Lillian School Council Meeting – Thursday, October 9, 2014 – Minutes
In Attendance
Parisa Tashakori (Chair), Paul Fettes (Vice-chair), May Mark (Treasurer), Beverly Cohen (Secretary)Riley Lord (Principal), Kerry Maxwell (Teacher Rep.), Michelle Doyl (Teacher Rep),Pari Bayati, Azy Motavali, Deborah Loh, Katrin Pooya, Seyed Mahmud Vorudi, Mohammadebrahim Amini, Solmaz Dehghan, Shahla Soleimani, Sara Famili, Voula Papadopoulos, Debbie Tomlinson, Shaomei Wei, Hamid Verza
Welcome and Introduction
Meeting was started at 6:10pm by with the introduction of attendees, approval of last meeting’s minutes and reviewing the agenda.
Treasurer’s Report
· Financial statement from previous school year presented and copy given to Parisa for reference. Closing balance is $4,967.69.
· Suggested that council maintains approx. $1000 for immediate spending.
· School donations for current year: $165 cash; $450 cheques. Board to issue receipts and transfer money back to school. Donations no longer on financial statements as council is no longer a charity.
Principal’s Report
· BBQ / Curriculum night was a great success and we had an excellent turnout. The feedback from parents and staff was very positive so we will plan the same format for next year
· Cross country: runners participated in the qualifier on Oct 3rd – we have 2 students moving on to the conference which is being held on Oct 17th
· Intramural soccer is continuing at lunch, along with scrabble/chess club
· Library and office helpers have also begun
· Terry Fox run was held on Wednesday, September 24th in the PM – followed by the ALS ice bucket challenge by Mrs. Lord and the primary team - everyone had a great time and we have raised almost $2000 for Terry Fox, along with $100+ for ALS
· Field trips – students have already visited the Botanical Gardens and several other trips are being planned to Forest Valley, the Toronto Zoo
· RAZ Kids – K to 3 teachers are updating accounts – info will be coming home soon if it hasn’t already.
· PD: Jr. staff are involved in PD focused on Collaborative Inquiry, K – 1 staff are involved in Early Years Numeracy PD, ESL teachers – Stages to Steps
· CASL: will be going for training on the Synrevoice training with the office staff in the hopes that the program will be operational by November and communications can be sent electronically or through the phone – once the system is working, all applicable office communications home will be sent through email and posted on the website with a limited number of hard copies available for parents to pick-up in the office
· Upcoming events: October 4th – Photo retakes, October 17th – Pink Day & Q Mac, October 24th – Crazy hair day & Heart Healthy Presentations, October 31st – Halloween Parade and Pumpkin contest
EQAO
· Reading: 67, Writing: 73, Math:62 (percentage of students performing at the Provincial Standard – level 3 or 4)
· Slight decrease from previous year– Reading: 67(73), Writing: 73(84), Math:62(80)
· All ESL students in self-contained classes wrote the assessment this year
· % of students in Grade 3 Full Day Classes @ Level 3 and 4 – Reading: 86, Writing: 94, Math: 74
· Goal was to move % of students from Level 3 to 4: Reading 7 - 20, Writing 5 - 20, Math 24 - 23
Lunch Lady
· Brief overview of presentation from last year. Proposed and approved that we try Lunch Lady for Halloween lunch. Date will actually be October 30. Didn’t settle on long term use; perhaps just for spirit days this year and then re-evaluate for next year.
Pizza Lunch
· Settled on 1 pizza lunch fundraiser per month. To set up dates for 2 before break in December. Debbie and Beverley to organize.
Sub Lunch
· Settled on 1 sub lunch fundraiser per month. To set up dates for 2 before break in December. Parisa and Pari to organize. Provider is to be chosen between Subway and Quiznoz.
Upcoming council events
· Halloween costume sale – Oct 15. Azy and Voula to organize
· Teacher appreciation – Voula to organize
· Holiday Bazaar – Pari to organize
Other business
Ms. Doyl presented to items:
1. $1500 industrial coin counter to be used in office as requested by Ms. Lopez. Voted and approved.
2. Computer lab upgrade to replace desktop computers with 30 wireless laptop computers, including mice and headphones. Upgrade will support Board initiative that all schools be wireless capable by 2016; will support student/teacher group work; will provide up to date computers as the current ones are no longer supported and cannot be repaired/replaced if they break down. Ms. Doyl provided financials to Parisa for reference. Project would be ongoing and will need to be discussed and voted on further at future meetings.
Next meeting: Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 2pm