee
2) By-laws Committee (for our CSPC by-laws)
3) Fall Fun Fair Committee
4) Health and Safety committee
5) Fundraising committee
6) Technology committee – this committee reviews the school technology inventory and assesses any technology needs for the school. There are teacher representatives that are also part of this committee.
Volunteerism
Volunteerism is an important part of our school and CSPC. We realize that life is very busy for most people, however parent volunteers are needed to help spread out the work that tends to fall on the same volunteer parents. Please consider giving a little bit of your time – it would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you to Colette Pearson for organizing this year’s Fall Fun Fair and to Gail Appiah-St. John for running the Silent Auction, and to all the volunteers who worked so hard before, during and after the event. We also want to thank all of the parents/families who donated items that were requested from each classroom.
CSPC By-laws
This is considered our first Annual General Meeting. There are no changes to our by-laws at this time. The CSPC Executive Committee has a copy of our by-laws and there is also a copy in the office for any parent that would like to read them. It is important to note that CSPC is also governed by the guidelines and policies of the TCDSB and the regulations of the Province in terms of how we operate.
TREASURER’S REPORT(Lisa Lippa)
This month’s report contains both the May and June financials. There was nothing to report on for July and August.
CSPC Revenue
Pizza – Money went out both months to pay for the pizza lunches that took place
Subway - $851.97 earned in May and April
QSP - $58.77 in June – likely due to a subscription renewal
Lunch Lady – May - $339.75 & June $279.70 – This accounts for the percentage we get back for lunches that occur on Mondays and Wednesdays
Metro Grant – ($938.65) we spent the grant during the School BBQ in June– reporting is still pending to Metro that needs to be done. Colette will be following up with Metro.
Spirit Wear – May $5967.00 due to orders that came in and June ($4311.74) was the money spent to pay for the clothing
Community BBQ- this is a negative number as we did not ask people to pay for this event as we hosted the Swim Meet last year and wanted to thank the families
Q: Did we only budget $200 for Spirit Wear but the actual revenue was $4,828.08?
A: Yes, we originally only projected $200 profit based on previous years’ experience. Given the re-branding and quality of the clothing, we sold a lot more than originally anticipated. The next ordering campaign will occur in mid-November.
CSPC Expenses:
Scientist in the Classroom- May $2134 & June $582
Music Instruments –$1480.31 - These expenses are due to repairs that occur at the end of the year when the instruments are collected back from students.
Supply Teacher – $737.19 this was to pay for teacher coverage at the school while teacher supervision was required for the Grade 8 grad Quebec trip
Grade 8 graduation – $1238.76 - This expense was to pay for t-shirts, plaques and engraving
ELP Year End Concert – $310.85 - This was to pay for expenses from the concert and fun day
Bus transportation –May $259.75 & June $805.17 - This was to pay for buses needed for track and field and for the girls’ soccer finals (cities)
School excursions – $500 - This was to subsidize any excursions for families that could not afford to send their child
ELP tablets – $980.76 - This was to pay for the reading centres for the primary grades
School equipment – $2113.06 - Some of the funds generated from last year’s swim meet were allotted to this category. Money was used to pay for teacher supplies for the classrooms. The staff put together a wish list that was approved during the June CSPC meeting. Items that were not purchased in June will be purchased during this school year.
Chess club – $335.95 - This was to pay for more chess boards
Gates – $4520.00 - This was to pay for the installment of the gates and fence at the top of the stairs and the gate at the back of the school
Sunday Witness mass – $ 536.95 - This was to pay for last year’s Ffirst Communion and refreshments at the Sunday Witness Masses
Gifts Plants and flower – $99.14 - This was to pay for Mrs. Waters-Cotter’s retirement gift.
Total Funds
The total reconciled bank balance is $54,352.96 as of the end of June 2016.
The high revenue is due to the swim meet that we hosted last year that generated a lot of money. As per the June CSPC meeting - $33,500 will be going into a GIC to cover equipment that will be purchased after the building addition is completed.
Q: Does the GIC include items on the wish list that we didn’t purchase in June?
A (Lippa): No. The GIC includes $10,000 for the new play structure; $20,000 to go towards what we need for the gym, i.e. lighting, stage equipment; $3300 for a water filling station for the new section of the building.
Q: Is there money put away for after the new addition?
A (Lippa): Yes. $20,000 was put aside as part of the GIC to go toward what we need for the new addition. We will also have our regular yearly budget and funds will be allocated during our October budget meeting for money that is raised throughout the year.
Q: Is the CSPC Exec and/or the Principal aware that the back gate that was installed last year is broken and does not lock? We need something much more durable.
A: Mr. Peters will look into this and he will contact the company that installed the gates.
CSPC annual financial statement
The CSPC Annual Financial Statement was submitted to the Board. It summarizes the revenue and expenses generated throughout the school year from Sept 2015 to June 2016. Please ask Lisa Lippa if you have any questions regarding the report.
Next month is our budget meeting and we will review our September 2016 – June 2017 budget in more detail.
CSPC ELECTIONS (Colette Pearson)
Colette Pearson and Veronica Tahirovic are the members of the CSPC Elections Committee. Notice for nominations was sent out the first week of school. The nomination period ended on Friday September 26th and nominations were collected by members of the Committee. The Committee collects nominations for 4 positions.
There were only 4 nominations and so all four positions have been acclaimed. The current CSPC Co-chairs and Treasurer will maintain their respective roles on the Executive Committee and Didy Perugini is being acclaimed as the new CSPC secretary.
Thank you to Colette & Veronica for their assistance with this year’s elections.
Introduction of the 2016/2017 CSPC Executive Committee: