Dr. Charles Best School Council - MEETING MINUTES

November 9, 2020 @ 7:00pm (VIRTUAL MEETING)

ATTENDEES

Chair:

Meaghan Lazenby

Principal:

Paul Thomson

Treasurer:

Darren Kritzer

Staff representative:

Christine Mooers

Secretary:

Laura Tripp

Member:

Michelle Dewhurst

Member:

Jen Gibson

Member:

Andrea Gravis

Member:

Tricia Olivier

Member:

Nicole Whiteman

Member:

Angela Van Der Merwe

Guest:

Margo Shuttleworth (Trustee)

Item

Notes

Welcome (Meaghan)

Greetings (Margo Shuttleworth)

Mr. Thomson welcomed Margo to the meeting, thanking her for the assistance she provided in the summer when he was transitioning to DCB.

Margo provided an ‘elevator pitch’ about what Trustees in our board do. She shared how trustees are elected and serve a variety of roles including holding the Director of Education accountable, setting the budget and facilitating relationships between the community and the board amongst other roles. 

She reminded the group that she’s always available to help with questions - she herself won’t be able to solve the problems, but she can help connect us with those who can and can help facilitate those discussions. 

Margo will be holding a Supercouncil meeting three times a year (November, February and May). She hopes to bring together at least one representative from each school council in her region to share an overview of what is happening at the board. She will have the student trustees attend to share an update on their areas of focus for the year, as well as someone from the city (Counsellor Stolte and someone from the youth programming team) and a Superintendent who will provide additional insights on what is happening at the board level. The meetings provide opportunities to network with other school councils. Margo is asking council members to come prepared to share ideas about what you’re doing to inform and engage parents in your school community. 

Land acknowledgement

Mr. Thomson started the discussion with a land acknowledgement. He asked that a Council member take on the task of giving this acknowledgement each meeting. 

He shared that at DCB this year there is a strong focus on acknowledging our history, and learning about Canada’s indigenous peoples. At least one of the versions of Oh Canada included in the daily announcements each week is from an Indigenous voice. Every Friday the announcements include a land acknowledgement. 

Review of previous meeting minutes (Angela)

In order to keep the school community engaged and aware of Council activities there are plans to post the meeting minutes to the school website. 

A few edits were suggested to the meeting minutes from the October 2020 council meeting. 

Motion was made to accept the minutes as altered. Laura will circulate the updated version of the minutes. 

Moved: Meaghan 

Seconded: Jen 

Motion was passed with all in approval. 

Confirmation of Roles 

(Mr. Thomson)

Mr. Thomson thanked everyone, on behalf of staff and students, for stepping forward to be on Council this year. As it stands there are 10 voting members plus two non-voting members (Mr. Thomson and Mrs. Mooers). 

Meaghan is Council Chair, Darren is Treasurer and Laura is Secretary. As no one else put their name forward for these roles, no election or shared roles is required. We can have up to 15 voting members and 10 people put their names forward, so all Parents/Guardians who were interested in being on Council this year are voting members. 

As a reminder, all DCB parents/guardians are welcome and encouraged to attend Council meetings, even if they aren’t voting members. 

Group confirmed and agreed that we have 10 voting members and as a result, quorum will be 6 members. 

Overview of constitution 

(Mr. Thomson)

The Council Constitution has not been reviewed or modified in many years. Mr. Thomson suggested it would be a good time to review the Constitution to ensure it remains a living document that reflects our values as a council. 

To begin this process, Meaghan, Darran, Laura, Jen and Mr. Thomson will review the document and will suggest edits that could be made. The suggested edits will be brought back to council at a future meeting for discussion.  

Student Voice

Mr. Thomson highlighted how Student Voice will work - if we were meeting in person they would attend the meeting to learn about how the meetings are structured, etc. Since we’re online, they decided to make a video. The student voice segment of the meeting is intended to allow Council members to hear about how things are unfolding at the school from the student perspective. 

Council watched the video. Three Grade 5 students, Blake, Yasmine and Charlotte, talked about their highlights so far from 2020 which included having their own squares in the yard, chromebooks, access to library books, the ability to continue celebrating holidays at school, helping younger students, having their own individual supplies, and being able to do the announcements virtually. They shared thoughts on the use of technology in the school - chromebook carts are shared between 2 - 3 classes, you know which one is yours based on your number (same as the number you stand on in line outside). They use chromebooks to make slideshows, access google docs, etc. They wanted the community to know they like many of the safety features set up at the school (e.g., having their own bathroom times, the painted squares). 

Mr. Thomson noted that when talking with the students there was a clear sense of relief around coming back to school - the DCB staff worked very hard to develop COVID safety plans for the school to keep everyone safe (based on Board and Public Health guidelines) and these seem to be appreciated by the students. 

Principal’s Report 

(Mr. Thomson)

Mr. Thomson provided an update on a number of things happening around the school. 

Equity and inclusivity in education: This is a real focus this year. This was the topic of the staff meeting held the day of the Council meeting. The staff meeting discussions were based on information shared by the Board’s Equity team about harmful and discriminating language. The staff also heard about some upper elementary age and high school students’ experiences related to inclusion and equity at school. Teaching about equity and inclusivity is a focus this year and Mr. Thomson shared that the staff are excited to learn about this alongside the students. 

Fundraising: Associate Director Boag sent an update to Mr. Thomson and other school administrators based on the review of the fundraising protocol. There is still a pause on fundraising across the board. This includes all fundraising activities including things like stores providing money to schools based on sales (e.g., you tell Terra you’re shopping on behalf of DCB). The rationale for this is that there isn’t much need for fundraising dollars this year - things like JungleSport, Fun Fairs, Playdays, etc. are not possible so we don’t need money to cover those costs. If schools require funding that they can’t access due to the lack of fundraising they are to bring this forward to the board. 

If parents want to contribute in some way they can consider donating to organizations such as the Halton Learning Foundation or Halton Food for Thought which both do great work in our schools. 

The decision around fundraising is made at the board level, and thus individual schools need to follow this direction. 

Jen asked about school book fairs - this is something that the students look forward to every year - scholastic is offering a virtual book fair. Is this something that we could consider in order to continue the activities the students enjoy in a COVID-safe way? Mr. Thomson believes this would still qualify as fundraising and as a result would not be allowed, but he will confirm with the Board. 

School photos: The board has asked that schools not move forward with school photos at this time. Senior team is looking for ways that photos could be done in specific situations (e.g., grad photos). But for now this is on pause. 

Change of learning model: Students can switch learning models (from virtual to in-person or from in-person to virtual) on November 30th. The deadline to make that change has passed. While we don’t know for certain the final numbers for DCB in terms of changes, it appears at this stage that there will not be a significant impact on the school. Once this is confirmed Mr. Thomson will share this information with the school. It is understood that if there were big changes (e.g., a large number of students switching from in-person to online or coming back to in-person from virtual schools) then there would likely be a need to reorganize classes in the school. 

TV and Chromebooks: TV was delivered and installed on Thursday October 30th, just in time for the Halloween slideshow to be shown on Friday. Students really enjoy having the slideshows and the older students in the school will be involved with building an ongoing slideshow to show on the screen which will include important information (e.g., what class is using the blacktop or running track that day) as well as photos of school life. Chromebooks ordered with Council funds (6) have also arrived.  

Remembrance Day: Plans are underway for a full-school outdoor remembrance day ceremony on November 11th. Community members should listen carefully right after 11am to hear the Last Post played live. More information to follow. 

Reports and interviews: Student progress reports and interviews are coming later this month. Watch for invitations to virtual student led conferences for students in grades 1 - 5. Mrs. Mooers shared that the kindie classes will be conducting teacher led interviews for SKs and will be sending information separately for JKs (e.g., a slideshow or something similar). 

Mr. Thomson wrapped up his update by sharing how wonderful the staff have been when it comes to adapting and finding new ways to do things this year - like the virtual meet the teacher night and these virtual conferences. 

Staff synopsis (Mrs. Mooers)

Mrs. Mooers provided a staff update. The virtual open house happened in October and was a great success - the staff were really receptive to the idea and had a good time. Seems to be well received by parents/guardians as well. 

Very excited for the plans that are unfolding for remembrance day and the planning of the school wide ceremony. In kindie and other grades they are spending time discussing peace - what is it, what does it feel like.  

Treasurer’s Report 

(Darren)

Darren provided an update on the Council funds. 

Main account balance: $8,536

TV and Chromebooks to be paid: $3,403

Available funds: $5,133

Council had budgeted for JungleSport (unlikely to happen this year) and the painting of the lines ($1,000). Mr. Thomson is looking into the costs of the line painting but anticipates it will be higher. The individual who does this work has not gotten back to him yet with a quote. It was noted that it’s likely not feasible to do this work until after COVID restrictions are lifted as the painted lines will interfere with the COVID markings on the blacktop. 

Financial Support Discussion

Lottery account: Council has a lottery account. The account is not currently being used. It has been used in the past when Council had a lottery license for specific fundraising activities. The account balance is $92.20. A discussion was held on if this account is needed, or if it could be closed (with the money being transferred into the main Council account). 

Mr. Thomson noted that most schools do not have a lottery account and the Board questioned why this account is required during a recent meeting he and Nancy had with them. Benefits of closing the account were noted to be money saved (as we are paying bank fees on the account) and time savings for Nancy (as it would be one less account for her to balance). Some questions were raised about the impact closing the account may have on future fundraising activities (e.g., if we wanted to do a fundraising activity in the future which requires a lottery license). 

Darren and Mr. Thomson will look into the impact of closing the account and will report back at the next Council meeting. 

Chromebooks: Meaghan suggested Council consider purchasing additional Chromebooks. The initial ask from Mr. Thomson last month was 20 chromebooks. We have already purchased 6. The group discussed purchasing up to 14 more which would cost $4,300. It was determined this may be too many considering our remaining funds and lack of fundraising opportunities this year. The group discussed purchasing 8 ($2,500) instead. 

Laura asked about the kindies - they don’t benefit from the Chromebook purchases (until later years) - do the kindie classes need support in the form of technology as well? Mr. Thomson and Mrs. Mooers indicated that if technology is needed iPads can be purchased, but that there were other more pressing needs for kindies (e.g., improving the outdoor classroom space). 

Motion: That Council purchase 8 Chromebooks for the school. 

Moved: Meaghan 

Seconded: Michelle

All in support. Purchase was approved. 

Upcoming Events

Super Council on Nov 17th 7-8:30pm: Meaghan and Michelle will attend to represent DCB Council. If others want to attend they are welcome and can connect with Meaghan or e-mail Margo directly (shuttlewortm@hdsb.ca​). 

Treaty Recognition Week: Week of Nov 2nd 

A week of Remembrance: Week of Nov 8th 

Word on the Street

Parking on Michael Cres. - Jen noted that the last few years it’s always been a struggle with people parking in front of the walkway to the school or in the non-parking zones. This makes it dangerous for students and families to cross the street as you can’t see the oncoming traffic. Jen called by-law about this and they are going to be following up and also connected her with the crossing guard department at the City. They are going to be coming out to do an assessment. 

Mr. Thomson will add a reminder about parking to the Sunday Summary. 

Recess Equipment - Tricia wondered when recess equipment will be available to the students. Mr. Thomson reported that the teachers are putting together lists of equipment they would like for their classes. Staff will spend some time teaching the students how to use the equipment in a safe, inclusive and COVID-responsible way and then it will make its way out into the yard. It’s anticipated this could happen by the end of the week. 

Discussed the challenges with outside time during nutrition breaks, especially for the youngest students in the yard, given the need to social distance in a designated area (often end up playing in less COVID-safe ways (e.g., hands on, etc.)). This will be improved through the use of equipment but also through a program where the Grade 5 students are learning games during phys ed with Ms. Lively and then are teaching the younger students (Gr. 1 and 2) these games - a train the trainer model. This has been very successful and gives the Grade 5s another opportunity to be leaders in the school. 

Meaghan adjourned the meeting at 8:18pm.

NEXT MEETING DATE: DECEMBER 7, 2020 @ 7pm 

Dr. Charles Best School Council - MEETING MINUTES

December 7, 2020 @ 7:00pm (VIRTUAL MEETING)

ATTENDEES

Chair:

Meaghan Lazenby

Principal:

Paul Thomson

Treasurer:

Darren Kritzer

Staff representative:

Christine Mooers

Secretary:

Laura Tripp

Member:

Shayne Simms 

Member:

Jen Gibson

Member:

Andrea Gravis 

Member:

Tricia Olivier

Member:

Nicole Whiteman

Member:

Angela Van Der Merwe

Community Member:

Farah Qazi (DCB YMCA before and after care)

Item

Notes

Welcome (Meaghan)

Review of previous meeting minutes (Laura)

The group reviewed the minutes from November’s meeting. 

Motion made to approve minutes as written. 

Moved: Jen

Seconded: Shayne

Motion was carried.   

Land acknowledgement

(Mr. Thomson)

Mr. Thomson acknowledged the land that we are on and thanked the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation for sharing their traditional territory with us. 

Jen will give the land acknowledgement at the January Council meeting.

Review/ Update of constitution (Meaghan)

The constitution review is ongoing. The working group has submitted their initial feedback/thoughts to Meaghan and she is going to consolidate the feedback for the small group to discuss and bring back to council. Anticipates a small group meeting in January, with feedback to council in February.

Student Voice

Two grade 5 students shared their thoughts on what’s happening at the school through a video. They highlighted the Wacky Wednesday plans for December, the door decorating contest and the holiday concert plans. They talked about how much they appreciate the technology in the school and how the grade 4 and 5 classes now have their own chromebook carts. 

Principal’s Report (Mr. Thomson)

Chromebooks: DCB has approx. 145 chromebooks now, thanks to funding from the Board and Council. This is almost enough for one chromebook for each student in grades 1 - 5 (Chromebooks aren’t the ideal learning tool for kindies).  

Strong push this year to integrate technology into the classroom - the Board expects all classes to use Google Classroom. Now that technology is more readily available to students at school technology will become more infused in lessons. Staff are thinking through how best to do this and we know it will be different depending on the age and stage of the student. Expect to hear more and more from the staff and students about how they are using technology in their classrooms and how they are building proficiency with it. 

PIC/PRO Grant: Money left in this account from previous years needed to be spent - put towards the cost of the TV screen for the front hall (this will no longer come from Council’s funds). 

We will have our PIC grant money for the 2020-21 school year shortly.The expectation is that this money be spent the year it is received. 

Mr. Thomson requested that a Council member take on the role of PIC member. This would involve looking at what other schools have done with this funding (e.g., guest speakers, workshops for parents) and exploring what would work best for DCB families.  

Action item: Council members to think about if they would like to take on this role before the next meeting. 

Welcome Farah: Farah has joined Council as a Community Representative. She is the supervisor of the YMCA before and after care program at DCB. 

Blacktop line painting: The contractor who does blacktop painting for the board came to see the space and has given us a quote. He came up with a plan for adding a number of additional games onto the blacktop (e.g., four square, social distanced circles, conflict circle, etc) and in the Kindie pen (e.g., mirror me game, number snake, social distance circle game, track for the bikes, etc). 

Space will be left for the COVID markings (e.g., the lines for the classes) and the contractor will not use any orange paint in his designs, leaving that as the COVID related markings colour.

Longevity of the painting depends on environmental factors (e.g., salt used for ice melting, snow removal practices) but we can expect them to last 5 - 10 years.  

The company can also send someone out to teach staff how to play with the various painted games - for example, they have 20 games you can play with the social distanced circles. The goal is to paint games that allow as many kids as possible to be engaged. The kindie team has already provided feedback on the plans. 

The cost for the painting is $2,500 plus $250 for the training of the teachers and students on how to use the markings to play a variety of games.  

Tricia wondered about adding a buddy bench to the school yard. Mrs. Mooers noted that in the past it had been discussed and decided against because there were concerns that it may centre out those who don’t have friends to play with. Mr. Thomson noted that it wouldn’t be feasible right now due to COVID restrictions (e.g., needing to stay in their designated spaces, not sitting together) but could be looked at for the future. 

Action item: Mr. Thomson and Tricia to look into what schools have buddy benches and how they work and to report back to council. 

Steve Paquette: DCB is lucky to have Steve Paquette, an Indigenous knowledge leader, to be working with the school. He will be coming in on Thursday to work with Mr. Thomson and some staff. Mr. Thomson has purchased a copy of the book “21 Things You Do Not Know About the Indian Act” for each staff member and they will be working through this together as a staff (a mini book club) as it’s a good starting point for discussions and understanding about truth and reconciliation and learning about the Indigenous reality. 

Mr. Thomson will be starting a DCB Parent Lending Library and has ordered a copy of the book for this purpose as well. As other resources are found they will be added to the library. Books can be borrowed and then left for 72 hours upon return at which point they would be available for others to borrow. 

Green Screen: A green screen has been purchased for students to use - another way to use technology. They can use it to put themselves into an environment digitally - was used in the Student Voice video and will be used for the holiday concert, which will really start to highlight how students and staff are using technology in their learning. Also being used for the daily announcements which continue to be virtual (and are outstanding and very creative). 

Holiday Concert, Holiday Happenings: The holiday concert is going virtual this year - details will be included in the next Sunday Summary. Mrs Metcalf is working her magic to make this happen! Other holiday happenings include Wacky Wednesdays and Door decorating - the staff is really trying to create some normalcy around the holidays and to share the message that regardless of what you celebrate or how you celebrate we’re in this together! The school is very excited about these activities. 

There have been some questions from families about recognizing teachers at the holidays through gifts, etc. Mr. Thomson and the staff want it to be clearly known that nothing is expected, especially this year as it’s been so tough for so many. Words, cards and e-mails mean so much to staff - hearing about the impact they are making on the students and families is really appreciated. While nothing is expected at all, if families do want to send gifts that is permitted from a COVID perspective. Any items sent in from home will have to sit for 72 hours before they are opened. No gifts will be opened in front of students this year so that no one feels left out.  

Model delivery change - The next time when elementary students can switch from in-person to virtual or virtual to in-person school is March. There was very little change after the last model switch, so DCB did not have to reorganize classes at all. We won’t know if there is a need to reorganize in March until closer to the time (after decisions are made by families regarding any switches). Important to remember that even if your family doesn’t ask to switch models, we could still be impacted by a reorganization if many others in the school community switch to online (or return to in-person). 

Laura asked about the kindie classes and if there will be a need to open a new class there as the classes are getting large. Mr. Thomson indicated that we’re at 28 kids now and the max is 30 - we don’t know if we will get to that point or not but the Superintendent and HR are very aware of our numbers. Mrs. Mooers reminded us that reorganization can happen at any time during the year with kindie. 

LTO Position - Ms Flaherty has taken on a new position, so Ms Vella has joined as an LTO in the school now. 

Staff synopsis (Mrs. Mooers)

Staff are very excited for the holiday concert this year - a fun change is that the kindies will be included in the main concert (usually they have their own concert separate from the rest of the school). The staff are also thrilled about the idea of the outdoor painting - it will give the kids more to do outside, and learning about the games will be fantastic.

Treasurer’s Report (Darren)

The opening balance for the account is $8,536.30

Planned expenses: 14 chromebooks (ordered but not invoiced)

Available funds: $4,288.50

Lottery account: $92.20

Megahan and Mr. Thomson both expressed their appreciation to Darren and Nancy for working through the books and getting everything sorted. 

Financial Support Discussion

Lottery account: At the November meeting we discussed closing the lottery account; concerns were raised about what that would mean for future fundraising. Further research into this by Darren and Mr. Thomson found that the Board does not want schools to have lottery accounts. They are also strongly suggesting that schools not run lotteries, but that being said, if a lottery account was needed in the future it would be easy to reopen. 

Motion was made to close the lottery account.

Moved: Darren

Second: Tricia

Motion was carried.  The lottery account will be closed. 

Line Painting: Originally Council had budgeted $1,000 for this work. The school can cover half the costs, if Council can cover the other half. Total cost for the painting and teacher training is $2,750. 

Motion was made to cover half of the cost of the painting on the blacktop and the teacher training (approx. $1,375)

Moved: Meaghan 

Second: Angela 

Motion was carried to cover half the cost of the line painting on the blacktop.

Grade 5 recognition: Each year we’ve put aside $500 for this to help with the cost of a Grade 5 trip/graduation activity. Last year this wasn’t possible due to COVID. In lieu of a class trip/celebration, Council paid for gift cards for each graduating student (total amount to be confirmed). It’s likely that this year a trip won’t be possible either - can we put aside money to do something similar for our 2021 grads? 

Action item: Darren to confirm with Nancy how much was spent on the grade 5 grad gifts last year, estimate the cost of doing something similar this year given the size of the grade 5 class and bring this information back to Council in January. 

Upcoming Events

Gift of Giving: Council and the school are supporting the Gift of Giving food drive. There will be local drop off points on December 12th or families can bring their bags to Burlington Centre to drop off.

Word on the Street

Many council members shared that their kids are enjoying being at the school in-person (and the parents are happy with it too). Lots of positive feedback on how well everyone is doing wearing masks, washing their hands, distancing, etc. Members noted how proud they are of DCB students and staff for doing so well with all of this! 

A number of members identified their appreciation for the extra fabric masks the school has available for kids who may need them during the school day (e.g., if they forget theirs or it gets dirty). 

Megahan wrapped up the meeting thanking everyone for their participation and noting that the virtual meetings seem to be going well but if anyone has feedback or suggestions on how to improve the meetings, they can share that with her directly. 

Meaghan adjourned the meeting at 8:03pm.

NEXT MEETING DATE: JANUARY 11, 2021 @ 7pm 

DR. CHARLES BEST SCHOOL COUNCIL - MEETING MINUTES

MARCH 1, 2021 @ 7:00PM (VIRTUAL MEETING)

ATTENDEES

Meaghan Lazenby (Chair); Paul Thomson (Principal): Laura Tripp (Secretary); Christine Mooers (Staff Rep.); Michelle Dewhurst (Member); Jen Gibson (Member); Andrea Gravis (Member); Kerri Nowacki (Member); Angela Van Der Merwe (Member)

---

Welcome (Meaghan)

Review of previous minutes (Laura)

The group reviewed the minutes from the December meeting including the action items.

Motion made to approve minutes as written. 

Moved: Meaghan

Seconded: Michelle 

Motion was carried.   

Land Acknowledgement (Jen)

Student Voice 

Lily and Sydney, Grade 4 students, provided a student update by video. The Grade 4s completed a project on Black musicians for Black history month and are developing pages of a kindness book for the announcements. Some students in the school are doing things like shovelling and other tasks to help around the school. The Grade 4s moved into a new classroom this week.

Mr. Thomson noted that the Grade 4s have been eager to take on additional leadership roles in the school.

Principal’s Report (Mr. Thomson)

Chromebooks:  Each class (Grades 1 – 5) now has their own class set of Chromebooks and a charging cart which is wonderful progress. Kindergarten classes don’t have their own class set of Chromebooks (they aren’t required for this age and stage). Mr. Thomson is currently discussing potential next steps for technology in these classes with the kindie team (e.g., additional iPads/Tablets for the classes). The school was able to provide a Chromebook to any students who needed one while learning virtually. Well over 100 Chromebooks were loaned out to students during this time.  

Facility Updates: Suspected mould was found behind a baseboard on the wall in the new Green room (previously the Grade 4 room). It was a small spot (size of a quarter) that was only discovered as the room was rearranged for the new class. Out of an abundance of caution the area was professionally remediated and air testing was completed. Everything was successfully repaired, and the room passed all air quality tests. The Facilities Supervisor checked for signs of mould in other parts of the school and didn’t find any – they will check for mould on a regular basis. 

Electrical work is underway - all circuit panels have been replaced and upgraded. Light switches are being put into all of the classrooms (currently lighting is managed at the circuit panel). Emergency lighting is also being improved along with some other electrical upgrades. 

Green room: DCB has a new kindie class as of March 1st. The Green room is a mix of students from the blue room and yellow room. This class is being taught by Miss O. 

The addition of the new class to the school led to some changes in room assignments. The green room class has moved into the classroom that the Grade 4s have been in. The Grade 4s moved into the next largest available room. This was the YMCA before/after care room, so the YMCA has moved back into the Art hall. 

Staffing changes: There have been a number of staff changes in kindergarten and Grade 4. Kindergarten staffing changes occurred as a result of the new Green room. Changes were made to allow for as much consistency for as many students as possible. Miss O is the new Green room class teacher. Ms Vella (who has been on staff since November as the ‘floating’ supply teacher) is joining Mrs Mooers in the Blue room to replace Miss O.  Ms Malley is the new ‘floating’ supply teacher. 

In Grade 4, Mrs Black is back Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Ms. Rados will be teaching the class on Tuesdays and Thursdays for now. 

Holiday Concert: The holiday concert was a great success. Mr. Thomson thanked everyone for their kind words and emails about the concert and expressed appreciation for all the work Mrs Metcalf and the staff put in to put together the concert. It was certainly different, but wonderful and one to remember!

Stephen Paquette: Indigenous Knowledge Leader for HDSB, Stephen Paquette, spoke with each of the DCB classes while they were learning virtually. Mr. Thomson spoke to how well these sessions went - Mr. Paquette spoke with the students about the relationships that Indigenous peoples have with the natural world and about the fact that it’s okay to be different and to think differently. He answered all of the students’ questions and celebrated their participation in the discussions.

Angela heard the grade 1 class discussion with Mr. Paquette and was impressed. He spoke with the kids at their level, and the students were very engaged.

Mr. Paquette has offered to come back and talk to the students again, and also offered to join a Council meeting. Council agreed it would be wonderful to have him join.

Action item: Mr. Thomson will connect with Mr. Paquette to invite him to the May Council meeting. 

DCB staff are in the process of reading and debriefing about the book 21 Things You May Not Know About The Indian Act. An extra copy is available for Council members who may want to read the book. Council members can reach out to Mr. Thomson for more information.

Face to face return with updated protocols: Mr. Thomson acknowledged that he knows the COVID environment is having impacts on all families and appreciates the trust and open, honest communication that is taking place between the school and parents. Students now have to wear masks at nutrition breaks - this is a big change and has a large impact on the students. Classes are taking more mask breaks to help with this. 

A reminder that students need to be sent to school with multiple masks to get through the day - they get wet and uncomfortable after being outdoors (and are less effective once wet). 

Daily COVID screening - a reminder that students (and staff) need to complete this daily. It has been a successful process for the most part so far. Sometimes students will start to feel ill during the day - when that happens Mr. Thomson will complete the screening with the student. If they do not pass the screening, they need to be sent home to isolate and potentially be tested. While this isn’t an easy phone call to make, the DCB staff have no flexibility here and need to follow the guidelines that have been put in place by the province.

Walkways: The school is doing all that they can to push the snow back to prevent walkways from getting icy. There were issues with the pathways leading to the school last week especially being icy and not cleared. This is the responsibility of the City of Burlington. Calls/e-mails to the city by the school community led to this pathway being cleared after a few days and the support to make this happen was appreciated.

Staff Update (Mrs. Mooers)

Mr. Thomson captured most of the school updates. The return from virtual learning went very smoothly. The students remembered the COVID protocols and seemed happy to be back. 

PIC Update (Andrea)

Andrea attended the PIC meeting in January. The meeting was focused primarily on the Discriminatory and Harmful Language Protocol which was first released in 2018 and updated in 2020. There is a video outlining this protocol on the HDSB website.

Each school can apply for a $500 PIC grant. During the meeting many attendees provided suggestions and ideas on how their schools had used the money in the past. Mr. Thomson applied for these funds for DCB and our application was approved. Meaghan, Andrea and Mr. Thomson have met to discuss how these funds could be used and will finalize this plan over the next few weeks. It is more challenging to use the funding this year as all activities need to be virtual. 

ACTION ITEM: Andrea, Meaghan and Mr. Thomson will bring a plan for the PIC funds to the next meeting. 

Treasurer’s Report (Meaghan)

The opening balance for the account is about $8,500. Revenue included the PIC funds and some money from Mabel’s Labels fundraising. We have planned expenses for the Chromebooks, grade 5 graduation ($500 – which Nancy has confirmed will be enough for this year) and the line painting (which will be completed before the end of the year, weather permitting). After accounting for the planned expenses, we have just under $3000 remaining. 

The lottery account has been closed and the money from that account was moved over to the main Council account.  

School Council Constitution and By-Laws Review (Meaghan)

Meaghan updated the group on the review of the Council Constitution and By-Laws. A small working group (Meaghan, Laura, Jen and Mr. Thomson) have reviewed and made revisions to these documents. The aim of the revisions was to ensure that the documents were accurate and up-to-date and that they were as inclusive as possible. The key revisions were:

Updating contact information and the school motto to “calm, caring and creative”

Updating information about the student handbook. As we no longer have paper agendas for students, this information will be available on the school website moving forward (Mr. Thomson will be sharing the student handbook with Council at a later date)

Revising language to ensure inclusivity (e.g., parents and guardians instead of just parents; educators or staff instead of just teachers)

Revising the Council attendance policy. The previous policy stated executive members would be removed from Council after missing 3 meetings. This was revised to say they will be removed if they miss 3 meetings without prior notice/explanation.

Being clear that virtual meetings are acceptable

Amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws can be brought forward at the Annual General Meeting. A motion was made to present the revised Constitution and By-Laws for vote at the next annual general meeting (September 2021).

Moved: Laura

Seconded: Jen

Approved. 

Upcoming Events/Other Action Items

Year End Event: We will not be able to have an in-person year end event this year (e.g., the BBQ). The group discussed finding an alternative activity to create a sense of community and celebration. Suggestions included a virtual event or an art scavenger hunt where families place an image in their window for others to find during walks etc (similar to the rainbows that were put in windows in Spring 2020). The group discussed how the staff could support this at school as well (e.g., potentially creating the art at school to put in windows at home). Laura and Mrs. Mooers will collaborate and discuss this further and bring ideas back to council. 

Action Item: Consider what type of (virtual/not in-person) community-building activity could be planned for the end of the year 

Kerri: MacMillan has started to highlight a student who is doing things for the community in their monthly newsletter. She appreciates this as it’s a good way to get to know the students, especially this year as parents are not allowed in schools. Kerri wondered if DCB could do something similar. 

Action Item: Mr. Thomson to connect with the Macmillan principal to learn more about this initiative.  

Word on the Street

Kerri wondered how the Grade 4s are doing now that they have moved to a new classroom? Mr. Thomson thinks things are going well - they have had a lot of changes (rooms, teachers, coming back from virtual learning) and they are doing well adjusting to those changes. The classroom they are in now is smaller, so they are using strategies like breakout groups to help with this - smaller groups of kids work in different areas of the school so they can have more space and less noise. It’s working well. 

Laura acknowledged all the work the staff put into making the Kindie transitions smooth this week. The kids were excited and felt supported.

Andrea asked about the play zones for recess. Given all the melting snow, some of the zones are getting quite wet and muddy – what is the plan for this going forward? Mr. Thomson agreed there will be a need for creativity given the limited space on the blacktop and how wet the field will be during this transition from Winter to Spring. He’s really trying to avoid indoor recesses but will do that if needed. He’s looking at a variety of options to deal with this issue. He’s also investigating the possibility of getting a dryer for the school which could help in those cases where students get very wet during recess.

Meaghan adjourned the meeting at 8:12pm.

DR. CHARLES BEST SCHOOL COUNCIL - MEETING MINUTES

June 7, 2021 @ 7:00PM (VIRTUAL MEETING)

ATTENDEES

Paul Thomson (Principal): Laura Tripp (Secretary); Christine Mooers (Staff Rep.); Michelle Dewhurst

(Member); Jen Gibson (Member); Andrea Gravis (Member); Kerri Nowacki (Member); Tricia Oliver

(Member); Angela van der Merwe (Member)

---

Welcome (Michelle)

Review of previous minutes (Laura)

The group reviewed the minutes from the May meeting including the action items.

Motion made to approve minutes as written.

Moved: Jen

Seconded: Kerri and Michelle

Motion was carried.

Land Acknowledgement

Mr. Thomson spoke to the importance of continuous learning and reflection regarding the experiences of

Indigenous people in Canada. Right now, given recent events, it is especially important to learn about and

reflect on the residential school system. Residential schools brought immeasurable suffering - the effects of

which continue to this day. With this in mind, Mr. Thomson shared the acknowledgement and honouring of the

land and territory.

Student Voice - Grade 5

Mr. Thomson asked a few grade 5 students to reflect on two questions - What does DCB mean to you and what

do you want DCB to be known for? Two students shared their thoughts by video. One student shared that they

think that DCB stands for Daily fun and learning; Caring community; and, Best friends. They spoke about how

DCB is the best small school and how it makes a big impact on the lives of the students. The second student

spoke to how DCB is known for the kindness that staff and students can share together. How it means being in

a safe place where they can be themselves, where they can be who they want to be without judgement and can

build lifelong friendships.

Principal’s Report (Mr. Thomson)

● Noise of School video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nrzDdceMME) - Mr. Thomson shared the video

to capture how he and the DCB staff are feeling - they miss the kids and the noise of the school. While we

may not have been surprised about the Ministry’s decision to keep school virtual for the rest of the year, it

certainly feels like a different end to the year. Everyone is looking forward to the fall with hope!

● Magic Show - While we can’t all be together we’re looking for unique ways to engage families and students.

Two virtual magic shows took place and families and students seemed to enjoy them. Jen and Laura

provided feedback that their families enjoyed the shows. Would be something to consider doing again in the

future. Mr. Thomson invited everyone to send additional feedback about the show to him if they wanted to.

● Steve Paquette - Mr. Paquette (HDSB Indigenous Knowledge Guide) came back to work with the Grade 4s

and 5s who requested to connect with him about Indigenous issues that had come up in class about topics

related to cultural appropriation and residential schools. Mr Thomson expressed how he and Mr. Paquette

were proud of our students, the questions they are asking and the issues they are thinking about.

Mr. Paquette is still willing to come speak with Council. This will happen sometime in the Fall. We want to be

sure as a Council we feel we have enough background knowledge to have a meaningful discussion with

him.

● DCB Stronger Together - About 25 students sent in entries for the talent show. Ms Metcalf is putting the

show together with a plan to send it out on June 11th with as much virtual fanfare as possible.

● Facility updates: A number of updates are being made to the school now and over the summer:

○ All rooms have been renamed with numbers (instead of letters)

○ Electrical work continues - light switches are being added to all of the classrooms; lighting is being

upgraded to LED and motion sensors are being put in the classrooms for the lights

○ Library is having a wall added with double doors on each wall

○ HVAC system is being upgraded

○ Flooring in the hallway is being updated

○ New outdoor classroom is being added at the back of the school - amphitheatre style.

○ Landscaping at the front of the school - Grade 4 students have done a lot of work at the front planting

items that Jen’s family helped to provide. School is completing more landscaping to the left of the front

door. Jen and Mr. Thomson are working on a watering plan for the garden over the summer.

● Impact of Fall remote learning option: Very few students have selected virtual school for September. While

we’re still waiting on final numbers, it looks like there won’t be any changes to staffing for the fall. While

there is still lots to sort out in terms of what the fall will look like, it’s looking positive.

Staff Update (Mrs. Mooers)

Staff are missing the noise of the school and their friends “big and small” from DCB. Everyone is making the

best of virtual but are looking forward to September.

I Spy DCB (Laura)

Laura updated the group on the plan for the “I Spy DCB” community game. Today was the day that families

were encouraged to put their images up in their windows. Laura encouraged the group to post to social media if

their families are participating using the #ISpyDCB hashtag. Laura also asked if Mr. Thomson would have staff

remind their students about the game, just in case the information hadn’t gotten to them all. Kerri is going to ask

Lily to add the information to the announcements she’s recording for the morning.

Action items: Laura to send an updated blurb to Mr. Thomson for the Sunday summary; Kerri to talk to Lily

about adding the information to the announcements; Mr. Thomson will ask staff to speak to students about the

game; Mrs Mooers will encourage staff who are working from the building to put something for their class’

theme in the school windows.

The group discussed the prizes for the game. Options considered included Michaels and Indigo gift cards,

something to promote creativity. Michelle suggested a $25 gift card to Michaels (1 per class). Agreed this is

ideal as it can be sent out by e-mail, they often have coupons (so it will go further) and they have a wide variety

of items. The group also agreed that knowing the prize may encourage more students to participate.

Motion: To provide a $25 gift card to 1 student from each class who participates in the I Spy DCB game

(students send their entries to the DCB council email, and winners will be randomly selected).

Moved: Michelle

Seconded: Tricia

Motion is carried.

Treasurer’s Report (Mr. Thomson)

Mr. Thomson updated the group that we currently have $2,112.35 in uncommitted funds. After today’s meeting,

we have committed $225 to the prizes for the DCB I Spy Game. This leaves us in $1,887.35 in uncommitted

funds for the 2021-22 school year.

Laura asked if we will be able to fundraise next year. Mr. Thomson hasn’t heard either way at this point.

Word on the Street

Discussed the new blacktop painting and how excited kids have been to see it - it brings new energy to the

blacktop.

Discussed how difficult virtual school can be, and the fact many students are feeling tired at this point. Mr.

Thomson reminded the group that when students are having a tough time it’s important to reach out for support

from him and the teachers so they can help families to problem solve to get through the last few weeks of

school. Lots of options available like working asynchronously or identifying the most important parts of the day

to attend.

Mr. Thomson reminded the group that this Council will have one last meeting in September before the Council

for 2021-22 is elected.

Michelle adjourned the meeting at 8:02pm

DR. CHARLES BEST SCHOOL COUNCIL - MEETING MINUTES

October 4, 2021 @ 7:00PM (VIRTUAL MEETING)

ATTENDEES

Erin Bell; Michelle Dewhurst; Jen Gibson; Andrea Gravis; Ritu Kumar; Darren Kritzer; Christine Mooers; Kerri Nowacki; Paul Thomson; Laura Tripp; Kasia VanDenBreemen; Angela van der Merwe

Welcome (Mr. Thomson)

Mr. Thomson welcomed everyone to the meeting. This meeting will be conducted in two parts - the first part of the meeting will be the final meeting of the 2020-21 School Council. We’ll then move into the first meeting of the 2021-22 Council.

All individuals on the call introduced themselves and shared more about their connection to the school. 

Welcome from the Board

Trustee Margo Shuttleworth attended the meeting. She introduced herself and highlighted the Super Council meetings she holds with all Ward 4 schools three times a year. The first will be in early November. The aim of these meetings is to discuss and share best practices and ideas, learn more about what’s happening at the Board level and she brings in speakers. Trustee Shuttleworth receives the Sunday Summaries from Mr. Thomson and will be visiting the school soon so she is in the loop with what is happening in the community. She welcomes emails from parents/guardians if we have any questions/concerns/positive experiences to share. Her email is shuttleworthm@hdsb.ca.

Mr. Thomson highlighted that Mr. Paquette, Indigenous Knowledge Leader for HDSB, will be attending a Council meeting this fall if Trustee Shuttleworth would like to attend. She expressed interest in doing so, and shared her appreciation for the work Mr. Paquette is doing within the HDSB and encouraged all Council members to attend that meeting to learn with Mr. Paquette. 

Trustee Shuttleworth left the meeting

Review of previous minutes (Laura)

The group reviewed the minutes from the June 2021 meeting. 

Motion: To approve the June 2021 Council minutes as written. 

Moved:  Jen

Seconded: Michelle 

Motion was carried.   

Land Acknowledgement 

Jen read the land acknowledgement. Mr. Thomson spoke to the importance of ensuring the land acknowledgement does not become a simple ritual. The land acknowledgement is read at DCB daily with students being encouraged to join in. This is just one of many items that the school is doing to ensure that students are continuing to learn about Indigenous people and their history. 

Treasurer’s Report (Mr. Thomson & Darren)

Darren and Mr. Thomson provided a summary of the accounts as we wrap up the 2020-21 Council. All costs from last year have been accounted for. Remaining in the account is $1,917.85. This is slightly more than anticipated as we did not need as many prizes for the I Spy Game. 

Jungle Sport has been booked for January 12 - 21, 2022. Historically the Council covers half of the cost of this activity. This year, the school is requesting $2,000 as a contribution to this activity (the full cost is $4,900). Mr. Thomson suggested Council note the intention of marking these funds for Jungle Sport. 

Jen questioned what will happen to our Jungle Sport booking if we cannot go forward with this activity (e.g., if there are shifts to virtual learning this year or if public health guidance changes and this is no longer allowed). Mr. Thomson indicated that we have not yet signed a contract. Once a contract is signed, it will include language making it clear that any deposits etc. could be moved to another date if needed. 

Erin wondered if it was problematic to commit to spending all of our remaining funds at this stage. The group discussed how we are able to fundraise this year, and that will help us to increase our available funds. This will be an ongoing discussion and the decision was made to not formally commit the funds at this time. 

MOTION: That the treasurer’s report be adopted as the current state of finances for the end of the 2020-2021 School Council. 

Moved: Jen

Seconded: Laura

Motion was carried. 

Mr. Thomson thanked all members of the 2020-2021 School Council. It was an unprecedented year and we had to do things differently - the efforts of the council were appreciated. With that, the final meeting of the 2020-2021 School Council was adjourned. 

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**October Meeting of the 2021-2022 School Council Began**

Mr. Thomson thanked all individuals who expressed interest in participating in the 2021-22 Council. 8/15 possible positions have been filled for this year’s Council. We would still encourage additional parents/guardians to join Council through the year either in one of these open roles, or simply to attend meetings as a member of the school community.  

Council Membership

Mr. Thomson introduced the two staff representatives for Council this year. Ms. VanDenBreemen will be joining the council for the first time as a staff representative. Ms Mooers will also continue her role on Council as a staff representative. We are also hoping that a member of the YMCA before and after school program will join as a community representative (our previous representative is now on maternity leave). 

Council positions were discussed. Interest was expressed in all positions prior to the meeting except for Secretary and Treasurer. Laura and Darren held these positions last year and gave a brief overview of what is involved. No one expressed interest in the secretary role. Jen Gibson agreed to put her name forward for the Treasurer role.

Positions were discussed and no elections were required. The Council positions for the 2021-22 school year will be filled as follows:

Chair: Laura Tripp

Vice-Chair: Andrea Gravis

Treasurer: Jen Gibson

PIC Representatives: Andrea Gravis and Ritu Kumar

General Voting Members: Erin Bell, Michelle Dewhurst, Kerri Nowaki, Angela van der Merwe

We will not have anyone in the secretary role, one member of council will take on the role each month. This individual will be identified at the end of each meeting for the subsequent meeting. Erin will take on this role for the November 1st meeting. 

Motion: To approve the new Council for the 2021-22 school year as stated. 

Moved: Michelle

Seconded: Andrea

Motion was carried. 

Mr. Thomson will submit the Council membership to the Board for their records. If any members of Council are not comfortable with their email address being shared with members of Council, please let Mr. Thomson know ASAP. 

Principal’s Report (Mr. Thomson)

Meeting Minutes: To facilitate the sharing of information with the community in a more timely manner, Mr. Thomson suggested approving meeting minutes by email between meetings so they can be posted to the website. The group agreed. The goal will be to have the minutes distributed by the Friday after the meeting.

Facility updates: Lots of upgrades happened over the spring and summer and the school is looking fantastic! Upgrades/changes included the completion of the painting on the blacktop, moving lockers from the Art hall, setting up the Art hall for music, drama and art classes and fully enclosing the library and adding new (to us) shelving. The electric work is underway as well and this will include the addition of motion sensored lights and light switches in each room. 

Reorganization: As the school community is aware DCB is undergoing a reorganization. Mr. Thomson discussed why the changes were made, and the approach that he and the staff are taking to make the transition as easy as possible for all of the students and teachers involved. The Grade 4s are all in one class now and will be moving to a bigger classroom where they will have more opportunities for small group work spaces and where they can come together to form a community now that they are all together with Ms Lively. The Grade 3 students from Ms Ruzic’s 3/4 class will be moving into either Mrs Day’s class (now a 2/3 class) or into Ms Watter’s grade 3 class. The transition will begin Thursday afternoon. Mrs Ruzic will be teaching Grade 1 and Mrs Kukalis will now be teaching a virtual Kindie class. A DECE will be hired to work with Mrs Kukalis. Council members had questions regarding the reasoning for the reorganization (a small grade 1 class and a need to balance class sizes at the board level), the new class sizes (all within guidelines/under caps) and the likelihood of this happening again this school year (unlikely). 

Events within the school: Mr. Thomson highlighted the many events that have taken place at DCB since the beginning of the year including:

Meet and Greet: Week before school, lots of new families attended as well as some returning families and a number of Council members. Successful event. 

Kindie meet and greet: Mrs Mooers shared that the Kindie team really enjoys this event and will consider continuing it even after COVID - it’s a good opportunity for them to get to know kids and families and their needs before the first day of school

Terry Fox Run - Going through the community was a big success - the students were very respectful and positive; neighbours and families enjoyed being able to watch the run and cheer on the students. 

Cross Country: Successful meet - all of the DCB athletes were positive, cheering on their classmates and students from other schools. Upon their return all of the school went outside to cheer for them as they ran a lap around the school. COVID required strict limits on the number of students who could attend. 

Emergency drills: These occur throughout the year. The first fire drill has already happened and the school was empty in record time! There will be 4 additional fire drills this year. In addition there will be a lockdown and hold and secure drill. Mr. Thomson will ensure families are aware of when these will happen so they can discuss them with their children. 

Picture Day: Was a success and photo proofs have gone home. They were not able to take class photos due to COVID restrictions. The group discussed other ways to do this (e.g., using the school camera to take photos outside of the classes, getting a composite of student photos, yearbooks). Mr. Thomson will consider the options available. It was confirmed that work is already underway on a yearbook for this year. Erin has experience in this field and indicated that the company should be able to provide a composite. 

ACTION ITEM: Mr. Thomson to follow up with Erin regarding the options for a class composite. 

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Ms. V provided an update on the activities that took place on September 30th. There was an outdoor assembly that many students actively participated in and all students attended; teachers have been teaching about this topic in ways that are appropriate to their students’ age and stage. Looking forward to continued learning throughout the year. 

Staff Update (Mrs. Mooers)

Staff are thrilled to be back in person and all the staff and students are getting back into routines and are learning every day. The year is going really well so far. 

There will be an Open House on October 20th at 6pm. Mr. Thomson will provide a quick introduction and welcome and then families will be invited to enter a Google Meet with their student’s teacher to learn more about what is happening in the classroom and to see the classroom itself. 

50th Anniversary

2021-22 marks the 50th anniversary of DCB. We will want to celebrate! The group discussed potentially having anniversary spirit wear and other events. Kerri, Michelle and Erin will chair a committee to plan anniversary events. Nancy McCammon will also be invited to participate given her history with the school goes back to the early 90s (as a staff member and as a school parent). 

Action item: Mr. Thomson to set up a preliminary meeting for Kerri, Michelle, Erin and Nancy to discuss the anniversary planning

Fundraising

We are able to fundraise this year. The group discussed some potential fundraising ideas and how our historical fundraisers will need to be adapted to fit within the COVID context. For example, the traditional basket raffle at the holiday concert. We know we won’t have an in-person concert this year and we also can no longer do draws. But, we can do a silent auction. We could have students bring items in for baskets, they could sit for the allotted time and then two volunteers could work together in a specific area within the school to put them together, and we could have them out for viewing and online for a silent auction. Different approach, but similar outcome. 

Also looking at spirit wear but this would be a cost recovery item, not a fundraiser. We don’t know if we will be able to do the Moveathon (fundraiser) or end of year BBQ (this is a cost recovery) at this time. 

Angela: Will look into the Nothing Bunt Cake fundraiser which has been a huge success in the past. 

Kerri: Will look into the Terra fundraiser again. 

All Council members will research fundraising activities and come to the November meeting with a suggestion for a fundraiser including what would be involved and the potential profit. Mr. Thomson also suggested we consider requesting direct donations from families (this would be eligible for a tax receipt).

Mr Thomson is asking council to consider putting fundraising dollars towards the home reading plan this year. Ms Sabo has been looking through the existing books and removing those that are no longer culturally appropriate, in poor condition, etc. Teachers are also currently doing reading assessments of all students. This will allow the school to determine where the gaps are and what books are needed. $5,000 is what Mr. Thomson feels we would need for this, ideally. 

Laura suggested we may want to look into a virtual book fair - this would help bring money in for reading resources and is a favourite of the community. 

ACTION ITEM: Council members to research fundraising ideas for this year, and will bring these ideas to the November 2021 meeting so a fundraising plan can be developed. 

Community needs

There are a number of families in our community with additional needs - for example, help with covering the costs of pizza day. The school is helping with this through donations and other supports. Council can help with this by keeping an ear out and identifying community needs. We are also thankful to have a number of resources in the community that are willing to help (e.g., Glad Tidings Church has clothing to share with families in our community who may be in need). 

Kerri suggested also being aware of the Village Green Boutique as she will help provide clothing to those in need. 

Word on the Street

Many council members highlighted how well the return to school has gone this year and how appreciative they are of the staff at the school. 

Laura adjourned the meeting at 8:42pm. 

Next meeting: November 1, 2021 at 7pm (Virtual) 

DR. CHARLES BEST SCHOOL COUNCIL - MEETING MINUTES

DECEMBER 6, 2021 @ 7:00PM (VIRTUAL MEETING)

ATTENDEES

Paul Thompson, Laura Tripp, Andrea Gravis, Fay Fakhereddin, Patricia Sabo, Kasia Van Den Breemen, Michelle Dewhurst, Ritu Kumar, Kerri Nowacki, Angela Van Der Merwe 

Mr. Thomson - Acknowledgement of the land; Recognizing National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

Ice Breaker (Andrea)- family traditions over the holiday break 

** various attendees shared some family traditions/activities 

Student Voice “True Colors” 

Slideshow shared by Mr. Thomson - true colors like a rainbow. 

Grade 4/5s digging deeper into the meaning behind this. 

Super power we are born with, that we may not recognize- and being able to use it to help/benefit others. Challenge yourself, stay true to yourself. 

True colors banner hanging in the library, which has each student’s hand print on it. 

Principal’s Update

Bullying prevention plan and Dress code were presented and reviewed with School Council; appears on the school website, Ms. Griffith is working on this now. 

Mr. Thomson shared the current dress code policy: not looking through the gender-based lens, modified to suit jk-gr.5 school 

Action item: Asked for everyone to review and provide feedback 

Bullying prevention plan- types of bullying that exists within DCB

Verbal Bullying

76% Not at all 

6% daily 

3% every week 

15% 1-2 a month 

70% of students report social bullying ‘not at all’ 

COVID rapid testing kits along with the attestation form to be completed in the new year will be sent home before the holidays

Library Update - Ms. Sabo

Scholastic Book Fair- Successful; funds went to purchasing new book carts, home reading carts, can be wheeled between classes. 

Home Reading Program 

Ms Sabo has worked through the existing books; removed books that were too dated or in poor condition; completed an inventory after this purge

Gaps are missing in higher levels, and kindie levels 

Asking for money for another cart and for some higher level books (gr 2 and up, level M and up) 

We have credits with Scholastic from previous bookfairs for $2,895.89 - $2,000 of this is DCB council funding

Planning to purchase: 

Kindie Kit- A-D, 50 titles 

Grade 1 kit- A-I, 70 titles 

Grade 3 kit- L-P 

Grade 4 kit- M-R 

Motion: To allow Ms. Sabo to use the existing Scholastic book credits on purchasing new items for the home reading program.

First: Mr. Thomson; Seconded: Laura

Carried.

Staff Synopsis (Mrs. Van Den Breemen) 

Teachers all enjoying the “Second Step” with CYC Teresa Gagnon. 

Many celebrations are noticed and recognized across the school 

Kindie teachers requested funding for home reading 

Treasurers report (Mr. Thomson)

Cookbook, approximately $150 to print, waiting for expenses to determine final earnings

67 cookbooks sold and 63 ornaments

PIC Update (Ritu) 

January 13/22 there will be a financial training for chair/treasurer 

2 workshops, for Ritu/Andrea to attend if possible 

Pro-Grant funds will be $500, should be education related- apply by end of January 2022- some ideas shared: 

Paul Davis “Internet Safety”

The ROCK’s “ASN” Access System Navigation. 

December 9 first workshop- how to engage parents and if there are any needs in the community. 

Fundraising Update (Laura)

Cookbooks and ornaments to be distributed the last week of school before the December break

Planning read-a-thon for the new year

Building the DCB Community (Laura)

Group discussed a desire to continue to build the sense of community within the school community (amongst parents, etc) and the challenges that COVID has posed to this work

Discussed the use of social media. Considering using the DCB Instagram more frequently; Laura offered that Council could help 

Mr. Thomson suggested setting up the school tent on black top before school on a weekly or monthly basis - have 1 - 2 council members present to answer questions, create community

This will be an ongoing discussion

Word on the Street (Full Group)

Angela shared that our MP releases an annual calendar featuring Grade 5 student artwork; Mason and Ian in Grade 5 both had their drawings selected and are included in the calendar; 

Motion to end the meeting. 1st: Andrea; Second: Michelle

Approved. 

Notes: 

** We will need a secretary for the next meeting. Andrea acted as secretary for today’s meeting, to get the notes typed and sent to Laura/Mr. Thomson.

Next Meeting- first Monday of February (February 7/22) 

DR. CHARLES BEST SCHOOL COUNCIL - MEETING MINUTES

February 7, 2022 @ 7:00PM (VIRTUAL MEETING)

ATTENDEES

Paul Thomson, Laura Tripp, Andrea Gravis, Fay Fakhereddin, Kasia Van Den Breemen, Michelle Dewhurst, Ritu Kumar, Kerri Nowacki, Angela Van Der Merwe, Jen Gibson 

Laura - Acknowledgement of the land

Reviewing December Meeting Minutes

Motion to accept the December Minutes. 1st: Laura; Second: Kerri

Approved. 

November meeting minutes are absent, Laura will follow up with the Secretary from November. 

Student Voice 

Two grade 5 students gave us a tour of some new aspects of DCB.

A class set of snow shoes have been purchased by HDSB.  All grades have been able to experience them.

New Library Maker Space

Gym is now open for use

DJ Thompson presents Drop Everything and Dance…coming to a drop off/pick up near you!

Grade 5’s continue to show excitement in the video announcements, sometimes it is the quietest kids that love it the most.

Principal’s Update

Staff and Students are thrilled to be back to in person learning.  All but 7 students have returned.  The highest rate for absentees was 11%.

Books to replenish the reading carts have been delivered, they are being labeled and will be in circulation shortly.

YMCA is back to am and pm program.

Bus delays have been occurring, no matter what time the bus arrives a staff member will be present to greet the students.

Discussion regarding the problem with parking on Parkgate and Michael Cres. Paul is working with the city.  The large snow banks at the end of the parking lot have been pushed back to allow for safer views.  Families are doing a good job of not using the crosswalks to drop off, and we need to continue to get the message out that it’s not appropriate to park in neighbours’ driveways.  Angela inquired if it was worth parents contacting the city, yes, the more they hear from us, the better.  Kerri mentioned the system SEM uses - a circular loop, one way in and one way out.  Paul is discussing this with the board for the future.

Madame Harber has reached out to a former Olympian (and former DCB parent) to speak with the school on Feb 11. 

Comic and Cartoon Club led by Grade 3 students from Ms Day’s class met for the first time on Monday.  Expecting 30 students but 50 showed up.  They meet outside at first break on Mondays.

DCB is resurrecting our instagram account.  User account: DRCHARLESBESTPS.  We remain active on Twitter. School Council will also provide content for this account. 

Action Item: Laura and Mr. Thomson to connect about Council’s role with Instagram

Staff Synopsis (Mrs. Van Den Breemen) 

Teachers are excited about the Olympics and are bringing this into their lesson plans.

Snow shoes are a big hit.

Valentine's Day is coming and most teachers are stressing the importance of friendship.  Some classes are making bird feeders for our animal friends.  Other classes are making cards for the elderly in our community.

Celebrating 100 Day.

Steve Paquette has been able to visit some classes to discuss the deeper meaning of the land acknowledgement.

Grade 5’s continue to step up as leaders in the announcements.

Treasurer’s Report (Paul) 

The cookbook/ornament fundraiser had a goal of $500, excited to announce a profit of $1063.

Bank account sits at $2984.

$2000 is committed to Jungle Sport.

A portion has been committed to the Grade 5 Grad. 

Motion to accept the Financial Report. 1st: Laura; Second: Andrea

Approved. 

PIC Update (Ritu/Andrea) 

Application for the PIC grant has been submitted and approved.  Grant amount is $750.

The idea is a presentation by Paul Davis to speak on internet safety.  He prefers to do a presentation to Grade 3-5 classes (45 min) and then a separate evening presentation for parents of all students (60-70 min).  The cost is $750 plus HST for this virtual workshop.  

PIC committee to come back next meeting with dates.

Other ideas: STEM night, MATH night, parents given insight on the current curriculum.

General Council Update (Laura)

Supercouncil

Trustee Margo Shuttleworth holds a council meeting for all chairs in her ward. Laura attended.  Halton Learning Foundation spoke about their work with the community and shared on how much more pressure they are under this year and the great work that they have been able to do. The City of Burlington gave updates as well.  FYI- they have a lending library that is open to all Burlington residents and teachers in HDSB.  If you would like to attend the next meeting (April or May) let Laura know.

Communications with the community

Consider how we can connect with the community - School Instagram, newsletter, or maybe something near the end of the year explaining what the council has done.  Need to beef up for next year as a few council members are graduating.

Paul mentioned that DCB is partnering with Halton Learning Foundation to do a toonie drive. Laura said we should reach out to get a blurb from them to share what they do.

Fundraising and Event Planning Updates (Laura/Paul)

50th anniversary celebration updates

Suggesting the formal 50th anniversary celebration be on hold until 2023.  The desire is for the community to come back in person for the celebration, so we will hold off until the COVID restrictions are lifted.  An anniversary that allows our community to come in and walk through the building, walk through a gallery of artifacts and moments from the past.  A multi-generational experience.

This year we would like to do something with our students.  Make sure the Grade 5’s have a part of that.  DCB will draft some communication as to why we are postponing.  We want to capture the excitement and do it well.

Kerri suggested we look at what Central is doing around their anniversary for ideas 

Action Item: DCB to announce the delay in the 50th anniversary plans; discussions about how to engage the students, especially grade 5s, in the anniversary this year. Kerri to share what Central has been doing

Read-a-thon planning

“A-thon” will be a read-a-thon this year.  DCB will pull together to support our literacy focus, funding for Jungle Sport and Grade 5 Grad.  Aiming for April when the weather is warmer.  Spear headed by the school, asking for council support.

Action item: Laura offered to support this event planning and will connect re: next steps

Spring Fundraising planning(Terra/Nothing Bundt Cake)

Angela has tried to reach out to NBC, will follow up and bring information for the next meeting.  

Ms V talked about the idea of Slime the Teacher, her class would spearhead this.  Paul suggested a few parents work with Ms V.  Andrea, Angela, Kerri and Michelle would like to help.  Decisions will be made next month regarding grad celebration/trip/fundraising.

Action item: Ms V to bring together a working group to discuss Grade 5 grad and the group will report back at the March meeting; Angela to follow up with Nothing Bundt Cake; Kerri will look into the Terra fundraiser

Thinking ahead to the end of the year and reminders about existing fundraising (Mabel’s Labels)

A reminder we have an account with Cobb’s as well.  

For the end of the year, Paul suggested we have a Plan A and a Plan B.

Action item: Council to consider plan A and B activities for the end of the year; for discussion at our next meeting. Reminders to be sent through Sunday Summary and/or Instagram about our accounts at Mabel’s Labels and Cobb’s Bread (Andrea to draft)

Word on the Street (Full Group)

Angela asked if the Grade 5’s doing a meet and greet at SEM.  As of right now they will not be able to visit, but hopefully it will be available closer to June.  Ms V asked if we can arrange a virtual tour if an in person tour can’t happen.

Ritu heard from some parents that if there are issues at school that teachers set up a phone call and not in person over the fence.  Parents are wondering if there can be more communication with what students are learning in the class.  Paul will speak with the staff.  The hope that parents would reach out to staff as needed.  Ms V said she will also mention this to the staff.  

Paul thanked the council for taking time to support the school.

Motion to end the meeting. 1st: Laura; Second: Angela.

Approved. 

Notes: 

Michelle has offered to be secretary for the remainder of the year.

Next Meeting- first Monday of March (March 7/22) 

DR. CHARLES BEST SCHOOL COUNCIL - MEETING MINUTES 

March 7, 2022 @ 7:00PM (VIRTUAL MEETING) 

ATTENDEES 

Paul Thomson, Christine Mooers, Kasia Van Den Breemen, Laura Tripp, Michelle Dewhurst, Ritu Kumar, Kerri Nowacki, Jen Griffiths, Erin Bell, Angela Van Der Merwe 

Laura - Acknowledgement of the land 

Reviewing February Meeting Minutes, accepted by email. 

Student Voice 

● Grade 3’s shared with us what they love about the library, STEM challenges, recording O Canada in their pj’s, and collecting data. 

● Grade 5’s shared art about Canada to “The Good Ol’ Hockey Game” song. 

● STEM-Science Tech Engineering Mathematics is being embraced by all students. 

Principal’s Update 

● Thankful to families for continuing with the themes around grit, determination and endurance, it is obvious that kids are watching the paralympics at home.

● LRT (literacy resource teacher) is here for half the year to help close some of the learning gaps. ● When we have staff absences, there are not enough substitutes in the district, so the floating LTO will fill a vacancy. If there are more than one staff absent, the french or music or SERT will fill in for that day. Kids might miss those subjects that day. 

● A former student reached out and would like to be part of the DCB anniversary. He shared that he had walked by our school when it was just being finished building. The principal invited him in for a tour and he was the first student registered at DCB. Grade 5’s will take on creating a bio for him. 

Help spread the word: 

● Please let other families know that we have Rapid tests available if needed, please contact the office. 

● A glitch has been discovered in the Kindie registration process, some registrations are going into a spam folder. Please let families know that if you have registered for JK/SK, you will hear from the school. If they have not heard from the school, please reach out to confirm. 

● Looking at staffing for next year, Paul will send out a message in May to highlight any unique learning requests needed. 

● City of Burlington is offering a free lifeguard certification for individuals who are able to work during the daytime at the city pools. 

● Parking update-Paul continues to reach out to the city and the Board (superintendent, facilities staff) to look at options for safe drop off solutions for those who drive to school.

● Becky Keller- former hockey olympian for Canada’s women’s team, was warmly welcomed by the students. 

● Cartoon Club -hoping to get up are running again when the weather cooperates 

● Instagram is going well, provides a portal to see what is going on in classrooms - aiming to ensure that more classes are represented on the feed

● 50th Anniversary is being pushed until the fall. Something will happen for the current students before June.

Staff Synopsis (Mrs. Van Den Breemen / Mrs. Mooers) 

● Classrooms remain busy, lots of STEM challenges going on in the school ● Maker space is being used and enjoyed 

● Environmental aspects are being explored 

● Science wagon being rolled out for the Grade 5’s who in turn will teach the younger grades ● Land Acknowledgement - classes are taking a pause before O Canada to reflect so it doesn’t become words 

● Closing the gaps with literacy and math due to Covid interruptions 

● Equity and Inclusion is a focus - Example: Spirit day is inside out backwards day to be inclusive as some other themes don’t allow for all students to participate

● Instagram going well, 75-80 likes on a post, all grades being represented 

● Snowshoes have been great addition -  inclusive for even the younger grades, glad we have a full class set 

● Challenges with ice and the playground, but everyone is working well together to make it the best 

Treasurer’s Report (Mr. Thomson) 

● No change from last month, nothing new to report 

PIC Update (Ritu) 

● No update since last month 

Fundraising and Event Planning Updates (Laura/Mr. Thomson/ Ms. V) 

Grade 5 Send Off 

● Activate seems to be top of the list, use the city bus and order Subway 

● Other possibilities are Aerosports, Foam Dance Party, McDonalds 

● Fundraiser of Slime a Teacher, open to the entire school and for the entire school. Some funds will be designated to the Grade 5 send off and a portion as a legacy 

Read-a-thon planning 

● Hoping to look at picking a date in June

Action item: Laura to connect with the staff planning team to support this work

Spring Fundraising planning(Terra/Nothing Bundt Cake/Purdy’s) 

● Kerri has not heard back from Terra, but thinking the time frame has passed to sign up ● Angela hasn’t connected with Nothing Bundt Cake yet 

● Purdy’s chocolate has sent info to the school, Laura will look into 

○ Discussion will be held over email

Action item: Angela to connect with Nothing Bundt Cake, Laura to look into Purdy’s; information to be shared over email to make decisions about Spring fundraiser

End of Year 

● For the end of the year, Paul suggested we have a Plan A and a Plan B. 

○ Plan A -Outdoor Movie Night, maybe come and read beforehand as part of the Read-a-thon/ BBQ/Freezies etc - Ritu offered to help with planning. Laura asked others who may be interested to reach out by e-mail. We still have a movie credit from pre-COVID that we can use.

○ Plan B?

Action Item: Begin initial planning for outdoor movie night - those who are interested in being involved in the details of the planning to reach out to Laura

Next Year 

● Paul suggested we consider a one time request for a donation for the school year. Not asking for donations for multiple events throughout the year. A direct donation is not tied to any fundraising event. Example-we are looking at upgrading our STEM, we need $XXX to achieve this goal. 

○ Laura has spoken to a few parents and received some very strong mixed reactions. 

○ Could we poll the DCB families? Can we create story polls in Instagram about quick items for the DCB community? 

Action item: Laura and Paul to connect about a parent survey and quick instagram polls; Draft will be shared with Council for feedback

Word on the Street (Full Group) 

● Will Grade 5’s be able to visit SEM this spring? We need to wait to hear what the ministry and board say about Covid protocols. 

● Conscious explaining to the students about optional mask wearing, respect others choices Paul thanked the council for taking time to support the school. 

Motion to end the meeting. 1st: Laura; Second: Jen. 

Approved. 

Next Meeting- first Monday of April (April 4/22)

DR. CHARLES BEST SCHOOL COUNCIL - MEETING MINUTES 

April 4, 2022 @ 7:00PM (VIRTUAL MEETING) 

ATTENDEES 

Paul Thomson, Christine Mooers, Kasia Van Den Breemen, Laura Tripp, Ritu Kumar, Kerri Nowacki, Neha Pandey, Jen Gibson, Angela Van Der Merwe, Andrea Gravis

WELCOME AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE LAND (Mr. Thomson)

MARCH MEETING MINUTES (Laura)

Had been approved by e-mail; all action items are on the agenda 

STUDENT VOICE (Mr. Thomson)

No recorded student voice this month. Mr. Thomson highlighted what the students had planned on sharing with us. The school has been focused on inclusion and belonging for all. The last few weeks have provided the opportunity to recognize a number of different days (Autism awareness day, Trans Day of Visibility). The Progress Flag was hung up in the school and students had the opportunity to post comments/questions. Sense that the school is doing a good job with these topics as students themselves are starting to use the language of inclusion and are looking for concrete ways that they can be inclusive.

PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE (Mr. Thomson)

Spirit Day Walk: Inside out and backwards day spirt walk was great - lots of supportive parents/neighbours (dancing and cheering!) 

Celebrating inclusion and diversity: Continuing to celebrate inclusion, diversity (as noted in the student voice section). Appreciate families sharing their experiences and traditions (e.g., sharing of stories, photos and videos of celebrations and travels) 

COVID Protocols: COVID protocols changed after the March break, most significantly with masking - students and staff are making their own personal decisions about masking and the school community has been supportive of all to ensure regardless of an individuals’ choice to mask or not they feel comfortable. 

Water fountains are now open (along with the water bottle refilling stations that have been open all along). As a result, the office will no longer have single use water bottles available for students who forget their reusable bottle. 

Bussing: There have been a number of delays and some have been quite long - understandable given the pressures of drivers being sick, etc. but sometimes there are issues with the notification system (e.g., on the day of the Council meeting the bus was an hour late and the notification didn’t come out until it was 30+ mins late and stated it would be a 30 min delay). Mr. Thomson has reached out to Halton Student Transportation Services, but parents should also contact them directly if they are concerned (the school does not have any role in bussing) 

School Events: A spring concert is tentatively planned for May 4th (in-person, with hybrid options for those who don’t feel comfortable attending in person). Grade 3 Swim to Survive program was just announced - more information to come from Ms Watters to the Grade 3 families. Angela strongly suggested a male staff person attend to be present in the male change rooms during this program due to past issues. Mr. Thomson agreed there will be staff members in all changing spaces (female, male, non-gendered) and waiting outside the changing spaces. 

Staffing for 2022-23: Happy to report we do not have a surplus of staff. Initial staffing is complete - initial information will be shared in upcoming meetings (structure of classes). Teachers assigned to classes will not be announced as this can change before September. Mr. Thomson reminded Council to encourage any neighbours who are eligible to attend DCB to register as soon as possible as this helps to ensure numbers are accurate, reducing the likelihood of a need to reorganize in the fall.

Questions: Laura asked if EQAO was happening for Grade 3s this year. Mr. Thomson confirmed this was the case but that limited information is available at this point - more information will be shared as they learn more. It will be virtual this year (not paper based as it has been in the past). 

GENERAL COUNCIL UPDATES

Treasurer’s Report: Jen confirmed there’s been no change to the balance. We have $2,984 in the bank with money committed to Grade 5 graduation and Jungle Sport. 

Mr. Thomson shared that the school has additional funds available to put towards Jungle Sport this year. Council will provide $1,000 instead of the $2,000 that had been put aside for this purpose. Jungle Sport will be at the school at the end of June.

PIC Update: Ritu reported that the next meeting will be held on Thursday. Andrea emailed with Paul Davis about his presentation. Confirmed costs and timing (45 mins - 1 hour for Grade 3 - 5 students and then 60 - 90 mins in the evening for parents/guardians; $750 if virtual, $950 if in-person). 

Group discussed the possibility of delaying the talk until the new school year given that the Spring can be busy, people are winding down and the new school year may be a more appropriate time to share this information. Agreed to wait until May to discuss this. 

Action item for May’s meeting: Determine timing for Paul Davis’ presentations

Bundt Cake Fundraiser: Angela collected initial information about the possibility of running this fundraiser and is waiting for some additional information. Seems like a fairly easy process - orders can be picked up at the store directly or at the school, we receive 15% of the amount sold (20% if we sell more than $4,000). The group discussed the value of doing one pick up at the school vs pick-ups at the store. 

Discussed the possibility of putting the options we want to offer on a cashless order form, having families pick up at the school to reduce the possibility of confusion (e.g., if people forgot they had to pick up at the store or at the school, forgot their pick-up date, etc.). 

Angela is going to get additional information and decisions will be made via e-mail discussions. Pick-up date will be determined based on when we have the final information.

ACTION ITEM: Angela to share additional information over email so final decisions can be made about this fundraiser

Parent Survey:  Laura shared an update about the parent/guardian survey that was discussed at the last meeting. We will share this survey with the school community to get a better understanding of the types of fundraisers and activities that the community is interested in. Mr. Thomson showed the programmed survey to the group (the Google Doc version was pre-circulated). Ritu suggested adding a question about the topics that parents are interested in learning about. Any feedback on the survey is to be sent to Laura by April 6th and the survey results will be shared at the next meeting. 

Action item: Laura/Mr. Thomson to update the survey; any additional comments to be sent to Laura by April 6. Mr. Thomson will share the survey with the community; Laura will share results with the group at the next Council meeting

UPCOMING EVENTS

Read-a-thon: Laura had a meeting with Ms. Sabo. The read-a-thon will be a full-day focused on literacy at the school. Money raised will go to the Makerspace to support STEM learning (e.g., robots). 

End of year event: The group had discussed a movie night - upon further discussion agreed that this was not practical given that it would need to be dark before we could start the movie and in May/June sunset is too late for it to be practical. Agreed that we want to move ahead with planning an in-person, outdoor year end event in June. Will aim for the activities to be determined in a way that is mindful of the different levels of comfort (e.g., allowing for distancing/masking for those who may choose to be more cautious).

 A number of ideas were suggested including Bee Bop the Clown, a magic show/entertainer, a dance party/DJ, games, temporary tattoos/henna, BBQ, Party Time Heroes (characters), kids Zumba class, yoga/meditation, 

If we do a BBQ or food offerings, we could consider pre-orders with set pick up windows to reduce line-ups/groups of people. 

Angela will reach out to BeeBop the Clown and Party Time Heroes to see what they offer for school events.

Mr Thomson reminded us we have $500 PRO grant that could be used for some of these activities. Also suggested that we may want to ask local high school students to volunteer to help with activities (as they could use this to get volunteer hours). 

Neha suggested a fair type event - each class could have their own stall where they do games for small prizes (stickers, etc). 

Andrea will lead the committee to organize this event. Neha and Angela offered to help - anyone else who is interested in helping should connect with Andrea. 

Action Item: Committee (led by Andrea) to determine a plan for the year end event and bring this to the May meeting for discussion/approval by council 

Grade 5 graduation: Ms V. provided an update on the plans for the grade 5 graduation - currently planning on going to Activate. Taking the city bus there (with parent volunteers and staff) and then will get lunch after. Only cost to families will be the cost of lunch. There is an outdoor space near Activate where they can eat (indoors is an option if needed due to the weather). When finalizing lunch plans, Kerri reminded the group to remember that high school students will often go to the restaurants in that area to eat. 

WORD ON THE STREET

Mr. Thomson: DCB is convening the spring Track and Field event - more information on that to come

Jen asked about the teacher librarian position and wondered if we were loosing that role - Mr. Thomson confirmed that this role is being eliminated across the board; we don’t know yet the full impact this will have (e.g., will there also be changes to the library technician role). Jen indicated that if parent volunteers are allowed in the school again next year this may be an area where we could help.

Ritu noted how much she’s enjoying the school instagram posts

Andrea asked if there had been any consideration of going back to in-person council meetings. Mr. Thomson noted that the Board had directed that all April meetings be virtual, but he isn’t sure what the direction will be going forward. There is still a lot of illness in the school - close to 20% of staff/students have been away in recent days. 

Mr. Thomson updated on the grade 5 transition to MacMillan - there will be in-person visits assuming all stays consistent with the COVID restrictions. Families of students moving to MacMillan will also start to hear from that school about next year including a request to provide any information that would be helpful for class building. 

Mr. Thomson will also be sending out communications to the DCB community about class building (e.g, if parents want to share anything about the learning styles of their children that should be considered when building classes, he won’t be looking for requests for specific teachers). 

The meeting ended at 8:30pm. Our next meeting is Monday May 2nd.

DR. CHARLES BEST SCHOOL COUNCIL - MEETING MINUTES

May 2, 2022 @ 7:00PM (VIRTUAL MEETING)

ATTENDEES

Paul Thomson, Kasia Van Den Breemen, Laura Tripp, Michelle Dewhurst, Ritu Kumar, Kerri Nowacki, Jen Gibson, Angela Van Der Merwe, Erin Bell, Andrea Young

Acknowledgement of the land-Laura

Reviewing April Meeting Minutes, accepted by email.

Student Voice 

• The students gave us some insight into the clubs at DCB.

• Paul reminds the students that you get what you put into school.  Join clubs!  We try really hard to make sure the students feel their voice is heard, especially in a K-5 School.

  • Choir

  • Garden Club

  • Belonging Club (food drive)

  • Music Monday

Staff Synopsis (Mrs. Van Den Breemen)

• Grade 5’s continue to do announcements, some of that leadership has been passed onto the Grade 4’s in prep for next year.

• Great community clean up in April.

• Big buzz around the school for the concert, hard work for the signage and decorations for the concert.

• Eco Club, a few students that are part of it, led by M Harber and Mrs V.

• One of our DCB students won a dramatic arts scholarship at the community Suessical.

• Relay teams and practices have started.

Principal’s Update

• EQAO is back on the books this year.  Looks different than previous years.  Presented and responded to electronically, with an option to hand scribe if needed.  The testing is shorter in duration however the window is from May 24th until the end of June.  Our Grade 3 students will be near the later stages of the window.

• 3 staff members will be moving onto the next chapter of their lives, retirement.  Ms Annabella (Custodian) Ms McCammon (Head Admin) and Ms Eaton (Special Education Resource Teacher)  Staff will be recognizing the 3 members, as well as some classes.

  • Angela inquired how the process of hiring works.  Custodian is appointed by the board and the Admin position will be  by seniority and through interviews.
    
    

  • Next year's class placements will begin to be worked upon.  The school will reach out to parents to see if there are special requirements etc.  Not expecting a monumental change for 2022-2023.

• Paul obligated the council to be present on Friday at drop off to help serve coffee and tea under the tent to gain some council momentum.

  • Angela asked about Grade 5 grad, is there a date set?  June 28th, the day after MacMillan’s, potentially from the second nutrition break until the end of the day.

  • Laura inquired if parents will be aware of the EQOA date ahead of time?  Paul said will be most likely known in the next Sunday summary.  Paul suggested the parents of Grade 3’s check out the EQAO website to see what the questions are like.

Council Survey Results (Laura)

• See attached Survey Results

• Jen-really sad that someone would feel unwelcome. Hopefully on Friday we can show our welcome side!

• Ritu suggested a paper goes home explaining what council is about, it has been hard with covid.

• Kerri reiterated it has been hard without being able to be present physically with Covid

• Angela confirmed what Ritu suggested, something on paper comes home at the end of the year

• Erin suggested we think about what were the reasons we joined the council and how to leverage them.

• Paul told us that we are doing really well from what he has heard from other admins.  Kindie orientation will be virtual again this year.  Have a pamphlet ready to be part of the orientation the week prior. 

• What is a good starting point for the meeting?  What day of the week and what time of day?

  • Jen finds 7pm fine but a Monday is hard.

  • Kerri wishes it was a different night than SEM meetings so she can participate in both.

  • Angela agreed with Kerri, but would prefer a different day of the week.

  • Paul would like Laura to work out what day and time is best and have that set before the pamphlets for kindie orientation.

  • Paul suggested we have a table set up in the art hall before the concert.  Laura will send out a sign up sheet.

  • Evident that the school families want community.  (Movie nights and bbq’s.)

  • Ritu volunteered to be present at the kindie orientation.

Treasurer’s Report (Jen)

• $3626.59 is sitting in the account.  We did receive some grant money.
  $1000 is earmarked for Jungle Sports, $500 for Grade 5 grad activities

PIC Update (Paul) 

• The fee has gone up and the timing is really tight for the speaker.  The event needs to happen this year in order to receive the grant.  Looking back at the results of the survey, what parents are looking for is not what this speaker would provide.  Paul suggested we pass on the PRO Grant for this year.  We come up with something the parents are looking for and strike early next year.  This will not affect our finance account.  This feels like a force fit and we might be off center with this idea. Ritu wondered if we could prepare a kit of resources for the summer?  Paul thinks if Ritu and Andrea and himself can come up with something to send home for the summer, we could use the grant $$ for this.  Great idea!  Council approves of this idea!  GO FOR IT!

Fundraising and Event Planning Updates (Laura/Paul)

• Bundt Cake-they are not responding so we will leave it for this year.

• Read-a-thon, some small C  celebrities might make an appearance,,if you have a connection, reach out to Paul.

• Spring Concert

• Grade 5 Grad,  under control by Ms V.  Activate and McDonalds is booked.  Sending the waiver form out soon, and an editable document with menu options.  Council is covering the cost of Activate, no cost for transportation.  Anything funding leftover will be added to food and decor for the celebration at the school.

• End of the Year Event- carnival activity event outdoors (not dark enough to do a movie night)

  • Bee Bop is available some dates ($250 for up to 250 people)  June 10th, 13th, 15th and 17th

  • Renting games seemed silly to rent so we Pinterest our own

  • Food truck or Ice Cream Truck

  • After dinner thing with ice cream and games, simple and sweet

  • Easy obstacle courses

  • Kerri said there are bunch of supplies from move-a-thon at the school already

  • Last in-person bbq Andrea took the lead, definitely recommending the food truck because of the late date and it is a nice change

  • Mrs V will check if she can organize some games for the Grade 5’s to lead

  • If you want to join the planning committee let Laura know

  • Paul will reach out to MM and CanFit to lead some activities

  • “Rent” some activities from the City of Burlington

  • BOOKED Wednesday, June 15th (same day as the Grade 5 trip)

Word on the Street (Full Group)

• Permissions slips came home for an in school field trip, why is this needed?  Paul would prefer a form to still go home to communicate with the families.  Could this  be done as an email and not a permission form?  This gave the impression there had been an issue in the past…

• Pride in DCB celebrated this coming Friday.  Students will use chalk on the sidewalk in front of the school to celebrate.  Encouraging parents to leave a message as well.  Literal words on the street. 

Next Meeting- Wednesday,June 8th 2022 @ 7pm (in person vs virtual to be decided)