LETHBRIDGE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE

SCHOOL COUNCIL

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

7:00 p.m.

Attendance: Wayne Pallett, Daniel Gosselin, Brooke Culley, Tisa Duda, Trina Tymko, Nancy Mitchell (Recording Secretary)

  1. Call to Order – the chairperson welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 7:10p.m.
  1. Adoption of Agenda – it was agreed to adopt the agendaunder general consent.
  1. Approval of Minutes – itwas agreed to adopt the minutes of March 1, 2017, that were circulated,under general consent.
  1. REPORTS:
  1. Administration – Wayne Pallett

We have awarded contracts to Laura Murphy-Burke, Joelle Lavergne, Cory Hoffner, Taylor Burke and Geordan Olson. We advertised 4 positions and 2 have been filled. Justin Malec and Connor Ralph will be returning to their positions. KeithGriffieonwill be joining LCI as a social teacher. Grade 12 student, Austin Logue,will be going to Edmonton to participate in MLA for a day. In December there was a brown paper bag campaign for SADD. Two LCI students were successful. Xavier Bernard won his category and Kimberlie Crowe won the overall competition. Her picture will be featured on one million brown paper bags starting on the May long weekend. International travel for our students is an issue right now. The Board will not approve any trips to any countries with a travel alert. The LCI Distinguished Achievement Award Ceremony will be held April 13th. The LCI Job Fair is being hosted at the school tomorrow. Our orientation evening for the incoming grade 9 students will be Tuesday April 25th. Next year we will be identified as an LCI Arts Academy and a musical is being planned for the fall.

  1. District School Council – Trina Tymko

A Technology Software presentation took place prior to the meeting in March. One of the most important pieces of information was that our studentshave free access to Microsoft Office for five devices. We also received the calendar of events and shared opportunities. A Candidates Forum is going to be held in the fall. We will possibly be partnering with the ATA. Are there any parents interested in helping? Any Councils that want to direct questions would have to prepare them at their September meetings.The Poverty Intervention Committee received a $92,000 donation from E-Free church. In June, we are hoping to start a backpack programto fill with food for the weekends. These will be supplemented with gift cards. Bus passes will be available on a limited basis for adults to accompany their minor students. Literacy kits are being looked at. A video series: Raising our Healthy Kids can be accessed at Brooke reported on the April meeting. There was a presentation by Marian Biggins prior to the meeting on Supporting Math Understanding from the Parent Perspective. Seeking input from parents for multi-aged classes for French Immersion. Cheryl discussed implications on Bill 1 for this district. The Board is drafting a letter to accompany the Minister’s letter.

  1. School Board Trustee – Mich Forster

No report available. Board Trustee report will be attached to these minutes.

  1. School Council Chair–nothing to report.
  1. BUSINESS ARISING:
  1. ASCA AGM and Policy Proposals – Motions to support the following Resolutions:

SR 17-01 Bylaw Revision– Carried.

A 17-01 – Advocacy Reaffirmation – Carried.

A 17-02 – Advocacy Policy Rescinds – Carried.

P 17-01 – Support for Mental Health – Defeated.

P 17-02 –Accountability Pillar Surveys – Carried.

P 17-03 – Coding and Computational Thinking Skills –Defeated.

P 17-04 – Support for Truth and Reconciliation – Carried.

P17-05 – Addressing All Learning Needs –Defeated.

P17-06 – Funding for Inclusive Education – Defeated.

P17-07 – District Budget Consultations –Defeated.

P18-08 – Cost Neutral Carbon Levy – Carried.

P18-09 – Publicising Behavior Guidelines – Defeated.

It was decided that a Point of Order needs to be recorded at the assembly in Edmonton to the effect that although it would appear that the resolutions being submitted out of Lethbridge School District #51 are supported by the entire District School Council (or COSC), that is actually not the case.

  1. Staff Appreciation–Nancy has contacted Sobey’s to inquire about their beef on a bun. Meat is $10/lb. Prices on the Sobey’s salads are priced too high so we will look into other options for this. Arrangements will continue to be worked on prior to our next meeting.
  1. NEW BUSINESS:
  1. DSC Feedback Regarding ASCA Resolutions – The following questions were drafted in order to respond to the LCI Council letter that was sent to DSC to be discussed by all school councils:

1. Is it important for District School Council to provide the opportunity for parent representatives to explore wider educational issues?

Yes. Wider educational issues are important, however, they must pertain/be relevant to the schools within OUR DISTRICT. The avenue of District Council is a good place to DISCUSS these issues, and after discussion at the DSC, then the representatives report back to their School Council in order to get their input and feedback. However, DSC is not the proper venue to be preparing and presenting these. A huge concern is that this year’s resolutions are being presented as being supported by the entire Lethbridge School District School Councils, which is untrue.

2. Should District School Council provide the opportunity for parent representatives to work together on writing potential resolutions that can be examined at a provincial level through Alberta School Council Association processes?

No. The purpose of District School Council is for collaboration and information sharing between our schools within our district. School Councils are the members of ASCA and if they desire, they can choose to submit a resolution.

3. If yes, what process or format should District School Council use to gather ideas, write resolutions, and seek feedback?

No committee should be formed to come up with and write resolutions. The process that is taking place now is backwards. Over the past two years, theresolutions were thought of, developed, and written, by a small committee and then taken back to councils to approve. Some never were approved by some councils, yet they were presented as being sponsored by our entire group of councils within LSD51. We feel that some of the resolutions were very self-serving and somewhat of an embarrassment to our district. We are also concerned about the quantity of resolutions being drafted. As stated in question 2, the proper process is for member school councils to submit resolutions. If it were to be from our district, it needs to be ONE major issue that really impacts education. In that case, ALL school councils would have to support the resolution. A couple of examples given for consideration were PD days and changes to the school year calendar.

  1. CORRESPONDENCE:
  1. Project SPARC Student Workshop– this event will be held April 11, 2017, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Community Room at the Lethbridge Public Library.
  1. NEXT MEETING – Wednesday, May 31,2017, at 7:00 p.m. in the Learning Commons.
  1. ADJOURNMENT – the meeting adjourned at approximately 9:13p.m.