Valley View Public School

School Community Council Meeting Minutes

Thursday, November 5, 2015 (6:30pm)

Welcome and Introduction

In Attendance:

D. Holmes, B. Broda, L. Verkley, A. Cicchelli, P. Persaud, N. Omar-Ali, S. Singh, A. Mahrouf, S. Mathu, G. Lew, S. Hooper

Regrets:

C. Marquis (new SCC Teacher Rep will be J. Ferrier, for subsequent meetings), S. Chabai

Introductions were made around the room.

Guest Presenters

  1. Z. Mahrouf (Student Voice President)

The Student Voice would like to plan an Olympic Day consisting of fun and educational activities (inside and outside). They would also like to get a guest Olympian to speak at the event. So far the Student Voice has raised about $400 (*amount to be confirmed). Miss. Mahrouf is requesting for the SCC to sponsor the event as well and contribute additional monies.

  1. S.Singh (The Right Angle)

Mr. Singh’s presentation talked of the latest research in Mathematics explaining that most children who struggle with maths do so because of anxiety and frustration in Mathematics. The #1 reason of this is due to the lack of parental help and knowledge to assist. His research indicates that we (parents) need to engage with children in math early on for lifelong learning.

He would like the SCC look to consider aFamily Math Night as a possible Pro Grant idea where he would set up math centres(led by students) so that students can teach other students. His company, The Right Angle, believes in making math fun and instilling the love of mathematics by including all grades (K-8) and parents during a Family Math Night. He is willing to work with us regarding the cost as it is flexible based on funds available. Last year’s PRO grant included a focus on math, with the application funding a Mathletes event which was attended by students and parents during the school day.

Meeting Minutes (October 1, 2015)

Council reviewed the minutes from October.

MOTION: L. Verkley put forth the motion to pass the minutes from the October 2015 meeting. B. Broda seconded this motion and all were in favour. October minutes were passed.

Principal’s Report (G. Lew)

Please refer to the principal’s report on the school website (under the parent/SCC section for a more detailed list of items discussed such as the School Improvement Plan - Powerpoint of SMART Goals (S. Hooper), the possible closing of the Greenwood Library branch for January as well as many more items.

Financial Report

B. Broda ran through SCC balance. Presently the balance is $2496.86. Although we still need to pay for the milk from the pizza lunch (just over $100), we are also still waiting on the Fundscrip payout (approximately $277.75) so the SCC balance is looking strong to start the school year.

Allocations for SCC monies will go to Racing Against Drugs, Scientists in School, Grade 8 Graduation and Student Voice Olympic Day presenter. In order to contribute to all of these ventures, we will need to raise ~$4000

MOTION: P. Persaud put forth the motion to pass these events as allocations for SCC monies.

N. Omar-Aliseconded this motion and all were in favour. Money allocations passed.

Fundraisers

  1. December Fundscrip
  2. Spirit Snowball Dance / Winter Wonderland will be held on December 11 (Amy to figure out a proper suitable name). We will run the day similar to the Monster Mash event with a pizza day and a dance for grades JK – 5 or 8 (depending on what Miss. Burns would like to do). Punam will speak with Miss. Burns and find out if the intermediates would like their own dance and if the Student Voice would like to have a bake sale.
  3. Movie Night will possibly be held on a night in February. We will discuss this more at our January meeting and find out if our permit entitles us to one or two movies. Mrs. Chabai is presently trying to negotiate a two-movie deal. More information to come after our January 2016 meeting.

Ideal Characteristics of a Principal

G. Lew and S. Hooper excused themselves from the meeting as the SCC members filled out the “School Community Council Input Placemat”. A lot of information was discussed but the bottom line was all members of the SCC would love to have “another Mr. Lew” as a characteristic of a principal. SCC members spoke of our diverse school with small class sizes, excellent teachers, fabulous leaders (VP and Principal) and caring environment, just to name a few characteristics discussed.

Danielle will be emailing the placemat to B. Canon

Future SCC Meeting Dates

Thursday, January 14, 2016 at 6:30pm (rotating secretary – L. Verkley, if present)

Thursday, March 3, 2016 at 6:30pm (rotating secretary – N. Omar-Ali, if present)

Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 6:30pm (rotating secretary – B. Broda, if present)

Thursday, June 9, 2016 at 6:30pm (rotating secretary – A. Cicchelli, if present)

MOTION: L. Verkley put forth the motion to adjourn the meeting. This motion was seconded by P. Persaud. Meeting adjourned at 8:06pm.