Cambridge Elementary Schools Boundary Study

The following summarizes the recommendation of the WRDSB Board report prepared by Marilyn Marklevitz, Executive Superintendent of Business and Financial Services, Art Phelan, Controller of Facility Services, Chris Smith, Manager of Planning, Nathan Hercanuck, Senior Planner and Lauren Manske, Planner, in consultation with Executive Committee.

The purpose is to seek approval for recommendations to address accommodation and boundary issues resulting from the Hespeler/Preston Elementary Schools Study which affect Silverheights, Ryerson and William G. Davis Public Schools, and establish the future attendance area for the Mattamy-Townline Community of Cambridge.

It is recommended:

• That the Waterloo Region District School Board approve, in principle, the reconstruction of Ryerson Public School as a new Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 facility at an estimated cost of $5.65 million for opening September 2010, subject to Ministry of Education approval,
• And that a business plan for this new school be submitted to the Ministry of Education, detailing that approximately 200 of the pupil places are a growth-related need,
• And that the Board approve a boundary change for the Townline Road Community in the City ofCambridge, moving the Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 students to Ryerson Public School, the Grade 7 and 8 students to William G. Davis Public School, phasing the secondary students to Preston High School starting with Grade 9, effective September 1, 2010,
• And that the Board seek a non-profit child care operator to partner in the new Ryerson Public School facility.

The full report can be found here.

Minutes from May 21st, 2008 Council Meeting

Meeting start: 7:00 PM
Meeting close: 9:00 PM
Attendees: Steve Cole, Jo-Anne Hennig, Lisa McDonald, Donna White, Julie Croteau, Richard Marcil, Roger Boettcher, Allison Wardrop, Ozzie Ahmed, Julene Duncan, Lisa Hooper, Benedictus Soga, Elizabeth Ney (recording minutes),
Next meeting: June 4th @ 7:00 PM (Clemens Mill Art Room)

Errors and omissions from April 16th minutes
Cheesecake was totally enjoyed by all in attendance, and our thanks go to Julene Duncan for her generosity. Apologies to Julene for the mistake in the last month minutes!

CCRP Magazine Program (Mike on behalf of Tonia Kelly)
Tonia Kelly was not able to attend the meeting and a review of the program was given by Mike.
• CCRP is 100% Canadian owned, with head office in BC, competitor (QSP) is subsidiary of Reader’s Digest US.
• Can offer a full service program with Tonia doing the hands-on work promoting the sales in the school, counting money and doing paperwork.
• Confirmed that Tonia would be available to get orders to their office in time for magazines to be sent for Christmas.
• CCRP will email an offer and provide details of services in approximately 1 week.

East Side Mario’s (Tracy Gallaway)
Tracy Gallaway is the school lunch manager for East Side Mario’s Cambridge.
• Currently have 4 schools on board and want to increase to 6 or 8.
• Only one parent volunteer in the school is required.
• Food is pre-organized, in recycled containers, and placed in bins for delivery to the classrooms by student volunteers (CMAC students).
• Meals are hot, menus flexible and can include items for special diets, no peanut products, no trans fats
• East Side Mario’s prepares the forms, organizes and labels the food using a database.

The Lunch Lady (Kim Klein)
• Franchised organization which has been in business for 15 years, works with over 450 schools across Canada, have received award from Peel Board for their healthy lunches, have nutritionist on staff.
• Currently serves 14 schools in Kitchener.
• No parents needed, Lunch Lady prints menus, counts money, places a mailbox in the school for orders to be collected by students when attendance is brought to the office.
• Lunch Lady employees deliver and supervise the lunch period, provides recycling, but does not allow food to be kept on premises. If a student is absent food is not delivered.
• Parents may cancel by calling the kitchen before 8AM of the day of delivery to receive credit
• Online ordering available at www.thelunchlady.ca

Tuck Shop
Tuck Shop has provided Clemens Mill students with a valued service and our appreciation for running this program goes out to Yvonne Wood and her team of parent volunteers.
• Some concerns with the sale of Freezies were noted, and Tuck Shop parent volunteers will work with staff to rectify the problems, e.g. sell only when hot, smaller sizes, healthier alternatives if available.

Budget Update
A budget update was give by Ozzie Ahmed with inflows and outflows on target for the year. The current balance is $39,850.86.
• Richard Marcil will confirm the required paperwork for the Provincial grant application.
• A budget and council summary will be prepared by the end of the school year by Richard Marcil and submission to the board.
• School Council thanks Nadine Domingos and her mother for their help with adding up Zehr’s tapes which brought additional revenues to school council.
• One more special lunch form went out to students. Our special thanks to Jennifer Huntley and her team of parent volunteers and CMAC students for their dedication and hard work in delivering a very successful lunch program. Without their help, this program could not have happened. As one Grade 8 student summed it up, “special lunch days are the best!” Thanks Jennifer for your committed leadership.

2008 BBQ planning
Steve Cole and Lisa Hooper have been working diligently to pull together plans for the upcoming Clemens Mill Family BBQ.
• Date is Thursday June 12th 5-7:30pm.
• An order form will go out to parents the w/o May 26th , the BBQ will be promoted in the next Dolphin Talk, and posters placed around the school
• Food has been ordered.
• A volunteer schedule is in place.
• Additional BBQ planning will take place outside of council meetings.

School Update
Roger Boettcher and Allison Wardrop provided an update of school happenings.
• The music stands are not being purchased because the school band program did not continue as expected.
• Council was asked to consider other options for spending money marked for music stands such as a contribution to student planners, or to the PAL program for the 2008-2009 school year.
• Last year the school paid for student planners and asked parents for donations. Over half of the cost of planners was donated to the school by parents.
• Currently the school has a boomerang lunch program for garbage to be carried home with students. This program is still in need of everyone’s commitment for the reduction of school garbage and increased re-cycling.
• A character development program will be in place for the next school year, which will connect spirit days with programs in the school.

2008 -2009 Preliminary Plan
A preliminary plan for next year’s school council was handed out. More discussion will follow at the June meeting, which has been scheduled for June 4th, in advance of the BBQ.

Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

Agenda for May 21st Meeting

Where: Art Room
Time: 7:00 – 8:45PM

Agenda:
1. CCRP magazine program – Tonia Kelly (15 minute)
2. East Side Mario’s – Laurie (15 minutes)
3. The Lunch Lady – Kim Klein (15 minute)
4. Tuck Shop – Richard (10 minutes)
5. Budget update – Ozzie, Roger (10 minutes)
6. 2008 BBQ planning – All (30 minutes)
7. 2008-2009 preliminary plans – All (10 minutes)
8. Other

All parents are welcome!

Minutes from April 16th 2008 Council Meeting

Meeting start: 7:00 PM
Meeting close: 8:45 PM
Attendees: Steve Cole, Jo-Anne Hennig, Lisa McDonald, Donna White, Richard Marcil, Roger Boettcher, Ozzie Ahmed, Julene Duncan, Lisa Hooper, Elizabeth Ney (recording minutes)
Next meeting: May 21st @ 7:00 PM (Clemens Mill Art Room)

Fundraising Update
Marie Shepard from Treasurers Books gave a presentation on steps to make fundraising easy. She has been with the program since January and was chosen for the job because of her many years of experience working on school councils. Earnings per book sold for 2008/2009: up to 400 books, 10% of sales; 400-600 books, 12.50%; and 600+ books, 16%. 500-600 books is certainly realistic for a school the size of CPMS and in the second year of the program
Beth Snelgrove from QSP-Readers Digest also spoke about their program for magazine fundraising (not company we have used in the past).

Financial Update
Ozzie Ahmed reviewed the monthly budget statement. The current balance is $39,345.01 with projected inflows expected to meet targets. The budget is also on track for outflows.

2008 BBQ Planning
The BBQ is now set for Thursday June 12th from 5:00 to 7:30PM. By next meeting, Richard Marcil will produce a spreadsheet to summarize key activities, their status, timelines and next steps and volunteers. To date, at least 10 volunteers have committed and Steve Cole is optimistic more will be reached in coming weeks. Everyone is asked to sign up on the spreadsheet when it is circulated by email. Lisa Hooper provided the following update:
• 2 clowns will be booked for entertainment
• Roger will need to ensure the back field is kept open and the volleyball nets are up.
• DAVE FM will have a mobile unit available from 5-7:30 for music, must ensure a power source is available (check with Dave/custodian as to what breaker to use!)
• Entertainment to include a slide show in the gym, teachers/CMAC to organize

Bill 212
Bill 212, the Education Amendment Act, (Progressive Discipline and School Safety Act), 2007 was passed in June 2007. Its provisions take effect on February 1, 2008. Bill 212 amends, but does not completely repeal, the “safe school” provisions of Bill 81 implemented by the previous Conservative government in 2000. The philosophy of the Conservative’s Bill 81 was grounded in a “zero tolerance” approach to student discipline and led to a regime of strict discipline on the part of most school boards. The Liberal government’s Bill 212 was in response to a complaint launched by the Ontario Human Rights Commission regarding the extent to which some students were unfairly treated. Bill 212 replaces the current system with a progressive discipline approach, in which principles must now address many more mitigating factors before a student is expulsed from school. The new legislation also considers out-of-school behaviour, giving principals grounds for disciplining students for out-of-school activities, e.g. bullying on the Internet, city park, etc.

School Boundary Changes
A public meeting regarding the public school boundary review will be held and possible scenarios will be presented. The final decisions will be made by the board in June 08. Currently it appears that our school will not be impacted. See clemensmillcouncil.blogspot.com for real-time updates.

Other Topics
• Our playground failed the safety inspection by the board, and will not be open to use until the repairs are done. Roger will keep council posted on the requirements and the vendor will most likely cover the costs.
• Council strongly recommended that the gate being put back at the back of the school to prevent cars from driving around the back of the school, which has important safety and security benefits. The board would have to give the go ahead.
• Internet safety seminar was well received with about 35-40 in attendance; Richard Marcil is working on producing reminder mouse pads for families.

A Big thank you to Brenda White who brought in cheesecake which was totally enjoyed by all in attendance!

Top of the charts!

Clemens Mill principal Roger Boettcher climbed to the roof of his school last Monday to lead his 800 students in a rendition of Our Song, a tune sung simultaneously by students across Canada as part of Music Monday. The annual event, created by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada, promotes music programs in schools while uniting students from all provinces and faiths in one song.

Boundary decision due in June

By Lisa Rutledge

Published on May 09, 2008

Parents of the nearly 250 children soon to be displaced from Silverheights Public School will have to wait to the end of June to find out where their children will end up.

Chris Smith, manager of planning at the Waterloo Region District School Board, fielded tough questions from parents during a meeting Tuesday night.

Students who live in the Mattamy-Townline area have been told there'll soon be no room for them at the already crowded Hespeler elementary school when a new subdivision in the school's catchment area is completed.

And the closest schools, Clemens Mill and Saginaw public schools are running at capacity

Assuring parents he would forward concerns to trustees, Smith cautioned the board's decision won't please everyone.

"The goal of the board is to do the best job we can with your children's education."

Smith noted that decisions aren't necessarily weighted by dollars but rather goals to find a long-term solution to keeping displaced students together.

With public consultation meetings concluded, school planners will wade through parental feedback and findings from a working group of planners, administrators and parents to come up with a recommendation.

One of the two options envisions busing kindergarten to Grade 6 students to Elgin Street Public School where a two-storey, eight classroom expansion would be built. Students starting grades 7 and 8 would go to Lincoln Avenue Public School.

The second scenario calls for students to be bused to Ryerson Public School which would also solve low enrollment problems and potential closure for the Preston school.

Using $1.5 million in government funds earmarked for Ryerson, this option would see a new school built on the same site. Students starting grades 7 and 8 would attend W.G. Davis Public School.

While sending students to Ryerson would solve the district's under-capacity issues, parents vocalized fears about trichloroethylene contamination in groundwater in neighbourhoods near the Preston school.

District officials maintain the school is outside affected areas and Ministry of the Environment tests show results are far below levels considered safe.

But one parent demanded a guarantee that contamination would never be found on Ryerson's property. Although he could not offer that guarantee, Smith said the Ryerson site would be considered for a new school if contamination were a concern.

Other issues raised included multiple transitions between schools and access to school-based daycare. Silverheights provides on-site daycare and offers priority to families in the school's catchment. Some parents fear they would lose access to that at a new school.

While the Ryerson scenario would include an on-site daycare at a newly constructed school, no expansion to Elgin school's daycare is currently planned.

However, Smith said he would raise the issue for consideration.