School Council News

Pizza and Movie Night: (during the School Council meeting)

Our next Pizza and Movie Night/School Council meeting is Tuesday, March 30: Pizza will be served at 5:30, and an animated movie will begin at 6:00 p.m., as will our School Council meeting. It’s free and open to all: please join us for your first or repeat visit!



Pho’ and Fun Night

Our third and final soup and bread night was held on March 5, with (once again) over 100 people enjoying delicious Vietnamese noodle soup from Pho’ Ba Ga King on Somerset, a wide variety of delicious bread, and the pleasant company of Devonshire families and teachers. These new events on our school’s social calendar were intended to give families a chance to visit with and get to know each other over a fuss-free meal. A big thank-you to Lil Krstic, Richard Cavanagh, Kerry Anderson, Joanie Conrad and Joan Coulter for all their help with the preparations, set-up and tear-down. Many thanks also to all the kids who were so very helpful in getting us ready to receive company in the gym! The next soup and bread night will take place when the weather gets cold again… next winter!



Ski Club

It was an absolutely great ski season for our ski club this year! The Tuesday ski night conditions seemed perfect for all those weeks of participation. Participants demonstrated much enthusiasm for this annual club. Thank you to Gerry Kelly and to Christine Beamish for all the organization that it took to make it such a successful experience for all. Thanks to all the parents who came out each week to ski and supervise. Thank you also to Mrs. Anna Sorokan for attending each week and to Mme Lynn Rainboth who participated on one of the fun evenings.



DEVONSHIRE LOGO CHALLENGE

Devonshire's Centennial Committee is asking students, parents and teachers to think about the look of a new 100th anniversary crest. One of our parent volunteers will take the ideas and come up with options for a 100th centennial crest for the community to consider.  Feel free to come up with inventive, strange or beautiful design ideas and we will consider them all. The only two guidelines are that the name "Devonshire" and our Devonshire Dragon must be part of the crest! Send your ideas to devonshirecentennial@gmail.com.



Volunteers Needed

The annual Book Bash is Devonshire's largest fundraising event. It involves a load of books, but is also a community event including bake sale, barbecue, out-door entertainment and plant sale. We are going to need lots of volunteers! Please contact Lindsay Cullum or Laurie Setzer if you'd like to get involved.



Multicultural Day

Devonshire’s Multicultural Day on Friday, April 23 is a great opportunity for students and parents alike to have fun learning about the cultures that help make Devonshire such a vibrant school. Students are encouraged to wear international clothing and bring in interesting objects and artifacts from different cultures. There will be fun multicultural activities (e.g., geography, languages, crafts). Parents – Will you help make Multicultural Day a success by organizing and leading a short activity in a classroom? If so, please fill out this form and return it to the office by Friday, March 26.



Parents Reaching Out

Hot off the press: Devonshire School Council was awarded a much coveted Parents Reaching Out grant for just under $1000 to translate sections of our website into the many languages spoken at our school. Our wonderful volunteer webmasters, Lindsay Cullum and Lisa Georges, have done an excellent job in revamping and improving our website. Thanks to Bruce Tate, who applied for this grant money, we’ll be able to make the website even more accessible to our community.



Assistance for Children’s Recreation Programs

If finances are tight, you may be able to have the full cost of March break or spring programming for your children paid at the Hintonburg Community Centre. If you are already a participant in a community or social service agency program, or if you are a low-income individual (or family), you may qualify for the City of Ottawa’s Fee Assistance Program. It’s simple: Pick up an application form at the Devonshire school office, complete it and bring it to the Hintonburg Community Centre, where the supervisor will review it. The City of Ottawa covers 75% of the cost of the children’s program, while the Hintonburg Economic Development Committee can provide up to $100 per family per year to cover the extra 25%.  More details can be found here



School Board Budget Cuts

One of our parents, Dan Stepchuk, attended the OCDSB public consultation meeting about budget cuts on Jan. 25 on behalf of our school. In brief, provincial funding is not matching growing costs. The provincial government structural deficit is now projected at $14B-25B. We expect continuing downloading of costs to municipalities over the next 3-5 years until the provincial deficit is eliminated. By law, school boards cannot run deficits; therefore cuts are required. The OCDSB is considering cutting instructional salaries and benefits, transportation and other “uncommitted” areas. Trustees will hold additional zone meetings during Feb-April for more public input. The School Board will make its decisions by June.



Blue Fridays

To show our school spirit, School Council encourages all students to wear something blue every Friday. If you have a Devonshire t-shirt or hoody, wear it with pride! Any blue top will do, though: let’s see a sea of blue each Friday!



Do you know some outstanding educators? Nominate them for a Capital Educators’ Award. Details and a nomination form can be retrieved at www.orci.ca. Deadline for nominations is March 1, 2010. Questions should be directed to Christine at 613-828-6274 ext. 277.



Our Council

Joanne Astorga Co-chair
Stefan Matiation Co-chair
Jennifer Baker Secretary
Odette Rwigamba OCASC representative*
Christine Lloyd OCASC representative*
Liz Boston Devonshire School Age Program representative
Kerry Anderson Treasurer

* OCASC stands for Ottawa-Carleton Assembly of School Councils

All parents and caregivers are always welcome to attend School Council meetings as parent representatives: we want and need to hear your perspective!

School Council Minutes, October 27, 2009

School Council Minutes, September 30, 2009