Minutes of the Hamilton-Wentworth Executive
Monday November 9, 2005

Members: Kaywana Gargarello, Frank Torelli, Rosalind Minaji, Myra Malley, Dianne MacKenzie,
Marie Patenaude, Neena Monteiro

Regrets: Ron English, Susan McClure, Yolanda Bragues, Alex Mallory

The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.

1. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES

The minutes of October 12, 2005 were approved.

2. CHAPTER UPDATES

Volunteer Hours: 75

Membership:
Nothing to report. Carry over action items to next meeting. Noted that we must have the list of members before the book sale so that we can administer the 5% discount.

Action Items:
" Ron will prepare a spreadsheet of existing members to be distributed at the January executive meeting.
" Ron will prepare an e-mail list of members and send to Rosalind and Kaywana.

Communications:
The newsletter was printed November 9. Executive members will bring copies to their schools. Dianne will deliver newsletters to east end schools rather than using Board mail this month. Roz has registered CPF on the new MyHamilton web site and input the book sale into the on line event register.

Action Items:
" Dianne will prepare a news release regarding the Transportation Review.

Treasurer's Report:

As of November 7th

Opening Balance September 30 3,829.38

CYW Grant SEVEC balance 1,000.00
Newsletter Rebate CPF Ont 100.00
Membership rebate - CPF Ont 2,002.50
Total Revenues November 7th 3,102.50

Expenses
Brian Minaji - Software 121.11
Betty Dunfield 100.00
CPF Toronto 24.00
Total Expenses September 245.11

Balance as of November 7th 2005 6,686.77

Action Items:
" Roz will organize a meeting between Debbie and Neena to change signing authority and have Debbie explain the procedures.

3. UPCOMING CHAPTER EVENTS

A: Book Sale/Trade Show:
The Book Sale has been confirmed for Thursday November 17 at G.R. Allan School at 900 King Street West from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. Marie will be visiting the Librairie Champlain this Saturday to select the books. She will arrange for the books to be delivered on Wednesday so that volunteers can check the inventory. Marie will also ask about whether the inventory can be printed in the order that the books are scanned (with the boxes numbered) so that we can more easily check the box contents and the prices. We also would like an alphabetical inventory e-mailed or provided on CD so we can use a laptop to search the records. Myra will bring her laptop to the sale for this purpose. Marie will also arrange for the books to be stored in a locked classroom on the first floor of the school.

We will require approximately 25 long tables for the sale/trade show. Ron has arranged with Trustee Ray Mulholland to borrow the tables from another school. Myra has arranged for Graham MacDonald, the Maintenance Supervisor of west end schools to pick up the tables and deliver them to GR Allan by Thursday morning. Myra and Ron will continue to co-ordinate this delivery.

We have 13 organizations registered for the trade show and approximately 10 more who are sending materials. It was decided that the trade show tables and book sale tables would be mixed up throughout the gym. Roz will prepare signs for each Trade Show participant as well as book sale signs describing the types of materials in each section (fiction, young readers, etc.) and also signage to direct customers to the gym.

Myra, Dianne and Roz will arrive at GR Allan at 9am on the day of the event. The gym will be available after 11:30 am, so they will check the book inventory on the stage, and then be ready to set up the tables and the trade show materials at lunch. Myra will bring all trade show materials to G. R. Allan. We will set up the trade show tables so that similar organizations are together. Marie will arrange to have the external gym door locked, so that there will be only one interior entrance to the sale. Marie will also arrange to have the playground open for parking at 4pm.

A member discount of 5% was agreed upon and we will deduct this at the till. Members will be asked to visit the CPF table to confirm their membership (or to fill out a membership application form) and get their hand stamped to confirm their eligibility for the discount. Marie will bring a French stamp for this purpose. We will deduct the 5% CPF discount after the item is rung in on the Champlain cash register and calculate the discount on a separate calculator based on the total cost including PST and GST. That way the Champlain cash receipts will show the actual sales and the discount can be taken from our Commission.

At the CPF table we will sell memberships and also the French candy. CPF Toronto has produced a book of French activities which we will also sell on their behalf (cash only and separate from the book sale) for $13 each. Kaywana is arranging with CPF Toronto to have 50 copies shipped to Hamilton.

Kaywana will amend last year's banners by pasting the new location on top. She will arrange to distribute these by Wednesday. Roz will prepare nametags for the CPF volunteers. Frank has arranged for three Westdale students to come at noon to help. Roz will purchase Concours prizes for the sale. It will be important to have volunteers walking around during the sale to ensure that shoplifting does not occur, since there will be lots of free booklets given out by the trade show booths.

Action Items:
" There are many -see above!

B: French Film for Children:
The Centre Français has rented the Staircase Café on the afternoon of Saturday December 3 and will be showing the French version of the Polar Express film from last Christmas. Lisa Breton is arranging to rent a popcorn machine and Roz will bring cases of pop to sell. The film will be shown in French with English subtitles at 1pm. CPF members will receive a $2 discount.

Action Items:
" Rosalind will attend the event to supervise.

C: French Tour of Dundurn Castle:
A tour has been organized for Sunday December 4 at 3:00 p.m. The newsletter asks people to phone Roz so she can track the number of participants. Dundurn does not guarantee a French guide, but will do their utmost to ensure someone is available. This was the case last year also.

Action Items:
" Kaywana will attend the event to supervise.

D: French Children's Performer:
The public secondary schools have PD Days on January 31 and February 1, which are not shared by the elementary schools. Roz has contacted Westdale to see whether they would allow us to use their gym for a concert. Once this is confirmed, she will contact Greg LeRock to see if he is available.

Action Items:
" Rosalind to follow up with Westdale
" Rosalind to contact Greg LeRock.

E: Le Concours:
Marie held an information session in October to try and recruit new teachers and schools for this year's concours. She explained what is involved, and how she incorporates preparation for Concours into her lesson plans. At this point teachers from Glen Echo, Gatestone and Tappleytown schools are expressing interest. Kaywana has spoken to Maria Brenyo about involving more schools in this year's contest and also about ways to encourage more boys to participate.

Action Items:
" Marie Patenaude will contact Maria Brenyo to give her all the concours information and tips.

F: Summer Camp:
CPF Ontario will still be providing insurance coverage for summer camps, but have not yet decided whether to reinstate the $1000 summer camp grant. Kaywana and Roz are meeting with Lisa Breton of the Centre Français on November 21 to discuss next steps in planning for the camp. Unfortunately Lisa is moving and we will need to reconnect with her replacement at the Centre in January.

Action Items:
" Rosalind and Kaywana continue to work with Centre Français to plan a summer camp.

4. SEPARATE SCHOOL BOARD ISSUES

Kaywana met with St. Joseph's parent council and presented the CPF Peer Tutoring manual, and also the School Self Assessment Program. She is still concerned about large class sizes in FI and is advocating for a French Learning Resource Teacher to help. Dianne has visited all FI schools to film a video to be shown at FI information nights next year. The 12 minute film is being produced by Cathedral students and will show footage from the classroom and also interviews with students and teachers.

5. PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD ISSUES

Fantastic news! The new Transportation policy was approved by the Board of Trustees on Monday October 17th On November 8, the Committee of the Whole voted to devote $150,000 of the 2005-06 transportation budget for the provision of additional transportation services for French Immersion, as provided for by the new policy. The Board stated that this amount can be sustainable, even if no new funding fro transportation comes to the HWDSB. There will be a report regarding strategies for the implementation of such service to December 12th Committee of the Whole, with the aim of putting in place additional service in January 2006.

Rosalind will attend the French Immersion Advisory Committee meeting on November 23 and will give presentations on our SEVEC exchange and on the CPF Peer Tutoring Program.

Action Items:
" Rosalind and will attend the Committee of the Whole meeting in December to see what type of transportation is being proposed.

6. FRANCOPHONE COMMUNITY ISSUES

The Centre Français has promoted our Dundurn Castle tour and French film in their newsletter. They have sent out an e-mail to their members promoting our Trade Show/Book Sale.

Rosalind met with Giselle Dupuis of the Collège Boréal on November 2. She was given a tour of the facilities and a description of the French courses they offer. The Collège offers 9 French course sessions, consisting of Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels with three 12 week courses in each. Each course costs $219 and each level requires the purchase of a $35 text book. The courses have mid term and final exams and a maximum of 15 people per class.

Ms. Dupuis will consult with the Collège Registrar in Sudbury to see if any discount can be offered to CPF members.

7. OTHER BUSINESS

Hamilton Reads:
The French author we are sponsoring is: Lysette Brochu. She comes from Sudbury and writes books for young children. She is coming to Hamilton on January 25 and 26. Rosalind has requested that the library organize an evening session for Ms. Brochu so that CPF members can attend with their children. The Chapter is expected to present Ms. Brochu with her $250 cheque in person when she is here.

CPF Ontario AGM:
Rosalind, Marie and Kaywana attended the CPF Ontario AGM. Jim Shea, the Executive Director of CPF noted that membership is very important as CPF obtains funding from Heritage Canada based on the number of members per Province.

Kaywana won a box of French resources, which she has offered to the Chapter to lend to associate CPF member schools for their review. Rosalind won an overnight stay at the Valhalla Inn, which she is not sharing with the Chapter!

Rosalind spoke with Max Cooke, the Director of the new CPF Quebec branch and he will try to put our Chapter in touch with francophone communities interested in future SEVEC exchanges. Kaywana discussed special events with the new president of CPF Toronto Chapter and they had some interesting ideas including: an e-mail tree to distribute newsletters, French skating party, parent workshops with a teacher discussing work and expectations at each Grade level. Marie was thanked by the CPF Board for her work and presented with a small gift.

Next Meeting January 16, 2006