Governing Board Meeting Greendale Elementary School Minutes September 8, 2015 6:30 pm Staff room Present: Principal: Stephen Brayne Teachers: Merrill Liverman, Carollynn Jones, Tara Tumin, Community Representative: Amanda Koelbli Parents: Sharad Bhargava, Romina Costantini, Carrie‐Ann Houthuys, Sonia Rodi, Geneviève Bienvenu, Avra Wiesenthal, Cathy Alves Absent: Susan Cherry (support staff), Elaine Lobaton (daycare), Laura Derry (commissioner), Judy Thubron (teacher) 1. Welcome/Call to Order Meeting called to order by Romina Costantini at 6:30pm. 2. Additions to Agenda/ Approval of Agenda It was moved by Carollynn Jones, seconded by Merrill Liverman that the agenda be adopted. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 3. Approval of Annual report 2014‐2015 It was moved by Merrill Liverman, seconded by Carollynn Jones that the annual report 2014‐
2015 be adopted. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 4. Approval of Financial report It was moved by Sharad Bhargava, seconded by Carrie‐Ann Houthuys that the financial report be adopted. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 5. Vote to invite commissioner to meetings It was moved by Tara Tumin, seconded by Sonia Rodi that we invite Mrs. Laura Derry at every governing board meeting. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 6. Appointment of secretary and treasurer It was moved by Geneviève Bienvenu, seconded by Carrie‐Anne Houthuys that parents sitting on the governing board will play the role of secretary. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 It was moved by Carollynn Jones, seconded by Avra Wiesenthal that Romina Costantini, chairperson of the governing board will be the treasurer. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 7. Internal rules and management It was moved by Sonia Rodi, seconded by Cathy Alves that a minimum of 4 parents sitting on the governing board must be present at meetings to have quorum. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 8.
9.
Dates and times of meetings October 20th, 2015 March 8th, 2016 November 10th, 2015 April 5th, 2016 December 8th, 2015 May 3rd, 2016 January 5th, 2016 June 7th, 2016 February 2nd, 2016 Dates set in 2016 may change. Reports 9.1 Principals Report – please see attached 9.2 Daycare Report –N/A 9.3 Sector Parents’ Committee‐please see attached 9.4 Home and School Report • It was moved by Carrie‐Ann Houthuys, seconded by Carollynn Jones that the annual Halloween dance take place. The official date is to be confirmed. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 • It was moved by Merrill Liverman, seconded by Carrie‐Ann Houthuys that the annual craft fair take place on November 28th 2015. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 9.5 Commissioner’s Report – N/A 10. New Business 10.1 Field Trips – N/A 10.2 Daycare advisory committee • It was moved by Tara Tumin, seconded by Avra Wiesenthal not to vote in a daycare advisory committee Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 10.3 Service contract • It was moved by Merrill Liverman, seconded by Carrie‐Ann Houthuys to contract "Stay Up" for grade 5 and 6. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 10.4
Major School Change ‐The brief that will be presented to the school board will have to be handed in by October 31st. ‐The major school change subcommittee will be meeting at a later date to be determined. 11. Varia N/A 12. Correspondence N/A 13. Next meeting date October 6th, 2015 14. Adjournment‐The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 pm on a motion by Carollynn Jones, seconded by Merrill Liverman. Vote for: yes Vote Against: 0 Abstention: 0 Minutes written by: Geneviève Bienvenu ____________________________ ___________________________ Stephen Brayne Romina Costantini Principal Governing Board Chair Greendale Governing Board - Principal’s Report –
September 8th, 2015
New Staff: •
I would like to welcome: o Jennifer Hudson back as dance teacher o Karen Bolger as Phys. Ed. Teacher o John Cameron as Phys. Ed. Teacher o Ken Stanislaus as FSSTT tech. Meet the teacher: •
•
Went well with many positive comments. Teachers overall were quite positive about it but in the future would like to hold it on the night of the second PED day so as to have one more PED day before school opening. Opening of school year: •
Anecdotally seemed to be fairly smooth. Epipen workshop: •
Our school nurse, Marcie Shults, gave a half hour refresher workshop to all teaching staff last Wednesday. Milk Program: •
Awaiting announcement of start up. Inspection of fridge was last week. McGill research study: •
The fourth year of the study will be commencing soon with the grade two & threes. Student teachers: •
We currently have 3 students from McGill and we will be getting a fourth starting on Oct. 13th. Work to Rule: •
•
Currently we are operating on no field trips, no sport teams & no presenters brought into the school. Seems to be confusion concerning VAR activities, awaiting clarification at Thursday’s admin meeting. Food grant: •
•
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We have been notified that we will be receiving the daycare food grant again this year. It works out to $103.00 / regular student in daycare ~ $12,000. Covers snacks for daycare and breakfast program. Transition to high school: •
•
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Will be starting in late September. Includes eight, one hour sessions & a session for parents later in the term. Organizational skills, study skills, test taking skills & how to cope in high school are some of the topics covered. Integration aide Priority Pool: •
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This Friday We have three aides going through this process. Fire Drill: •
•
We had our first one this morning at 9:00 am. Results were pretty good. Grade 5 & 6 Assembly: •
•
Friday afternoon from 12:50‐ 2:05 Theme: Confidence, Character & Coping mechanisms, presented by the company “Stay up” PED Day: •
On Friday (Sept. 18th) the teachers will be working on IEPs. Picture Day: •
Will be taking place on Wednesday October 7th. Sector parent's committee Report –
September 8th, 2015
July 22, 2015
To: Elections systems study panel [email protected]
Hon. Marlene Jennings (Chair), Leo La France, Rachel Hunting, Brian Rock, Rhonda Boucher
Re: LBPSB Central Parents Committee Recommendations for School Board Reform
Dear Ms. Jennings et al.,
The following recommendations were discussed by the Lester B. Pearson School Board CPC Executive members
and were approved by the CPC to submit to you as the LBPSB parents’ standpoint.
Parent Commissioners
•
At least half of the commissioners on Council should be parent commissioners. Parent
Commissioners, even with voting rights, constitute a small fraction of members of Council, especially for
larger councils. Parent commissioners represent the large majority of stakeholders, the parents. It stands
to reason that they should have more influence in school board decision making.
•
All parent commissioners should continue to be members of, and elected by, the (Central)
Parents Committee of the school board.
•
Parent Commissioner should be voting members of Council. Though parent commissioners have
a lot of influence, without the right to vote they can never be considered equal members. Additionally,
caucus and committees are not public forums. The extent of their influence cannot be ascertained. Having
the vote makes them responsible to the parents who elected them.
•
To make parent commissioners fully equal they should be included on all Council subcommittees
and should be eligible to be appointed as chairs, just as any other commissioner.
Change Region/CP Representation from Schools to 2 Representatives
Currently, each school is required to elect a parent representative and an alternate to represent it at a higher
level. The two positions are not equal, especially since alternates are not eligible for election to CPC and other
external committees. This puts a burden on the elected parent representatives.
•
Both the rep and the alternate should be considered reps, with equal rights and responsibilities.
•
It should be considered that larger schools (e.g. greater than 500 students) should be able to
elect a third, and those with >1000 students, a fourth.
•
All Reps should be able to participate in all committees and be elected into any position.
•
This will give Parent Committees greater flexibility in selecting members for Parent
Commissioners and representatives to external committees.
•
This will also provide for greater parent representation at schools with larger populations.
School Board Structure
Maintain School Boards and Governing Boards as they currently function. We are satisfied with the current
structure. Schools and principals should be focussed on pedagogy rather than the mundane aspects of building
maintenance. More powers need not be transferred to Governing Boards.
Governing Board Composition
Mandatory annual GB training should be implemented for all members so as to raise the level of discourse in
meetings. When everyone understands the primary functions, rights and responsibilities of each member, and the
GB as a whole, then real issues may be discussed freely.
School Taxes
The archaic practice of basing school taxes on property values should be eliminated. The government should
simplify and streamline the system so that the Government directly funds education.
Without eliminating School Boards who are best able to deal with local variances, the government should find new
ways to help shoulder the costs of having an educated population that is instrumental in society's wealth
creation.
•
There is little social equity for property values dictating the amount of dollars collected using the
current property value based system.
•
Little incentive for school boards to be efficient when a portion of their funding is based on
property values.
If the Government is not ready to move forward with abolishing the separate school taxes the following points
should be acted upon.
Reduce the cost and bureaucracy in tax collection.
Favour the usage of existing mechanisms such as municipalities for the collection of the tax as
this would reduce separate mailings of school tax invoices just in time for summer holidays.
3.
Eliminate tax collection bureaucracies such as the “Comite de gestion de la tax scolaire de l’ile de
Montreal” whose primary function of tax collection could be easily done by municipalities.
4.
Do not impose a “province wide” mill rate for school taxes. This would create a greater burden for
those living in urban centres whose property values tend to be higher and exacerbate inequalities.
1.
2.
MEERS
•
Reduce the amount of paperwork and reporting required by school boards.
•
Give school boards some freedom to spend the budget allocated to them, so that they can
optimize the way they run their projects/finances.
•
Eliminate its “one size fits all” approach to budget cuts in education, so as to minimize the
negative long term impacts on Quebec's future. Budget cuts should take into account school board
efficiency and success parameters.
•
There is a risk to the one size fits all approach to funding which could reduce the average of
School Board performance to the lowest common denominator. Public school boards should be allowed
to flourish and not be brought down with excessive bureaucratic controls that add cost and have little
effect on student outcomes.
We hope you take the above into consideration.
Sincerely,
The parents of the Lester B Pearson Central Parents Committee
Bobbi Brown, Chairman
Elementary Network Parent’s Committee
Annual Report 2014-2015
Members
Beacon Hill
Parent Rep
StellaBennaroch
Birchwood
Chantal Sirois
Christmas Park
Tracy
Hermachuk
HeidiEktredt
Claudette
Benoit
Dorset
Edgewater
Evergreen
Forest Hill Junior
Mount Pleasant
PierreElliotTrudeau
ShrewoodForestSoulanges
Mike Zylberstein
Annie Bourgon
Ovidiu Burlec
Julie Fraser
St Edmunds
St Patrick
St Paul
Joanne Lawson
Tom Samolis
Jeremy Asch
Beechwood
Alexander
Perelmiter
Sharad
Bhargava
Nadia Naqvi
Greendale
Margaret Manson
Springdale
St Anthony
St Charles
Sunshine Academy
Kimberly
Morrison
Shane Ross
Norm Gharbian
Barbara Britt
Terry Fox
Marisa Petruzzo
Thorndale
Wilder Penfield
Stephanie Hill
William Kogan
Allion
Children’s World
Clearpoint
Andrea Luise
Intrevado
Tom Tsiabouris
Alternate
Celena
ScheedBergdahl
Daniella
Currie
LilyMederios
KristenStoger
Heather
Laframboise
Adriana Galli
MikeBesner
Chantal
Cadieux
Avra
Wiesenthal
Adolfo de la
Rua
Jill Edgar
Jason Doan
Irina
Doubrovina
Donna
McCallum
Greg Piggins
NeomieLa
Roque
Dorval
Maple Grove
Stephanie
Berger
Jim Durocher
Orchard
Riverview
St John Fisher Jr
Tif Hammer
Allison
Saunders
St John Fisher Sr
Bridget
Bagshaw
St Lawrence Academy JrCharline Downer
Karen Scott
Jonathan
Zimmerman
Julie Ann
Smith
Sandra
Gesualdi
Kenny
Newman
St Lawrence Academy SrRashid Lawal
Verdun Elementary Barbara McColgan
Westpark Caralee Salomon
Amy
Edelstein
Administrative Liaison Tom Rhymes
Commissioner’s Liaison Nan Beaton attended
The Elementary School Networking Parents’ Committee is a sub-committee of the Central
Parents’ Committee consisting of parents from all elementary schools of the LBPSB. It
promotes parent participation and communication and discusses issues that affect elementary
schools. We had some leadership changes in the committee during the year, which held us
back.
The following issues were discussed:
Budget Cuts
Major School Change
Pearson Education Foundation
Corporate Donations
School Board Governance
Declining Enrollment
Librarians
Daycare Pamphlet
Food Service Provider – Chartwells
Best Practices Database
Rep Reporting
CPC Enrollment sub-committee recommendations
Kindergarten Funding Reduction
Allergy Committee
Recommendations For Next Year:
CPC: The Allergy Committee completes its mandate ASAP.
CPC: Rep Reporting Recommendations be implemented
School Board: We need functional libraries at our schools
School Board: We need the Daycare pamphlet
School Board: We need to retain Special Needs funding Elementary
Network: Finish MSC Brief
Elementary Network: Populate Best Practices Database
We want to thank everyone who participated.
Sharad Bhargava
Shane Ross
REGION 2 PARENTS' COMMITTEE
ANNUAL REPORT
2014-2015
Approved August 5, 2015
REGION 2 PARENTS’ COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
The Region 2 Parents’ Committee is comprised of parents from schools in Administrative Region 2 of the LBPSB. It
promotes parent participation in the activities of the School Board and informs the School Board of the needs of parents. In
addition, the Region 2 Parents’ Committee gives advice on matters conducive to the most efficient operation possible of the
School Board, as well as its opinion to the School Board on all matters that the Board is required to submit to it. As such, the
committee has representatives to the Central Parents’ Committee, and several other standing committees of the School Board
and of the Central Parents’ Committee. Among its members this year, were the Chairperson of the Central Parents’
Committee, Parent Commissioner for Elementary Schools and Chairperson of the High School Network Parents’ Committee,
enabling the committee to befit from extra insight into many other matters.
REGION2SCHOOLS
PARENTREPRESENTATIVES ALTERNATEPARENTREPS
Beechwood Elementary
Greendale Elementary
Horizon High School
Alexander Perelmiter
No Alternate
Sharad Bhargava
Avra Wiesenthal
No GoverningBoard so no Rep
or Alternate
Lorraine da Costa (Chair)
Elisabeth Tosi
Nadia Naqvi
Adolphode la Rua
Luciano Cannucci
Dayo Odubayo
Ilana Schattauer (Reporting
Sarah Melnick
Secretary)
Kimberley Morrison
No Alternate
Jill Edgar
Shane Ross
John Rennie HS
Margaret Manson Elementary
Pierrefonds ComprehensiveHS
Riverdale HS
Springdale Elementary
St.
Anthonyhttp://stanthony.lbpsb.qc.ca/Elementary
St. Charles Elementary
Norm Gharibian
St. Thomas HS
Bobbi Brown (Recording
Secretary)
Sunshine Academy
Barbara Britt
Terry Fox Elementary
Marisa Petruzzo (Treasurer)
Thorndale Elementary
Stephanie Hill
Wilder Penfield Elementary
William Kogan(Vice Chair)
Jason Doan
Sharad Bhargava
Irina Doubrovina
Donna McCallum
Greg Piggins
No Alternate
ADMINISTRATIVELIAISON:
Tom Rhymes, Region 2 Director
of Schools
RECORDINGSECRETARY:
Bobbi Brown, Lorraine da Costa, Ilana Schattauer (when
needed)
REPORTINGSECRETARY:
Ilana Schattauer, Lorraine daCosta
CORRESPONDENCESECRETARY:
Lorraine da Costa
COMMISSIONER-LIAISONS:
Commissioner Nan Beaton
CPCREPRESENTATIVES:
Elementary-Sharad Bhargava, Alexander Perelmiter
High School-Bobbi Brown, Lorraine da Costa
At Large-Shane Ross
PARENTCOMMISSIONERS:
Elementary-Sharad Bhargava
High School & At Large-none from Region 2 Parents’
Committee
CPC SUB-COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE & STANDING COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES
Elementary School Network: Shane Ross (Chair)
High School Network: Lorraine da Costa (Chair)
Parent Structures & Communication: Sharad Bhargava, Bobbi Brown, Lorraine da Costa, Shane Ross, Alexander
Perelmiter
CPC EXTERNAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES
Education: Lorraine da Costa
EPCA: Director - Dayo Odubayo, Delegates - Greg Piggins, Elisabeth Tosi
Facilities & Securities: None from Region 2 Parents’ Committee
LBPSB COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES
Luciano
Cannucci,
Shane
Ross, Ilana
Schattauer
TransportationBobbi
Brown
Advisory:
Intercultural
Advisory:
COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES
The Parent Committee structure that was put in place during the previous year was followed this year. Regional meetings
were held monthly at the School Board from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Elementary or High School Network Parents’ Committees
immediately following the regional meetings from 8:00-9:30 p.m. The Region 2 Parents’ Committee met nine times this year
and the meetings were always well attended, with Alternates present for many of the meetings. Quorum was attained at all
meetings including the initial introductory meeting which took place during a designated time at the Central Parents’
Committee Annual General Assembly on October 2, 2014. Tom Rhymes, Region 2 Director, was the Board Administrative
Liaison and always ready and willing to answer any and all of our questions. Tom reported Region 2 news to us at every
meeting keeping us abreast of all Region 2 happenings at the Board level. Nan Beaton, our delegated Commissioner,
attended our meetings regularly and reported Council news to the committee.
Along with the Consultations considered and topics discussed, there was also an exchange of ideas through the “Input from
Schools and Parent Communities” item on the monthly Agenda. During this part of the meeting, members were able to share
interesting news from their individual schools, as well as discuss any other matter or concern they wished to address. As
such, they were able to gain valuable insight from each other while offering their support and advice; and even though
solutions were not always identified, the members had the added benefit of having valuable input from the Commissioner
and administration present at the meetings. Due to the meeting scheduling, the committee was unable to hold a parent caucus
this year. However, all topics of concern were addressed and discussed either at meetings or via email/Basecamp.
ISSUES/TOPICS DISCUSSED
Besides several consultations that the committee was asked input on, some of the other important issues that were brought to
the table and discussed by our members this year were:
•
Region 2 Parents’ Committee Rules of Internal Management & budget
•
Parent committees structure
•
Allocation to parents’ committees • School Board Elections • Action Plan for the year:
1. Improve COMMUNICATION to/from the entire parent population for all issues
2. Discuss implications of the budget cuts; then, find ways of communicating parents’ displeasure to MELS
3. Follow up on Financial Literacy
4. Discuss how to get parents to participate in their own school
5. September parent rep and GB rep training at schools
•
CPC Website
•
School Success Plan
•
School Budgets
•
Service Contracts and additional costs incurred by schools
•
School Field Trip Forms
•
Student Media Release Consent Form
•
Simplifying Parent Communication
•
Nutritional Value of Meals served by Chartwells
•
Financial Literacy
•
•
•
Increasing student enrollment
School Report Cards
Concordia Workshop - Embracing Imperfection
PRESENTATIONS
Region 2 parents attended the following presentations:
Budget - Carol Heffernan, Assistant Director General, LBPSB
Nutritional Value of Meals served by Chartwells - Janet MacCullie, Food Service & Nutrition, LBPSB)
CONSULTATIONS
The Lester B. Pearson School Board consulted the Region 2 Parents’ Committee on the following:
• Enrollment Criteria
• Emergency Preparedness Policy
• 2015-2016 Budget Priorities
• 2015-2018 Three-Year Plan for the Allocation and Destination of Immovables
• Major School Change
• By-law 1 (2015): A By-law to fix the day/time/place of regular meetings of the Council of Commissioners
• By-law 1E (2015): A By-law to fix the day/time/place of regular meetings of the Executive Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEXT YEAR’S REGION 2 PARENT COMMITTEE
The Region 2 Parents’ Committee makes the following recommendations to next year’s committee:
• that the Rules of Internal Management be reviewed at the first meeting of the year; and be adopted by the second;
• that CPC representatives be elected as follows: two from Elementary, two from High School, and one at large;
• that parent representatives and alternates be trained as early in the school year as possible
• that a plan of action be developed within the first 2-3 meetings of the year;
• that the School Board Budget be addressed early in the year, perhaps by way of a presentation which gives an
explanation of the different “funds”;
• that parent-caucus meetings be scheduled whenever the members feel it necessary during the year;
• that the use of sub-committees and/or a rotation method be encouraged to respond to Consultations;
• that the committee encourage the participation of Alternates at all meetings;
• that the committee continues to make use of the CPC Website, posting agendas, approved minutes and
correspondence throughout the year;
• that all correspondence sent out on behalf of the committee, continue to be copied to the CPC Chair, other Regional
Committee Chairs, Network Chairs, LBPSB Regional Directors, Parent Commissioners, and the SNAC Chair;
• that the CPC reports be distributed to this committee for information purposes; and,
• that this Report be distributed to all schools at their AGAs (or via PPO, Home & School Association, Governing
Board).
Message from the Chairperson
This year began with preparing for a School Board election, and once that was over and business was back to
‘usual’ for a few months, yet another ‘Major School Change (MSC)’ consultation was launched. This took on a life of its
own and many parents were then faced with even less time to deal with Region issues as their Governing Boards began
preparing for their responses (briefs) to the MSC consultation and more was required of them at the school level. Of course,
amidst all of this, the Region 2
Parents’ Committee still tackled all other consultations that came its way and continued to discuss many other topics of
interest (as noted above). As in previous years, this year was just as time-consuming yet equally as rewarding. As always, it
was truly an honour to act as chairperson for this committee; the support of the committee was much appreciated. Special
thanks to my executive: Vice Chair William Kogan, Secretaries Bobbi Brown & Ilana Schattauer, and Treasurer Marisa
Petruzzo.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mary Mendicino Kost, the Region 2 Administrative Assistant who
was most helpful with the printing of my meeting kit as well as all agendas and minutes; and assistance with all other
requests during the year. Her help was most appreciated. Much thanks, once again, to Tom Rhymes, Regional Director and
Administrative Liaison to our committee, for his contribution and support of this committee. We appreciated the information
he regularly shared with us as well as his explanations of often ‘touchy’ subjects for parents. We wish him the very best of
luck in his new position of Director of Educational Services. We look forward to the next Region 2 Director of Schools be
equally as supportive to this parent committee as Tom Rhymes has been for the past few years. As a result of this new
appointment, and given that we are in the middle of MSC discussions and can never know what that may bring for Region 2
school, should the Board’s administrative structure change as a result of the MSC decisions put in effect, we truly hope that
all of the Region 2 schools left, continue to be as well served within their new regions. We also thank Nan Beaton, our
Region 2 Parents’ Committee Commissioner whose presence and support at meetings was much appreciated. Nan ensured
that our committee was regularly updated on all Council happenings and was always pleased to answer questions and
provide feedback to parents on important issues.
On a sad note, this committee was so deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Diane Fortier in November
2014…our deepest and most sincere condolences to the family on their loss. Diane Fortier was such an important part of
this Region - and of the Board for so many years. She was always a true asset to the Region 2 Parents’ Committee but more
importantly she was an amazing person who will be greatly missed and always remembered!
Last, but not least, recognition and thanks goes to each and every member of the Region 2 Parents’ Committee, for
his/her commitment to this committee, and ultimately, to our children. Their dedication to parent committees as well as their
efforts within their own schools must not be overlooked. Despite the busy lives they lead, these parents still find the time to
give of themselves in order to make our schools the best they can be for our children! To our “graduating” or “resigning”
parents, I bid you farewell and wish you much success in the future! As his child leaves this Board, special recognition to
Norm Gharibian for his efforts on CPC & parent committees over the years. To those who will return next year, I wish each
and every one of you much fulfillment for the coming year - and a most productive 2015-2016 school year! To all parents
from the Region 2 Parents’ Committee, I have included a short video clip I found online which I believe exemplifies how
special you are in the lives of all our children! Thank you for all that you do… and for making a difference! Please take the
time to click on the link below the image to the right…enjoy…
Respectfully submitted by,
Lorraine da Costa