Wilkinson School Community Council
Meeting Minutes
Monday February 9, 2009
Present: Carol Bennett, Laura Bullard-Brezovsky, John Hykel, Ruby Lederman, April Moon, Alison Motluk, Tanya Sterioff (Principal), Sam Vrakking, Lisa Watt (Vice-Principal), Paula Weekes Khan, Erin Vaillancourt, Karen Wiseman
Regrets: Sarah Gillespie, Susan Haney, Jill Spellman
Absent: Karen Geraci
Guests: Karen Anthony, Julie Found
Recorder: Sam Vrakking
1. Welcome & Introductions
Meeting started at 7:00pm
2. Approval of Agenda
Agenda approved with Karen Wiseman to speak to the Sweetheart Bake Sale in Fundraising
3. Approval of December 8, 2008 Minutes
Minutes approved with the correction that that in the Principal's Update (5) Grade 6 students visited Earl Grey on Wednesday January 21st and the clarification in New Business (8) that the media release forms while board generated can be altered on a case-by-case basis by the parents to reflect individual circumstances.
4. Treasurer's Report
John presented Council with the Statement of Financial Position dated February 9th, 2009. He requested clarification for some deposits into the account and an update on the pumpkin sale numbers. There is currently $10,600 in the Council's account; $700 is earmarked for Council projects.
5. Principal's Update
Tanya informed the council that:
- Friday February 13th will be a P.A. Day and Monday, February 16th is Family Day so there will be a four-day weekend.
- Kindergarten registration will take place in room 3 on Tuesday February 17th, Wednesday February 18th and Thursday February 19th in the morning.
- The Book Fair will take place the week of February 23rd.
- Wilkinson's annual Talent Show will take place on Friday February 27th.
- There will be a lice check Tuesday, February 17th.
- Registration for French Immersion has been poor (five students) while registration for Extended French was 21 students. Therefore, French Immersion will not be offered at Wilkinson for 2009/10. The five students who registered for French Immersion will be offered spaces in Extended French bring the class size to 26. Grade 4 entry to Extended French will be phased in to replace Grade 7 entry to the program. French Immersion will be phased out at Wilkinson and replaced with Extended French.
- Wilkinson has been chosen a School On the Move. This indicates that we have increased our literacy and numeracy scores over the past three years. There are 35 schools with this designation across the province and four across the G.T.A. The other 3 schools in the G.T.A. are Darlington, Orde Street and Runnymede Road. The people responsible will be visiting the school on Tuesday, March 10th and are hoping to meet with parents at 10:45. The goal is to discover what Wilkinson has done to consistently improve students' scores. Tanya suggested that school activities such as house leagues make a huge positive impact on the students allowing them to feel involved and connected.
6. Telling Bee Update
The Telling Bee project can be reached at wilkinsonbee@gmail.com. Julie Found is organizing the volunteers and all the classes are working on collecting their stories. The Storytelling Festival will take place Wednesday, April 15th and will have morning, afternoon and evening events. Approximately 100 students will be involved and Dan Yashinsky will hopefully attend. Teachers will be asked for recommendations but children's involvement will be voluntary. Julie is keeping a journalized blog which she is hoping to turn into an article for Teaching Librarian the Ontario Library Association magazine.
Julie received a quote from the TDSB for the printing of the Telling Bee book. Based on an order of 400 copies (120 pages, black and white), one for each of the approximately 360 Wilkinson families and copies for the classrooms and library, the cost would be $2600 ($6.50 a copy) with a one to two week turnover. Julie proposed a 200 copy initial run and then taking orders for a second run. She asked council to provide the funding for initial print run and to subsidize the book $1.50 a copy with the aim of selling them at $5.00 a copy. Council discussed fully funding the project. Concern was expressed that council funding was being spread too thin. The council agreed that literacy was a priority in the school and Tanya offered to share the costs of a full subsidy from the school budget leaving the Council share of the costs at $1300. Julie will solicit other quotes and present them to Council for further discussion.
Carol tabled a motion to split funding with the school to provide each family and each classroom with a book to a maximum amount of $1300. This was seconded by Laura and carried unanimously.
7. Funding Requests
There were no other funding requests.
8. Committee Updates
i. Arts
April reported that there are lots of things on at Wilkinson and said that no further projects would be started this year nor would new performers be invited to the school. Still to come, on top of the Telling Bee are The Little Red Theatre and storyteller Cosima Grunsky. The Grade 6 students are participating in a songwriting workshop with Melanie Doane and Ted Dykstra. The library mural project will be finished this year and the Arts Committee has carried over $1000 for another mural in 2009/10.
Julie Found informed council the Earth Rangers are coming into the school on April 8th for Earth Day and environmental programming. More information will be presented at the next meeting.
Lisa Watt is encouraging teachers to book field trips with their classes.
ii. Communications
The deadline for newsletter submissions is Friday February 20th. The Communications Committee met at the end of January to discuss opportunities to welcome new parents. They produced four recommendations
- Having parents at Kindergarten registration
- Making more out of the Open House - it was felt that there was no clear articulation of its purpose
- Sending out a welcome package from Kindergarten teachers to new parents including an invitation to the Fun Fair
- Opening the school to the Kindergarten parents prior to the start of the school year
Lisa confirmed that a welcome package is being sent out in June to new parents.
iii. Fundraising
Sweetheart Bake Sale posters were made by Ms. Pashby's class. Donations will be taken starting at 8:30am outside Room 3. The sale will start at 11:00am for Kindergarten students and Dandylion Daycare. It will close at 11:30am and reopen at 12:15pm.
iv. Fun Fair
The first Fun Fair meeting took place Tuesday February 10th. The Fun Fair will take place Saturday May 30th. Volunteers are needed.
v. Greening
John presented Council with a quote for $700 for the removal of the fence around the learning garden; $400 has been allocated for this. The removal of the fence will make the garden more accessible. A community event to clean up the garden will be planned.
vi. Health and Safety
Sarah was absent so no report
9. New Business/ Other Items
i. Volunteers for Kindergarten Registration
Jill will volunteer on the mornings of the 18th and 19th. Erin will cover the 17th. They will be handing out a page on Wilkinson Council.
ii. Wilkinson Sweatshirts.
April showed Council samples of the sweatshirts. The youth sweat shirt costs $16.90+tax and the adult size is 19.90+tax. There is also the option of a t-shirt for $9.00. There is no ordering minimum and the set-up fee is $59.00. To keep cost down the sweatshirts are 50-50 cotton/poly. April will wash sweatshirts to check logo durability she will also check on turnaround time. Concern was expressed about the smallness of the youth size so April will look into other styles. An e-mail was distributed later in the month proposing a cost of $27 a sweatshirt regardless of size with sales starting after March Break. Council would submit as ordered rather than having a supply in the school. A teaser will be placed in the newsletter.
iii. We are registered at Supperworks in The Beach.
Eight people have taken advantage of this earning council $66.55. The cheque will be sent out at the end of May. The March newsletter will have an interview with April promoting this and it is possible to set it up at other Supperworks locations.
10. Report Back/ Follow Up items
- Wil-Kitchen is scheduled for March 12. We will be cooking West Indian food including fish cakes, flying fish, rice and peas and sweet potato pie. Special insurance is needed if the stove is being used. Susan will obtain the permit. Information will be published in the March newsletter.
- Tanya and Lisa were asked what the policy is for children being outside at lunch in the winter as concern was expressed that there had been many inside lunches in January. Tanya replied that whether the children went outside depended on windchill. The TDSB has a cutoff temperature of -28, Wilkinson's cutoff is -23/24. It was suggested that this would make a good piece for the newsletter's FAQ.
11. Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 8:40pm