(council)

SAWMILL VALLEY

COUNCIL LORE

JANUARY 1998

RESTRUCTURING OF THE COUNCIL	PARENTS MEET THE FIRST FORTY CHALLENGE!	DAYTIME SEASONAL ASSEMBLIES
The Council has been restructured into four subcommittees: Curriculum (chaired by John Quinn) Communication (chaired by Sue Oolup) Parent/Community Liaison (chaired by Kim Tucker) Funding (chaired by Jan Fairweather) A special edition of the Council Lore will be sent home Jan. 22 outlining the new structure, including the roles and responsibilities of each committee. Parents will have the opportunity to volunteer for any committee of their choice.	Your Council supports the First Forty campaign. The Mississauga Peoples' Forum, a non-partisan group of parents and citizens from Mississauga, Caledon and Brampton is challenging parents province wide to donate the first $40 of their provincial government's childcare rebate to their childrens' classroom You need simply to issue a cheque payable to the Peel District Board of Education and indicate the funds are to be directed to Sawmill Valley Public School (on the front of the cheque). Cheques may be submitted to the office and will be forwarded on to the Board. It is hoped that a tax receipt will be issued by the Board for your donation.	The inability of working parents to attend these assemblies was raised. Some alternatives were discussed and will be shared with the staff for future planning. This item will be discussed at the next meeting. The operetta will proceed this year, but the dates have not yet been set. Staff will be sensitive to the issue of using class time for planning and rehearsals, in view of the lost teaching time due to the November job action.
BILL 160 UPDATE	PARENT INFORMATION EVENING	SUPERVISION OF CHILDREN
Do you know: That Sawmill Valley has been given only 25% of last year's $45 000 budget, until the funding formula is set by the Ministry of Education and Training (MET)? This funding formula was first promised for Dec.'97, then pushed to Jan.'98, and now we expect it in Feb. '98. That this money needs to cover everything from pencils and paper to instructional materials, equipment and furniture? That traditionally we have received 40% of our budget at this time of year? that preliminary calculations indicate that the Board expects a shortfall of up to $12 000 000 from January to August? Do you remember that the MET promised Bill 160 would not negatively impact the classroom?	An information evening is planned for mid to late February to inform parents of the new mathematics curriculum and introduce them to the new Quest 2000 programme, which the school is implementing in all grade levels in response to the school-wide initiative of developing problem solving skills in our students. More information will follow. Another evening will be planned, later this year or early next year, to inform parents of the new reporting system.	DROPPED OFF AFTER THE BELL Parents are reminded of the following school policy, outlined in the '97 - '98 Parent Handbook: "Students who arrive late or leave at times other than regular dismissal times must report to the Office and be signed in or out by their parents". There is concern that students who arrive at school after the entry bell are not being accompanied by their parents and are not being signed in. It is essential that this procedure be followed if their safety is to be ensured.
EQAO - GRADE 3	NEXT MEETING	MEMBERS OF COUNCIL
Assessment results have been analyzed and the report is currently in rough draft. Plans for action to address identified areas for improvement and development are well under way.	Tues., Feb. 3 at 7:00 p.m. Items for agenda to be forwarded to Sandro Del-Re by Jan. 26.	Sandro Del-Re Jan Fairweather Pat Hyland Via Jankevics Ameeta Mathur Susan McKee Sue Oolup John Quinn Cathy Roper Kim Tucker Terry Wright

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