MINUTES BLACK WALNUT PUBLIC SCHOOL – School Council Minutes September 29, 2025
Meeting Format: In-Person
Attendees
In Attendance:
Parents: Stephanie Whittamore, Jennifer Reitsma, Rega Paramsothy, Anna Leung, Shelby Chung, Christine Malik, Harmandeep Brar, Lang Vu, Connie Hui, Tiffany Gengelbach, Jennifer Wu, Nasia Isaac, Amy Chan, Keerthika Logendran
Administration: Vivienne Baines (Principal), Meaghan Harley (Vice Principal)
Teachers: Ms. Khurram
Regrets:
Parents: Amanda Ryan, Thanusha Rajeswaran
Agenda
Welcome new attendees and thank you to our outgoing Executive
Land Acknowledgment:
• Jennifer Reitsma read the YRDSB Land Acknowledgement
Approval of agenda:
• Moved by Jennifer Reitsma and seconded by Lang Vu
Approval of minutes of May 5, 2025 meeting:
• Moved by Jennifer Reitsma and seconded by Stephanie Whittamore
School Report – Vivienne Baines & Meaghan Harley
• Welcome new VP Meaghan Harley to BWPS
• Re-organization of classes was kept to a minimum; total of 730 students in the school this year
• The Board has a new initiative for road safety, and BWPS was selected as the single school in the region for a pilot project that includes assessment as well as education for students and families. Board/City representatives will attend the November School Council meeting virtually to make a presentation.
• There are now Flexi-posts stationed at Cornell Centre Blvd and Lawrence Pilkington Ave which is a hug win – thank you to Christine Malik for spearheading the push for these
• Terry Fox Run was held on September 29th – over $2,500 raised so far and donations continue to be accepted
• Curriculum Night was held on September 25th with great attendance by families
• Markham Fair happening next week and BWPS has just be informed that they’ve received the award for top school of the year again; individual winners were announced to classrooms
• Orange Shirt Day will be on September 30th to recognize Truth & Reconciliation
• All classes attended Caring and Safe Schools assemblies
• Flag Football team and Volleyball teams have been formed
• School Picture day is scheduled for October 23rd
• School Council East Forum will be held on November 17th at Middlefield Collegiate Institute; our school can send two delegates from School Council
Council Chair Report – Stephanie Whittamore
• Last Parent Council was held on May 5th, before the Wellness Fair and Fun Fair
• Wellness Fair and Paul Davis event on May 29th had over 100 parents and families in attendance, with 40 students receiving childcare by Grade 8s and teacher supervisors
o Thank you to Amanda Ryan for organizing the amazing Wellness Fair – wide variety of booths with engaging representatives; great feedback from families
o Feedback positive about Paul Davis other than he spoke very fast; translation kits were provided but none were used
o Council members to start thinking about ideas for this year and criteria/topics
• Fun Fair held on June 12th and had over 500 students plus all their families attended o Event raised net profit of $5,500 ($2,300 from Silent Auction)
o Very positive feedback from attendees
o Silent Auction not as busy as expected – consider placing in higher-traffic area next time
o Planning Committee this year will require more support
o Huge thanks to Amanda Ryan, Andrea Chin and Scott Chin, Stephanie Whittamore for spearheading the event
• Volunteer survey went out to families and we received five responses from new people – two will assist with hot lunches. Still need more help for fundraising and events – cannot replicate last year without more volunteers.
• Hot Lunches/Bubble Tea orders are now live for fall
o Council members can research options if they would like new food offerings for the winter/spring, otherwise will continue with status quo (pizza, Subway, bubble tea)
• School Council East Forum will be held on November 17th at Middlefield Collegiate Institute – anyone interested in attending should let Stephanie know
• 2024-25 School Council Annual Report was linked in the Wolverine Weekly; School Council responsibilities include improving demographic representation on Council, equity & inclusion
Treasurer’s Report – Jennifer Reitsma/Stephanie Whittamore
• End of year/opening balance: $6,394.20
• Council pre-approved contribution to athletic jerseys in May and was waiting on balance to see how much available after Fun Fair.
• Vivienne commented that cost would be between $1,000 and $1,500 for 30 jerseys in a variety of sizes
Appointment of Executive for 2025-2026
• Chair – Stephanie Whittamore is nominated
o Moved by Jennifer Reitsma, seconded by Lang Vu
• Vice Chair – no nominations
• Secretary – Jennifer Reitsma is nominated
o Moved by Stephanie Whittamore, seconded by Lang Vu
• Treasurer – no nominations; Stephanie will assume the role as she already actively reviews all ins/out of the bank account
Appointment of Voting Members for 2025-2026
• Rega Paramsothy, Anna Leung, Shelby Chung, Christine Malik, Harmandeep Brar, Lang Vu, Connie Hui, Jennifer Wu, Nasia Isaac, Amy Chan, Keerthika Logendran, Thanusha Rajeswaran all nominated as voting members (12 individuals)
• Bylaw allows maximum 17 voting members – we will have 14 including Stephanie and Jennifer; all votes require 50% + 1 to pass (no proxies)
Cost Sharing
• Awaiting cost sharing split from the Board for this year. Last year was 80% BWPS/20% Board (we contributed around $7,000)
• Funding must go to technology purchases – usually we purchase Chromebooks/accessories
• With the fall hot lunch fundraising dollars we will have enough to contribute to Cost Sharing, even after contributing to jerseys
• Stephanie moved to approve $1,500 in funding for athletic jerseys
o Seconded by Jennifer, passed unanimously by voting members
PRO Grant – preliminary discussion
• Stephanie will email out criteria to receive the $800 grant
• Council members to start thinking about ideas for an event this year (need to book speaker well in advance)
Engagement & Fundraising Committee
• Movie nights will not happen this year as the licensing fee is prohibitively expensive
• Volunteers are required for fundraising and engagement activities – Stephanie will send out an email and those interested in joining committees can advise
• Amy suggested spacing out fundraising (e.g. lots of money requests to families all occurred in early spring last school year)
• Vivienne commented that it would be best if there was a fundraising committee so that we also have time at School Council meetings to discuss items related to our School Improvement Plan and what families want to see as priorities for the year, what learning we want to participate in, etc. Student Achievement, Equity and Well-Being are focus areas.
• Discussion ensued regarding safety and traffic around BWPS:
o Have seen dramatic improvements at Drop & Go as well as along Shady Oaks
o Harmandeep commented that some people received parking tickets from the City in error for using Drop & Go even during the allowable timeframe – Vivienne to reach out to planning dept. regarding this and it will also be addressed when we undertake the pilot project with the Board/City.
o Pilot project will be a great opportunity to clearly explain parking rules, provide information about accessible parking spaces, and indicate where those spaces are located. Education should be extended to grandparents/other people who assist with picking up students.
Next Meeting – November 3, 2025