Minutes from November 21st 2007 meeting

Meeting start: 7:00 PM
Meeting close: 8.30 PM
Attendees: Steve Cole, Donna White, Jennifer Huntley, Amanda Drewett,
Julie Croteau, Ozzie Ahmed, Richard Marcil, Roger Boettcher, Allison Wardrop,
Lisa McDonald, Lisa Hooper, Sandra Wheeler, Elizabeth Ney (recording minutes)
Next meeting: Wednesday December 12th @ 6:00 PM

2007-2008 Sources and Uses of Project Funds:
The final budget was voted on and approved by council. Richard reviewed minor changes that were made in order to reflect latest thinking on inflows and outflows. There was no news on the status of the 2006/2007 (outstanding) and 2007/2008 (in review) PRO grants. Roger confirmed that the pricing for the Alpha Neo Computers was in line with budget. Roger also provided quotes for a full classroom of Alpha Neo’s, an opportunity for the 2008/2009 school year. A motion to approve the budget by Richard was seconded by all.

Financial Update:
Ozzie provided a financial update to the group. In short, all was on track with budget. In terms of learning, it is suggested that cheques from parents get processed more quickly in order to avoid NSF cheques. We needed to increase timelines behind the Magazine Campaign and the Treasures Book as requested by parents, which resulted in cheques not being processed for 4-6 weeks. For future programs, interim deposits will be made to avoid issues.

Magazine Campaign:
Another successful Magazine Campaign has concluded with the final money raised at $6,501.54. This campaign has run several years at Clemens and parents have once again shown their support. Many thanks go to all who bought/renewed magazine subscriptions and to our campaign co-ordinator Wilma Miyasaki for countless hours of effort to get this off the ground and running. For the 2008/2009 school year, it was recommended that the Magazine Campaign be extended to the Thanksgiving weekend, and that a new supplier be pursued to facilitate promotional management (See Readers Digest QSP program @ www.qsp.ca).

Treasures Book Campaign:
The Treasures Book Campaign was definitely successful in its first year, and it was noted that it would not be hard to increase the sale of these books in future years. Currently the amount of funds raised by the Treasures Book which promote value added options to parents is $3,572.80. However, a significant number of books have not yet been returned to the school. It was noted that this campaign was rather labor intensive for the school secretaries and more of council or the supplier’s help will be needed in future. It was noted that Council could ask Kelly from Treasure Book to give an overview to council on the best way to simplify program execution. A big thank you to all the Clemens Mill families who supported this campaign and to Steve Cole, Amanda Drewett and Jane Barrett for making this fundraiser happen!

Move-A-Thon:
On November 1st the Clemens Mill gymnasium was filled with enthusiastic kids “moving to the beat”. This was the only fundraiser that was a “kid event”, and it raised $1,735.53 (net). Kudos goes to Jennifer Huntley and Tracy LeBar for all their efforts in organizing this event. While the Move-A-Thon did not raise as much funds as anticipated, children enjoyed the event – and particularly the younger groups. Council noted that this event followed two successful events (Magazine Campaign, Treasures Book) and parents were simply tapped out for the Move-A-Thon. Overall, it was felt that a significant amount of money was paid to Presswood for the event, and that the bar for fun had been raised by the school’s Spirit Days. For these reasons, Council concluded that the Move-A-Thon would not be repeated next year.

8th Grade Graduation:
Graduation for the current school year is June 25th, 2008 and concerns about the size of the school venue were raised. It was noted that there are 166 graduates, and with family guests, Grade 8 grad requires a space for approximately 700 or more people. Steve Cole volunteered to do some research into possible venues and report back to the next Council meeting. Teachers who plan the graduation will be given this information on possible venue options for their consideration at a staff meeting in January.

2008 Seminar planning:
Council plans to deliver value added seminars to the parent community with in 2008. The purpose and the opportunity for these seminars is to inform, involve and engage the parent community. One suggestion was to take advantage of these seminars and showcase the teachers and students involved in the development of relevant programs, e.g. seminar on internet safety and launch of the Clemens Mill website. Richard Marcil will send out a list of possible seminars by via email and review with Council at the next meeting.

School Update:
Roger Boettcher and Alison Wardrop provided an update on some of the happenings in the school. Needless to say, it’s been a busy year though all was running smoothly.

November Dolphin Newsletter

2007-2008 Council
Thanks to all the parents who visited us at the school Open House as well as attended the first Council meeting of the year. 2007-2008 promises to be a busy year for Clemens Mill Public School and Council. The majority of the time of the first Council meeting was spent on electing new members, who will spearhead the development of value-added programs and services, their delivery, and fundraising efforts. Your 2007-2008 Council is:

Executive:
Richard Marcil, Chair
Elizabeth Ney, Secretary
Ozzie Ahmed, Treasurer
Roger Boettcher, Principal
Alison Wardrop, Vice Principal

Parent Voting Members:
Sue Brydon
Steve Cole
Julie Croteau
Julene Duncan
Jo-Anne Hennig
Lisa Hooper
Jennifer Huntley
Tracy LeBar
Lisa McDonald
Cassandra Mitchell
Shaheen Sheikh
Sandra Wheeler
Donna White
Yvonne Wood

Should you have any questions on the above or council in general, don’t hesitate to attend any of the meetings (always help on the 3rd Wednesday of the month) or ask Mr. Boettcher at the school office. Get involved, have fun and make a difference!

October 19th Meeting
The second Council meeting of the year is scheduled for Wednesday October 19th at 7PM. At this meeting, Council will focus primarily on priority setting and budget allocation. It’s an important meeting in that much of the 2007-2008 activity gets locked over the months of October and November. We will also begin brainstorming value-added programs and seminars for the second half of the school year. As always, all parents are welcomed to attend and participate! A detailed agenda of the meeting will be available Monday October 17th at the school office.

Zehrs Save-a-Tape Program
Did you know that Clemens Mills Public School received $350 from Zehrs Markets last year for participating in the Zehrs Save-a-Tape program™? This is easy money for the school, and contributes nicely to ongoing fundraising efforts. You can drop off your Zehrs tapes/receipts in a specially marked box at the entrance of the Cambridge Centre Zehrs, or collect your tapes/receipts and bring them to school. Special thanks to Zehrs Markets for their continued community support!

Campbell’s Labels for Education
Much like the Zehrs program, Clemens Mill Public School can benefit from participating in the Campbell’s Labels for Education™ program. This program awards free educational equipment to schools in exchange for proofs of purchase from the Campbell family of brands. And with cold weather rapidly approaching, this is another easy means of fundraising for Clemens Mill! Special thanks to Campbell’s for their community support.