Welcome!
School Councils play a vital role at every school across Ontario. For Catholic Schools, the Catholic School Council (CSC) provides a forum through which parents and other members of school community can contribute to improving student achievement and school performance. If you would like to get in touch with this year’s School Council, please email us at ndschoolcouncil@gmail.com or the individual email addresses below.
ND Catholic School Council Members
- Chair- Sheila DeSousa – mbsdesousa@gmail.com
- Co-Chair & OAPCE Rep- Eric Nieuwenhuis
- Treasure- Fadi Sharaiha – fsharaiha@gmail.com
- Student Reps- Anuj & Ben
- Recorder –
- Recorder-
- Communications Lead- Julie Tippett – julietippett72@hotmail.com
- Community Rep- TBD
- Staff Rep- Danielle Piantoni – piantonid@hcdsb.org
- Chaplain & Parish Rep- Brian Dunn – dunnb@hcdsb.org
ND Catholic School Council Announcements
October 4, 2022: COBB Bakery Supports ND with 10% Cash Back
School Council Purpose
- The purpose of the school council is, through the active participation of parents, to improve student achievement and to enhance accountability of the education system to parents.
- Make recommendations in accordance with the Ontario Regulation 612/00 and Regulation 612, to the Principal of the school and the district school Board.
- Consult with parents about matters under consideration by the School Council.
School Council are Making a Difference
(School Councils: A Guide of Members, 2001)
School councils play a vital role in the education system in Ontario. They provide a forum through which parents and other members of school communities can contribute to improving student achievement and school performance.
In 2000-2001, the Ontario government took significant steps to ensure that parents, through their school councils, would have greater influence in their children’s education. New regulations were created that confirm the advisory role of school councils and clearly state that their purpose is to improve student achievement and enhance the accountability of the education system to parents.
Parents Getting Involved
Parental involvement in a child’s education has been shown to have a significant effect on his or her achievement. In its publication School Improvement Planning: A Handbook for Principals, Teachers, and School Councils (November 2000), the Education
Improvement Commission (EIC) describes the results of research on parental involvement this way:
“Parental involvement is one of the most significant factors contributing to a child’s success in school. When parents are involved in their children’s education, the level of student achievement increases. Students attend school more regularly, they complete more homework in a consistent manner, and demonstrate more positive attitudes towards school. They are also more likely to complete high school.”
2023-2024 ND Catholic School Council
The Ontario Government has published a guidebook for School Council Members outlining purpose, roles and responsibilities for the members. We invite you to download a copy of the guidebook: School Councils: A Guide for Members and the School Council Bylaws.
Meeting Dates
ND Catholic School Council meets monthly in the library. Meeting times are 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
Scheduled meeting dates:
Tuesday November 21, 2023
Tuesday December 19, 2023
Tuesday January 23, 2024
Tuesday March 19, 2024
Tuesday May 21, 2024
Parents and community members are welcome to participate in any of the CSC scheduled meetings.
If you plan to attend a meeting, please RSVP to: ndschoolcouncil@gmail.com in order to
accommodate the number of attendees.
2022-23 Catholic School Council Meeting Minutes
April 2023 (Minutes)
March 2023 (Minutes)
February 2023 (Minutes)
January 2023 (Minutes)
December 2022 (Minutes)
November 2022 (Minutes)
October 2022 (Minutes)
September 2022 (Minutes)
2021-22 Catholic School Council Meeting Minutes
- February 2022 (Minutes)
- January 2022 (Minutes)
- September 2021 (Minutes)
- October 2021 (Minutes)
- November 2021 (Minutes)
- December 2021 (Minutes)
2020-21 Catholic School Council Meeting Minutes
2019-20 Catholic School Council Meeting Minutes
- June 2020 (Agenda / Minutes)
- February 2020 (Agenda / Minutes)
- November 2019 (Agenda / Minutes)
- October 2019 (Agenda / Minutes)
2018-19 Catholic School Council Meeting Minutes
Activities ND Catholic School Council Supports
ND CSC financially assists and / or gets involve with the following awards and activities:
New 2 You Uniform – collection, sorting and sale of quality used uniforms.
Angel Campaign – donating and assisting in the fund raising, buying and delivering of Christmas Baskets to those in need within our School Community.
Student Conferences – financial support for the annual STEAM Conference and Business Leadership Conference.
Students Awards – financial support for the following:
- STEAM Award
- Merit Award
- Student of the Year Award
- Citizen Merit Award
- Principals Award
School Community Support – financial support for the following:
- Irish Cares
- Tech for Students
Consultation with CSC
To ensure that parents, through their school councils, are able to influence decisions affecting their children’s education, the school council regulation clearly directs school boards and principals to actively seek the views of their school councils on a variety of matters. Under the regulations, school boards and principals are now required to ask for the views of their school councils before they make decisions on certain matters.
Resources:
School Councils: A Guide for Members http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/council/guide.html
Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE) https://www.oapce.org/ OAPCE is the voice of parents that promotes and protects publicly funded Catholic Education in Ontario.
Education Improvement Commission: A Handbook for Principals, Teachers and School Councils http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/sihande.pdf
Halton Catholic School Board https://www.hcdsb.org/
Ministry of Education https://www.hcdsb.org/
Catholic School Council