Annual Report 2013/14
It’s hard to believe that another year has come to an end! This past year has been one of great success and
progress for the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC). Our membership has grown tremendously and our
participation in Board events and committees has grown as well. We are very excited that our work is valued
within the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) and we appreciate the opportunities to add the parent
voice to the decisions and activities of the Board.
PIC executive
Co-chairs – Martha MacNeil and Axy Leighl
Secretary – Rotating (Deb Drake, Sue Shaw, Kay Elford)
Treasurer – Heather Janes
Communications Officer – Kathy Watts
Dates of meetings
All meetings were held at the Board office in Guelph except as noted below:
September 23rd, 2013
October 28th, 2013
November 25th, 2013
February 3rd, 2014
February 24th, 2014 (Elora PS)
March 24th, 2014
May 26th, 2014
Meetings generally occur on the last Monday of each month during the school year with the exception of
December and June. Our annual spring event takes the place of our April meeting. At least once or twice a
year we hold our meeting in a location outside of Guelph to accommodate our members who travel from
elsewhere in the Board.
Parent Members
We had an average of 15-20 parent members at each meeting and our mailing list has over 50 members, most
of which attend at least one meeting per year.
Community Member
Heather Bailey
Administration and Staff members
Dr. Martha Rogers, Director of Education
Brent McDonald, Superintendent of Education
Marty Fairbairn, Trustee
Kathryn Cooper, Trustee
Ann Charles, Elementary Principal
Jeni Vaughan, Secondary Vice Principal
Andrea Higgins, Elementary teacher
Schools represented by PIC members
Elementary Schools
Brisbane Public School
Credit Meadows Elementary School
Drayton Heights Public School
Edward Johnson Public School
Elora Public School
Island Lake Public School
J.D. Hogarth Public School
Jean Little Public School
John Black Public School
John Galt Public School
John McCrae Public School
June Avenue Public School
Ken Danby Public School
Kenilworth Public School
King George Public School
Maryborough Public School
Mitchell Woods Public School
Primrose Elementary School
Rockwood Centennial Public School
Salem Public School
Sir Isaac Brock Public School
Taylor Evans Public School
Victoria Cross Public School
Victory Public School
Waverley Drive Public School
Westminster Woods Public School
Secondary Schools
Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute
Centre Wellington District High School
Erin District High School
Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute
This year we tried a new idea for our monthly meetings of having a guest speaker each month. The subjects
that were covered were based on feedback from the committee and included: The International
Baccalaureate Program, Mental Health Programs in the Board, the Board Improvement Plan, and many others.
One of the most popular proved to be A Day in the Life of the Director/a Superintendent! Dr. Rogers and
Superintendent McDonald walked us through what they do in a typical day and it was very informative and
eye-opening (they sure are busy!)
Also based on feedback from the committee, we began a social/networking time before each PIC meeting.
This gave members from across the varied geographic regions of the Board a chance to connect with other
members and exchange ideas about what has worked and not worked at their schools as well as generally
share information. We hope that this has led to improved experiences for school councils as well as provided
the opportunity for collaboration between schools.
In order to improve our own work and our ability to provide support to school councils and parents, PIC
members attended both the People for Education conference in the fall and the Minister of Education’s PIC
Symposium in the spring. Both of these events were great learning experiences for PIC members and gave us
a wealth of ideas for next year and future projects.
PIC also worked on several projects and events of our own this year. The PIC library is a collection of parenting
and parent involvement-related books that we brought together this year and it is housed at the Terry James
Resource Centre at the Board Office in Guelph. These books are available for signing out by all parents within
the UGDSB. The collection includes some sets that have multiple copies and would be suitable for school
councils to sign out and read as a group if they are looking for new ideas for their council and how to increase
parent engagement at their school.
The PIC games bins were updated and refreshed this year with a significant investment in new games. The
bins are now housed at the Terry James Resource Centre and are available to be signed out by school councils
and schools. They include a wide variety of games with a good portion of them having a math focus. The bins
would be suitable for use at school math nights or games nights or even as a part of a larger family fun event.
In collaboration with the Information Technology Department and other departments of the Board, PIC
participated in the planning and presentation of the first ever Digital Saturday event at King George Public
School in the spring. The idea for this event was developed at a PIC meeting and grew until it became a reality
through the work of many different people within the Board. The event was an opportunity for parents to
learn about the different types of technology that are used within the UGDSB and to ask any questions that
they had about what their children are using at school. Kids were invited to visit as well and the hands-down
most popular talk was definitely the one about using Minecraft in the classroom!
Our big event of the year was our annual spring event at College Heights SS. We had approximately 200
participants from across all the regions of the Board and they included: parents, teachers, principals, viceprincipals, superintendents, trustees, Board staff, and more. Our keynote speaker, Joe Mazza, is an
internationally known expert on parent engagement and the use of technology to enhance home-school
communication and his presentation was well-received by the audience and encouraged many to try new
techniques for communication at their schools. The event also included several breakout sessions presented
by PIC members and Board staff and included subjects such as: School Council 101, PRO Grant writing, and
“Help, I Volunteered to be the Treasurer”! The evening was made complete with a wonderful meal prepared
and served by the culinary students of College Heights.
Throughout the year we communicated regularly with school councils through our monthly letters and
invitations to our meetings. We are also working to improve our PIC website to provide a comprehensive
source of information for school councils and parents looking for answers regarding parent involvement or the
running of a council.
Committees with PIC representation
PIC members have been invited to join several Board-level committees and participate in consultations in the
past year. We are very appreciative of the recognition of the importance of parent involvement in these
committees and consultations. Our work with these committees is part of our Ministry-mandated goal of
providing information and advice to the Board from a parent involvement perspective. See the following for a
listing of groups we were involved with.
Safe, Equitable, Inclusive Schools Steering Committee
Mental Health Steering Committee
Mental Health Subcommittee
Strategic Plan Working Group
Learning Choices Committee
French as a Second Language consultation
Ministry of Education Great to Excellent consultation
Summary of revenues and expenditures
These numbers are approximate. A full financial report will be available on the PIC website after the end of
our fiscal year (August 31st, 2014)
Revenue
Funding received from Ministry - $46000
This amount is calculated by adding the base sum of $5000 given to every PIC plus 17 cents per student in the
Board plus an additional $500 per school council.
Expenditures
Distribution to school councils - $36000
This amount is calculated by multiplying $500 per school.
Advertising - $1000
PIC Library - $400
Spring Event - $9000 (plus $1600 from previous year’s PRO Grant)
Meeting refreshments and supplies - $400
This has been a great year for PIC and we are looking forward to next year and the successes it will bring! On a
personal note, I would like to thank all of the PIC members for your hard work this year and your contributions
to our committee. None of our success could have happened without you and I am truly grateful for all that
you do. You are all excellent representatives of your schools and I thank you for your commitment to the
importance of parent engagement. Thank you, also, to Dr. Rogers, Superintendent McDonald, and Lynne
McInnis (executive assistant to Superintendent McDonald) for your unfailing support of PIC and the work that
we do. The future of parent involvement in the UGDSB is bright!
Respectfully,
Martha MacNeil
Parent Involvement Committee, Chair
Upper Grand District School Board