ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
Minutes of Meeting – Tuesday, October 18, 2011
ATTENDANCE:
Samuel Battista (Student Council)
Jason Boily (Vice-Principal)
Maria Borsato (Chaplain)
Rochelle Keil-Caspersz (Treasurer)
Dan Compagnon (Principal)
Michele Drenters (Secretary)
Anna Maria Foldhazi (Parish Rep)
Taljit Nijjar (Student Council)
Leslie Marchand (Vice-Principal)
Kathy McQuire (Vice Principal)
PARENTS:
Tanya Dickie
Gena DiGiovanni
Sarah Donovan
Nicola Gibbs-Reilly
Elle Harrigan
Lorraine Hoareau
Dina Scheitzbach
Catherine Sirdevan
Joseph Wanyama
REGRETS:
Maria Canning (Teacher Rep)
CALL TO ORDER Meeting began at 7:05 pm
OPENING PRAYER
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion to approve Sept. 20, 2011 minutes made by Sarah Donovan, seconded by Anna Maria Foldhazi,
approved by council.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Motion to approve October 18, 2011 agenda made by Rochelle Keil-Casperz, seconded by Lorraine Hoareau,
approved by council.
STUDENT COUNCIL REPORT: Samuel Battista and Taljit Nijjar
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The charity BBQ raised $2,000 that was donated to the Knight’s Table.
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‘Friday Night Lights’ tickets were sold, 2/$5. Aquinas boys were victorious over Philip Pocock S. S.
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There will be a retreat for student council members Sept. 9-11.
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‘Week of the Cardinal’ will be held in 2 weeks. Events include:
Monday – golden egg hunt, Tuesday – Wii games on projector in the cafeteria, Wednesday – School
spirit wear can be worn plus students’ choice of shoes & hats, Thursday – games in the cafeteria,
Friday – Harvest Fest: a student run event, students that help will earn community hours, candy sold
in cafeteria, students go to feeder schools to promote STA, tickets sold for evening events, games,
prizes, raffles, 6-10 pm.
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Bi-weekly trips taking 10 students to help out at the Knight’s Table continue with 2 trips planned for
October.
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Some students helped out with a Street Patrol in Toronto. Students in the Hospitality classes made
sandwiches and packaged them with juices boxes to deliver to the homeless & less fortunate. There
will be one more street patrol this year.
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Students will be collecting donations of hats, mittens, etc later this year for distribution to those in
need.
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Senior Dance is on Friday, December 16th. Junior Dance is on Friday, April 13th.
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There will be Halloween & Christmas food drives to raise donations of cash & non-perishable food.
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A Public Relations Minister role & committee was established.
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A microwave in the cafeteria is broken. It will cost $1,000 to replace. Students will raise funds to
cover the cost.
REPORT FROM THE TREASURER: Rochelle Keil-Caspersz
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Balance is at $3,044.65 plus $1500 in grant funds. Rochelle will meet with the Head Secretary to
provide more details at the next meeting.
REPORT FROM THE PARISH REP: Anna Maria Foldhazi
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The challenge continues on how to bridge the gap between home, school and church.
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ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
Minutes of Meeting – Tuesday, October 18, 2011
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The Nicaragua trip, announcements in the parish bulletins and speaking with parish congregations
helps to build bridges between home, school & parish
A choir at the 5pm mass at St. Anthony church is being established. VP, Leslie Marchand, will try to
get students from STA to participate.
Dan Compagnon will attend a meeting with Secondary school principals and Bishop Boisonneau and
will report on any initiatives resulting from the meeting.
STAFF REPORT: Maria Canning
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Maria was ill and could not attend.
REPORT FROM THE CHAPLAIN: Maria Borsato
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The Resurrection Dance Theatre Troupe of Haiti performed at the school. They will also be performing
at several locations for the public. Students were moved by their stories and their performance and
raised approx. $300 for the troupe.
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A collection of old uniforms is being held to donate to Dr. Simone. There is also a clothing donation
box in the chapel.
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Retreats for all grades have begun. All grade 9 students attended a retreat at Pearson Convention
Centre. The focus was on bullying and faith. An interesting coincidence to note is that since grade 9
students began attending their retreat en masse, the grade 9 pass rate has increased by 20%. Grade
10 retreats are at Mount Alverno and the focus is on relationships and sexuality. Grade 11 retreats
will focus on exploring various religions and will include trips to a catholic church, a mosque, a
Buddhist temple and the Swaminarayan Mandir, a Hindu temple. Grade 12 retreats will be at the
Good Shepherd Homeless Centre in Toronto. Philosophy students will meet with a Social Justice
activist.
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DPCDSB has published a new resource, Our Story, Our Traditions, Our Journey, an illustrated history
of the role of the Catholic Church in the development of Catholic education and in the growth of local
communities in Peel Region and Dufferin County. It includes references to Father Tobin.
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Grade 10 students will be discussing the upcoming Roman Missal changes that will begin on the first
Sunday of Advent.
REPORT FROM THE VICE PRINCIPALS: Leslie Marchand, Kathy McQuire & Jason Boily
Important dates
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Report cards go out on Nov. 17th. Early warning letters go out during week 6 of the first semester.
Parent Teacher interviews are held during week 7. Mid Terms are held during week 11.
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Refer to the student handbook for dates and information on university and college presentations.
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October 19th is picture retake day. All students have their picture taken each year to go onto their
student ID cards. They can show their cards to get student discounts from retailers.
New Uniforms
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All back ordered pants have been supplied. ¾ of rugby shirts are in. Students who have not got a
rugby shirt yet have been supplied with a long sleeved golf shirt to wear in the interim.
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The school is working with McCarty’s to get closer to full compliance. Dan has met with the president
of McCarthy’s, who gave his guarantee that there will be uniform issues next year.
RAP
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Parent
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Leadership classes have started going to our 26 feeder schools to deliver their message.
There will be a RAP open house on November 10 at 6:45 pm. This event is planned and executed by
grade 12 students from all 5 arts disciplines.
Information about the Registered Arts Program will be included in the newsletter that goes home
with report cards.
Teacher Interview night
October 20th is interview night from 6 – 9 pm.
Social and Catholic Youth workers will also have displays at the event.
There will also be representatives from other connections to the community that will help parents
with information they need and answer any questions they may have.
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ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
Minutes of Meeting – Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Boys Night Out
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Boys night will be on October 19th.
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Students will be going to a local bowling alley and then return to Aquinas for other activities.
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There will be a session for parents on bullying at 7 pm at the school.
School Goals
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Literacy initiatives have started. Every Monday is literacy Monday. All grade 10 students can do a
literacy based activity in one of their classes. This is tied in with EQAO testing.
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All departments submit proposals on how they will meet school goals.
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Aquinas has been asked to deliver a presentation to the school board on the success of their
initiatives. 3 years ago, 24% of grade 9 applied students were at level 3. Currently, that number is
over 48%.
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Teachers meet to identify areas of concern and plan together to develop strategies for student
success. It is important that this process begins early in the school year.
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Aquinas is an SSSSI school (student success school support initiative).
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The government provides extra funding to support special initiatives. This funding is based on trend
data. Schools are identified by the ministry.
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Last year, 5 schools in the board participated. 3 more schools have been added this year (Aquinas,
Philip Pocock and St. Augustine).
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Approx. $20K was provided to the school. $4K has been allocated for classroom resources (an
additional smart board), the rest of the funds will go towards release time that allows time for
teachers to attend extra initiatives together, ultimately resulting in increased student success.
REPORT FROM THE PRINCIPAL: Dan Compagnon
Traffic flow and student safety issues
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A sign to indicate that the bus zone at the back of the school is not a student drop off area has been
ordered.
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Shrubs will be trimmed to allow for increased visibility and safety.
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Brampton Transit has moved the bus shelter further down the street, eliminating the stop directly
next to the school driveway.
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Several parents indicated that an advanced green light is needed for those vehicles travelling
southward on Torbram Road. It was also noted that the median on the east side of the Corporation
drive & Torbram drive intersection has been dug out, resulting in a trip hazard.
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It was suggested that Trustee, Scott McLauchlan, who sits on the Safe City committee, be invited to
our next meeting.
Information Technology
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A council member enquired if the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board has digital textbooks.
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There has been a committee set up to examine this. The plan for information technology is available
on the board website. A handout is also available at the office.
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The committee is looking at emerging technologies, including permitting students to have personal
electronic devices (PEDs) in the classroom, wifi and e-books in schools.
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The board usually pilots programs at a few schools to test them before rolling them out to all schools.
Staffing and student enrolment
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2008 students was the staffing forecast for the 2011/2012 school year. Student enrolment currently
stands at 2059. Staffing was forecast at 127.33 teaching positions. Current staffing is at 130.33 full
time teachers. 3 additional teachers were added in September.
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As a result, classes were created and added to the timetable (5 grade 10, 2 grade 9, 1 grade 11 and
1 grade 12 class). This equates to an additional .5% credit per student.
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It is anticipated that this upward enrolment trend will continue due to no additional catholic schools
being added in the area and an increased interest in Catholic education.
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There is a cap of 490 students per grade with an additional cap of 125 for 5th year students.
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS: all
Traffic flow and student safety issues
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ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
Minutes of Meeting – Tuesday, October 18, 2011
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Sarah Donovan asked that the school’s strategic plans be mentioned in the next newsletter and that
a link also be provided to view them on the school website.
Students can check the TV screens in the cafeteria for a recap of announcements made in the
morning.
If parents need a recap of any messages sent out via the phone system they can call the office.
An update on cafeteria revenues was requested. The cafeteria and the school are looking at creative
ways to market the foods offered. Sam Battista will attend a meeting with the school to provide
student feedback and opinions. Traditionally revenues increase during colder weather as students
don’t want to venture out in the cold to get food from external establishments.
Neither of the Co-Chairs from last year’s school council will be renewing their roles this year. Sarah
Donovan was asked if she would take on the role. She accepted but asked that others in attendance
also consider volunteering their time as Co-Chair.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was concluded at 8:55 p.m.
20011 – 2012 SCHOOL COUNCIL FUTURE MEETINGS (7:00 p.m., Library)
November 15, 2011
February 7, 2012
April 17, 2012
May 15, 2012
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