Finch Public School, School Council Meeting

Finch Public School, School Council Meeting Meeting Minutes: September 26, 2012 Approved by Council: October 24, 2012

Present: Jenny Ma (chairperson), Richard Snider, Allen Shen, Jennifer Schmidt, Sarah Andersen, Paul Andersen, Mehdi Zafari, Shahin Zafari, Huda Alinakeeb, Jian Feng Yang, Alan (Hai Lin) Zhao, Metwalli Abdelsalom, Hong Li, Isaiah Kpeagbara, Salma Satchu, Sally Gustin (Principal), Sue Pfeffer (Superintendent)

Called to Order: The meeting was called to order @ 7:08 pm by Jenny Ma.

Welcome by Principal, Sally Gustin: Introductions were made by all present and sign-in sheet was circulated. Superintendent Pfeffer was introduced to the group.

Annual Report of School Council from 2011-12: Jenny Ma  Review of various fundraiser events from the previous year: Pizza lunches, Dancethon, Spring Fling, Lamontagne Catalogue Fundraiser, Acord Cards.  School council organized parent workshops, teacher appreciation lunch, Parents Helping Parents (parents are finding this resource helpful and there is a need for volunteers to translate in Korean)  The fundraisers raised funds to support field trips, provided the Scientist in the School, graduation gifts, and mobile computer lab. There are three Smart boards.  A school telephone and email directory was made and distributed.

Financial Report:  Currently there is $12,500 in the bank  Receipt for Smart Board was provided to the council, under the agreement that the school council would cover 50% of the costs

Discussion with Superintendent of E17, Sue Pfeffer & Sally Gustin  The role of Superintendent was explained.  The Superintendent suggested parents join the trustee’s distribution list to receive the Willowdale newsletter. Parents can send their names to [email protected] .  There was some general discussion and Sue and Sally addressed some parental concerns.  Concerns over the new portables, what will happen during the winter and summer months when it is really cold and really warm? Answer: In Willowdale, portables are a fact of life with the population growth and increase in enrollment. They are meant to be a temporary solution.  With 100 more students added to Finch PS, there are many concerns: education, parking, traffic, safety of students, why can’t parents buy items for school such as fans in the summer months? Who is responsible for the decision to add? Answer: The decision to expand the school was not hap-hazard. There was focused planning by the school and Board. The situation will continue to be monitored. The school has purchased some portable air conditioners for use in classrooms.  Are there enough washrooms for kindergarten students in classrooms? Answer: Yes, there are enough based on the number of children and established Board guidelines.  With the large class sizes, how will the children receive enough education and are all classes this big? Answer: Only in the kindergarten classes are large in number. The junior classes have the recommended average number of students. Currently, there is a third person in the large class to help. They hope to share the third person among all classrooms once the new kindergarten class is established.  Do the teachers get to know all the children with the large numbers? What about education, is it affected? Answer: Full-day kindergarten has been successful. The students are better prepared

1 for grade one. It is still early in the year. Usually by Thanksgiving the routines are established in the classrooms.  With the large sizes of students, how do the split grade of junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten work with regards to language and age of kids? Answer: The older kids have a leadership role and mentor the younger students. There are a wide range of students and they will get extra help.  Any plans for physical expansion of school? Answer: There are plans too but there are no funds available at this time. The building was expanded this summer for the Full-day kindergarten. Now that there are more students and teachers, there are Specialist teachers, a new Music teacher and gym teacher.  How is the staff coping with the labour dispute? Answer: The reactions are wide and varied across the province. The model, putting students first , is used. The language of the union is that it is up to the teacher with what they want to do.

Election of Council Positions: Jenny Ma  We need a new Executive Council: Chair, Secretary and Treasurer  Jenny has been Chair for five years and will be stepping down this year. Positions can be shared. It would be nice to get a mix of representation from all levels, including kindgergarten.  There was some discussion about the addition of a student representative. Students do have an opportunity to be involved and have a voice through other mechanisms.  For anyone interested, there is a handbook for Chairpersons and documentation available on how to run meetings.  Volunteers were named as follows: Sarah Andersen & Isaiah Kpeagbara: Co-chairs, Salma Satchu: Secretary, Richard Snider & Alan Zhao: Co-treasurers  Allan Shen offered to organize the workshops this year again and already has $1000. He will send the survey out again to everyone to assess interests and priorities for parents.  Three was some discussion about the addition of class reps from each class. Perhaps this can be discussed another time.  Additional roles were reviewed: Pizza Lunch Organizer (remained vacant), Parent workshops organizers (Allen).

Future Meetings:  Meetings are held monthly, typically the same day of the week. No meetings in December and March  A decision was made to hold meetings on the 4th Wednesday of every month. This can be reviewed towards the end of 2012.  Future meeting dates: Wednesday, October 24th AND Wednesday, November 28th

Updates from the school: Principal  School Statement of Needs form was distributed to everyone. As a group, we need to come up with a “wish list” of criteria that could be used if needed to hire a new principal. Parents are asked to review the form. Jenny will email out a prior example. This will be finalized at the October meeting.  Wonderful start to the new year with the new additions.  There is a back order of furniture. Classrooms have been set up in the interim using available items.  The outside of the school needs to be finished.  The staff room needs to be completed.

2  There is a plan to increase the technology and portable net books. We recently received two cabinets with thirty labtops each through a Board grant. In addition, the group was reminded of the previous commitment made by the School Council (made at June 2012 meeting) to contribute $3500 towards technology at the school.

 Parent Reminders: Parking, please walk if possible. Don’t be late dropping off children; we are accountable for absences and late arrivals to the board and Ministry of Education. Please do not go upstairs without permission. Doors are now locked and you will need to check-in at the office.  Needs of the school: technology, volunteers (boxes of catalogues need to be put away, shoe shelves need to be painted, recess toy bin needs to be brought together and inventory completed).  Playscape hours: Closed from 8:30-8:40 and 3:10-3:25. Open after 3:25pm.  Picture Day: October 23, 2012  Teacher Lunch: In the past, the council has hosted a teacher appreciated lunch. A suggestion this year is to instead have the council contribute to one Treat Day throughout the year (treat day is every Wednesday). A sign-up is posted in the staff room.

Additional Items:  How does voting work? Members have to attend 70% of meetings to vote.  Telephone and email directory in office. Laura has volunteered to help.  Lamontagne Catalogue Fund-raising starts October 4, 2012 for two weekends. The order comes back before Christmas.  PRO Grant Planning (money for workshops): Allan will send link and feedback from surveys

The meeting was adjourned at 9:02 pm

Next meeting: Wednesday, October 24, 2012