Meeting of the PSSC

November 7, 2016

Members in attendance: Carlos Lavin,Kim Mowat, Lisa Buckley, Dan Ross, Susan Drummond, Lynn Murphey-Kaulbeck, Pam LeBlanc, Dale Hughes, Luigi Beltempo, Wendy Bokhorst-Heng, AnnaMallard, Matt Lusk, Susan Lockwood

Members absent:

Responsibility
  1. Susan Lockwood opened the meeting, and indicated she would chair the meeting today, as we had yet to appoint a chair. She introduced the agenda. She directed our attention to pages 12 and 20 which describe the role of the PSSC and how to conduct effective meetings.
  1. Dan presented his name to be considered for the position of chair. Dale moved to appoint Dan as PSSC Chair, and Wendy Bokhorst-Heng seconded the motion. The motion was passed by unanimous vote.
  1. Dale nominated Kim and Kim nominated Dale for the position of co-Vice Chairs. (apologies, I don’t remember who moved the motion). Dan seconded the motion. The motion was passed by unanimous vote.
  1. Wendy Bokhorst-Heng volunteered to be Secretary. Lynn moved to appoint Wendy Bokhorst-Heng as PSSC Secretary and Carlos seconded the motion. The motion was passed by unanimous vote.
  1. Susan Lockwood informed the committee that the development of the School Improvement Plan is still in progress (it should be complete by mid-November). However, two items have already been identified as paramount in the plan:
  1. Formative Assessment – Sandra Herbst spoke on assessment practices to teachers and administrators earlier this year. BMHS has created a Supervisory Position of Responsibility (SPR), a position filled by Mrs Leblanc, specifically to do research and work with each department on assessment practices. Susan and Matt describe the basic tenets of formative assessment and why it was an important goal for the school to focus on (improved teaching practice and student learning/ achievement).
  1. Attendance Tracking – Mr. Johnson has been appointed to this Interventionist position to help support at risk students and to improve student attendance. Susan Lockwood describes the school’s policy on attendance (5-10-15 days). The question was raised whether or not BMHS could work cooperatively with other schools on this matter; Susan informed us that such an initiative would have to come from the District. Susan welcomed ideas from the PSSC on how to improve attendance.
  1. PSSC Budget: Susan Lockwood didn’t have the exact figure, but suggested the PSSC budget is around $400. The “Family of Schools” (Evergreen Park School, Hillcrest, and Bessborough – the three ‘feeder schools’ – and BMHS) was formed to provide greater support for students transitioning to high school by having greater communication between the schools about common issues facing Middle School students, common language and practices being used at the Middle schools and so forth. The Family of Schools would like to share budgets to have guest speakers to speak to students and/or parents on pertinent issues such as Drug Awareness and Mental Health. The exact topic could come from the recent “Tell Them From Me” survey that had been completed last year. There was some discussion about the feasibility of a joint effort, whether or not such a co-operative effort would in fact enhance attendance. Kim raised the question of whether or not we need to share ‘all’ the money, or just a portion of it to allow us to fund other endeavours. The question was also raised by Lynn ‘Do we need to look at alternative ways to address these issues, rather than having a guest speaker. This item is tabled for further discussion and decision at our next meeting.
  1. The next meeting will be held on Monday, December 5, at 7:00pm
  1. It was agreed that one week to three days before the next meeting, all members will receive the Agenda, Previous Meeting’s Minutes, Principal’s Report, Teachers’ Report, and Students’ Report. The suggestion was also made that each item on the agenda be allocated a time.
  1. Susan Lockwood will check to see who is responsible for updating the PSSC Website.
  1. The meeting was adjourned.
/ Susan Lockwood will confirm the budget amount for our next meeting.
Dan R will send the materials out prior to our next meeting
Susan Lockwood will check into the Website manager

Agenda items tabled for next meeting:

  1. Discuss the proposal by the “Family of Schools” regarding the joint use of funds, and the nature of the event (Guest speaker? Something else? For students? Parents? Both?)

Date of Next Meeting: December 5, 7:00pm

Minutes prepared by: Wendy Bokhorst-Heng