LPCI School Council Meeting
Next Meeting: Monday, March 30th 7pm in the library
Attendees:
Liz Hanson, Anne Marie Armstrong, Jen Tse, Kelly Green, Erika Boone, John Hiddema, Anna Richter, Greg Speirs, Julie Sole, Alex Sabharwal, Rindy Bradshaw, Laura Nield, Bryan Seaton, Dani Morrison, Alexandra Evans, C. Wyatt, Edna Hussman, Dorothy Carson, Catherine Wong, Jill Bellenger, Kyra Kappele, Anne Maenhaut
Key Dates:
- Feb 6 Joint Ward Forum – NTCI
- Feb 13 Parent-Teacher Interviews
- Feb 14 PD Day
- Feb 17 Family Day
- Mar 5 TDSB Engage – Parent & Community Involvement Policy PO23 Review (TDSB @ 5050 Yonge St.)
1. Student Council Report: Sam – Student Council Liaison
- Friday, Feb. 7 – report cards will be distributed
- African Heritage Month – events happening @ LPCI
- Feb. 6 – 24-hour challenge – LPAC sports council hosting this fundraising event for “Right to Play” charity (150 students involved)
- Cupid’s Café – coffee house event for Valentine’s Day – student performances, treats
- Parent Teacher Interviews – ½ day for students, parents in the afternoon – Feb. 13
- French speech – end of month – speak with teacher (Canada’s 36th Annual French Public
- Speaking Contest to take place Sat. May 4th @ Glendon Campus, York U – 4 categories (core, extended, immersion Francophone) – Registration is OPEN
- Math Contest – end of month – speak with teacher
- Dance Show – annual event run by Drama Council – raised $ for Kids @ Camp with circus theme, roughly 200 students performed
2. School Report – Principal Aiman Flahat
- African Heritage Month kick-off assembly today by Equity Committee* – Guest Speaker (actor, writer, producer) shared personal narrative re: discrimination, personal story; students read poems, performed dances, contributions to be exhibited by students; conference will take place in library with NTCI, Northern, Forest Hill to train students with tools to take back to their schools (80-90 students to be involved; 40 outside schools, 50 LP); full-day event (Feb. 20) – parents welcome to attend
- Grad Photos – some students missed photo day; retakes will take place Feb. 11 & 12 – Goal that all graduating students will have photo taken; sitting fee will be collected; sign up online for time slot
- Report Cards to be distributed Feb. 7 – currently being printed; these are FINAL REPORTS for Grade 12 Math and Grade 12 Civics; regular report for all other students (marks only; no comments due to job action)
- Parent-Teacher Interviews – will be ONLY in the evening; Registration will open shortly after reports go out – Notice will go out to parents regarding online registration
- Kiwanas Festival to take place at LPCI has been CANCELLED
- Staff Heads of Departments – all schools with Positions of Responsibility are posted online and many applications have been received (this takes place every 3 years); 16 positions have been posted to the system for availability (currently 18 positions at LPCI, 2 have been cut – 1. secondary French position (2 positions have been merged into one) and 2. Wellness – now joined with Student Success (Student Success & Wellness); no programs are being lost, only individual roles
- New Program Plans and Fundraising – Parent Council met with Principal Flahat to discuss future programs and fundraising initiatives; i.e. Rotman iThink Program (Integrative Thinking), Business Leadership Grade 12 Course, Robotics Launch and possible tournament hosted by LPCI, innovation lab/hub (robotics, physics lab) in school basement in available space
- Principal Flahat meeting with students to determine ideas behind LPCI mission and vision statements; current statements (framed in entrance foyer) are not acknowledged or widely known
- Status of School Pool – Filtration system retrofit caused issues with pool heating system, cracking of the drain cover – ongoing parts and permit issues
PARENT QUESTION: When will class offerings for 2020-21 Grade 12 students be finalized?
Answer – All offerings are currently listed; however, those courses which will actually run next fall will be determined by the number of registrants (ie. Not all classes will run, as they are based on the number of students who register)
PARENT QUESTION: Regarding EQAO, what percentage of a student’s final mark will be based on this test?
Answer – EQAO tests are worth 10% of the student’s final mark for the year (Grade 9 Math test, Grade 10 Literacy test)
PARENT QUESTION: For how much longer will staffing changes continue?
Answer – The changes will be settling down soon. There are 2-3 more teachers (Grade 10) still being affected by staffing changes.
3. Chair & Executive Reports
- Approval of December 2019 minutes: motioned to approve Bryan Seaton, seconded by John Hiddema
Communications – Julie Sole
- No updates
Facility Improvements Subcommittee – Greg Speirs
- No updates
Treasurer’s Report – John Hiddema
- Tax receipts for parents? Not at LP (Glenview is being grandfathered for tax receipts), no similar structure at LP; school cash online can allow fundraising under school council and the board is a registered charity and our treasurer working to integrate this program
Fundraising Report – Anne Marie Armstrong
- Community Fundraising – May 7th Event @ Safari, silent auction – funds raised for more immediate visible changes at the school
- Separate online fundraising drive, tax receipts for donors – for long-term vision
- Call for volunteers – AM has sign-up sheet
- Focus of fundraising to be firmed up by Principal and Council (iThink Rotman program, south gym, innovation/maker space)
- LPCI 2025 Vision – will include creativity, empathy, recognition of student’s gifts
- Field & Track improvement plan – more ambitious, long-term fundraising plan
Wellness Committee – Kelly Green
- Wellness Council hasn’t met since job action began
- Student Wellness Council, however, has been meeting – Bell Let’sTalk event last week
- Pink Shirt Day – Thurs, Feb 27th
- Parent donation table for treats and fruit kebabs for Pink Shirt Day…Sign Up sheet – contact Kelly Green to contribute – to be coordinated with the screening of film “Screenagers 2: The Next Chapter” – enable students to understand stressors and where they come from, how social media is affecting our kids – all students will see the student version of the film
- Parents can see the parent version screening at Northern CI and NTCI – gives parents tools and strategies of how to engage with your kids re: social media, case studies, positive messaging, moderators will be brought in (Feb. 24 @ NTCI, March 5 @ Northern) – Save the Date will be sent out; free events via EventBrite with $5 donation suggested – LP parent Catherine Wong coordinating @ Northern and would prefer LP parents attend Northern screening – Watch The Eye on LPCI for registration
*Equity Committee – Alex Sabharwal
- Feb. 20 Student Conference “Voices of Change” @LPCI hosted by LP inviting neighbourhood schools, Leaside, Forest Hill, Northern, NTCI school initiative (2nd year of this event)
- Equity is one of the pillars of our school improvement plan and impacts all students
- Jill Andrew – MPP – Keynote speaker who faced discrimination; workshops planned on wellness, discrimination, equity
- Request for $500 to put together bags for attendees – can we use money from the student enrichment fund to cover these costs?
- Suggestion to put $ toward speaker rather than giveaways we don’t really need
Ward 8 News – Erika Boone
- Joint Ward Forum – Board meeting this Thursday, Feb. 6, John Molloy, Trustee Shelly Laskin will be speaking
- March 5 – 5050 Yonge St. TDSB – Parent and Community Involvement & Policy – how we engage with the TDSB
Community Update – Anna Richter
- No community update
- If you have an update, please contact Anna
Safe & Caring School Committee – Risa Eisen
- Resa absent, no update
Facility Improvements Subcommittee – Greg Speirs
- Focus on shorter-term, bite-size projects (ie. South gym) with longer term project in mind (ie. Field improvement)
Parent Engaement Subcommittee – Karen Barasch
- Karen absent
French as a Second Language – Jen Tse
- Parents As Partners Conference for all TDSB parents and caregivers – Saturday, March 28 – French may run a workshop (topic and format to be determined)
- French Review / Secondary Review – Update will be available via newsletter before March Break
- External TDSB FSL site to be revamped to be more parent-friendly – launch date was to be end of January, however, does not seem to be online as yet
4. Chair / Vice Chair Update – Liz Hanson (Kirsten Glenister absent)
- Career path workshop idea with parent community engagement
- Possible panel-style launch event hosted by students in panel format for YouTube video format
- Video career profiles are currently available on My BluePrint for students
- Council provided Teacher appreciation breakfast very well received – a small token went a long way
- Motion to appoint Jennifer Tse as Secretary of Parent Council (to replace Anne Marie Armstrong who is now in charge of the Fundraising portfolio); Motion to accept by Kelly Green seconded by Anna Richter
MEETING ADJOURNED
Motion to adjourn by Anne Marie Armstrong, seconded by Kelly Green