Catholic School Council Minutes

Post date: Oct 6, 2016 2:44:14 PM

St. Maximilian Kolbe C.H.S.

CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL (CSC)

stmax.csc@ycdsb.ca

Minutes

September 21st, 2016

2015-16 Board Members: Principal – Melton M.; Chair – Olga P.; Treasurer – Bob P.; Secretary – Jo-Anne C.; Teacher Representative – Mr. J. Hortilosa; Student Council Co-Presidents – Olivia C. and Sophia P.

Present: Jo-Anne C. (Parent/Secretary);Denise D. (Parent); Francie G. (Parent); Jane K. (Parent); Ann K. (Parent); Judith L. (Parent); Melton M. (Principal); Eric P. (Parent); Bob P. (Parent/Treasurer); Donna P. (Parent/Vice-Chair); Lydia R. (Parent/Vice-Chair); Rose S. (Parent)

Regrets: Olga P. (Chair)

Meeting called to order at 7:04 pm.

    1. Welcome and Opening Prayer

Donna (2015/16 Vice-Chair) welcomed all.

    1. Students’ Report – Olivia C. and Sophia P. (2015/16 Student Council Co-Presidents)
      • No report at this time. The students have just arrived from Camp White Pine.
      1. Teacher’s Report – Mr. J. Hortilosa and Ms. L. Altobelli (2015/16 Teacher Representatives)
      • No report at this time. Teacher representatives were not present.
      1. Treasurer’s Report – Bob P. (2015-16 Treasurer)
      • Year-End Financial Report : Bob presented the Report for the previous school year. The closing balance at August 31, 2015 is $2600. He explained the approved expenditures that happened over the course of the year. The Fundraising sub-ledger monies were allocated to the Athletic Department with a balance of $252 left in the account. Please refer to the Reports on the school’s website for more details.
      1. Chair’s Report – Donna P. (2015-16 Vice-Chair)
      • Events taking place prior to the October meeting:
      • Rick Osborne (Wednesday, October 5th): The CSC has been very successful in providing informative presentations to parents in the evenings as well as students during the day in keeping with the School’s Improvement Plan. A popular subject is substance abuse and speaker Rick Osborne addresses it with passion based on his own experiences. There was discussion as to whether the CSC will offer this presentation on a yearly basis. Although in the past, Rick did not charge for these presentations, is now requesting a fee of $700 to cover his time and travel. It was proposed to fund $350 for the presentation which is half of cost. Jane K. seconded the motion. All in favour. Melton agreed that the School will pay the remainder. Donna will contact Heather. Mr. DiLallo is spear-heading this initiative.
      • Parent Welcome Night (Thursday, September 22th): The CSC will be providing refreshments and greeting new parents. Please contact Donna if you are interested in helping. (Email address at top of Minutes).
      • New Student Welcome Breakfast (TBD): The Breakfast is open to all new students in Grades 10 through 12. The CSC together with KLAW (Kolbe Leaders at Work) have, in the past, provided breakfast to these new students. This is done once per Semester.
      • Awards Night/CSC Character Award (Tuesday, October 4th): The CSC provides refreshments for this very busy event. There is also a CSC sponsored Character Award which is given to a student in Grades 9 through 11. It has been a challenge to receive student nominations from outside organizations. The School took on this initiative last year. The CSC is requesting that if you know a student who has done well in the community, to contact the Office. For more information on the award’s criteria, please visit the website at http://smkh.ycdsb.ca and look for the ‘Parents’ tab.
      • Aurora Prayer Breakfast (Tuesday, October 18th): For the past three years, the School has hosted this presentation for 500 guests. The APB Committee is looking for parent volunteers to help with the parking for the event which are then invited to attend the Breakfast at no charge. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Jo-Anne through the CSC’s email which is noted at the top of the Minutes. For more information and tickets, please visit www.auroraprayerbreakfast.ca or call (905) 717-9285.
      • Volunteering: If you would like to volunteer for CSC initiatives, please visit the website for further information at http://smkh.ycdsb.ca.
      1. Principal’s Report – Domenic S.
      • Welcome: Melton welcomed parents and thanked the CSC for their vote of confidence in his new role as Principal.
      • Enrollment: The School has lost some of its staff which has moved to other schools. Positions are posted at the Board. Five new staff members have been hired. The School has 95 teachers
      • MYSRP (Multi-Year Strategic Plan): Melton attended the Directors’ Council today. The link to the Plan is on the Website as well as his Blog.
      • ‘Homeless Jesus’: The Statue is on hold for the time being.
      • eBooks: The School is looking into eBooks. It is in trial-mode in five courses. 79 teachers were trained on Chromebooks, iPads and laptops.
      • Wellness: Melton has had discussions with the staff regarding the importance of their well-being and mental health.
      • Homework: “There will be homework”. Check Melton’s Blog for homework suggestions for your kids.
      • School Improvement Plan: Melton will send information to parents. Teachers are aware that if their requests don’t fall into the Plan, they will not get funded.
      • OSSLT (Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test): success rate is 86% which is down from 90% (last year). Looking into reason why. 36 students need to re-write the test. There was much discussion regarding adding an online test in October.
      • Terry Fox/Civvies: On September 30th at Period 2, there will be another Terry Fox fundraiser in support of the Italy Disaster. This day is also a Civvies Day. Check out #smkwalksforfox for pictures.
      • Constitution: Parents are encouraged to read the Constitution which is on the Website.
      • Picture Day: September 28th
      • Student Council: This year’s president is Jessica O. and the co-Vice-Presidents are Maddie C. and Erin C..
      • SAF (Student Activity Fee): 1250 families have paid thus far.
      • Yearbooks: Hoping the books will be ready by Thanksgiving.
      • Vision: Melton spoke of the School’s five year Vision which can be found on his Blog. In short, Melton described four major points of the Vision which are: 1) Focusing on “WE” not “ME”; 2) Creating safe spaces, accountability, forgiveness, engagement and excellence; 3) Wellness and 4) Communication. The CSC was left with this inspiration: “Education is about the power of learners”.
      1. YCPIC (York Catholic Parent Involvement Committee)
      • This is a board level committee encompassing 103 schools.
      • On October 15th at 9:30, a presentation will be held for parents at Father Bressani CHS in Woodbridge. The guest speaker is Jennifer Kolari. She will also be speaking on October 24th at 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart CHS in Newmarket. Donna hopes to see many parents there.
    1. Elections
    2. Position of Chair: Melton called the floor for nominations. Rose S. nominated Donna P. Judith L. seconded the motion. Donna stated she wishes to stand. Melton asked if there are any other nominations for the position from the floor. A second call and a third call were made. No other nominations. Closed. Congratulations to Donna P. as she is awarded the position of Chair.
    3. 1st Position of Vice-Chair: Melton called the floor for nominations. Lydia R. nominated Bob P. Bob P. declined the position. Donna P. nominated Eric P. Lydia R. seconded the motion. Eric accepted the nomination. Melton asked if there are any other nominations for the position from the floor. A second call and a third call were made. No other nominations. Closed. Congratulations to Eric P. as he is awarded the first position of Vice-Chair.
    4. 2nd Position of Vice-Chair: Melton called the floor for nominations. Judith L. nominated Lydia R. Rose S. seconded the motion. Lydia accepted the nomination. Melton asked if there are any other nominations for the position from the floor. A second call and a third call were made. No other nominations. Closed. Congratulations to Lydia R. as she retains the second position of Vice-Chair.
    5. Treasurer: Melton called the floor for nominations. Judith L. nominated Bob P. Eric P. seconded the motion. Bob stated that he wishes to stand. Melton asked if there are any other nominations for the position from the floor. A second call and a third call were made. No other nominations. Closed. Congratulations to Bob P. as he retains the position of Treasurer.
    6. Secretary: Melton called the floor for nominations. Judith L. nominated Jo-Anne C. Rose S. seconded the motion. Jo-Anne stated she wishes to stand. Melton asked if there are any other nominations for the position from the floor. A second call and a third call were made. No other nominations. Closed. Congratulations to Jo-Anne C. as she retains the position of Secretary.
    7. A.O.B.
      • It was suggested to keep time in the meeting.
      • Reminding parents that meetings are held every third Wednesday of the month.

Meeting adjourned at 9:27 pm.

8. Next Meeting

    • Wednesday, October 19th, 2016
    • 7:00 pm
    • Library Classroom

Action Items Carried Over from June (Deferred):

    1. Connect with Mr. Carraretto regarding spending the remainder of the Field Enhancement Fund – Melton (CLOSED)
    2. Letter to Robin Taub, RBC, Board – Donna/Bob (OPEN)
    3. Fall Break – Donna
    4. Contact Heather (Rick Osborne) - Donna

Submitted by: Jo-Anne C.