LPCI School Council Meeting
In attendance: S. Kopyto, S. Paetkau, L. Gray, G. Wyett, D. Boughner, L. Turkish, L. Addis, P. Sweeney, L. Jovanovic, A. Fonseca, C. Oliver, J. Rother, J. Jaffary, C. Poole, M. Freel, P. Tenton
- Welcome by Co-Chairs (G. Wyett/L. Gray)
2. Review and approval of agenda
Motion – L. Jovanovic
Seconded by – P. Sweeney
3. Approval of January 6, 2014 Council Meeting Minutes
Motion – D. Boughner
Seconded by – J. Rother
4. Student Update (Peter/Evan)
- Planning semi-formal for Feb 28 (moved from Feb 14 to secure more teacher supervision)
- Doors will open at 6:30 pm and be open until 7:30 pm, event will close at 9:00 pm
- Tickets will go on sale that week before school, with Gr 10 on Mon, Gr 11 on Tues, Gr 12 on Wed, and any left over on Thurs. Tickets will cost $30 each
- There will be 100 tickets available for Gr 10, 125 for Gr 11, and 125 for Gr 12 for a total of 350 tickets (max. capacity)
- Drinks, DJ and a photo booth will be available
- May look at getting food from local vendors
5. Principal Update (L. Jovanovic)
- Keith Singer event on substance abuse received very positive feedback from students
- There was an incident involving drugs in the school last week and the police were involved
- The board is looking at mental health initiatives – substance abuse is recognized under illnesses, 1 in 5 kids will suffer from a mental health issue, School Council committee will be set up to discuss and co-ordinate mental health issues, committee will work closely with the school, board will ensure each staff member gets PD on mental health initiatives
- washroom on 3rd floor is now open as vandalism has been repaired
- Jan 8/9 – gr 8 visits and gr 8 info night were held, very successful, getting confirmation from feeder schools for gr 9 numbers for next year, looks like about 350 students will be coming into gr 9 next yr
- Jan 17 – term 1 ended, grade 10 civics classes finished and careers started
- Jan 30 – drama presentation, United Artists, very successful
- Jan 31 – safe and caring school meeting was held, still have number of issues we are dealing with including parking lots that are slippery and ice-covered, pathway to main entrance, salt needed
- Jan 31 will be the English speech assembly, winners will be identified in The Eye
- Course selection forms for the 2014/2015 school year are due Feb 7
- Have a number of new teachers due to sickness, moves to other schools, time off by teacher
- Room allocations are still going on, will be finalized next month
- School Council appreciation dinner will be held Feb 20 from 6 – 9 pm at Montecassino Hotel on Chesswood Dr.
- Parent Teacher Making Connections event will be held March 22 from 9:30 am – 2:00 pm at Westview Centennial Secondary School on Oakdale Road
- Have received concerns about The Eye not coming automatically to all parents through an email, will have School Council send a reminder email each week with a link to the school website page where the eye is posted
6. Chair update (G. Wyett)
- Alain is handling our communications this year, handles websites and email mailings, but he will be graduating this June so we need someone else to take it on next year. Anyone interested should contact one of the co-chairs ()
- There have been challenges with the school’s phone system attendance, especially when kids are out on sports teams, often coaches don’t report absences (i.e. – parents receiving calls for absences that have already been explained)
- Kids should be signing out and in or they will be marked absent for the entire day (the system automatically marks a student absent for the rest of the day once they have signed out)
- Anyone interested in sitting on or chairing the joint school council/school mental health committee should let the co-chair know
- Working with guidance and reps from the Anne Johnson health centre to put together a panel to speak to parents on April 14, will use PRO grant, have panel of subject matter experts – eating disorders, self harm, anxiety and depression, addiction
- Have up to $1000 available from the PRO grant for the event, to be split among 4 speakers as honorariums
- Motion by G. Wyett – develop a speaking event on mental health issues and use $1000 of PRO grant to fund it. Seconded by L. Gray. Passed
- Students will be welcome to come as well, K. Mitchell (Guidance) will be on the panel, teachers are planning events in school for students
- Teacher appreciation breakfast is usually held in May and sponsored by the School Council, need someone to chair the committee (C. Poole volunteered), Lillian will ask the teachers for a date, and will also inquire if they would like a changes from the usually breakfast. Parent volunteers are needed to assist, anyone interested in helping should contact the co-chair
- The Fairlawn Avenue United Church will be sponsoring an event entitled The Importance of Empathy on Feb 19 from 7 – 8:30 pm at the church on Fairlawn Ave. This is not a religious event. All parents are welcome to attend
7. Other Business
- C. Oliver, a LPCI parent, briefly discussed the issue of the proposed condo development to be built at 41 Chatsworth (formerly a church) which is approximately 500 metres from LPCI. The application is for a 6 story 114 unit condo with 3 floors on underground parking. The issues for LPCI are increased traffic flow which could result in safety concerns for students and the potential increase in attendance at LPCI which is already at 148% capacity.
8. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm.
The next meeting will be held March 3, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
School superintendent Jeff Hainbuch and school trust Howard Goodman will attend the meeting.