On Monday, December 8, 2014 the Waterloo Region District School Board held its Committee of the Whole Meeting. The agenda and reports for this meeting are available on our website.

No delegations appeared at the meeting.

Policy and Governance (30 minutes)

Final approval of Board Policy 2005 – Parent Support (Family Communication with Schools)
Trustees approved the revised policy.

Final Approval of Board Policy 2006 – Consultation
Trustees approved the revised policy

Final Approval of Board Policy 6003 – Scholarships, Prizes and Awards (Scholarships, Bursaries and Prizes)
Trustees approved the revised policy.

Review of Board Governance Policy G100 – Governance Foundations
Updates to reflect the current strategic plan are to take place, and come back for final approval.

Review of Board Governance Policy G201 – Trustee Code of Conduct
Trustees approved the revised policy.

System Fiscal Review

Reports

Major Capital Projects – Quarterly Update Report 
There are currently six major capital projects underway in the board, five of which are new schools. More information on these projects, and their status, can be found in the report.

Motion – Trustee C. Watson motion re Webcasting
At the Committee of the Whole Meeting of June 16, 2014, trustee Watson presented a motion, recommending that the board explore webcasting and the financial implications associated with running a live-feed for all public meetings.

Trustees approved the following motion for postponement:

That the Waterloo Region District School Board postpone consideration of the motion by Trustee C. Watson regarding Webcasting as presented at the December 8, 2014, Committee of the Whole Meeting, in order for staff to investigate the budget implications associated with webcasting; and

That staff will return to the Board with a report outlining the budget implications of webcasting no later than February 2015.

Waterloo Region District School Board – Involvement with Skills Canada
At the October 20, 2014 Board meeting of the Waterloo Region District School Board, during Question Period, staff were asked to provide an update to trustees regarding the involvement of our students in Skills Canada, Ontario Activities.

The Waterloo Region District School Board’s involvement in Skills Canada, Ontario is ongoing. For example, each year the Board supports students competing at the provincial level in the Ontario Technological Skills Competition (OTSC). In 2013-2014, 17 students from a variety of secondary schools in the Waterloo Region District School Board participated in the OTSC. However, it should be noted that 225 secondary school students participated in school-level and board-level skills competitions. These included competitions in Transportation, Culinary Arts, Horticulture and Landscape, Film Production, and Robotics (Sumobots).

At the elementary level, students in grades 4 to 8 participate in the Waterloo Region Technological Skills Competitions that are jointly run by the WRDSB and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. For 2014-15, secondary schools within the WRDSB have also taken advantage of Skills Canada Ontario presentations to promote opportunities in the skilled trades to their grade 10 students.

The Waterloo Region District School Board continues to support the skilled trades and seeks ways to support access to these for all students in the district. Skills Canada, Ontario provides support for this through their programs and services, which are valued as part of an overall strategy, including Specialist High Skills Majors, Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Programs, School/College/Work initiatives, Cooperative Education programs and other in-class supports for students interested in the skilled trades.

More information on our involvement with Skills Canada can be found in the report.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:05.