October School Council minutes | York Region District School Board

In attendance

G Collins, S Bhatia, V Gujarati, Y Mironov, K Taylor, N Dalima, Madame Lombardi, Mr. Rashidi

MEMBERS NOT PRESENT

J Baksi, M Allidina, T Chianelli, A Stockmann

reports

Changing the style of the committee this year to be more inclusive; no elections, but all students welcome
Committee will be in charge of dances and spirit days, icecream sales

ITRAMURALS UPDATE (MR. RASHIDI)

Grades 6-8
Trying to start up an intramurals sport for each day of the week during recess
Takes away the competitiveness of the sport and is a great way for kids of all levels to get together, have fun and collaborate
Keeps the kids active at recess

Will be headed up by Ms. Risi
Use Grades 7/8’s as helpers
Start with the program during recess but hope to move to before school
A way for every child to learn a lifelong cardiovascular skill without the competition or pressure of a team
KCPS staff are attuned into the students and concepts of body image and working with families if needed
Next step/layer to this program would be healthy eating habits

Based on the 2021/22 school year we are a math priority school – meaning that our math scores from Gr 3 & 6 assessments
Links between literacy and math
Polled Gr 3&6 students to ask whether or not they feel they are good at math
50% responded “yes” and 50% responded “not sure”
School’s goal is to boost their confidence in math skills
What can parents do at home? Invite kids into math, counting, help with baking/cooking, help with counting out money, etc.
Real life math

Grades SK, 1 & 2 students will be screened for their reading levels and needs
Parents will be notified via email
This is province wide, as the government looks to assess where students are at
learning phonics
Has been found that students with learning disabilities are often falling through the cracks
Reading levels affect math abilities as math curriculum is heavily based on word problems

Two new lunch vendor options have been brought forward by parents
Zucca’s Italian food – based in Newmarket, Mme. Lombardi & Mr Collins familiar with
The Irv Streetside Eats – sandwiches, chicken wings, chicken skewers, and some pastas
Council voted on Zucca’s
Will be starting in January session, likely Thursdays

Top request is swing sets (both upper and lower grades)
This unfortunately would take many years to see through as it requires zoning, permits, immense funding (Mr. Collins)
Most popular outdoor requests include: balls (all types), nets for basketball hoops, skipping ropes, hula hoops, hockey nets, hockey sticks
Most popular indoor requests: games (chess, uno, snakes & ladders, etc), art supplies (fun coloured markers & pencil crayons), LEGO, Minecraft magnetic blocks, magna tiles
Events: theatre club, hot chocolate Fridays, dances
School currently has money set aside for outdoor/gym equipment – parent council will top up if needed, and provide funds for Mr Collins to order items for classrooms (to be evenly dispersed among them)
Hot chocolate Fridays: Parent council will look into purchasing from Tim Hortons or Starbucks to surprise kids with this winter, and/or is this something that Student Council could take on as a fundraiser similar to ice cream sales in spring season

On behalf of Ally Stockmann
Creative Club runs a lunchtime Lego club which is a 9-week program that runs at lunchtime in the schools
Supervision is provided by Creative Club
The program provides interactive activities using Lego bricks, robotics and STEM tools
Costs $180+tax, which would be paid for by parents who choose to register their child for this
Currently have York Region Catholic School Board approval, but not public
Verry popular program at Holy Name Elementary School
Ally is happy to take on the Public School Board approval process if this is something we think that parents would be interested in

On behalf of Tania Chianelli
Northern Karate Richmondhill provides a 5 week intro to karate session that would be run during lunch recess
Cost is $50 a student, to be paid for by parents who register their child
Northern Karate Richmondhill then donates the funds back to the school
Are already YRDSB approved (used by Beynon Fields PS, Richmond Rose PS, Macleod’s Landing PS)
Where would we run the program if intramurals are in the gym (Mr. Collins)
Find out more information on age requirements, minimum # of students needed, how long is each session, would all grades be together?
Would be great to have something for younger kids also, since intramurals are Gr6-8 (Katariina)
Could advertise to parents as the money will be given directly back to your child’s teacher to be used in the classroom (Katariina)

Would parent council be willing to provide funds for hot chocolate during the event?
Yes (Katariina, Yuliana, Vik, Sumeet)

Has touched base with a few different companies for bringing mental health awareness to schools
Neurodiverse Kids – funding from York Region Schools
Would include information sessions for parents on dealing with anxiety in children
These info nights would create a sense of community for parents, and be an extension of what the school/teachers are doing
Teachers suggest some additional topics of anxiety, tech use, on & off friendships, would all be useful for students based on what they are seeing (Mme. Lombardi)

Spoken with Cineplex for an off school hours movie day to build community among families
Options are Sat or Sun at 10am (before theatres open)
Need a 50 person minimum
Movie options are Zootopia 2 or Wicked 2
Prices for adult and child, each with food combo
Will send survey through school to parents asking for opinion on date (Dec or Jan) and movie preference, and that with most will be chosen

Katariina to send Mr Collins classroom/student wish lists
Ally to find out more information on Creative Club (how long is the session each week, minimum # requirements, age requirements)
Karate: find out more details (how long is the session each week, minimum # requirements, age requirements)
Sumeet to find out more information on mental health info nights to share at next meeting
Send out movie survey to families