Board Highlights November 23rd
Board of Trustees’ Meeting - Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Trustees opened their meeting with a prayer in preparation for the season of Advent. It included a reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans and a reflection. Trustees Catherine MacDonald and Jeanny Salmon led the trustees in the opening prayers.
Presentations
Orillia Detachment OPP Presentation
Inspector Don Goard and Constable Gerald Dwyer of the Orillia OPP Detachment made a special presentation to the board. Constable Dwyer highlighted many of the safety and preventative programs that they offer to the students in our schools. He talked about the strong partnership the OPP has had with the board over the years. He also highlighted the relationship with Principal Paul Campbell, Allaen Morrison and Monsignor Lee Catholic School in Orillia who have worked to provide space for OPP services. Inspector Goard spoke about the importance of the OPP’s partnership with the board that has resulted in the board providing the OPP with office/work space. He thanked the trustees for their support. Constable Dwyer and Inspector Goard presented the board with a Community Policing Award – a beautiful statue of a police officer and a child – in recognition of the support the OPP has received.
Restorative Justice
Saundra Reynolds, Principal of St. Noel Chabanel Catholic School in Wasaga Beach and May Boucher, Guidance Councillor from St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School in Barrie are part of the board’s Restorative Justice Practices Committee. They described the very successful restorative justice practices that are being used to help students to resolve conflict in a non-punitive way. They also highlighted how these practices fit well with our faith as they provide opportunities for forgiveness, reparation and justice. They spoke about how the focus of Restorative Justice is on relationships and being part of community.
ShareLife
Bill Steinburg from ShareLife and the Toronto Archdiocese thanked the board and trustees for the support that has been given to ShareLife. He spoke about the overall challenge they had with fundraising in the past year and that they experienced a decline in donations. However, he did speak about how the board’s support had actually increased, so he was thankful for this support. Bill shared a few stories about our schools’ various fundraising activities that support ShareLife. He also presented the board with a ShareLife plaque.
Action Items
2010-2011 Audited Financial Statements
Debbie Trickey from Hehn Trickey Professional Corporation walked trustees through the audited financial statements. Peter Derochie, Associate Director of Education (Business and Finance), Pia Elston, Suzanne Olimer and Beth Hartung were all involved in the presentation to the trustees.
Architect Selection – Capital Projects
The trustees approved the architects for the following projects – Snyder & Associates Inc. for the proposed new Bradford West Gwillimbury Catholic elementary school; for full day kindergarten classroom renovations for St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School and St. James Catholic School the architect is John Jeffery Architect; for Monsignor Michael O’Leary Catholic School it is McKnight Charron & Laurin Inc.; and WK Lim Architect Inc. for St. John Vianney Catholic School.
Our Lady of Grace, Prince of Peace, Our Lady of the Assumption Plans
A report on the relocation of students and staff from Our Lady of Grace to Prince of Peace was presented to the trustees. In order to inform communities and to continue with plans for a successful transition of the two schools into one community, the trustees approved the relocation of Our Lady of Grace to Prince of Peace in April 2012. Trustees asked the Director of Education to bring another report back to the trustees regarding a process for naming the school.
Gymnasium Flooring Standards in Elementary Schools
This report was deferred to a special board meeting to be set by the trustees.
Monsignor Lee Tender Results
This report was changed to an information report and deferred to the next board meeting.
Board Policies
Trustees approved the following with regard to the policy for Student Fees for Learning Materials and Activities: It is the policy of the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board that students will be provided with the necessary textbooks, learning materials and equipment for courses they are enrolled in. Fees may be charged to students in cases where:
- schools choose to offer enhancements or supplementary learning materials beyond the core curriculum specialized programming, and/or
- choose to collect a voluntary activity fee to be used to support materials and co-curricular programs that extend a student’s participation in a variety of activities and opportunities beyond the classroom.
With regard to the Architectural Services Selection policy, the following was approved by the trustees: It is the policy of the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board that the Architectural Services for facility projects will be procured through a Request for Proposal, and through this process a list of architects will be approved for a multi-year term. Architects will be selected from the list in accordance with the Board’s Architectural Selection.
Information Reports
Information reports provided to the trustees included Using Restorative Practices, Ministry of Labour Visits, Our Lady of Grace Catholic School – Major Addition Update, Tuition Agreement – Education Services Agreement, Employee and Family Assistance Program Update, Transportation Appeals Process and Board Meeting Schedule 2012.