William Berczy PS School Council Meeting - December 2024

• S. Doubleday (Principal)
• J. Vickers (Vice Principal)
• B. Liu (Co-Chair)
• J. Deng (Co-Treasurer)
• A. Shao (Co-Treasurer)
• P. Bansal-Maharaj (Co-Secretary)
• C. Ng (Co-Secretary) 

• Shuang Liu (parent)
• Ms. Armstrong
• Ms. Juarez 

Presented by: Ms. B. Liu 

• Overview of Agenda 

• Approval of Sept 25, 2024 Minutes by Puja and Shuang 

   

6:35 p.m. 

Presented by: Mr. Doubleday & Ms. Vickers  

Principal’s Updates 

• Grade 8 visited UHS Arts and MDHS
• Classes have visited Varley Art Gallery
• Gr 9 visited skilled trades fair in Oshawa 

• Babarinde Williams Ubuntu Assemblies and Drumming Workshops 

  for all Berczy students 

On-going Activities 

• Reach for the top – compete with other schools
• Tutoring club – peer tutoring during recess time
• Bracelet and beats – Ms. Armstrong explained it is inspired by Taylor Swift for grade 6-8 to make bracelets and will sell in the new year 

Upcoming Activities 

• Winter Concert Thursday Dec 12 at 6pm – primary students only; accepting non-perishable food donations for Markham Food Bank
• Ms. Juarez – working on promoting anti-racism
• Ms Vickers introduced “Youth speak” – teenagers and parents will come and talk about online safety and setting boundaries online   
• Jr elective and Jr Craft walk about
• Artist Meera Sethi, will visit to speak to intermediate division next week
• -Mr Doubleday proposed to host a family friendly community building event entitled “Blankets and Boardgames” at WBPS in 2025 with council support   

Operational Items 

• Carpeted flooring upstairs in WBPS were replaced for safety; administration offices remain to be replace in the future
• Sink in Music room replaced by board
• Library Stem Center – looking for more stem equipment and hands on materials for the library. Librarian has reached out to YRDSB/consultants to assist
• 3D printer will be part of the Stem Centre
• Playground slide (25 years old) to be replaced with a climber as manufacturer no longer makes a slide that fits current structure   
• cost will be expensive replace as they are worn and make be flagged
• Slide replacement structure: climber; options below:    
• 

• Left: 3D Climber - $6300; Middle: Hour Glass - $5800; Right: Surge - $7500 

  • Structure on left was unanimously voted
• 3 pedal areas on current structure that need repair, quote ~$8000 

2024 Events to Date 

Presented by: B. Liu 

• Pumpkin Auction: A total of 30 pumpkins were donated by Reesor Farm, all of which were sold successfully.
• Diwali Snack Sale (October): Mango lassi and samosas were sold.
• Pizza Lunch (Papa John's, New Vendor): Held on January 10th, marking the end of the first term. The next pizza lunch will be announced soon. Overall positive feedback with new vendor.
• Book Sale: Took place during Parent-Teacher Interview Night. Shuang was successful in recruiting volunteers using Google Form The sale generate $6000 in sales and $3000 in credit.
• Parent Council Forum (November) – highlights from sessions attended including use of personal mobile devices and impact and math literacy; Puja to share links for math literacy – completed  

Personal Mobile Devices 

• Policy (K-8): Mobile devices, including cellphones, are not allowed during the school day and should be powered off or set to silent mode.
• Ms. Vickers mentioned that under the current policy, phones will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.  

Presented by: J. Deng 

• Review of funds raised
• Mr. Doubleday commented that the spending for the playground reserve and Chromebook replacements comes from the technology budget.  
• School Improvement Plan may include:
  • School Playground maintenance 

Presented by: B. Liu 

• Lunar New Year 2025
• Flower Market: January 27 & 28; support will be required from both teachers, students and parent volunteers
• Shuang: a Chinese school may participate to run one table at the flower market and supply items as a donation (to be confirmed)   
• Jiayi offered to donate to lantern making station
• Lion Dance Performance: assembly-style, held the week of the Flower Market; final date TBD by Betty; funding provided by WBPS as confirmed by Ms. Vickers
• Event Budget: approved for $500 approved by attendees   

Future Council 

Meetings  

• Feb 27, 2025 at 6:30pm - virtual
• Ap 17, 2025 at 6:30pm in WBPS Library – Goal: to finalize fun fair activities/details
• Jun 19, 2025 at 6:30pm in WBPS Library 

• Peer tutoring program: started this week and a lot of students participated. Students and parents can sign up by email
• Robotic competition – one at end of year and there may be other opportunities
• Ms. Juarez has reached out to YRDSB consultants re: stem/robotics for primary division to incorporate during library time