February 26th, 2021

Suddaby Parent Council Minutes

February 22, 2021 

7:00pm 

meet.google.com/yeo-yjzr-mwf

 

Staff: Rita Givlin, Samantha Hutchison, Andrea Maxwell

Voting Members: Annie Doran, Wendy Saulesleja, Angel Rodriguez Lafuente,  Lisa Lynette, Bala VK, Thea Mistry, Amanda DiBattista, Karin Korth, Kate Leslie, Katharina Broschek, Katherine Akins, Swagata Ray, Aura Hertzog, Kathryn Blair, Sue Campbell, Nadia Ursacki, Stephanie Meyer, Shahenaz Alali, Swarup Dhar, Angela Uttley, Tara Bedard, Emma Campbell    

   

 

Present: Rita Givlin, Samantha Hutchison, Nadia Ursacki, Kate O’Neal, Katharine Akins, Karin Korth, Tara Bedard, Wendy Saulesleja, Angela Uttley, Annie Doran, Bala Vijayakumar, Katha Broschek, Kathryn Blair, Sue Campbell, Stephanie Meyer, Ann Doran

 

Regrets: Emma Campbell, Andrea Maxwell

 

Welcome And Introductions (Steph Co-Chair) 

Minutes

  • Minutes from the January meeting have been approved and posted. 

 

Financial Update: (Katha) 

  • Current account balance no change from the last meeting: $45,635.43 

 

Principal Report: (Rita)

  • Staffing: (Rita) As we are welcoming 19 more Stars back to in-person learning on March 4, 2021, Suddaby has been given an additional half class of kindergarten which will have 15 students. With a half class, there is only a teacher and no DECE. The original classes will be reduced to 25 or 26 students. An LTO teacher will fill the position: we are interviewing on Feb. 23, 2021.

  • Social-Emotional Learning: (Sam)Thanks to the leadership of Ms. Hutchison, Suddaby staff and students in grades 1-6 will begin a 16 week Social Emotional Learning course offered by the board through D2L.  Staff and students will engage each week in a series of lessons with a focus on self-awareness and self-management skills. Many other schools are already using the lessons and reporting positive outcomes.  Our staff recognizes the additional challenges our students have faced during the pandemic and is committed to supporting our students emotionally as well as academically. Our kindergarten team is exploring other WRDSB recommended resources more suited to our kindie friends.

  • Black History Month: This year’s theme for Black History Month is “The Future is Now”, a call to action for us all to build on the legacy of those who came before us, and to recognize the transformative work that Black Canadians and their communities are doing now. All classes are invited to decorate their classroom door this month to showcase the learning they are doing for Black History Month.

  • Grade 1 French Immersion for 2021/2022: Suddaby has been given 2 classes of grade 1 FI for 2021/22 despite numbers of registrations being lower at Suddaby and across the WRDSB. Our 2 classes are not full so parents who have missed the deadline or are now interested are encouraged to apply.

  • Facility: The curtains on the stage were cleaned professionally this month.

  • COVID 19: We continue to follow the protocols put in place by Public Health which are being updated as more is learned about the transmission of COVID 19. There is a new screening tool https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/  Effective February 22, 2021, under the direction of the Ministry of Education, staff and students are required to stay home from school or child care if anyone in their household develops a single symptom of COVID-19. This means we will once again be sending siblings home if a child has symptoms at school.  And, if one family member has symptoms and/or is waiting for test results, all of the students and any family members who are WRDSB staff will need to stay home. 
    • Equity/tech/snowdays. 
    • Are phone calls an option on Snow Days?
    • Students who need to isolate may request tech
    • Can bring this up with the trustees

 

Staff Representative Update: 

WRAPSC Report: (Kate)

 

  • Food 4 Kids feeding over 425 students
  • Encouraging WRDSB to be more transparent with decisions – letter drafted and template in council folder. Feel free to use.

 

  • No meeting in March

Subcommittee Reports 

 

  • Playground Committee: (Wendy) 

 

      • Quotes (Kate) sent to Wendy and Rita on Friday, Feb 19th 
      • 2 companies that the Board uses
      • 2 rows of rocks that can seat 30 students, mulch, 4-5 trees approx. $10 000
      • $250/rock
      • Consider more expensive trees that are more mature (more shade)
      • Action: Rita to check on the minimum size of trees
      • Nicole from the Pollinator Pathway group is interested in helping us pick flowers, plant flowers
      • Google Meet to discuss Pollinator Pathway

 

  • Equity Committee: (Katha) 
  • Proposed diversifying council membership by sending a letter inviting parents to join council followed by a survey to identify barriers to participation. 
  • Would like 4 gift cards ($10 each) for a draw for completing a survey – motion forwarded by Katha. Motion passed if the survey goes forward.

 

      • How to disassociate names from survey to address bias and privacy concerns 
        • Action: Karin will look into anonymizing software
      • How do we reach families that don’t have the internet? Phone calls could be an option that is offered and translator. Paper is subject to a week of quarantine
      • Discussion around whether or not to map the Suddaby population and strive for proportional representation. Noted that while equity includes race, it also includes income, disabilities, LGBTQ, etc.
      • Equity Committee will meet to discuss the survey

 

  • Fundraising: (Wendy/Steph)

 

    • Domino’s Pizza- Waiting for an email reply 
      • Purchase a pizza on a certain day and the school receives a portion of the purchase
    • Moppet has done meal kits as a fundraiser, could look into for April ($45/kit)
    • Rain barrels (Steph to look into)
    • https://www.ontario.ca/page/choose-licence-plate-graphic (Steph to look into)
    • Factory Shoe promotion (Kate) currently at about $1595
      • Steph will bring extra cards to school to be distributed
    • Flip Give promotion (Kate) at about $628

Other Business 

  • Art project- Belong together belongtogether.ca (Kate)
    • Tiles shaped like people can be decorated and then pieced together
    • $1 per piece donation
    • Concern about the durability in weather — hang inside?
    • Kate will look into the end date and price for the next meeting
  • Suddaby Quiz
  • New school logo (Annie thinking about)
  • Stars along the fence stalled due to COVID (Annie)

 

Next meetings

  • March 22, 2021 
  • April 19, 2021 
  • May 17, 2021 
  • June 21, 2021 

Motion to Adjourn

  • Steph motioned, Annie seconded