Minutes from January 2009 Council Meeting

Meeting Start: 7:00 PM
Meeting Close: 8:30 PM
Attendees: Richard Marcil, Ozzie Ahmed, Kimberly Namespetra-Sullivan, Barb MacLeod, Steve Cole, Donna White, Julie Croteau, Jane Barratt, Lisa Hooper, Jo-Anne Hennig, Elizabeth Ney;

Next Meeting: February 18, 2009 at 7:00 PM

1. Budget Update (Ozzie):

• Ozzie spoke about the fundraising aspect of the ‘Lunch Lady’ program. He has projected that there will be a significant difference from last year in terms of the amount earned for Council in comparison to last year. Additional ‘special lunch’ days have been arranged, and the Council may consider another program in addition for the future.
• Richard mentioned that he is still waiting on an answer about the shortfall in funds that occurred in the fall with the magazine campaign, as the company had originally agreed to cover this in their contract.

2. School Update (Roger/Barb):

• Roger updated the Council on what spending has been completed, as well as the status of spending that is budgeted, but prices are still being researched and compared;
• Barb entertained the Council with a Power Point presentation that included photographs taken by the Paparazzi Club to demonstrate all the wonderful activities and events that have taken place so far this school year. Everyone was very impressed with the visuals and thanked Barb for her hardwork putting the presentation together.

3. Program Reviews (All):

• All programs were reviewed and updated. BBQ planning will be a major activity for next meeting.

4. Tuck Shop (Richard):

• The Tuck Shop is now up and running for the students to enjoy. We will not be offering Freezies during the warm months due to problems with this product last year. Instead the idea was given to consider frozen yogurt, however this would require the purchase of a freezer. Many Council Members said that they did not think that there was sufficient room for a freezer in the Tuck Shop area, and Roger did not think that there was room anywhere in the school to keep a freezer, let alone the logistics in having a freezer in a different area of the school from the Tuck Shop.

5. Principal Profile (Richard):

• Roger left the meeting, and Richard explained that the purpose of the Principal Profile was so that the School Board had a record of what Clemens Mill Public School Council considers the priorities and expectations of the administration should there be changes in the future.
• The Council reviewed what was submitted last year, and many Council Members agreed that the only addition that was required was the issue of diversity and multiculturalism in the school. Richard will make these additions and email the Council with the changes before submitting the final copy to the School Board.

February Council Meeting Agenda

When: February 18, 2009
Where: Art Room
Time: 7:00-8:00 PM


Agenda:
1. Budget update – Ozzie (5 minutes)
2. Budget spending – all (5 minutes)
3. School update – Roger/Alison (10 minutes)
4. Program update - Richard (10 minutes)
5. 2008/2009 volunteers & forms - Richard (10 minutes)
6. BBQ planning – All (20 minutes)
7. Block Parents - Richard (5 minutes)
8. Other – All (5 minutes)

Ontario public elementary school teachers accept government contract offer

TheRecord.com - News - Ontario public elementary school teachers accept government contract offer

TORONTO — Ontario’s public elementary school teachers have accepted the province’s final contract offer.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario had been given a deadline of 4 p.m. today to either accept or reject the four-year, $700-million deal.

Earlier, Premier Dalton McGuinty had urged the federation — the largest teachers’ union in Canada — to avert a potential strike by accepting the offer.

The province set two other deadlines with the teachers in recent months, but those came and went with no deal in sight.

Education Minister Kathleen Wynne had said if teachers didn’t accept this last offer, they would be stuck with a two-year deal worth much less.

About 750,000 students would have been affected if the 73,000 teachers and education workers walked off the job.

Wynne made the new offer to teachers and school boards on Tuesday, but gave them only two days to decide whether to accept it.

The proposal gives teachers a 10.4 per cent salary increase over four years, bringing the maximum salary to $92,700.

The deal also includes money for more preparation time, improved benefits and hiring more teachers to reduce class sizes, Wynne said.

The school boards readily accepted the deal, but the union said it was outraged by Wynne’s threats and deadlines.

The province and elementary teachers had been butting heads over a new contract since last summer, when the union walked away from the negotiating table.

A teachers’ strike would have been a major blow to the Liberal government, which boasts about bringing labour peace to the province’s schools after eight years of strife under their Conservative predecessors.