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2012-13 Meetings and Minutes > Approved Minutes, September 2012
Approved Minutes and Agenda
September 19, 2012, 7-9 PM
Meeting Minutes
September 19, 2012, 7-9 PM
Our NEW web site: www.wapscouncil.org
General questions – woodroffecouncil@gmail.com
Volunteers – wapscouncil.volunteers@gmail.com
Fundraising -- wapscouncil.fundraising@gmail.com
Ski and Skate Sale – wapscouncil.skiskate@gmail.com
Secretary -- wapscouncil.secretary@gmail.com
Introduction of Attendees (y = yes, in attendance)
Chair: Katherine Cole – Y
Past Chair: Barb Callaghan – Y
Vice Chair: Liz Burgess – Y
Treasurer: vacant
Secretary: Jen Collette – Y
OCASC Representative:
Tara Finlay – Y
Fundraising Coordinator:
Anne Windle – Y
Play-yard Renewal Coordinator:
Jean Byrne – Y
Volunteer Coordinator:
Aissat Farida-- N
Plant and Tree Advocate:
Jeff Wiebe – N
Arts Program Coordinator(s):
Rick Banville
Eliza-Jane Scott
Community Representative:
Beth Doubt – N
Multicultural Liaison
Coordinator(s):
Communications Coordinator:
Katherine Cole
Nicole Baker – Y
Debbie Maclaurin
Director @ Large: Lisa Nicol
Principal: Kim Power – Y
Vice Principal: Monik Beauchemin – Y
Teacher representative:
Sandra Sheedy – Y
Total number of attendees
(including above): 46
Agenda
Motion to approve: Barbara Callaghan moved; Kristann Rose seconded.
Approval of minutes from June 2012
Motion to approve: Stephanie Cavanagh moved. Tracy West seconded.
Approval of Slate for 2012-13
Rick Banville and Eliza-Jane Scott will be Arts and Multicultural Program Coordinators
Strike Colleen Moore from role of Treasurer.
Liz Burgess volunteered to act as Vice-Chair
Motion to approve with changes: Josephine Dyrkton moved. Angie Robitaille seconded.
Principal’s Report – Kim Power
Staff Appreciation Breakfast

Thanks to the volunteers and contributors for this special event on the last day of year.
First Day of School

Sort out process was a practice used from Kim’s previous school. Allows for process to unfold
irrespective of weather. Grade 1 parents’ feedback was positive. Parents were allowed in
library with the children. Grade 2-3 teachers found process useful but it was hard for children
to hear names being called. Process will improve from year to year as experience grows with
the new process.

Transportation generally off to a smooth start. Eight buses serving the school this year. Bus
285 having some delays. Vice-Principal is working with transportation to resolve delays. Bus
58 (mid-day) also experiencing delays and issues being resolved.
Meet the Teacher Night

Previously held in October to allow for re-organizations. Was held last Thursday at request of
Council and parents to hold it earlier in the year.

Will be coordinated with Putman next year to avoid scheduling conflict.
School Travel Planning

Alice Hutton to help address. School participating in this initiative to increase walking and
biking to school.
Student-Only Yard

Kim re-iterated the reasons for considering a student-only yard
o
Staff were concerned that morning routine is not focussed on monitoring students but
on monitoring adults on the yard.
o
Within the past 2 years, school has re-introduced walker duty teacher to take students
to the meeting place in the yard for children who are required to have an adult meet
them at dismissal. Parallels the supervision for students taking the bus.
o
Construction at the YMCA site was raised by parents as a concern so that children
aren’t exiting at that gate or able to access the construction site.
o
Parents of Grade 1’s last spring raised concerns about safety of yard for Grade 2`s who
are located in the portables this year.
o
This summer the gate at the corner of Lockhart and Neepawa was closed. The double
gate further down Lockhart was converted to a single gate.
o
Locking the gates parallels the process for access to the school during the school
day. Doors are locked at 8:30 and unlocked again at 3. Visitors are not allowed on the
yard at recess which allows for easier challenge of unidentified adults.
o
Some students run into yard when distressed; closed yard is of benefit to their safety.
o
Kim recognized that it has taken some adjustments to get the new process underway
and making sure the gates are unlocked on time. A duty teacher is locking gate at 8:30
and the walker duty teacher opens it at 3:00. The gate will be opened promptly at
3:00 and students will be dismissed at 3:00 to avoid a large buildup of children at the
gate.
o
Bike racks will be moved to locations in front of school and at the back to allow for
parents to assist children with their locks. Play-yard fund will be used to purchase
additional bike racks.
o
Volunteer monitors from Grade 5 are being put in place to assist younger children to
walking from Lockhart to the kinder yard.
o
Mid-day access for kinders was identified as an issue; the St. Martin’s daycare
supervisor has a key to access the gate and bring kids in from that childcare. Kim will
provide a key to a walking school bus leader if bringing in a lot of kids. She is exploring
the use of the custodian as an alternate key holder.
o
Concerns were expressed about evacuation procedures that don’t allow leaving from
yard. Emergency procedures are to gather in the yard and do not usually involve
leaving the school property. However, if necessary, keys and bolt cutters are in the
emergency bags.
o
Principal stated that it was important that have crosswalk at the corner and educate
children and parents about use of the crosswalk.
o
Not all areas are locked yet. Parking lot gate has not yet arrived and been
installed. Kinder gate not locked yet to allow for transition but procedures for locking
that gate will start as the school routine is established.
o
After school, community access to yard is important and will be retained. However
Kim asks that the focus be on allowing smooth exit from yard first. Please wait for
flow to slow down before trying to enter yard.
School re-organization

Primary grades will be re-organized as a result of lower enrollment than projected in the
spring. Monday Oct. 1st is projected date for new classrooms. The Friday ahead will be a
transition day to move belongings and meet new teacher. A letter will be sent home to
announce the re-organization to affected students.
Balanced School Day (BSD)

Parent reps are needed to receive feedback from other parents regarding BSD. Volunteers
should send their name to the WoodroffeCouncil@gmail.com address.

Kids eating most of their lunch at the first break.

School will experiment with changing order of snack and break in afternoon.
Future Updates coming to School Council:

School Improvement Plan, EQAO results
Parent Questions and Comments on the Principal’s Report:

Parents expressed concern with the gate-locking procedure.
o
A comment was raised about whether the new process actually improved security or
only gave a perceived sense of increased security.
o
Concern was raised about the increased risk of traffic accidents by making children
walk around the school if they arrive late.
o
Concerns were raised about the loss of the sense of community where children and
parents are encouraged to get to know each other outside of the school day.
o
Concerns were raised about the transparency of the decision to implement the studentonly yard. Some of the history leading to the decision to implement the student-only
yard was re-iterated. A request was made to improve School Council meeting
minutes. A request was made to table major changes to the school routine in advance
at School Council to allow for more transparent consultation before decisions are
made. Parents were encouraged to contact the School as soon as they have a concern.
o
Concerns were raised about the construction site and associated traffic. Suggestion
made to ask that trucks refrain from moving during drop-off and pick-up times. Access
to the sidewalk requires use of the same driveway as the construction site.
o
Parents who volunteer in the school until the end of the day are asked to wait in the
office and ask their child to meet them there or at the kinder gate to maintain the
student-only yard. Request was made to clearly communicate the process to
volunteers.
o
It was clarified a morning duty teacher monitors the Lockhart gate and another teacher
monitors the yard. A separate morning duty teacher monitors the kinder gate.
o
Challenges were raised about parents who wish to have children stay and play after
morning kindergarten in the enclosed kinder area. Gate access may become a
concern. Logistics with the daycare were also raised as they also use the kinder play
area.
o
Suggestion made around giving children safety sessions about stranger danger and
empowering children with skills for the future about how to stay safe.
o
Concerns were raised about the limited availability of space for parents and students to
be picked up at the end of the day and the impact snowbanks will have on that
space. Suggestion made to look at how other schools have managed similar concerns.
o
Suggestion made to use parent community in collaboration with the staff to help
supervise and discipline the children in the yard. Kim pointed out that the School is
ultimately responsible for the children and that not all parents are comfortable having
other parents discipline their children.
o
Kim committed to considering the suggestions, holding discussions with the staff and
looking for improvements. Katherine suggested that Kim invite additional feedback at
the October meeting.
o
Tara Finlay indicated that she would raise the concerns at OCASC and find out what
other schools are doing in similar situations.
o
Parents to contact principal at Kimberly.Power@ocdsb.ca if they did not have the
opportunity to air their concerns.
o
Theresa Kavanagh, School Trustee, recognized the challenges in balancing everyone`s
needs and offered her assistance in collection of practices from other schools.

Questions were raised regarding the class re-organization. The equivalent of one class will be
reduced in the primary years (Grades 1-3). Parents will receive letters of notification by end of
next week

A request was made to precede Synrevoice messages with a flag at the beginning if they are
urgent so that parents know if they can hang up if the call is inconvenient. Kim agreed. A
request was made to have an option to opt out of all Synrevoice calls except for urgent ones
(such as school shut-downs).

A concern was raised about the Balanced School Day changes. Flipping the nutrition breaks
could be trouble for some kids. First break will be time to offer Subway and hot lunches.
Budget and Year End Statements

Budget and year-end statements will be deferred to October meeting due to challenges getting
invoices from school in order to finalize year-end statements

Treasurer role to be broken down and a finance committee created. School Council continues
to seek a Treasurer. Interested parents to contact WoodroffeCouncil@gmail.com.
Fundraising

Parents encouraged to volunteer for the various events throughout the year. For each event,
there is a volunteer lead. Anne then provides support to them.

Entertainment Books will be first fundraiser. Will go home with youngest child.

Next event is Hallowe’en Dance for Grades 1-6. DJ ready. Wed. Oct. 31st. Need volunteers to
decorate; please contact WoodroffeCouncil@gmail.com. Consensus from Council that this year
will not be a fundraiser.

Yearbook photographers need to be found for this year. Kim to determine whether a staff
member is interested. Other options such as parent volunteers to be considered. Bring
forward as a discussion item for October.

Carlingwood gift cards fundraiser will run again in November; Council received 15% of
proceeds.

Fundraising calendar to be shown at October meeting so that parents can know what is coming
throughout the year.

School Council charitable number can be found on the website.
Primary Play Yard Fundraising Update – Jean Byrne

Thank you to community for donations and participation in fundraisers. Thanks also to the
Malhotra Foundation (Claridge) which donated $10K towards play-yard.

Mounds and outdoor classroom have been installed. Drainage issue in primary yard has been
fixed. Structure to be installed in the next few weeks and then inspected. Hopefully open by
October.

Smaller improvements to be made this year – trees, picnic tables and bike racks. Consensus
obtained from Council to use unspent play-yard funds from last year (up to $13K) on these
smaller play-yard improvements.

Jean and the Play-Yard Renewal Committee were congratulated for their success.
Chalk It Up
Biking and Walking to School – Alice Hutton

Alice is leading school participation in Green Communities Initiative to make school property
and neighbouring property safer and more conducive towards walking and biking to
school. Sandra Sheedy to be teacher rep.

Information to follow in newsletter. Survey to be sent; and on-site visits will take place as well
as consultations leading to a plan to be developed by the end of the school year.

Looking for parents to help roll-out process within the school. Send name to Alice or
communicate via WoodroffeCouncil@gmail.com.
Ski and Skate Sale

3rd year being run by the Nielsen family. The sale date, Thursday November 15th will also be a
parent and teacher night at school.

Last year, $2100 worth of kids’ equipment and Hallowe’en costumes was sold. Parents receive
80% of proceeds from their items and 20% is donated to Council. Last year Council received
$658 as some parents donate the full sale amount to Council. Some extra equipment is taken
to Play it Again Sports.

Requires marketing – need help in this area. Requires volunteers (12-14 people) to help take in
equipment a couple of days before the sale and then night of to man the sale. Requires people
to come and sell their stuff.

Please contact the dedicated Ski and Skate sale e-mail address
(wapscouncil.skiskate@gmail.com) for questions or a vendor’s kit.

Request made to consider moving the event to earlier in year before winter approaches.
Motion to adjourn
Moved by Katherine Cole. Barbara Callaghan seconded.
Next meeting – October 17, 2012
Action Item Log
(Completed items are in italics; the month the item was added to the
action log is in brackets)
Kim and Jean to connect regarding Yard Greening Grant to determine
whether funds are eligible for use as part of yard renewal. (June 2012)
Play-yard renewal updates to be placed on website to extent possible
within contracts and tender process. (June 2012)
Indicate school interest in participating in Greening Communities
Canada. Identify parents with previous interest. (June 2012)
Lead
Due Date
K. Power
and J.
Byrne
Summer
2012
J. Byrne
A. Hutton
K. Power
Summer
2012
Summer
2012
Place new logo on Council Website and identify means to hyperlink tags
(June 2012)
Template to be developed for teacher requests from School Council
specify how many classrooms/benefit from purchase; specify what
information we need for allocation decisions (June 2012)
Kim to advise regarding School Board specifications for tables so that
options can be considered for potential purchase by Council to ease
logistics for future events. (June 2012)
Parent volunteers needed for nominations to fill vacancies for 2012-13
Council Executive: Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Volunteer Coordinator
and Director at Large. Please contact wapscouncil@gmail.com (April
2012; revised Sept. 2012)
Attendance at OCASC training session on financial management (May
2012)
Kim to consider suggestions made regarding the Student-Only Yard,
discuss with staff and look for improvements. (Sept. 2012)
Parent reps are needed to receive feedback from other parents
regarding BSD. Volunteers should send their name to
WoodroffeCouncil@gmail.com.
Volunteers needed for Hallowe’en Dance. Please contact
WoodroffeCouncil@gmail.com.
Kim to assess staff interest in taking photographs for the Yearbook
Parent volunteers to participate in Greening Communities Canada
initiative to contact Alice Hutton via School Council at
WoodroffeCouncil@gmail.com
Vendors and parent volunteers needed for annual Ski and Skate
Sale. Sale will take place Nov. 15th, 2012. Please contact
wapscouncil.skiskate@gmail.com
Seek out information about Student-Only Yards, drop-off and dismissal
procedures through OCASC. (Sept. 2012)
Place new logo on Council Website and identify means to hyperlink tags
(June 2012)
Template to be developed for teacher requests from School Council
specify how many classrooms/benefit from purchase; specify what
information we need for allocation decisions (June 2012)
Kim to advise regarding School Board specifications for tables so that
options can be considered for potential purchase by Council to ease
logistics for future events. (June 2012)
J. Collette
Summer
2012
Colleen
Moore
Fall 2012
K. Power
Fall 2012
Parents at
large
May 2012,
June 2012,
September
2012
Some still
open: carry
forward to
October
2012
TBD
Fall 2012
K. Power
Fall 2012
Parents at
large
No date
provided
Parents at
large
October
31, 2012
October
2012
K. Power
A. Hutton
October
2012
R. Nielsen
November
2012
T. Finlay
J. Collette
November
2012
Summer
2012
Colleen
Moore
Fall 2012
K. Power
Fall 2012
Parent volunteers needed for nominations to fill vacancies for 2012-13
Council Executive: Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Volunteer Coordinator
and Director at Large. Please contact wapscouncil@gmail.com (April
2012; revised Sept. 2012)
Parents at
large
May 2012,
June 2012,
September
2012
Some still
open: carry
forward to
October
2012
Attendance at OCASC training session on financial management (May
2012)
TBD
Fall 2012
Kim to consider suggestions made regarding the Student-Only Yard,
discuss with staff and look for improvements. (Sept. 2012)
Parent reps are needed to receive feedback from other parents
regarding BSD. Volunteers should send their name to
WoodroffeCouncil@gmail.com.
Volunteers needed for Hallowe’en Dance. Please contact
WoodroffeCouncil@gmail.com.
Kim to assess staff interest in taking photographs for the Yearbook
K. Power
Fall 2012
Parents at
large
No date
provided
Parents at
large
October
31, 2012
October
2012
K. Power
Parent volunteers to participate in Greening Communities Canada
initiative to contact Alice Hutton via School Council at
WoodroffeCouncil@gmail.com
Vendors and parent volunteers needed for annual Ski and Skate
Sale. Sale will take place Nov. 15th, 2012. Please contact
wapscouncil.skiskate@gmail.com
Seek out information about Student-Only Yards, drop-off and dismissal
procedures through OCASC. (Sept. 2012)
A. Hutton
October
2012
R. Nielsen
November
2012
T. Finlay
November
2012
Forward Agenda:
Lead
School Improvement Plan (Sept. 2012)
K. Power October 2012
EQAO Results (Sept. 2012)
K. Power October 2012
Feedback regarding Student-Only Yard (Sept 2012)
K. Power October 2012
School Council Budget 2012-13 and Year-End Statements for 2011-12 K. Rose
Fundraising Calendar
Meeting
October 2012
A. Windle October 2012