The Carlington Summit

At the recent meeting of the W.E. Gowling school council on November 8th, the following issues were discussed.

Pokémon Problems

Like other schools in the area, W.E. Gowling has been hit by Pokémon mania. Children have been allowed to play with cards outside at recess times provided certain rules were followed. For example, no buying or selling of cards, no trading between older and younger children, no expensive cards at school. Despite clear guidelines there have been more and more problems. Children have been coming to school with expensive cards, there have been fights over cards, and the police have had to be called when cards were stolen. A lot of staff time has been involved in resolving problems related to the cards. School council discussed the issue and decided that a total ban was not fair to those children who had abided by the rules, instead it was decided to allow play on one day a week. If there continue to be problems, the school will move to a total ban.

New Junior Play Structure

As mentioned in the last issue of the “Summit” the school needs a new play structure, the old one having been torn down because it was unsafe. The cost of a new play structure is expected to be approximately $24,000! At the moment the school council is working hard to raise $7,500, the amount the school board requires us to have before it will commit to its contribution of $7,500. To enable us to meet this target as quickly as possible we have received a loan from W.E. Gowling's fund-raising account.

Fund-raising

The recent Mars Bar campaign organised by Annette Parent netted $1902. THANK YOU ANNETTE!!! Other fund-raising efforts include Hot Dog Day once a month and the Christmas Craft Sale.

To date we have raised $6,500 towards the play structure. We always need more help, if you would like to volunteer your time or ideas please contact Janet Donovan at 728-8048. Donations towards the new play structure would also be greatly appreciated.

The next school council meeting is on January 10th at 7:00 p.m.