St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School Council 2021/2022

Election Night

The virtual election night meeting of the St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School Council was called to order by Mr. Brian Daly, Principal of St. Thomas More, at 7pm on Monday, October 18, 2021.

Those in attendance included:

Brian Daly Julie Silvestri
Bianca Esposto Cheryl Stepan
Angela Chiaravalle Carolyn Macaluso
Sarah Walsh Melanie Roberts
Courtney Lock Steve Timmons
Karolyn Aljoe Francine Marzanek-Lefebyre
Jocelyn Balthazaar Jackie Lombardo-Gower
Nawal Salih Debora Emberson
Cheril Smith Kelly Palmer
Anne-Marie Ammendolia Jeimee Vorasane
Kristopher Hanks Rachel Buesink
Lorianne Reashore Nazo & Chuma Okereke
Gianna Burgio Tina Martin
Marius Carciumaru Nella Cipriani
Faith Belliveau Elisa Carobelli
Michael Sangermano

Absent: Anna Barbati

Opening Prayer: Led by Brian Daly

Welcome & Introductions: Brian Daly: Welcome to the ST. Thomas More Catholic School Council Election Night. He expressed his appreciation to all those who attended the virtual meeting this evening as it was a very good turn out. The Catholic School Council is a great way to increase parent engagement.

Student Council Report by Bianca Esposto (Student Council President):
- Bianca expressed that it was an honour to join the meeting this evening
- Many exciting things run by student council are taking place to engage the students and enhance school spirit
- A student petition has been formed with over 3500 signatures in the hopes of allowing fans at the various school sport games to show support and cheer on our teams. This initiative was also featured on CH News
- Fundraisers within our school include: Pink Shirt Day, Cancer Assistance Program (CAP) and Vintage Jersey Sale
- The Diversity Committee organized Orange Shirt Day
- For any students that are looking to get involved in a school club, some are currently running and there will be more throughout the year

Principal Report:
Covid cases:
- These are extremely challenging times
- Congratulations to the students they have been wonderful with following the health guidelines within our school and following the necessary Covid protocols
- The staff has been great, we are doing our best to working together to keep everyone safe
- We have had 11 reported cases, not all of these cases have been directly from anyone at our school
- There is one active case right now
Student Fans at sporting events:
- We are in support of the petition by the students to allow fans at the sporting events
- It would be great to see the St. Thomas More school spirit at the games
- Right now only parents are allowed at indoor games with proof of vaccination, and outdoor games with proof of vaccination or a negative anti-gen test.

Learning:
- Please try not to put too much emphasis on the students’ marks, it’s been a very challenging year and a half for everyone, especially the students. Going forward, they will need to rely on their skills such as organizational skills.
CSC Election:
- The role of the Catholic School Council is to serve as an advisory committee to the Principal
- Catholic School Councils are a great way to keep parents engaged and informed
- We are mandated to meet 4 times during the school year but we usually meet 6 to 8 times through the year
- At least eight positions will be filled to form the Council. Those positions are:
Chair Person
Vice-Chair Person
(Or can be 2 Co-Chairs)
Secretary
Treasurer
Voting Council Members
Community Rep
- All parents/guardians are always welcomed to attend the Catholic School Council meetings, even if they are not a Catholic School Council Member
- Thank you to the following people who put their nominations forward to form the St. Thomas More Catholic School Council for 2021/2022:
Co-Chairs: Melanie Jean-Shirley Roberts and Francine Marzanek-Lefebvre
Secretary: Angela Chiaravalle
Treasurer: Gianna Burgio
Members:
Anne-Marie Ammendolia
Elisa Carobelli
Cheril Smith
Carolyn Macaluso
Nella Cipriani
Kristopher Hanks
Marius Carciumaru
Michael Sangermano
Community Rep: Anna Barbati
Non-Voting Member: Brian Daly
Non-Voting Teacher Rep: Julie Silvestri

- The first Monday of every month, excluding December and March, will be our Catholic School Council Meetings beginning at 7pm. Therefore the meetings will take place on the following days:
Monday, November 1, 2021
Monday, January 10, 2022
Monday, February 7, 2022
Monday, April 4, 2022
Monday, May 2, 2022
Monday, June 6, 2022
- An app called SLACK will be set up for regular communication amongst the Catholic School Council members

Next Virtual Catholic School Council Meeting: Monday, November 1, 2021 at 7pm
(An meeting link will be sent to CSC members and parents who express that they would like to attend. This link may be shared with other parents within our school community who may be interested in attending the meeting.)

Meeting Adjourned: 8:05 pm

Meeting Minutes Prepared by: Angela Chiaravalle