FOREST TRAIL School Council Minutes 2025-2026
Oct 6, 2025
Agenda:
Welcome
Land Acknowledgement
Principal Report
Technology
Treasurer Report
Roles & Committees
Future Meeting Dates
Voting Members Present: Judi ,Christine, Candice, Shereen, Tanja ,Ana, Natalie, Liat,
John,Meetu, Sukhminder, Rashed, Sanjay, Lori, BJ
Regrets:
Nikita, Arpit, Mihaela, Aaron
6:06 Called to order by Candice and round the table introductions + acceptance of last
meeting minutes
6:07 Land Acknowledgment by Judi
6:10pm Principal Report (Judi and Christine):
● Change to previously approved funds for the March school performer. We would like to
reallocate these funds ($2000 from council) to a different performer. Christine went through
the vetting process for the previous performer and deemed them not to be the right fit for
the school, plus we did not receive the approval from the Superintendent. We have a new
potential performer (Mestre Sergio) which may end up costing the council less in funds.
● February 12th, Paul Davis- This is a council event (Pic grant was used to pay). Council
members are encouraged to attend. Childcare will be provided for school aged children.
● This month we are celebrating Black History through a number of initiatives and
performances. The intention is to celebrate joy and centering around Black voices. There
will be a steel pan performance coming mid March with CCAH and “Get Real” which will
delve into anti Black racism with the students.
● EQAO Results
Grade 3 → Reading 87.9% of students are above the provincial standard. Writing 85.6% of
students are above the provincial standard. Math 82.4% of students are above the
provincial standard
Grade 6→ Reading and Writing 100% of students are above the provincial standard, Math
94.4% of students are above the provincial standard.
● The data gained from EQAO results will help us to support children who are not meeting
the standards. Scores have dropped from previous years.
● Administrative updates- council updates to come by Thursday at noon so Liat can post it in
CCC. Running reminders will be hot lunch updates, Woodward Meats, upcoming council
meeting dates if there are no other updates.
● If anything needs to go on School Cash Online- it takes Jane a few hours out of her day so
please give a few days grace if anything needs to go up
● FUNDRAISING has changed for the school. We must be careful who we partner with.
Companies are required to be vetted by the Principal and the Board. Parent run businesses
will require an especially thorough screening due to the risk of conflict of interest.
● Chromebooks for Coyotes Fundraiser- donation on school cash online is fine for a tax
receipt, however if a company wants recognition, they will need to go through the vetting
process.
● Fundraisers need to have a clear purpose and spending plan for the funds. Teacher
appreciation can only be a school luncheon and money raised must be a direct donation.
● Silent Auctions are allowed.
● Third party fundraisers are not allowed.
● Questions for fundraising need to go through the principal and then will trickle to the
correct channels and then back to the Principal with the response which will be shared
appropriately.
● We are allowed to sell concessions at school events, however the preferred method to
receive funds is through scantron or school cash online.
● Any fundraising initiatives must be approved by Judi, Christine and the Board. If we have
voted on something and the intention for the funds changes, we will need to bring it back
to council to discuss again. The majority of what we earn in the year, we should use for the
year however a small carryover is allowed. This year we intend to spend more. We are
forecasted to spend $1k more than we started the year with.
6:36pm Fundraising Ana, Natalie and Meetu:
● Movie Night was a great success. We received positive feedback from the community and
the Film.ca staff. We raised $1300 from this event which is comparable to last year even
though we sold less tickets overall. The slight increase in ticket price over last year helped
to make up for the dip in ticket sales (this is mostly attributed to the event being on a
Monday and the movies that were being screened). There is the potential for another
Movie Night in April when Super Mario Bros 2 comes out
● April will also feature another Arts Night, this time with dance numbers, student written
music being performed and plays. Projected date for this is April 23rd (This is not a
fundraising initiative but was discussed because of the floated idea of the Movie Night)
● Council votes YES to spending refreshments for Arts Night which did not do, we can do this
for the April arts night if council agrees again. Parent volunteers will be needed.
● Addendum to Fundraising- this point was brought up at the end of the meeting however
was brought up by the Fundraising Committee- Based on the feedback they have
received and their overall feelings of the committee, they do not believe we should run
any other fundraising initiatives for the remainder of the year (including Fun Fair) if we do
not intend to spend the money raised. They do not feel fundraising at this point is in line
with the rules of fundraising nor with the effort involved to coordinate these events. The are
open to the idea of community events (i.e. Dave and Busters night or Movie Night)
6:45pm Tech Report John:
● The student to Chromebook ratio is in a good space for this year
and next. The reason we are fundraising for Chromebooks is
because there will be roughly 160 being retired between 2028 and
2029. We will be under the desired ratio for those years but still above board standards. The
recommendation is to purchase 75/per year at approximately $26-28k in funds.
Chromebooks purchased last year were a split cost between Council and Judi’s budget.
● The best time to buy Chromebooks is between April and May. This timeline gives us enough
time to have them in school for the upcoming year. Orders should be placed sooner rather
than later so students can receive the benefit of having them.
● FTPS has a lower student population in our senior grades which is part of the reason we
have a strong student/chromebook ratio in our senior grades. As the school grows and we
expect to retire a large amount of Chromebooks we can expect this trend to reverse in
the coming years.
● Council Approved Spends : $400 Apples, $5275 for pennies, $5250 for Junglesport, $200 for
PALS, $28,000 for Chromebooks, $2000 for Coyotes Den
7:00pm Finance Report Tanja:
As of December 31st, 2025
● Tasty Tuesday Term 1 $16,768, Tasty Tuesday Term 2(forecasted) $15,426
● Mr Sub Term 1 $1442, Mr Sub Term 2 (forecasted) $1327
● Lunch Lady estimated $350
● Flipgive Commission $106
● Woodward Meats Commission $438
● Movie Night $1345
● Mable’s Labels Commission $57
● Fun Fair (estimated) $6000
● Other $110
Total $ 43,370
● We may need a refresh on Coyotes Den for this year, Judi will update us if this is the case
● Christine looked into the “Food For Thought” program and has put us on their waiting list
(roughly 4 years).
Request for Funds from Council
$514.15 for Recorders (Council to pay $455)
Natalie brings the motion, Candice seconds it. Everyone votes yes
Meeting adjourned 7:28pm by Sanjay
NEXT MEETING: April 13th, May 4th