runnymede council mtg2 30oct2013 minutes

MINUTES Runnymede Public School (PS) Council Meeting

2nd Meeting of the 2013-14 Runnymede PS Council October 30, 2013

Runnymede PS Library 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Attendance Susan Armstrong, Jen Atkinson, Ivana Barbieri, Tasha Balla-Boudreau, Alice Bell, Kyra Blessing, Erin Carroll, Martha Chamberlain, Katherine Clark, Amelia Dennis, Sarah Frame, Suzanne Gordon, Emma Greensmith, Sean Hume, Anne Lakoff, Marshall Leslie, Donna Mackay, Jackie Marrie, Erin Meana, Pam McArthur, Jennifer McLean, Rohit Parekh, Dea Pasini, Victoria Pensa, Maureen Petrie, Julie Phillips, Denyse Pilkington, Caron Raybould, Andrew Reynolds, Leslie Robbins, Audrey Robinson, Jacqueline Schaller, Chris Sheehan, Jacqueline Sustar, Shirley Suurdt, Jerry Tiessen, Andrew Violi, Helen Williams, Catherine Willson, , Brian Withnell, Krista Wylie

A.1 Call to order, welcome and opening remarks The meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm.

A.2 Adoption of agenda The agenda was adopted without change.

A.3 Review of previous minutes (Sept 17, 2013) The previous minutes were accepted as circulated.

A.4 Sub-Committee Update including plans and budget requests for 2013-2014: (See attached sub-committee 2013/2014 proposed plans) Ward 7: (K. Wylie/J. McLean)

• Regulation 274 update (see attached letter). Parents are encouraged to consider emailing the Premier and Minister of Education (see Oct 24, Runnymede Council Newsletter for further details)

• Ward 7 reps have issued a letter Oct 24, 2013 in response to Toronto Star request for submissions regarding “What’s broken In Toronto Schools” (see attached letter)

• Focus for Ward 7 reps in 2013/2014 o Overcrowding (or cast in another light - "efficient use of TDSB capital resources" o Renewal, repair and maintenance of Toronto school

Centennial Committee (M. Leslie, V. Nitsis, K. Blessing)

• No budget requested.

• A lot of grunt work, such as cataloguing of archived items, is required. More help is needed.

• Recommend creation of a separate Centennial Celebration Committee

Motion to create Centennial Celebration Committee: 1st K. Wylie, 2ndJ. Tiessen, Carried. Arts Committee (A.Bell, S. Kelly, J. Schaller)

• Planning to go ahead with the same program as last year. • Budget request from Council is $7,500

Communications Committee (R. Parekh, J. Thompson,)

• Website is being moved to a 3rd party server (Council approved this decision) • Only 71 students are now receiving hard copies. • Budget request from Council is $200

ACTION: Amelia will send a note to all teachers to do a reminder for all students to provide email addresses Spirit Committee (H. Pegg, A. Robinson, L. Robbins)

• Direct fundraising campaign has raised $33,346.00 as of Oct 30, 2013. • Total fundraising goal (and revenue from affiliate programs) for this year is $60,900

(net). • Spirit events will include pizza lunches, pub night/silent auction, spring thaw, and

additional smaller activities. ACTION – Spirit and Amelia are going to do one ‘more’ kick at the can….re: Grade 7/8’s and direct fundraising campaign Yard Committee (S. Frame)

• Planning to similar programs as last year with small enhancements • Budget request $2500, plus $3750 for Green Teacher Program, and $800 for outdoor

recess equipment. Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Committee (J. Tiessen, J.Phillips)

• Planning to expand programs from last year – more in class workshops (Math), expansion to Grade 7/8s

• Budget request $6,500 ($2000 for Math Activities, $4500 for Science Kits) • First Lego League is now a school team for Runnymede, budget request $855

A.5 2013-14 Proposed Budget review A draft budget for 2013-2014 was presented to the Council, and specific items, including both costs and revenues, were discussed. Recommendation was put forth to reallocate the following 2012/2013 approved expenses (these were accrued by not spent): $2000 Door Mural Phase 2, $800 Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis presentation towards the 2013/2014 ‘Enrichment

Expenses’. Motion 1st K. Wylie, 2nd A.Bell: To approved the 2013/2104 amended budget with recommendations from above Carried. 2013/2014 Council budget was approved with proposed adjustments ($2K and $.8K reallocated to ‘Enrichment Expenses”). See attached for the approved budget.

A.6 Administration Update 1. Artificial Turf News: Runnymede PS is being considered for new Artificial Turf Sports Field in 2013/14 (Note: you can also refer to the Runnymede Communication sent Oct 23, 2013) For more information regarding Artificial Turf Sports Fields see ‘Terms of Reference Governing Future Installations of Artificial Turf Sports Fields’. http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Leadership/Boardroom/AgendaMinutes.aspx Should you have any questions or concerns, regarding the installation of artificial turf at Runnymede, please don’t hesitate to contact Amelia Dennis directly at 416.393.9055 NOTE: Because of FDK implementation planned for Sept 2014, a landscape architect is being assigned to Runnymede to support planning of outdoor space, this landscape architect will take into account the sports fields during the planning process. 2. School Safety:

• School security was addressed and reminders issued. We are collaborating with Safe Schools Committee on protocols.

• SMART locks have now been installed • Safe school committee members wanted (past or future) to discuss implementation of

Safe Schools plan (note: these meetings are at 8am). Please contact Ameila Dennis directly if you are interested.

A.7 Other Business i) Drama Production: (Mr. Latter) – see attached proposal Mr. Latter presented a proposed Musical for 2013/2014 school year.

• Budget request of $3,900 with any revenue generated to be dispersed back to Council. • (Mr. Latter's hope is that we may purchase lighting for the gym so we can continue to

have these sorts of productions here instead of renting Western Tech.) • The musical will replace the drama showcase for this year and going forward depending

on the success of this year, alternate with Drama Showcase every other year. • All drama students (Gr 4-8) will be involved in some aspect of the production, but it will

not be mandatory. • All drama students from grades 4 - 8 will be allowed to audition and those that wish to

be involved will be allowed to. • For a more detailed explanation of how the musical will be integrated with the classroom

teaching, please contact Mr. Latter directly - [email protected] Motion was put forth the cover the costs of musical to be offset by potential revenues from musical ticket sales. Motion: 1st N.Irwin, 2nd K.Blessing. Carried . Nay: R. Parekh

II) Council Constitution: Motion was put forth to open Runnymede Parent Council Constitutional amendment process –for review and potential updates to Parent Council Constitution. Motion 1st S. Gordon, 2nd J. Tiessen. Carried. SPECIAL NOTES:

• Thanks to Mr. Latter for bringing the musical proposal forwards • Thanks to all teachers who have returned to Parent Council – great to have you back. • Congratulations to Mr. Reynolds for his Teacher of the Year Award from Toronto Star.

A.8 Council meeting schedule for remainder of the year Proposed Meeting Dates: Nov 28, Jan 21, Apr 16, May 29

A.9 Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 8:59 pm.

WARD 7 SUB-COMMITTEE: 1) Copy of Oct, 2013 Regulation 274 Letter:

Dear Premier and Minister of Education I am one of Runnymede Public School's Ward 7 Reps and am writing to ask you to please get rid of Regulation 274 as soon as possible. Many other parents at Runnymede P.S. share my concerns and we eagerly await your response to our request and our concerns: • Regulation 274 does not readily allow for Principals to hire the best people to teach at their schools. As parents, we WANT

our Principal to be able to hire the best people for our School. • Regulation 274 also requires Principals to go through a cumbersome process to hire appropriate teachers. In an era where

Principals are stretched to their absolute limit, making them jump through needless administrative hoops to making hiring decisions seems absurd. We want our Principal to be able to hire in the most efficient, effective manner possible.

Kind regards,

Krista Wylie Ward 7 Rep, Runnymede P.S.

2) Copy of Oct 24, 2013 Toronto Star Letter: October 24, 2013 To: Toronto Star, [email protected] CC: Irene Atkinson, Ward 7 Trustee Donna Quan, Director – TDSB Kathleen Wynne, Premier Liz Sandals, Minister of Education

Cheri Di Novo, MPP Jane Phillips-Long, Superintendent Runnymede P.S.

Amelia Dennis, Principal Runnymede P.S. Sarah Doucette, City Councillor

Is my child’s school overcrowded? Yes! With a designated capacity of 866 students and 1130 in attendance, Runnymede P.S. is at 130% capacity. Full Day Kindergarten is scheduled for Fall 2014, so the overcrowding is going to get worse. The issues associated with overcrowding are plentiful but suffice to say that 130% capacity does not make for an optimum learning or teaching environment! Is the school crumbling? Yes! The entire north wing of the school is actually sinking. Runnymede P.S. is almost 98 years old and is wrought with maintenance and repair issues:

• Washrooms are in an appalling state, • Some classrooms are freezing cold while others are sweltering, • Indoor stairs are uneven and outdoor stairs are crumbling • There are holes in the walls of classrooms • Windows are in need of replacement • Paint is peeling... and the list goes on.

Given the alarming backlog of maintenance and repairs throughout the TDSB, Runnymede P.S. is certainly not alone in this issue.

One thing that would fix Toronto Schools? The Ministry of Education and Toronto School Boards (all of them!) must start to behave as one collective body responsible for the quality delivery of public education to Toronto children. These political bodies must work together to develop a plan to repair, maintain and, in some cases, rebuild the schools in Toronto. The current state of disrepair found in many Toronto schools is unacceptable, unsustainable and, in some cases, UNSAFE. These political bodies must also work together to develop a plan for efficiently using Toronto School Boards’ vast inventory of capital assets. Selling off a school every time a demographic shift renders it under-capacity seems incredibly shortsighted. However, continuing to run schools at low capacity is certainly inefficient. Creative solutions are possible to this conundrum – but only if all the political bodies involved are focused on the same objective. The Ministry of Education and Toronto School Boards are not working together effectively. Finger pointing and political grandstanding seem to take up more time than constructive, solution-oriented dialogue. Hard-working, dedicated trustees such as our TDSB Ward 7 Trustee Irene Atkinson are caught in the middle of these flawed political processes. More importantly, our children are caught in the middle too. Sincerely, Krista Wylie & Jennifer McLean Runnymede School Council

CENTENNIAL SUB-COMMITTEE 2013/2014 PROPOSED PLAN: 1) Centennial Committee: Our activities in the current academic year will include .... - maintaining and adding to the archival collection of material stored at Runnymede - implementing the report of the Archives Association of Ontario consultant on managing material at Runnymede - moving archival material to various electronic formats - conducting research in other collections (newspapers, the TDSB archives, City of Toronto) - working with staff to identify any required curriculum materials - helping to plan the "Centennial Countdown" - helping to engage in community outreach, such as: a planned joint meeting of the Humberside C.I. Alumni Association, West Toronto Junction and Swansea Historical Associations; and possible participation in Doors Open Toronto 2014 on the weekend of May 24th and 25th, 2014 - identifying alumni 2) Centennial Celebration Committee:

Parent Council approved:

1. The establishment of a new Committee, “Centennial Celebration” 2. $80-100K as a Centennial fundraising target

• Front yard play structure • STEM labs x2

3. Adding a Centennial component to the “direct ask” fundraising campaign in September 2014 and 2015 (asking for money above the $50 per child)

4. A Gala event in February 2015 to celebrate Centennial and serve as a major fundraising event to reach our goal (silent auction at Feb ‘15 Gala will replace the silent auction normally at the pub night that school year to avoid donor fatigue).

5. A Community event in February 2016 to celebrate Centennial with the community, alumni, and existing students. 6. Volunteer recruitment for various jobs – from photocopying archives to leading Centennial Celebration events!

RUNNYMEDE CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE LANDSCAPE

Lead

Objectives

Key Question/s

Key dates

Annual Art Project

A. Robinson H. Pegg

•  Create a lasting symbol of the decades in the school history via murals

•  Engage students in Centennial

•  April/May 2014, 2015, 2016

Fundraising campaign

E. Carroll/C. Hynes

•  Raise $80-100K to fund legacy gifts: 1) Front yard structure, 2) STEM labs

•  Piggy back “direct ask” campaign in addition to the $50 per child? (2014/15)

•  Launch campaign Feb 2014

Runnymede history

M. Leslie V. Nitsis

•  Archive school history so it doesn’t get lost -leverage for Centennial celebrations & for the community

•  What products can we create with the archives and how will they best be utilized?

•  tbd

Work in progress

Gala Event

E. Carroll/C. Hynes

•  Celebrate Centennial!

•  Fundraise for legacy gift

•  Fundraising channel – silent auction?

•  Attendees? •  Where?

•  Feb 2015 (note: no silent auction at pub night that school year)

Community Event

TO BE FILLED

•  Provide an opportunity for the community at large to celebrate Centennial on a Saturday afternoon/evening (at the school)

•  Who will lead and plan this event?

•  Communication plan to reach alumni?

•  Feb 2016

Centennial Centennial Celebration

Countdown Assemblies

K. Kenny

•  Generate student excitement and understanding

Currently part of Spirit Comm.– should these events move to the Centennial Committee?

•  Feb 2014, 2015, 2016

Currently Spirit Comm.

The key to successful implementation is alignment amongst Centennial Committees & between the Centennial Celebration and Spirit Committees.

To achieve this, we have an integrated Project Plan (K Blessing) and plan to create an integrated Communication Plan (TBD, possibly A. Britnell).

SPIRIT SUB-COMMITTEE 2013/2014 PROPOSED PLAN:

FUNDRAISER

BUDGET

Donations

$35,000

Pizza Lunch

11,500

Pub Night/Silent Auction

$8,500

Spring Thaw

$4,000

QSP

$1,000

Mabel's Labels

$500

Bake Sales

$400

T-shirts

$500

TOTAL:

$61,400

What we've done so far:

Welcome Packages Kindergarten Welcome Coffee

Yard Day BBQ, crafts, and face-painting Lost and Found

What's to come:

Chapter's Night - Nov 26 Annual Centennial Countdown Event

Spring JK Open House Centennial Mural Project

Staff Appreciation Lunch

YARD SUB-COMMITTEE 2013/2014 PROPOSED PLAN: 1. Plan and Implement Yard Days $900

a) Continue tradition, maintain what we’ve got b) Fall Yard Day and Spring Yard Day/Earth Day

o Fall Yard Day – September 21, 2013 o Spring Yard Day/Earth Day – April 26, 2014

c) BBQ by Spirit in Fall d) Musical Performance in Spring

2. Maintain and improve existing Gardens $300 (Kinder-Garden, Butterfly, Food, Peace Circle, Front Beds)

a) Rain Barrel for Hillside Garden to simply watering 3. Erosion of Pathways $900

a) Decommission vertical paths b) Plant native species plants in areas with bad erosion c) Mulch existing pathways in spring d) Build retaining walls during Yard Days

4. Curriculum Support $400

a) Lunch and Learns – 1 spring b) Sharing of Green Teacher lesson plans c) Materials for Green Teacher lessons d) Support class projects that use Hillside Garden and specialty gardens

5. Enhance Schoolyard Recess Functionality (equip budget separate line item)

a) Equipment maintenance and replacement b) Project (multi-year) to add new structure (or enhancement to existing) for front yard – Centennial legacy c) Explore usages of Colbeck Ave side yard again d) Participate in FDK implementation and yard implications and solutions e) Oversee front door Centennial mural project (with Arts Committee, funded by Council separately) f) Continue to advocate on Sports Field condition

GREEN TEACHER $3750

a) Support curriculum-related activities in the Hillside Garden o Re-hire education and continue to support curriculum-0based learning with teachers and students in the Hillside

Garden o Grades 2, 4, 6 o Spring Session for all JK/SK classes o Offer 3x2 period sessions, based on learnings last year – late Oct, Jan/Fe and May o Add 1x2 period session for all Kindergarten classes in the Springtime

b) After School Nature Club (Spring)

STEM SUB-COMMITTEE 2013/2014 PROPOSED PLAN: The STEM Learning Sub-Committee (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a group of volunteer parents, with teacher/admin support, who are interested in helping to enrich Runnymede Public School through hands-on science, mathematics and technology opportunities that focus on the reinforcement of the mathematics and science curricula. Our goal is to support effective STEM teaching and learning programs, that ignite and sustain Runnymede’s students’ love of math and science; and help our students see how STEM education is relevant, i.e.: how it will serve them well no matter what career they envision (and in life, too). We do this by making Math & Science Fun! COMMITTEE STRUCTURE:

- Co-Chairs – o Jerry Tiessen and Julie Phillips

- Math Lead – Pascal Godbout - Science Lead – Mellissa Moens - Technology Lead – Andre Wisaksana - FLL Lead – Jerry Tiessen - Secretary – Jen Atkinson - Budget –Tasha Balla-Boudreau <[email protected]> - Grants – Cynthia Holmes - Committee Members ~ 10 teachers & parents and growing!

School Year Math Science 2011 / 2012 No Formal Enrichment No Formal Enrichment 2012 / 2013 Amazing Math Race all grades 3/4/5/6 students

participated in the 1st Amazing Math Race. 24 teams in each grade raced to 5 destinations to solve math problems. The goal was to make math fun! Angry Birds life sized Angry Birds program that covers all math strands in grade 1 and 2 implemented ~8 to 10 classes as yearend summary in the classroom. The goal was to make math fun! SPEND ~ $1,200

Science kits Creation and development of stocked kits for a series of hands on experiments to support one science strand for each grade (grade 1-6) ~ 5 experiments / grade. - Grade 1: Structures & Mechanisms - Grade 2: Simple Machines - Grade 3: Forces & Motion - Grade 4: Pulleys & Gears - Grade 5: Human Body - Grade 6: Electricity - NOTE: An online registration system has been

developed to book / sign in / sign out all kits. Mellissa Moens has organized all the kit information and the registration system on Teacher Share.

SPEND ~ $2,500

2013 / 2014 Teacher ask was for 10 “in class” fun workshops in each grade where kids learn math without knowing they are learning math. These workshops would culminate in a math “play day” similar to the Amazing Math Race (or Angry Birds).

STEM Commitment scaled back the ask to 3 in class workshops for each grade culminating in a math “play day” similar to Amazing Math Race / Angry Birds Game. We would run the same workshops / play day combination in grades 1 / 2 / 3; grades 4 / 5 / 6; and, grades 7 / 8.

Total = 9 separate workshops & 3 unique play days over 6 days. BUDGET = $2,000

Teacher ask continue building science kits with fun, hands on science learning that is interactive. - They suggest 1 strand per grade (~5 experiments per grade). However, they would like to cover all grades (K to 8). Last year we only did 1-6. - Teachers determining strands - Teachers providing text / info for experiments - Mellissa Moens is leading a discussion at the

division level meeting to determine the strands and experiments.

STEM Commitment to create kits for all grades from K to 8 however, # of experiments will be limited by budget. Total = approximately 45 kits over 9 strands of science depending on budget constraints. BUDGET = $4,500

School Year Technology FLL Robotics & Jr. FLL 2011 / 2012 No STEM Involvement

- Jr. FLL began in February – Funded by grants and parents of participants. Presentations for TDSB West schools occurred in May.

2012 / 2013 Awareness & Dialogue raised awareness and dialogue between administration, teachers and parents on gap in technology in the school in 3 areas: - Technology Hardware, Software & infrastructure - Professional Development - Curriculum Integration SPEND = $0

- FLL Robotics launched at Runnymede Collegiate Institute in the fall of 2012. Parents of participants funded. One team was “Rookie Team of the Year” at the TDSB tournament and advanced to the provincials. - Winter 2012 FLL Robotics - A “prep” class was created at Runnymede Public School in the Academic Stores – Parents of participants funded. - Jr. FLL occurred in the winter months funded by parents of participants. -Registration for fall 2013-2014 paid May, 2013. - Discussions occurred about transitioning the teams to school teams with Parent Council funding vs. community teams funded by parents of participants. Pre-registration occurred in June for the following year’s teams. Spend = $1,500 (Included registration fees of 2013-14 FLL Robotics teams) Technology Upgrade to Lego EV3 robot approved with excess funds = $2,600

2013 / 2014 Mandate ensure what we have is installed and used. What this requires will change over the year however, immediate initiatives are:

- Identifying uninstalled smart boards and requirements to install (different for integrated / non-integrated projectors & room layouts / outlets / etc. NOTE assessment and requirements to install have already been identified – 12 installations planned this fall)

- Install and operationalize these in the class

- Work with subgroup to create access and training from “super users”

BUDGET = $0 Outside the Committee - The administration is leading all hardware /

software & infrastructure improvement and accompanying professional development & curriculum integration

- The Centennial Committee is working with Administration to fundraise for the STEM Labs

BUDGET = not in STEM BUDGET

Mandate Successful transition from a parent led initiative to a school run initiative (3 teachers and VP involved) - FLL Robotics launches its second season. “Tryouts” held and it became school teams funded by parent council. - Jr. FLL teams would ideally transition to a school teams in the winter. - Licensing change by Lego required Runnymede to have a site license which was not expected ($530). BUDGET = $530 Site license (One time) $125 Jr.FLL Registration $ 200 45 T-Shirts $ 855 Total

RUNNYMEDE 2013/2014 APPROVED PARENT COUNCIL BUDGET:

MUSICAL PRODUCTION 2013/2014 PROPOSED PLAN:

runnymede council mtg2 30oct2013 minutes

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