NAEC School Advisory Council February 21, 2012

Present: Angela Salmond, Sarah Collins, Charlene Timmerman, Ernie Ballar, Dorothy Knox, Joel Hasler, Candace Bovard, and John Mooney.

Regrets: Janeane Haynes, Megan Cruickshank, Tara Mieske, Nicole Kellar, Natalie Tryon, Tanya Rosenblath, Ryan Cuddy, Sonia McLuckie, Robin Snider, Tammy Ben, Amy Kay, Tracy Maschke, Laura-Lee Mieske, Stephanie Lessard, Teresa Whitelock, Vanessa Lemke.

Sarah opened the meeting at 6:30pm

2) Minutes from the last meeting of November 15, 2011 were reviewed. Moved by Sarah, seconded by Dorothy.

3) Treasurer’s report:

Nevada Account- Natalie absent.

General Account- Sarah- $2154.58 in account, after disbursements for turkey dinner, gingerbread shop, and 75.00 petty cash. $71.35 was deposited from Think Recycle.

4) Previous Business

Triple Hoop basketball net in yard needs to be replaced. Sarah received a quote from Little Tykes for $718.94 with taxes and delivery for one replacement. John will get back to us regarding if both need replacement. Sarah will look into picking up at warehouse to save on delivery charges.

Candace and Charlene spoke of the great success of the food drives from Halloween and the Christmas concert. They hope the Halloween drive will be bigger next year.

5) Student Council Report Megan Absent

6) Administration Report Angela:  Thanked Parent Council for the Spikes equipment.  Elmos- All of Elementary classroom are equipped, and 1 Smart Board. There are 6 in Secondary classrooms, and 2 Smart Boards. Will follow up next meeting regarding additional Elmos for secondary classrooms.  Elementary basketball: Girls was today, and boys will be tomorrow. We held a tournament on Thursday Feb 17th.  Mr. Rew has started his basketball league again for juniors and up from 5-7pm. The first night was quieter than previous years. Secondary students are volunteering for their community hours.  Spikes: TBA, next session will offer separate sessions to split up age groups.  Nature Club starting up for Grades 2&3 at the school. Volunteers needed for a group of 15. Hope to expand as years come. Date TBA  Mr. Hill, (Mr. Rew’s class) & Ms. Buck’s class went on a field trip to Duncan Mc Arthur Hall in Kingston.  Ms. Buck organized guest speaker, Michael Wade to visit our grade 3-8 students. He offered a presentation and special pricing on his books. The school purchased a set for each classroom.  Reports cards have come home today for elementary, and have been mailed home last week for Secondary.  Girl’s volleyball has started up again, commencing this evening.  Mr. & Mrs. Sissons had a baby girl, named Ella; they were in to visit today.  Semester 2 just begun for secondary, and 2nd term for elementary.  Guest speaker, Andy Thibodeau, a motivational speaker is scheduled to visit Feb 27th, for 7-8 and all secondary students.  Grade 11 and Drama classes are going to see Macbeth in Toronto.  Grade 10 & 11 Phys Ed classes went skating in Flinton.

7) Fundraising  Gingerbread Shop a great success. Our sales were $2004.25 and our gross profit was $338.60. All the students had a great time shopping. We plan to expand our shop next year, buy some of our own products to sell, and order selected items from Third Wave.  Labels for Education: we now have over 12000 labels.  Think recycling program is going great. We cashed out at $71.35 since we need to withdraw once a year with a minimum of $50 or we lose our earnings. This balance included our June and December 2011 submissions.  Sarah mentioned adding an Angel tree in conjunction with Community Services in our foyer prior to the Annual Craft Sale, and Gingerbread shop. Additional information will follow.

8) New Business  Principal/Vice Principal profile is due again. Anyone interested in a copy to provide input can contact Sarah.  OTIP teaching awards – Deadline is Mar. 31, 12. Go to www.teachingawards.ca to nominate a teacher.  Sarah reviewed the new school council handbook from the Board: Healthy school food policy and the $500 parent involvement grant distributed to each school council yearly to support councils and parent involvement initiatives. We receive 2 grants a year and need to ensure we are spending this money yearly on meetings, and events to get parents into the school.  Sarah inquired about music and choir opportunities: Angela and John stated that music varies with the aptitude of the individual teacher in elementary other than events such as concerts. Guitar lessons are offered to grades 7&8.  Sarah asked if lunch time clubs would be offered again this year. Angela replied that the teachers have talked about starting up again.  Sarah mentioned concerns about the excess heat in a classroom upstairs. Angela will look into it.  Icy conditions on the property were discussed: Calls will be made to ensure sand will be distributed in the parking lot. Students will remain inside for recesses only if necessary. John or Angela will check the conditions outside prior to recesses to assess the dangers. John stated that crazy carpets and sliding is managed safely and students are enjoying the ice and hill.  Ernie asked why there was little participation with Public Speaking at the Legion this year. Only 1 student from our school was present. Angela replied that it is no longer curriculum.  Joel mentioned that Tony Fritsch of Addington Highlands is looking into applying for a Grant regarding healthy initiatives. Details are not known at the time, but will follow. This grant could require multiple organizations working together.

9) Next Meeting: March 20, 2012 at 6:30pm

10) Motion to Adjourn: Charlene and Sarah