Holland Road Elementary
SAC Meeting Minutes
October 6th, 2015

In attendance: Roberta Jones, David Van Den Heuvel (chair), Lisa Gray, Alison Burrows (Secretary), Jennifer Sinclair, Garreth Watt, Jocelyn Fraser, Jacqueline Doucet

Regrets: Beth McCormack

  1. Called meeting to order
  2. Reviewed the agenda
  3. Reviewed the minutes
  4. Addressed matters in last minutes of the 2014/2015 school year.
  1. New streamlined curriculum is underway. The teachers have had further training. The report card for P-3 will look very different this year. In the first semester the music teacher and gym teacher will not be reporting. They have changed the language used to grade the students. Report cards will go out earlier this year. They will go out on November 19th instead of the middle of December like that did last year.
  2. Traffic signs have been installed. Mrs. Jones and Ms. Gray are down at the bottom of the driveway every morning meeting students.
  3. There is a new homework policy this year. Mrs. Jones provided the SAC with a copy of the new homework policy. She asked that we take it home, read it and we will discuss at the next meeting. Homework is meant to move children forward. They are to be working on things that they already know.
  4. There have been changes made to the code of conduct. The big change is that students can be suspended up to 10 days but only if the child is struggling so much that the time is needed to have supports put in place
  5. David looked into the term length of the chair and found no documentation that there is a three year limit as previously thought. He will continue as chair.
  1. Approved the agenda and minutes
  2. Discussed what is SAC? SAC is the connection between the school and the parents. The SAC is there to provide support to both the students and to Mrs. Jones. SAC is a good way to be for the school to be connected to the community.
  3. Discipline Committee- Members of the SAC committee who are parents and community members would make up the discipline committee. This would come in to play if a parent appealed a suspension.
  4. CSI report – We took a loot at the goals and the impact that it has had on teaching. One of the goals for this year is to integrate a Caring school Community. The purpose is to have grades p -6 involved in conflict resolution. It is also known as emotion management. It is about helping them to be productive and understanding. The teachers are completing professional development on the Caring School community. They are then having meetings with their classes to discuss strategies.
  5. Principals report –

a.) Curriculum night/ Ice cream social went well.

b.) They have had two fire drills so far this year. The first one has to be within the first 7 days of the new school year. They had an issue with the pulls. They had to be replaced/fixed because they were not working on the first drill. They also have to have lock down drills and hold and secure drills.

c.) Individual photos were taken. Retakes are on October 16th. Class photos will also happen on that date.

d.) Running Club has started and is going well.

e.) Terry Fox walk went really well. They have had a few donations which they will send along

f.) Grade 3, 4 and 6 assessments have been happening. They went well. It was reported that the grade 3’s handled it well given that it was their first time doing the assessments. They did do a practice beforehand. They will get the results around Christmas time.

g.) There will be a bus evacuation this Friday for all students regardless of whether they take a bus to school or not.

h.) They have purchased 7 new tables with PTA funding.

i.) The Halloween Howl is on October 22nd.

j.) The library will be undergoing a transformation. It will now be a library commons. It will become a school meeting place with a new atmosphere. They will get new shelving and have places for the students to sit. It will be a place for teachers to bring students when the library is closed.

10. Other –

a.) Criminal record checks and child abuse register checks must be completed for volunteers every 3 years.

Parents have access to Power School from home . They can access absences and report cards.

David asked about the status of the school website and the volunteer that Beth had looked in a while back. Mrs. Jones had spoken to him but then the school board changed the rules for what could be done on the website. Mrs. Jones is in contact with someone else who can help with the website.

School photos – Comment made that this is the third year for this photographer which means that in the early new year the SAC will have to decide whether to keep or change photographers.

11. Next meeting will be Tuesday, November 3, 2015.