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Welcome to the WOM School Council!for the official WOM School Site, please click here. WOM School Council is also on Facebook What's New? Updated May 15, 2012 Our February newsletter has been published. The Mabel's Labels fundraiser will be running from May 1-September 15, 2012.
Your Support Is Urgently Needed - Include Your Voice for Meaningful Change to the OCDSB Accommodation Review Process May 8th Petition to the Ministry of Education of Ontario for Administrative Review At the May 8th School Council meeting, it was voted to proceed with the petition to the Ministry of Education of Ontario (10 in favour of the motion, 2 against, and 2 abstained). Based on feedback from the meeting, amendments have been made to the expected outcome. We are now asking the Ministry to review the accommodation review process, not the Ottawa-Carelton Board decision, so that the process for future accommodation reviews can be improved. Previous wording: We understand that the Ministry cannot overturn a decision of school boards, but it is our hope that if the Ministry finds merit in our submission that the Ottawa-Carleton Board of Trustees will revisit their decision in this matter in favour of upholding the South ARC Recommendation. Regardless, it is our expectation that the Ottawa-Carleton Board of Trustees will ensure that deficiencies identified as a result of this administrative review process will be rectified once and for all so that a greatly improved accommodation review process can be implemented going forward that complies with the Ministry’s requirements for meaningful public consultation and transparent and accountable decision-making. Amended wording: We understand that the Ministry cannot overturn a decision of school boards. It is our expectation however, that if the Ministry finds merit in our submission the the Ottawa-Carleton School Board of Trustees will ensure that the deficiencies identified as a result of this administrative review process will be rectified once and for all so that a greatly improved accommodation review process can be implemented going forward that complies with the Ministry's requirements for meaningful public consultation, and transparent, accountable and fact-based decision making. We are looking for volunteers to help us circulate the petition so we can obtain the necessary number of signatures by May 18th. If they would like to volunteer, could they please email the chair at chair@womschoolcouncil.com. Parenting Teens The Earl of March School Council is hosting an evening presentation on parenting teens. Richard Voss from CHEO will be focusing on communication and parenting strategies for dealing with adolescents. Everyone is welcome! Updated Petition to the Ministry of Education of Ontario for Administrative Review The petition being considered for presentation to the Ministry of Education of Ontario has been updated by Bev Stonehouse. It has been updated and improved, incorporating changes suggested by parents at the Tuesday, May 1st meeting, including our expectations for the outcome of the administrative review process (second last paragraph of the petition):
We will be voting as a Council on going forward with the petition at Tuesday, May 8th meeting. Your feedback to the chair, chair@womschoolcouncil.com, or at the Tuesday, May 8th meeting is greatly appreciated. Early Years Centre Workshops The Early Years Centre is offering the following workshops this spring. More info is available in their flyer: We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the following parenting workshops in hopes of increasing the number of registered families. If you are interested in registering for the following workshops and others listed on our website (www.wocrc.ca) please call 613-591-3686 x545. All workshops are free unless otherwise noted. THE TEMPERAMENT FACTOR- Children have their own individual characteristics which can be very challenging for their families. You will discover ways to prevent problems and make life easier. With Betsy Mann, Certified Parent Educator. May 1, 2012 Kanata South Accommodation Meeting Principal Graham presented her report on the impact to the school as a result of the proposed changes. Trustee Curry's blog has the motion which passed for Kanata South. The motion is also available at OCDSB April 24, 2012 Board Meeting Agenda, Item 18 b. Notice of Motion, Kanata South Accommodation, Trustee Curry. Further Kanata South Accommodation info is at the ocdsb.ca website Bev Stonehouse presented the petition being considered for submission to the Ministry of Education of Ontario. The school council will be deciding at the May 8th monthly meeting whether or not to proceed with challenging the Kanata South process. At the May 8th meeting, we will have greater attendance of council members, further debate, and the threshold to pass the motion will be 2/3 majority, instead of the usual simple majority. IN APPRECIATION OF THE WONDERFUL STAFF AT W.O. MITCHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Without the incredible dedication of the staff at W.O. Mitchell, our children would not have been able to enjoy the fabulous year they have had. All the staff members including teachers, administrative and custodial, have been integral to the successful year we have enjoyed.
This year, on behalf of parent council, the students and their families, a STAFF APPRECIATION LUNCH will be held on Thursday May 31st. You are invited to participate in this event by donating a food item, drink, flowers or monetary donation. If you would like to support this worthwhile event, please email chair@womschoolcouncil.com before MAY 11.
PLEASE NOTE – FOOD ITEMS SHOULD NOT CONTAIN ANY NUTS AS W.O. MITCHELL IS NOW A NUT RESTRICTED SCHOOL. THANK YOU!! ***If at all possible, please send items on a disposable or non-returnable dish. *** Pam Amlani Volunteer Award Nominations 2012 The school council would like to recognize an outstanding volunteer from the W.O. Mitchell community. This annual award is named after Pam Amlani, a WOM parent who gave untold hours of her time and energy to the school helping children and staff. Nominations will take place during the month of May, and can be made by parents, staff, or students. Please nominate someone who has made an significant contribution to WOM as a volunteer. April 24th Board Decision WOM will remain a JK-8 school; however, Glen Cairn Public School is to become an intermediate school. Please see the details in the Ottawa Citizen. See Ottawa Citizen columnist Matthew Pearson's April 24th tweets, Twitter.com/mpearson78 Pizza Coordinator Pizza Tuesdays are WOM School Council's most popular and profitable lunch programme. We're looking for a new pizza coordinator for next year. If you're interested in helping out with Pizza Tuesdays, please contact the chair at chair@womschoolcouncil.com School Council Update-April 20, 2012 School Council Information and Updates can be found at the following link:http://www.ocdsb.ca/par/sc/info-n-updates/Pages/default.aspx In this update, you can find information on the following topics: Upcoming Events:
April 24 Board Meeting The agenda has been posted for the April 24, 8:00 pm Board Meeting, which includes motions by Trustees Curry and McKenzie regarding the Accommodation Review. The motion against Trustee Curry was not uploaded properly (as of the morning of April 21st), so Trustee Curry's motion is available at her website. Media Updates on OCDSB The Kanata North Schools website has several links to recent articles in the Ottawa Citizen and the Ottawa Sun, including Trustee Theresa Kavanag's April 18 Letter to the Editor and coverage of the April 16th meeting. Intermediate Programming and MPPs Press Releases Trustee Curry's blog contains her comments regarding intermediate programming. Her blog, cathycurry.ca, also has the recent press releases from MPPs Lisa Macleod and Jack Maclaren. kanatanorthschools.com contains a counter argument for intermediate programming. Monday, April 16 Kanata North and South Accommodation Reviews The next meeting about the Kanata South Accommodation Review will be held on Monday, April 16th, at 7:30 p.m., at the board offices at 133 Greenbank Rd. Here is the agenda. It includes the motion being tabled by Trustee McKenzie. We encourage parents to attend and show their support to keep grade 7s and 8s at WOM. The Kanata Kourier had this article about the review in their April 12th issue. Mabel's Labels Are Back Thank you for your support. Call out for Craft Fair Coordinator and Art Appreciation Coordinator OCASC Update Trustee Cathy Curry's Update Motion for Kanata South Note that Cathy Curry's blog has the updated motion for Kanata South. Your support at the April 16th meeting, at 7:30 p.m. would be greatly appreciated. Kanata South Debate to Continue April 16 At the April 5th debate, by 10:30 p.m., trustees decided to continue the debate on Kanata South on April 16th. The motion for Kanata North was defeated. More details are in the Ottawa Citizen. Kanata North Schools Website Updates The kanatanorthschools.com website has updates, under the resources link, including media coverage from the Ottawa Citizen and the Ottawa Sun regarding Kanata Accommodation Debate and Ottawa schools and their capacity. Trustee McKenzie's Motion for April 5th Meeting Cathy Curry has posted the motion which Trustee McKenzie intends to propose. Please see Trustee Curry's blog for more info. Important Update – Kanata South Accommodation Review – Meeting Scheduled for April 5th at 7:30. Last evening (April 2), District Staff presented their recommendations to the Board of Trustees. Several Board members had a lot of questions and concerns about the Staff Recommendations for Kanata South versus the ARC Recommendations for the District Staff. Note, the Staff Recommendations will dramatically change our school whereas the ARC Recommendations do not. We are pleased to report that many of their concerns were the same as those presented by our WOM community of parents at the March 8thBoard meeting. We were also pleased to see several WOM parents present at this meeting. The discussion of the Staff Recommendations for Kanata South will continue this Thursday evening at the OCDSB office starting at 7:30. At the close of this meeting, the Board of Trustees will be have finalized the essence of the motion they will be tabling for decision at the April 24th meeting. It is vitally important that WOM parents attend this meeting! The situation, although currently promising, is still very uncertain as to how the Board of Trustees will vote. We need to continue to show strong support for the ARC Recommendations through the Board discussion process. Our work is far from done with respect to this matter and the well-being of our WOM students, current and future are at stake. This is the agenda for the April 5th meeting. It refers back to the April 2nd meeting. Kanata South Accommodation Debate Please note the agenda for the Monday, April 2, 2012 meeting regarding the Kanata South Accommodation Review. We are encouraging parents to attend this meeting and any future meetings until a decision is made. The meeting will be at the Board office, at 133 Greenbank Rd. Discussion for Kanata North will begin at 7:00 p.m. and for Kanata South at 9:00 p.m. Kanata North Schools Website Updates The kanatanorthschools.com website has updates, under the resources link, including updates regarding the March 21 Business Services Committee Meeting. Top Fundraiser for Toonie Tuesday Congratulations to the WOM Community for being the top school for fundraising for Toonie Tuesday this year (at $2,549.61)! This letter of thanks was received from Dr. Jane Fulton, Executive Director of the Education Foundation of Ottawa. WOM School Council Presentation to Board re Kanata South Accommodation Review Here is the presentation Bev Stonehouse made to the board at the March 8 Delegation Meeting for Kanata South's Accommodation Reivew. It will continue to be available on our site under Parent Resources/District Wide News Kanata South ARC March 8 Meeting Update, April 2 Trustee Debate Thank you to all those that attended the Delegations' Meeting at the board offices on Greenbank Road on March 8th. WOM was well represented by parents and school council at this meeting. Also, this week's Kanata Kourier has an article "Parents mount petition against high school restructuring". Thank you for your help. Cathy Curry - Trustee Please see Cathy Curry's blog for her comments on the Kanata South Accommodation Review. March 8 Kanata South Accommodation Meeting Parents and
guardians interested in expressing their opinions on moving grade 7s and
8s from WOM, please attend the Kanata South Accommodation Review
meeting on March 8th, at 7:30 p.m., at the Board Offices, at 133
Greenbank Road. It has become quite clear from the messages we are hearing from some trustees that unless there are a lot of people at the meeting on the 8th, they may think that no one has concerns about the staff recommendations for Kanata South. If you do not want to make a presentation or ask a question please show your support by coming to the meeting. WE NEED BODIES AT THE MEETING
to help make it clear to trustees that we are not satisfied with the
staff recommendations for our children. More information about the Kanata South Accommodation Review: www.ocdsb.ca/sch/as/Pages/KanataSouthElementaryAccommodationReview.aspx DVD Additions to the Parent Resource Library We have four new DVD additions to the parent resource library, ordered as part of our grant related to the seminar topics. These were recommended by the WOCRC on our topics. Homework Help Parent Seminar The slides from the January 26, 2012 Parent Seminar on Homework Help are now available. They will be archived on our site at Parent Resources/Online Resources for Parents/Healthy Schools/Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre. Terrific Toonie Tuesday The generosity of the entire WOM community around Toonie Tuesday has been overwhelming. The results are now in; drum roll please.... Including 5% pledge donations from both Mr. Taniguchi and Ms. Graham, as well as a very generous donation of $250 from Student Council, in total the WOM community raised an AMAZING $2522.00 for The Education Foundation of Ottawa. Thank you to all staff, students and parents who contributed to a program that is about helping kids throughout the city and to the parent council for sponsoring and supporting this important event. Thank you to Louise and Mr. Taniguchi for their tremendous effort supporting Toonie Tuesday, and for all the pennies counted. Kanata North website Kanata North parents have created kanatanorthschools.com with their concerns regarding staff recommendations for the Accommodation Review. Parents in Kanata South have information at kanatasouthschools.com. Crystal Bay The principal of Crystal Bay school sends his thanks to the WOM community for their support. We've contributed to funds for the purchase a Smartboard for one of their Intermediate classrooms. Parents' Meeting: Kanata South Accommodation - Wed. Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m. at Superstore Parents supporting the ARC recommendation for W.O. Mitchell to continue to be a grades JK-8 school held a meeting on Wednesday, February 15th, at 7:30 p.m., at Real Canadian Superstore, 760 Eagleson Rd. These parents support the ARC's recommendations to keep WOM JK-8, at least until AY is renovated to support a 7-12 model. Parents are encouraged to contact trustees and register to speak at the March 8 meeting. More information on the Kanata South Accommodation Reviews is available here and the OCDSB Kanata South Elementary Accommodation site and Kanata South Schools. Cathy Curry's blog has some answers to questions she's received about the Kanata South proposals. 2012 Power the Purple Challenge – Transforming Youth Mental Health Two Events at WOM The 2012 Power to the Purple Challenge is Royal Ottawa Hospital program focussed on raising awareness, inspiring conversations and transforming youth mental health throughout February 2012. The challenge engages schools, corporations, and individuals to raise awareness and funds in support of D.I.F.D. and youth mental health. D.I.F.D (Do It For Daron) was created by friends and family of Daron Richardson who lost her life to suicide at the young age of 14. D.I.F.D. is inspired by hope for a future where young people will reach out for help without fear or shame. In addition to the panel presentation on February 21st, WOM would like to support youth mental health by celebrating the unique and special person in all of its students on the unique and special day that is February 29th. Contacting OCDSB Trustees re Kanata South Changes If you're interested in sharing your feedback about the proposed changes to WOM and other Kanata South schools, please contact the school board trustees and ARC via email, at kanatasouthelemarc@ocdsb.ca. This email should be used, rather than individual trustee emails. This will allow the trustees to read email regarding WOM and other issues more effectively. Kanata South Schools Website Please see the Kanata South Schools' website for further information about the proposed changes to WOM, including the petition to support Kanata South ARC's recommendations, and NOT the OCDSB's staff recommendation to remove grades 7 and 8 from W. O. Mitchell Elementary School. Media on Kanata South Program Changes Please see this article from yourottawaregion.com, containing comments from Cathy Curry, our trustee. Contact the trustees through kanatasouthelemarc@ocdsb.ca if you have an opinion to share. From "Ottawa school board recommends 7 to 12 model for Kanata high schools": Curry cited many concerns from parents throughout the meeting. However she said she is satisfied families and parents have been listened to, despite staff’s departure from ARC proposals. “Overall I’m comfortable with what staff have recommended, but I understand there will be angst in the community,” Curry said. She said staff have taken many of the north ARC’s “special considerations” into account. These include creating separate wings for the younger students and running the younger grades on a separate schedule. “People could be quite consoled that they were listened to,” Curry said. Contacts regarding Kanata South Program Changes If you have concern's about the OCDSB staff recommendations to move grade 7 and 8 from WOM to Glen Cairn, here is what you can do: Contact the Board Trustees, including our own Trustee, Cathy Curry, via this email: kanatasouthelemarc@ocdsb.ca All trustees will receive a copy. Contact our MPP Jack MacLaren at www.jackmaclarenmpp.com Kanata South-Boundary/Grade/Program Review Here is the agenda for the 31 January 2012 Special Committee of the Whole, Public, Kanata South Accommodation Review meeting. More info is available in our OCDSB section, January 31 2012 Special Committee of the Whole, Public, Kanata South Accommodation Review meeting OCDSB Parent Involvement Committee The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) is currently seeking eight (8) Parent Members to serve on its Parent Involvement Committee (PIC). The PIC works with parents, school councils and community partners to foster parent involvement and community engagement in support of student success. Proposed Harmonization of School Buses iv) Changes in transportation eligibility to and from caregivers is being considered. WOM Fall Craft Fair Looking for New Ideas and Organizer The WOM School Council is looking for ideas and suggestions from parents on the WOM School Council Fall Craft Fair. The craft fair will be heading into its 12th year and next year we want to change it up to make the experience a little different. Please share your ideas by sending an email to chair@womschoolcouncil.com We are also looking for a volunteer to run the event for the 2012/13 school year. If you are interested in taking on this very great community event and fundraiser please contact the school council chair at chair@womschoolcouncil.com School Council reports and meetings The school council final report for the 2010-2011 year is now available. The meeting dates for the upcoming year are: Sept 20 - elections, then Oct 11, Nov 8, Jan 10, Feb 21, Apr 10, May 8. There will be no council meetings in December, March or June. The craft fair will be held on November 19, 2011, and WOMFEST on June 16, 2012. Your school council will be going paperless this year. This saves paper and reduces cost. Starting in October, all our newsletters and information will now be sent home via your inbox. Paper copies will be available in the office for pick up if you still wish to receive information in this way. Please sign up and stay up to date by creating your own account and stay informed while helping us go green. Bridlewood Home Hardware and WOM have teamed up Kiss and Ride School Council would like to remind all parents to use the kiss and ride for pick up and drop off of students. The Kiss and Ride is supervised both before school and after school to ensure safety of our students. We ask that you please refrain from using the side streets and staff parking lot for drop off and pick up. With your help in using the Kiss and Ride we can keep our school a safer place. |
Coming Soon
May 17 - Cultural Connections, 5:30 p.m.
May 17 - Sign the Petition Night, 5-7:30 p.m.
May 21 - Victoria Day
May 22 - Monday Schedule
May 23 - EQAO Begins
May 23 - Kindergarten Backyard Bugs Workshop
May 23 - Grade 3s Swimming
May 24 - Grade 1s Public Health Nurse Visit
May 24, 25 - Grade 5s to Parliament Hill
May 30 - Grade 6-8 Hudson Sergeant Relay Races
May 31 - Staff Luncheon
June 5 - Grade 7-8 Track and Field Meet
June 6 - Friday Schedule
June 6 - EQAO Finishes
June 7 - Volunteer Breakfast
June 8 - PA Day
June 11 - Grade 6 Feeder School Visit
June 12 - Board Track and Field Meet
June 16 - WOMFest
June 18 - Grade 4-6 Track and Field Meet
June 19 - EF6A Play
June 20 - Spirit Assembly 4
June 21 - Grade 1-3 Play Day
June 27 - Mavericks
June 28 - Last Day of School for Students