June 23rd, 2023

June 13, 2023 at 6:30pm via Google Meet

Welcome
 Kirstan Howells, School Council Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Principal’s Report
 Kathryn Haddock is the current interim principal and has been an administer for nearly 18 years. As with previous principals, Kathryn noted how caring and dedicated the
teachers and staff are at JW Gerth.
 Kathryn is in support of the playground fundraising goal, but also suggested that some funds raised be designated for a slush fund. This fund could be used to help reduce
busing costs for field trips and will make the opportunity to attend a field trip more equitable. The Council is in support of this suggestion.
 Kathryn estimated that there are 10 schools that currently do not have a permanent principal. We should know by Tuesday if JW Gerth will have a new principal next year, or
if we will have a rotation of retired administrators again.
Teachers Updates
 Carol Fuller and Holly Joseph were in attendance and thanked the Council for their efforts in organizing the Fun Fair. Holly said that the students were thrilled to have
attended and spoke about the night with excitement in the week that followed.
Fun Fair Debrief
 Natalie Butlin estimated that $11,800 was raised by the Fun Fair. Once expenses, such as the cost of drinks, etc., are subtracted, the school should see an approximate profit of
$10,500 which can be put towards playground equipment costs.
 The Council did not expect to have such a huge turnout but were very glad to see that the Fun Fair was so well received. In the future, we will likely ask for multiple ice-cream
trucks to attend to reduce lines, as well as develop a plan to pre-make the cotton candy.
 The silent auction raised a significant amount of money; however, it was not without problems. Some children decided to bid on prizes without permission from their
parents/guardians. Others bid on prizes and then did not commit to their bid when called to pay and pick up their prize. It will be clear next year that a bid is a commitment to
purchase, and we will aim to recruit additional volunteers to the silent auction area to ensure children have their parent or guardian’s signature before bidding.
 We did not have enough volunteers for the event despite multiple asks. Next year, we will explore the idea of grade 6 students running games and may schedule the event on
the same night as the monthly staff meeting so that teachers are already on site and are able to stay afterwards to help at the Fun Fair. We are thankful for all of the help we did
have this year from teachers and staff. We will also avoid booking the event on a country
Track and Field competition night.
 Natalie Butlin oversaw the majority of the Fun Fair organization which was an incredible feat and time commitment. Next year, we would like to make a committee so that the
work is divided amongst several point people. For example: one person oversees the silent auction, another marketing, someone else does refreshments, and another person
coordinates volunteers. We greatly appreciate all of Natalie’s work.

 It was proposed that some of the funds raised from this year’s Fun Fair be put towards paying for increased insurance which could then allow us to have bouncy castles and
gladiator type events. We would need to confirm this with the WRDSB.
 Another suggestion for next year’s Fun Fair is to have it coincide with a book fair. The book fair could begin during school hours and then extend to the evening when parents
would attend. If addition, we could have a used book fair where community members donate used books, and we sell them for $2 a book.
Playground Planning:
 The School Council will meet in September to begin planning out what types of playground equipment and features we would like to see at JWG. We would like to
involve the children and have them brainstorm wish lists with their teachers.
 We will be looking for grants and donors/corporations who can help fund the playground as it is very expensive (several hundred thousand dollars).
 We will need to contact the WRDSB Facilities department to see what is allowed and where it can go on the property.
 We will promote the direct giving donation link to JWG. Those that donate online will receive a tax receipt.
 We aim to keep the School Council tab on the JWG website updated so that it is clear where fundraising funds are going.
Council Documents
 Kirstan reminded the Council that documentation is housed on Google Drive and will write up position descriptions for those interested in running for a position in the
Council’s Fall election.
2023-2024 Planning
 We plan to meet next on Wednesday September 20 th at 6:30pm. Elections will occur on this date. Going forward, we will schedule our meetings on the second Wednesday of
every month to coincide with staff meetings.
 The Council would like to organize a back-to-school event with food trucks. We will ask the food trucks for a percentage of sales to put towards our fundraising endeavors.
 It was suggested the food truck event coincides with Meet the Teacher night, potentially on the 2 nd or 3 rd week of September. The Council could set up in the gym and provide
information for parents interested in joining. We would love to have more people join the Council.
 We are exploring the idea of hosting special events like movie nights next year.
 In terms of Council initiatives, we would like to continue to support the garden beds/containers at the back of the school.
 We will need to develop committees for the following:
o Yearbook
o Fun Fair
o Fundraising
o Special Events