Minutes of the Hamilton-Wentworth Executive
Wednesday January 15, 2003

Members: Rosalind Minaji, Marie Patenaude, Tracey Cseresnyes, Mary Finstad, Frank Torelli, Lori Prevec, Mike Lalich (Glen Echo)

Regrets: Deborah Doody, Julie Senecal Tremblay, Susan McClure, Craig Sproats

The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 7:11 p.m.

1. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES:

The minutes of December 4th were approved.

2. UPDATES:

Volunteer Hours:
Total = 62

Treasurer's Report:
Expenditures $251.45 (class rental for French course)
$ 45.96 (binders)
Deposits $ 10.00 (concert tickets)
Balance on hand: $125.39

Membership:
There are now about 90 members (including spouses) plus 17 new memberships gained through the French course.

Communications:
Roz called all members in December to inform them of the upcoming French Course.

3. SCHOOL BOARD NEWS:

Gisèle Portelance started as the new consultant responsible for French.

4. SPECIAL EVENTS

French Course
The French course will begin this month. There are a total of 23 applications to date and more are expected. Marie will put signs on the inside and outside doors to assist with directions to the classroom. There will be a binder of course material available for students on the first night. Marie and Annette reviewed the course content and made several corrections and the material needed to be re-copied for the course. Craig will be driving the instructor to class and will be taking the class as well. Roz will bring receipts for the students, and also the cheque for the teacher on the 1st night. New membership forms will be forwarded to CPF Ottawa once all payments have cleared. Tracey will contact the new members with the CPF welcome package.

Information Kiosk at Limeridge Mall
Norwood Park School Council has arranged for a kiosk at the mall to promote Norwood Park School and the FI programme in Hamilton. Due to insurance reasons, Norwood Park parents may only maintain the kiosk. It will be there February 6,7, and 8th near the Sears end of the mall. CPF members Tracey, Roz and Debbie Edwards will be taking shifts, along with other parents. Some of the items available at the kiosk will be Norwood Park and CPF brochures, colouring sheets, maps of schools and dates of the upcoming Parent Info Nights.

Kindergarten Information Nights
We need to confirm the upcoming dates with Gisèle Portelance. We will require 2 parent volunteers at each night. It was recommended that Gisèle be invited to the next Executive Committee meeting to discuss the format and expectations for these sessions.

Annual General Meeting
An annual general meeting is required of all CPF Chapters. Ours will take place Thursday April 24th at 7:00 p.m. At this time we would hold an election for positions on the Executive (if needed) as well as hand out copies of our Annual Report and budget statements.

Roz will e-mail Ted Karp to ask if he could make himself available as an advocate for FI and CPF. We will also invite Gisèle Portelance, to introduce herself to parents and discuss her role as consultant and her goals for the position, as well as discuss the areas of literacy and immersion. Marie will check into G.R. Allan as a location for the meeting. Mary will approach sponsors in Westdale (eg: Turtle Pond, Bryan Prince, Tim Hortons, Weils, Walkers) for donation of refreshments or door prizes. Lori will approach Usburne Books to ask if they can hold a mini sale of their material (and perhaps donate a prize as well). An invitation to the meeting will go to all FI parents in the March newsletter, with additional notice by e-mail to CPF members wishing to run for the Executive.

Book Sale
Lori will ask for the gym at Earl Kitchener for Wednesday May 28th. The sale will take place from 3-8 p.m. Marie, Mary and Julie will arrange to go to Champlain Books in Toronto to select the materials. We have a list of everything that sold last year.

Concours Public Speaking Contest
Marie has given the information to Gisèle Portelance who will make other teachers aware of this opportunity. Marie will be participating with her class.

5. CONTACTS WITH FRANCOPHONE COMMUNITY:

Marie was invited to a luncheon sponsored by the Centre Francais Hamilton Inc on February 14th. She will attend if possible.

6. OTHER BUSINESS:
We welcomed Mike Lalich to the CPF meeting. He is representing Glen Echo school. Mike also offered his services as a professional photographer to us.

Meeting Adjourned: 8:21 P.M.

NEXT MEETING: Wednesday February 19th 7:00 P.M.
Norwood Park School Library