School Advisory Council

Links:  SAC Agreement 

                       SAC Handbook

SAC Minutes 2025-26:

October 21, 2025

SAC Minutes 2024-25:

November 4, 2024

March 26, 2025

April 30, 2025

SAC Minutes 2023-24:

March 25, 2024

January 22, 2024

December 11, 2023

October 16, 2023

SAC Meeting Minutes 2022-23

June 8, 2023

Attendance: Colleen MacCormack, Lee Ann Astephen, Tracy Warren, Jon Patterson, Jennifer March

• SSP Goals

Literacy: UFLI Program. Decoding and encoding

Math: Constructed responses

Well-being: Nutrition

• Food Policy Survey:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdSdTJlpkBEEGDmAe0P8hu8cXkDR9hR3dPrXyDjnME53DnVMw/viewform

• Upcoming events

• Loonie Toss and Bike Ride to School

• Track And Field

• Play

• Pride Parade (June 16th?)

• Sports Day

• Community Picnic and Volunteer Appreciation Day

April 3, 2023

• SSP Goals

• Literacy: UFLI Program. Decoding and encoding

• Math: Constructed responses

• Well-being: Nutrition

• Budget update

• Bought Fire Tablets, but they are a bit difficult to get set up.

• Upcoming events

• Egg hunt April 6

• Parks Canada visit: What’s for Dinner? April 17 & 18

• Kid’s Run Club

• Dr. Seuss Play

• Discovery Centre May 2nd 

• End of year

• CUPE Strike

• April 22

• All CUPE staff

• Elementary schools will remain open for as long as it’s safe

February 27, 2023

• SSP Goals

• Literacy: UFLI Program. Decoding and encoding

• Math: Constructed responses

• Well-being: Nutrition

• Budget update

• We bought 12 Fire Tablets and cases, so we currently have 3 class sets. We’ll buy 12 more.

• Upcoming events

• Lots of events this past month: Winter Walk Day, Valentines for Seniors, Pancake Day, Skating, African Heritage Month, Family Social Night

• Upcoming: Grade 4/5 skiing, Report Cards (March 27), Parent-Teacher Interviews (March 30-31)

• Attendance

• Attendance has been improving. There has been a little dip the last week or so.

• Primary Registration

• One registration other than those already in Pre Primary (9 total)

November 14, 2022

• SAC Members: We need a chair and community members. We need one fewer parent volunteer.

• Class Configurations and TA support: Update on makeup of classes/split grades; addition of one TA

• SSP Goals: - Reviewed our literacy, math, and well-being goals

• Spending: We would like to order some Fire Tablets for reading

• Attendance: - Centre-wide push for increased attendance.

                                - Covid has shifted the culture around attendance, and students are missing 

                                  more frequently

                                - Ideas for promoting attendance

• Robin Foote Family Social Nights: - “Stress Detectives” was a big success

                                                       - Ideas for other nights

January 17, 2022

• • Attendance: Lee Ann Astephen, Joyce Lind, Crystal Lahey, Jennifer March, Tracy Warren, Jon Patterson

  • Regrets: Colleen MacCormack

LBG Supervisor update: A new LBG supervisor has been hired. She starts tomorrow.

SSP Update

• • Reading Levels increased from the beginning of the year by an average of 2 reading levels per student.

  • Spending: Can we approve $414.40 for Toucan and SPIRE Decodable books? Approved.

    • Toucan (Heggerty): 4 x set of 6 books for students in grades 2-4

    • SPIRE Decodable books: 1 set each of 10 titles at 5 different levels (We’ll divide sets up for classrooms)

COVID Update

• • Students are asked to stay home if feeling unwell.

  • All students and staff are required to wear a 3-ply mask at all times, except when eating lunch, when outside, or when engaged in vigorous physical activity in the gym. 

  • Students will remain in their classroom cohorts for all activities during the school day.

  • Playground zones will be implemented so that students remain within their cohorts during outside play time.

  • Students will continue to enter and exit the school through their designated doors to minimize interactions with students from other cohorts in the hallway.

  • Washrooms are limited to two students at a time so that physical distancing can be maintained. 

  • One-way traffic in the halls will continue to minimize contact between students from different cohorts.

  • Only essential visitors will be permitted to enter the school. If you have to drop something off to your child, or if you need to pick up your child early, please phone the school at (902) 539-3031, and we will meet you at the door. You will not be allowed to enter the building. We understand that this may be difficult, but we appreciate your cooperation in keeping all of our students safe.

  • Our school has “active” ventilation, so we were not one of the schools to receive the portable filters.

November 22, 2021

Attendance: Colleen MacCormack, Jennifer March, Tracy Warren, Joyce Lind, Jon Patterson, Lee Ann Astephen

Regrets: Crystal Lahey

• • Christmas Concert - Due to the fact that children under 12 are unvaccinated, as of yet, we will hold a virtual Christmas Concert which will be recorded and available to families. Plans are in the works for this for December 8, 2021.

  • School Teams - Hockey: We have a combined team with Mountainview and Marion Bridge. We have four students playing on the combined team. Basketball: There is a basketball team this year. It is open to students in grades 3-5. The principal is the coach, but there are three high school students running the practices.

  • Report Cards/Parent -Teacher Interviews: Report cards will be delivered digitally on November 29, with the option of a printed copy upon request. Parent-Teacher Interviews will be done by phone/ Google Meet on the evening of December 2 or the morning of December 3.

  • Lunch/Bus/Grounds Supervisor: We have been without an LGB supervisor since the end of October. There is a parent interested in the position, and she is in the process of filling out the paperwork.

  • Breakfast Program: There is a perception that there is a shortage of food in the breakfast program. This is not the case. Teachers are reporting waste in some classes. We are in the process of coming up with a way to better determine what is needed in each classroom.

  • Standing Item: SSP Goals

  • Literacy: Can we use budget to buy decodable books?

  • Math: Number talks are going well.

  • Well-being: Movement breaks are happening.

October 18, 2021

• • Review of Letter of Agreement and ByLaws (appointments)

School Upgrades

• • Classrooms Painted/some countertops replaced

  • COVID storage unpacked (library: need volunteers to unpack library)

  • Resource Room is now a classroom; Resource Room has moved to smaller room next to the music room.

  • Painting on the playground.

  • Outside side panels

  • Outdoor classroom

Schools Plus Partnership:

• • Kite making

  • Voices Program 

  • Social Thinkers with Grade 1/2

  • Dance Program

SSP Goals 

• Literacy: Heggerty twice a day

• Math: Daily Number Talk

April 8, 2021

Present: Lee Ann Astephen, Crystal Lahey, Jennifer March, Colleen MacCormack, Krista Elliott

Regrets: Joyce Lind 

• • Good News! -- Schools Plus Painting (Grade 5 and Playground), Caleb’s Courage ($166), Black Shirt Day, Playground (Gravel and Zone Bags), Basketball, New Hooks, Autism Acceptance Day

  • School Goals Update

Literacy: Early Literacy Plan revised; Literacy support for upper grades, Grade 3 Literacy Assessment

Math: Grade 3 Math Assessment

Well-Being: Outdoor activities, Mindful Minute, SchoolsPlus will do a Girl Group for grade 5 female-identifying students, Behaviour Support Teacher and ASD Teacher will be doing sessions in the grade 3/4 class on expected/unexpected behaviours, self-regulation, understanding/coping with your feelings

• • Spending -- Heggerty $715 USD plus shipping, sub days

New Business

• • None

March 8, 2021

Present: Colleen MacCormack, Krista Elliott, Jennifer March, Lee Ann Astephen

Regrets: Joyce Lind, Crystal Lahey

• • Good News! -- Winter Carnival, African Heritage Month, Poetry Cafe, Winter Walk Day

  • School Goals Update

Literacy: Writing Rockets, Early Literacy Plan (Session with Crystal, school psychologist, and Alice, SLP), Plan for March/April/May with a focus on Early Literacy (grade 1 group, in particular)

Math: Still a focus on explicit teaching of math language, understanding the question

Well-Being: Outdoor activities, Mindful Minute, SchoolsPlus will do a Girl Group for grade 5 female-identifying students, Behaviour Support Teacher and ASD Teacher will be doing sessions in the grade 3/4 class on expected/unexpected behaviours, self-regulation, understanding/coping with your feelings

• • Spending -- Literacy Plan: Approximately $1800 for substitute coverage to free up a P/1 teacher to do additional intervention with the primary and one students.

  • New Business

  • EDI survey: Focus on Social Competence: Social Thinkers Curriculum, Schools Plus Groups

  • Next meeting: Thursday, April 8

January 11, 2021

Attendance: Colleen MacCormack, Jennifer March, Crystal Lahey, Krista Elliott, Lee Ann Astephen

Regrets: Joyce Lind

• • Good News!

  • The Cape Breton Post is writing an article on all of the great work our staff, teachers, and students have been doing on LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion.

  • Mindful Minute: Word is getting out  and other schools are inquiring about adopting the initiative!

  • The library books have been unpacked, and are ready to use when we are permitted to open the library to students, again. Teachers can access the books for read-alouds.

  • School Goals and PD week

  • The week of Jan. 4-8  was a very successful and rewarding week.

  • Many teachers used the time to attend technology PD and prepare for online learning, should it happen.

  • Teachers also attended PD on math, literacy, and well-being.

  • Teachers met in PLCs with a focus on yearly plans for math and literacy, and school-wide literacy strategies based in suggestions from PD we had on December 4.

  • Data Wall up to inform planning and intervention.

  • Spending

  • Read-aloud books to use for writing lessons.

  • Letter books and sentence strips

  • New Business

  • Time to eat lunch was discussed. 

December 7, 2020

Attendance: Joyce Lind, Colleen MacCormack, Crystal Lahey, Krista Elliott, Lee Ann Astephen

Regrets: Jennifer March

• • Report card/Parent Teacher update

  • Report cards were digital with the option of print. Only one family asked for a print copy. Feedback was positive.

  • Parent-Teacher interviews were held by phone appointment. Feedback from parents and teachers was positive.

  • Covid Plan

  • Reviewed plan for if there is a case in the school.

  • Goals

  • The teachers had literacy PD on December 4. Focus on reading and small group instruction.

  • Spending:

    • Letter books/sentence strips, markers, writing notebooks for students, non-fiction books, etc.

  • New Business -- no new business

November 2, 2020

Attendance: Joyce Lind, Krista Elliott, Colleen MacCormack, Crystal Lahey, Lee Ann Astephen

• • Review of Letter of Agreement and ByLaws (appointments)

  • No changes or edits were needed.

  • Joyce Lind will stay on as community member/chair.

  • One more community member is required.

  • COVID Update

  • Covid Protocols for school opening were reviewed by Lee Ann.

  • School Upgrades

  • Floors, bulletin board painting

  • SSP Goals 

  • Literacy goal is to improve reading levels through small group instruction. (PD planned for December)

  • Numeracy goal is to focus on the explicit teaching of math language to improve problem solving skills.

  • Well-being goal is focused on the “Ready to Learn” checklist with a focus on whole body listening skills. (PD took place in September with Jennifer Green)

  • Grant Applications

  • The school received the Blossom Health promoting Schools Grant for $2000, which we used to buy playground equipment and heart rate monitors for use with our well-being goal (self-regulation). The school will also buy benches for our outdoor classroom.

  • Meeting Dates

  • Tentative meeting dates were set for:  Dec. 7, Jan. 11, Feb.8, Mar.8, and April 12

January 14, 2019

Attendance: Joyce Lind, Krista Elliott, Crystal Lahey, Colleen MacCormack, Lee Ann Astephen

• • The province is looking for volunteers for consultation on the school bus system. Krista Elliott is going to look into this.

  • The province is seeking feedback from teachers, SACs, and students on the Provincial Assessment Policy. We discussed the necessary components of such a policy and provided comments.

  • Purchases: The SAC  will purchase learning mats for the P/1 and 1/2 classrooms.

  • Discussed updates to School Advisory Council Agreement and Bylaws

  • Feedback on the draft handbook was carried over to the next meeting.