Eramosa Parents Council Meeting Minutes – Feb22, 2023
In attendance: Dawn AirdrieDonovan, Rebecca Dufour, Angela Murray, Diana Josiak, Bhumika Munroe, Dawn Raynard, Bhumika Munroe, Billie LeBlanc
Joining Remotely: Cassie Hatch, Jenny Broadfoot, Blaire Comacchio, Marya Morrison, Heidi Muller
Regrets: Stephanie Moddison, Crista Ormiston, Heather Weingartner, Christine Stewart-McKeen, Jacqueline Nyman
- Welcome
Heidi (current chair) facilitated the meeting virtually. Attendance was taken for those in person and joining remotely at the start of the meeting.
The new principal, Dawn AirdrieDonovan introduced herself and the members of the parent council also introduced themselves. A review of council roles has been included for reference.
Chair – Heidi Muller
Past Chair – Christa Ormiston
Treasurer – Cassie Hatch
Secretary – Rebecca Dufour
Communications Rep – Christa Ormiston
- Approval of Minutes
The Council Chair did not ask for a review of the minutes from November. This will need to be conducted at the beginning of the next meeting.
- Principal’s report
Food and Friends Program:
There is an ongoing need for students to be able to access food during the school day. As such, Ms. AirdrieDonovan, connected with an organization called “Food and Friends” which is offered through the Upper Grand District School Board. This organization has provided the school with $1000.00 in funds which are being used by the school to purchase snacks for students to access. Each classroom will have a basket where students can choose a snack to eat when needed. A letter outlining the program will be going home to families.
The Food and Friends Program is funded by The Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington County. A link to their program can be found here, https://www.childrensfoundation.org/programs/food-friends.
The program will be administered and overseen by the school, led by Ms. AirdrieDonovan. There are program requirements regarding the purchasing of particular foods for students. Any questions regarding this program or the food options that are being provided to students through this initiative should reach out to Ms. AirdrieDonovan. The current options are fruit, vegetables, cheese and an oatmeal biscuit. All items were purchased primarily through “The Seed” a local organization located in Guelph. The school will also be responsible for tracking the donation funds. In order to receive these funds, the school will need to participate in the Live Free Campaign, which is a fundraiser for The Children’s Foundation that happens during the first week of March. Details regarding this fundraiser will be provided to the community by the school.
The Parent Council Initiative, The Healthy Panty, will still continue and those parents who which to contribute to this are welcome to. Donations can be dropped off at the front office. To sign up to donate, please follow this link. https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/l6nr2d
Athletic Update
Floor Hockey:
There was a staff/student floor hockey game that took place earlier this week to make up for the tournament that was missed out on due to the inclement weather.
Jr. Volleyball:
The team participated in the tournament and won. Congratulations to the Volleyball Team!
Scientist in the Classroom
Funding has been provided to Scientist in the Classroom from the parent council in previous years. This year the cost was covered by The Children’s Foundation. Unfortunately, the program continues to be offered, at this time, only remotely. In future years, we will only be participating in the program if the company will be coming into the classroom in person.
Literacy Update
All students now have access to the Online Spark Reading Program. A log-in and password for this site has been shared with each student and many of the classes are using this resource. If your child is in a classroom where this resource is not being used but would like your child to have access, please reach out to the teacher or Ms. AirdrieDonovan.
The goal of this reading program is to allow for small-group reading support. In order to support this initiative, the school has purchased a class set of headphones for each grade level. Further, the school has also purchased teacher resources to supplement literacy development in response to the Science of Reading Report including:
- Phonics Companion Book has been purchased in response to the Science of Reading
- EPPS reading assessment has been purchased for K-3
- Decodable books
- The faculty at Eramosa is also working with an Early Reading Specialist.
Busing and Field Trips
The cost of bussing has increased and because of our rural location, the costs for local trips are rising. There is a request from the school to the parent council to provide additional funds, greater than what was already allocated earlier in the school year, to cover the cost of bussing
Summer Maintenance
The board has decided to fund repair projects at Eramosa this Summer including replacing the ventilation system and asbestos Removal. Further, the school will also be getting three new washrooms which will be located in the current changeroom area.
Principal Leadership Input School Council Form
The School Council Chair has been asked to complete to have the following form
Principal Leadership Input School Council Form.
Parent Information from the Board
An info sheet/tip sheet for parents to support their kids has been provided from the school board with a focus on how to support youth during exams.
Grade Six Graduation
Date: Tuesday June 20th at 5:30pm
Discussion following the Principals Report
Busing Costs
Discussion: Funds for Five trips to the River Run were allocated by the Parent Council to the school. To date, only two out of the five trips were taken due to inclement weather. The council understands that more money is required in order to support remaining school trips that may require busing.
Marya put forward a motion to re-allocate the remaining funds, totalling $390.00 that was intended for the River Run Center busing to future bus trips. Bhumika supported the motion. Rebecca seconded the motion. All approved, none opposed. Motion has been passed.
Bhumika put forward a motion to allocate the funds raised from the bottle drive, totalling $355.65, to the school for the use of future busing costs occurring during the 2022-2023 School Year. Diana supported the motion. Angela seconded the motion. All approved, none opposed. Motion has been passed.
Summer Maintenance
Discussion: The school is growing and this is a good thing. Council will continue to advocate and seek to be a part of conversations related to growth initatives.
Principal’s Leadership Input School Council Form
Discussion: The School Council Chair will send the form to the council for feedback and then complete the form and return it to the Principal in a timely manner.
Graduation
Discussion: The timing of graduation was discussed among the group. The council agrees that the student’s voices are very important in considerations of graduation planning. Currently, there is only one other school in the board that is offering an evening graduation. There are many considerations for the timing of such events. The possible timing of this particual event may be up for discussion for the 2023-2024 year. The principal will engage in consultation with community members, faculty, and students if this is the case.
Financial Update
Funds are allocated throughout the year to areas of need at Eramosa School. The parent council will be continuing to develop its budget and define fund allocations with the appointment of the new treasurer. Our recent community events brought in the following amounts. Thank you to everyone who participated in and/or supported these events!
Poinsettia Fundraiser – $1022.00
Community Winter Breakfast – $1013.00
Wreath Making- $945.00
Bottle Drive – $355.65
Committee Updates
- Events/Fundraising – Chair Report: Marya Morrison
- Thursday, March 9th – Popcorn Fundraiser (Jenny and Diana)
A flyer will need to be created and sent to Ms. AirdieDonovan. Families will be asked to make a donation on School Cash Online for popcorn, but will not be required for students to receive popcorn on the day. All donations will be allocated to the Live Free Campaign, who provide funding for the food and friends program.
(Date TBD – After March Break) HotDog Day (Marya) : Details will be finalized at next committee meeting.
- April – Candle Fundraiser :Details to be discussed at next committee meeting
- Thursday, May 11 – Chicken Dinner (All Parent Council) –Details to be discussed at next committee meeting
- (Date TBC – (June 1, or June 5-June 9) Year-End Open House Event: Details are to be discussed at next committee meeting.
Committee Updates
- Playground – Chair Report: Rebecca Dufour
- The site plan and analysis were submitted to the board in December. We are now waiting for the board to respond to our submission. While we wait for a response, the chair will prepare a parent survey that will go out to our parent community and also our student leaders in early April. Committee members were asked to review the proposal and existing site analysis that was sent to the board in December in advance of the March 28th committee meeting.
- There will be an official launch of the playground fundraising campaign in fall 2023
Next Fundraising Committee Meeting – Virtual Tuesday, February 28th (8-9pm) Virtual
Next Playground Committee Meeting – March 28th (7-8:30pm) Virtual
Any other business
- None
Next Meeting – Tuesday, April 11th 7:00-8:30pm
Categories: School Council