Sir Ernest MacMillian Public School Parent Council Meeting Minutes

September 30, 2015

Meeting Start Time: 6:30 pm

Attendees: Ismael Qoraishi (past Chair) Immy Kelly

Nancy Mohammed Wendy LI

Sharmala Phogoo Mehtap Kahramon

Diana Feher George Bartzis, Vice Principal

Tong Zeng Doug McNeill, Principal

Remah Shaath Aaron Chen

Krista Carroll

1.  Welcome back to the previous Council and introduction of new members.

2.  Elections

2.1  The Council discussed the formation of the parent council for the 2015/16 school year. Nancy Mohammed will join Ismael Qoraishi as co-chair of the Council. Krista Carroll will be the Secretary.

2.2  Historically, the school administration and staff in consultation with the parent council have worked collaboratively to develop a school improvement plan. Fundraising to support the priorities has been done internally therefore no Treasurer on the Council has been required. Council decided to maintain the current structure of the Council; no Treasurer was appointed.

3.  Principals Update

3.1  Enrolment:

- 328-330 students enrolled; down a bit from last year

- 14 classes; seven grade 7 and seven grade 8

- 50% English based and 50% French based

3.2  Current Technology Needs:

Principal McNeill discussed the need to supplement the school budget with fundraising to continue to renew the technology resources of the school. Fundraising typically has gone towards assets that go into the school that support learning. In addition, funds are spent on staff training to ensure technology is used to the fullest potential. Past examples of the use of fundraising include complete replacement of the computer lab and the addition of a 3D printer all of which are now assets of the school.

Current investment needs reflect TDSB owned assets in which the lease has expired and must be returned to the TDSB. The Principal is unaware of what the TDSB plans are in terms of refurbishment therefore fundraising should go to technology. Principal McNeill reiterated that assets purchased by the school are the property of the school.

The Principal has recommended Chrome books which are flow through devices therefore all work being done is stored on the cloud. The chrome books therefore perform faster and are more efficient as students move from class to class and then home in comparison to laptops. The cost of each Chrome book is about $300.

3.3  Job Action:

Currently, the teaching staff represented by the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents support staff are in ongoing province-wide labour negotiations with the Government of Ontario and public school boards. As a result, members of ETFO and CUPE are taking part in a legal job action that will impact our schools.

As of now the teaching situation is okay. Current job action is intended to slow down the administration rather than directly impact the students.

ETFO however has stated that if sufficient progress is not made in negotiations it MAY implement rotating one-day strikes in October. Should rotating strikes occur, ETFO will provide parents with as much notice as possible about the impact on your schools.

CUPE (e.g. custodians, school office staff, educational assistants) has started a partial withdrawal of services which include not sweeping entrances and hallways, Not doing school compost programs, Not cutting grass or cleaning up leaves unless there is a safety concern, Not collecting or accepting money for school-related initiatives and fundraising. As the withdrawal of services continues, it MAY have a more significant impact on school activities and permits.

For further information go to: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/labour and listen to news coverage.

3.4  The new health education curriculum went into effect on Tuesday, the first day of school. The health curriculum, last updated in 1998, was written after asking 4,000 school council chairs for comment and consulting 70 public-health and parents’ organizations.

The school is obligated to teach the curriculum as directed by the Ministry of Education however the health curriculum will be taught during the second half of the school year.

4.  Fundraising

4.1 Our hope is that fundraising efforts will continue similar to previous years. There are four fundraising avenues including the used uniform sales, the chocolate sales, “MacMania” (planned for February), and School Spirit Days (pm, 3-4 times per year).

4.2 The used clothing sales took place September 2nd 2015. Students graduating donate their school uniforms in June and the sale is held annually the week before school starts.

4.3 The parent council will lead the fundraising efforts but will need parent support as well as some volunteers. Chocolate sales are tentatively scheduled to begin early November.

5. Setting goals for the Council

Discussion deferred at this time.

6.  Grade 8 Graduation

6.1  Graduation will be held Tuesday, June 28th 2016 @ 4:00pm; 2 seats per family member

6.2  The graduation celebration is a more formal event for students; the cost will be $50 / graduate in line with the cost last year.

7.  Future meeting dates

7.1  the next parent council meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday November 4th at 6:30 pm in the staff room.

7.2  Everyone is welcome to attend. We are always looking to grow the number of parents around the school council table.

8.  AOB

Meeting adjourned at 8:15pm

Action Items: 4. Fundraising: need olunteers to help with launch day, collecting and accounting for funds etc

5. Setting Goals for Council

3 | Page