Valleyfield Junior School

Minutes of School Council Meeting

January 28, 2016

Meeting started at 6:06p.m. with opening remarks from Jason Martin, Chairperson.

Agenda was approved. 

Janet Churchill moved to have the minutes of the December 1, 2015 meeting adopted, Renee Hewer seconded.  Motion carried.

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Principal’s report

Michelle Drimmie Miller reported that earlier in the week the school had a bus safety presentation.  The children watched a safety video presentation in every class, and they also went on board a bus and talked about expected behavior, how to get on and off buses, etc.

Ms Dimmie Miller reminded us that report cards will be coming home on February 9.  Parent interviews will take place on February 11 in the evening and in the morning of February 12. The interviews are at the teacher‘s request or parent’s request, and an appointment must be booked.

There are two spirit days this week.  One that was today in honour of Ms Cap.  The children love Ms Cap and were happy to honour her with their “caps”.  Tomorrow is her official last day.  The second spirit day is tomorrow and it is a pajama day.

There will be one official pizza lunch every month conducted through the parent council and the school will do a second pizza lunch per month to supplement cost of the nutrition program.

The skating program continues as part of physical education.  The school is looking for parents to help with skating, and especially for help with tying up skates.  If you can help, please let your child’s teacher know.

Dental screening has taken place.  254 students were screened, 67 of which had cavities.  Of those 67 children, some were identified last year, and apparently not followed up on.   Ms. Drimmie Miller indicated the school needs to help families out by increasing awareness of dental care and where to go to get dental assistance, and as a result has asked Toronto Public Health to have a booth set up on February 11 and 12 when parents will be coming to the school for interviews.

The Juniors (Grades 4 to 6) will be going to a university varsity hockey game next week at U of T.  They went to a varsity basketball game two weeks ago and had fun.

The dance-a-thon is coming up, our Teacher DJ is working on a kick-off assembly for February 3.  He’s been making videos of the kids talking about dancing which he will show at the kick-off.  The dance-a-thon takes place on February 11, and parents are welcome to come and watch.  The children dance in shifts throughout the day and have different times to go into the gym and dance.  For donations of $25 and over sponsors will receive a tax receipt.  This is the school’s one fundraiser of the year.  Parent volunteers are needed for the dance a thon, it starts at 9am and goes to 2:30pm. If you can help, please let your child’s teacher know.  A letter will go home next week with all the details.

The school is asking the parent council to help out with the cost of glow bracelets.  It’s about $1 for a pack of 10 bracelets.  Council approved the expense and Renee Hewer will pick them up and will also volunteer at the dance-a-thon.

“Scientists in the classroom” have presented to the Grade 3 and 6 classrooms. They will be visiting the JKs next week.

Family Fitness Night was a very successful evening. There was a great turn out and it was a lot of fun.  Ambassador Eric did a wonderful job with his Taekwondo presentation and it was nice to see a student take a leadership role.  Families took part in various activities: Taekwondo, Yoga, Ping Pong, Drum Fit and also got to make smoothies with the Public Health Nurse.

Math Night is coming up on Thursday, February 18 and information is coming out soon.  Trevor Brown – a retired math consultant from the Board will be teaching parents ways to support your children’s math learning at home.  He is an enthusiastic presenter and will motivate parents to help their children succeed in math.

The math clubs are well attended.  They have been running since September.  The numbers are rising each week.  Once a week the children meet with Ms Vasilaros and Mr. Tahir.  The primary group (grades k to 3) play math games which are very popular and increase learning with the guidance of Ms. Sagar.  The juniors (grades 4 to 6) use computers and ask questions. The group runs during lunch hour.

Teacher report

Ms Vasilaros advised that lots of field trips are being booked.  Grade 4s are going to the ROM, Grade 5s are going to Queen’s Park. 

Ms. Vasilaros and M Tair are planning an international extravaganza.  Children will be researching their family heritage and showcasing the different countries that their families come from.  The teachers find that kids like to talk about where they come from.  It will be March 8 in the afternoon.  Parents are welcome.

The Eco Club has booked the Earth Rangers to come to Valleyfield on March 7.

Ms. Vasilaros stated that the skating program is lots of fun and the students are enjoying it.  The children are doing a great job learning the art of it.  Some high school students (former Valleyfield students) have been helping out.

If you are volunteering for class trips, the school would like it if you obtained a police clearance certificate.  Please pick up a form at the office to fill out - the certificate lasts for five years.

Treasurer’s Report

Balance in the parent council account is $5,659.00.

Renee Hewer advised that she has been working on the Non-Board Financial Plan that is overdue and needs to be sent in as soon as possible.  Two wish list items were put forth by the principal and teachers, the first being an additional set of soccer goal posts for the field, so that the primary children will have their separate area to play soccer and the juniors will have their separate area.  The second item is a new sound system for the gymnasium as the sound system is over 25 years old and has been unreliable.  Council agreed that these are acceptable items to use the council funds towards.  Ms Drimmie Miller will obtain quotes for the items. 

Renee will complete the Non-Board Financial Plan with the two above items with allocations as follows:

·         Soccer goal posts - $1000

·         Gym sound system upgrade - $2500

·         Blue Spruce and Silver Birch reading books - $570

·         Staff appreciation day - $500

·         School fun day - $1000

Renee also asked the council what the funds raised at the dance-a-thon should be designated to.  Ms Drimmie Miller advised that upgraded technology is always on the wish list and told us that it would be wonderful to have an additional CromeBook mobile cart, so two classrooms can be using them at the same time.  Council agreed this was a reasonable item and has asked that the letter going home about the dance-a-thon indicate that the money would be going towards Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math programs (STEM) by supporting technology enhancement. 

Committee Reports

Jason and Renee advised that the council by-laws are still in draft and they hope to have their final draft for council approval ready in the very near future.  The by-laws will be discussed at the next meeting with a view to having the approval of the council so that the by-laws can be put in place as soon as possible.

Model Schools Report

Kofi Sankofa circulated his report, highlighting his outline of transportation issues.  He has scheduled a community meeting for Wednesday, March 1 at 2067 Islington Avenue between 6pm and 9pm.  He has invited various representatives of various groups – TCHC, Toronto Public Health, Community Development Officer, the city councilor, trustee and the safety officer.  He has asked that parents attend to voice their concerns about school transportation.

Kofi is asking for parent volunteers to help with loading children on to the buses. Volunteers will receive a safety vest so families will be able to identify who the bus monitors are.

Kofi advised that there is a CPAC meeting on February 10 at 6pm at The Elms.  Childcare is available.

A vision screening clinic will be set up at the school on March 2.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 16 – Parent Conference at the Allstream Centre at Exhibition Place. Registration is free. More details to follow.

As always, you can contact Kofi with any questions at kofi.sankofa@tdsb.on.ca

Open Discussion

The date for Teacher Appreciation Day will be set at our next meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:25pm

Next meeting date:  Thursday, March 3