Bayview Hill ES School Council Minutes - Monday, February 24, 2025

1. Welcome and Minutes Approval 

Pegita

•  Pegita said due to a large number of Council members absent for this meeting, she reached out to the admin to ask if we could have a hybrid meeting for tonight. Admin approved and Georgia set up the link which was shared with Council to join virtually if they were unable to attend in person for this evening.
• We have 12 members in attendance (online and in-person), so we can vote on the Minutes from Dec. 9th and Jan. 20th. Minutes were voted on and passed by Council..

2. Treasurer Report

Anita 

• Anita said Macgregors fundraiser has ended, the last day to place an order was last Monday
• We have 75 boxes ordered, but that’s not enough for free delivery because it would cost $75 to deliver. So Anita and Devika will pick up the 75 boxes and bring them back to school. That way it’s less hectic for the truck to come and we save money.
• We had 14/75 orders from one class grade which was class 73. The prize is a giant cookie and it was delivered on Friday to the winning class.
• We have an additional $7600 from the new subscription for lunches on Mondays and Tuesdays.
• Funds are updated from the fees we spent on Skate Night which was $500.
• Movie licence cost was $916.00 and expires on Feb. 18th, 2026. The popcorn cost was $100.
• The Lion Dance presentation cost was $880.
• The Persian Nowruz Dance performance is $500
• We should have $25,000 left if we don't have any more “asks” or spending.
• Heather said she will send us the ask for tech (about $2,500). Anita said with tariffs coming it would be better to spend the money now rather than keep it in the bank.
• Heather will send us an email to let the Council know how much the ask is and we can vote on it.

3. Admin Report -School update

Heather/Georgia

Identify Affirming Texts

• We have coaches assigned where we look at curriculum needs and how we would embed equity and inclusion to our curriculum and to our interaction with students.
• We are working with three teachers, Ms. Cooper, Ms. Voinou and Ms. Armstrong since they see these students for a variety of classes in multi-purpose activities. Ms. Voinou sees students for ELL, Ms. Cooper sees students in the Learning Commons and Ms. Armstrong sees them for literacy.
• Heather, Georgia and Ms. Cooper looked at the books they have available in our library so they can build on it to include some books that we read with our children at home that show different traditions and identities
• Identity affirming means to understand different perspectives, where you can see yourself in the book. For example, they can be windows, to another perspective. Georgia asked the Council when you are reading with your children and you come along with a good book then please make sure you mention it to the admin.
• Heather said a collective voice is helpful and it would be good if you tell us the type of books you are reading. Shelly asked how we can send the names of the books to the admin. Georgia said it can be emailed where you give the title of the book and the author, it doesn’t have to be detailed.
• Georgia said we want to have a balanced library. Heather said the idea of inclusion is natural to feel represented and connected. Georgia said she was recently in a classroom where the students were learning about shapes, the teacher showed them Islamic buildings with shapes. This gives the students the opportunity to discuss where these buildings are seen and it is encouraged in our daily interactions and lessons so that we highlight the knowledge and contribution of all cultures

Election

• Thursday is election day, Daphne will be at the doors and Anita has signed up to work at the polling station, so you will see Anita. She will be there on Wednesday to set up at 5pm. Thursday morning she will be there at 8am to put up signs

Other updates 

• Georgia applied for the Pro Grant and has booked Jennifer Casa-Todd to present in person on the evening of May 8th
• Digital competencies will be discussed in terms of how students can use tech in a productive way. It will be a very current and relevant presentation where she teaches parents on how they can empower their children to use tech. Child care will be offered that night for parents who need it.
• On April 17th, there will be a Skills and Trades presentation. Rick said that he can come in to discuss his profession. The presentation will be in the gymnasium and it will be an interactive presentation of Skill Trades and pathways to high school.
• Heather said that skill trades are underestimated and students don’t really know what those trades are. Through this presentation, we can open kids' minds to think about these professions as an option. It is exciting to have that opportunity.
• Georgia said an author, Rukhsana Khan, will be at school in April to read a story to our K - 2 students. This was something our primary team wanted to do. Rukhsana came to Canada when she was 3 years old from Pakistan. She has adjusted to living in Canada and one of her stories is called The Big Red Lollipop which tells the story of her sister going to a party and she wasn’t allowed to go and her sister brought her back a red lollipop. She will be reading this story to students in K - 2.
• There is also a STEM consultant working with our teacher librarian to see what can be done.
• Some students are struggling with their social skills. Heather said she is seeing some frustration amongst students. John Howard Society has a HYPE+ program on how to manage how you feel and interact in positive ways. It is sometimes normal to have some frustration and inability to problem solve but sometimes it is not. This program will help to equip the educators to deal with students in grade 7-8. Georgia said it will be good for all of us to learn. Niki is the youth manager for this free program. She will work with teachers and students. Dealing with older students is a bit more challenging so more guidance is needed with the older students. They will start with the grade 7s and 8s.

4. School Council Update

Pegita 

• Movie Night took place on Feb. 20th and it was a nice and quiet evening. Thanks to the Movie Night Sub committee (Daphne, Shelly, Karen, Maggie, Parisa, Viven, Pegita and Devika) for all their work in creating the requisition, designing the flyer, picking up the popcorn, bagging popcorn, setting up, supervising and cleaning up after the Movie. It took a dedicated team to ensure a smooth and fun evening for all the students. Heather said it was the best movie night she has ever been to.
• Anita said Lunch Programs have transitioned from first to second term. Pizza, Swiss Chalet and Mr. Greek are for the whole year. There used to be more requests to switch menus.
• Rick said that Skate Night is taking place on March 25th from 6:15 pm - 8:15 pm at Ed Sackfield. There will be a fee of $2.00 to skate or bring a canned item of which both proceeds will go to the Richmond Hill Food Bank. There will be a poster for Skate Night which will go out closer to the date
• Mona said that Pegita and Parin will set up the Haftseen Table display which will be at the front foyer from Monday March 17th - Friday March 21st which allows the students to learn about Persian culture and celebration.
• Mona said there is also a Nowruz Dance Performance booked for Monday March 24th in the morning which will have students watch a traditional Persian dance and get a chance to also participate. There will be 3 performances that morning, each 20 min. in length. Parin asked if we need help with dancing since Ava can dance and help out with the dancers. Mona said that there will be a chance for everyone to participate in the dance after the performance. The cost is $500 and Council had voted on providing the funding for this event.
• Pegita and Devika will be coordinating our annual Multicultural Night again this year which will be taking place on Thursday April 24, 2025 from 6:30pm - 8:30pm. We have a subcommittee which will help to plan the event. The evening will showcase tables that will have traditional art and food from different countries. The entire event is run by parent volunteers and high school volunteers. There will also be cultural dance performances by our students.
• Ms. Wilson said that she has a few students already preparing for Nowruz songs for the Persian New Year. So that might work as well for the Multicultural Night.
• Anabela is the coordinator for our annual Danceathon which this year takes place on May 9th. Anabela said this year the theme will be “BHES Students Are So Bright, They Got To Wear Shades” Wear Your Sunglasses at Night. Anabela has already designed the flyer which will be shared with the school at large closer to the date. There will be chips for sale $2.00/bag and the students are to bring their own water bottle.
• Anita discussed a new lunch program that our school will be taking part in called Lunch Box which is run through Cashonline. All information regarding allergies for the students can be inputted on School Casholine. Anita said this could be a good supplement to our existing lunch programs. Parents pay through Cashonline. We can choose from vendors to deliver the items on chosen days.
• This program will be good for parents who don’t sign up for a lunch program for the whole year. This lunch program can run as a pilot and we can test it out in April and May and get feedback from parents and if the feedback is positive we can roll it out in September. It seems that Lunchbox has more vendors to choose from and more flexibility than MealBets.
• Mona asked who does the delivery of the lunches and Anita said it would be the vendor. The food is organized and labelled with information from School Cashonline.
• Heather said we already have helpers that are sorting out the current lunch programs and this will be smooth as the items are already individually wrapped and labelled and come in by class. Also allergies are listed for the ingredients on the order for the student.
• Anita said we will choose the lunch items based on something different than what we already have and offer. Viven mentioned that her son is allergic to eggs so she would have to choose items that don’t have eggs as the ingredients are listed. The LunchBox program will be discussed further at our next meeting.
• Rick provided feedback from the Lion Dance Performance and said it was the same as last year and it went well. The students had fun watching and participating. They were excited and happy to be there. He can ask the presenters to change it up for next year

5. New Topics/ Misc.

• Scarlett looped back to the Identity Affirming that Georgia was mentioning and said that Lunar New Year is celebrated by many cultures, so it is nice to see how, for example, the Chinese celebrate Lunar New Year compared to the Koreans.
• Georgia said that’s the idea to have these rich experiences and to see that no culture is monolithic. She said that the students were very excited to see all the different pieces of a culture and through rich identity affirming books this can be established.
• Shelly spoke about the new date for Skate Night (March 25th) and how it is during the month of Ramadan. Rick said that the original date of Skate Night wasn’t planned during Ramadan as it was in December. But due to the strike, and the deposit already given there were very few days left to choose from and so we had to choose March 25th. The timing of the Skate Night is from 6:15 pm to 8:15pm so we hope that families can still attend after their fast is broken for the second half of the event. It is also not known how many families are affected and if they were even planning on attending Skate Night. Pegita noted for next year, we will double check the dates available to make sure Skate Night doesn’t take place during the month of Ramadan.
• Vivien asked how to provide feedback to the school. Pegita mentioned that there is a QR Code that was shared by Council at the beginning of the year where parents can provide feedback. Alternatively, the office or Council can always be emailed as well.
• Heather said parents are also encouraged to attend monthly Council meetings or reach out to the admin team. She said they find things very quiet and people don’t speak up. Heather said please reach out to the admin and mention any potential issues. We hope that people can interact with us.
• Anita said our Instagram account gets a lot of views so maybe there can be a poll to ask about their favourite events
• Mona shared that there was a conflict that happened at the school which involved a bullying situation. She said a consequence of a detention or a suspension wouldn’t be enough. She said there needs to be one on one therapy on social skills. Mona said I would like to know how we can make this happen? How can we prevent these situations from happening in the future? She said having these consequences does not change their behaviours.
• Heather said, Georgia and I are aligned to what happened and are working with those students. If they see a repeated pattern they address it because the child that is harmed will need support as the child as well as the child who caused the harm. Heather said we have a social worker and a school psychologist at the school who help in these situations and that partnership is critical.
• Maggie asked Heather how do you handle the kids seeing this and how the students react to this? Heather said staff talks to those students and reaches out to them should they want to talk about it. Mr. Illic said that school boards are stretched thin in regards to mental health needs of students.
• Anita mentioned that when the tubing trip for the grades 4 - 6 was cancelled last Friday, there was no official email to parents stating why it was cancelled and that it had actually been cancelled. We only heard it from our children. Georgia said she takes responsibility for not letting parents know of the cancellation through a formal email. She said the threshold for the temperature to cancel an outdoor trip is -19 degrees celsius and it had to be done. There was no alternate date booked to replace the original date. So next year, we will be sure to book a backup date in case of severe weather. 

• In the spring the grades 4 - 6 will do a ropes outdoor trip instead. Going forward the communication will be better from the office in regards to trip cancellations. 

  Meeting adjourned @ 8:30 p.m.