School Council Update #5
January 15, 2021

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School Council Information

Parent Involvement Committee
On January 13th, the Parent Involvement Committee elected a new Chair and Vice Chair. Congratulations to Martyn Reid and Diana Mills, who were elected as Chair and Vice Chair respectively. The Committee also welcomed several new members to their first meeting. 

The Parent Involvement Committee is an advisory body to the Board that supports, encourages, and enhances parent engagement at the District level in order to improve student achievement and well-being. The Committee meets at least six times per year, meetings are currently held by Zoom and anyone can join. The next meeting is on April 14, 2021. Learn more about the Committee by visiting this OCDSB webpage.
Funding for School Councils
Good news - we are in the process of sending every school council $500. Each year, school councils are provided with $500 to assist with parent engagement activities. This year, OCV school councils will be added to that list. If your council banks with the school, you will receive an electronic transfer of $500.00 to your school bank account. School councils that do not bank with the school will receive a cheque within a few days. Please contact your school office administrator to ensure receipt. The Ministry provides these funds specifically for parent involvement activities in your school for 2020-2021.
Parents Reaching Out Grant
The province has changed the Parents Reaching Out (PRO) Grant program. There is no longer a grant application program that school councils can apply to. Instead, the province provides a direct transfer to the school district. The OCDSB has received $39,986 in 2020-2021 PRO grant funding and has been working with the Parent Involvement Committee to consider the best way to use these funds and support all school communities. The funds will be used to facilitate school council speaker nights where school councils will choose a speaker from a centrally-consolidated speakers list, the District procures the chosen speakers and facilitates hosting a virtual night under the school councils’ leadership. School councils will be responsible for the promotion of the speaker night and the provision of a simple report back to the District so that central staff can fulfill the PRO reporting requirements by the Ministry. You can read more about our plans: PIC agenda and Report. More information about school councils’ access to these funds will be available in the weeks ahead.
Fundraising
School Council Fundraising is governed by provincial guidelines and board policy. The provincial guidelines provide a great overview about the purpose and expectations of fundraising:

"When a school chooses to engage in fundraising activities, it is important to consider the purposes and principles of public education, including diversity, accessibility, and inclusivity. These activities are conducted under the guidance of the school principal, in accordance with school board policies and with advice and input from the school community. 

Finally, it is important that fundraising has a designated purpose and that the proceeds be used for the intended purpose. Funds raised for school purposes: 
Should not be used to replace public funding for education; and 
Should not be used to support items funded through provincial grants, such as classroom learning materials, textbooks and repairs or for capital projects that significantly increase operating costs."

School boards are required to set board-wide fundraising policies and are responsible for the reporting and safekeeping of all school generated funds. The OCDSB has a policy and a procedure, but also has this very helpful School Council Funds Management Guide which includes information on fundraising.
School Council Google Meet
In order for your school council to have a fully functional, technically supported Google Meet, we recommend that your school council use an OCDSB Google Account to host its meetings and parents to join the Meet through the provided link.

For parents who need to join a school council Google Meet by dialling-in, please note that we have disabled the dial-in option to avoid parents incurring long-distance charges. However, if joining by dialling-in is the only available option for parents, please inform your Google Meet host as they will be responsible for adding the respective parents to the Meet from inside the Meet. Below is how this could be done.

Once the school council Google Meet starts, the Host will:
  • Click the People icon inside the Meet;
  • Choose the option to "Add people";
  • Enter the phone numbers of the respective parents; and
  • Initiate a phone call to these individuals to join the Meet.
Sharing Common Questions and New Initiatives
We are really interested in learning from you and how you have adapted your practice at school council to deal with the many changes of this school year. 

If you have questions or if you have stories you would like to share about new ways of working, we would like to hear from you at [email protected]. We will respond to your questions and will share questions and answers and new ways of doing business in our newsletter, so that all members will be able to benefit. 
Further School Council information and resources can be found on our website.
Board and Committee of the Whole Meetings
The next public Board Meeting will be held on January 26th, 2021, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Action and discussion items include: Trans and Gender Diverse Student Coordinator, Updates on Supports for Students with Giftedness, Gloucester-Rideau Transition Monitoring Report.

Watch the meeting live here.

Upcoming Committee Meetings: 

For a summary of our board meetings, read our Boardroom Newsbriefs here.
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