May 2025 School Council Minutes

Since our last meeting:

• GIVE program
• Chess Tournament
• Community Night
• Scientists in the School
• Dance-a-thon Prize wins, popsicle week
• Chef A L’ecole, good feedback
• Spring Book Fair, success - finishing off tally
• Celebrity Server Night, big success
• Duck eggs arrive for FDK classes, starting to hatch 

As we head to the end of the year:

• Chess Tournament at SPS, hosting in library
• EQAO for grades 3 and 6
• Track and Field @ Denison high school May 22 - busing students to field events, some events to be held at SPS. Mr. Baxter and Ms. Goring are running event Area track and field
• June 10, 11 -Discover Kindergarten Event Held on May 13, 6:00 pm
• Sharon Showcase and Official Opening June 4
• Official opening, Grades 4-8 Talent Show
• Grade 8 Graduation
• Blue Mountain Day Trip
• Grass/Field update - clay under thin layer of top soil is the issue, making it hard for grass to root. Will have rotating field use for the end of the year. Grass will be reassessed end of August

Field Trips 

• If the school can share with families how teachers select field trips destinations and explain the connection between these trips and the curriculum.
• Community struggling to understanding the learning goals and value of the excursion for Grade 4-6 to Cedar Glen
• Staff reported that they were all very disappointed with the 4-6 field trip, trying to ask for a refund and it was not what it promised to be, Outdoor Education and Building Community, high ropes (apparently our group was too large)
• Letter to be send to Cedar Glen on behalf of School Council
• Maximum to ask families to pay for Field trips next year, and how much for council to help? $10 per student from council to subsidize a field trip either on or off school. -Max to charge a studnet for field trip $30-40 

Discover Kindergarten - May 13, 2025, email went out earlier in the day 

Follow Up 

• Parking Lot safety during pick up and drop off (Looking into AST to promote more walking to school)
• Admin to look into this for the fall 

End-of-Year Recap 

• Student Learning - what did the school do to help students grow in reading, writing and math?
  • Working with consultants - PD around - cultural responsive and relevant teaching.
  • Wish list in fall to help supplement
  • Social Studies Kits
• Clubs and Activities - What kinds of clubs and student activities ran this year? How can the School Council make sure there are a variety of options for students next year?
  • staff are willing to run clubs, next year will be much easier with one lunch schedule, allow teachers a chance to see what they will do, and then possibly parents/council members can help
• Instruments - How can we ensure there are instruments in the hands of students next year?
  • Unfortunately, we have had inconsistent music teachers filling in. Did not want to bring out instruments this year with all the uncertainties. 

Month of June - SK to join primary grades for recess

• Balance in School Council Account as of April 20, 2025: $30.881.54
• By end of year-raised $35000
• Will Spend $27000
• Left with $8000 to put towards larger items like playground ($120,000), art murals, basketball hoops

• Do we want to do any more fundraising this year? No!
• Another Movie night? No
• Selling leftover Gatorade and snacks at track and field day May 22nd? no because the highschool will sometimes sell snacks there
• Get rid of it at Snack Card, June Showcase
• Hot Dog Day
• Date for FUN fair in the fall? Plan for Funfair next spring, make it a large community event, money raised to playground and basketball and primary poles ($21000)
• BBQ and games on Curriculum Night?-YES… waiting on date (Rosh Hashanah is Sept 22 – 24 and Yom Kippur is Oct 1-2)
• Flip Give - Look into this for next year-Tayler to look into
• Mabel Labels-Crystal A. to set up
• Next year we access Cost Sharing (1:1 on technology) - Order to be here in September - Looking into what to order