St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre
Catholic School Council Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date: December 3, 2013
Meeting Location: St James Library
Recorded By: Lorna Kurok, Secretary
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
ATTENDANCE
Name
Position
Jennifer McCathy
Co-Chair
Co-Chair
Lorna Kurok
Secretary
Amy Giansante
Treasurer
Penny Snowden
Community Rep
Sheila Taylor
Co-Parish Rep
Ellen Lau- Chang
OAPCE Representative
Brian Diogo
Principal
Ms. Worboys
Teaching Representative
Mr Chircop
Non-Teaching Rep
Tess O’Mara
Exec Council Member
Lenora Sleep
Exec Council Member
Samer Mikhail
Exec Council Member
MEETING COMMENCED
6:30, Tuesday December 3rd 2013 in the Library
Page 2 of 14
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
AGENDA
Welcome
IB Presentation
Opening Prayer and Mission statement
Introductions
Approval of Minutes from November 5
Approval of Agenda
Old business
 By Laws
 Parent Council Goals
 Fundraising verses One Time Donation
 Christmas Events
 Uniforms
 Lunch Programs
 Report From Eco Teams on Vending Machine
 Pathway of Grade 7 and 8 students
New Business
 Treasurer’s Report
 Principal Report
 Picture Supplier
 Week of Hope
 French Program
 Parent Involvement Grant
Agenda for the Next Meeting February 4, 2014, 6:30 pm
Closing Remarks
Meeting Adjourned
Page 3 of 14
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
IB Presentation
Prior to the beginning of the council meeting the principal along with Mr Daily,
Mr. Kalaparambath, Mr. Chircop, Ms Worboys and Miss Webster gave a
presentation. It informed us of how the teachers blend the IB format along with
the required curriculum determined by the school board. They also explained
how catholic values were included in the student’s day to day activities. Some
highlights of this informative presentation are:
1. The learner Wall – a wall that students are encouraged to post their
questions or interest. Then the teachers match those questions and
interest with the curriculum given by the school board. This effectively
answers the question students already have. It also keeps them excited
and focused on learning.
2. During independent study and research students are not forced to stay at
their desk. They may seat in a space were they feel comfortable. That
could be on the carpets, beanbag chairs and study trays are also
available. If a child is comfortable and relaxed they will absorb more
information and enjoy what they are learning.
OUR MISSION
We, the Catholic Community of St. James, are called and committed to foster
an environment where our students will grow intellectually, spiritually, and
emotionally to become responsible life long learners and respectful members of
a diverse society.
MINUTES OF LAST MEETING APPROVED
These Minutes were approved by council with no changes to be made.
Sheila– Motioned
Ellen – 2nd
OLD BUSINESS
By Laws
The by laws that will govern the organization of the Parent council has been
approved by all members. These laws describe responsibilities of each position
and direct the council how to conduct them.
Parent Council Goals (Tess)
A survey was submitted by email to the parents of St James. The purpose of the
survey was to give a voice to those parents who are unable to attend council
meetings. We had a response of 76 parents. Parent council member Tess went
over the results at this meeting. It was determined that many parents supported
the goals that directly affected the students such as presentations, extra
curricular and workshops. In order for the council to support these goals, the
Page 4 of 14
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
council is required to raise an approximant of $10,000. The total required is
approximately $14,000 but we did earn a little over $4000 through the Halloween
dance.
Motion to support the goals outlined in the survey
Amy – Motion
Ellen – 2nd
GOALS OF ST. JAMES FOR 2013 TO 2014
ITEM
EVENT
$$$
1
2
3
4
5
Uniforms
Council By laws
Communication Plan
Popcorn Machine
Speak up Grant
na
na
na
na
na
6
Parent out Reach Program (Grant)
na
7
Holiday Celebrations
9
10
11
12
Service Project
Staff Appreciation
Play / Olympic day
In School Lunch
13
1ST Communion
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
IB Speaker
Path of St James
Anti Bullying
Picture Supplier
In Class Grant
Pizza Lunch
Milk Program
Water Bottle Fountain
Family Gathering
Easter Hunt
Staff Appreciation
Sport Team Uniforms
Other Clubs
27
EcoSource
28
Earth Rangers, November 29th
$
350.00
29
Down to Earth - Loretta Penny
$
515.00
30
Rose Theatre Dance Workshops
$
330.00
wip
comp.
comp.
na
$
50.00
na
$ 200.00
$ 500.00
na
$
72.00
na
na
na
na
$ 900.00
na
$ 500.00
$ 2,000.00
$ 350.00
$ 312.00
$ 200.00
$ 500.00
$ 100.00
$
60.00
Page 5 of 14
COMP.
comp.
comp.
comp.
COMP.
$
60.00
COMP.
$
350.00
COMP.
$
330.00
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
31
Hip-hop dance program (6 weeks)
$ 1,000.00
32
Author in the school- Tim Beiser
$
521.00
33
Drum Clinics
$
450.00
34
Capital One Rocks and Rings (Curling)
$
175.00
35
Bullying Presentation (Mike Neuts)
$
500.00
36
Scientists in School
$ 1,134.00
37
Gingerbread House Decorations
$
38
T-Shirts for Houses (Intramurals)
$ 1,250.00
39
Math Club
40
41
42
Scrap Book Club
Crochet Club
Rosary Club
43
Board Games/Puzzle Club
$
200.00
44
45
46
47
48
Cross Country
End of Year Mass
Referee Fees
Junior Soccer
Mass Kit
$
$
$
$
$
200.00
300.00
280.00
300.00
250.00
150.00
$
60.00
$ 200.00
$ 150.00
COMP.
DONATED
COMP.
$
200.00
COMP.
$
250.00
$
14,059.00
Totals
Amount needed
Amount in Councils Account
Overall Amount needed to be raised
Amount to be donated by Student body of a 156.
$
1,190.00
$
12,869.00
$
2,930.00
$
9,939.00
$
63.71
Fundraising Verses One Time Donation
We also surveyed the parents to determine how they would like to raise these
funds. Several parents were against door to door soliciting such as the sale of
chocolates. Council suggested a few other methods such as the sale of tangible
items, an auction, one time donation and dance –a thon concept. The strongest
method supported by parents was a one time donation followed by the auction.
Page 6 of 14
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
Council has decided we would ask for a one time donation as the method of
choice. The purpose of these funds is to support the education and enrich the
lives of our students. It would be ideal if all families could give $60 per child. It
was discussed that this amount may be difficult for families who have multiple
children in the school. We hope that all the parents recognize that the funds are
for the children and we ask all families to donate what they can afford or feel is
reasonable. We are trying to be a responsible and ethically council therefore we
are happy to give the parents the projected budget for the year. We would like
it noted that any deficiencies of funds would result in either an auction or the
cutting of programs.
The motion of which methods to implement to raise funds for educational
programs.
Tess - Motion
Sheila – 2nd
Christmas Events
Council will support any charity events organized by the school and will not be
adding anything separate.
Uniforms
The uniform committee has been working diligently on collecting information
and putting a written proposal together for the implementation of uniforms.
There will be an information session Thursday January 23rd at 6:30 pm. This will
be held at the school. We ask all parents to please attend so that we can make a
collective, informed decision about what is right for our school. The current
school colours are navy blue and white.
Lunch programs
Based on the survey results there are many parents interested in having lunch
options for our students. The subcommittee is collecting information and will be
making any and all decisions regarding this matter. If you would like to be part
of this committee please send your contact information include your intent to
the councils email address stjamesCGLcouncil@gmail.com.
Report from EcoTeams
The ecoteam is gathering data to determine the benefits of our vending
machines versus the cost. The results of this data will only be complete at the
end of this school year as the impact of warm weather may affect the
conclusion. The eco team is also supporting the Mondays litter less lunch
program. They have been collecting and charting the results of this program.
The results have been positive.
Page 7 of 14
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
Pathway for the Grade 7 and 8 students
The decision to house our grade 6 students at the St James location for grade 7
and 8 was well received by many parents. From the beginning of the year this
has been an important topic. Parents have voiced their relief with the conclusion
as they will not have the concern of dropping two different age groups at
separate locations. It is common practice for the Catholic schools in the peel
board to house grades JK to 8 in one location. It was also noted that there are
benefits to having this age group as a part of our school. It is believed that the
leadership role the older students play benefits all students. It helps to give a
sense of responsibility and maturity to the grade 7 and 8 that will benefit them
in their transition to high school. They also become important role models for
our younger students.
NEW BUSINESS
Treasurer’s Report
We are in the black. We have earned finances through the Halloween dance-athon and received a $500 grant from the school board. The following is a list of
expenses incurred:
Therefore based on these numbers we have $2,930.81 in the account.
Description
Actual Income
Actual
Expenses
$
$
$
352.00
350.00
250.00
$
(192.96)
$ 4,062.14
$ 4,562.14
$ 4,210.14
$ 3,860.14
$ 3,610.14
$
330.00
$ 3,280.14
$
$
$
$
200.00
60.00
32.51
56.82
$
$
$
$
Beginning Balance
Spook A Thon Funds
Grant income
Pizza Appreciation day
Eco Rangers
Mass kit
Bollywood Dance Workshop with Rose
Theatre
Cross Country support
Eco Source
Halloween Dance Expenses
Council meeting Expenses
$
$
Total
Balance
4,255.10
500.00
$ 1,631.33
3,080.14
3,020.14
2,987.63
2,930.81
$2,930.81
Council also motioned to incur the following list of expenses over the next two
months:
Motion – Tess
Second – Ellen
Page 8 of 14
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
Description
Income
Expected
Expenses
Balance
Gingerbread man
Drum Clinic Jan 7th
Curling club
Winter clubs - Math
Winter clubs - Scrapbook
Winter clubs - Crochet
Winter clubs - Games
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
Total
$ 1,235.00
150.00
450.00
175.00
60.00
200.00
150.00
200.00
Balance
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
2,930.81
2,780.81
2,330.81
2,155.81
2,095.81
1,895.81
1,745.81
1,545.81
$1,545.81
It was requested that the T-shirts for house shirts be included in this budget but
after further discussion it was agreed that we hold on this expense ($1250). One
reason was in hopes to decrease cost through further research and hopes that
parents contacts may benefit us.
Principal Report
Calendar events
Please include webmaster, Mr. Discenza with any emails that have dates attached.
Twitter
St James has a twitter account; parents who enjoy twitter are encouraged to
follow the St James account. The address is Twitter@StJames DPCDSB.
Events
A list of recent events that have occurred are the rose theatre, scientists in the
school, earth rangers, region of peel presentation, and the grade 5 /6 trip to the
ranch. The ranch trip was a big success. The children did horseback riding,
skating, hiking and more. This was an overnight trip and the teachers supervising
the event said the kids had no problems falling asleep after there action packed
day. We hope to make this trip a tradition for the years to come.
Christmas Concert
The concert will be held on December 12. There will be a dress rehearsal during
the day that all can attend and then each family will be given 3 tickets to the night
performance. It was asked at school performances no video be taking. This will
avoid any distractions to our performers and other audience members. On the
Friday the students will perform for each other. There will be a sale of the video
by the school. This is a fundraiser to help raise funds for the schools account.
Page 9 of 14
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
This account subsidy the banking expenses, bussing, students in financial need
and other cost. All schools are required to have this account by the school board.
Sports and Clubs
It is important for a school to offer its students extra curricular activities. St James
has tried to offer as many different programs as it can to involve all the students
at St James. Having these clubs only enriches the students and keeps them
motivated with school. So far so of the sports and clubs that have been available
are:
 Intramurals club – Redcoats, Bluejackets, Yellowjackets, and Orangemen
 Indoor Soccer – Primary Grades
 Basketball – Junior Grades
 Choir
 Eco Club
 Lego Club
 Youth Faith Ambassadors
 Chess, Games, Rosary, Crochet
Parish
Dates to remember regarding parish events are:
March 5th Ash Wednesday Liturgy at St James – 1:30pm
May 7th Easter Mass / Feast Day at St James 1:30pm
Date TBD School Blessing at St James 1:30pm
June 18th – Year End mass 1:30pm
It was discussed at this time that we like our students to try to attend mass at
church as many times a year a possible. Everyone agreed that this is an
important part of our catholic school. The issue with having the students attend
masses at church is transportation. It is too far for the younger students to walk
and then a bus is required. It cost about $350 for one bus. Council would need
to work to work this cost into there budget to have the children attend the Easter
mass at the church.
Virtue
Every month is assigned a virtue. In the beginning all the students attend an
assembly. The assembly is prepared by one of the classes. The purpose of this
assembly is to identify and explain the meaning of this virtue. The meaning is
explained through skits, song and lecture. The assembly’s are beautiful and very
inspiring Parents are welcome to attend. At the end of each assembly awards are
given to students who demonstrated last month’s virtue. They are nominated by
their teachers. The month of November was Hope.
Physical Environment
Page 10 of 14
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
The school is commented to have a clean, healthy and safe environment for the
students. With this said the final 3 smart boards have been installed. The
grassed part of kindergarten yard will be replaced with mulch. This area was very
muddy and we are hoping the mulch will solve the problem. We do not want to
pave this area as it would take away from IB learning format. An Audio Visual
system being installed and we are hoping to be completed for the Christmas
concert.
Picture Supplier
Parents requested if we could change the picture supplier. As of now we are in a
3yr contract with Edge imaging. The reason this supplier was chosen is because
at previous schools the facility has had no issues with suppliers. Please note the
facility had to book and make many decision regarding are school in a short time
frame. Once the contract is completed we can revisit this topic in 2015 for the
2015/2016 school year.
Week of Hope
The council would like to organize a week of hope in the near future. This week
would be about bringing the students attention back to the disaster that happened
in the Philippines. We would like the students to reorganize how big the world is
and they can make a difference, plus it would be an opportunity to learn about
another country. Every day would be related to a colour of the Philippe flag. We
could ask the children to wear this colour for the day and read a prayer in the
morning related to that colour. We would also like to have presentation at the
end of the week that would focus on what was happened to the country and what
the non profitable agencies are doing to support and rebuild the country.
French Program
It was voiced by parents that they would like to include a broader French
program. Prior to the opening of St James parents vocalized this concern to Mr
Diogo who acted immediately to make sure that the YMCA program included
French. The kindergartens have also been introduced to the French language by
Mr Discenza. Mr Discenza extensive resume also includes being a French teacher.
Parent John spoke on this topic and wanted to know if there were parents
interested with increase the French education program. Parents should note that
we do have to follow the school board guidelines regarding the amount of time
allocated to each topic. Therefore we can not simply increase the length of the
French class as it would take from other topics. Another idea put forth was an
after school program. It was determined that this topic is in need of further
discussion and planning. We decided that a subcommittee would be formed. The
head of the committee will be John and the council member contact would be
Lenora. Please any parents that would like to lend there support with ideas or
information please email the council at stjamesCGLcouncil@gmail.com.
Parent Involvement Grant
Page 11 of 14
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
The school board has given the council a $500 grant. This grant is to be allocated
to events that included the involvement of parents. At the end of the school year
we are required to report the use of these funds and must have backup to support
are allocation. Part of this grant will be used to fund the making of gingerbread
man on December 18, 2013. The cost of this event is $150 and the balance to be
spent on other events is $350. Other events that have been suggested are a
movie night or an ice skating night.
Page 12 of 14
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING February 4
Welcome
Opening Prayer
Mission Statement
Introductions
Approval of Minutes from December 3, 2013
Old business
 Parent Council Goals
 Fundraising versus One Time Donation
 Christmas Events
 Uniforms
 Week of Hope
 Lunch Program
 French Program
New Business
 Treasurer’s Report
 Principal Report
 Grandfathering Siblings
 School Transportation
 Pathway to High school
 Family Skating Day
 Valentines Day Support
Agenda for the Next Meeting (February 4, 2014)
Closing Remarks
CLOSING REMARKS
The meeting covered many topics and stayed on task. The discussion between parents,
council members and St James faculty was positive, constructive and informative. The
meeting flowed quickly with all topics be thoroughly discussed. We thank all of the
parents who attended and gave feedback during the meeting. The council is a voice of
the parents and can only be so when the parents guide us with their opinions.
Please
feel
free
to
contact
stjamesCGLcouncil@gmail.com
us
through
MEETING AJOURNED – 8:30pm
Page 13 of 14
our
email
address:
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre Minutes
NEXT MEETING:
6:30 Tuesday February 4, 2013 in the school library.
Page 14 of 14