Board Meeting – Public Session
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Board Meeting – Public Session Thursday, November 25, 2010 Board Room – 8:00 p.m. Pages 1. Roll Call 2. Approval of Agenda 3. Report from the Board Meeting – Private Session, November 25, 2010 4. Student Trustee Report – Lee Shelson 5. Presentation to Trustees 6. APPLAUSE! 1-2 7. Ontario Public School Boards’ Association Report 8. Special Announcements 9. Approval of Minutes of the October 28, 2010 3-20 Board Meeting 10. Routine (*) & Non-Routine Presentation of Minutes and Reports of Board Committees: (a) Special Education Advisory Committee Minutes 21-29 Thursday, November 4, 2010 (*) (b) Policy and By-Law Committee Minutes 30-48 Monday, November 8, 2010 (*) (c) Board Standing Committee Minutes 49-51 Monday, November 8, 2010 (*) (d) Chair’s Committee Minutes 52-60 Monday, November 15, 2010 (*) (e) Proposed Development Application, D01-10007/ 61-64 D02-10020/ D06-10039, Town of Richmond Hill (*) 11. Information and Inquiries 12. Meetings and Events (*) 65 13. Adjournment November 2010 Applause! Today’s Parent Magazine 2010 School MVP – Support Staff Great school experiences don’t happen by accident: They’re the result of hard work and dedication from individuals in the school community. That’s why Today’s Parent Magazine put out a cross-Canada call for the principals, teachers, volunteers and support staff who make their schools great. More than 200 nominations were received. David Holborn Today’s Parent Magazine’s 2010 School MVP for Support Staff is David Holborn, Lead Caretaker of Beverley Acres Public School in Richmond Hill. He was nominated by Paula Windsor, a school parent, who said: “David is so much more than a caretaker at our school. He truly cares about the students and gives selflessly to help them be the best that they can be.” When the school choir found itself without a music director, he didn’t think twice about using his lunch hours to fill the role. In addition, David acts as a vocal coach for actors in Beverley Acres’ annual musicals. He leads our students in school concerts and performances, and even outside the school in the Richmond Hill Santa Claus Parade and in the Music's Alive Festival. David also shares his time and talent with the school and students during many special ceremonies, such as the Grade 8 graduation ceremony where he plays the bagpipes to usher in the student procession. Beyond his musical talents, David positively influences students, helps redirect students’ actions if needed and encourages them to choose appropriate games and dress appropriately when outside at recess. David takes an active role in helping ensure the safety and well-being of all Beverley Acres PS students. Beverley Acres PS Principal, Ramon Andrade said the following of David: “David Holborn is an altruistic, responsible, caring individual who is always willing to help and selflessly contributes his time and energy to making our school a better place to learn and work.” Congratulations to our Today’s Parent 2010 School MVP, David Holborn. Keep up the good work, David. Habitat for Humanity Build Bur Oak Secondary School Global Action Club Recently, a group of students from Bur Oak Secondary School participated in a Habitat for Humanity Build in Keswick. The school’s Global Action Council met with the volunteer co- ordinator of Habitat for Humanity York Region, Heather Johnson, in the spring of last year. Heather conducted safety training and an orientation for participating students and ensured they were ready to get down to work. November 2010 Applause! Due to a mandatory minimum age of 16, not all members of the Council were able to participate, but 13 members of the Global Action Club spent the day working very hard on the construction site that will eventually be home to a mother and her five adopted daughters. The members of the Global Action Club who worked on the build that day were: Anmol Punjabi, Arunyah Sivakular, Narusha Arulranjan, Maria Mustansir, Irene Nguyen, Deepiga Vigneswaran, Nitharsan Vigneswaran, Iesha Wu, Cara Cho, Momtha Sivapathasundram, Dhivya Sasi, AstaAu, Amal Ahmed and Kate Kostandoff, Head of Library at Bur Oak. The team took a bus to Keswick, donned their work boots and hard hats and prepared for a challenging day. Students were guided by experienced Habitat for Humanity volunteers who directed the student team and taught them some basic skills. Throughout the day, Bur Oak students cemented bricks, dug a hole and prepared it to have the concrete poured, shifted excess concrete blocks from inside the foundation to be stacked for removal, positioned and raised floor joists. It was a full day of hard and steady work and certainly put our students and teacher to the test. The team was happy to meet the thankful mother who will be moving into the energy efficient home in late December 2010. Thank you, Bur Oak Global Action Club for your outstanding efforts and hard work! And thanks to Heather Johnson of Habitat for Humanity for your support and partnership. ROUTINE YORK REGION DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD BOARD MEETING MINUTES - PUBLIC SESSION OCTOBER 28, 2010 The Board Meeting - Public Session of the York Region District School Board was held in the Board Room of the Education Centre, Aurora at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 28, 2010 with Chair D. Giangrande presiding and the following members present; Trustees L. Carruthers, A. DeBartolo, N. Elgie, S. Geller, J. Hertz, G. Kerr, P. Luchowski, and M. Van Beek. Regrets: Trustees B. Crothers and E. Richardson Also in attendance: Student Trustees M. Bun and L. Shelson APPROVAL OF AGENDA (*)1. Moved by S. Geller, seconded by G. Kerr: That the agenda be approved as written. - Carried - RISE AND REPORT – OCTOBER 28, 2010 BOARD MEETING – PRIVATE SESSION (*)2. Moved by A. DeBartolo, seconded by P. Luchowski: 1) That the York Region District School Board approve the recommendations in the Human Resource Services staff report. 2) That the York Region District School Board receive the Student Discipline and Suspension reports for information. 3) That the York Region District School Board appoint Kelly Gravelle, Olga Luftig and James Robinson to the Joint Board Election Compliance Audit Committee for the period December 1, 2010 to November 30, 2014. 4) That the York Region District School Board approve the Elementary Administrator Transfer as outlined in the staff report. - Carried - STUDENT TRUSTEE REPORTS At this time, Student Trustee M. Bun made the following remarks. BOARD MEETING MINUTES - PUBLIC SESSION PAGE 2 OCTOBER 28, 2010 “Madame Chair, Mr. Director, Trustees, Staff, Ladies and Gentlemen. Quite a number of updates are due this month, as Lee and I have been working on many things. The biggest topic we have been hearing about in consultation with students has been student councils and how they function throughout the Region. We have also been having many discussions about technology, and found that the two are actually inter-related. Before speaking in regard to those matters, first some updates about Student Vote, Wear Purple Day, and the student trustee website. Throughout Municipal Democracy Awareness Week, which took place October 17-23, 2010, 33 per cent of York Region schools participated in Student Vote to engage both elementary and secondary school students in the democratic process. Student Vote is an organization that runs in-school elections parallel to the Municipal Election to teach students about active citizenship and provide a way for youth to voice the political issues most important to them. Aside from having the chance to vote for their candidates of choice in a mock election, students also participated in a civics curriculum that taught them about how municipal elections work. One of the most exciting parts of this initiative is the Student Survey that will be launched province-wide by Student Vote on November 1, 2010. In referendum-style fashion, students will have the chance to cast their votes on a number of educational issues to indicate how they feel about things like French language courses, healthy schools, WiFi in schools, and many other student issues. The Ontario Student Trustees’ Association has been proud to work in partnership with Student Vote to facilitate and promote the student referendum and we look forward to the results to come, which will give a direct indication of students’ attitudes towards their education. Another popular event in the Board this month was the Anti-Bullying Spirit Day that took place on October 20, 2010. Students Board-wide wore purple for a Spirit Day commemorating the young men and women who have committed suicide because of the homophobia they experienced in their schools and at home. The Spirit Day served as a show of solidarity for all who have had to endure bullying and abuse because of their sexuality. Purple represents spirit on the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) flag, and spirit is something to display in support of acceptance and respect regardless of sexuality. Gay Straight Alliances and social justice clubs in York Region District School Board secondary schools had the opportunity to bring awareness to discrimination that still exists in schools. By taking leadership on this cause, students united with their peers in striving towards equality. The event received a great response, with most secondary schools throughout the Region participating, and elementary schools taking an active interest in the cause as well. As we hear about all these great events and leadership initiatives throughout York Region, it only increases the need to broaden their scope and accessibility via digital means. At the beginning of our term, Lee and I saw much potential for the student trustee website to undergo a transformation in the interest of better communication between us and the students we represent.