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School Council

School Council Minutes from January 12, 2026, 6:00 pm

In attendance:

School Council Elected Members:

Catherine Benzie (Chair)

Demah El-Sadek (Vice-Chair/ Volunteer Coordinator)

Zuzana Wilcox (Communications Chair/ Secretary)

Veneta Anand (Treasurer)

Brigit Cuzen (Fundraising Co-Chair)

Jamie Gleed (PIC Rep)

Julia Garboll

Harshi Patel

Rachel Adetayo

Robin Enns

Robert Karam

Tennille Whiteford

Nicole Goodman

Mandy Dawson (Teacher/ voting member)

Staff:

Cindy Snowdon (Principal)

Ryan Packer (Teacher)

Bridget Goodwin (Teacher)

Rebecca Robic (Teacher)

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AGENDA ITEMS

Welcome and Introductions – Chair

Approval of the Agenda – Chair

Approved by Jamie & Harshi

Approval of the Minutes – Chair

Approved by Bridget & Julia

Grade 8 Trip – Mr. Packer Presentation (Teacher)

Reached out to School Voyagers (please confirm whether this company is correct – or was it BrightSparks?), have a tentative itinerary (June 18, 2026) to Blue Mountain, 68 grade students are going, price is $273 per student (less $15 from estimate). Itinerary was shared on-screen. Full-access ticket included for all participants.
Feedback from last year: kids loved freedom to be with friends, meet for lunch, do their own thing. Ottawa in the past – complaints about short timeframes/ too much structure. Will share when itinerary is finalized.

Question from a parent: is this the final/ confirmed option?
Cindy: yes – at last meeting it was confirmed/shared that there would’ve been only one teacher willing to go on an overnight trip, it was confirmed overnight wasn’t an option (shared at last School Council meeting, also based on Board rules).
Parent follow-up: overnight camp?
Cindy/ Teacher: students talked about a school “sunset gathering” – looking at May – Ms. DaSilva and Mme. Goodwin are supporting students in setting this up, in addition to the graduation evening and the Blue Mountain trip. Grad Glow would be held at sunset in the school field, music, refreshment, inclusive environment for all students, games, t-shirt signing option, more of a personal celebration. Gr. 8 students made a presentation presented this, are quite excited about this student initiative, it is modelled on high-school “sunrise” and “sunset” initiatives, making it gr. 8 friendly (high-schoolers go to the beach). Parent Council could be included if interested. Teachers are supporting this initiative and Gr. 8 girls are leading this in collaboration with the school. What makes it wonderful is that it is an initiative that represents the students’ voice and their own ideas. Suggestion to bring some of the Gr. 8 girls to a School Council meeting to share their presentation. This will be additional to the one-day Blue-Mountain grade 8 trip (confirmed); multi-day is not feasible.
Parent is disappointed, contacted fundraising, wants to do a two-night trip. Cindy: regardless of options, the concern is that there is no staff to run a multi-day trip, can’t be parents (Board rule). Staff ratio cannot be fulfilled. Parent offered that the official form doesn’t require chaperones to be specifically Pineland staff but rather any HDSB staff. Asks how to get staff excited?
Cindy: staff are excited; wouldn’t be comfortable with other staff/ parents who are HDSB, etc. Cindy suggested to this parent scheduling a private discussion with her rather than for parents going directly to the School Board or others – very happy to have individual direct conversations off-line, to be respectful of everyone’s time. Principal knows the ‘bigger picture’ and awareness of private issues for students that (she feels) is not always respected or appreciated by some parents consistently expressing disappointment. Cindy confirmed gr. 8 students are quite excited about these options – both Blue Mountain and Grad Glow.

Chair: moving on with other agenda items.

Carnaval d’Hiver (Mme. Robic)

Annual outdoor play day specific to Pineland; it represents a celebration/ learning about French-Canadian culture, currently planning for the week before March Break. Hoping to get hot chocolate brought in from a local vendor (quotes received from McDonalds, Peach Coffee Co.) and planning for 425 to 432 students. Best quote is from Peach Coffee Co. (inclusive of cups, lids, delivery and pick-up) for $474.60.
Seeking School Council support for funding hot chocolate.

Parent: kids who don’t want hot chocolate/ have allergy? Mme. Robic: can look at additional options such as a cookie, sticker, thinking of options currently. Parent: are volunteers needed? Mme. Robic: if 6-7 stations are running, may need about 7 parents to help pump and distribute the chocolate; can discuss in more detail. Parent Q: can there be marshmallows, and can they be vegan? Parents will look into those.

Motion was made to approve funding (Veneta): motion is made to voting members for approval of $600 for hot chocolate. Motion was approved with 13 positive votes. Demah will coordinate volunteers/ Harshi will investigate vegan marshmallows.

Principal’s Report (Cindy Snowdon)

EQAO results went home before the Holiday break (slight delay from ministry), confirmed that Pineland is achieving above in all areas, above ministry and Board level. Will continue with a focus on math.
Amazing ‘Finding Nemo’ and Primary Concert performance prior to the Holiday.
Will be doing some training on accessing school websites (several schools), launching on the 19^th of January. Will know more after the training (Jan 15-16). Teacher comment: should be more user-friendly for mobile devices. Cindy: staff will have instructions on how to populate and edit the website going forward.
Carnaval: from the budget – will be paying for the collectible ‘Bonhomme’ figure for kids.
Jan 20: Grades 7-8 immunization date
Jan 22: Bands Winter concert

Parent: can others come see? Cindy: usually only parents of performers go, but others are welcome.

Updates from staff meeting: Mme. Robic/ Mme. Panabaker: went to do Outdoor Experiential Education (OEE) training with the Board, will train with staff to help teach structured lessons outside. It will be great to help support teachers taking the kids outside. Research shows benefits to mental health, etc., particularly while teaching and learning, year-round. (This is curriculum-based structured outdoor time, not recess).
Upcoming changes to improve the school’s recycling and green bins system. If not correctly recycled, there is a fine. There will be more emphasis on informing students about how to do it correctly, which will involve teaching, posters, demonstrations, will be asking parents for “boomerang lunch” to eliminate garbage in the classroom (i.e., kids bring back home any lunch/ snack remains).

Parent: will some things come home and some will be recycled at school? Teacher: Green bin can be used at school but as much as possible, boomerang will be encouraged. Parent Q: can kids provide ideas? Cindy: yes, in homerooms the kids can create a do/ don’t chart. Mme. Panabaker reached out to Halton Waste for new signs for classrooms. Parent: is the kids’ Eco Club involved? Yes, they are leading it, presentations. Halton Waste would also do a presentation re. food/ recycling – life-cycle.

PIC Update (Jamie):

Notes from the PIC Conference, went to three sessions:

Collaborative problem-solving, teachers have taken it, excellent speaker focusing on empathy, kid perspective, common mistakes parents/ educators make such as reduce and drop all responsibility or using power. Empathy emphasized as best approach.
Supporting kids with anxiety, mental health an issue, talked about home and school tools, emphasis on movement-based tools for anxious and neurodivergent issues. Evidence supports that movement-based tools are effective for anxiety, ADHD and others. Two schools have unique initiatives (bikes with desks).
Elementary parents as partners, how to advocate for children’s success – who to talk to (teacher vs. superintendent), respect between parents and school; parents are the no. 1 predictor of child’s success.

Cindy/ Jamie collaborated on the grant submission: Cindy – no word yet re. the success but has never been denied. Proposal for Pineland was Sara Westbrook, presentation “Balance before Burnout.” (STEM night was option 2). Cindy: selected Westbrook; she is excellent and will do a talk for the kids also. Presentation is booked. Jamie: in-person is better than virtual, opted for this option, total price is $1,779.79 plus small budget for refreshments. Grant will pay up to $750 (maximum amount applied for), likelihood is good. Request to have School Council help pay the remainder. Also, would like to invite teachers. Event is Thursday February 5 at 6:30-7:45.

Parent Q: is this session for adults only/ is there limited capacity to attend? Jamie/ Cindy: Yes, it’s for parents, it may be an intimate group but may need an RSVP system to make sure everyone fits. It is also important to promote this to parents.
Cindy: it’s a good investment in parents who may want support. Jamie: this is a common/ reasonable price-point for an expert speaker.

Chair: next item would be treasurer’s update, but need to discuss priority items list first, then discuss potential vote on supporting funds to Sara Westbrook presentation. Parking for now – pending other updates.

Parent and Teacher Priority Committee (Julia, Robin, Nicole, Harshi – Presentation)

Harshi/ Nicole presentation: Looking for a consolidated priority perspective, previously lacking context for decision making. Subcommittee was created after last meeting to develop a prioritized list of funding needs: teacher survey was shared to understand teacher priorities for the school. Working through the list, it’s the first part, looking for feedback.
Nicole: survey was open November 25-Dec 5 to teachers. 21 staff took the survey (response rate of 75%). Important to keep in mind this is a very small sample size so 5-6% can represent only 1 respondent. Overall, respondents are split: slightly over half are satisfied but a large proportion report being uncertain. Many comments center on allocating funds at the start of the year to maximize benefit.

Teacher(s): intermediate teachers like technology; primary need lots of different things. Some commented on a level of School Council’s resistance to teacher needs.

Faced with multiple options, staff identify an increase in their classroom budgets as the highest priority, followed closely by instructional items.
Instructional infrastructure: Chromebooks are top priority, including Chromebook charging stations; STEM: chomp saws; other: Mic/ PA system; volleyball net; second outdoor play structure outside.
Other events: preference for classroom events (e.g., junglesport, chef à l’école, Dance-a-thon); clear preference to allocate funds towards classroom rather than by student or other.
Level of uncertainty among teachers – survey wasn’t entirely anonymous.

Parent Q: Were only teachers surveyed or others as well (e.g., library)? Cindy: yes, library was included.

Parent Q: is there an element of mistrust towards School Council reflected in the survey? Teacher: yes, there were a few comments. Parent: let’s try to improve relationship; Chair: next step, finding a way to have communication, survey is a first great step. Survey can be anticipated and can help to improve transparency of communication.

Parent Q: what has been the process in the past? Another parent response: teachers/ principal produced a “wish-list,” and Council discussed and voted to fund. Downside was it was later in the school year.
Cindy: encouraging the teachers to come to School Council and present, request funding. School Council member could also come to staff meeting and explain the process.
Parent Q: if teachers wish for the priorities at the beginning of the school year, could the information/ survey be done at the end of the year for September? Cindy: for some things, yes, but not all can be done that way (Board rules around allocations and sourcing for certain items). Chair: with voting on things at the end, by the time the voting and funds were processed through the office, there are delays in purchasing.
Parent Q: is there a way to get the funds to teachers directly more quickly? Cindy: good idea, but there are rules with the Board, everything is overseen by the ministry, has to be itemized, categories provided by the Board (SIP), will request the Board slides re. the categories.

Parent Q: given the rules, categories, different voices – is it possible to use a wish/list – careful not to lose time figuring out the process and, ultimately, over-thinking it?
Priority Committee: Yes, the process would be that teachers would provide costs to the list during the week of Jan 12; Cindy and Mme. Dawson to approve list before council e-vote; survey results to teachers week of Feb 9; Council to vote on large ticket items at its next meeting, February 23, 2026.
Parent Q: is it possible to provide a classroom budget and fund per student?

Cindy: could check with the Board; Mme. Dawson: school budget (provided through Ministry of Education) hasn’t increased. Parent Q: are we allowed to give budgets directly to teachers (19)? Cindy: yes, will provide confirmation from the Board re. the possibility of funding in that manner. Currently waiting for line items.

Teacher Rep: comment that anonymity of the survey is an issue (prefer that survey be separate/ unrelated to the wish list to protect anonymity): re the last five years, many teachers have felt attached for what is ‘not’ being done rather than what they are doing.
Cindy/ Teacher: Teacher survey is not necessary; categories have been broader. Survey shouldn’t be tied to the priorities (it cannot be anonymous). Cindy: go back to system where wish list/ survey is created internally (led by teachers/ principal) and subsequently shared to School Council. In favour of the Council’s survey to allow the Council to have a voice in spending due to some members’ concerns about how School-generated funding is spent. Parent: School Council has been stuck in “process” and relationship has suffered.
Cindy: Suggest returning to prior process where teachers will take ownership of the list, talk to Cindy, create comprehensive wish-list and then approach the Council.
Parent Q: Is it permissible to publish School Council budget/ priority spending on the school website? Cindy: will find out – may not be permissible – sharing in the meetings is the typical process but will confirm/ look into it.

Treasurer’s update (Veneta)

School Council starting balance this year was just over $14, 281, of that about $4,500 outstanding for pre-approved expenses that have not yet been procured: Yearbook camera (LeBlanc) $483.21, Metre tape for classroom (Farwell) $22.06, Library furniture ($4,000).
Recent revenue: cookie dough just over $1,000 and books just over $500; Purdy’s $1,002 and Wud $115.
Cindy: using pizza money to fund flex seating for the library ($12K): will pay once the furniture is installed (Board rule). Buddy bench: the blacktop is supposed to be redone this summer through the Capital Renewal Fund, so the buddy bench (purchased) will be installed once the new blacktop is finished. Blacktop games/ designs/ lines are not part of the upgrade – School Council could take initiative on recreating those?
Parent: Vote on previously discussed/ tabled items?

Motion to approve a Movie licence renewal: $625 per year for renewal of movie licence? It is popular and used by teachers and School Council alike. Motion was approved (11 in favour).

Motion to approve up to $550 in funding to supplement expenditures for a presentation by Sara Westbrook (remainder paid for by School): motion approved (10 in favour).

Boundary Review (Chair): our school may receive additional students; every school is to have 1-2 representatives to go to the meetings. Open up to all parents who may be interested in participating; names are to be included by January 25.

No apparent interest in participating from Council members in attendance – Cindy will approach all parents (via Weekly Blast etc.).

Pantherama subcommittee:

New date for Pantherama is June 2, 2026. There will be a new BBQ vendor, which will also help to support fundraiser for the Burlington Teen Tour Band.
Striking a sub-committee deferred (out of time).

Last meeting of the year: Date has been changed to June 15, 2026.

Adjournment. 8:36 pm.

NEXT MEETING February 23, 2026