Sunday, September 30, 2007

Minutes from September 19th 2007 meeting

Meeting start: 7:00 PM
Meeting close: 9:00 PM
Present: 17 parent voting members + Principal
Next meeting: October 17th @ 7:00 PM

2007/2008 Council
  • Elections took place and we filled the chair, co-chair and treasurer positions leaving only secretary position vacant; the number of voting parent members also increased over 2006/2007 as the council welcomed new parents.
  • Richard Marcil discussed the role of the council and emphasized that is should be a fun, relaxed and productive council. Code of ethics was discussed and he will send out a copy of them to everyone.
  • Council requested the presence of a teacher rep. especially for next meeting coming prepared to talk to the teacher’s wish list on what their priorities might be and why.
School Update
  • Roger Boettcher stated that it was a good solid start to the school year. Lots of activities and committees already under way for various aspects of school enhancement ie CARE.
  • New tracking system in place to better manage students and issues that arise in classrooms that will keep teachers, office staff, students and parents all on the same page streamlining it so that no one falls through the cracks right now it is a paper system that hopefully becomes computer based in the future
  • CMPS will try to set up a sports league with Saginaw.
  • CMAC program just started and there was an overwhelming response. The school will try to use students not picked for CMAC through out the year in various projects to also enrich their school year.
  • Roger talked on reading and writing skills provincial results are in and the results were very positive in some areas but with room for improvement in others
  • The school will be running a UNICEF program this year with the help of council to count, process and deposit funds as required.
Programs
  • Lots of fundraising activities mostly frontloaded. Some concerns over the timing of some of the events i.e. magazines maybe too early and possibly lost in the mass of paperwork at the beginning of the year.
  • Special lunch program has the wheels turning already. Talks of altering for various dietary needs are outweighed by the logistics of it all. The lunches are more of a complete meal this year.
  • Richard talked about the role of student council. It should be 1/3 fundraising 1/3 service to students and 1/3 value add. Focus on the needs of the school/students.
  • Lots of great ideas and initiatives, we lack the bodies to execute lots of these ideas
  • Steve talked about the Treasures book. This is a value added service to parents lets pump it up as that. Lots of discussion as to the logistics. We need to finalize the wording on the letter that will go to parents. We need to keep it as simple as we possibly can. Target timeline to execute is Oct 1 through Oct 8.
Financials
  • Roger asked staff to make a wish list. That list was submitted to council unaltered for their perusal. Richard is asking everyone to please review that list before the next meeting and be prepared to offer input on what we will or will not support.
  • The Alpha Neo project is still being worked on and hopefully the final numbers can be confirmed and delivered to council in the October meeting.
Other
  • There was some confusion as to the rules of for the new playground. Roger explained that due to liability and lack of resources to supervise dictated the no playing right before or after school. Roger will revisit the issue and possibly amend so that children can play as long as there is adult supervision. Signs will be posted to reflect the final position the school takes.
  • Concerns of safety due to vehicular traffic going along side to the back of the school after dusk will be revisited and the school will try to get police involved.
  • Grade 8 graduations were briefly touched on and the idea of changing venues was tabled as to better facilitate the whole process. Due to time constraints the topic will be carried over to next council meeting for further exploration

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Welcome to the 2007-2008 school year

The Clemens Mill Public School council is getting ready for the 2007-2008 school year. The first part of this process consists of school council elections scheduled for Wednesday September 19th at 7:00PM in the school library.

The primary roles of the school council are to facilitate student achievement and to support school priority-setting. At Clemens Mill, school council has done so by working closely with the school administration and staff in order to support and deliver value-added programs and activities for both students and parents. It’s a truly rewarding process, one that all parents are encouraged to participate in, and one that does not require an inordinate of time.

For the upcoming elections, nominations are sought for:
- Parent Representatives
- Chair
- Co-Chair
- Treasurer
- Secretary

For additional information about the role of school councils, you can visit the Waterloo Region District School Board 's website and look in the Information for Parents section.

In short, school council provides a terrific means of getting involved in school activities, having fun working with parents from our community, and making a difference.

2006-2007 – A productive school year

The 2006-2007 school year proved to be very productive and rewarding for the Clemens Mill Public School council. Meetings were held on the third Wednesday of each month, where school council tackled a number of school-related issues and opportunities. The meetings were, of course, open to all and encouraged input from parents and other members of the community.

Key achievements included the development, delivery and/or support of:
- Special lunches
- Tuck shop
- Turn off TV week
- Guest speakers, presentations, concerts and resources
- Computer network access for classrooms
- AV equipment and safety equipment
- Playground contribution
- School website

A number of fundraising programs allowed us to do so much in 2006-2007. These were:
- Magazines
- Move-A-Thon
- Craft sales
- Zehrs Save-A-Tape

Of course, all of the funds were managed in accordance with Waterloo Region District School Board policies. Minutes of meetings held and financial records are also available at the school office.

Thank you for your continued support
We wish to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the many individuals who volunteered their time to contribute to the success of the school council last year. We hope many of you will participate in the 2007-2008 school council and attend the upcoming school council elections. Again, school council provides a terrific means of getting involved in school activities, having fun working with parents from our community, and making a difference!