YORK REGION DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD BOARD MEETING MINUTES - PUBLIC SESSION DECEMBER 11, 2012 The Board Meeting - Public Session of the York Region District School Board was held in the Board Room of the Education Centre, Aurora at 8:09 p.m. on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 with Vice-Chair N. Elgie presiding and the following members present; Trustees P. Adams-Luchowski, L. Carruthers, C. Chan, S. Geller, J. Hertz, J. Nathan, A. Tam, M. Van Beek and A. Yeung. Also in attendance: Student Trustees S. Shao and K. Thaker Regrets: Trustees A. DeBartolo and D. Giangrande APPROVAL OF AGENDA (*)1. Moved by M. Van Beek, seconded by J. Nathan: That the agenda be approved as written. - Carried - DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST Vice-Chair N. Elgie asked any trustee who has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any matter being discussed during the meeting to state their conflict and the nature thereof. No conflicts were declared by trustees at this time. RISE AND REPORT – DECEMBER 11, 2012 BOARD MEETING – PRIVATE SESSION (*)2. Moved by J. Hertz, seconded by C. Chan: 1) That the York Region District School Board receive for information and approve the recommendations contained in the minutes of the November 7, 2012 Joint Board Consortium Meeting. 2) That the York Region District School Board receive for information and approve the following recommendation contained in the minutes of the November 20, 2012 Property Management Committee. “That the York Region District School Board approve the renewal of select building envelope and building systems at Dr. G. W. Williams Secondary School, Town of Aurora, as outlined in the staff report dated November 20, 2012.” BOARD MEETING MINUTES – PUBLIC SESSION PAGE 2 December 11, 2012 ____________________________________________________________________ 3) That the York Region District School Board approve the recommendations in the Human Resource Services staff report. 4) That the York Region District School Board receive the Student Discipline and Suspension Reports for information. 5) That the York Region District School Board receive for information and approve the recommendations contained in the minutes of the November 27, 2012 Audit Committee Meeting. 6) That the York Region District School Board receive for information and approve the recommendations contained in the Audit Committee Detailed and Summarized Annual Reports. 7) That the York Region District School Board terminate for just cause the employment of as a York Region District School Board teacher, effective December 11, 2012. 8) That the York Region District School Board authorize the Director of Education to inform the Ontario College of Teachers regarding the termination of in accordance with Section 43.2 (1) of the Ontario College of Teachers’ Act, 1996. 9) That the York Region District School Board approve the school administrator appointments and transfers as outlined in the staff report. 10) That the York Region District School Board receive the Negotiations update for information. - Carried - STUDENT TRUSTEE REPORT At this time, Student Trustee S. Shao made the following remarks. “Madame Chair, Mr. Director, Trustees, Staff, Ladies and Gentlemen. Here we are, in the last days before a new year. This past year has been full of many challenges as well as triumphs and we will leave this year with some great lessons and memories. For Kush and me, December marks the halfway point in our journey as Student Trustees. The past few months have been a great learning experience for both of us and we are so blessed to be here at the Board table representing the more than 120,000 students of the York Region District School Board. There are not many times that we see students so engaged in politics. This week, social media has been a canvas for student expression, and we suspect that this BOARD MEETING MINUTES – PUBLIC SESSION PAGE 3 December 11, 2012 ____________________________________________________________________ spirited dialogue between our peers will continue. Given the circumstances, the roles of student leaders are being tested, but we are doing what we can to keep students informed and calm. For example, we are collaborating with the student trustees at the Peel District School Board to design digital graphics that explain the current labour situation. As students become more informed, unsurprisingly, they are more united. They want to be heard, and left out of all this. Admittedly, we have to respect the process and remain the model students that we are known to be, but it is a feeling of powerlessness, knowing that we are really just weathering a storm. On the topic of the labour negotiations, Superintendent of Schools - Operations A. Hoyle and Superintendent of Business and Finance Services W. Muirhead-Toporek attended the November 29th York Region Presidents’ Council meeting to answer student questions. Although many were upset over the introduction of phased sanctions, the information was well received. Education is for the students. Let us focus on them. The Quest Conference fulfilled all expectations and proved to be a tremendous success. Kush and I worked with S. Rensink, Teacher on the Student Engagement Team. The Quest student panel, composed of five young leaders, shared their experiences of inequality in the educational system and more importantly, their ideas on how to break barriers to achieving equitable, inclusive, and engaging schools. The discussion was filmed by Rogers Television and Kush and I had the honour of introducing, as well as concluding the session. It was an incredible experience for both of us and altered our viewpoints on the challenges faced by students and strengthened our drive to overcome these challenges. The “Quest” to attain equitable learning environments continues. December, for secondary school students, means crunch time. There are many projects to hand in and tests to prepare for prior to the holiday break. Soon semester one will be ending, with exam time just around the corner. The break, for many, is much needed. In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you one of my favourite stories. A professor stood in front of his class with rocks, pebbles, sand, and an empty jar. He asked the class if the jar was full when he filled it with rocks. “Yes”, they replied. He then dropped some pebbles into the jar, which filled in the spaces left by the larger rocks. He asked the same question and his students said “yes” a second time. Finally, he poured some sand into the jar, which filled the remaining spaces. His students agreed that once again, the jar was full. The professor continued by explaining that the jar and the items in it represent your life. The rocks are the important things, such as your health and your family and friends. The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, car, and house. The sand? That’s everything else. The small stuff. If you put the pebbles and sand into the jar first, the rocks will not fit. The same goes for your life. If you focus on the small stuff, you won’t have time for the things that BOARD MEETING MINUTES – PUBLIC SESSION PAGE 4 December 11, 2012 ____________________________________________________________________ are truly important. Be sure to take care of the rocks first. The holidays are fast approaching. Do something kind. Spend time with family. Go out with friends. The emails will still be here when you get back in January. Thank you, take care, and happy holidays.” Director of Education K. Thurston and Vice-Chair N. Elgie thanked Student Trustees Shao for her remarks. DIRECTOR’S INFORMATION REPORT Director of Education K. Thurston welcomed S. Ghada, Vice-Principal at Glad Park Public School, who was at the meeting to represent the York Region Ontario Principals’ Council. ANTI-BULLYING PLEDGE Director of Education K. Thurston introduced Superintendent of Schools – Operations A. Hoyle who was in attendance to provide an update about the Board’s Anti-Bullying Strategy. Recent developments include a new tool called Report It! which is a link on the Board’s public website that provides parents, students and community members with a means of reporting bullying incidents as well as positive behaviours and events related to students and learning environments. Superintendent Hoyle also stated that in conjunction with the Richmond Green Secondary School Positive Climate for Learning Club, a video was filmed in support of The Pledge to End Bullying, a community-wide initiative that seeks to raise public consciousness about bullying in schools, the workplace and home. During the first week that the video aired on the CTV network, over 50,000 individuals took the pledge, demonstrating a widespread commitment to ending bullying. The video was played at this time. APPLAUSE! Director K. Thurston made the following remarks. “Northern Lights Anti-Bullying Event Would the group from Northern Lights Public School please come forward. Staff and students at Northern Lights Public School have been very active in their work to support bullying prevention. This year, their initiatives have gone far beyond the school and have engaged members of the school community, including Mayor of Aurora Geoffrey Dawe. Last spring, a grade three student wrote a letter to the Mayor, asking him to come to the school to support its anti-bullying plan. As a result of the letter, Mayor Dawe visited the BOARD MEETING MINUTES – PUBLIC SESSION PAGE 5 December 11, 2012 ____________________________________________________________________ school and took part in an assembly to support the kick-off of this year’s anti-bullying work. Mayor Dawe expressed how important it is to talk about and be aware of bullying. He encouraged the students to be conscious of their actions and how they treat others, to make sure that they do not exhibit bullying behaviour, to tell someone if they are being bullied and to stand up for someone who is being bullied.