1. What is the School Council?

The school council is a Ministry and Board mandated advisory body that provides advice to the school principal, and where appropriate, to the local trustee and to the Board, on such matters as:

Equity issues affecting students and parents such as school and curriculum activities reflecting the diversity of the community
School-community communication strategie
School planning committees, e.g. safety, budget, curriculum
Participation in the ward community forums
School building and renovation plans
Extra-curricular activities
Selection of principals and vice-principals
School-community relations reviews
School staffing process
Development, implementation and review of Board policies
Curriculum and program goals and priorities
Student achievement results and follow-up plans of the school and the Board
Methods of reporting to parents and the community
School budget priorities
School-based services and community partnerships (child care, social, health, recreation, nutrition)
Local code of student behaviour
School safety and security issues
Local school-year calendar
Other items as determined by the school, the community, or the Board

Note: The school council is not required to address all of the items on the above list, but has the discretion to select those which it considers as priorities at any given time. Some items may be mandated for school council input by the Board.

The Toronto District School Board's policy on school councils is available online at http://www.tdsb.on.ca/policies/c/c01.htm.

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2. What are the School Council's goals?

The goals are set out in the School Council Constitution:

To promote and maintain a positive school environment for all students and staff at Sir Adam Beck Junior School.
To identify current problems and concerns within the school and discuss appropriate action for change and/or improvement.
To develop strategies and solutions regarding the above which will involve a collaborative effort by teaching staff, parents, students and administration.
To promote and encourage communication between home and school, thus empowering parents with a shared responsibility for their child(ren)'s educational experiences.
To keep up to date on current trends in education and to share this knowledge with the school community on a regular basis.
To provide staff, parents, and students with an accountable system to which they can voice their concerns, comments, and suggestions for future consideration.

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3. Who are the members of the School Council?

All parents/guardians of children enrolled at Sir Adam Beck JS are automatically members of the School Council. There is no membership fee and no requirement to register as members.

The School Council executive is made up of 6 to 12 parents/guardians, two teachers, two community representatives, one support staff representative and the principal.

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4. How can I join the School Council Executive?

Elections are held every September for parent vacancies on the Executive. However, any parent can join a school council committee without the need for an election.

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5. When and where does the School Council meet?

The School Council Executive meets monthly, alternating between the first Monday and first Wednesday of the month. The meetings start at 6:30 pm in the staff lounge of the school.

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6. Can anyone attend School Council Executive meetings?

Yes. All meetings of the School Council Executive are fully open to the public and all interested parents are welcome to attend. All parents are encouraged to take part in the discussions.

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7. What committees does the School Council have?

The work of the School Council is often assigend to committees of parents and teachers. The number and purpose vary from time to time, but two committees continue year-round:

A Fund Raising and Special Events Committee coordinates fund raising activities and other school events
A School Safety Committee meets monthly to review safety concerns and issues.

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8. How can I communicate with the School Council?

You can communicate in any of the following ways:

send a note addressed to the school council via your child and teacher
drop off a note at the school office
call any member of the Executive
leave a message with the school office (394-7670) for a school council executive member to call you

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9. How does the School Council communicate with parents?

The School Council will send council related information home with children. In addition, information is posted on the bulletin board just inside the main school entrance (across from the administration office).

The school council also maintains an automatic e-mail mailing list. You can subscribe to the list by visiting http://yahoogroups.com/sabsc.

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10. Does Sir Adam Beck also have a home and school association?

SAB used to have an active Home and School Association, but it was merged with the School Council starting in September 1999 in the interest of consolidating parent volunteer activity into one single organization.

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