MINUTES

Fessenden School Council

11/24/2016 6:00 PM | Meeting called to order byAisling

In Attendance

Aisling Burke, Mike Bell, Melanie Skrlac, Mark McQueen, Kim Harris, Christy Magyar, Alaina Evans, Andrew Evans, Erin Savard, Andrew Hawryluk, Cindy Hawryluk, Karen Downey, Roxane Dunmore, Angela Reaburn, Erin Ridpath, Joanne Thompson, Estrella Szakacs, Shannon Holmes Shedden, Roberta Preston, Jillian McJannet, Andrew Ingrassia, Candace Burgess

Approval of Minutes

A motion to approve the minutes of the previous meetingheld on October 20, 2016 was made by Roxane Dunmore. Motion was seconded by Erin Savard. Motion carried.

Accommodation Review Committee

As part of the accommodation review, School Council was asked to select one parent/guardian representativefrom the school (either a parent on your school council or a parent within the school community) to sit on the Advisory Committee. Two candidates expressed interest: Mike Bell and Andrew Hawryluk.

Selection was made by secret ballot by those in attendance immediately following brief speeches by each of the candidates. Melanie Skrlac tallied the votes. Mike Bell was announced the Advisory Committee representative.

Treasurer’s Report

Mike presented his report and council account balances (as of November 22, 2016):

Account / Balance
Milk / $13,676.77
Outdoor Education / $5,360.88
Pizza / $35,046.84
School Council / $749.49
School Council (purchasing acct.) / nil
Total / $54,833.98

The pizza and milk account balances contain carryforward balances from prior years. Despite on-going operational costs of the pizza and milk program, the majority of these monies are not committed to any spending. A Spending Committee will be struck to develop recommendations for spending that will be presented at School Council meetings for approval.

In the interim, two immediate purchasing needs were addressed:

  • “Raz-Kids” type learning modules for the French Immersion program for Grades 1-6. Motion to release $1,700 to purchase 17 licenses of Learning A-Z dual language software was made by Melanie. Motion seconded by Aisling. All present voted in favour.
  • Improvements to the classroom environment to allow primary students to have a comfortable space to read and sit. Motion to release $2,500 to purchase carpet squares and chart stand was made by Mike. Motion seconded by Candace Burgess. All present voted in favour.

The Fundraising Plan was presented and projects profits of approximately $18,000 for the year ended August 31, 2017.

Parent Engagement

Ideas for Parent-Child Engagement events included soccer and yoga. The event will have a budget of $500 and will be organized by Estrella Szakacs.

The school was awarded a Parents Reaching Out Grant of $1,000. Mark to liaise with Gary Direnfeld, a local social worker and parenting adviser, to hold a parent’s night in Spring 2017 with Gary as the invited guest speaker.

Principal’s Report

Principal Laura Subonovich presented her report.

  • Mr. Hoffman is on leave and will be temporarily replaced with an LTO;
  • Upcoming PD day and teacher committee parent night will focus on numeracy;
  • Buddy benches implemented outside for better student engagement;
  • HWDSB Accommodation Review Meeting on March 2 is open for all to attend.
  • Bathroom and bus etiquette are focus areas for improved student safety.
  • The school’sElectronic Device Policy has been completed. The policy does not permit the use of electronic devices during non-instructional time.
  • Financial benefits from movie night will now be split equally among all classrooms.

Teacher’s Report

Karen Downy presented her report.

  • The furniture and carpet purchase requests was driven by the need to improve the kindergarten and primary learning environments to improve appeal to a variety of learners.

Eco-School Report

Erin Ridpath presented her report.

  • The school’s Platinum Eco-school designation is valid for five years without the need to complete annual application/renewal forms. However, the school must undertake a Pledge to uphold this standard of excellence. A project is plan is underway to help students teach each other about eco-based best practices.
  • The Upcycling and Waste-Free Lunch programs were successful, although the participation rate in the latter was lower than prior years.

Next Meeting

1/19/2017 7:00 PM, Fessenden Learning Commons

Meeting was adjourned at 7:02pm.

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