NOTRE DAME CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARENT COUNCIL (CSPC) Annual General Meeting Minutes September 21, 2016 In Attendance: Parents: Cathy Ludlow, Cheron Christmas-­‐Lafleur, Christine Eady, Deanna Exner, Zelda Luciano, Deborah McNorgan, Ingrid Connor, Julie Malichen Taylor, Suzanne Murray, Lisa Ostonal, Nic Rowe, Valerie Clark, Rosa Morphy Staff: Ms Hickey, Ms Nezirevic, Ms McGrath Student Council Rep: Jillien Regrets: Maria Rayson, Michael Attridge 1) Welcome and Opening Prayer: Meeting called and Prayer read by Cheron Christmas-­‐LaFleur. 2) Student Council Update Presented by Jillien, Student Council Vice President. The Notre Dame (“ND”) Student Council have started working on the 2016/2017 initiatives which have included a Welcome Back BBQ lunch and an Opening Assembly. Student Council is also working on rolling out the Dress Down passes which will be sold for $10, the purchase of which will allow ND Students to wear civvies on designated days throughout the year. 3) Chair’s Review of CSPC 2015/2016 Annual Report for last school year Presented by Cheron. Highlights included: • A total of 7 meetings and 1 social dinner meeting were held in 2015/2016. •
The ND CSPC By-­‐Law was drafted and presented to the CSPC for approval at the AGM. •
Burgundy polo shirts were introduced into the ND uniform. •
PLC (Professional Learning Committee) meetings are offered every two weeks to allow the opportunity for Gr. 9 students to learn about the different topics relevant to them (e.g. the Sept 21st PLC included an introduction to the Guidance Office). Gr. 10-­‐12 students have the opportunity to work on independent or group project work during the 1.5 hour PLC meeting. Motion to approve the report: Nic R. Seconded by: Deanna E ND CSPC AGM Minutes_21Sept2016 Meeting Page 1 of 4 4) Treasurer’s Report Presented by Ms Hickey. Amount available upon request. The only debits to the ND CSPC account since the May 2016 CSPC meeting were for CSPC Award presented at Graduation, as well as the half the cost of the hanger at G9G. Motion to approve the report: Deanna E. Seconded by: Nic R. 5) Notre Dame Staff Report Presented by Ms McGrath. The school year is off to a good start. Scheduled events include: • Sept 26th – start of the Thanksgiving Food Drive for Rosalie Hall. Last year ND raised over $12K. •
Oct 12 (rain date is Oct 13th)– School Walkathon. The Walkathon is run by the Athletic Council and involves a minimum pledge. Half of the money raised is used by the Athletic department to cover team related costs (e.g. busing/tournaments), and the other half is distributed as per student recommendations (e.g. past years’ funds have been used to purchase picnic benches, water bottle fillers, phone chargers and air conditioners). •
Oct 14 -­‐15 – Notre Dame 75th Anniversary •
Oct 15th – Notre Dame Anniversary Mass at Good Shepherd Church; followed by a banquet for alumnae and teachers. Activities will continue to be held throughout the year. 6) Principal’s Report: Presented by Ms Hickey. • Attendees at CSPC meetings are to complete the signup sheet to ensure that their daughters can wear Civvies the following day. Daughters of parents attending are to see the attendance secretary the next morning to obtain their passes. •
School communications are issued weekly (typically Friday afternoons) to parents via the Synervoice telephone call, as well as an email detailing the Synervoice content. Any parent who is not receiving the Synervoice content via email may sign up by having their daughters provide the email to Ms Gonsalves in the office staff, or contact Ms Hickey via email ([email protected]) with an email Subject header: “Synervoice” •
New staff have joined ND to replace staff who departed last year due to retirements, transfers and leaves. New teachers have joined for Math, Comtech, French, Canada and World Studies, as well as new Admin staff (Ms Gonsalves, Admin for Guidance, Ms Phillips, Admin for Attendance, and Paulina C as the Acting Secretary). Due to the school enrolment number (currently 698), the board has allocated only one Vice Principal (Ms R. Nezirevic). •
Facility related work that had been scheduled for the summer was postponed Currently upgrading the schools electrical wiring system, as well as evaluating the security system, PA system, audio visual equipment to determine required upgrades. Any required work will be conducted upon completion of the electrical upgrade and will include upgrading of the security (both alarm and cameras), PA system, WIFI, and audiovisual system. •
ND enrolment for the year is currently at 698 students. The graduating grade 12 class is a relatively large one and efforts will be spent on recruitment for the 2017/2018 school year. ND CSPC AGM Minutes_21Sept2016 Meeting Page 2 of 4 •
Community Service Hours – ND is accepting more activities around the school community for Community Service hours. Also evaluating ways to incentivize students (tie, pin, certificate, etc.) to complete their community service hours early as they are unable to graduate if they do not complete their hours. Upcoming events include the Oct 28th – Grade 8 Open House •
This year’s Parent/Teacher interviews will be held before the issuance of the progress reports (due to collective agreement). Due to scheduling issues and an earlier Parent Teacher interview night, a Curriculum Night has not been scheduled; however, if parents feel that they would like one, please advise Ms. Hickey. 7) Year of the Parish Meeting Presented by Ms Hickey. The Year of the Parish meeting to be attended by Fr. John and ND and CSPC representatives is scheduled for Oct 4th. One initiative this year will be to start school 15 mins later one Friday per month to allow students who would like to attend the 8 am mass to do so. 8) Presentation of CSPC By-­‐Law The ND CSPC By-­‐Law as was prepared by the CSPC By-­‐Law committee, was presented for adoption by Deanna Exner and Rosa Morphy. The By-­‐Law was written to ensure compliance to the Ontario
Regulation 612/00: School Councils And Parent Involvement Committees, as well as the TCDSB Policy S.10 -­‐ Catholic School Parent Councils. The CSPC By-­‐Law governs the procedures of CSPC meetings including its membership, elections, filling vacancies, and rules for meetings. CSPC members had worked on the By-­‐Law over the past year and believe that it meets the needs of the Notre Dame CSPC Please refer to the ND website/CSPC for a copy of the By-­‐Law as well as a Frequently Asked Questions guide. Motion to adopt the ND CSPC By-­‐Law – Rosa M. Seconded – Lisa O. ND CSPC AGM Minutes_21Sept2016 Meeting Page 3 of 4 9) CSPC Election for 2016/2017 school year A five-­‐minute break was held for submission of nomination forms after which Ms Hickey collected and read out the results. All Executive Council members were acclaimed to the position. • 2016/2016 CSPC Parent Members: Cathy Ludlow, Cheron Christmas-­‐Lafleur, Christine Eady, Deanna Exner, Deborah McNorgan, Ingrid Connor, Julie Malichen Taylor, Lisa Ostonal, Nic Rowe, Valerie Clark, Rosa Morphy. In total, there are 11 Parent Members. •
2016/2017 Executive Council: The following three Executive Officers were nominated and acclaimed to the position: § Chair – Rosa Morphy § Treasurer – Christine Eady § Secretary – Nic Rowe • ND Staff Members: Ms Hickey, Ms Nezirevic, Ms McGrath •
Student Council will be represented by one of their members. •
There is a total of 15 CSPC members (11 Parent Members including 3 Executive Council, 3 ND Staff, 1 Student Council). The composition of the CSPC meets the requirements of the By-­‐
Law and TCDSB policy. Per the Education Act and By-­‐Law, parents must be present at the AGM to become Parent Members. 10) Quorum for CSPC Meetings • A discussion was held regarding quorum for CSPC meetings. Article 11.8 of the By-­‐Law and the Education Act dictates that quorum is required for business to be conducted at CSPC meetings, and is established when a majority of Council members are present, and the majority of the members present are Parent Members. •
Given that there are 15 CSPC members, the Quorum required for a CSPC meeting is 8 CSPC members, with the majority being Parent Members. •
Given this, it is important that Parent Members make all efforts to attend CSPC Meetings. In the event that they are unable to attend, they must notify the Secretary in advance of the next scheduled CSPC meeting. The AGM Meeting was Adjourned at 9:15 pm to be immediately followed by the first CSPC Meeting for 2016/2017. Minutes Prepared by: R. Morphy, Oct 10, 2016 ND CSPC AGM Minutes_21Sept2016 Meeting Page 4 of 4