LPCI School Council Meeting
1. In Attendance:
M. Schummer, D. Boughner, L. Turkish, G. Wyett, L. Addis, J. Bragg, W. Sheremata, D. Beutel, S. Derasner, N. Kotush, P. Trenton, S. Paetkau, L. Gray
2. Review and Approval of Agenda
W. Sheremata approved the Agenda, seconded by L. Addis
3. Approval of April Council meeting minutes
S. Derasner approved the minutes, seconded by D. Boughner
4. Student Council Update (Katie & Ben)
-April was a very busy month with April Lyrics on the 30th, the French exchange students heading home, grade 10 history contest and grade 11 chemistry contest.
-The two week Leadership Workshops will be wrapping up next week. This training was mandatory for any student wishing to have a leadership position in the school. i.e. Student Council, Music Council, LPAC or apply to be a Buddy.
-May events include a Classics Conference which runs May 7-10th. Classics Clubs from other Toronto schools will come to LPCI to join together in sporting events around the theme of Greek and Roman times.
-Summatives will be starting mid May followed by exams.
-Grade 12 Art Show will be held from May 19-22 in the Library.
-Grad breakfast on May 26, for students and parents of graduates.
-Spring Fling will be on May 29th: extended lunch featuring bouncy castles, cotten candy, slip & slide…etc.
-Student Council elections and Buddy interviews are coming up in May.
-Sports: Spring sports are at their peak. Water polo, track & field, soccor, rugby..etc. Of note, the Junior Rugby team did exceptionally well this season.
-Mary, a student from the LPCI business club, DECA, made it to Nationals in Florida earning 20th place in the business competition.
5. Principal Update:
-School Climate Survey update: 929 students out of the 1295 have so far completed the survey, 69 out of 89 staff, and 121 parents. They will continue until 100% of students and staff and hope for more parent participation.
-LPCI has gone up in its standing on the Fraser Report and currently sits at #29 out of the 749 schools in Ontario that are included in the report. LPCI is the #3 school out of the TDSB schools. Of note, higher ranking TDSB schools both choose their students based on applications and grades, as opposed to LPCI which takes everyone based on their catchment area.
-Our principal touched on the topic of strikes and labor relations. She read the letter currently posted on the LPCI website in order to address any labor relation concerns. They do not have inside information and only know that their board is still in negotiations and no contract is currently at play. At this time their is no indication of a strike or changes for this school year. Parents questioned what would happen if a strike did happen and discussed current and past scenarios going on in other districts. Lillian reiterated that we were in a wait and see period.
-Currently the school is working on timetabling and staffing for next year. In June, students should be informed of what classes they will be taking when school starts in September. However, they will not know exact teachers or time table until sometime in August, as there are many moving parts and adjustments will have to be made until school starts.
-Summatives are coming up, teachers have posted schedules on a whiteboard. Exam schedule will be available on the LPCI website for students and parents to access by Friday May 15. For students who are struggling with low marks and are in jeopardy of not passing or not being eligible for summer school, there is an extra exam process being offered by the schools Credit Rescue.
-A parent recommended including the Fraser report standings into the school report that goes to colleges and universities. Lillian was also asked to explain the procedure for questioning a final class grade or test grade. -There is a form to fill out to start the review process. This needs to be done before school is out if at all possible.
-A parent questioned if LPCI would look into having recognition for students who are “Elite” in activities other than sports. i.e. music and dance. These students have to miss many classes to pursue their interests and having the backup of the school could help with teacher relations when missing classes just like Elite Athletes does. The VP felt it was a good point and will discuss this at a future administrative meeting.
6. Chair update:
-School Council Climate: Some meetings have been very challenging with strong feelings and dynamics. Often there is a difference in understanding of the issues between those that come occasionally and those that are regulars. There is also a difference in that some parents are coming to the meeting for information and others are coming to express a position. Some people would like an open meeting where many voices are heard and others would like a more rule based meeting that is very structured. S. Paetkau would like more people to come out and is very concerned about the impressions of the meeting. Parents in attendance discussed varying points of view on how the meetings should be run and gave feedback. S. Paetkau pointed out that council meetings are for school wide issues, not individual issues. S. Paetkau will be working on having an agenda for each meeting that is put out at the beginning of the year, so that parents can see what will be discussed through the year and hopefully will lead to more attendance and involvement.
Discussion continued around how many meetings should be held during the 2015/16 school year and the timing of those meetings. Everyone present agreed that we could have less. In an effort to get action moving forward so that meetings could be added to the school calendar, M. Schummer motioned to skip 2 monthly meetings during the 2015/16 year, exact dates to still be determined. Seconded by N. Kotush.
In September there will be Council elections. If you are interested in running for a position or helping the school in any way, please speak to S. Paetkau.
7. Other Business:
L. Turkish asked to speak, and immediately put forward a motion to use Robert’s Rules for the running of the council meetings. The motion was not seconded. Those in attendance were not familiar with Robert’s Rules and felt more research/discussion was necessary before taking a vote on something of this nature. If a person or group of people put in the work to see if a version of Robert’s Rules would work for these meetings, S. Paetkau welcomed them to speak at a future meeting.
L. Turkish brought up the subject of turning the sports field to turf and asked to prepare a report and give a summary at the next meeting. This is not something that the school has asked for, however, he would like explore this topic and gather information to share with the school council and also ascertain if there is parental interest.
Motion to Adjourn
S. Derasner, 2nd by L. Addis