St. Richard Catholic School
Catholic School Parent Council (CSPC) Meeting Minutes
October 3, 2016, 6:30 p.m.
Present:
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1. Kevin Ng, Principal
2. Elizabeth Amaral, Parent
3. Eileen Tangney, Parent
4. Ivan Moore, Parent
5. Jacinta Crasta, Parent
6. Jason Proudman, Parent
7. Lorna D’Souza, Parent
8. Sophie Lomonaco, Parent
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Recorder:
Lorna D'Souza
Mr. Ng welcomed all present to the 1st CSPC meeting of the 2016-17 school year and led the group in the TCDSB prayer for the Year of the Parish. The Agenda for the meeting and an Accounts Summary for the 2015-16 school year was distributed.
Treasurer’s Report:
The Treasurer, Eileen Tangney, presented a summary of the fundraising and expenditures for last year (attached) and stated that the opening balance for this year was approximately $2,046.00.
Parents’ Concerns:
The following issues were raised by parents:
· Girls were not able to access bathrooms on the second floor. Bins had been installed in one of the stalls in these bathrooms and this seems to have helped the issue of flushing sanitary products down the toilet.
· There has been no flooding of the kindergarten classrooms so far this year, but there seems to be a mouldy smell in the hallway. Mr. Ng will investigate.
· Homework in one of the Grade 3 classes seems excessive as it takes the children up to 90 minutes to complete each night. The Grade 6 Extended French content also seems to be challenging for the students this year. Mr. Ng suggested that the parents bring their concerns to the respective teachers at Curriculum Night on October 5.
· The first week of school this year was an uncomfortably hot one especially in Mme. Orfao and Mrs. Bruno’s classrooms. Mr. Ng did give students reminders over the PA about what to do if they were feeling too hot and fans were provided for these classrooms. Two portable air conditioning units are being considered for these classrooms.
CSPC Elections:
The Chair and Treasurer of last year’s CSPC, Lisa Amaral and Eileen Tangney respectively, were thanked for their hard work and many hours of commitment to the school. The following parents volunteered and were elected to the CSPC Executive for this school year:
· Chair: Lisa Amaral
· Treasurer: Jason Proudman
· Secretary: Lorna D’Souza
Mr. Ng said he would check with a parent, Anita Jesudiaharasa, who was not present, if she would like to be the CPIC representative for the school.
Principal’s Report:
Mr. Ng presented his report as follows:
· The following new staff were welcomed to the school this year: Heather Simpson (JK/SK), D. Chen (SK/1), M. Miller (Health & Phys Ed) and Colleen Wnuk (EA). Through the French Specialty department we are still looking for a Science/ Social Studies/Phys Ed teacher for the Extended French classes. Due to last year’s work-to-rule action by the teachers’ union, the Board could post positions, but teachers were not able to apply. Now that the work-to-rule is over, hiring can proceed.
· We have a new Superintendent of Education, Shawna Campbell.
· The caretaking staff did a good job looking after the premises in the summer. A new day-time head caretaker will be hired soon.
· Current enrollment in the school is at 407 students. Classes were re-organized at the end of September and 16 children were moved to new classes. All classes are currently at capacity.
· Curriculum Night and the annual community potluck is scheduled for Wednesday, October 5.
· The TCDSB kicks off the “Year of the Parish” on October 4. Fr. Freddy from St Rose of Lima parish will accompany Mr. Ng to an event for this. St Rose has recently hired a new youth coordinator who will be working closely with the young population of the parish.
· The Morning Snack Program will soon be launched. Donations for the program have been slower this year.
· The email contact list of parents will be built from scratch this year. Those parents whose emails are on the current list will receive an email asking them to sign up afresh. Parents can also sign up online at the school at Curriculum Night on October 5.
· The bus transportation situation that was disorganised at the start of the school year is now better. The one St. Richard route that was affected seems to be running normally now.
· The parking and drop-off situation is better this year but continues to be monitored.
· A new sign-in procedure for visitors to the school has been instituted. All visitors, including parents, must wear a visitor badge while at the school.
· The school block budget is reduced by 40 % this year and is at only $5,700 this year. We will continue using online text books as an efficiency measure.
· Since EQAO testing for the Grade 3s and 6s of last year did not take place due to the work- to -rule by teachers, we have no current data to go on, but Numeracy and Math will be our focus this year.
· It is a matter of pride that St. Richard is one of only 5 in the TCDSB at the Platinum ECO school level, but we have to work to maintain this ranking. An independent company will be coming in to audit the school shortly.
· We have been fortunate to receive a donation of $600 from the TD Canada Trust thanks to an offer from a parent. The money will be spent on new hula hoops and volleyball nets.
· The St. Richard athletics team has started training in cross country, basketball and volleyball. Skating and skiing will continue later in the year. A school trip to a Raptors 905 game at the ACC has been planned for December 20.
· Since we had a school musical last year, this year we will have a Christmas Concert. The Advent Mass for the school will be on December 21 at 7 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.
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