Minutes of the Hamilton-Wentworth Executive
Thursday June 20, 2002

Members: Rosalind Minaji, Marie Patenaude, Tracey Cseresnyes
Guest: Craig Sproats
Regrets: Andrew Vowles, Deborah Doody, Kerry Dolan, Anne Gaeton, Julie Senecal Tremblay, Frank Torelli, Lori Prevec, Dean Alex

The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 7:15 p.m.

1. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES:

The minutes of May 23 were approved by Marie Patenaude.

2. UPDATES:

Treasurer's Report:
Expenditures: $0
Deposits: $641.77 (final total from Champlain booksale)
End of June balance: $1,114.30

Chapter Outreach:
Tracey provided a final list of Chapter members. It was suggested that a form letter be developed to remind members when they are due for renewal and telling them what the Chapter has accomplished.

3. SPECIAL EVENTS

St. Jean Day Picnic: Roz has sent CPF members an e-mail informing them about the French Community event celebrating St John de Baptiste. The Fete de la St. Jean picnic will be held on Sunday June 23 at Pier 4 Park in Hamilton. Information has also been posted on the web site.

4. COMMUNICATIONS:

Dalewood School: A letter has been sent to Superintendent Ken Bain on behalf of CPF Hamilton-Wentworth expressing concerns about the teacher allocation at Dalewood Middle School. No response has been received.

Parent Conference: We have agreed to conduct a seventy-five minute workshop in conjunction with a French Immersion Teacher at the Hamilton Wentworth Parent Conference on November 16, 2002. Details of the workshop will be worked out in September.
Web site: Roz is updating the information regularly.

5. FRENCH IMMERSION REVIEW:

At the School Board meeting of June 3 the following FI issues were discussed:

New FI Schools:
Board staff completed a further review of the number of Waterdown parents who signed up for FI and found that there was an insufficient number of parents in any one catchment area to start an FI Kindergarten class in Waterdown next year.

The Trustees referred the criteria for opening new FI schools back to staff for further review. It was noted that the "home school" model (which draws students from within one school catchment area only) would not be sustainable over time, since natural attrition of FI students occurs. Board staff have been asked to look at alternatives (such as new magnet schools) to service growth areas in the new City.

Provision of Transportation
The motion to provide transportation for FI was "received for information" by eight of the ten Trustees (one was absent). Trustees said that they support transporting kids to French Immersion as a nice thing to do, but feel it's not a critical thing to do in light of the Board's budget shortfall this year. If the Board gets more money from the Province as a result of the Provincial Funding Formula review, they could review the transportation issue at that time. However, they also said that if the issue of transportation was brought back for further discussion it should be considered for all "optional" programs and not just for Immersion

Roz felt that despite this set-back, we should keep in mind that many positive changes have resulted from the French Immersion Review. Recognition of the Program among the Trustees and within the community has increased. The Board's new FI web site and excellent kindergarten information nights were products of the Review and enrolment for next year has increased at some schools because of this added attention. New French teachers were hired in March rather than in June this year. Board staff will be working over the summer to implement more of the Review recommendations (for example: setting up a process for assisting students with academic problems in French Immersion, and establishing exit surveys for students who leave the Program).

6. W. R. MCGILLIVRAY AWARD:

The nomination for Claudette Simms was submitted at the end of May. Superintendent Krys Croxall provided some background information about Ms. Simms' work at the Board and letters of recommendation were submitted by CPF Hamilton Wentworth, Norwood Park School Council, parent Jean Lewis Knight, and teacher Gisele Portelance. We hope to hear by the end of the summer. If the nomination is not successful, it was decided that we would forward a copy of the application to Ms. Simms so she could see the letters of support.

7. CONVERSATIONAL FRENCH:

A binder with complete course content for the Parent Instructional Program has been sent to Roz by CPF Ontario. The course is at a very basic level for those with no prior French instruction. Planning for the course will begin in September.

8. MAKING CONTACTS:
Julie and Marie will continue to maintain, and develop new French Community contacts over the summer. It was suggested that this data be typed up in table format for future reference.

9. OTHER BUSINESS:
Roz will be compiling information over the summer about school trips available in French. She will contact various museums and other tourist attractions for details. It was felt that this would be a useful tool for teachers.

Roz will contact Claudette Simms about the possibility of booking space at the Board or in a high school auditorium to hold the October concert. If room can be booked, Roz will also book the concert. It was decided that Friday evenings would be best to attract families.

10. HAMILTON-WENTWORTH CPF EVENTS FOR NEXT YEAR
A planning meeting for the next school year will be held at Roz's place on the evening of August 29th. Roz will order additional brochures from CPF Ontario so that all members can have materials available for Meet the Teacher nights. All members will be invited to the September 19 meeting.

September:
- Newsletter
- CPF display at Meet the Teacher nights
- Submit article for Fall issue of CPF Ontario newsletter
October:
- Concert (Mariposa in the Schools)
- CPF Ontario conference
November:
- HWDSB Parent Conference CPF Workshop on FI
- Newsletter
January:
- Conversational French Course -two concurrent 10 week courses for 20 people each
March:
- Kindergarten FI Information Nights
- Submit article for Summer issue of CPF Ontario newsletter
April:
- CPF Parent Information Night -topic to be determined
- Annual General Meeting & Election
May:
- 2nd Annual Champlain Book sale

MEETING ADJOURNED: 8:30 P.M.

NEXT MEETING: August 29, 2002 7:00 P.M.
@ Roz Minaji's place