Saturday, 11 October 2014

October 2014 School Council Minutes


MINUTES
TMC School Parent Council
October 1, 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), S. Cunnington (Communication Coordinator), N. Odina Seale (Communication Coordinator), T. Isaac (Secretary), S. Merkle (Fundraising), T. Topor (Fundraising), D. Barth (Treasurer), P. Mylrea (Titan Lunch), L. Spence (Volunteer Coordinator),  J. Everett (Director of Area 1), D. Unruh (Planning and Transportation), S. Bablitz, E. Sjogren, G. Topor, M. Betcher, M. Enns, R. Kumar, A. Folliott, S. Glenn, S. Webster, N. Holoboff, S. Servello, L. Wong, M. Virdee, P. Virdee, G. Walden Paul, D. Campanelli

Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve the June 2014 meeting minutes.
            Motion:  A. Crocker
            2nd:  S. Merkle
            Carried.

Introduction of Twelve Mile Coulee School Parent Council

A. Crocker - Co Chair
A. Thibodeaux – Co Chair
T. Isaac – Secretary
D. Barth – Treasurer
S. Merkel – Fundraising
T. Topor – Fundraising
P. Mylrea – Titan Lunch/Outdoor Fitness Area
L. Spence – Volunteer Coordinator
N. Odina-Seale – Communication Coordinator
S. Cunnington – Communication Coordinator
After attending a seminar through the Alberta School Councils Association, we have determined how our meetings will be formatted.  The first part of the meeting will be the TMC School Parent Council, our role at this meeting is to support and enhance student learning.  All discussion will focus on matters relating to the school.
The second part of the meeting will be the TMC School Parent Association, this is where fundraising and financial aspects will be addressed.

Directors Report – J. Everett and D. Unruh

TMC School Parent Council was happy to welcome Jeannine Everett (Director of Area 1) and Darlene Unruh (Planning and Transportation).
Last spring there was a meeting regarding possible accommodation issues facing Twelve Mile Coulee School and Tuscany School.  The discussion focused on the most effective way to achieve the community’s input on this matter, and it was determined that an online survey would be most effective.
The survey indicated that an overwhelming majority of the community wished to keep our students in the area.
GOOD NEWS!!  Due to the enrollment numbers in both schools for the 2014 – 2015 school year, our schools will be able to accommodate our children for the 2015-2016 school year.  There will be no need to implement an overflow school.
When the new K-4 school opens September 2016, TMC School will become a 5-9 school.
J. Everett and D. Unruh would like to thank everyone that attended the meeting, and for participating in their school council.

Principal’s Report – E. Demcoe

Thank you for those of you who came out to the meeting, your support is appreciated.  Also, thank you to the executive for all of your planning and time.
A BIG thank you to the fundraising committee for the countless hours put into the Entertainment Book fundraiser, which was a big success.  It was a difficult task considering the FOIP regulations and the new Canada Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
Updates:
The projections for the 2014-2015 school year was over 900 students, however the current enrollment is 884 students, which meant there was a change in the amount of funding the school received.  As a result, one of our teachers had to be surplused; the grade 5 configuration had to be collapsed so that one of the teachers could be moved to the grade 7 area.
The class sizes this year are in the range of 25 -33 students per class, the average being 28.  Class sizes are not a result of the schools size, they are a result of funding.  Class sizes are large throughout the city of Calgary.
Currently there is one classroom that is being used as a storage space for all of the lunchroom tables.  Next year, it will need to be used as a classroom, therefore we are looking at an option for an outdoor storage area.
The number of classrooms this year are:
Grade 4 – 6 classes
Grade 5 – 5 classes
Grade 6 – 6 classes
Grade 7 – 5 classes
Grade 8 – 5 classes
Grade 9 – 4 classes
Our students have had the opportunity, or soon will be able to attend many fieldtrips so far this year:  Aerospace Museum, River Watch, City Hall School, Downtown, Coulee Walks, and Landfill.
Over the course of September, the TMC staff has put in 300 volunteer hours…THANK YOU!!
TMC sport programs are up and running.
School Conferences are on October 2nd and 3rd.  We need to come up with a collaborative plan to address the short interview times.    At the first conference of the year, it is your opportunity to share any insights about your child with their teacher, as you may have some information that may be very important to the teacher develop a program to benefit your child.
Report cards will be coming out in January and June.  There will be a change in the report cards, as all grade K – 9 CBE schools will now have the same report card formats.  The grading will be based on a 1-4 scale.

Committee Reports

Titan Lunch – P. Mylrea
The first Titan lunch will be on October 16, 2014, the deadline for ordering is the Friday before.
Currently we have only 9 volunteers and have 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
Jacket Racket is up and running for the 2014/2015 school year.  We will be collecting winter coats, snow pants, mittens, hats, and scarves from September 18, 2014 to October 17, 2014.
All donations will be cleaned and distributed to families in need through the CBE and the Catholic School Board.

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

Due to the new Canada Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), we are no longer able to send valuable information for families via the school.  We are currently trying to compile an email database of all the families within our school, which will be used to distribute information from the Parent Council.  If you have not provided your email address please contact tmccouncilcommunications@gmail.com.
There is a TMC School Parent Council blog http://tmccouncilcommunications.blogspot.ca/ and a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TMCschoolcouncil where you can get the most current information from council.

Fundraising – S. Merkle
The Entertainment book fundraiser is now completed, and it went very well.  Students in grades 4-6 did the most fundraising in the school.  Two classes will be having a pizza party in recognition of their efforts, and ten hardworking students get to go into the cash machine.
The next fundraiser (Catalogue Fundraiser) should be rolling out by mid-November, with delivery occurring before Christmas Break.  A great way to get the wrapping paper you need for Christmas!!!
For families who wish to make a donation instead of making a purchase, there are two ways it can be done:
A donation to the school, howevere as we are not a registered charity we cannot issue a tax receipt.
Through Parks Foundation, for the Outdoor Fitness Area.  Parks Foundation can issue a tax receipt for this donation.  For more information please email TMCOutdoorFitnessCommittee@gmail.com.

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, November 5th 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 7:50 p.m.
            Motion:  A. Crocker
            2nd: S. Merkle
Carried

No comments:

Post a Comment