School Council Update #6 February 5, 2021

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School Council Information

Parent Involvement Funding We hope each school council has received the annual $500 funding by now. If not, please check with your school office to track your cheque. Although we are aware of the plethora of virtual events your school council can host using this money, you may be delighted to know that you can also cash your $500 and save it until in-person gatherings are allowed, should your community prefer in-person over virtual events. With the approval of your school council voting members, this money can be used in the following school-years and you are not obligated to report back on your parent involvement events funded by this annual $500.

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 and 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 in this PIC Report. More information about school councils’ access to these funds will be available in early March 2021.

Further School Council information and resources can be found on our website.

Board and Committee of the Whole Meetings

The next public Committee of the Whole meeting will be held on February 9th, 2021, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Action and discussion items include: School Year Calendar Dates 2021-2022; Extended Day Program and Infant, Toddler, Preschool Program Daily Fee Rates for the 2021-2022 School Year; Analysis of Disproportionality and Disparity in Grade 10 Credit Accumulation; COVID-19 Update. Watch the meeting live here. Upcoming Committee Meetings:  Arts Advisory Committee - February 8, 2021 - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - Zoom Meeting Audit Committee - February 17, 2021 - 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. - Zoom Meeting OCASC - February 18, 2021 - 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - Zoom Meeting Alternative School Advisory Committee - February 22, 2021 - 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - Zoom Meeting For a summary of our board meetings, read our Boardroom Newsbriefs here.

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