Quality parent and guardian engagement helps improve the relationship between families and schools, which supports students' education and well-being.
School Advisory Council
We would like to take this opportunity to invite parents and guardians who are interested in being a part of making Southwood a great place for our students, to join the school council. New members are always welcome!
The school council helps to provide our students with new experiences, resources, community growth, and to represent the voice of our families! The School Advisory Council (SAC) is a peer-elected, collaborative team that works to improve student achievement, effective teaching in the classroom, and parent/guardian and community engagement in the educational process.
The 3 main goals of SAC are:
- Support Academic Achievement
- Improve School Climate
- Strengthen Family Engagement
The 黑马磁力鈥檚 Parent Involvement Committee
(GECPIC) is accepting applications for parent/guardian members for the 2024-
2025 school year.
The purpose of the Greater Essex County Parent Involvement Committee (GECPIC) is to support, encourage and enhance parent involvement at the Board level to support improved student achievement and well-being. The Greater Essex Country District School Board supports the vision of parents/guardians as both valued partners and active participants in their children鈥檚 education.
The Greater Essex County Parent Involvement Committee shall achieve its purpose by:
鈥 Providing information and advice on parent/guardian engagement to the Board;
鈥 Communicating with and supporting school councils of the Board; and
鈥 Undertaking activities to help parents/guardians of pupils of the Board support their children鈥檚 learning at home and at school.
The Greater Essex County Parent Involvement Committee currently meets on the fourth Tuesday of October, November, January, February, April and May. Meetings are scheduled from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm.
Additional information about GECPIC can be found on our websites at:
/en/family-and-community-support/parent-and-guardian-engagement.aspx?_mid_=2903
Applications for GECPIC membership for the 2024-2025 school year will be
completed on-line. The deadline for application is Friday, May 24, 2024.
Application Form is available in Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish as well:
.
Southwood School Advisory Council Members
Southwood School Council members for 2022-2023:
- Dan Topp - Chair
- Shana Holmes - Vice Chair
- Elita Laios - Secretary
- Lisa Dewhurst - Treasurer
- Laurie Landry - Teacher Representative
- Quan Martin - Member
- Albin Wang - Member
- Anitha Shashank - Member
- Andreas Maniatis - Member
- Pavithra Arvind - Member
- Amy Ni - Member
- Angela An - Member
- Jason Morris - Member
- Denise Taylor - Member
Meetings
Our School Advisory Council typically meets once a month at 6:00pm in the school library.
Southwood School Advisory Council Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023
Present: Katie DeHetre, TuLe Dugan, Daniel Topp, Lisa Dewhurst, Shana Holmes, Jay Morris, Andreas Maniatis, Albin Wang
Absent: Michelle Lowes, Anitha Prahladachar, Quan Martin, Elita Laios, Laurie Landry, Pavithra Arvind
1. Welcome/Introductions: Daniel Topp
- Start: 18:01
- Welcome
2. Adoption of February Minutes
- Motion to Adopt made by: Daniel Topp; Seconded by: Jay Morris;
- Vote: Carried
3. Principal鈥檚 Report:
- Monthly newsletter circulated:
- Staff changes: Miss Thompson at Kindergarten, others too;
- Teacher candidates are at school;
- Finished testing, without problems;
- Safe welcome policy;
- Display for Black History Month;
- Kindergarten registration night very successful;
- Parking and safety around the school; Need to persist on the use of Kiss and Ride, need to remind to parents;
- Good start after March break;
- Graduation pictures for tomorrow;
4. General Business:
- SAC Fundraiser: Readathon (prizes, guest readers, trivia questions)
- Whole school 鈥減ajama party鈥 / Favorite character;
- Final date: Thursday, March 30th
- Windsor Expresses secured!
- Other guest speaker(s);
- Retired teachers;
- Local parents;
- More gifts to be gathered (Canadian Tire, find prizes ourselves, 30 T-shirts, movie tickets, etc.);
- Board contribution: 1,000.00 CAD, authorized to be spent on Readathon (prizes, etc.) (motioned by Dan Topp, seconded by Andreas Maniatis);
- Trivia questions;
- Caught you Being Kind;
- Harvest Fresh 鈥 progress report;
- Creating a Culturally responsive School Environment:
- Land acknowledgement (how we all got on Turtle Island);
- Ramadan;
- Irish heritage;
5. Financial Report
- SAC Account: 3,650.03 CAD;
- Bingo Account: 10,194.72 CAD;
6. New Business
- Graduation Pictures and Trip Information:
- Graduation pictures ready on March 23rd;
- Trip to Niagara Falls (June 15th);
- Extracurriculars:
- Floor hockey;
- Dodge ball (?);
- Badminton;
- Multicultural event on May;
7. Meeting adjourned at 7:44 pm
- Motion: Daniel Topp
- Seconded: Lisa
Next meeting: April 19th, 18:00 @ SPS library
Wednesday, February 15th, 2023
Present: Katie DeHetre, TuLe Dugan, Laurie Landry, Daniel Topp, Lisa Dewhurst, Shana Holmes, Quan Martin, Jay Morris, Andreas Maniatis, Pavithra Arvind, Albin Wang
Absent: Michelle Lowes, Anitha Prahladachar
1. Welcome/Introductions: Daniel Topp
- Welcome
2. Adoption of December Minutes
- Motion to Adopt made by: Daniel Topp; Seconded by: Andreas Maniatis
- Vote: Carried
3. Principal鈥檚 Report:
- Monthly newsletter circulated
- Update about food
- Reduce use of plastic
- Climate actions
- Kiss & Ride runs smoothly
- Update about Sabres鈥 basketball games (boys and girls)
- Black History Month
- Reminder about paper copy (Tule)
4. General Business:
- SAC Fundraiser: Readathon
- Readers:
- Express BB players
- Parents (?)
- Guest speakers
- Candidate dates: Thursday, March 30th / Friday, March 31st
- Vote: Carried
- Collect donations for gifts
- Opening assembly: Need to be present by 10:45
- Daily money counting
- 10,000.00 CAD for the pie 鈥
5. Financial Report
- SAC Account: 3,650.03 CAD
- Bingo Account: 10,193.72 CAD
- Board contribution: 774.53 CAD, to be spent by June (up to 10% for food & refreshments)
6. New Business
- Resiliency strategies and education for students and staff
- Anti-bullying strategies and education for students and:
- Pink shirt day
- Decorations
- Volunteers needed to help in the library (barcodes, etc.)
7. Meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm
- Motion: Daniel Topp
- Seconded: Andreas Maniatis
Next meeting: March 22nd, 18:00 @ SPS library
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Present: Michelle Lowes, TuLe Dugan, Katie DeHetre, Lisa Dewhurst, Quan Martin, Andreas Maniatis, Anitha Prahladachar, Jay Morris, Shana Holmes, Daniel Topp, Elita Laios, Albin Wang, Pavithra Arvind
Absent: Laurie Landry, Monsif Shineeb
1. Welcome/Introductions: Daniel Topp
- Welcome Katie as Acting Principal!
2. Adoption of January Minutes
- Motion to Adopt: Daniel Topp: Seconded: Jay Morris: Vote: Carried
3. Principal鈥檚 Report:
- Kindergarten registration starts Feb 21st to March 3rd, Kindergarten Open House is February 23rd from 5:00pm-7:00pm. TALK TO TEN campaign: in community staff and families tell 10 friends what is great about SPS
- Loonie for License: $1,200 CAD raised for one of our GAINS students
- Mrs. Landry鈥檚 class fundraiser for food to support St. Mary鈥檚 Food Cupboard
- TuLe and daughter took leftovers from SPS snack program to downtown Mission before Winter Break
- Character Education focus is on resilience
- Attendance is being worked on (late students)
- Kiss-and-Ride directions are not being followed so SPS is working on this
- Mr. Renaud and Mr. Trudell are coaching floor hockey
- Mr. Chisholm, Mrs. Landry, Mrs. MacDonald, Mrs. Camlis-Leroux, Mr. Dugan and Mrs. Dugan are coaching the basketball teams
- Mr. Cichon is coaching the Chess team
- Encourage kids to dress appropriately for winter
- Grade 9 out-of-district applications & open houses for high schools
- Report cards go home Feb 13th & Parent-Teacher interviews are Feb 16th, 4:00-7:00pm
- Assembly Jan 31st (8:30 a.m.) with singing performances (Grades 1-3) and a Lion Dance performance for Lunar New Year.
- Surveys: resilience and belonging to help students know that SPS cares
- Michelle and TuLe made packages with greetings for Lunar New Year
- Jan 31st, Mr. Lucier our Gr 7 teacher is retiring. We thank him for all he has done throughout his 28 year career馃槉
- Decodable books (with funding from SAC): a request has been put in for quote
4. General Business:
Topic #1 Lunches from Harvest Fresh
- Guest from Harvest fresh company talks about:
- Paper or electronic menu with info how to order/ pay/ deal with issues
- Bins (insulated); forks wrapped
- The helpers organize the lunch (lunches are labeled: name and special requests; have condiments)
- Parent volunteers not needed; company puts bins in front of teachers鈥 rooms and stays for most of the lunch period. Teachers get list.
- Bins sanitized and put away at school location; stacked
- Online options for vegetarian, organic, gluten-free
- Responding to parents鈥 questions within 24 hrs
- Menu changes every 6-7 weeks
- Guest shows portions of soups and meals
- Guest addresses:
- Concerns about cash option for families, parents will direct cash requests to company. Company has no issue with that.
- Next cycle starts Feb 28 (every Tuesday). Orders for 6 weeks or for a week in advance.
Topic #2 Pro-Grant (Ministry offers parent engagement grant for up to $1000 CAD): Dan submitted
Topic #3 Readathon: we have to set a date; check the week of March 20th
Topic #4 Flipgive: we informed parents and some have used it
5. Financial Report
- SAC Account: 3650 CAD
- Parent engagement: 500 CAD
- Bingo Account: 8955 CAD
6. Meeting adjourned at 7:12 pm
- Next meeting: Wednesday, February 15th, 2023 @ 6pm
Southwood School Advisory Council Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, December 7th, 2022
Present: Michelle Lowes, TuLe Dugan, Daniel Topp, Lisa Dewhurst, Shana Holmes, Jay Morris, Anitha Prahladachar, Andreas Maniatis, Pavithra Arvind, Albin Wang
Absent: Laurie Landry, Quan Martin,Monsif Shineeb,
Welcome/Introductions: Daniel Topp
-
Welcome
-
Adoption of November Minutes
-
Motion to Adopt made by: Daniel Topp; Seconded by: Andreas Maniatis
-
Vote: Carried
-
Principal鈥檚 Report:
-
Monthly newsletter circulated
-
Pizza fundraiser was successful
-
Youth diversion presentation on bullying
-
Snack program is doing well- more volunteers needed
-
Ways more parents/grandparents can be reached may include creating smaller groups of parents within grade levels to reach out to other parents and encourage them to help at school
-
General Business:
-
SAC Fundraiser: Flip Give is set to go
-
Options for families who may not have online access are discussed
-
Food days presented by Jay. He talked to both companies. They explained their business model, how they take orders, which days they deliver, what support is needed at school to distribute lunches. This latter point is an issue. Teaching staff does not have the capacity to help. Accessibility and equity are an issue. Discussion is deferred for the next meeting.
-
Harvest Fresh
-
Green Heart (Healthier)
-
Decodable books presented by Tule Dugan; why they are needed; how they help readers
-
Request made for purchase; Motion to Adopt made by: Daniel Topp; Seconded by: Elita Laios
-
Vote: Carried
-
Financial Report
-
SAC Account: 3,650.03 CAD
-
Bingo Account:18,078.38 CAD
-
New Business
-
Revisit how Flip Give can be accessed by parents (other than online)
-
Revisit Food Days and how setting it up could work
-
Update on Pro Grant that is due Jan 18th
-
Meeting adjourned at 7:20 pm
-
Motion: Danial Topp
-
Seconded: Lisa Dewhurst
Next meeting: Jan 25, 6:00pm@ SPS library
Southwood School Advisory Council Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022
Present:Michelle Lowes,TuLe Dugan, Laurie Landry, Daniel Topp, Lisa Dewhurst, Quan Martin, Shana Holmes, Jay Morris, AnithaPrahladachar, Andreas Maniatis, Pavithra Arvind, MonsifShineeb
Absent: ElitaLaios, Albin Wang
Welcome/Introductions: Daniel Topp
-
Welcome
-
Some members left the council 鈥 moved from the school (Angela, etc.)
-
Observer / present for part of the meeting: Mr. MonsifShineeb
-
Adoption of January Minutes
-
Motion to Adopt: Daniel Topp; Seconded: Lisa Dewhurst
-
Vote: Carried
-
Principal鈥檚 Report:
-
Information about the new clerk;
-
Cereal box challenge started;
-
Snack program is doing great! More volunteers are needed! New fundraiser actions suggested;
-
Newsletter coming through in early November;
-
Bingo is doing great. Many volunteers available, more are needed;
-
Pizza fundraiser did great! Profit 3/10 CAD per pizza (we could do better). Ordered pizzas to be collected from the school gym on November 9th;
-
Frozen yoghurt is doing great;
-
Photos from Picture Day: Check when the physical printouts are expected to arrive at school. Check if parents can download the photos online, through Lifetouch portal;
-
Progress reports due on November 14th. Parent meetings with teachers scheduled for November 17th. PD day on November 18th (NO school);
-
Remembrance Day scheduled for November 11th, planned and conducted by Mrs. Landry's grade 7/8 class;
-
Sports & Arts:
-
Hockey started, run by Mr. Trudell;
-
Volleyball completed;
-
Basketball scheduled for Dec 鈥22, Jan 鈥23;
-
Arts program to start soon;
-
Author Eric Walters to give a presentation in December 5th. The cost (6.50 $ per students is supported by SAC);
-
Parents/Guardians to consult the Parent Engagement Information (see Newsletter);
-
Interactive Boards purchased using the Bingo account. Other spending may include:
-
Decodable books;
-
Playground equipment;
-
Uniforms, etc.
-
General Business:
-
Readathon - Very successful fundraiser
-
A few suggestions If done again:
-
maybe not on a Monday (easy for kids to forget)
-
If they would let us, maybe some signs around the store at Indigo to let others know about our fundraiser
-
Also at Indigo, when people sign in, maybe we could give them a bookmark or something to remind them to mention Southwood at the checkout
-
Financial Report
-
SAC Account: 4,314.07 CAD
-
Bingo Account:15,760.08 CAD
-
General Business
-
Indigo fundraiser to be renewed for 2022 鈥 2023. Better tuning needed for more successful SPS account registration on purchases. Lisa to check if this model applies for online purchases too.
-
Other fundraising ideas:
-
Chess tournament with snacks;
-
Reading sessions;
-
Food days:
-
Harvest Fresh;
-
Green Heart (Healthier);
-
Lisa to check with Indigo (online sales);
-
Final list of SAC council members to be prepared and circulated by Michelle and TuLe;
-
Jay to check with Green Heart;
-
Michelle to check if we can do Ruffles gift card;
-
Meeting adjourned at 7:21 pm
-
Motion: Danial Topp
-
Seconded: Lisa Dewhurst
Next meeting: Wednesday, December 7th, 2022 @ 6pm at Spagos.
Get involved
Call the school at 519-969-3470 for more information on how to join our School Advisory Council.
GEC Parent Involvement Committee
The 黑马磁力's Greater Essex County Parent Involvement Committee (GECPIC) [link to new Board site: GEC Parent Involvement Committee] seeks opportunities to improve communication between the school board and parents and guardians. The committee helps break down barriers to parent/guardian engagement and aims to improve the relationship between families and schools to support students' education and well-being.