Kennebecasis Valley High School
Parent School Support Committee
Minutes of Regular Meeting
January 8, 2003

Present: Peter Atkinson, Nick Papadopoulos, Tammy Oliver, Brian Flewwelling,

Marilyn Holder, Betty Locke, Shara Munn, Rodrique Hebert, Darrell Belyea, Katelynn Craig, Claire Barefoot

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Betty Locke called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.

Approval of Agenda

Add Teacher Appreciation Week under New Business. The agenda was adopted as revised.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the December 4, 2002 meeting were approved as circulated with clarification of "last year" meaning this current school year re graduation and school photos for March agenda item.

Correspondence

No correspondence was received.

Library Security

As a follow up to the presentation made to the committee in December Betty asked for the committee's thoughts. Students and staff have borrowed items without signing them out. The committee decided that before spending money on a security system an Education and Awareness campaign should be tried first. Posters will be made for the library (Tammy and Shara) and notices will be sent to teachers and students (Mr. Atkinson) reminding them of library policies. Late fees should also be an option and this will be discussed with Lillian (librarian). Posters will be up by Feb 1st and the notice from the principal will be distributed by the end of this semester. A voice mail message will also be sent to the students' homes by the principal after exams. Traffic patterns through the library were also discussed with consideration to be given to how these can be altered to make the library more secure.

Library Update

Tammy will ask Lillian about rebinding of books at Appleby Book Binding, a company in Gagetown, N.B. with the school text book order at the end of June. Lillian prefers to start the library project with used books first, then work on donations of new books or monetary gifts. This project will start with the new semester. Teachers will be notified that they are still able to submit requests for new books, as the response previously from teachers was low.

Volunteer Form

The committee reviewed the revised form with the following changes recommended.

1 Change photocopying from a separate item and combine with checking books in and out under Library.
2. Separate and boldly highlight "Safe Grad".
3. Add "grade" after child's name.

The Volunteer form will be distributed to students at the beginning of the new semester.

Regarding Safe Grad, the seniors have voted on a location with their first choice being the Canada Games Aquatic Centre, second choice Quispamsis Rollertech and third choice The Riverboat. A final decision has not been made.

Assistance to Student

Re our committee's letter to the District office and follow up phone call, Bev Colpitts has contacted Mr. Atkinson and advised that the former supervisor of Student Services, Erica Gandy-Owen followed up with the parent. Mr. John Yerxa, resource and methods teacher, has been an invaluable support for this student and the parent is happy with what has been done.

Air Quality

Mr. Atkinson has advised that more documentation of staff experiencing health symptoms is being done. The District has been to the school to inspect but no air quality tests have been done. Room 307 is where a teacher is having problems. Room 249 had mold and the district sprayed the room and hallway, however other rooms in that area were not tested or treated. Things are progressing, but slowly. The school will continue to document health concerns to provide evidence to the district.

PSSC Budget

The balance of the PSSC budget is $3,189 less $28.75 for bulletin board supplies. Approximately $900.00 will be allocated for four phone lines and $500.00 for Talk Mail. The balance will be allocated to Teacher Appreciation Week, refreshments for Parent/Teacher meetings, possible directional sign for the school lobby, and the balance

to paper supplies. Two years ago the committee intended to install a lobby sign for which pricing was obtained. Mr. Atkinson will bring that information to the February meeting at which time the committee will finalize how funds are to be spent.

Teacher Appreciation Week

We will provide treats for the staff again this year. Tammy will coordinate with help from Betty. Marilyn will send a talk mail to parents at the first of the new semester.

Students Report

The students have concerns re locks in the washrooms that are not working and the tampon and condom machines in the washrooms are empty. Mr. Atkinson will check with custodians on these issues. Also the students expressed concern about the lack of seating in the cafeteria. Mr. Atkinson will check on the capacity of the cafeteria. Some teachers may allow students to eat in their classrooms if litter is picked up.

Principal's Report

The plan for storm cancellations during exams has been revised this year. The missed exam will be bumped to the following morning and the morning exam moved to the afternoon instead of adding an extra day at the end of the exam schedule as in previous years. A talk mail message will be sent out re exam schedule and storm cancellation plans. Mr. Atkinson advised the committee that this would be his last meeting with us as acting principal. Mr. Munro will be returning to the school as principal on January 28th. The committee thanked Mr. Atkinson for his support over the past few months and invited and welcomed him to attend our meetings when he returns to his role of Vice Principal.

Thank You

Tammy reported that she received a thank you call from St. Joseph's Hospital for the Christmas Trees that the school donated from the Christmas decorating contest. Tammy suggested we send thank you notes from the PSSC to those who help i.e. the school custodian for installing a mailbox at the Health nurse's office for students to use.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m.

Next meeting February 5, 2003 at 7:30 p.m.