October 2014 - Royal West Academy

ROYAL WEST ACADEMY
Minutes of the meeting of the governing board of Royal West Academy held on Thursday, October 16,
2014 at 7:00 p.m. in the library of Royal West Academy, 189 Easton Avenue, Montreal West.
Present:
Deidre Dimock
Michael Mendelson
Kirk Kelly
Ryan Ortiz
Sandy Roy
Jan Mateus
Lori Rinaldi
Rachel Copnick
Phillip Renninson
Tony Pita
Chantal Juhasz
Jeff Bateman
Nathalie Cheff
Nijad Dahdah
Mikaela Mailly
Michael Delis
Regrets:
Patricia Taylor
Andrea Dillon
Lindsay Heckersbruch
Daniel Dupuis
Jessica Fogel
One member of the public was present.
1.1 Welcome by Principal
1.1-2 Introduction of Members and Guests
1.2 Adoption of the Agenda
After several additions were made to the agenda, it was moved by K. Kelly, seconded by J.
Bateman and unanimously resolved that the agenda be adopted.
Vote: 14-0-0
1.3 Adoption of the Minutes of May 26, 2014
It was moved by M. Mendelson, seconded by M. Delis. Four (4) members abstained and it was
resolved by the remaining ten (10) members that the minutes of the meeting held on May 26, 2014
be adopted as circulated.
Vote: 10-0-4
1.4 Election of:
1.4-1 Chairperson
T. Pita called for nominations for the role of Chairperson of the Governing Board of Royal
West Academy.
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K. Kelly was nominated for the role and was declared Chairperson by acclamation.
1.4-2 Vice-Chairperson
K. Kelly called for nominations for the role of Vice-Chairperson of the Governing Board of
Royal West Academy.
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M. Delis was nominated for the role and was declared Vice-Chairperson by acclamation.
1.4-3 Treasurer
K. Kelly called for nominations for tTreasurer of the Governing Board of Royal West Academy.
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M. Mendelson was nominated for the role and was declared Treasurer by acclamation.
1.4-4 Secretary
K. Kelly called for nominations for the role of Secretary of the Governing Board of Royal West
Academy. No nominations were put forward. A motion to table nominations for the role of
Secretary until the next Governing Board meeting was put forward by P. Rennison, seconded
by J. Mateus and unanimously resolved that the motion be adopted.
Vote: 14-0-0
1.5 Community Representatives
Dr. Mahesh Sharma and Dr. John Simms were recommended as community representatives, as
they have been in previous years. A third community representative, Ms. Elise Bryan-Bains, was
mentioned, in the situation that either of the other two were unable to continue in their role. It was
moved by J. Bateman, seconded by P. Rennison and unanimously resolved that the motion be
adopted.
Vote: 14-0-0
1.6 Annual Report for 2014-2015
The annual report for 2014-2015 was presented by K. Kelly. The adoption of said report was
moved by L. Rinaldi and seconded by M. Delis. There was one (1) abstention and the report was
resolved by the remaining thirteen (13) members to be adopted.
Vote: 13-0-1
1.7 Operation
1.7-1 Internal Rules of Operation
It was moved by D. Dimock, seconded by M. Delis and unanimously resolved that the internal
rules be adopted.
It is to be noted that the internal rules are to be consulted first, and if there are any issues that
cannot be settled therein, the EMSB Governing Board Manual will be used as a secondary
reference.
Vote: 14-0-0
1.7-2 Conflicts of Interest
No conflicts of interest were acknowledged by those attending the meeting.
1.8 Dates and Times for Meetings
The first Wednesday of every month was adopted as a guideline for scheduling meetings. The
dates agreed upon are listed below:
November 5, 2014
January 14, 2015
December 3, 2014 (tentative)
February 11, 2015
March 11, 2015
May 25, 2015
April 8, 2015
June 3, 2015 (if needed for budget
approval)
1.9 Reports
1.9-1 Principal’s Report
The Principal’s Report was presented by T. Pita. His report included the following points:
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Current enrolment is 882
722 applicants for Secondary 1 for 2015-16 for 175 places, second highest number ever
Successful railway crossing safety presentation from AMT
Grade 7 Meet the Teacher night was held Sept. 10
Open House was held Sept 15 with a large turnout
Start of Year Celebration was held on Sept. 19
 Thanks from RWA to the Foundation for its hard work
Many building improvements have been undertaken
 314 new lockers
 Beautification grant of $10,000 for the Park’n’Lot
 $200,000 masonry project funded by Material Resources
 Wi-Fi upgrading – 15 access points increased to 40
 New mobile MacBook Air lab with 30 machines
 Computer lab 206 to be updated with graphics and 3D programming
CEGEP information evening for grade 11 and 10 students and families to be held on
October 21
Terry Fox run was held on Oct 9
 Grade 8 students raise over $10,000 each year for Cancer Research
Bantam Girls Cross Country League champions
Debate team has been very successful at recent events- 2nd Place finish at Selwyn House
Thanks to J. Bateman for his taking on interim duties as Vice Principal
Congratulations to L. Heckersbruch and J. Fogel who are expecting babies
RWA’s 240 status has recently been approved by MELS for the next three years
Math 426 success rates on the Uniform Exam have increased from 80.2% in 2012 to
96.98% in 2014
It was moved by M. Mendelson and seconded by M. Delis that all day trips in Montreal and
surrounding areas be approved by Governing Board. The motion was resolved unanimously
that the trips be approved.
Vote: 14-0-0
1.9-2 Regional Delegate
No report was presented.
1.9-3 Commissioner
Commissioner was not present at meeting. No report was presented.
1.9-4 Student Leadership Association
The SLA Report was presented by the co-presidents, R. Copnick and M. Mailly. Their report
included the following points:
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Grade 7 Orientation took place on Aug 27
Welcome Back BBQ was held on the front field on Sept 12
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Start of Year celebration involved SLA and prefects.
Open House
Dance will be held on November 7 and will have a 90s theme
Continued discussions with Home & School regarding new PE shorts
1.9-5 Foundation Report
RWA Foundation Report was presented by K. Kelly. His report included the following points:
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Start of Year Celebration
 Thanks to L. Rinaldi
 Thanks to SLA
 Total cost $10,500; total revenues $10,700
 Approximately 800 people attended
Hockey raffle to start in November. 4,500 tickets available @ $40 each
Play at the Segal Centre in April 2015
 Travesty to be directed by RWA graduate Jacob Tierney
 $60 per ticket with $30 going to the Foundation
$19,000 in donations to Auditorium fund was raised through start of the year donations
from 106 families
Phone campaign to sell chairs for auditorium will begin shortly
 Aimed at recent grads and upcoming grads
 $250 to purchase a chair with your child’s name going on a wall-mounted brass plaque
 Goal is to purchase 325 chairs in total
1.10 Correspondence
No correspondence to discuss
1.11 Question Period
Observation made by member of public.
1.12 Varia
1.12-1 Debate Team Trip Request
It was moved by J. Bateman, seconded by N. Cheff and unanimously resolved that the trip
request for Ottawa be approved.
Vote: 14-0-0
1.13 Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m. on a motion by J. Bateman.
________________________________
Chairperson
_________________________________
Principal and/or Secretary

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