Annual Report
2016 - 2017 School Year
Thank you to all of the 2016-2017 School Council members and additional volunteers who ensured that our various initiatives and programs were successful. It was a busy and exciting year, and many of us had much to learn with the departure of Susan Millman. Throughout the year the resources she left us with were referenced and relied upon. Happily, we also benefited from the participation of new parents in all volunteer roles.
What We Worked On
There were 9 School Council Meetings throughout the school year. Accomplishments include:
· Direct Donation Funds – Parents generously contributed $5000 in donations. Staff identified technology as their primary need, and Council offered to support the purchase of HP laptops, Chromebooks, and a laptop charging cart. Funding was also provided for the purchase of a projector, making presentations in the gym feasible again. Annual commitments for other programs (many noted in this list) were also well supported.
· Fresh from the Farm – An additional fundraiser was undertaken in September/October specifically targeted to support the Nutrition Program. The sale of apples and vegetables raised $400.
· Parent Information Evening – Our guest speaker, Joel Hilchey drew one of our largest crowds ever with the engaging topic of “Fighting the Rise of Entitlementality”. He shared ideas on how to raise great kids in this self-focused time and entertained everyone with magic and juggling mouse traps. As a bonus, he visited the school during the day and spoke to the grade 7 and 8 students who responded with respectful attention and great applause. The event was held November 10 at 7:00 pm in the school gym. It was paid for by a successful application to the PRO Grant program.
· PRO Grant – applied for a $1000 Ministry of Education Parent’s Reaching Out (PRO) Grant to be put toward a Parent Information Evening in 2017-18. Rather than a speaker, we requested funds to show the movie “Screenagers”. The approval process is taking longer this year, but hopefully we’ll know the outcome by the end of September.
· Mindfulness Resources – the $500 Parent Engagement Grant was used to purchase books on the timely topic of mindfulness. The resources will be available for parents to sign-out in a lending library format.
· Participation in Open House events – School Council members acted as “greeters” at a School Council information display for the May Open House night.
· Staff Appreciation Lunch – Volunteers arranged a special in-school lunch for all members of our Ryerson staff, with food items donated by Ryerson families.
· Grade 8 Grad Awards & Reception - Sponsored and presented Ryerson School Council Awards to 5 graduating students, with the winners being selected by Ryerson staff. We also organized and hosted the grade 8 grad reception following the grad ceremony, as well as organizing the refreshments for the grad dance immediately following.
· Pupil Accommodation Review, West Hamilton – Ryerson was part of an area review of 9 schools throughout the winter and spring of 2017. School Council took an active interest in discussing the needs of Ryerson and provided feedback to the school’s representatives on the PAR Committee.
To the 2017-2018 School Council
· Parent Engagement – Continue with efforts to cultivate parent engagement using a variety of outreach options including the Week Ahead newsletter prepared by staff, information evenings and other school events. Further explore the topic of mindfulness and how School Council can support teacher endeavours in this area.
· Direct Donation Allocation – Monitor the success of the fall campaign and determine whether it is sufficient for the school’s needs. A second request could be planned for the winter, or another fundraising option could be explored. Begin discussions early in the school year of how to spend direct donation funds so that current year’s students may benefit from the donations earlier.
· PRO Grant - An application should be made to the Ministry of Education for any available PRO Grants for the 2018-2019 school year as a means of funding additional parent outreach projects.
· Advocacy to the Board – While the PAR Committee did a tremendous amount of work in arriving at the recommendation to create a hub on the SJAM site, there will be little impact at Ryerson. The building and portables present continued issues with accessibility, safety, condition and usage. Ryerson’s OTG is 343 students and in 2016-17 we had 410 students, running at 120% of capacity. The ten-year projections keep Ryerson between 114-123%. School Council should continue to bring these issues and requests for solutions forward to the Board.
Thank You
A special note of thanks to the executive members of School Council, Allison S., Vice-Chair, Simone T., Treasurer, and Denise M., Secretary. Additional thanks to our Principal Dan Ivankovic and staff rep Cindy Gangaram, and to all of the parents who attended meetings and provided help and support throughout the school year. The Ryerson School Community is fortunate to have this dedicated group of people working on its behalf.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Walsom
Chair, School Council – Ryerson Middle School
September 21, 2017
School Councils are mandated by the Ministry of Education, and work to improve achievement by all students in the school and to enhance the accountability of the education system to parents. School Councils can advise the principal and the School Board by making recommendations on issues such as curriculum, school environment, school and school board policies, just to name a few. The principal and School Board must consider each recommendation and advise Council on the action taken in response.
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