School Council Meeting Minutes

April 28, 2015 7:00pm-9:00 pm in the Library

Attendees: Rachael Chadwick, Suzette Rasmussen, Ramona Nazareth, Jonathan Wooder, Sao-Kham Mork-Gerra(Principal),Mandeep Bhullar, Sukhjit Bhullar, Heather Jorge, Michael Jorge, Amy Armstrong, Yasmin Dini, Raji Tapia, Collins Mweene .

Welcome new and returning parents

Approval of February 17,2015 minutes

Addition to the evening’s agenda: addition of 3 items –

  • Fraser Report;
  • Staff hiring;
  • Update on spending of non-board funds.

Student Activity Council Report - Vice-President Jonathan Wooder

  • Semi- Formal on February 27thwas a great event;
  • Culture week also a great event with lots of participation;
  • Chinguacousy hosted PSBA in April. Lots of participation from Chinguacousy students;
  • SAC election to take place April 30th. Four positions are appointed by Grade 12 SAC members (secretary, treasurer and 2 PR members). Two Public Relations members are new for next years because of work load. Positions announced on May 1st.

Principal’s Report

  • Robotics Achievements: The team did not win at the Worlds; however the team learned about competing on a world level. They received a collaboration award.
  • Honour Roll Celebration took place to recognize student achievement in February;
  • February was Black History Month. An assembly hosted by Alisha Tatham (former Olympian and Chinguacousy graduated) took place;
  • Peel Mock Trial semi-finals took place. Chinguacousy made it into the top 2 contenders and Gordon Graydon won;
  • Education Week Assembly was hosted by Jael Richardson;
  • Fraser Report looks at EQAO standings. Chinguacousy was listed in the Top 10 fastest improving schools in Ontario;
  • Staff Hiring – Nine new teachers will be hired for September, 2015. These will include music, drama, math, physics, library and department heads;
  • Coming Up –Grad Breakfast on May 22nd.

Update on Potential Strike for Peel Secondary School Teachers

  • No additional information, working to get as much information to parents as possible;
  • Administration and custodial staff will be working so they will be going into the building;
  • Schools will be closed to students if strike proceeds, no field trips, co-op placements will be cancelled;
  • Parents can watch PDSB website and Twitter for updates;
  • Grade 12 Prom is proceeding;
  • The Ministry is working through the Grade 12 final marks concerns;
  • Principal’s advice is to have the students work on their volunteer hours (for the 40 hours and more);
  • Various resources were provided for continued learning during strike.

Pro-Grant Opportunity

  • The Pro-Grant is a funding for Parents Reaching Out;
  • Can apply for projects to improve communication in school;
  • Ideas and suggestions were discussed such as translation services for new students and parents, mental health issues, overcoming local barriers, etc.
  • Discussion evolved into a possible speaker series to occur during School Council meetings on topics such as mental health, anxiety, talking to your teen, anger and conflict resolution, and addiction.

Update on Non-Board Funding

  • Digital sign is still in the process, need to go through procurement process;
  • Three bids were received for the auditorium sound system. Hope to have installation completed over the summer.
  • Lockers will be replaced during the summer;
  • Murals will be done during the summer and the beginning of next year.

Principal and vice principal survey

  • Principal and vice principal surveys were tabulated and distributed to the Council for review.

Open Discussions:

  • Line of communication in the form of a ‘cheat sheet’ was suggested. It would show teachers, VP’s, Principal Etc. and a summary of who to contact for what. Suggested that it be distributed with report cards;
  • A list of clubs, teams and committees was also suggested;
  • It was suggested that SAC put together a list of clubs, teams and committees which can be put on the SAC bulletin board. It was further suggested that if the SAC notifies the office of events, the office can Tweet it.

Closing remarks:

The chairs thanked everyone for coming and we look forward to seeing everyone on the final meeting of the year on May 26, 2015 at 7 p.m. However, this meeting will be cancelled if there is a strike during that time.

School Council Meeting Tuesday May 26, 2015

7:00 pm -9 pm

Location: Library

Agenda:

1.Welcome new parents and introduction

2.Approval ofApril 28, 2015 minutes

3.Principal’s Report

4.Student Council (SAC) Update

5.Open Discussions and topics raised by parents

Please join us for next year’s School Council Meetings in the library starting at 7:00 pm.

September 29th, 2015

October 27th, 2015

November 24th, 2015

February 23rd, 2016

April 26th, 2016

May 31st, 2016