LPCI School Council Meeting
In attendance: S. Kopyto, S. Paetkau, J. Bragg, L. Gray, G. Wyett, K. Rein, D. Boughner, L. Turkish, J. Allen, W. Sheremata, A. Cohen, L. Addis, D. Heath, D. Gara, V. Becic, P. Sweeney, L. Jovanovic, M. Gurgol, H. Goodman
Welcome by Co-Chairs
Review and approval of agenda
Motion by A Cohen
Seconded by K Rein
Motion passed
Approval of October 7, 2013 Council Meeting Minutes
Motion by L Gray
Seconded by K Rein
Motion passed.
Principal Update (L. Jovanovic)
– The School received $315,000 from the board. Administration met with Assistant Curriculum Leaders (ACLs) and the budget committee to decide how to allocate the funds. $176,000 will be used for the office, with the rest to the faculties.
– Focus this year for teacher PD will be bullying and mental health, similar to the speaker events planned by the School Council.
– Muskoka Woods – very good event, 1 night was devoted to talking about bullying, buddies will continue to work on this all year with gr 9s, buddies worked well with kids, students were very well behaved.
– The school has invited Keith Singer in to present on substance abuse for the past 3 years. This year, the sessions will be provided only to the grade 9s as part of the physical education curriculum. The idea is that this will be a more effective way to deliver the speech.
– On Oct 10, the awards assembly was held in the library, with a cake provided by the hospitality class.
– The costume ball was held on Oct 11 in the gym. Overall it was a success. Parents were required to sign a form/contract in advance to monitor behaviour, resulting in better behaviour at the event. Teachers were happier.
– The semi formal will be in the gym on Feb 14.
– Nov 7 will be the official opening of auditorium; buddies will meet parents at doors; vocal, dance and drama shows will be held; donors will be recognized digitally on wall, projected on walls; fundraising for auditorium will continue; main floor is done but still need to do second floor; need new drapes – safety hazard, and stage and lights for music and drama.
– There is a planned buy out for students in Friday to attend the football game. Supervision will be provided.
– How can the school promote other sports? Seek parents to volunteer to do write ups for teams to be published in the Eye; do it on a seasonal basis (fall, winter, spring sports).
– A hand out was provided with a breakdown of non board financial plan – school is required to report to board all fundraising events.
– The board will be holding an information/workshop session on special education for parents with a focus on Individual Education Plans (IEP) and Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) on Tues Nov 19.
– A session on the introduction to ADHD and Naturopathic Medicine will be held on Nov 6.
– Donna Quan, the new Director of TDSB, wants to focus on higher order success for students. This is one of the goals on Wed mornings for teachers during PLC time. Teachers spend time discussing and working with other teachers to improve student success, student and teacher engagement. We also want to ask parents – what are we doing well and what should we improve on? (Discussion followed with parental input/ideas/suggestions).
– Students receive marks in 4 categories – communication, thinking, knowledge and inquiry. This is a more holistic way of looking at it, easier for teachers to focus on where kids need extra help
Chair update (L. Gray and G. Wyett)
– School Council will supply refreshments and coffee for the Nov 7 auditorium opening.
– A. Cohen currently organizes the emails to parents. This is his last year at the school. We need someone to take over. This is a great way to engage parents without giving extra work to office staff so it’s important we can continue to do this.
Other Business
School Trustee Howard Goodman provided updates on 5 topics: capacity/space issues at LPCI; textbook shortages; renovation of the school playing field and future process for approval of non-school permits; explanation of offer from external (to LPCI and the TDSB) to renovate the LPCI track; TDSB veto of school administration use of paypal to collect payments from parents/guardians.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 pm.
The next meeting will be Dec 2.