Our Meetings
Monthly meetings are usually held the third Wednesday of the month beginning at 7 p.m. in the staff room. The next School Council meeting is Wednesday, March 24th.
Join us at next Council meeting
The parents involved with the Alta Vista School Council are essential for ensuring that AVPS remains a vibrant and enriching environment for your child. Council members provide input and advice on how to improve school, and student performance, help support and fund AVPS programs, and ensure that our children have the resources they need for effective learning. Involvement in Council may mean simply attending the monthly meetings or helping with one of the many Council sponsored events or fundraising activities.
Eid Potluck/Thanksgiving
We greatly appreciate the continued support of the School Council. The event was a great success. It was well received by the families who participated. This greatly improves the feeling of being welcomed in the community and school.
Many compliments were given at how we merged the two celebrations of diverse cultures and acknowledgement of it. There were parents who did not know about Thanksgiving and others who did not know about Eid. It was an opportunity for parents, staff and students to mingle on a positive note. There were more than 100 people in attendance. but it would not have happened without the help from the following people: Donna and Keith, Barb Holland, Eva Burton, Petra Alince, Susan Doern and Norma McLelland. Thank you also to Petra Alince and Keith Sherlock for assisting with cleanup after the Eid/Thanksgiving dinner. And of course this evening would not have happened if it were not for Fatimah Ekbal. She worked tirelessly to ensure this evening was a huge success for all.
Thank you to…
This year’s School Council executive:
Co-chairs: Eva Berton and Adair Crosby
Treasurer: Dan Curtain
Secretary: Bonnie Gazal
Former Chair and OCASC Representative: Lillian Thomsen
In addition to the executive, Petra Alince will be in charge of Communications.
Annual Scholastic and Usborne Book Fair, December 2-4
Get ready for some out-of-this-world excitement with Scholastic Book Fairs’ Galaxy of Books! and Usborne Book Fair. You’ll go where no reader has gone before as you explore the coolest array of books in the cosmos. Our Scholastic and Usborne Book Fair is the ultimate book event and our students love it! Additionally, a portion of the sales benefits our school. It’s the best way to raise funds while encouraging kids to read. Last year Alta Vista school received almost $3000 worth of books – now that’s stellar!
Dear Parent or guardian,
Our Scholastic and Usborne Book Fair will be arriving soon, and we’re excited about sharing the joy of books with our students. We invite you to participate in this year’s Scholastic and Usborne Book Fair from, Tuesday Dec 1st to Friday Dec 4th, by volunteering.
Being a part of something special is easier than you think. There are lots of ways to volunteer, including:
· Merchandising our Book Fair and table displays to create a terrific bookstore environment.
· Simply greeting customers at the door and helping students and shoppers select just the right books
· Working at our Cashier Table.
· Clean up and event wrap up.
Of course, these a just a few ways to participate in the book fair. If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about our Scholastic and Usborne Book Fair, please E-mail Nancy Dean or phone her at 613-266-0900. Or call Petra Alince at 613-523-9198. Thank you in advance for helping to make our students lifelong readers – we couldn’t do it without your participation.
Spring Fair
The leaves have barely begun to fall, but we’re already thinking spring! Donna Smeaton has agreed to oversee this popular event again, with Tracy Curle as her sidekick. The hope is that committee heads can be confirmed soon; that Donation Request letters can start going out this Fall; and that a space will be set aside in the school soon to collect items for prizes and the White Elephant Sale. If you helped out last year, or would like to join the team this year, please drop Donna an email at sherlock@trytel.com. And we’d appreciate hearing from anyone regarding any new ideas for the school’s most popular event so we can continue to grow and improve.
School Council – Get Involved!
Parents involved with AV’s School Council are essential for ensuring that AVPS remains a vibrant, enriching environment. Members provide input and advice on how to improve school and student performance, and help support and fund AVPS programs to support resources needed for effective learning. Involvement in Council may mean attending monthly meetings or being a full member and helping with one of many Council-sponsored events or fundraising activities.
Our Council
The AVPS Council provides parents and community members with the means to contribute to improving both student and school performance. This may include promoting open debate on issues or supporting and helping to fund school programs and events (e.g. Literacy, Building Healthy and Active Communities, Pizza and Milk programs, Welcome Back BBQ, Read-A-Thon, Book and Spring Fairs). The Council is made up of parent volunteers who provide recommendations to the AVPS principal and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB). The Board and principal are required, in turn, to consult with the AVPS Council members on various issues that could affect student performance.
Our Members
The AVPS Council includes parents, the AVPS principal, vice-principal and teachers (See the ‘AVPS Constitution’ under ‘Resources’ for more details on Council representation).
The Executive is comprised of four parents (not employed by the OCDSB) in the following roles:
1. Chair: plans, organizes and runs Council meetings; communicates with the school principal, community members, and represents the Council to outside bodies and authorities.
2. Vice-Chair (or Co-Chair): takes on the responsibilities of the Chair if she/he is absent or unable to fulfill his/her duties.
3. Secretary: prepares and distributes Council meeting minutes, drafts Council correspondence and keeps files of the Council’s official documents. This position may be held among 3 people.
4. Treasurer: receives, pays out and keeps accounts of all Council funding and approved expenses; prepares regular financial statements subject to annual audits; and, holds joint signing authority for Council expenditures along with one other Council member.
Elections
Parents wanting to become Council members can nominate themselves prior to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held within the first 30 days of the new school year. Parent members are elected at the AGM by the parents present. Terms are for one-year although members may seek additional terms of office.
>SCHOOL COUNCIL TIPS: SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTIONS (PDF)
DID YOU KNOW?
The School Council is a group of parents, just like you, who join staff and the student community in monthly meetings to be informed, and to advise the principal about changes to your child's day-to-day school life.
School Council meetings are open forums for all parents who would like to gain firsthand insight and have a voice in what's happening at our school.
The principal and a staff member report on staffing, field trips, sports and cultural activities, scheduling changes, etc. We discuss what our school Board and Provincial Government are doing that will impact your child's education, and what can be done about it. We invite guest speakers on different subjects. We raise money for extra school activities, library books, sports equipment and science projects. And in the process we all get to know each other a little better.