Friday, December 15, 2017

December 2017 Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As we gear up for time with friends and family over the Holidays council would like to wish you
all a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!

SKT Council Survey
Thank you to those families and individuals that participated in giving us your feedback by completing our short survey last month. Again, this survey was used to help us understand, grow and learn from our school family and community. As a council we brainstorm, create and execute events and fundraisers with the goal of everyone participating and having fun!

Your (anonymous) feedback was shared with council during our December council meeting and this will help us with our planning for any and all future SKT school events that council initiates.

Gift of Reading-Return to the school no later than December 20th!!
Are you looking for an idea for a Christmas gift for your child (rens) teacher? The gift of reading is a
great option! Paper ornaments have been sent home-check those back packs if you haven’t seen them.
The Gift of Reading donation goes directly to the SKT learning commons and the donation can be made in the name of your child’s teacher. This donation helps Cindy Germain (our SKT Technician) to supplement the learning commons with amazing resources that teachers and students of the school can access.

If you wish to participate, have your child cut out and decorate the paper ornament and label it with
his/her teachers name(s). Place the donation (cash or cheque made out to SKT school council) and
ornament in an envelope and label it Gift of Reading.

Community News
There are many activities happening around Ottawa and Orleans every month.
To keep up with all upcoming events in the area and even local restaurant deals, check out:
Website: ShopStJoseph Twitter: ShopStJoseph Facebook: ShopStJoseph

Good Shepherd Parish - Christmas Mass Times

Christmas Eve December 24th – 4:30pm, 7:00pm, 9:00pm and midnight
Christmas Day December 25th – 10:30am
New Year’s Eve December 31st – 5:00pm
New Year’s Day January 1st – 10:30am

The Lunch Lady
The lunch lady is a great way to brighten a cold winter day-remember to order from the lunch lady for your child (ren). They make warm, healthy food options and we could use a break from making lunches too!!

Mabel’s Labels
If you want to ensure that your child’s belongings will always be returned to you, why not invest in some Mabel’s Labels to label all items that go to school. Please visitcampaigns.mabelslabels.comand search for "St. Kateri Tekakwitha" to place your order.

How YOU Can Support Council!
We understand that all families are quite busy and may not be able to commit to coming out to
all of the council meetings, but there are other opportunities to get involved such as
volunteering for specific events or providing feedback on any of our initiatives.

Our council meetings and all of our committees: social/volunteer, play structure, fundraising,
communications and fun fair are open to any parent/guardian that is interested in helping out.
Please contact us if you have any questions or want to learn more about how you can get
involved!

Help in any form is always welcomed!

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

September 2017 Newsletter

For a printable version: http://bit.ly/sktcsc_Sept2017Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome back to another school year!  We hope you had a wonderful summer and we look forward to another year of fun activities for the students and their families.

Our first activity will be the Meet the Teacher Night Pizza Social that will be held on Wednesday, September 13th at 5:30pm in the school gym.  This is an opportunity for parents to meet other parents at the school in an informal setting.  Pizza and refreshments will be served. Please note that this event is intended for parents only.

Our School Council elections will be held on Monday, September 18th at 7pm in the Learning Commons at the school.  All parents/guardians are encouraged to attend this meeting!  School Council is always looking for new members to help us create a more positive school environment for our children.  For a description of the roles and responsibilities of SKT Council, please see the next page.

If you are interested in joining our school council either as a general parent member, in a specific role or as a volunteer, please fill out the interest form  http://bit.ly/sktcsc_2017-18ParentForm before Friday, September 15th.

For more information about the SKT School Council, you can look at what we accomplished last year on our School Council website.  In addition if you have any questions, you can contact us via the "Contact Us" link or by leaving a note at the school (addressed to School Council).

We look forward to meeting you at the Pizza Social or at our first council meeting!


SKT School Council

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School Council Roles and Responsibilities
* denotes mandatory positions

Parent Members*
·         Attends and participates in CSC meetings and on ad hoc committees.
·         Votes on issues as required.
·         Participates in information and training programs.
·         Acts as a communication link with school community.
Chair (or 2 Co-Chairs if applicable)*
·         Communicates on an on-going basis with the School Principal
·         sets the dates and times of meetings
·         establishes the meeting agenda
·         Chairs school council meetings.
·         Ensures a record of meetings are recorded and maintained.
·         Ensures that the school community is kept informed on CSC proceedings and activities.
·         Represents the council at special functions.
·         Acts as a spokesperson for the CSC.
·         Consults with senior board staff and trustees, as required.
·         Participates in information and training sessions.
·         Ensures follow-up on items raised by council members.
·         Ensures council members are familiar with the local constitution/by-laws.
Vice-Chair (if applicable)
·         Assumes acting role in the absence of the Chair.
·         Assumes any other duties as assigned by the Chair.
Secretary*
·         Records, distributes and maintains records of CSC meetings and correspondence related to CSC meetings.
·         Ensures the record of decision is distributed no less than one (1) week after each meeting.
·         Ensures access to SKT CSC records by the school community.
·         Ensures that a copy of the record is provided to the school for the school community.

Treasurer*
·         Develops a budget at least one year out, at the direction of the Chair and the CSC.
·         Maintains a record of SKT CSC funds and financial activities as required by Board policy and in keeping with common accounting practices.
·         Co-signs cheques for payment of goods and services.
·         Prepares an annual, financial statement for review and approval of the CSC.
·         Ensures access to CSC financial records by the school community.
·         Ensures that a copy of the financial record is provided to the school for access by the school community.
School Council Parent Association Representative/Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education Representative (appointed position)
·         Reports issues referred by the Board and/or the Parent Association.
·         Represents the opinions of parents in their school community.
·         Represents and expresses the majority view of the CSC.
·         Attends Ottawa Catholic School Council Parent Association meetings.
Parish Representative (appointed position)
·         Brings the concerns of the parish regarding Catholic education to the CSC.
·         Serves to disseminate the suggestions, orientations, activities and concerns of the CSC to the wider parish communities.
·         Assists in promoting, aligning and co-ordinating the liturgical celebrations and other activities of the parishes, school and community as required.
·         Assists in maintaining the Catholic dimension in the total school community.
Community Representative (appointed position)
·         Reflects the views of the local community and brings forth concerns to the CSC.
·         Provides a link between the CSC and the community