Westmount School Council

The School Council is comprised of parents, teachers, administration and community representatives.  The meetings provides a connection to the parents and community for information, communication, and above all, the opportunity to participate in school council projects.  It is a means for parents and community members to work together with the school to support and enhance student learning.

Meetings are held once a month and can be found on our school calendar. Meetings are held on Tuesdays from 5:30-7:00 pm and will be held in person and online.  All are welcome and encouraged to attend these meetings.

If you would like to have School Council contact you regarding engagement opportunities, meetings and events, please complete this form.

Minutes from School Council meetings are linked in the menu on the left. Click here for updates from our Trustees.

The roles of members of the council are found below along with a description of their responsibilities:

School Council Chair:  Sharon Martin (westmountschoolcouncilchair@gm.fsd38.ab.ca) - The chairperson will be a parent of a student attending the school. The chair should be someone who can work collaboratively and knows how to organize both programs and people. The chair should actively encourage others to become engaged in meaningful ways. Typical duties include chair all meetings of the school council, coordinate with the principal to establish meeting agendas, ensure that the operating procedures are current and followed, ensure there is regular communication with the whole school community, stay informed about school board policy that impacts school council and comply with the School Councils Regulation by providing the school board with an annual report that summarizes the school council's activities from the previous school year, including a financial statement relating to money, if any, handled by the school council.

Vice-Chair:  Paige Stonehocker (westmountschoolcouncilvice@gm.fsd38.ab.ca)  - The vice-chair helps to support the council chair. In the event the chair cannot be in attendance, the vice-chair would supervise the affairs and preside at meetings of the school council.

Secretary: Stephanie Murdoch (westmountschoolcouncilsec@gm.fsd38.ab.ca) - The secretary typically acts as a recorder at each meeting and ensures that the minutes are prepared accurately to reflect the directions agreed to at the meeting. They may be asked by the council chair to send communication to the school community.

Principal - The principal is the instructional leader who manages the day-to-day operations of the school and is a key member on school council who promotes cooperation between the school and the community. As a provincially mandated member of the school council, the principal works in collaboration with the chair to prepare school council agendas, supports the chair in running efficient school council meetings, provides contextual information, as requested by the school council, on matters relating to the school, seeks input from the school council, parents and community on major decisions that affect the school, encourages and supports the formation and continuous improvement of school council, interprets and shares results of provincial achievement tests and diploma exams and enables the school council to provide input into the school‘s education plan, policies and budget.

Teacher - Each school council must have at least one teacher representative, as per the legislation. A teacher representative contributes to a successful school council by sharing professional knowledge with school council members and presenting the teachers’ perspective.

Parents/Guardians - Parents of children enrolled at the school form the majority of the members of school council, and encourage participation of parents and representatives from the school community, share their professional knowledge, expertise and life experience, encourage feedback and participation from community groups and individuals, communicate information of interest to the school council and the school community, share information from school council meetings with the community, have a clear understanding of the school council objectives, attend school council meetings and create an inviting environment, identify possible topics for agendas and recommend training sessions on school council effectiveness.

Community Member - School councils are encouraged to have a community member attend meetings. The community representative can play a strong role in bringing the community perspective into the school. The member helps the school and school council build partnerships with the larger community and, in many instances, acts as a resource to promote cooperative ventures between community and school to enhance student learning. 

We invite all parents and guardians to attend school council meetings on a regular basis to play an advisory role in school improvement planning and create a collaborative relationship among all education partners.