A Message from the Chari

A message from the chair

Hello everyone,
 
This is Shane Malhotra, Chair of the Parent School Council.  I just wanted to take a few moments to touch base and reach out to everyone and give a few updates.

First and foremost, I pray that everyone continues their best to keep themselves and our kids safe during these very trying and confusing times.

Its definitely been a challenging year education wise, but we must keep trying to move forward amidst all the restrictions.

It has also been difficult to get parents engaged in Council as I am sure priorities must be made while we juggle work and in home responsibilities.

Still, we have been trying to continue with Zoom meetings once/month.  We have had a decent turnout, but I would like to encourage all parents to get involved and participate in our virtual meetings if possible.

It's very important for parents to stay in touch with all that is going on in school and this is a good way to keep in the loop.  We cover all topics.  There is no pressure to participate.  You can just log in and listen or you can have a voice and participate as you feel comfortable.  Its also a good way to get to know your school principal (Mr.  Lee), vice principal and of course other parents.

Most recently we have had guest speakers join us to discuss various topics like the school Esteem Program, Special Needs supports, understanding the School Website (which I encourage all parents to regularly visit), Pathways to Education initiatives and Scholarships.  Obviously all matters involving COVID, especially as it relates to in school and remote learning remain high on our discussion list.

These meetings are done virtually via Zoom so very safe and user friendly.  Our school Council teaching rep. and support Ms. Preca will send out invites for those that would like to participate.

I also wanted to encourage parents to check out the Google Classroom message sent to their children.  There is some very important information on mental health, fitness and opportunities for jobs, scholarships and more.  Please check that out.

Also, I have set up a WhatsApp group for parents only.  If you would like me to add your name please let me know.  Here we can talk about ideas or topics we want to discuss at upcoming meetings or anything in general.


If any parent wants to reach out to me directly with any questions or concerns I am here for you.  I will always respect your privacy if you want to discuss anything.

My email and phone number are
647 393 2731
Regards and please stay safe,
Shane Malhotra

UPDATES:
This month's Parent Council meeting will take place on Thursday, May 27 at 630 pm.  We will be posting the agenda for this meeting soon.

The Spring event on Racism, Biases and Oppression went really well and was attended by over 120 parents and school board staff.  This was an event set up by PIAC (Parent Involvement and Advisory Committee).  The guest keynote speaker Kevin Carrington and he did a great job.  He was formerly of CP24 and currently works at CBC.  

It was also a great opportunity for parents to discuss and share experiences with one another and the community.  A tremendous interactive learning experience.

A lot of information and resources were shared at this conference and I have attached them here for parents and students.  Please have a look.

I also encourage parents to look at the PIAC website for anything they have missed during the year because many of the events are recorded and summarized here so its okay if you were not able to attend.  More importantly, this website is a wonderful resource to assist parents and students with a variety of school related and community events and happenings.
 
Regards,

Shane

Shane

Take a look at these screenshots from the last meeting.

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Event Flyers

Click on the images below for more information.

virtual parent engagement poster

 

breaking barriers poster