Minutes of Donagh Regional School Home and School Meeting
October 15, 2008

The second Donagh Regional Home and School meeting of the 2008/2009 school year was held on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 7:30pm with good attendance.

Patti Shea welcomed all present and called the meeting to order.

The agenda was submitted by Patti Shea.
A motion to approve the agenda was submitted by Andrea Murnaghan and seconded by Karen Kirkland.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read by Laura Downey.
A motion to approve the minutes with revisions was submitted by Joanne Murnaghan and seconded by Paulette Duffy.


The Treasurer’s Report:

Eddie Baird reported that we have three cheques to write: our Home and School dues ($50); donation to Donagh school for Meet the Teacher night ($45); and to reimburse Patti Shea ($32) for treats she bought for the “mulch party”.

We are having problems with our current bank (the downtown BMO) so we are looking at switching our account to the Credit Union in Stratford. There were no objections to this idea.


The Principal’s Report: (by Ann Hall)

School Colors/Logo: The students are currently involved in choosing new school colors and logo. It is hoped that there will be a decision by the end of the month, after which there will be t-shirt and sweatshirt orders.

Dates to Remember:
October 23/24 District Professional Development–No School
October 30 Hallowe’en parade @ 12:30pm/Parent Teacher Interviews 6-9pm
October 31 Parent Teacher Interviews in am/PD in pm–No School
November 10 Remembrance Day Assembly @ 2pm
November 11 Remembrance Day–No School
November 13 School Picture Retakes

District restructuring Meeting: This meeting was being held on October 15th to make everyone aware of the issues but not to make any decisions.
Greening Spaces: Ann has sent a thank you card to Erin Redmond for trucking the mulch. Thanks to lots of volunteers and 4H members the mulch has all been spread. Home and School agreed, last year, to pay any shortages that arose from the Greening Spaces Program which is at $150.00. Home and School will pay this money.

School Planning: Ann is hoping to have the school action plans in place by the end of October.

Volunteers: The school is looking for parents to volunteer to be drivers for smaller field trips as busses are too expensive. Parents must have million dollar liability coverage to do so. There was also a discussion regarding the fact that the district does not currently require Criminal Records Checks for volunteers. Ann will speak to Edna Reid regarding this issue.

School Risers: Patti’s husband David is going to build them. They are needed for the first week of December.

Student Council Elections: (Kelly Minnas) The nominations will be held on October 17th with elections the following week. The president will come from Grade 9, the vice president and secretary from Grades 7, 8, or 9 and there will be class reps for Grades
6-9.

Canada Rocks Christmas: Last year students went to see a play at the Confederation Centre and this year Canada Rocks is being offered on December 5th at a cost of $8.00 per student, which is expensive. The performance is being offered to students in grades 4-9 and ties in with their curriculum. Ann asked that the Home and School assist with funding for the approximately 95 students that would be attending. They are hoping to reduce the cost for parents to $5.00 per student and the school will cover the cost of bussing, which would leave approximately $300.00 to be covered. A motion was made by Andrea Murnaghan and seconded by Eddie Baird to donate this money. A bake sale will be held in November to raise money towards this amount and the Home and School will donate the shortfall.


Old Business:

Calendar Drive Update: The calendars should be here around the first week of November. The corrected values are as follows: $4630.00 gross minus $1911.80 expenses (cost of calendars plus shipping) for a total profit of $2718.20.

School Lunch Program: Paula Fraser was not present to discuss. It was decided to have a survey available at Parent Teacher Interviews to ask parents what types of hot lunches they would be interested in for their children. Paula and Joanne will meet with Ann next week to discuss some options.
Winning Class: The class with the most parent participation was Grade 5/6. They will be receiving a cake party or similar treat. We will advertise the same incentive for the next meeting.


New Business:

Parent Engagement Survey: PEI Home and School have an online survey for parents regarding their children’s experience in school. The survey only takes a few minutes and you are entered for a prize when you complete it. Kelly will put a link to the survey on our school website.

Partners in Learning: Patti received a letter from Sandy Rendell requesting another meeting with us to discuss our “project”. He visited us last year but we made no commitments at that time. Patti will contact him to get more information.

Meeting Time: Ann requested that we move the Home and School meetings to 7pm from now on. There were no objections.




The next meeting will be held on November 19th at 7:00pm.

Paulette Duffy made a motion to adjourn the meeting, which was seconded by Tracy Gunn.



Submitted by Laura Downey, Secretary
Donagh Regional Home and School