Connaught School Council Meeting – April 16, 2019 Minutes

1. Call to Order, Approval of Minutes, Approval of Agenda

• Draft agenda – Approved
• Minutes from March 19^th meeting – Approved

 

2. Changes to Walking School Bus Program

• Vicky Kyiaco, Chief Administrative Officer of the Ottawa School Transportation Authority (OSTA) and Jessica Sheridan from the Ottawa Safety Council (OSC) attended the meeting to explain the new Walking School Bus (WSB) Hybrid model.
• It was explained that the WSB was never intended to be an ongoing service with paid staff. The vision was to “re-culture” communities away from the use of cars/busses and towards walking. The plan going forward is to transition from the paid staff model to a Hybrid model which makes use of both paid staff and community volunteers.
• Connaught currently has one WSB route which serves upwards of 50 students living in a residential zone between Parkdale and Fairmont Avenues. OSTA noted that there are less than 15 students registered in the program and that there is room for additional students.
• There are no plans to expand Connaught’s program to 2 routes. Rather, the intent is to expand the WSB model to other schools.
• Under the current WSB model, which includes 2 paid leaders, the WSB costs more per student per year than actual school busses.
• For 2019-2020, OSTA will keep Connaught’s 2 paid leaders with the addition of community volunteers. The plan for 2020-2021 will be to shift to 1 paid leader and 1 community volunteer.
• In response to the concerns raised about the reliability of new Hybrid model, it was explained that the OSC would manage a roster of community volunteers. If ever a volunteer is not available, a paid leader would be sent to cover that shift.
• Discussion:
  • It was felt that there is a disconnect between OSTA’s participation numbers for Connaught and the current availability of spots – as parents are under the impression that the WSB is full and that there is a waiting list. Caretta will confirm this with Lynnette and Dean, and get back to OSTA on this point.
  • Given the interest within the community for supporting (and potentially enlarging) the Connaught WSB, a suggestion was made that parents consider a self-funded model.

 

3. Principal’s Report

• Planning
  • Enrollment for 2019-2020 is at 394; French Immersion has grown while there has been a decrease in English primary.
  • Plans so far include four Kindergarten classes, two and a half Grade 1 French Immersion classes and one English primary class (Grades 1-3 split).
• Connaught Open House – May 8^th from 8:30-10:30
  • During the Ministry’s Education Week, schools across the district will be offering Open Houses. These are opportunities for parents to drop in to schools and to see their children in their classroom environment and to talk to staff.
• School Climate Survey
  • Between April 23^rd and May 10^th, the OCDSB will be conducting a School Climate Survey for Students to better understand students’ perceptions about bullying, safety at school, and parent engagement. The survey, which is voluntary and confidential, will be available for Connaught students in grades 4-6. The data gathered will be used to help school staff develop strategies to prevent bullying and to promote safe and inclusive schools.
  • Examples of Connaught’s school-specific questions are: “In what ways do you feel supported at Connaught?” and “In your years at Connaught, how would you summarize your experience so far?”

 

4. Teacher’s Report

Classroom activities:

Kinders:

• Math – Students are learning to use number lines as a tool to represent numbers, add numbers together and compare numbers.
• French – Students are working in small guided reading groups in French.
• Science – Scientists in schools coming up on May 13^th.
• Collection Fair (May 8^th) – Students will be hosting their Collections Fair where they will be displaying and sharing collections of their choice… from feathers to stones, etc.

Developmental Disabilities Class:

• It was noted by staff how heartwarming is to see students throughout the school accept and integrate students from this class into their free play at recess.

Primary and Junior:

• Solutionary Workshop (Gr 4-5) – Will take place on April 29^th. Topic will be Activism.
• Scientists in Schools (Gr 2) – Simple machines.

 

Extra-curricular activities:

• Lacrosse workshops – Workshops will be offered to all juniors on April 24^th… led by Lynz Keys Bolton, five-year member of the Canadian National Women’s Lacrosse Team (2001-05), three year member of the Canadian National U-19 team and a member of the coaching staff for a number of college lacrosse teams.
• Annual Plant Sale – Took place on April 18^th. Funds to be used to rebuild the garden beds in the Nature Education Centre in partnership with School Council.
• Heart of the City Piano Program – Recital took place on April 2^nd at the University of Ottawa – was enjoyed by all.
• Right to Play – Students have been teaching games/simulations during their gym classes.
•  School Play – “The Jungle Book” will take place on May 8^th (at 12:00 and 4:30 pm). There will be two full rehearsals next week.
• Sports Teams – Basketball intramurals have started and try-outs are taking place for the annual 3 on 3 tournaments. The girls tournament will take place on May 2^nd and the boys tournament will take place on May 15^th.

 

5. Treasurer’s report

• Highlights from the past month:
  • Revenues:
    • Stone Soup proceeds were $2400. Out of this, $600 will be allocated to the Leadership Club, $874.36 to School Council, $939 to the School Yard Renewal initiative.
  • Spending:
    • $1500 contribution to water fountain/bottle refilling station – Still pending
  • Spending Requests:
    • Deferred to May meeting

 

6. Community updates

• Connaught “Families Helping Families”
  • In the spirit of our ongoing efforts to help families, the following updates were provided:
    • Donation and delivery of a bed to a Connaught family

 

7. Committee Updates and Events

• Events
  • Stone Soup– March 27^th Feedback (Danica)
    • The event was a huge success this year which built on (and perfected) the planning and logistics established in previous years. Similar to other years, students painted bowls and organizers sought donations of soups, bread, coffee, baked goods and raffle prizes from local stores, cafes, restaurants, parent volunteers and teachers. For the second year in a row, the Leadership Club partnered in the event to promote their priority project (Kipsongol) and to help with waste-management. New this year was the donation of a ham from Saslove’s, a larger-scale raffle sale, and an increased focus on reusable/compostable materials. Parent volunteer participation and engagement remains critical to the success of the event.
    • Some suggestions for next year by the Leadership Club were to relocate the waste management station to be next to the dishwashing station and to provide flat pans and scrub brushes for the dishwashing station.
  • Lawn Bowling (Cynthia and Darlene) – June 14^th
    • Planning is “Full steam ahead”!
  • End of Year BBQ – June 19^th (Kristen)
    • Plans are underway with volunteers lined up for pickups and deliveries. Various options for meat sources and activities were discussed. It was asked if bouncy castle could be installed, but with the amount of supervision that it would require, it was not deemed possible.

 

• Schoolyard Renewal Committee
  • Site Planning and Implementation –
    • Big Yard Development Plan – Summer 2019
      • The board’s landscape architect presented 2 concept options to staff and the site planning committee. Both options took into account “wish list” items provided by council and staff including the installation of a turf sports field and a running track and the retention of the evergreen planter and shade garden. They also included space allotment for snow storage. Based on feedback provided, two modified options were presented which included a slightly larger field with more fluid edges.
      • Agreement was reached on the modified option with the largest field size.
      • A more detailed site plan and design is expected shortly.
  • Fundraising
    • Star Wars Movie Night – May 3^rd
      • Plans are underway. It was confirmed during the meeting that the Leadership Club will organize the Bake Sale again this year.
    •  Planned Upcoming Events:
      • Lawn Bowling – June 14 (Adult event)
      • Pay it Forward – June (Sponsorship-based fundraiser)
  •  Communications and Engagement
    • Parent Information Night – June 18th

 

8. Club Updates

• Leadership Club
  • A WE presentation will take place for all Junior students on May 3^rd.
  • The Wonderful Week of WE to take place May 6-10.
  • Rafiki bracelets will be offered for sale on May 10
  • Thank you cards for Stone Soup contributors will be delivered next week.
• Knitting Club
  • Club is now taking place on Thursdays.

 

9. Key Dates

•  Next Meeting: May 21, 2019