Council of Chair s Report for February 25 th, 2015

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1 Council of Chair s Report for February 25 th, 2015 St. Benedict School, Milton Thank you for attending the Council of Chairs meeting. The Catholic Parent Involvement Committee hosts these meetings of all School Council Chairs as a means to provide opportunities for networking, discussion of ideas and to disperse consistent and relevant information to our Catholic School communities. These meeting are attended by Senior Board Administration, Board Trustees, Principals and Vice Principals and their School Council Chairs. Below you will find a recap of the information from the February 25 th Council of Chairs meeting. The information covers all relevant areas of the agenda that should be shared with your own parent communities. This report should also be presented to your School Councils at the Council meeting following the Council of Chairs meeting. Please consider copying this report and including it on the Council section of your School Newsletter and School Website. Director s Report: Ms. Paula Dawson Director of Education Director Dawson shared her thanks and appreciation to all the trustees, senior staff, Principals, Vice Principals, School Council Chairs and Co-Chairs, Council members and guests who attended the Council of Chairs meeting. Director Dawson referenced the release of the Physical Education curriculum and assured parents that the Board is working together to develop resources that will support our teachers and reinforce catholic values in the classroom. All of these resources will approved by the Bishop and provide a distinct Catholic lens to the curriculum. The Ministry has already approved funding in support of the production of these resources. Director Dawson spoke to last year s Tell Them From Me Survey : % of our student reported moderate to high level of anxiety 15-21% said they experienced long periods of being sad, discouraged or feeling alone This vital information is being used to develop and structure our Mental Health Strategies as a Board: Talk, Learn and Support.

2 Guest Presentation How to Coach Motivate and Calm Your Children to Study by Dr. Susan Williams C Psych. Halton Centre for Cognitive Therapy and Stress Reduction. How to Coach, Motivate and Calm Your Children to Study By Dr. Susan Williams, C.Psych. Halton Centre for Cognitive Therapy and Stress Reduction After giving numerous presentations to parents on how to reduce stress, anxiety and distress in children and teens, Dr. Williams is in the process of creating a new presentation for parents. Dr. Williams previewed a short draft of her new presentation entitled, How to Coach, Motivate and Calm Your Children to Study at our council meeting. She provided detailed tips on how to guide your children so they develop responsibility, independence, and intrinsic motivation for studying and achievement. She provided advice on how to avoid falling into the habit of dictating when and how your children should study or the habit of doing your children s homework with or for them. She also provided concrete tips for parents on how to help children be less anxious about studying and provided a few tips for parents on how to coach ADHD children and those with low self-esteem in their studies. Dr. Williams pointed out a few drawbacks of taking a hands-off approach when your child is performing well in elementary school and recommended the optimum amount of coaching to provide to these children. Her longer 1-hour talk will expand on the above ideas and also include descriptions of, and assistance for, different types of academic underachievers such as those who coast, are defiant, anxious, or have low self-esteem as well as provide tips for testtaking anxiety. If you are interested in contacting Dr. Williams to make arrangements for her to speak to the parents at your school, you can reach her at: or at williams.hcct@gmail.com. Further information on her centre and programs for children, teens, parents and adults is also available on her website at

3 Ontario Association for Parents In Catholic Education (OAPCE) Eddie MacDonald OAPCE Director & Heather Pike VP OAPCE 2015 OAPCE Conference and AGM Poor No More May in Pembroke, Ontario Visit oapce.on.ca to register CPIC strongly encourages you to visit the OAPCE site and consider the different award categories so that you can nominate a parent from your school and continue to showcase the Halton Catholic parent community and their service to our Board. OAPCE Awards close March 31 st, 2015 CPIC is willing to pay for a limited amount of tickets for the Saturday conference portion. Those interested in attending and who would like to be considered for these tickets need to contact CPIC for consideration. Tickets will be offered on a first come first served basis, s can be sent to CPIC@hcdsb.org CPIC Parent Involvement Volunteer Award: Lyn Hartman, Vice Chair CPIC and Josh Duijvestein, Chair CPIC The Halton Catholic Parent Involvement Committee (C.P.I.C) is pleased to launch the new Catholic Parent Involvement Award. This award provides an opportunity for the schools in our Board to formally acknowledge and celebrate volunteers who exemplify parent involvement within our schools. There will be one winner selected per region. Eligibility To be considered for the CPIC Parent Involvement Award the nominee must: 1. Be a parent, which includes a natural parent, an adoptive parent, a legal guardian, grandparent, a person acting as a parent of a child or a step parent with whom a child lives. 2. Be an active and informed representative of your school s parent community through their volunteer service to the school for at least two years. Consistently supports the volunteer needs of your school through, their own involvement or by recruiting or organizing volunteers for school activities.

4 3. Cannot be an employee of the school system (any person who is paid by a school or by the school system is not eligible to be nominated). Cannot be currently serving as a member of C.P.I.C. As you consider many of the wonderful parents in your school community for this award you may find it helpful to look at some of the areas of involvement that we have outlined below. Your nominee will likely stand out amongst their peers as a volunteer who goes above and beyond the expectations in their role of service to your school in one or several of the areas below. Areas of Involvement will include the areas outlined below: Communication Fosters positive communication that supports the overall School Improvement Plan for your school by building relationships between parent teams and school staff and administration. Collaborating with Community Takes a community wide approach to their involvement at the school level focusing on enhancing the overall student experience at your school, ensuring that all students needs are expressed, considered and addressed. Exemplifies Catholicity Demonstrates a strong Catholic values and gives witness to their faith through some involvement in the home, school, Parish triad. Nominations ONLINE Nomination process only, documents will be ed to chairs. Completed nominations must be submitted to your school council by March 23 rd Unfortunately submissions cannot be accepted after this date. Distributed to Schools: March 23, 2015 Submission Deadline: April 24, 2015 Presentation of Awards: May 13, 2015 Selection Process: School Council: Review all nominations at the March or April Council meeting Select 1 nominee to forward to CPIC for their consideration CPIC: Review all nominations received from school councils Select 4 award recipients one from each region A reward celebration will be held at the May Council of Chairs scheduled for Wednesday May 13 th, 2015.

5 Elections Lyn Hartman Vice Chair CPIC What is CPIC? The Catholic Parent Involvement Committee is a group of parents, with support from trustees and Board staff, who actively support parent engagement and involvement in the Halton Catholic District School Board. CPIC serves the School Board in the same way that the School Councils serve their Schools. CPIC is regulated by Regulation 330/10 under the Education Act which came into effect September Each year CPIC hosts elections for positions both regional and general that become available. Positions that will become open this year include: Oakville 2 positions Burlington 2 positions North Halton 2 positions All Councils are encouraged to offer this opportunity to their parent community. Applicants are not limited to members of Council. CPIC will host an Orientation evening to offer all prospective candidates an opportunity to attend a meeting or to gain a real understanding of the roles and responsibilities of all elected members of CPIC. It is our hope that by providing clarity and direction to all interested parties, parents will have the information that they need to make an informed decision about the commitment that is required. Please watch out for the CPIC Election package that will be sent out to all schools in the spring. If you have any questions or require any information regarding CPIC and how they serve the Board please feel free to contact us directly at CPIC@hcdsb.org Halton Catholic Children s Education Foundation Alice Anne LeMay CPIC Committee Representative The role of this foundation in instrumental in support the many needy families in our own community. 7% of children in our Board live under the poverty line. The funds raised by this foundation serves to provide financial support to families so that children will not miss out on trips, outings etc. It is there to serve all the children in need.

6 The annual golf tournament is scheduled for June 3 rd. Parents are being invited to come out and golf bring a foursome from your schools and help us fill all the spots so that we can make this fundraiser a huge success for the foundation. The committee is also looking for prize donations for the tournament. Special mention to St. Peter s School for their very generous gift basket valued at $2000. All School Councils are being asked to include links to the event on their school s website and to discuss it at the upcoming Council meetings so that all parents have access to the information. PRO Grant Josh Duijvestein From the Ministry March 3, 2015 SUBJECT: Parents Reaching Out Grants We are pleased to announce the commencement of the Parents Reaching Out (PRO) grants program for school councils and regional/provincial projects. A key component of our renewed vision Achieving Excellence (2014) is to recognize and encourage a wide range of opportunities for parent, guardian and caregiver engagement and involvement in their children s learning. We know that good schools become great schools when parents are engaged in their child s learning. \ PRO grants support the ministry s goals and key priorities in reaching out to engage parents who are instrumental in driving the success of our students. This year, special consideration will be given to applicants who did not receive funding for , and proposals that promote increased access and awareness of math strategies and resources for parents to support their children s learning at home and at school. The PRO grant program has been developed to help parents identify barriers and provide solutions to foster parent engagement in their local community. During the school year, a total of 2,279 projects were funded from across the province. This includes 138 priority schools, all of which were approved for full or partial funding and 101 regional/provincial applications. Thank you very much for your contribution in making this program a success. We look forward to making another successful year. There are two components to the PRO grants initiative. Grants are available to school councils for a maximum of $1,000 for school-based initiatives. A maximum of $30,000 per project will be made available for eligible regional/provincial initiatives. The PRO grants for school councils are intended to support school-based initiatives to reach parents who face barriers that prevent them from becoming involved in their

7 children s learning at home and at school. School councils may develop proposals individually, with other school councils in the same board, or with other groups in the school or in the community. The PRO grants for regional/provincial projects are available to parent organizations, school boards, non-profit organizations and postsecondary institutions working in partnership with parents to support student achievement and well-being. Eligible projects must be in at least one of the following areas: Parents as Partners; Welcoming School Board and School Environment for all Parents; Skill Building Opportunities for Parents; and Enhancing Communication between School and Parents. Please note that the deadline for the PRO grant submissions is Tuesday, May 19, Applications are required to be submitted electronically. I would encourage you to apply. For more information, please visit the ministry website. If you have questions, please contact Shauna Carpenter, Lead Policy/Program Coordinator at / shauna.carpenter@ontario.ca or Ayn Posada, Senior Policy Advisor, at / ayn.posada@ontario.ca Thank you for your support of the PRO grant program and for encouraging school council participation. John Malloy Assistant Deputy Minister Leadership and Learning Environment Division cc. Directors of Education, Supervisory Officers of Provincial Schools and School We Need Your Feedback Lyn Hartman Vice Chair CPIC is currently reviewing our plan for the next year and looking at increasing our effectiveness and maximizing our ability to serve the needs of the School Councils in our Board. We have provided 3 brief questions that we feel you can provide valuable insight on. Please take a moment and discuss the following questions with your School Council at your next meeting. Please send us your responses to CPIC@hcdsb.org Your ideas, feedback and constructive direction will assist our group in serving you in the way that you need us to. CPIC hosts a Council of Chairs Meetings 3 times a year bringing together all the School Council Chairs/co-chairs and representatives of Council. Please discuss your views as a Council on the effectiveness of the following: a. Guest Presenters b. Information shared c. Meeting Format d. Meeting Time

8 CPIC is a group that is designed to support and serve the School Councils in our Board. Discuss your views as a Council on how CPIC can serve some of the needs that you currently identify in your school or your Council. CPIC has been organizing and promoting Parent Education through the medium of Webinars. These webinars have been very successful and have provided accessible, available and diverse learning opportunities to parents in our Board. Discuss with your Council what topics of interest you feel should be covered in upcoming Webinars. This meeting report is prepared under the CPIC mandate of Communications we hope that this document will assist you in sharing the important information with your school communities. CPIC members can be contacted at CPIC@hcdsb.org. If you have any questions or require any clarification on any of the content or information covered in this report you should contact the author directly: Lyn Hartman, Vice Chair, CPIC, Oakville Regional Representative at CPIC@hcdsb.org We look forward to seeing you at the next Council of Chairs meeting: May, 13 th, 2015 at Corpus Christi, Burlington