St. Fidelis Catholic School Advisory Council

Meeting Minutes

May 8, 2012

CSAC Meeting Attendees:

Staff/Admin: Peter Delfino (Acting Principal), Maria Aloisi (Vice Principal) Claudio Grossi and Diane Stevens

Executive: Joe Carretto (Chair), Vicky Ammendolia (Vice Chair), Dominic Staniscia (Treasurer) and Lucy Sestito (Secretary)

Members at Large: Daniela Cucchi, Audrey Lastella, Anna Lastella, Sandra Pezzetta, Ana Soares, Filomena DiPierro-Asenjo, Pat Lanni, Mary Parato, Frank Tonin, Regina Cunsolo, Frank Sottile, Stefania Sottile and Gina Isabella

Others: Brian Jahoor, Antonella Cucchi and Mike Reonegro

Meeting commenced:

Opening Prayer

Vice-Principal’s Update

Mr. Peter Delfino was introduced…he is Acting Principal and has been helping Mrs. Aloisi during Mr. Bucciarelli’s absence

letter went out today re: an incident that happened at Maple Leaf Public School….students were reminded of some basic safety rules such as to look out for strangers, trust your instincts, safety in numbers, etc.

extra resources for math “Leaps and Bounds” are being purchased for 3/4s, 5/6s and 7/8s…we have budged $4,000 for this

calculators are being bough for EQAO testing

meeting is being held on April 9th re: stagger lunches…exploring options in our school...paving of grass…artificial turf…invite Sal Piccininni to next meeting…ball hockey during lunch has help to alleviate the congestion outside

at cross country our school did well…finished 2nd in divisionals and 11th overall regionals

milk campaign still going strong…4 boxes sent out so far…more coming in

dress code…challenges when it comes to track pants…encouraging dress pants…track pants are being worn in a variety of colours and look sloppy

kids are being reminded of snacking and littering….grade 5s did a clean up of the school…they also planted some flowers

Father Moser is looking for some musical talent for the 10:00 a.m. Sunday mass and the 5:30 p.m. Saturday mass…Mrs. Aloisi would like to help him out but this would mean that there would need to be someone responsible for organizing, practicing and directing the students

Volunteer tea is being held this Thursday, May 10th hoping for a good turn out

Mr. Delfino has enjoyed meeting the students…children have made him feel welcomed

Treasurer’s Update

we have a healthy budget of $51,000 some of which was carried over from last year…we carried over approximately $16,000 from last year due to the success of the family gala

this year the gala was again successful and became our primary fundraiser

one third of the funds will be put towards the curriculum…this year in particular the math program…as of today $6,000 has been spent…they will try to spend the rest….new plaques have been ordered for grade 8 graduates who are receiving a special reward…we’ve spent approximately $12,000 so far…the audit went smoothly and the auditor was very impressed...most of the remaining $39,000 should be spent before the end of the year…auditor did not have an issue with that…wish lists have been presented…questions were raised if the process should be changed in order that spending can commence sooner…Dominic is happy with the process

Other Items

Ms. Geneova had approach Anna Lastella regarding when the kids are going to be rewarded their pizza lunch for bringing in the most jeans during the Teens for Jeans drive…miscommunication has occurred…it was decided that we have the money, we should reward the whole school because of the phenomenal response… international campaign…we were 1st in Canada but no recognition…it was decided that the school will receive the pizza lunch on May 31st as June 1st is a P.A. day…teachers to be included as well

During Dominic Staniscia’s update he had asked that Mr. Delfino provide his opinion as to the budget…as he has seen many budgets in his time….Mr. Delfino said that it was a considerable amount of money…it was good…he had seen “different”…but congratulated us on a good budget

Frank Tonin inquired about the Smartboards….if the teachers are using them…whether they require any different software…other than the purchase of Bluetooth nothing else is required…another Smartboard is coming from the board

Vicky Ammendolia inquired whether we should send Mr. Bucciarelli a basket or something…it was decided that Lucy Sestito would order an Edible Arrangement…Madame Arduini recently had a baby it was suggested to get her a gift from CSAC but after debating back and forth it was decided that CSAC should not purchase gifts for teachers who have had babies or are absent to due to long term health reasons…might inadvertently miss someone…last year no gift was sent to Mrs. Caruso, etc.

Regina Cunsolo had a request from a parent of the school who caters to schools if CSAC would consider using his company, Food 4 Students…..he has been asked to attend next meeting in order to present to CSAC his company and to answer questions…he will provide free tasting…he provides catering for staff as well…it was suggested that he might want to promote his business at the BBQ

Stefania Sottile suggested that a representative of CSAC should be at the Welcome to Kindergarten night on June 18thto encourage new parents to attend CSAC meetings or become part of CSAC….Joe Carretto will attend and address the parents…Stefania Sottile to draft up presentation

BBQ is going ahead on June 15th…..too many logistics to change the date…Mayor Ford has not confirmed if he is attending…Sal Piccininni, Laura Albanese and Frank DiGiorgio will be attending

Regina Cunsolo suggested having the grades 7 and 8 play music at the BBQ....musical concert on the 29th

Approval of Prior Minutes

The minutes from the prior CSAC meeting were reviewed and approved by motion byAudrey Lastella 1st – Mary Parato 2nd

Meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

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