September Meeting Minutes

MINUTES 

Bedford South SAC  

6pm Tuesday September 10th , 2024 – In person at School 

 

Present: Tracy Foster, Adam Greenwood, Jane Taylor, Sarah Rushworth, Wenjing Wang, Adil Syed, Anthony Zadeh, Dayle O’Neil, Tilak Arora 

 

Regrets: Lindsey Gallant 

 

  1. Welcome & Land Acknowledgement 
    Sarah gave the land acknowledgement and called the meeting to order. 
     
  1. Administrative Report 

Tracy provided the following details:  
 

  • We have 32 classes and 800 students at this point.  We anticipate we will have upwards of 850 students by the end of the school year. 
  • 12 classes are over the hard cap for maximum number of students per classroom.   
    HRCE has provided an additional teacher to help with this but since we do not have the space for an additional classroom, this person will be floating between classrooms co-teaching in some classes.  
  • We have one permanent substitute at the school this year. 
  • We have a new psychologist at the school who will work within a framework of classroom level support. 
  • We have 27 EPAs supporting students. 
  • We have 9 buses this year and the bus system the teachers have created using a colour coded system is working well.  
  • A fire drill is planned for this week.  Discussion was had about fire safety within the building when we have so many students trying to get downstairs and through corridors safely.   Tracy will confirm the building capacity for fire safety purposes. 
  • The school administration does not have the authority to make changes to class sizes / structure or the capacity of the school. HRCE is aware of our overcrowding issues, but we do not know if/how they plan to address it.   
  • Discussion of what concerned parents can do to help was had.  At this point reaching out to their MLA / Minister of Education is our only recourse.   

 

  1. Mr. Gagnon 
    The committee recognized the passing of Mr. Gagnon and suggested if there is anything the SAC can do to help the staff or students manage their grief we will do so. 
  1. Handover to New Chair / Goodbye to SAC members  

Sarah thanked Wenjing and Adil who have finished their terms on the SAC.  Sarah has also finished her term and introduced Dayle as the new Chair for the year.  

 

  1. SAC Annual Funding 

The SAC will receive funding of approximately $5,800 this year.  The requirement of spending is that the purchases must support the School Improvement Plan.  In past years teachers were able to submit a ‘wish list’ of items for their classrooms.  The committee decided to change the approach this year and use the funds to purchase items that directly benefit the school as a whole.  Some suggestions were Chromebooks, iPads and smart boards.  School administration will bring ideas back to the next meeting for a final decision to be made.   

 

  1. Other Business 
    Innovation Grant: The SAC will likely have the opportunity to apply for a $10,000 Innovation Grant again this year.  Last year’s proposal was not accepted.  We will make planning for the grant a standing item on the agenda to be well prepared this year. 
     

Committee Secretary: We will determine a secretary for the committee at the next meeting. 

 

  1. Meeting adjourned at 7pm.