Notes from last week's School Council meeting

For those who weren't there, here are some notes from last week's School Council meeting.

Ginnie presented the Treasurer's report on Ann's behalf. In a nutshell, we have $12,679 in the bank, of which about $8,000 is committed to various projects already approved.

Nadira presented her final report as our principal. She extended her heartfelt thanks to the school community for everyone's support and hard work over her time at Clairlea. She mentioned that her new role is an interim one but that she is looking forward to continuing to be closely connected with Clairlea.

She recommends installing a buzzer for the front door of the school. Since the office has a direct line of sight to the front door, this buzzer would not automatically be funded; it needs to come out of the school's own budget. However, it is impossible for the office staff to have their eyes constantly on the door and so for security reasons, it would be preferable to have that door locked and accessible by intercom.

Freddy's vice-principal report touched on the following items:

• Safety. A bus safety presentation took place in January. A community police officer will be visiting the school several times in March, discussing different topics with different grades. Kindergarten: traffic safety. Grade 2 - personal safety. Grade 4 - Internet safety. Grade 6 (two visits) - drugs and substance abuse; criminal offences.
• Report cards go home Feb 14; interviews Feb 18. 
• Winter Activity Day (grades 4+) and a Girls' Conference took place at the school last Friday. 

Ms. Rule presented the Teachers' report, touching on these topics: 

• Halloween Howl. As you may recall, half the proceeds of the Halloween Howl were returned directly to the teachers for use in their classrooms. A sample of how the funds have been put to use: 
• Mme. Volakhova purchased abacus-like math devices for her classroom. 
• Mme Pare is building a listening centre in her SK FI class. 
• Ms. Rule is continuing her camera reach program
• Ms. Hawkins purchased primary dictionaries for her classroom. 
• Mr. Knierim and Ms. Braithwaite extend their thanks for the screen and projector that Council funded earlier this year. They are being used primarily in the portable. 
• The laptop computer is also being put to good use. 
• Ms. Braithwaite leads a girls' gathering every Thursday at lunch for girls in grades 5 and 6. This week, they have a Chinese New Years tea planned. 
• The Heritage Assembly (for Black History Month) will be March 4 in the afternoon - approximately but not exactly 1pm. 
• The Fenetre Ouvert festival will be on February 23, with activities for the kids throughout the day (parent volunteers are needed!) and a presentation for parents that evening - this is for parents of students in both core French and French Immersion.
• The Math Pathway has begun. This is a professional development program within the school that involves co-planning, co-teaching and moderated marking, with a goal of improving student achievement in mathematics. 

Ginnie reported on Cafe Francais / Fenetre Ouvert. This is a day-long, school-wide celebration of French language and culture. In recent weeks, students (including those in the English stream) have been collecting tickets each time a teacher notices them speaking French, and those tickets can be exchanged for various items at the Cafe Francais. Parent volunteers are needed throughout the day to make & serve pancakes and help with various activities. Also needed - electric griddles for making pancakes! Please contact Ginnie if you can volunteer or if you have a griddle that you can lend for the day. 

Thanks, Katy, for the photo!

The meeting closed with a presentation of flowers and a card for Ms. Persaud. Nadira, we will miss you greatly and we thank you for everything that you have done for Clairlea.