Lady Evelyn School Council. Monday October 22, 2007.

Attendance: Monique, John, Lori, Ruth, Rosemary, Suzanne, Jen, Sherri-lynn, Shahla, Val, Joey, Dominic, Mooña, Richard, Teresa, Annette, Andrea

The draft budget was circulated. On the revenue side, the school council heard various reports.

Fundraising committee: Sherri-Lynn discussed upcoming fundraising projects including  berries, magazines and cookie dough, as well ongoing coffee and pizza programs. There will be no Sens tickets this year.  Projects to be worked on include cooperative games and a planned spring event with activities for children and parents. She hopes to organize a run, involving the community as a whole, in the spring.

The Council debated whether a single fundraising drive, perhaps permitting postdated cheques,  would encourage more parent participation than separate requests throughout the year. The Treasurer (Jen) noted that this would involve considerable organization and possibly extra work to arrange the processing of cheques. 

On the expenditure side, the Treasurer noted that the sports estimates were firm and the arts numbers are more flexible.

Sports expenditures include planned swimming and skating. The council discussed what other activities could be funded, such as replacing sports equipment. Lori Lovett discussed the possibility of participating in a non-competitive event with some of the area alternative schools. The main costs involved would be for transportation. The council considered the possibility of using OC Transpo more often.

It was noted that projected arts expenditures were less than those projected for sports, and this is because teachers make fewer requests for arts-related funding.

It was noted that there is now a form for teachers to use to request funds from the Council for programs.

Education committee: Expenditures will include library materials, parents’ workshops, and an Omniken ball with pump.  The education committee’s funding needs are less than what the budget allows, and can be given to another area in need of funding

Health and environment committee (Shahla): Expenditures may include a bicycle safety course, salad bar, indoor seed garden, composting, movie night.  To elaborate on two of the iniatives, Shahla pointed out that the committee is considering a project modeled on the “growing up organic” program at Mutchmor, oriented towards teaching children sustainable development. This would include organic gardening inside and outside the school, e.g. raised beds with seedlings near play structures, made of recycled materials, Council members/volunteers would tend them. There could also be a

“salad bar” day at the school, once a week, with payment arranged as in the pizza program. Costs would include lights for the gardens, trays and tongs for the salad. Kerry Fagen and Maureen Omera agreed to take this on. Another project would involve planned workshops on non-violent communication for parents and children, in conjunction with the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre.

The Council discussed the planned initiatives, noting that the organic program would tie in well with some teachers’ gardening projects. Issues of concern included the scope/workload of the initiatives and the protection of gardens located in play areas. The Council agreed to budget for the planned initiatives on the understanding that further details would be forthcoming.

The social committee’s budget was approved.

The Council discussed the process by which teachers could request funding. It was agreed that each teacher could be allocated $100, with the expectation that the form and receipts would be submitted. The amounts could vary from one year to the next. The Council also concurred with a suggestion to allocate additional funds ($300) to the French teachers in light of the fact that they are teaching multiple classes and because it can be more challenging to find French-language resources. $200 was allocated for special education.

Richard proposed that Council investigate the possibility of renovating the classroom next to the library to allow the library’s space to expand. The plan would still enable the room to be used as a classroom if needed.  Council discussed whether renovation would be the best use of funds directed at the library or whether the funds might be better spent on library source materials. Council agreed to set aside funds for the project while consulting with students and teachers to determine priorities for improving the library.

The council discussed and approved the idea of setting aside $2000 to be used in developing or contributing to school-wide initiatives involving peace, world citizenship, or other broad topics.

Additional funding possibilities include possible donations to some of the needy schools in the area.

The Council discussed making parents aware of its budget by circulating an annual report.

The final issue discussed was plans for holding family movie night once a week, and suggestions for appropriate movies were invited.

Adjourned.