John F. Ross C.V.I. School Council Minutes
September 15th, 2015
1.
Welcome and Introductions
Introductions & Attendance (email & phone # collected)
Attendees:
Deb Drake
Terry Hadaway
Kelly Burton
Paul Deacon
Michaela Struder-Kypke
Charmaine Whitmore
Paul Smith
Mary Zahedi
Heather Janes
Beth Burns
Kevin Taylor
Regrets:
Mary Rayner
Rachel Thompson
Michelle B. (President Sr. Council)
2.
Student Council Report
TBD
Alicia B. (Vice President Sr. Council), Darby W. & Emma D. (Co-Presidents Jr.
Council)
Brief overview of Sr. & Jr. council – first meeting Sept 16.
General council meets monthly 3rd week of the month; Executive council meets
twice per month 1st and 4th week of the month. Executive meetings are open to
all members of council.
Will have more details for us at the next meeting
3.
Administrative Report
Beth Burns
Beth Burns introduced herself & gave a brief background. Has been a principal
for many years at several different schools.
Most important thing about Ross is it is a school for everyone. Inclusion is
important.
The Goal of JF Ross “First slide of first staff meeting”: All staff will define learning
goals and success criteria for each course based on the essential learning
Kelly Lee Burton
outcomes for those courses. They will design lessons with specific learning goals
which are discussed and consistently referred to throughout the duration of the
lesson. Success criteria and learning goals are to be designed to provide students
a clear direction for successful task completion of assignments and to achieve
deep understanding.
Literacy initiatives– results next meeting
Numeracy initiatives – update from math heads next meeting
New principal has a Twitter account! JFRPrincipal – already has 107 followers
with hopes it will increase.
Sept 22 first school assembly
Ross is a BYOD school (Bring your own device) – students can access the wifi with
their own device while on premises … BYOD password: abcd1234
New this year “There’s an App” – John F Ross C.V.I.
- to learn more http://www.SchoolInfoApp.com
Highlights of the App:
- Students can request specific messages be pushed to them
- Email directly from the app to any of the Ross teachers (parents &
students)
- Up to date school news
- Keep track of upcoming events with calendars & maps
- Easy to access staff, documents, forms etc.
- Allows students to stay organized with “My Assignments”
- Help protect the school with a “TipLine” that is anonymous and can alert
staff to issues/problems
- Parents will be able to check marks, attendance, transcript & past report
cards with the app
- Available for PC, Android, Apple products on iphone, ipad, blackberry,
windows phones and tablets.
Staffing:
130 teachers & still hiring – hope to be finished next week
Student count for 2015/2016
- 1980
-
95 Foreign
French Immersion – classes are full (numbers u/k will know next month)
ESL – will know count next month
OLC (Ontario Literacy Course) will have 2 classes one for mainstream
students and one for ESL students
Front office goal for the year is to update the school website
4.
School Council Report
Kelly Lee Burton
Kelly shared the responsibilities of school council roles/responsibilities to allow
people to consider & decide if they can fulfill the role:
Chair/Co-chair
 Develop & make any changes to the agenda in collaboration with
the Principal & other council members
 Send the agenda to Communications member 2 weeks prior to
the meeting
 Chair the monthly meetings
 Attend events hosted by School Council such as Parent Café, Staff
appreciation luncheon, special presentations & guest speakers
 Assist in planning & organizing events hosted by school council
 Commit to being a part of school council & a positive presence
Secretary
 Put up the signs prior to meeting to identify the room for the
meeting
 Take detailed minutes during the meeting.
 Send out minutes in a timely manner for approval from principal
& Chair/Co-Chair
 Distribute approved minutes to communications for delivery to
general distribution list
 Send minutes to the webmaster for posting on the website. Take
care of any other website postings as needed
 Maintain the minutes binder & ensure it is complete & up to date
 Assist with correspondence as appropriate and needed
 Send an email to the office of upcoming meetings & events so
that a voice message can be sent out
Treasurer
 Ensure receipts are accompanied by a request for cheque form &
that funds raised are accompanied by funds received form
 Submit original receipts to the office
 Provide school council with financial statements & prepare an
annual financial report
 Maintain the financial records & ensure all monies are accounted
for & not over spent
 Ensure all requests for payment are properly supported &
approved
 Ensure that expenditures of grant funds are eligible expenses
under the grant guidelines
Communications
 Send out agenda for monthly meeting 1 week prior to meeting
 Send out email reminders of the upcoming meetings & special
events 3 days prior to the meeting or if needed earlier for a
special event
 Communication is of extreme importance and must be sent out in
a timely manner so people are made aware of meetings & events
5.
Treasurer’s Report
Deb Drake
Deb provided the 2014/2015 Year-end report
2 grants from Ministry:
Parent Involvement - must focus on increasing parent involvement
most funds used for parent café
Parents Reaching Out Grant “PRO Grant” – in past we have used this
funding for translation of our parent handouts
6.
Other Reports
 Grants: PRO, Parent Handbook, Refreshments
Deb
 Parent Café
Deb & Kelly
 Communications: Email Distribution
Rachel Thompson
Bulletin Board
Deb
Website
TBD (Secretary)
First Class Mail
TBD
Past Grants – details recorded in the financial report
Grant proposal for this year – funding for more translations if we receive the
grant (still no word on this). It is recommended that a sub-committee be set up
to handle this project.
Refreshments: school cafeteria has provided refreshments for past meetings, this
is important to continue support however to be respectful of budget we will set a
$ limit so we don’t go over budget. Decision - $15 limit for each meeting unless
special event & these will be dealt with on an individual basis
Parent Handbook: update required from Principal – Deb will review all links etc.
to make sure all correct & make any required changes
Parent Café: excellent tour of the school with Beth. Participation was lower this
year due to short notice. Synervoice communication went out, website and
Facebook was updated. 17 People this year.
Survey results – new to the system, childcare, work, cultural issues were cited as
barriers to parental involvement
Parents indicated they would come to specific meetings for guest speakers
** most important detail is communication to parents – people can’t attend if
they don’t know about it in advance & can schedule for it. Specific topics of
interest are: social networking, communicating with teens, self esteem/peer
pressure, academic support and emotional/mental health
Communications – specific events can be added to the “app”. Another option is
“podcast” for our guest speakers – if we want to do this in the future let Beth
know in advance. A push notification for meetings could also be sent out by the
office staff.
Email Distribution: Rachel – absent
Bulletin Board – Deb will continue to keep board up to date.
7.
Nominations/Appointments/Elections
All
Chair or co-chairs
Treasurer
Secretary
Information Officer/Communications
Chair: Deb Drake – will chair & Terry Hadaway will co-chair
Treasurer: Deb Drake will continue as treasurer (anyone who would like to
learn/take over throughout the year Deb is willing to accommodate)
Secretary: Mary Rayner via email submission
Information Officer/Communication: Paul Deacon will consider this position
pending communication with Rachel – to be finalized at October meeting.
8.
Planning
 Supports and services info night
 PT Interview Nights
 Staff Appreciation Luncheon
 Student Commencement Award
October meeting (Guest speakers – Department Heads):
- Grade 9 Math & Numeracy initiative
- Literacy program
All
November meeting – Support -- Beth will speak to guidance, Student success,
community officer, Kelly will get us a contact for CMHA
Suggestions for guest speakers at subsequent meetings included Angi Roberts
(social media) and Colin McVicker (community addiction services)
Parent Teacher Interview Nights: Oct 21 & March 23. We will continue with a
council table for this year – volunteer schedule to be organized closer to the date
via email communication.
Staff Appreciation Luncheon: decision to continue with this luncheon for
February – more details closer to the date.
Student Commencement Award $100 – for a student who experienced struggles
& has overcome them.
Decision to continue to support for this year – Vote – all in attendance in favour
to support.
School council volunteer to present the award at commencement in November
(more details next meeting)
9.
New Business
2015/2016 Meeting Dates:
 October 20
 November 17
 Jan 19
 Feb 16
 April 19
 May 17
All
Financials – purchase the food, Staples & Tims cards (to be purchased & brought
to October meeting with receipt for reimbursement)
- Tims $50 – Terry Hadaway
- Zehrs $50 – Mary Zahedi
- Staples $75 - Paul Smith
Lastly, council acknowledges Kelly Lee Burton for her years of service and
dedicated support as Council Chair. Thank you Kelly you will be missed!