LPCI School Council Meeting on Zoom
Next Meeting: Monday, April 4 @ 7pm on Zoom
Council Attendees: Chair Liz Hanson, Interim Principal Bernadette Shaw, VP Victoria Johnson-Lee, VP Gillian Moore, Suzanne Sparrow, Jennifer Dobson, John Hiddema, Ian Aukema, Suzanne Duras, Philip Roberts, Karen Barasch, David Calloway, Lori Rosenberg, Elena Solokhina, Lucy McSweeny, Jennifer Tse, Robin Conliffe
Thanks to the almost 60 people who joined the meeting!
Agenda:
- Welcome and Introductions
- Approve Minutes for December Meeting
- Student Council Liaison reps – to share update on student activities
- Chair/School Council Executive Report
- Principal / VP Reports
- Parent Q&A
Key Dates:
- In Pursuit of Educational Freedom webinar on Feb. 17 630pm-8pm Friday, December 17
- Course Selection Info Session for parents next Monday, February 14 – link in The Eye
- February 28 is hard deadline for final course selections via My Blueprint
- Tentative Grad Venue – Parkview Manor June 29 3pm
- Prom – Hazelton Manor (in Vaughan) tentatively booked for Friday, May 6
- Student Council Liaison Reps Update – Adam Barbour, Simian Xiao
- LP Wear – finishing up manual input to spreadsheet with other SC members’ help; more orders than in the past, especially from Grade 12s, alumni also placing orders via the Alum Assoc
- One month until items arrive
- Grad hoodies – speaking with the designer and will take polls from Grade 12s for input
- Charity Week – run by Adam and Simian – planning, meetings based on current Covid restrictions, looking for a speaker from a local charity; April tentative date
- Spring Flight Afternoon – Friday Night Lights Rugby Event – food trucks, bouncy castles scheduled for May
- A lot of money left over in the budget from previous years saved due to Covid – no financial support required
- Clubs & Councils Update:
- Clubs and Councils website for updates.
- Sports Intramurals – badminton, volleyball practices starting this week; badminton likely to able to begin competitively shortly
- To register: drop-in after school to see Ms. Ladak in her office in the South Gym or sign up via LPCI Instagram
- Fitness Centre – open as of this week
- 22 sports permits opening for TDSB schools (as per Shelly Laskin’s email); no dates available yet, as being directed by TPH
- School Council Executive Updates
- Approval of minutes from Dec. 4 meeting
- Motion to approve: David Calloway, Second: Phillip Roberts
- Karen Barasch – Update on Wellness Committee
- Upcoming Events:
- Bell Let’s Talk Day was in January – huge success with events on IG using #bellletstalk for donations
- Upcoming: Pink Shirt Day in February – many activities being organized; prizes being accepted (i.e. $5 gift cards, LP wear, etc.); please donate ASAP, see School Council email notification this week for more info
- Huddle-Up: Anti-bullying initiative working to put together training for those interested, freebies for the school (ie. masks, positive messaging on anti-bullying)
- Future: Wellness Week at end of April – hopeful for events in-school, in-person (not just online)
- International Day of Pink – larger international event supporting other events specific to anti-bullying, anti-harassment – coming up in April
- Mindful Moment is still being done over Google Classroom (used to happen daily in classes pre-pandemic), spearheaded by the Wellness Committee but has continued online, looking to increase engagement throughout the spring; idea moving forward – once a week, Wellness Team would travel to various classrooms for a more engaging event for more mindfulness in person
- School was supportive of Relay for Life last May, Wellness Committee collecting items for silent auction, prizes, etc. – more info will be included in The Eye coming up
- John Hiddema – Treasurer – not much going on, no revenue to report, parent welcome night that took place at Safari cost $309.98, money very well spent for social time with new parents, some bank charges, website fees, email software (at least a year paid) $727.83 expenses so far this year (from August 1), $1549.00 balance; process underway with TDSB senior officials for parent engagement process re: fundraising mechanism (i.e. School Cash Online) for tax receipts – no further progress but Treasurers will reach out to Board staff soon for updates/direction on this topic
- Equity Council – events planned for Black History and African Heritage Month – see The Eye for details; planning for Voices of Change Conference in May and Pride Day in June
- Phillip Roberts – Facilities Improvement – end of November Principal Park shared detailed facilities update which was shared with Council; priorities discussed at the Council level – a lot of items require attention which were anticipated to have been resolved by now; how can Council get involved re: fundraising?; put out requests for parents to get involved. More to come!
- No updates from FSLAC (French As a Second Language Committee)
- Jennifer Dobson – In Pursuit of Educational Freedom webinar on Feb. 17 6:30-8pm – link will be in The Eye this week (from Shelley Laskin’s report)
- Elena S. – parent engagement information night via Zoom? If parents are interested?
- Scholarship Online event was recorded
- How to Prep for University – possible future event
- Steph Rickard Chadda – Fundraising – we need direction on what we’re fundraising for; meeting with staff, key Council members needed in order to clarify goals
- Upcoming Events:
Principal Report – Bernadette Shaw
- Semester 2 has started smoothly, prepping for course selection Feb. 28; sessions have been going on through Guidance
- New teachers have been brought on: 5 new teachers and 2 for long-term occasional (7 total)
- Rapid Antigen Kits – 5 per box, 2 issued per students (boxes had to be disassembled, time-consuming, students volunteered to help)
- Clubs, Teams & Councils – VP Gillian – facilities/swimming pool – in 2 weeks the pool will be ready; next hurdle is getting a lifeguard, working with employee services who is an employee of the TDSB to start with Chris Reid and Phys. Ed. Dept. – Currently, we don’t have a lifeguard and many other schools are looking for a lifeguard, as welM
- Scottish Rugby – Bernadette managed to find the Board person responsible – Richard Christie – manager of Sustainability – tasked with presenting this option to Assoc. Director Craig Snyder who has asked for full report to be completed soon and presented to Craig for green light to discuss the Scottish Rugby League which is looking for turf facility to rent – goal is to fund a replacement track and field – potential opportunity is moving forward
Gillian Evans VP
- Music – singing and instruments can now begin again, brass, woodwinds – wonderful news!
- Extracurriciulars – clubs and councils will continue to meet virtually in Feb, in-person beginning in March – restricted to 2 extracurriculars per student in March
- Entering a critical time in scheduling and staffing calendar – Thurs/Fri/Monday presentations from Guidance re: course selection; highlight videos from elective departments; parent info evening next Monday – link and info in The Eye, will run again in this Friday’s Eye; FI info as well – recorded, assemblies, highlight videos, paper copies of course selection forms, LPCI Guidance arm of website under Course Selection
- Smith updated course selection process with info for families
- Grade 12 course don’t have a specific evening – click ‘not returning’ in My Blueprint – if returning for an additional year, they will be invited back for course selection
- My Blueprint is open to look around, but course selections not yet officially available – will open next Monday for Grades 11 and 12, Guidance counsellors always available if students have questions
- Best website for Ontario University course requirements – outside of Ontario, it is school-by-school specific
- Deadlines for course selections are very important! – LPCI Course Selection closed Feb. 28th
Victoria Johnson-Lee VP
- Window for paying school activity fees is now closed after being extended
- We can now go ahead and start on yearbook publishing – cover going into production with yearbook team for professional yearbook with as many photos as possible
- Grad/Commencement – TDSB says hold off on any concrete planning, get refundable deposits if booking a venue – we have a venue with no deposit req’d.; more info will be available in March – hoping for more than a virtual commencement this year
- Tentative Grad Venue – Parkview Manor June 29 3pm
- Prom – Hazelton Manor (in Vaughan) booked for Friday, May 6 – fingers crossed!
- Liz/SC – bathrooms? Kids aren’t feeling safe, holding on till they get home, what are other schools doing? Updates? – Fewer kids are hanging out in the bathrooms due to no breaktime built into the current schedule / modified semester – mask breaks and outdoor breaks last semester with 1/3 of kids out of class at any given time which caused problems – VPs patrolling girls washrooms and safety monitor keeping an eye on boys washrooms
- Hockey not planned yet – pending
- Drainage project – any contact beyond TDSB Services with city planning? i.e. is that project going to start when the kids can get outdoors again? Are we looking at a closure again? No further updates about the work order which is on their planning cycle and will be done provided there are contractors and staff available to do it.
- FI/I Grade 10 courses being offered for 2022-23 school year- business, art, drama, French, math, geography
Motion to Adjourn: John Hiddema
Seconded: Ian Aukema
MEETING ADJOURNED (8:30 pm)