October 16, 2019 – 6:30p.m.

Meeting Minutes

Agenda

1. Welcome and Call to Order
   • Carolyn W, Chair, welcomed attendees (in person and Facebook Live) and called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m.
2. Approval of SCOCA September Meeting Minutes and SCOCA October Agenda
   • Motion to approve the SCOCA September Meeting Minutes posted on the CA web site.
     • First: Garth D
       Second: Shannyn K
       Motion carried.
   • Motion to approve the SCOCA October Meeting Agenda
     • First: Garth D
       Second: Shannyn K
       Motion Carried
3. Reports
   • Chair’s Report
     • Carolyn provided an overview of the SCOCA Bylaws, located on the CA web site. SCOCA will also abide by REACH value system. Carolyn also provided an overview of SCOCA with regards of Why, Who and How. SCOCA is here to facilitate open communication and transparency among the stakeholders: parents, teachers, CA administration and students. SCOCA’s goal is to enhance the educational experience of each student by:
       • Providing feedback to CA administration
       • Identifying special projects which would benefit CA’s students
       • Acting as a conduit for communication to keep parents informed about what is happening at CA
       • Supported areas with volunteers and parent engagement
     • As SCOCA is a school council and not a parent council, the association’s general members comprises of:
       • All parents/custodians/guardians
       • SCOCA executive members (Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Volunteer Coordinator and Director at Large) elected positions at the AGM in May
       • Associated members including the Principal and CA Staff
   • Principal’s Report
     • The School Year Well Underway
       • CA has reached our goal of 600 students with the 601^st student being added
       • This allows for:
         • Increased staffing in our integrated studies and PE and outdoor programs
         • Educational assistant support for our students with more complex needs
         • Two part time psychologists working with more complex needs
         • Speech & Language and Occupational Therapy supports for students in Elementary
         • Supports for our staff in coaching and instructional design
         • Research on best practices that we can implement at CA for the betterment of our programs and students
         • Remedial experts working with students and with teachers
       • We are close to max capacity which CA hasn’t been at since the mid-2000s
     • Expanding opportunities for students
       • This year CA is planning for up to 6 days where we will be focused on student health and wellness. Many of the activities will be active-living focused and others will focus on wellness in other areas of student life. Our next Wellness Day will be in December before we break for the holidays.
       • Leader in Me – this is a program that we have brought into High School this year which supports leadership development in our high school students as we prepare our students for life beyond high school and help develop the characteristics of REACH through leadership opportunities. There is currently a LEAD team comprised of students from Grades 9-12 and teachers supporting them. We are also working on leadership growth within each of the classes during our mentoring and special projects time. More info to come in future meetings.
     • Collaboration and Professional Learning
       • With our shortened Fridays we now have clear collaboration time set aside for our staff to work together on short term and long term projects that will directly affect student learning:
         • Project based learning initiatives
         • Cross curricular opportunitiesStaff having time to examine student progress and set goals for the next week and beyond
       • With more Professional Learning days this year than last year, we also have a greater ability to meet the needs of our students by staying on top of the latest research, by focusing on our priorities in our Strategic Plan and by allowing our teachers time to ensure they are delivering the best education possible for our students. First PL day this month was focused on our IPP system which is new to us this year, getting familiarized with that so we are ready to present at our parent teacher interviews in November.
     • Alberta Education and AERR/3 Year Plan
       • With the change of government, we are anxious to see what the next steps will be for how this government and Alberta Ed in general will be approaching private schooling. We do not expect to see any change to funding in this coming budget but we are preparing for how to approach it if there are changes. But all indications from Alberta Ed are that we will remain status-quo in the funding we receive. This government will be continuing to ensure accountability, as they should, and this takes several forms that the school must work on to ensure compliance. This work all happens in the background so that teachers and families can focus on how best to support our learners.
       • In November, we will be bringing back to you our Annual Education Results Report and Three Year Plan. You can find last year’s plan online under the “About CA” tab. Every school has to upload their reports on their web sites and last year’s will be replaced with this year’s after we present to you and to the board in November. Please come out to our November’s meeting to see how we have done other the past year and what areas we will be focusing on this coming year.
     • PowerSchool
       • PowerSchool’s Parent Portal has been open since the end of September for all of the Junior High and High School. We have made the decision to hold off on opening Elementary because of the fact that our assessment system is different and needs context in Elementary. We will be looking at redesigning our system so that it makes sense and is helpful for parents for the Fall of 2020. For now, please reach out to the teachers if you have any questions about your son or daughter’s progress.
   • Volunteer Report
     • 33 new families signed up
     • 80 families in total
     • 2^nd Volunteer Orientation just took place on October 16 at 6 p.m.
     • Teachers’ Lunch on September 27 – 125 CA teachers and admin were treated to a hot lunch put on by the SCOCA Parent Volunteers
     • Terry Fox Run – October 2^nd, 2019 – 13 volunteers
     • Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
       • CA Photo Day – October 17, 2019
       • Dig Pink October 25 & 26 – Coaches/ref lunch and onsite volunteer opportunities
       • Teacher Appreciation Lunch – November 8
       • Book Fair – November 7 & 8
   • Student Coucil Report – Sarah Johnson
     • Council meets at lunch time
     • First initiative will be the REACH project
     • Working on first CA annual school dance in February 2020. Will need parent volunteers!
4. Next Meeting and Future Agenda Items
   • November 18, 2019 at 6:30 p.m.
   • Student anxiety and exams
   • Survey measures and results from Spring 2019
5. Q&A – New Business
   • No questions from the floor
   • Carolyn W – Motion to adjourn the SCOCA Meeting
   • First: Garth D
     Second: Shannyn K
     Motion carried
6. Meeting adjourned at 6:59 p.m.