Leduc Composite High School School Council MINUTES

June 7, 2017

LCHS Parent Assocation Meeting Minutes,June 7, 2017page 1

In attendance:

Parents

Tasha Gerlitz (Co-chair)

Missy Chehayeb (Past Chair)

Sharon Burghardt (Treasurer)

Parents cont.
Debbie Weir (Parent Grad Banquet Committee)

Rick Mitchell

Emily Meetsma

Staff

David Holbrow (Asst. Principal)

Chris Stiles (Asst. Principal)

Renee Drover (Empowerment)

LCHS Parent Assocation Meeting Minutes,June 7, 2017page 1

Call to Order: 6:37 pm

Minutes recorded by: Emily Meetsma

  1. Thank You & Introductions: Tasha Gerlitz
  2. Motion to revise agenda (addition of 8.b.) and approveagenda byE. Meetsma.Carried
  3. Motion to approve minutes of May 3, 2017, by S. Burghardt.Carried
  4. Correspondence:None.
  5. Black Gold School Board Report: May 7, 2017 Board Highlights distributed. Congratulations to Chris Stiles for receiving an ATA Excellence in Leadership award.
    Action Item:M. Chehayeb to write a letter to Trustees and Superintendent sharing concerns about low student turnout at Council of School Councils on Feb 22, 2017 and suggesting that one option for increasing turnout would be to have opportunities for schools to interact with each other and share best practices and other ideas.
  6. Business Arising from Previous Minutes
  7. Review of “Tell Them From Me/Accountability Survey” (C. Stiles): Staff Feedback summary from May 19 PDdistributed. Highlights:
  8. Push among admin/staff to engage with reluctant learners (don’t accept zeros!).
  9. Lots of positive feedback for cafeteria. It’s a great hub for the school, and staff work to be positive part of school culture.
  10. Students interested in starting school day later, and research shows benefits. Logistics (bussing, jobs, sports, arts) raise significant difficulties. Consider piloting a block 5 class. C. Stiles will continue to research, including what grades request the changes.
  11. Case-by-case attendance policy:Some students can pass without coming often. Reasons students don’t attend: lack of motivation/don’t see need. Working to have students complete classes, but look “soft.” Students may miss out on real-life skills.
  12. Continue to strive for positive student-teacher relationship (e.g., got you being good)
  13. Homerooms: Doesn’t work if teachers aren’t engaged. Planning targeted activities for next year. May revise timetable in future to add additional homeroom time.
  14. Kids want more clubs. Will see if teachers will buy-in
  15. Anxiety numbers comparable to norms except for gr. 10 and 11 girls, which are very high. Anxiety usually from social, not academic, reasons.Alcohol: again, norms among all groups, except Gr.12 males really high.What is culture/media saying to those groups? What can we do to help gr. 9s?
  16. Reports
  17. Principal’s Report: Written report submitted. Grad ceremonies (commencement, banquet, alcohol-free AfterGrad) went well. Thanks to all involved. Numbers: 268 grads, commencement: 2000+ (full house); banquet: 900; dance: 1000; aftergrad: 47. Working
    on social capital research project with a number of other parties. Current focus: finding grants and finding active citizenship opportunities for students to build social capital. Invite School Council input via “Ponder and Plan” feedback.
  18. Leadership (R. Drover):Spring cider house had good turnout. Leadership works with smaller budget because fewer parents pay the optional fee.
    Action Item:M. Chehayeb to investigate if fund can be optional “opt out” versus the current optional “opt in.”
    Action Item:Leadership team to advertise during registration as to what leadership team does, so parents understand how the small fee makes a difference.
  19. Empowerment (R. Drover): Mental Health day went well. Researchinghow could implements peer mentorship in variety of areas.
  20. School Grad Council (C. Stiles):Successful from LCHS staff/admin perspective. Positive feedback from students.Thanks to parents for great job with banquet.
  21. Leduc Community Drug Action (M. Chehayeb):Fentenayl session well attended.
  22. Grad Banquet Planning Committee (D. Weir):Learning curve this year. Thanks to teachers for what they did in past. Overall went well. Summary of issues that arose and possible solutions. School Council appreciates work of parent committee and suggests School Council involvementat the event (e.g., give welcome). LCHS Admin concerned with transition from banquets to parties, especially because some Safe Grad attendees started celebrating in the parking lot. Relocate pick-up and/or increase policing?
  23. AFTERgrad Planning Committee (M. Chehayeb):Fun event with 47 students—lower attendance than last year, but still above norm. Celebrations scaled back because of less financial support this year. Committee would like to get started on planning earlier.
  24. New Business
  25. Late Slip/Attendance Reporting: New policy: Teachers input attendance within first 10 minutes, and update at end of class. Policy will allow teachers to stay on task and provide office with answer to parent inquiries.
  26. Verification of Student Absence: Parents/guardians to verify absences within 7 calendar days, otherwise will remain “unexcused”
  27. Garbage: School Council requests ore garbage cans for outside to reduce trash.
  28. SC/PA AGM: Will be Sept 14, same night as Meet the Teacher. Most executive positions open. SC could approach junior high school councils to increase parent interest in SC.
  29. Parking Lot: Limited parking and student use of visitor parking will go into 3-year plan as concern.
  30. Parent Comments: none.
  31. Next Meeting: September 6, 2017 at 6:30 pm in the Staff Room.
  32. Adjourned at8:26pm

LCHS Parent Assocation Meeting Minutes,June 7, 2017page 1