John English SAC – Meeting Minutes
Thursday, September 15, 2016, 7 – 8:30 pm
Welcome Introductions
Additional agenda items
- no new or extra items
- attendance sheet sent around
Principal/Vice Principal’s Report
Mr. Howe
- Welcome and thank you for coming, parent involvement always welcomed and thanked
- First week is settling in, working on routines
- Parent concern over class placement – please use as a learning moment to prepare kids for their path; support given but path not changed
- 8 new teachers due to promotions; moves; maternity leave
- Class sizes might have adjustments which needs to be done by 3rd week; fortunately minimal changes needed this year and they have already been done and communicated to families affected
- John Malloy has been given permanent contract as Director of TDSB; 4 new ‘Learning Centers” have been created (http://www.tdsb.on.ca/AboutUs/DirectorofEducation/LearningCentres.aspx) ; with each center staffed by 7 Superintendents; our school is in LC4 and our new Superintendent is Sandra Tondat
- TDSB video presented highlighting schools in the board
- Construction happened over summer and is still happening; roof is almost finished being resurfaced, new steam boilers, window frames and sashes painted, playground lines painted; solar panels delivered for installation, steel beam structure tested for integrity
- Sept 22 – Meet the Teacher Night – Community Service Carousel 5:00-6:30 and teachers available from 6:30-7:30
Mr. Parvatam
- bus route # 1 (of 3) having trouble with driver and timing, as of Sept 16 this issue should be resolved; info is as clear as what school is getting
- Lunch time programs available (gr 1 – 8) again this year; hoping to run on Mondays and Fridays due to Healthy Bites schedule – council decided and agreed on Arts Express, Chess and Math Academy, Fun Factory – subsidies are available
- Co-op games run by grade 7-8 in winter (after lunch) will happen again this year
- Universal mandatory screening for all grade 3 TDSB students starting this month; 3 part test (verbal, quantitative, non-verbal); run by Grade 3 teachers; CCAT; provides information to teachers; more info at http://www.tdsb.on.ca/ElementarySchool/SpecialEducation.aspx
- Kiss’n’Ride needs volunteers; from 8:25-8:45; info to be sent out on Friday update; including no parking on George Street
Teacher’s Report – Mme Smith
- thank you and welcome; busy first week
- Oct 4 – Picture Day
- Sept 30 – Terry Fox Run
- Sports teams started; x-country (Gr 3-8), softball; football; all announcements can be reviewed in cafeteria and also at coach’s corner; girls basketball and boys volleyball will start soon
- Mme Mazelet recruiting Grade 5&6 students for Safety Patrol
- Ms. Jenkins – needs parent volunteers for help with library
SAC Board Business
Programs
- Parent Rep Sign Up – each class has a parent rep to communicate school/SAC/classroom info to parents; works closely with their teacher; asking for parents to sign up for their class – sheet went around
- Curriculum Night (Sep 22): pizza, drinks, bake sale at 5:30-6:30 – Terry Durette helping lead pizza; 8-10 grade 8’s helping to sell pizza (Ashwin to arrange for volunteers); will ask to bring your own bottle for water fill-up; sign up sheet going around for bake sale donations plus will be on Friday Night update – Jen to lead
- Ukulele – grade 3 program; running for 8 years now; runs during school hours for all grade 3’s; SAC subsidizes; there is an inventory of ukuleles donated so no cost to parents of grade 3; check out uschool.ca for info on program; starts first week of October; runs all year; approval to fund this year motioned and seconded; free for teachers at lunch
Fundraising
- summary sheet handed out and attached to minutes; participant prize approved for Fresh From the Farm; all forms/info will be sent home within the next few weeks; QSP prize structure changed to grand prizes only; quorum seems to be no QSP assembly
Treasurer’s Report
- budget from 2015/16 handed out and reviewed (attached to minutes); question about raising classroom support above $100; needs more review as there are 50 teachers; computers at home tough for some families – could we help?; ideas brought forward in regards to additional programs SAC could support (Watershed on Wheels from TRCA); tabling request for a sub-committee on enrichment for next meeting; surplus of roughly $20K which we can table for next meeting to put against a wish list/instrument refurbish etc
| 2015/16 SAC Budget | ||
| Revenue | ||
| Initiative | Budget | Actual |
| Curriculum Night | 800 | 0 |
| Fundraising | 5000 | 4,985 |
| QSP | 5000 | 4,209.46 |
| Poinsettia | 900 | 1167.11 |
| Indigo FlipGive and Samko | 100 | 46.39 |
| Pizza Friday | 4,000 | 5208.85 |
| Dance-a-thon | 4,000 | 6140.95 |
| Movie Night and Basket Raffle | 3,000 | 5077.07 |
| Fresh from the Farm | 1,500 | 1556.05 |
| Total Budget – Actual | 24300 | 28,390.88 |
| Proposed Expenditures | ||
| Skating Program | 2000 | 1883.60 |
| Scientists in the School | 4000 | 3691 |
| Ukelele | 7000 | 7000 |
| Grauation Ceremonies | 1000 | |
| Classroom Support | 3500 | 3102.21 |
| Bank Charges | 150 | 291.76 |
| QSP Class Winners | 100 | |
| Dance-a-thon pizza lunch | 100 | |
| iPad Mini’s | 3000 | 3000 |
| Team Uniforms | 600 | 600 |
| Fresh from the Farm prize | 200 | 282.22 |
| Library Books | 0 | |
| Instrument Repair | 0 | 35 |
| Winter Concert | 118.94 | |
| Enhancements | 0 | |
| Staff Appreciation | 400 | 305.33 |
| Total Budget Expenditures | 22050 | 20310.06 |
| Bank Balance as of Sep 09, 2016 | $23,464 |
Open Positions / Nominations
- Open positions: Treasurer (transition year with Terry), CPF rep, Health & Safety, PSP
- PIAC – Saturday Nov 19 – Parent Conference; transportation available, child care
Other Business
- Fix Our Schools – to be discussed at October meeting regarding provincial funding
Meeting Adjourned @ 8:30
Next Meetings – Oct 13, Nov 10, Jan 12, Feb 9, April 6, May 11
