Princess Margaret Public School

School Council Meeting Minutes – February 6^th, 2026

Princess Margaret Public School

In attendance: Andrea Papavasiliou, Emily M., Tracy P., Justine O., Brittani S., Vienna R., Lindsay F., Ida C., Teagan K., Billie Jo R., Sabrina F., Becky L., Jen L.

Regrets: Ashley H., Tanya P., Sarah C., Amber J., Sandra C.

1.         Land Acknowledgement & Equity Statement (Andrea)

2.                           Principal’s Report (Andrea) * Full report follows Meeting Minutes

a.                           We are recognizing Black Heritage, Brilliance and Futures month – we’re learning about influential Canadian Black icons with displays around the school and daily announcements, flying the Pan-African flag, curriculum connections, etc.

b.                           Another round of attendance letters will be coming out for the November - February period

c.                           EQAO results were released in December. Our excellent results show that what we’re doing is working. We are no longer identified as a math priority school by UGDSB (we will no longer have a math facilitator provided by the board, release time, funding for extra resources, etc.)

d.                           We will have a paralympic swimmer delivering a presentation for students about his paralympic journey (and the School Council will be fortunate to have him present to us at our March meeting). We will also have an olympic swimmer present for students. 

e.                           Upcoming: Hockley ski trip, term 1 reports, IEPs coming home

3.                           General Council Business (Emily)

a.                           Thank you Andrea for investing in lots of classroom resources (math resources for special ed, sensory items for the hub, body break items, white boards, globes, kindie building supplies, phonics kits for 6 classrooms, and new positivity affirmation wall decals in washrooms. Will be ordering new DPA equipment, new jerseys for teams, and locked cabinets for gym storage room). Thank you to Council for approving $4,000 for rock climbing wall. Confirmed that our PRO Grant will go towards Olympic speakers and programming.

b.                           Report on finances: 

i.Fundraising acct: $11,420 (rock climbing and FTP programming yet to be deducted)       

ii.General acct:  $9,221 (this includes the required $5,000 for playground repairs)

c.                           Votes Required:

i.         Kindergarten teachers are requesting some resources (bird seed, recess snow toys, new shovels) for $580. Approved.

ii.DPA equipment re-stock for $800. Approved.

                         iii.Replenishment of signage for Holiday Craft Fair for approx. $1000. We’ll vote once we have a cost but this is a necessity.

d. Fundraising ideas: Make it Sew seed kits (Emily to set this up for March/April), Teagan will look into Alton Greenhouses gift cards program, Ashley will look into Krispy Kreme donuts.

e. Family Fun Night has been confirmed for Tuesday, June 2^nd, 2026. We will talk more about this at our April meeting.             

f. Emily proposed a workshop for parents in the Spring, focusing on the harms of Social Media. FTP offers a program and can facilitate. The cost goes back into their educational programs, like that at PMPS. Emily to approach other local Councils to share costs. Our discussion suggested we include parental controls for existing media, non-judgemental focus for families, mental health focus, signs to look for trouble with our children.

Next meeting date will be Thursday, March 5th, at which we will be joined (virtually) by Paralympic athlete Andrew Haley for the first 20 minutes of the meeting.

Principal’s Report: PMPS School Council

Thursday, February 6th, 2026

 Land Acknowledgement: 

Princess Margaret Public School is situated on the ancestral, treaty and title lands of the 

Anishinaabek Ojibwe Nation, specifically the Michi Saagig of the Credit land. This 

Nation holds legal and specific rights in their respective territories. This area has been and continues to be home for Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples.

Have a Heart Day Have a Heart Day takes place on February 14 and is a child and youth-led reconciliation event that brings together caring Canadians to help ensure First Nations children have the opportunity to grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of who they are. It was started in 2012 to highlight the ongoing inequities and systemic discrimination First Nations children face in accessing essential services like child welfare, health, and education. It arose from the long fight led by the Caring Society and Assembly of First Nations to hold the federal government accountable for failing to provide equitable services to First Nations children, as ruled by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. The Indigenous Education Team has created a slide deck of resources to support staff and student learning across divisions. Students are encouraged to participate in one of the suggested action steps to support change and educate others.

A Commitment to Humans Rights In Action: 

As a school community, we have a responsibility to recognize, call out, and break down racism and oppression in all forms.  The Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) is committed to removing systemic barriers that continue to impact students, staff, and families. This is not just a short-term project - it’s an ongoing commitment to making sure every student has a learning environment that is fair, just, and inclusive. 

As February continues, we are recognizing Black Heritage, Black Brilliance, and Black Futures month here at our school. We are learning about influential black icons  on our daily announcements, during classroom activities, and through school displays. We are proudly flying the Pan African flag for the month of February to recognize this month. Walking from classroom to classroom students are participating in read alouds, reading independently, writing poetry and biographies about black brilliance. Please ask your child all about it. 

Attendance Follow Up Continues: 

Every_Day_Counts (3).mp4

Attendance Concern Letter February

-Blanket Email and video sent to each family.

-Individual letters with attendance data goes home with students who have concerning attendance on Monday February 9th

Some data to consider:

-35% or 100 of our students have been absent 10% or more (chronic absence). This is an increase of 8% since November.

-4 students are in the severe category (50% or higher), 21 students fall in the high chronic absences category (20% to 49.9%), and 75 students fall into the moderate chronic attendance level. (10% to 19.99%). 3 % are at risk for chronic attendance 

( students just shy of the 10% threshold)

-65% or 185  of our students have attended 90% or more of the school year (down  from 69.9% in 24/25 and down from 76.7% in November- 12%) 

-21 students or 21% of students are late 10% or more of the time. 

EQAO: 

GRADE 3 EQAO RESULTS:

GRADE 6 EQAO RESULTS:

Cohort Results:

• PMPS is no longer a math priority school for grade 6. 

The Olympics are coming to PMPS!

Great news! We’ve been able to secure a Paralympic gold medalist to speak to our students. I’ve included a link to information about this athlete. I’m truly excited for our students—he brings an incredible message of resilience, hard work ,his life story (including leg and lung cancer) and the Olympic experience. https://paralympic.ca/athlete/andrew-haley/

A big thank‑you to our wonderful School Council for allowing us to use our PRO Grant to support this opportunity, as it strongly promotes inclusivity within our school community.

The presentation will take place virtually on February 12th from 11:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This format greatly reduced the speaker’s cost, and he has also generously lowered his fee further knowing we are a school and recognizing the limitations of school budgets. We are excited to welcome Andrew Haley to PMPS! 

More Good News! In addition to our Paralympic guest speaker on February 12th, we are excited to announce that we will also have an Olympic guest speaker visiting our school on February 20th at 1:30 p.m. in person. Her name is Claire Scheffel, a synchronized swimmer who represented Canada at the Paris Olympics. Claire will be speaking about her road to the Olympics, her life experiences, the obstacles she faced, and the hard work and resilience that helped her succeed. She will also share her experiences competing at the Olympic Games. To find out more please visit: https://olympic.ca/team-canada/claire-scheffel/

Olympic Playday with opening and closing ceremonies February 13th. 2026: 

8:30  all students come inside for attendance but leave snowpants on 

8:40  Team Leaders will be called to go and pick up their teammates in kindie- gr. 2 

8:45  remaining students are called down to the gym for the Opening Ceremonies (teams are to sit  together with their flags)

9:15   Teams will make their way to their first station for a 9:20 start

Breaks are at regular times- Indoor recesses

11:00 -  Team leaders will be called to go and pick up primary teammates

11:05   remaining students will be asked to move to their meet spots

11:15  Teams will make their way to their next station for an 11:20 start.

The last rotation ends at 12:20.  We will gather all of the teams on the tarmac for a quick closing ceremonies

Important Dates:  

-February: Black Heritage, Black Brilliance, and Black Futures month

-5th: School Council meeting in library 6pm

-6th:  The Winter Olympics start! Go Canada!

-6th: Director and SO visit 9am-945am

-10th: Grade 6/7 to ⅞ Ttrip to Hockley

-12th: Paralympic Guest Speaker (virtual) 1115am-12pm 

-13th: Olympic Play date: Opening ceremonies after entry, outside activities middle and last block, with the closing ceremony on the tarmac

-16th: Family Day: No School

-18th: -10th: Grade 6/7 to ⅞ Trip to Hockley

-18th: Term One Report cards and IEPs with Term Two goals go home

-20th: Olympic Guest Speaker (in person) 130pm 

-25th: Pink Shirt Day- Across Canada. Stand Up Against Bullying

Upcoming Spirit Days: 

-Friday, Feb. 6th: 1st Day of the Olympics: Dress as an athlete  from one of the Olympic sports OR dress like a snowflake/snowperson

-Friday, Feb. 13th: PINK, RED, WHITE Day! Wear pink, red, or white today to show your love of Valentine’s Day

-Friday, Feb. 20th: Wear Canadian memorabilia or red and white!  Olympian guest speaker will be at our school to share with us (more information below)

-Friday, Feb. 27th: Board Game day! Bring in your favourite board game and enjoy game stations in your classroom.