Valleyfield Junior School

Minutes of School Council Meeting

February 8, 2017

The meeting started at 6:10pm with an introduction from the co-chair Patresia Bartley.

Janet Churchill moved to have the minutes of the October 20, 2016 meeting adopted,  Patresia seconded.  Motion carried.

Business Arising

Draft Parent Council By-Laws will be brought forward to the April meeting.  Jason Martin will ensure that a draft copy will be forwarded to council members in advance of the meeting.

Principal and Teacher’s report

Dance-a-thon planning is underway.  The Dance-a -thon is the only fundraiser that the school does. It will be Friday, February 24, and teacher - Mr. K will DJ.  Mr. K. acted as our DJ last year for the event and it was a great success.   Staff is working on different aspects of the fundraiser.  They have chosen a theme of “Too Legit to Sit”.  The Dance-a-thon runs throughout the day and there are two classes participating at a time in the gym for 40 minutes.  This year line dances will be taught.  Students will be able to request songs in advance.  Staff will supervise and participate.  A letter will be going home soon with instructions how to raise money. Two pizza lunch prizes (one for primary class and one for junior class) will be awarded for the class that raises the most money.  This year there will also be a photo booth where students can have their photo taken.  The photos will be posted in the hallways of the school.

Teachers and staff have provided a wish list for funds raised:  scientist in the class room workshop; recess bins contents need to be replaced; glockenspiel; class reading books; enrichment presentation; Smartboard or other technology items to supplement the school’s teaching and learning technology.  Parent Council also suggested Electronic keyboard, STEM presentation. Ms. Drimmie Miller is still waiting on some more input from the staff and will put forth the top four items for parent council to approve.

15 iPads have been purchased for the kindergarten classes. Money used was taken from school budget.

Report cards are going home on February 14. Parent Teacher Interviews will be February 16 and 17.  There is a PA day on February 17. 

Families are reminded to check radio and TV to see if the buses are cancelled on inclement weather days.  Please also be reminded that if you personally drop your child to school, you must also pick them up at the end of the day.  The buses do not run for the whole day.

There are many clubs currently running during the lunch hour – Math Club, Cursive Club, Puzzle Club,   Boy’s Basketball, Girl’s volleyball, Yoga Club.  Madame Henri has been running a Spike ball tournament. Skating has started.

Some students will be attending Greg Le Rock French concert on February 16. Grades 4/5/6 are going.  A grant was applied for and was used to cover a portion of the cost.

Bus issue – sometimes parents miss picking their child up from the bus stop on time and the bus has to return to the school to drop off the child.  The office is closed at 4pm. Sometimes the bus with the child comes after 4pm and the school is concerned that the principal may be at a meeting away from the school site.  The bus company’s rules are that the child is supposed to be taken to the police station.  No one wants their child to experience this.  Please ensure that your child is picked-up on time.  When you are late to pick up your child, it also makes the bus late for the next school it is supposed to be at. 

Please also be reminded that when you receive a call from the school, please listen to the message that is left.  The school is swamped with calls being returned, which are unnecessary if you were to listen to the message.

There has been a staffing change; Madame Cameron has left early for her maternity leave.  The current teacher covering is Monsieur Snack.  Madam Dacres continues to cover for Madame Bruce while she recovers and Ms. Sankat is covering Mr. Choudhri’s teaching duties until further notice.

Treasurer’s Report

Council does not currently have a treasurer so Lisa the school secretary has been looking after the money.  Lisa needs to have the signatures changed on the account and provide a balance for the account.

Chair Report

Islington bus has been coming earlier to the stop so everything seems to be orderly for now.

Family Skate Night will be in April.  Ms. Drimmie Miller will call in March to get a date. 

STEM programming– Ms. Drimmie Miller advised that the support material for a Lego robot called DOT is being considered for purchase by the school to teach the children coding.

Teachers and Staff Appreciation Day will be on Wednesday, May 10 from 11:15am to 12:15pm.  Parents will be asked to bring food for a luncheon for the teachers, as well as help set up and take down. 

Council wishes to thank Probahar for organizing the pizza lunches.

Model Schools Report

Safia was not in attendance this evening. 

We need to determine if Safia has applied for the Parents Reaching Out Grant.

Discussion/Questions

There was a question from a parent about why all four teachers are in attendance at the parent/teacher interview, she found it overwhelming.  Ms. Drimmie Miller explained that it is because they all wish to discuss the progress of your child in the various subjects they teach.  Ms. Drimmie Miller suggested that this parent could write a note to the teacher suggesting she would like to meet one on one at the interview.

A parent suggested that a way to have more parents attend council meetings would be to have an art show before a meeting so the parents could come to see their children’s art.  Janet advised that Jason Martin was always looking for suggestions and help with parent engagement and asked if Jason could get in touch with her directly.  She agreed.

Patresia moved for adjournment and the meeting was adjourned at 7:20pm.

Next meeting: Wednesday, April 12.