Content of this Newsletter
- Connect With Us!
- School Council Forum Recap
- Spotlight on Crosby Heights Public School
- A Great Resource: The School Council Handbook
- Parents Reaching Out (PRO) Grants for School Councils
- Policies Under Review - Seeking Your Input!
Connect With Us!
It gives us great pleasure to welcome our 2024-2025 PEAC members! For a list of members, please refer to the 2024-2025 PEAC member list.
We are a committee of parents, community members and Board staff who focus on parent engagement to enhance their children’s well-being and development. Learn more about PEAC and why parent engagement matters.
If you would like to connect with a member in your CEC area, please use this contact a PEAC member form. For general messages to the committee, you may reach us by phone through the Leadership Development and Engagement office at 905-727-0022 ext. 3650, or via email at leadership.development.engagement@yrdsb.ca.
If you are a member of School Council, you can also reach us on the Edsby School Council Hub. We love to hear your ideas, questions and guidance to other members!
We would also like to extend our deepest gratitude to our out-going PEAC members. We greatly appreciate your time, contributions and collaboration over your terms and wish you success and fulfillment in all of your future endeavours.
| Save the date! |
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Our next public meeting will be on February 20, 2024. Details will be shared with School Council Chairs and administrators closer to the date. Missed a meeting? No problem! You can find all meeting agendas and minutes here. |
School Council Forum Recap
In November, we hosted School Council Forums for each of our Community Education Centre (CEC) areas to bring together School Council members, school administrators, Chair and Director of the Board, Trustees, Superintendents and other key stakeholders to network and learn about topics that are top-of-mind for many of us.
We had an opportunity to learn about some topics as a broader group, as well as attend workshops and engage in discussions on specific topics of interest including:
- Active School Travel
- The Board’s Comprehensive Literacy Program (K-8)
- Comprehensive Math Program
- Pathways to Opportunities
- Use of Digital Tools and Privacy
We had a fabulous turnout and there was great energy in the room as attendees shared ideas, feedback and questions. We encourage you to share these materials with your school community so that everyone can get the benefit of the resources to support their children in the best way possible.
Spotlight on Crosby Heights Public School: Bringing the Community Together with Movie Night!
There are so many great initiatives on the go across our YRDSB schools that endeavour to bring families together to connect, deepen relationships and have fun together, while building a sense of community with the school and its administration. In this newsletter, we feature Crosby Heights Public School and a movie night they held recently.
The event was hosted by School Council, offering access to the movie free of charge to families and providing popcorn for their snacking pleasure. Attendees had an opportunity to purchase pizza for an easy evening of entertainment. Each child was accompanied by an adult, but the entire family was welcome to join this fun event.
For those considering running a similar event, here are a few lessons learned:
- Volunteers are essential to making the event successful! They:
- Arrived at the school at 3:00pm to begin preparing popcorn, ensuring sufficient quantities for all attendees.
- Ensured everyone had access to pizza and popcorn, while quantities lasted.
- Stayed after the event to assist the support staff in cleaning up, lessening the burden on them.
- Having staff and administrators on-site to help support volunteers is also important. School Council at Crosby Heights applauds them as they are incredibly supportive of School Council and these movie nights.
New To School Council or Seeking Information on Best Practices?
Check out our School Council Handbook, which is a wonderful resource full of great information on:
- Structuring your team
- Roles and responsibilities
- Meeting and decision-making models
- Suggested topics to cover and associated timelines
- Effective fundraising
- Available channels and resources to continue your learning
- And so much more!
It even includes sample templates to help with crafting of agendas, recording of minutes, etc. to help you drive efficient meetings and outcomes.
Parents Reaching Out (PRO) Grants for School Councils
The Ministry of Education's Parents Reaching Out (PRO) Grant program provides funding to school boards to support projects that focus on improving access and opportunities for families to participate and engage fully in their child(ren)'s learning.
Each school is eligible to submit one project proposal each school year to support families in their school community in identifying barriers, providing opportunities to strengthen parent-family engagement, and enable more parents and/or caregivers to support their child(ren)'s learning and well-being.
Please visit the PRO Grants for School Councils for more information.
Policies Under Review- Seeking Your Input!
We currently have a few policies for comment. Please share your feedback as your voice matters and we want to know your thoughts.
As you head into the winter break, we would like to wish all of our YRDSB families, staff and community members a wonderful holiday season and best wishes and festivities, however you choose to celebrate!
