Get Involved/School Council

Present: Kelly Picken (Principal), Vanessa Taylor (Teacher Rep), Sara Berry-Nakamoto (Chair), Tracy Peters (Co-Chair), Ranjana Singh (Treasurer), Stasi O’Hare, Danie Diakun, Jen Alexis, Jen Holinshead, Breanne Robertson, Raj Jammu, Leslie Holmes, Julie Freeborn, Jackie Farley, Chantelle Armstrong, Lisa Kidd, Sue Anderson, Chuck Kidd, Anna Smith, Anne-Marie Touesnard

Regrets: Christine Tulloch (Secretary), Ruby Maw (Student Rep)

Approval of School Council Committee for 2024-2025: Sara Berry-Nakamoto (chair), Tracy Peters (co-chair), Christine Tulloch (secretary), Ranjana Singh (treasurer).

Principal welcome – Kelly Picken

School Happenings

• Grade 9 Parent/Guardian Meeting
• Grade 9 workshops for the library and guidance introduction
• Grade 12 workshops – the business of being in Grade 12
• Terry Fox Walk and fund-raiser
• International Student Lunch
• Clubs and Teams Advertising and Hallway display
• Recognized Orange Shirt Day – Truth and Reconciliation
• Teams are up and running – basketball, volleyball, soccer, x-c running, golf, tennis
• Music activities in full swing – Jazz band, senior concert band
• Improv club started last week
• Musical is in full rehearsal mode
• Progress Reports went home
• Parent -Teacher interviews were on Oct. 3
• Grade 12 transition activities – university, college, military info sessions -continue all year
• Mindfulness Group with MH Counsellor – Korri Beatti

Upcoming events

• Lunch time library activities – tribute activity, holiday card making etc
• Fall awards – October 23rd, current 10th grade and 11th grade only.
• Skilled trades and tech day- October 24th- grade 9/10 girls going to Fleming college
• PD day – 25th October
• Remembrance Day – 11th November – representative from Legion will be addressing the students
• 11th -15th November – OSSLT writing for grade 10
• Butterfly project
• 21st November – semi formal dance at Hidden Valley
• 22nd November – PD day

Highlights

• Leadership activity- Headed by Miss Fleming-called HHS social justice crew
• Fitness club- $10 one time fee to get access for using the gym facilities
• HOYA robotics- having 40 members and still room for more
• Mental health committee, Korri Beattie (Mental Health Counsellor) and Jenny Fairbass (Resourceteacher) – student lead programme – introducing Jack.org, students can take up short course online which will give them couple of service hours plus certification
• Readers club
• Swimming club has more than 25 members
• International educators from China toured around HHS
• Ruby Maw- is part of G7 and has been nominated as one of the trustees

School Improvement Plan

• Four aspects of school improvement are literacy, numeracy, health and well being and pathway to the future
• Literacy test- 82% success rate
• Participation rate for the test was 96% rate
• EQAO- OSSLTCompulsory attempt for the grade 10 before taking the OLC course
• Improvement in EQAO Math – just under 54% which is the provincial standard mark.
• Improvising career in grade 10 programme – it’s a mental health component and new to the curriculum

Other

• Parent Book Study- started in 2019 by Vanessa Taylor involving grade 9 parents. Discussed the book called Untangled by Lisa Damour, shared experiences, and impromptu questions. Looking into starting another one -Emotional lives of Tennagers by Lisa Damour. Vanessa wanted to know the parents’ thoughts on who should it be opened up to. Most people agreed it should be an option for our parent body as a whole.
• Scholarship update – Tracy and Allison are evaluating the profiles of students preparing to enter universities, colleges, and trade careers in Huntsville. They are presenting their findings to the Muskoka Fundraisers Branch Committee to seek funding for high school programs. This includes a reciprocal co-op initiative, allowing high school students to participate in apprenticeship training and work opportunities, thereby contributing to the community.
• The Good Food Co-op has generously offered a $1,000 scholarship to support culinary arts, horticulture or agriculture programs.
• Allison and Tracy are establishing a donation link on the school website, allowing anyone to contribute funds that will be allocated to eligible students based on the scholarship criteria.
• Recipes in a jar- Money raised helps in covering transportation for buses, prom night, extra curricular activities etc. The campaign is on until November 1, 2024. Kelly will let us know if she needs support in organizing/handing purchased items out.
• Suggestion in creating a sub committee for fundraising-please let the council know if there is an interest
• Ideas on raising funds for transporting buses, extra curricular activities, setting up basketball hoops, etc
• Ted Warman -is our new community officer who visits the school once a week. Sara has reached out to him about a parent education event. Subjects would be: addiction, drugs, issues for youth, connecting to families, community resources. Looking into a late November date for an evening event for all parents.
• Spring- Parent Education Event- Looking into proposing to the School Board a way to consolidate contributions into a single pool for better resource allocation. This approach would allow all schools to collaborate effectively rather than splitting the funds across different areas.
• Awareness towards the students well being and safety- Jen Alexis expressed concerns regarding the recent incident involving a pretend gun shooting that occurred near the school. This was linked to hashtag #orbeezchallenge – a tiktok challenge for young people. She emphasized the need for greater community awareness, as many parents remain uninformed about the situation. Vanessa Taylor is in communication with Jen.
• Discussion on code of conduct
• Lions Effective Speaking – Stasi O’Hare would like the school to take an initiative at supporting this for students.

Upcoming meetings

• November 11, 2024
• January 13, 2025
• March 17, 2025
• May 12, 2025

Present: Tracey Peters, Christine Tulloch, Chuck Kidd, Jill Mann, Ranjana Singh, Sue Anderson, Corinne Schaufelberger, Jen Holinshead, Vanessa Tayor, Chantelle Armstrong, Kelly Picken, Ruby Maw (student rep).

Regrets: Sara Berry-Nakamoto

Agenda and Minutes – meeting chaired by Tracy Peters:

Principal welcome – Kelly Picken

Approval of October Minutes

Tracy Peters
Minutes are posted on the HHS website. Vote – unanimous approval.

Introduction of Ted Warman (OPP-Community Officer).

New role – his goal is to have a positive presence in the high school. He uses the office at the Summit Centre at lunchtime and actively seeks to engage with students, such as attending the meeting of the social justice committee. Good news – there are lots of resources for youth in our community but we need to connect kids with the resources they need. Possible springtime parent presentation. Kelly reaches out to him for education, consultation. There is a lot of support and interest in his work from the rest of the detachment. General information was shared about knives, guns, weapons from a legal, safety and school POV. If we as parents notice an issue or theme coming up with our kids, please tell Kelly and she can liaison with Ted to be proactive in dealing with potential problems before they become bigger problems.

Introduction of Brittney Steele (Public Health Nurse-Substance Use & Injury Prevention Program)

Elementary and high schools – lots of concern about substances. Muskoka Drug Strategy – consists of 50 individuals – works closely with Canadian Mental Health Association – Panel presentation to parents to share resources Alcohol is #1 substance used by grade 7-12 students across the province – prescription medications are unfortunately on an upward trend (from home into school setting – often this is where addictions start). Discussion ensued about student stress – yes, it has gone up! Social media contributes. Bullying. Education needed. Parent education needed. Can tables be set up providing information for parents – perhaps at the January 15, 2025 Pathways Nights – for grade 8+ parents. Difficult to do this on parent-teacher night.

School Happenings – Kelly Picken

• Fall teams wrapping up and Winter teams starting – basketball, volleyball, Nordic skiing, curling, swimming continues to December – successful teams – moving to GBSSA – had 2 X-C runners at OFSAA
• Matilda – rehearsals are moving along – starting to have time at Algonquin Theatre – sets are being made, costumes sewn…
• Music activities in full swing – Jazz band, senior concert band, Choir
• Library Challenges are a fun way to bring students together – This is Me in Grade 9, Iconic Clothing, Favourite Sayings – of teachers – students guess who is who
• Mid-term Reports go home today
• Grade 12 transition activities continue – university, college, military info sessions
• Fall Awards Night Oct 23
• Skilled Trades and Tech Day with Grade 9/10 girls to Fleming College Oct 24
• PD Day Oct 25 – teachers worked on Cross-curricular Literacy Strategies
• Treaty Week was last week
• Remembrance Day Assembly today
• Kindness Week this week
• OSSLT writing this week – Grade 10 Literacy Test
• Caf Jam – Thursday Night
• Halloween Butterfly Project – Through Hospice Mental Health – stressing hope, resilience, and kindness Nov. 19
• Semi-Formal Dance Nov. 21 – tickets sold out in three days
• PD Day Nov. 22 – focus on Math
• Pathways to Success – Grade 8 visits
• PD Day with Grade 8 teachers – transitions to Grade 9 and Math planning
• Fry Bread and Friends – Indigenous Team at HHS
• December 4th – Band Performance at Algonquin Theatre
• Holiday Spirit Week – Dec. 16 – 19 – 2 days of alternate schedule: Friday Dec 13 is the Pancake Breakfast; 19 – Holiday Assembly
• Holiday Break starts Dec 20 (Friday off) – First day back is Jan 6

Boys to Men training

– two coaches doing the training that is mandated by the Ministry of Ed.

Is there a way to check how many volunteer hours students already have on the midterm report card? Kelly will check with Inga in the office.

Chuck offered his son-in-law (works for NASA in robotics) as a speaker for Robotics – Vanessa suggested he reach out to teacher Ian MacTavish.

School Improvement – Vanessa Taylor

Celebration – EQAO Grade 9 Math – The test is part of their exam – quite a few students moved from level 1 to levels 2 and 3. Also students who moved from level 3 into 4. Now the focus is to move more students from level 2 up. 16% to 2% in level 2! With or ahead of the province in every strand except slightly lower in geometry and measurement. HHS is strong compared to other schools in TLDSB. Training for teachers is taking place in the school re OSSLT HHS Top Ten literacy tips, tier 2 vocabulary – an example is the word “collaborate”; idea generation/working on demand. Very positive atmosphere among teachers for student and school improvement. School is also working directly with students who are “credit shy”, more sharing of resources with students – Ruby shared that we are a Jack.org school.

Parent Book Study Update – Vanessa Taylor

The target is grade 9 parents. 4 week program to discuss the meet every other week to discuss the book The Emotional Live of Teenagers by Lisa Damour (audio and ebook). Google Form to engage parent level of interest. Possible funding from the board for paper copies. Sara is reaching out to Cedar Canoe Books. December 3 host night or later – no rush.

Scholarships Update – Tracy Peters

Tracy is working with Alison Meyers from guidance. New Donation link on the HHS website. Tracy recently met with the Huntsville BIA to promote and share info about scholarships. Muskoka Foundation Scholarship meeting about meeting current donors in order to increase interest in donations. Muskoka Good Food Co-op is doing a round up at the till to get small donations for HHS – in development. Goal $1000 – to run until end of May.

Recipes in a Jar update – Kelly Picken

– Sold about the same as last year. Money goes to the excursion fund. Easy to organise for Kelly.

Facebook & Fundraising Committee update – Christine Tulloch

Since Facebook is still the best social media for promoting events and sharing information, we have a new “Huntsville Hoyas Parents” private group. People go to social media more than websites (although the HHS website is very good!). The HHS page can include photos of classes and events at the school, perhaps with photos supplied by photography students; fundraising information, etc. It will be a positive space (negative comments can be deleted right away). Admins are Christine Tulloch, Danie Ramirez Diakun, Jill Mann, and staff member.

Fundraising:

We are in the planning stages for a major spring fundraiser, led by Jill and Chantelle. More information will be available at our next meeting. School-identified areas of financial need: next year the computers at the school need to be replaced and the school would like some picnic tables to make the outdoor space more inviting for the students (TLDSB will not fund this).

Questions?

Positive Anecdote

– Lots of resources for youth in our community.

Upcoming Meetings:

January 13, 2025
March 17, 2025
May 12. 2025