Healthy fundraising ideas

The implementation of the School Food and Beverage Policy has created the need for schools and school councils to get creative when coming up with fundraising ideas. The Region of Peel has put together some resources to help.

If you're planning a bakesale, there are policy-compliant recipes available in the Bake it up cookbook that was sent to every school last year. If you don’t have a copy, you can access it online.

And remember, schools do have 10 special event days, which are exempt from the policy. The Ministry of Education has asked schools to select those days in consultation with the school council.

Please feel free to share your ideas!

Walk away from traffic congestion

At least a few times a year I receive calls from schools that are dealing with traffic congestion in front of their school. Sometimes it’s caused by construction, sometimes it’s because of the size or layout of the parking lot, but whatever the reason, it creates a challenge for parents and staff alike.

Every school is different, so I understand there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but I want to share a possible solution and invite you to suggest others.

I had a conversation yesterday about this very topic—the school has a number of students who are bussed, but about 200 to 300 who aren’t. It sounds like many of the students who aren’t bussed are being dropped off by parents—imagine the cars! The driveway is small and the road the school is on doesn’t have parking. On my way home, I started to brainstorm solutions—I recalled an initiative I heard about that helped parents and students walk away from traffic congestion (pun intended).

A number of years ago, Morton Way Public School in Brampton was receiving a lot of attention for its walking school bus. The initiative involves a group of students who walk to school together, picking up more students on the way. I believe some parents also walk with the students. The students and parents then meet afterschool and walk home together too.

To me, this sounds like an ideal initiative for a school council to explore. The great thing is, there are resources available to help you through Active and Safe Routes to School. Here’s the link to the Walking School Bus page: http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/oldsite/walkingschoolbus.html

Walking is great exercise, fresh air is good for you, you’ll save money on gas, you won’t have to deal with annoying traffic challenges, you and your child may make new friends...these are just some of the reasons I like this idea.

Now—like I mentioned—there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, so please don’t think I’m trying to over-simplify the traffic situation you may be dealing with. I just wanted put this out there for you to consider.

Share your thoughts please!

Alison

School council chairs: five tips to build a strong foundation for your council

These tips were provided by Joel Brown, veteran school council chair (current chair at John Fraser S.S., former chair at Thomas Street M.S. & Castlebridge P.S.)

There are some fundamental things that will help school council chairs build the foundation for an effective school council:

1.      Develop a good working relationship with your school principal. This doesn’t mean you have to be good buddies or always agree. It does mean you understand each others’ roles, responsibilities and rights. Having mutual respect and understanding is the most important building block for an effective school council.

2.      Have a positive attitude. Stay focused on the fact that school councils exist to have a positive impact on the public education system—you’re doing this for kids!

3.      Focus global issues, not personal issues. You’re making a difference in your community. You’re not on council to help only your child, but knowing your child will benefit from your efforts will help keep you motivated and focused on what’s important.

4.      Use existing rules and templates to help you succeed. Learn about the role of council by reading the Peel board’s handbook for school council members.

5.      Encourage volunteers to follow their passions. You’ll get and keep more volunteers by allowing (encouraging) them to pursue something that they are passionate about. Remember everyone comes to school council because they want to get something out of it. Maybe it’s more information, maybe it’s having a say in developing school policies, maybe they really love fundraising. Whatever it is, they will bring more value to the school if they are doing something that they value personally.

You asked for it

At the school council orientation event on Oct. 24, school council members asked for a way to share ideas. We have created this blog to provide a forum we all have access to where council members can post comments, ask for advice and find out about interesting or important information.

We are interested in gathering success stories from our school councils. If you have a great initiative to share, please email it to alison.farbar@peelsb.com. Thanks!