Palmerston Avenue Public School Council Meeting - APRIL

MINUTES FROM APRIL MEETING

MINUTES

In person. Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 6:30 pm

Council Executive in Attendance:

Millicent Poon - Council Treasurer

Laura Heath Potter –Council  Co-Chair

Olivia Capozzi- Secretary &  Council, Co-Chair

Quick Recap:

The meeting covered various aspects of school operations, including Phase 2 of the Master Plan (upcoming changes to the Kindergarten playground and  North Field and tarmac area, academic assessments, budget considerations, and planned events. Discussions focused on staffing, extracurricular activities, volunteer requirements, and strategies for effective fund allocation and management. The council also addressed concerns about potential budget cuts and explored ways to engage parents and advocate for increased funding from the provincial government.

1. Meeting Called to Order, Land acknowledgement and General Welcome

2. Last Meeting Minutes and Current Meeting Agenda Review and motion to approve 

3. Principal’s Update – Ms. Greenwood

Facilities

• Master Plan is commencing June 1, 2025!  

• JKSK yard construction begins in June. Hope is that use of JKSK yard will be possible July is possible; August most likely.

• Northfield and tarmac area (between library and hockey court) construction begins in June/July. 

• During this time the Ranger Joe will be removed. New structure (voted on by children last year) will be installed during Phase 2.

• The south entrance to field will be closed during this time as South field will be used for equipment storage throughout the construction.

Staffing

• No change in staffing allocation for 25/26 school year! Classroom model approved by SO.

Clubs/Extracurriculars 

• Yoga, art, games, activities, etc. outside at lunch recess. Huge success.

• Ultimate frisbee, softball, track and field in progress.

• Spring Sing on Tuesday 13 May at 3:40 pm; Primary Choir and Palmerston Poets

Curricular Connections & Professional Development 

• EQAO for Grades 3 & 6 students May 20 - June 10

• Spring Reading Screener to be completed by SK - Grade 2 teachers

• Building Foundational Math Skills PD continues

Caring & Safe Schools

• Discussion of International Day of Pink Presentations by student leaders

• Autism Awareness & Acceptance Assemblies by student leaders

• Vulnerable Sector Check update; communications to be sent home to new 25/26 families

  • financial assistance from council available for these checks as there is a fee associated with VSC.

Excursions & Enrichment:

• Many classroom trips & educational partnerships (visiting partners)

• Building Community partnership with Christie Refugee Centre continue

• Indigenous Storytelling Assembly in May

• EnVision Conference for Gr 6 students; annual gathering of 2SLGBTQIAP+ students and allies; 2025 focus: Centering Trans Kids and Affirming the Intersecting Identities of Indigenous, Black, Racialized and Marginalized 2SLGBTQIAP+ communities

• Mural work with Gr 5/6 students begins next week

• Upcoming Gr 4/5 Bike Rodeo with Toronto Police and Traffic Services

Review of Council budget - Millie

• We still have $63,000 to be spent ($15,000 of those have been allocated to Masterplan to pay for amount allowed to upgrade the new play structure which is part of Phase 2.).

• Asking teachers to submit requests for classroom enrichment purchases. 

• Flagging that asks will be available for next year in the coming month.

Events and programs review

• Pizza Lunch/ Fantasy Kitchen- Shannon

  • Pizza lunch is on Auto pilot, last term is going well. Things are going well. Great fund raiser for the school

  • Fantasy Kitchen-  Shannon had a meeting with them and everyone feels confident that it will be smooth sailing next week. 

  • 45 families joined for May. We get $1.50 per order, and in May we are raising $435 in fundraising money. 

Salad Bar- Shannon

• It’s a learning curve. Shannon will run one salad bar on June 20th, to get the lay of the land. Always looking for help with this initiative! Hopefully next year with additional volunteers she will be able to do more.  |Mayfest -Katherine and Ashley

  • We have all captains! Sevana has volunteer for being Captain of Patisserie! We still need volunteers! 

  • Square Payment Challenges and Alternatives - We are currently having some challenges using Square, and may not be available for Mayfest. Laura is trying to connect with another school to understand how to solve this issue.

  • Payment: Discussed the possibility of using school cash online for advanced sales and QR codes for on-site transactions. We agreed on the need to deemphasizing cash sales to prevent people from going out of their way to get cash.

  • Discussion of the silent auction payment system and the need for an extra set of hands for cash handling and technical support.

  • Basket Raffle Event Planning and Volunteers - Katherine  discussed the upcoming basket raffle event, emphasizing the need for final approval and the importance of maintaining anonymity and sensitivity among participants. Katherine has combined classes from different streams. She also mentioned the need for volunteers to supervise the raffle.

Grad - Laura 

• Grad hoodies are being sold right now! A long standing Palmerston tradition, the 2025 Grad Hoodies colours were selected by the students and will be black with light blue logos and lettering.

• Sales extended until May 4th

6. Discussion of  TDSB budget survey - Liv

The school council discussed a survey from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) about potential budget cuts. The TDSB is currently facing a structural deficit of $58 million for the 2025-2026 school year, due to factors like underfunding, inflation, and the phase-out of provincial top-up funding. The TDSB survey asks parents where cuts should be made, but many parents are concerned about the implication of the reduction of inefficiencies. Liv spoke about a push from various parties, including our MPP Jessica Bell  and Toronto Schools Caregiver Coalition, to oppose cuts and advocate for increased funding from the provincial government.  Council also discussed the broader context of school funding, including underutilized school buildings and declining enrollment.

Change Org Petition opposing cuts in Music Education 

7.    Next meeting:  TBD

8.     Meeting adjourned- 8:10 pm 

Next steps

· Ashley to update Mayfest posters to remove mention of cash-only payments.

· Silent auction on going. 

· Shannon to meet with Fantasy Kitchen and coordinate volunteers for upcoming lunch dates.

· Shannon to plan and execute one salad bar day on June 20th.

· Jodi to discuss salad bar logistics with staff at the upcoming staff meeting.

· Shannon to follow up with Becky regarding previous salad bar shopping lists and logistics.

· Liv to send links to the group for petitions and information about the TDSB budget cuts.

· Council members to spread awareness about the TDSB budget survey and encourage parents to write to the trustee expressing concerns about cuts.

· Jodi to include information about vulnerable sector checks in the welcome package for new kindergarten parents.

· Amanda to set up school cash online for Mayfest advance ticket sales

In attendance:

Sevana Boyayian Barger

Shannon Simmons

Helen Tsarouchas

Virginia Peña

Pedro Mora

Samantha Bulas - teacher

Jodi Greenwood - Principal

Millicent Poon - Treasurer

Laura Heath Potter – Co-Chair

Liv Capozzi- Secretary, Co-Chair