** D R A F T ***

EK Home and School Parent Council Association

Minutes of the meeting for Tuesday,September 11, 2012

PRESENT:

Rebecca Bamford, Charon Buck, Frances Locs, , Catherine Mahoney, Jason McGee, Hannah McIntosh, Denise Minardi, Deborah O’Donnell, Gail O’Gorman, Kathryn Rumbold, Allison Savage,Sheldon Smart, Simone Thomson, Xanthe Vallentin, Jennifer Wallace, Jennifer Walsom

Total in attendance: 16

APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

The December 2012 minutes were presented for approval. MOVED: by Simone that they be accepted. SECONDED: Denise. CARRIED.

Thank you Kathryn for preparing the minutes.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

The January 2013 Agenda was presented for approved. MOVED: by Hannah. SECONDED: by Simone. CARRIED.

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT– Charon

* Labour Update: Thank you to all for your patience and understanding in reference to last Friday. As a bit of background to the framework for what occurred: the labour board made a decision at 4:00 am Friday morning to have schools opened and teachers in attendance. EK had approximately 35% attendance, which seems to be more than a lot of other schools. This is attributed to the email listing / notification that went out. Also wish to thank the Pizza coordinators for the patience.

As a contract is now in place, the AGH trips will be going forward. Other programs have not yet been confirmed. Charon will keep us abreast of any new updates.

* Technology: Items have been purchased and are now in classrooms. We are getting more requests for LiveScribe pens. They are a big hit with staff / students. Currently we have 1 pen per 2 teachers. The IPads have also been purchased and are being received very positively by students.

* Theatre Groups: Charon will need to be in touch with the groups to see what days they have available. The date was originally slated for the end of January but placed on hold as no trips were taking place. TO DO: Charon to advise when the rescheduled date will be.

* Birthday Cupcake: Discussion took place about whether we wished to continue providing birthday cupcakes in lieu of the fact that we are to be promoting healthy eating. It was decided that this event will continue. TO DO: Charon to send out a reminder to parents that we have this event and hopefully discourage extra junk food coming in for every child’s birthday.

STAFF REPORT– Nancy / Jennifer

* None available at this time.

TREASURER’S REPORT– Francis

  • The following is a snapshot of our banking status:

Current Balance / $25,869.81
LESS: outstanding cheques / $ 2,438.43
LESS: EK Support to Technology, Reading Program, Gym Mats / $10,000.00
LESS: Pizza(Feb. March April 2013) / $ 1,800.00
LESS: Milk(Jan. Feb. March 2013) / $ 6,000.00
LESS: Forest Reading Program / $ 1,200.00
LESS: Water Bottles – initial order costs of approx. 200 bottles at $2.00 each / $ 400.00
LESS: EK Net website fee / $ 35.00
LESS: Replacing of cork board in the front notice board (awaiting estimate) / $ 100.00
($21,973.43)
Sub-Total / $ 3 896.38
PLUS: Reimbursement of Daycare Service / $ 80.00
Approximate True Balance: / $ 3,976.38

HOME AND SCHOOL REPORT– Denise

* Milk / Pizza Program: Discussion took place in reference to how much the milk / pizza (veggie & fruit) program is costing versus what we are bringing in. Do we provide this service strictly as a service or as a fundraiser on a go forward basis? It was felt that more data is needed. As such, we will continue to provide the fruit / veggies for the remainder of the school year and reassess for September 2013. Charon also mentioned that although it is much appreciated, it is not necessary to purchase pizza for teachers on pizza day. The teachers do not expect it and this would result in approximate savings of $30.00 per month. It was agreed that these orders will be cancelled effective Feb. 2013. TO DO: Simone will prepare a report for the April meeting outlining costs etc. She will advise Shelley that (i) pizza orders for teachers are no longer necessary and (ii) the fruits / veggies will continue to be provided for the remainder of the school year. Charon will advise the teachers.

* Forest Reading Program: A motion was put forward to officially approve the support of the Forest Reading Program which had approval upon funds being available previously. MOVED: by Denise. SECONDED: Xanthe. CARRIED. TO DO: Charon will advise the library that the funds have been approved.

* Reimbursement of Funds: Simone asked about the possible reimbursement of the daycare service fees H&S has paid. The EK office are now in receipt of the funds from the Board and will be able to process reimbursement. Charon will look at taking care of paying for the service on a go forward basis for Jan – June 2013. TO DO: Simone to issue Charon and invoice. Charon to issue cheque.

PARENT COUNCIL REPORT– Xanthe

* Ice Conditions / Playground: Xanthe noted that the request to propose Judith Bishop to speak to the group be deferred until Fall 2013. This will enable she and Kathryn to document their concerns (ie via photos, etc.). It is proposed that we have Judith attend the Nov. 2013 meeting.

Reference was also made to the recent email message sent to parents and Charon provided some clarification.

Winter Weather and School Grounds

Staff from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board will clear, salt, and / or sand the following areas:

  • The walkways from the City sidewalk to the school;
  • The school steps and portable steps;
  • Walkways to the portables;
  • Ramps to schools and portables;
  • An area outside of entrances and Fire Exit Doors; and
  • Fire Exit stairs and ramps.

When there is an accumulation of 5 cm of snow, parking lots and sidewalks are plowed by approved contractors arranged through Facilities Management. General salting and sanding of the parking lot is also done by contracted staff prior to the commencement of the school day when deemed necessary by the Facility Management staff. Head Caretakers may salt or sand isolated areas on the parking lot on an as needed basis. Playgrounds will not be plowed or otherwise cleared. Head Caretakers will check the condition of the grounds early in the morning and during the school day to sand and/or salt isolated slippery areas that may occur due to changing temperatures. Students should take extra caution when walking onto and leaving from school grounds. Caution must also be taken when playing on school grounds when conditions are slippery. Principals may decide, dependent on weather and playground conditions, to have indoor recess and lunch / nutrition breaks.

* Guest Speaker Event: Suggestions were asked about what topic(s) should be considered for the event. It was suggested that Social Media would be a good topic as well as possibly someone speaking about change / transition (ie transitioning to middle school, transitioning to full time, etc.). If anyone has any one in mind – please forward their name to Xanthe via . Timing is to be April 2013.

NEW BUSINESS- All

* EK 100 Anniversary: Discussion took place as to when the event should be held. It was thought that Spring of 2015 would be a good time and potentially tie it in with Open House. Charon reported that the archive department will need to be contacted in February 2014 so that they can have enough time to provide assistance. They have planned many events such as this, so they have a lot of experience to bring to the table. It was decided that a committee will be needed but in the interim, Kathryn and Jennifer have agreed to be contacts for any information that may come forward. We would like to see a community involvement by obtaining submissions of stories, photos, etc. TO DO: Charon will send out a notice in a weekly reminder asking for volunteers. will be used for contact.

* Sheldon mentioned that our contract is expiring and was looking for feedback. Do we wish to continue to use this site? The cost would be approximately $35.00. MOVED: by Denise that we approve expense. SECONDED: Simone. CARRIED. TO DO: Sheldon to review the site and update the information accordingly. Charon to review current EK Website to ensure minutes have been posted.

* Water Bottles: On behalf of Heather, Hannah brought forward the purchase of water bottles with the EK logo. Does the group wish to go ahead? It was decided that if the minimum order was for 200 bottles, then we should proceed, however – if the minimum order was for more – we should hold off. The bottles will be processed at a cost of $2.00 and we would be looking at selling them for $5.00. If the order goes through – they should be available in May. We would also be looking at re-issuing some for the 100th anniversary. TO DO: Hannah to advise Heather what was agreed to. Charon to provide Heather with a PDF file of the EK logo.

* Scholastic Book Fair: Allison reported that we have a credit of $2,800 from the last book fair. In the past we had divided the credits as follows: November book fair credit was made available to teachers for classroom resources and the May book fair credit was applied towards library resources. It was agreed that this was a good system and we should continue to do this. If the November credit does not get utilized, it will just be carried over to the May credit and applied to the library for use. TO DO: Charon will advise staff.

ADJOURNMENT

The group adjourned at approximately 8:20 pm.

The next meeting of EK Home and School Parent Council Association is to be held on Tuesday, February12th, 2012 at 7:00 pm. Please forward any agenda items to Simone Thomson at: byWednesday, February 6th.

Respectfully submitted, Simone Thomson.

Approved:______Date: ______