Friday, 19 December 2014

Update on TMC Outdoor Fitness Centre

It has been a wonderful week of fundraising for the TMC Outdoor Fitness Area, and I wanted to update everyone of our progress.

We have confirmed that the Tuscany Community Association’s application for the Amateur Sport Grant through Parks Foundation Calgary was successful for $60,000 to build the TMC Outdoor Fitness Area.  Thank you to TCA and Parks Foundation Calgary for their incredible support of this project!

On December 13th I submitted an application for the Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant through the Alberta Government for a matching amount of $125,000.  Sandra Jansen is actively advocating for our success with this application.  If we receive the full $125, 000, and the Alberta Tire Recycling Municipal Demonstration Grant for $30,000 we are done fundraising for this project and hope to build in the spring 2015 if funding comes through in a timely manner.

 I confirmed today that we are successful for the Alberta Tire Recycling grant for $30,000!
Today, Bruce Wellspring (Sobeys Store Manager) presented a cheque to the TMC Outdoor Fitness Area project for $3,300!  Sobeys matched dollar for dollar donations from the community for this project.  Thank you Tuscany and Sobeys!  

Have a wonderful holiday with your families and friends, 

Pam Mylrea

TMC Outdoor Fitness Committee Chair

Saturday, 13 December 2014

HELP: TMC Generousity Train

Tis the season to be giving!  We have an anonymous TMC family that could use some christmas cheer!

Here are some suggestions for the family we would like to help. We believe the gift cards would allow the family to get what they feel is best for them.


Spread the word and ask people to drop off the cards at school asap.  Let's see how many cards we can have donated by our amazing parents by Thursday December 18th!!  Let's overwhelm them so spread the word!

Cards
Walmart
Safeway
Sobeys
Target
Toys R Us
Gas card
Sears
Bay
Movie passes
London drugs

Feel free to add others!
Thanks for your help,

* Please note that the school council is not advised on who this family is.  Only the school administration is privy to this confidential information.


Friday, 12 December 2014

December 2014 Council Minutes


Twelve Mile Coulee School – School Council Meeting
Wednesday December 3, 2014
TMC Learning Commons
Minutes

Call to order at 7pm by Andy Crocker
Approval of November Minutes:  motioned by Stacey M. , seconded by Dianne all in favour and motion passed.
Bowness Principal Message for new students:   Jana Macdonald, Bowness High School Principal, and Dawn Berry, Guidance Counsellor Bowness High School present to TMC School Council. Blue prints and artist renderings of the Bowness High School renovation were shared. These can also be found on the CBE website under Bowness modernization. This project is to be completed and opened by September 2016.  Bowness High School staff have come and presented to TMC grade 9’s and will also return in Jan 2015 to assist with course selections. January 27th, 2015 there will be an open house and tour of the school.  If you are unable to attend that day please contact the school directly and they can attempt to set up an alternate time to tour the school.
 The following were suggestions for parents to assist with the transition to High school:
Encourage to get involved in the school
Time management and breaking tasks down
Encourage to use tutorial time
Ask for help, extensions and support when needed
Communicate with teachers via email if have concerns
Get them excited
Principal’s Report
Student lead conferences were well attended. Big thanks to parents who donated food for the teachers. A thank you card was presented.
Remembrance Day assembly –It was a wonderful event.
Glee Club- This club has started and a mix of all grades. They will do a short performance at the 2 assemblies for the students on December 19. Parents are welcome.
Clubs- There are a number of clubs at the school that students can get involved in. A parent asked if these can be sent home to parents so that parents can review them with their children. Clubs are currently advertised in their homeroom as well as on the T.V.’s in the school.  Elaine Demco will look into making club information available in new year to parents,  as clubs are mostly wrapping up before winter break.
Currently in the process of hiring to fill an upcoming maternity leave.
Drop in Centre project- This is being run differently this year so that activities do not occurring all in one day. The Grade 9 leadership team has been working hard at organizing and arranging activities and snowmen in the hallway to track grade contributions.  Looking for 4 parents to deliver the “sock” items to the Drop-in Centre on December 19, 2014. 

TMC activities
Titan lunch volunteers- currently doing well with 30 volunteer for the 18 of Dec. Still need help with recycling on that day.
New Business
Hot Chocolate and candy canes for students- Pam motioned that TMC School Council would provide hot chocolate and candy canes to students on Friday Dec 19, 2014.  Seconded by Stacey M. All in favour. Motion passed.
Meeting motioned for adjournment at 7:58pm by Nkechi S. seconded by Pam M. all in favour, motion passed.

Members in attendance: Andy C., Nkechi S., Santana C., Ellen D., Tiffany C., Stacey B., Stacey M., Marion E., Linda S., Loraine L., Dianne.

Twelve Mile Coulee School Parent Association Meeting
Wednesday December 3, 2014
TMC Learning Commons
Minutes

Call to order 7:59pm by Andy C.
Approval of November minutes:  Motioned by Stacey M. seconded by Nkechi S. all in favour and motion passed.
TMC activities/initiatives
Casino: We are still awaiting a date for our casino. Currently we are slotted for Oct to Dec 2015 but we are on a cancellation list for Q2. Nkechi S. has agreed to be a spokesperson at meetings for our casino chair when our chair is not able to attend a meeting.
Outdoor Fitness Area Update:  Currently raised $121,500 in kind and in monetary donations. Meeting occurring tomorrow to decided about the amateur sports grant for a potential grant of up to $125,000.  We should hear back by Thursday or Friday of the outcome of the grant. A meeting about placing the CFAP grant will occur at Pam’s house on Monday.
Fundraising: Still waiting for order to arrive and has heard that it will arrive in the next 3 business days.  With that time frame the orders should be delivered to classroom for dissemination by December 10th, 2014.
Treasure’s Report – Please see attached document for draft budget that was presented
Discussion around a family in need and group reminded of the compassionate amount in budget. Nkechi S. motioned to give the school $750 for compassionate outreach. Seconded by Loraine L. All in favour, none against. Motion passed. Receipt to be provided by Elaine Demco.
Motion by Stacey B. to budget $300 to provide hot chocolate and candy canes to TMC students on Friday December 19, 2014.  Seconded by Stacey M. All in favour, none against. Motion passed.
Currently $30 to $40 a month is being spent on banking fees.  We need to use a community account but requesting support to look into options for a less costly banking plan. Andy C. offered to look into this as well as anyone else who has connections to the banking world.
How to Maximize funds going to the Artist in Resident: Discussion occurred around how best to support. Ellen clarified tentative plan:
a)  Art and Soul coming in the spring (will require support for supplies) Suggested if a list could be made up then it could be circulated to parents and donations could be brought in.
b) Think Create and Learn maker fair – (e.g. Lego, robotics, etc.)
c) Bollywood dance and another cultural dance
d) Street Artist for grade 4 and 6 in January. 
Further discussion is still required but funds are available. No formal request made at this time. Elaine Demco will provide a list of supplies that are needed  to see if parents have any of these items they wish to donate. This list will be posted on the blog and emailed out.
Meeting Adjourned – Motioned by Nkechi S. at 8:34pm all in favour, meeting adjourned.


Members in attendance: Andy C., Nkechi S., Santana C., Elaine D., Tiffany C., Stacey B., Stacey M., Marion E., Linda S., Loraine L., Dianne.

WANTED: Donated Art Supplies

Your school needs you help!!  The following is a list of things needed for art supplies.  If you have any of these things and are able to donate them to the school please drop them off to the office marked "Art Supplies".

Thanks!!


We are hoping parents might be willing to donate these items to support our art program. The items can be dropped off at the main office.
Thank you

Glass jars (dishwasher cleaned)
Dry cleaner plastic (please please!)
Newspaper
Magazines
Shoe boxes
Mismatched forks and spoons
Spray bottles (all chemicals washed out very well)
Home hair dye squeeze applicator bottles or the like (washed well)
Old kitchen tools (wooden spoons, ladles, whisks)
Old blenders
Nylons (holes the in toes, ok)
Rice
Play sand
Old paint brushes
Extra subway or square backsplash tiles
Ribbons, buttons, beads, old jewelry
Muffin tins
Old tea towels and aprons
Sieve/ colanders
Paper plates and bowls
Fabric scraps, yarn,sewing notions
Balloons
Wire, chicken wire, wire mesh
Gift wrap tissue
Bubble wrap
Cookie cutters
Old greeting cards
Ink Stamps
Hot wheel cars/ trucks
Old crayons
Rubbermaid bins (not the massive ones)
Skinny cardboard boxes (like the flat ones from Ikea)

And GO!

Thursday, 4 December 2014

Modernization of Bowness High School

At last nights council meeting we were visited by the New Principal of Bowness High School Jana McDonald and she shared with us some sketch art designs of the modernization of the school that is scheduled to be completed for September 2016.

I have attached here are the pictures for you to look at.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.759724054064998.1073741830.717034688333935&type=3&uploaded=14

Some of the upgrades will facilitate the following programs:
Art Studio                    Dance Studio            Culinary Art
Fashion Program          Fitness Centre          Sports Medicine
Cosmetology                Foods                        Living Wall

Some tips on how to prepare your child for transition into the new school.
Teach them how to:
* Manage their time
* Break down assignments to complete in chunks
* Use 30 min breaks efficiently
* Advocate for themselves
* Communicate with Teachers






Christmas Cheer to the Drop in Centre!!

Dear Twelve Mile Coulee Families:

We are once again supporting the Calgary Drop-In Centre this holiday season!  Hopefully, we will be able to fill 500 Socks with small necessities.  Last year, our goal was to fill 300 socks, but we managed to fill 800+ socks!  Lets try our best to beat that this year!!

Each grade is asked to bring in their according items:

Grade 4 - Deodorants & Soaps
Grade 5 - Razors and Combs
Grade 6 - Travel Size shampoos and conditioners
Grade 7 - Cough Drops and Lip Balms
Grade 8 and 9 - Travel - Size Toothpastes and Toothbrushes

Everyone: please bring in a pair of thick, warm socks as well!!

Please help those in need this season of giving :)

Thank you!

Monday, 1 December 2014

Upcoming Youth Event: PJ Movie Party!!!


PJ Movie Party!! 
Open to ALL youth in grade 7-12! 
You do NOT need to be a Tuscany Club member to attend this event it is FREE and open to all youth.

Free pop and popcorn as well!



Friday, 14 November 2014

November 2014 Council Minutes



MINUTES
TMC School Parent Council
November 5, 2014 at 7:03 pm | Meeting called to order by A. Crocker

In Attendance

A.Crocker (Co-Chair), E. Demcoe (Principal), J. Arrell (Assistant Principal), T. Coles (Learning Leader), S. Cunnington (Communication Coordinator), N. Odina Seale (Communication Coordinator), T. Isaac (Secretary), S. Merkle (Fundraising), T. Topor (Fundraising), D. Barth (Treasurer), L. Spence ( Volunteer Coordinator), K. Taylor (TCA President),  M. Enns, S. Webster, C. Gorniak,  S. Roth, D. Campanelli

Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve the October 2014 meeting minutes.
            Motion:  S. Cunnington
            2nd:  N. Odina Seale
            Carried.

Tuscany Community Association President– K. Taylor

TMC School Parent Council was happy to welcome Kelli Taylor, President of the Tuscany Community Association.  Kelli came to talk about the Tuscany Youth Council.
The first topic of discussion was regarding the difference between the Tuscany Community Association and the Tuscany Residence Association.
TUSCANY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
TUSCANY RESIDENCE ASSOCIATION
Fee is $25/year for a household
Fee is approx. $256/year for a household
Operation is volunteer based
Operation is run by paid staff
Open to the entire community of Tuscany
Open to only approx. 80% of the community
Liaison between the community and government
Runs programs within club and maintenance
The second topic of discussion was the Tuscany Youth Council.
“The Tuscany Community Association, with the support of the City of Calgary, will work with youth from grades 7-12 in the community to establish a youth council. As a community, our demographics have shifted significantly over the years, and we are now at the stage where we will benefit by offering our youth a higher profile, and the ability to decide what they would like to focus on.

These youth will ask their peers in Tuscany what we need more of in our community. Activities, interests, concerns – these will all be included in the appeal. The Youth Council will then work to make some of these happen, and will be looking to others in the community for support and guidance. We ask families, schools, and businesses to give the youth a warm welcome if they are approached with new initiatives.

For more information, or to express interest in being involved with the Youth Council, either as a member or to support the efforts of this group, please contact the Tuscany Community Association.”  youth@tuscany.ca.org


Principal’s Report – E. Demcoe

Best wishes to Mr. Arrell as he leaves TMC for a wonderful opportunity, he will be missed.   Ms. Coles from grade 8 will be our new AP, and she brings all sorts of positive things with her.
We are struggling with late arrivals in the morning.  On any given day there are 100+ students that are 5 to 10 minutes late for their classes.  Please be aware that it is essential for the students to be on time, and that this situation impacts the staff at the front office.




Committee Reports

Titan Lunch – P. Mylrea

The next Titan lunches will be on October 20, 2014 and December 18, 2014, the deadline for ordering is the Friday before.
Currently we have only 7 volunteers for November and 6 for December. There are 31 classrooms to deliver to.  Ideally, we would like 1 volunteer per class, 2 would be even better.
To sign up for the lunches please go to www.healthyhunger.ca 
To volunteer or any questions please email  TMCTitanLunch@gmail.com 

Jacket Racket- P. Mylrea

Thank you to Twelve Mile Coulee School families for your continued support of this program.  We were able to donate 89 high quality coats as well as many snow pants, hats, and mittens.  They will be cleaned and redistributed to families in need.

Communication Coordinators – N .Odina-Seale and S. Cunnington

All New School Council Email Database! SIGN UP NOW!!

Sign up here to join the All New School Council Email List

Fundraising – S. Merkle
The DFS fundraiser is now completed.  TMC students sold $13,000 worth of products, which has resulted in $7,200 in profit for TMC.
Casino
The Casino is slated for 2nd quarter (Apr. – June) 2015.  Our name on the list to accept an earlier date should anyone not be able to fulfill their Casino slot, so fingers crossed we get in a bit earlier.  Payment for a 2nd quarter casino would be received by approximately the middle of August.




Announcements

TMC School Parent Council would like to thank everyone that attended!!  We appreciate your continued support and hope to see more faces at our upcoming meeting.
If you wish to help out with any upcoming events or have suggestions, please contact us at tmcschoolcouncil@gmail.com, we look forward to hearing from you.


Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday December 3rd at 7:00 p.m. in the TMC School Learning Commons.

Motion to adjourn the Parent Council Meeting and to open the Parent Association Meeting was made at 7:53 p.m.
            Motion:  S. Cunnington
            2nd: T. Topor

Carried

MINUTES
TMC School Parent Association
November 5, 2014 at 7:54 pm | Meeting called to order by A. Crocker

In Attendance

A.Crocker (Co-Chair), E. Demcoe (Principal), J. Arrell (Assistant Principal), T. Coles (Learning Leader), S. Cunnington (Communication Coordinator), N. Odina Seale (Communication Coordinator), T. Isaac (Secretary), S. Merkle (Fundraising), T. Topor (Fundraising), D. Barth (Treasurer), L. Spence ( Volunteer Coordinator), M. Enns, S. Webster, C. Gorniak,  S. Roth, D. Campanelli

Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve the October 2014 meeting minutes.
            Motion:  S. Webster
            2nd:  D. Campanelli
            Carried.

Fundraising Committee

Outdoor Fitness Area – P. Mylrea
A thank you to Cardel Renovations for their $5,000.00 donation and to Concert Infrastructure/B2L Partnership for their $10,000.00 donation.
We have currently raised approximately $102,500.00 in cash and in kind donations,  out of the total amount of $338,404.00 required to build the Outdoor Fitness Area.
Raffle tickets are still available for $25.00 until November 8, 2014.  If you are interested in purchasing a ticket or selling tickets you can contact us at tmcraffle@gmail.com.  We’d appreciate any support.
Steak and Pint Night is on November 8, 2014, tickets are almost sold out.  This event is in support of the Outdoor Fitness Area, and is being hosted by Tuscany’s Last Straw Ale House.  We have had a lot of positive feedback and would like to consider having another Steak and Pint Night in the New Year.
Crowfoot COBS dough raiser is still on.  Crowfoot COBBS will donate 5% of your purchase towards our project, just say “TMC”.  For the 2013/2014 school year it raised $200.00.
Cookies by George at TMC on October 10th raised $506.00, and Lisa has graciously offered to donate more cookies for this project in January.  Stay tuned!!
The decision for the Tuscany Community Association’s application for the Amateur Sport Grant through the Parks Foundation Calgary has been tabled until mid-late November, at which time they will determine if we are successful.  We received 7 letters of support from Amateur Sport Organizations, which they were seeking.  This grant has the potential of $125,000.00 for this project.
We endeavor to apply for the Alberta Government CFEP grant for the December 15th deadline, as it will take 6 – 9 months to process and provide funding.  This will depend on our success with the Amateur Sport Grant application and may require revisiting the design, doing the project in stages, or delaying the build to the spring of 2016.  Hon. Sandra Jansen is aware of our fundraising progress, and has written a letter of support for our next CFEP application to the Minister of Culture, Hon. Heather Klimchuk.

Treasurer’s Report – D. Barth

The Parent Association budget is will be updated to recognize the recent fundraiser and administration costs for the December 2014 meeting.

New Business

There has been a request from E. Demcoe to the TMC School Parent Association, for funds in the amount of: $2,000.00 for the Fine Arts Program; $750.00 to support Tuscany families.
The budget already has $500.00 in Compassionate Outreach, council discussed raising this amount to $750.00.

Motion to approve increasing the Compassionate Outreach budget from $500.00 to $750.00.
Motion:  S. Cunnington
2nd:  S. Webster
All in favor
Carried.

Council discussed the 25% of the Entertainment Book fundraiser ($2,750.00), to be used towards the request made by E. Demcoe.

Motion to approve the amount of $2,750.00 to go towards the Fine Art Program.
            Motion:  S. Cunnington
            2nd:  C. Gorniak
            All in favor
            Carried.

In regards to the freezies that were purchased for the Terry Fox run and not used, E. Demcoe will consult with K. Yeung or the grade 9 leadership team about a time that they can be distributed to the students.






Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 3rd in the Learning Commons, after the Parent Council meeting.

Motion to adjourn the Parent Association Meeting was made at 8:30 p.m.
            Motion:  T. Topor
            2nd: M. Enns
Carried