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.