Calgary Girls’ School Parent Council Meeting Minutes September 5, 2014 In Attendance: - Shoya Wells, Lianne Kanters, Lisa Roberts, Barbara Morris Dianne McBeth, Judi Hadden, Eva Erfle, Tanya Sinnett, Bridget Buar, Sabrina Wilde, Janet Holmes, Nova McIntosh, Bindiya Shetty-Dias, Cheryl Chaput, Wendy James-Smith, Lori Zak, Val Loken, Nicole DuMaresque, Amy Care, Tammie Ho, Leah Storrow, Allison Williams, Kim Winsor, Julie Sutherland, Colleen Rivers, Ali Chasmkhavari, Nicole Almasi, Dana Silver, Shoya called the meeting to order at 9:40 am Approval of June 13, 2014 AGM minutes, moved by Wendy James-Smith & seconded by Lianne Kanters Approval of Sept. 5, 2014 Agenda, moved by Sabrina Wilde, seconded by Lori Zak Chairperson Report – Shoya Wells - - - Welcome to all, Shoya introduced admin staff, the executive and herself. Thankyous were extended to: o all who worked at the BBQ o Parents who worked over summer to get things ready, especially Julie for Volunteer Spot, Leah & Dana for BBQ o Lisa Roberts, Lora Zak & Leah Storrow – Healthy Hunger setup o Lori Zak for Balzac meats setup Sport Lolly’s for Run for the Cure: o Moved by Lianne Kanters that we release up to $250 for Sport Lolly’s for Run For the Cure, seconded by Leah Storrow Carried Sporks: $2 without case & $5 without case. Stock needs to be replenished. o Moved by Wendy James-Smith that we release up to $275 to restock our inventory of Sporks 25 with case, 100 without cases, seconded by Tanya Sinnett Carried Superintendent’s Report – Dianne McBeth - Thank you to all the parents who attended PAC Board meeting next Wednesday at 6pm at the Board Office BBQ great example of the community we share AGM November (2nd Wednesday) – will include results, audit report, Governance & Bylaws will present their recommendations, elections to fill open Board positions. Open positions on Board of Directors will be put on the website. Dianne encouraged parents to apply for these positions - Appreciation to staff for all the prep work done for start up Principal’s Report – Judi Hadden - - - Thank you to all for the BBQ night – bringing community together. New families felt very welcome. Your daughter in CGS is on a journey, it does not happen in 1 year. Girls need the time to take the journey, hopefully over 6 years. Growth and development takes time. Girls need to know they can make mistakes; this is how they learn to be successful. Work together and have conversations with teachers and peers. Encourage the conversation. Staff are here to listen. Grade 4 girls are moving into their classes on Monday after some time for the staff to get to know each other. Model is shifting for all the girls to have a pod of teachers. More mixing of the girls within grade groups. Staff identified 2 areas to focus on o Engagement – Wiki has changed and will be key point of communication. Wiki area is now password protected. o Assessment and Evaluation – feedback – most important part is in LMS to which your daughter has the password. Summative assessment in Portfolio, comments on habits of mind will be included. Student Lead conferences are an important part of assessment and evaluation. John Hattie recently spoke in Calgary the work CGS is doing speaks to what he advocates – students know how they are doing and what they need to do to grow. Support of girls is what will help them with their growth. Treasurer’s Report – Lianne Kanters - Thank you Lianne for all she does to prepare budget and keep our books in order. Lianne reported on the financial status of Parent Council funds. Lianne explained there are accounting forms that need to be used for any financial transactions – counting or expenses; these can be picked up from the office. Committees have budgets and may spend up to this amount in the current budget year. Any overspending needs to be approved at council. Fundraising – cheque writing, Balzac meats, some profit from lunch, WEG and casino Teacher’s Report – Eva Erfle - - Thank you to council for staff dinner at Spiro’s at the end of June Go Girls Day – Sept 4 – check the website for curriculum for this extra program at CGS. Helps girls advocate, women in history, sense of self, build footprint in our community. Eva gave a short presentation on My CGS – Extra Academic Activities o 3 month blocks of opportunities to try new things o Is it possible for parents to participate – yes as things unfold. If parents are interested in volunteering to help run a group speak to Colleen Parks. o Fair will be held during student lead conferences to see what is being offered. Cross country is happening beginning Sept. 17 for all grades - - Volleyball – Senior tryouts starting next week. Junior will be in-house. Annie auditions underway at Lakeview. Lots of opportunities for all the girls to participate (backstage, costumes, makeup, front of house, etc.) Theatre at Central Memorial for the performance. 10 year pins given to all girls Committee Reports: Special Events – Dana Silver/Leah Storrow – BarBQ - Thank you for organizing the BBQ. Thank you to all who volunteered. Volunteer Spot worked well. Dana is looking for suggestions how to improve o Pre-order meals o Tickets sent home o Set aside food for known concerns o Need to have a menu for food intolerances o Hand stamps for chips & beverages to ensure only one portion per person o Check off names when handing out tickets o More volunteers at ticket table Fundraising – Laurie Zak Balzac Meats o o o o 2 sales per year Private company selling Angus hormone free beef and free range chicken % of sales comes back to school Date we have been given is December 15 for delivery, committee is trying to get a change o May try some other suppliers around the parent conference date in November o Lori will do some additional research on other alternatives that were suggested. Lianne Kanters – Cheque Writing Campaign o Letter will be coming out in October. o Parent council is investigating having online payment for fundraisers Volunteer Spot – Julie Sutherland - Free online system Julie is setting up for Healthy Hunger May be able to allow teachers to access volunteers through this Possibly a link on the website - Currently using the free service but there are upgrades and other similar sites, Julie is investigating Julie moved that we spend up to $250 to purchase an upgraded system for volunteer recruitment, seconded by Sabrina Wilde. Carried Healthy Hunger Lunches – Lisa Roberts - Lunches are input until December Investigating some other options for January Hot lunch program once a week Volunteers are needed to distribute the food Parent Educations – Julie Sutherland/Sandee Geislinger - Sept 24 Internet Safety with Paul Davis Oct. 21 Girl Power (sign up online and pay Girl Power direct) Parents are welcome to make suggestions for speakers or topics Feed the Teacher – Shoya Wells - Sept 18th @ both campuses Happens 3 times a year during Parent Conferences Council purchases an entrée and parents donate salads and desserts Setup team needed at both campuses, volunteer needed to oversee Bel Aire Career Speaker Series – - Research for speakers has begun Women’s Eve Gala – - Looking for new Chair & co-chair Committee members are needed First meeting needs to be held soon Used Uniform – - Sale date not determined Donations of uniforms needed. Need to be fair and consistent with start time. Adjournment at 11:37 Next meeting Friday, October 3, 2014 at 9:30 Agenda will be posted a week before the meeting. An email address will be setup for Parent Council for additions to agenda, or if you would like to support an agenda item.