Get Involved/School Council

Attendees

Jessica Bedard – Chair
Ladena Prithipaul – Co-chair
Ana Mena – Community rep
Meg Gertsakis
Caroline Kucevic
Melane Brant
Melissa Kolbe
Joyce Torrington
Carlie McIntosh
Crystal Thorne
Krista Kruis
Heather Johnstone
Brooke Arcari
Kay Douherty Jackson
Angie Scala
Stacey Whalen

Apologies: Crystal Rogers and Amy vanSteendelaar

Minutes by: Jessica Bedard

Meeting Called by : Ms Ana Mena
Reading & Approval of Agenda : Joyce Torrington
Reading & Approval of Minutes: Melissa Kolbe

Welcome

• Ana provided introductions and overview of roles
• Discussion of role of chair and processes for determining role
• Ana discussed that processes were followed to determine candidates and suggested moving forward with the initial meeting with a positive outlook where the group can work collaboratively

Introductions

• All members were given an opportunity to introduce themselves
• Discussed need for secretary and treasurer. Meg G agreed to filling the role as secretary. Jess B to take meeting minutes tonight and Meg will assume the role in future meetings.
• No volunteers for treasurer. Budget to be reviewed at next meeting and treasurer can be revisited once the budget is reviewed as group.
• Need updated statement to share with the group. Krista K. to reach out to DGH admin. for a print off to bring for next meeting.

Summary/completion

• Meg G. secretary going forward. Krista to obtain financial report and share with parent council at next meeting.

New ideas/brainstorming

• Paint night for parents
• Fundraiser – paint a ceiling tile
• Ceramic night (school now has a kiln) – Carlie M. shared she
  could support with this.
• Bingo night and bake sale (Caroline can gather information)
• Silent Auction just no raffles
• Cheese or pepperoni fundraiser and/or Canadian meat
• Hot soups – Joyce could this on Friday
• Cook book fundraiser (could be tied into Mural Art fundraiser)
• Parent Engagement budget – Large scale Magic Show for students and parents
• School dance with tuck shop
• Full school Christmas concert
• Kernels popcorn
• Krispy Kreme
• String art

Summary/completion

All members presenting ideas will research their respective ideas and bring back information to the group.

Jess to create an online survey for all members to prioritize their top picks/preferences prior to next meeting. Jess to bring the results back to next meeting for planning, discussion, and organizing sub-groups as required.

School needs/priorities

Pumpkin Carving

• Ladena shared updates and pumpkin carving certificate
• Ladena has arranged for pumpkin pickup from Stellmar Farms on Friday.
• Ladena has arrange for flyer to be shared with teachers
• Sub-committee created and volunteers have signed up for October 31st judging, should arrive by 9:30am at the school
• Meg shared that the activity is creative and fun, however does required constant supervision with the carving knife in a busy classroom. Kindly asked that some of variables be considered in future planning.
• Both Meg and Melissa K. mentioned that one pumpkin for a large group of kids can be challenging.
• Group agreed to go ahead with carving this year and incorporate Meg’s feedback going forward in new ideas.

Summary/completion

Ladena and sub- committee will arrange for picking up pumpkin and delivering to school.

Sub-committee will support in judging and prepping candy on October 31st

Top up GaGa Ball pit

• All members in agreement of this spending
• Krista K. shared that Sunderland fills up sand for free in the spring. Krista agreed to look into this to save on costs.

Summary/completion

Krista K. to look into sand option for refilling the ball pit.

Recess Bins

• Volunteers need to bring a list to each classroom to do an inventory of items
• Go to Canadian tire to purchase items to be replenished and speak to manager about a discount.
• Sub-committee formed. Aiming for October/November to complete this.

Summary/completion

Jess to email sub-committee to initiate planning and completion.

Vandermeer Floral Fundraiser

• Discussions of cheaper options however given the timeline this year, all members agreed to proceeding to Vandermeer
• Ladena has arranged for flyers and they need to be picked up in Ajax to be distributed on November 1st
• Sub-committee formed to ensure that volunteers are available for pick up etc.

Summary/completion

Jess to pick up the flyer and drop them off at school office. Jess to email sub-
committee to initiate planning and completion.

Jimmy Chapman Remembrance Day

• Ana and Meg shared that three school staff are taking the lead to create a powerful and meaningful Remembrance Day ceremony and therefore we would not be booking Jimmy Chapman this year.

Breakfast with Santa

• Looking to book Santa for December 18th. Ana to look into this and book Santa.
• Pancake items need to be purchased.
• Discussion of Christmas cards being created by students.

Christmas Shoppe

• Subcommitee formed, Caroline volunteered to lead in the planning again this year
• Start collecting items December 1st – December 16th
• Ladena shared that there is a need for volunteers to be at the school every day to sort items on stage 

Summary/completion

Caroline had to leave early, but Jess to connect with Caroline to see if she can lead the sub-committee and arrange a schedule of volunteers etc.

School Foyer Mural

• Meg shared her ideas for a school mural that would require fundraising.
• This would incorporate huskies, and the 7 Grandfather teaching and bring a sense of community with DGH and students/families newly joining from Mariposa.
• Meg stressed the importance of all students and staff being a part of theproject.
• This would also be done in the foyer where the future learning lounge would be.
• No objections to this fundraising project brought forth.

Summary/completion

Meg is continuing to work through the details and can provide updates as they arise.

Parent council to consider this project in fundraising goals.

Foyer Learning Lounge

• Discussed the current funds being used towards learning lounge including furniture and other expenses
• Current funds have been working towards this space
• Discussed that all fundraisers need to have an identified cause where the funds will be going Caroline had to leave early, but Jess to connect with Caroline to see if she can lead the sub-committee and arrange a schedule of volunteers etc.
• All members agreed to funds from Vandermeer fundraiser to go to the Learning Lounge.
• Joyce shared that a review of the current budget would be helpful going forward. Krista will obtain these records and bring to next meeting.
• Discussed new playground however Ladena shared that this would be upward of $100,000.
• Brooke inquired about the status of the basketball nets. This will added to December’s agenda for discussion.

Future discussions tabled until next meeting

December 2024

• Basketball net
• Bottle drive
• Family pizza night/dominoes
• Hot lunches (BP chicken & pasta)
• Social media page
• Little Caesar kit fundraiser
• Candy grams
• Door decorating
• Staff appreciation

Financial report

Krista K. to obtain and bring to next meeting for discussion and planning

Motion to adjourn

1st – Kay Douherty Jackson

2nd – Brooke Arcari

Date and time: December 4 at 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Location: virtual/online

Meeting objectives:

• Parent collaboration and school event planning
• Fundraising goals
• School needs/student needs/priorities

Chair/co-chair: Jessica Bedard and Ladena Prithipaul

Attendance: Ana Mena. Alaina Baker, Alexis Trunks, Brooke Arcari, Carlie McIntosh, Caroline Kucevic, Crystal Rogers, Jessica Gardiner, Jessica Wheeler, Joanne Crago,
John Moreira, Joyce Torrington, Melissa Kolbe, Kay Dougherty-Jackson, Heather Johnstone, Krista Kruis, Ladena Prithipaul, Jess Bedard, Nicole Formica, Melane Brant,
Sara Etherington, Crystal Thorne, Sarah, Krista Brant, Sara Etherington

Regrets: Angie Scala, Amy vanSteendelaar, Taiya Rose, and Stacey

Minutes by: Meg Gertsakis

Meeting Called by : Ms Ana Mena

Approval of the Minutes

• 1st: Joyce Torrington
• 2nd: Carlie McIntosh

Approval of the Agenda

• 1st: Krista Kruis
• 2nd: Carlie McIntosh

Agenda

Welcome and introductions

Welcome

• Jess welcomes new members
• Joanne hosted tupperware party & raised $140 to put towards outdoor primary shelter

Principal and school updates

• Approval was given by all participants to record the meeting
• Review etiquette of online meetings (e.g., microphones muted, hand up button etc.)
• Compliments to the organization of Vandermeer Nursery and pick up
• Reviewing school improvement plan & going over each section: Attendance is a concern (visual document shared)
  – Explanation of what the Directions Team at school has been doing to support these areas and how we have been meeting with our teachers to track progress towards SIP goals/plan
• Review of School Council Constitution/Provincial Council Guide (visual document shared)
  – Review of why we did not have an election: Policy document reviewed for all with highlighted information regarding the reasoning behind this
  – Decision making at the school level are decisions made by principal to keep our kids safe
  – Review of the level of integrity to be upheld by all members while communicating via email and in the parking lot
  – Breach of these agreements could result in being asked to leave parent council

Recess Bins

• Jess to touch base with our custodians for misplaced balls on roof etc. prior to purchasing more
• Some classes are missing recess bins entirely
  – Nicole explained the reason for this is likely the additional classrooms we have opened this year
• Canadian Tire pricing could be around $500-$600 before discount
• Walmart and other competitors have been considered but their products are not as great quality
• Ladena wondered about continuing the incentive program of counting the bin items and when kids are caring for them, provide rewards in the form of more recess bin items
• Recommendation to consider what Sunderland is doing by requesting community donations of recess materials
• Jess to draft a survey to consider priorities for item preference in bins for each grades and classes
• Motion to Spend $500-$600 towards recess bins
  – Moving forward with this with majority vote

7:30-7:45pm

Social Media Page

• Thank you to Caroline for getting it up and running
• @DGHparentcouncil

Basketball Nets

• Ladena explained that previous attempts for wall nets were an issue in terms of safety (e.g. broken fingers)
• Current Schedule/rotation for our basketball nets seems to be working at the moment

Art Mural

Funds for the art mural are going to be raised separately

Painting Ceiling Tiles

Not moving forward with this right now because of fire code

Pottery Fundraiser

• Not moving forward with this right now
• Meg Gertsakis to be the only one using the kiln for liability reasons

General

Reminder to stagger fundraisers so we are not overlapping too much and continuously reaching out to parents

Budget Update

• Krista Kruis put her name forth for Treasurer
• No other names were put forth
• Krista was voted in as treasurer

7:45pm

Planning priorities/JotForm discussion

Christmas Shoppe

• Caroline Kucevic explains the plan for the Christmas Shoppe
  – Donations are currently stored in the girls change room
  – Half gym set up this year with divider down
  – December 13th – Last day for donations
  – December 13th – Set up day for Christmas Shoppe during the school day (Caroline requested lots of hands and helpers)
  – December 16th & 17th – the actual shopping days
  – December 16th – attempt to have as many classes visit on the first day
  – Caroline wonders if parent council can start sorting the items in the change room
  ahead of time
• Ana has confirmed access to girls change room
• Caroline asks everyone to “pop in” when they can to support and organize
• Ana asks if we can have volunteers daily coming to sort
• Caroline gives her personal number and would prefer if you could message her so she can start a group chat with immediate notifications (email chains are more challenging to follow)
• Joyce and Melissa will come everyday starting next week
• Carlie & Crystal will check in, daily after dropping the kids off
• Crystal to provide tote bins for organizing donation items by category
• Caroline wonders if the grade 8’s can shop earlier because they put more effort and thought into gifts, whereas kindergartens are not as intentional with their shopping
• Ana wonders about a potential lottery system with names out of the hat as a possible option
  – Explains we will also be using learning buddies as a shopping option this year
  – Expresses she is happy with what direction parent council chooses
• Mel wonders about why we did not explicitly ask for the $2 donation like we have in the past, the communication this year just asked for a “donation”
  – Ana to communicate to our school community about a $2 donation if possible and other monetary donations if they are able
• Heather wondering if our Pizza Fundraiser money is still going towards our Christmas families
• Crystal notes that Mariposa PS wants to donate leftover items for us if we would like them
  – Jess to make this an action item in the subcommittee text messaging group

8:15PM

Jess shares fundraising notes from last year to help guide our fundraisers this year and shows how our spreadsheet tracking will be updated this year

Breakfast with Santa

• Amy, Korie, and Ana all have their food handling certification
• More information regarding this will be discussed in the subcommittees
• Melane reminds us our Juniors are away skating in the morning
  – Juniors to have pancakes when they arrive back
  – Nicole to email the class schedule for skating so we can plan accordingly
• Santa & Mrs. Claus to have a quieter spot to meet with the children
  – Carol sing with the whole kids
  – Santa & Mrs. Claus arrive and head to the library
  – Other classes to head back to their classrooms or to have pancakes
• Melane requests looping in all members even for the subcommittees to keep everyone up to date
  – Jess is happy to have anyone who would like to be included in all emails to notify her
• Jess to reach out to Amy VanSteendelaar and Korie Bartholomew to determine if they are still participating in parent council
• Crystal willing to renew her food handling certification if needed
• Kay mentions the need to be considerate of timing with Santa & Mrs. Claus (last year we went over the allotted time)
  – Meg wonders if all of the classes need to go down to see Santa (priority goes to our younger students and student requests in junior/intermediate grades)
• Melane wonders about including fruit for breakfast with Santa
  – Moving forward as planned this year but we will consider adding fruit for next year

8:35PM

Hot Lunches

• Jess says Pizza option has been a hit (and shouts out to Andrea for her support in giving this up and running)
• Feedback says that most people are hoping to have another lunch option
  – Challenges are finding a guaranteed nut free kitchen
  – Boston Pizza was considered but has mixed reviews – it is not off the table
• School cash online has debit and credit options

Soup

• Information provided by Joyce
  – Looked at wholesale club and did pricing
  – Joyce is available to begin this Friday in January
  – Someone with their certification for food handling is required onsite
  – Possibility of having intermediate helpers from our classes take on leadership
• Ana has offered to subsidize the course for a member who is willing to take their certification
• In the chat, Crystal said she could commit to renewing her food safe handling in to be on site for a couple of hours for January-March
• Krista makes a motion to move forward with soup lunches when we are able to get everything logistically sorted out
  – 13/21 members vote the soup lunches forward

9:00PM

Fundraising planning

Bingo

● Everyone’s top fundraiser choice
● Joyce says lottery license is required for BINGO
○ It takes a considerable amount of time to go through with this
● Caroline to look into getting the lottery license and consulting friends who have had success

Magic Show

Parent engagement night would be the Magic show night

Next Steps Fundraisers

• Review of all other top fundraiser votes
• Krispy Kreme possibility of more than one night
  – Art Gallery in June (with Krispy Kreme)
• Kernels Popcorn at Magic Show
• Options of a dance-a-thon, or having other individuals in to teach dance/involve students in dancing

More Meetings:

• Discussion about monthly meetings
• Meetings must include school staff and admin
• Subcommittees are welcome to meet more frequently than our 4 meetings

Joyce motions to include Magic Show as parent engagement possibly with popcorn

12/17 Votes

Ladena motions to include Krispy Kreme with Arts Night

16/17 Votes

Meeting adjournment: Ladena motions to adjourn meeting

Motion to adjourn (1st and 2nd): 1st – Kay and 2nd – Caroline