School Council Minutes

Regency Acres Public School

November 18, 2008

Attendance

John Lester, Maria Maiato, Ilse Dunlop, Heather Sulkers, Shelley Rose, Gayle Palmer, Terry Hampson, Laura Parkin, Kim Hosmer, Larry Green, Sheila Johnson, Maggie Thompson

Regrets: Mike Adams, Vicki Dietz, Susan Roy, Amanda Claveau, Alan Steed

Guest: Pat Morton, Shanna Froude

Welcome

Heather began the meeting at 7:05 p.m.

Approval of the Agenda

The agenda was approved as circulated. The motion was made by Gayle, seconded by Terry and carried unanimously.

Approval of the School Council Minutes for October 21, 2008

The Minutes were approved as circulated. The motion was made by Shelley, seconded by Kim and carried unanimously.

Old Business

Spring Fundraiser: Pat Morton will be running this fundraiser and she presented information to Council. It will be run as a mini-marathon, in support of the Direct Donation campaign. Students will be asked to run or walk 1 km/day for 6 weeks which would total 42 km. Students could also run/walk 21 km in total. The fundraiser will start in April and donations will be collected prior to the event. Pat is looking at linking this with Canada’s Wonderland, as the distance from there to the school is 42 km. The distance could be tracked on the computer and there is the possibility of incentives from Canada’s Wonderland for participants. Medals will be given to those that complete the marathon and ribbons will be given to all participants. The last 1.2 km will be run by everyone involved in the marathon.

Approval of Funds for Holiday Heritage Night: Kim made a motion to approve a budget of $650.00 for the Holiday Heritage Night. The motion was seconded by Laura and carried unanimously.

New Business

Shanna Froude is interested in starting a Crochet Club at the school during morning recess. The fee would be $5.00-$7.00 per student.

Financial Report (Report given to Council)

Sheila reported that as of November 13, the Council bank balance is $40,756.46. The committed funds total $26,054.00 which leaves $14,702.46 available to spend.

Principal’s Report

Dress Code Review: Council members did not send John comments via e-mail regarding the current dress code, so therefore the dress code will remain unchanged.

Recommendation to School Council for the Expenditure of School Council Funds (Nov. 18/08): (Report given to Council) John circulated the report and discussed the request for funds from staff for the various items with Council. The last request, wireless access points ($2,000.00), has to be approved by the Board before it is installed. John explained that Regency is one of the leading schools for technology in the Board. Teachers are using their school laptops and our school has more teachers using the Moodle than any other school. John is looking at a computer system where students can link into the computer programs at school using their own computer at home. Kim made a motion to approve spending $5,502.00 for the items outlined in the report. Terry seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

Other

Playground Structure: John explained that a new playground structure would cost between $25,000.00 and $30,000.00. Maintenance is approximately $1,000.00 per year. Council’s objective is to have a new play structure built within five years. Currently, there is $5,000.00 in the playground structure account. Gayle made a motion to approve adding another $5,000.00 to the playground structure account. Isle seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

Mitten Tree/Toy Drive: John explained that a Mitten Tree and box for the Toy Drive will be set up in the front foyer and parents can donate hats, mittens or toys to needy families in lieu of teacher gifts. This information will be put in the newsletter, and John will talk to teachers about promoting this in their classrooms.

Committee Reports

Hospitality

The dinner for Regency staff will take place next Thursday evening before interviews begin. Council members are welcome to attend.

Enrichment

A Science Club (run by a Grade 7 parent) is being set up for Grades 7 and 8. Kim explained that a new Science program, bringing robotics into the classroom (in lieu of a field trip) is a possibility for the next school year. The Grade 6 Math Contest preparation will take place again this year.

Sunshine

The committee is working on scheduling a movie night before the Christmas holidays. There will be a movie night in the spring as well.

Kids Care

All of the Halloween bags were delivered and were very much appreciated by the various organizations.

Mailbag

Nominations forms for the Premier’s Awards for Teaching Excellence are available from Heather.

December Meeting

The December meeting was cancelled. Any urgent issues that arise will be dealt with via e-mail.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the library.