Our 2022 Annual General Meeting
The 78th Annual General Meeting of the Quebec Federation of Home and School Associations (QFHSA) combined a celebration of outstanding individuals/initiatives with a look back at another year of advocacy and action at the QFHSA. Held online on the evening of Thursday, June 2nd, the event was attended by delegates from local Home and School Associations from across the province of Quebec. Also joining the meeting were representatives from a number of organizations, including Canadian Heritage; the Canadian Federation of Home and School Associations; Quebec’s Advisory Board on English Education; the Quebec English School Boards Association; and the Quebec Community Groups Network.
Celebrating Heroes in Quebec English Education
After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the QFHSA was very pleased to bring back its major awards program. The awards ceremony proved to be a wonderful way to kick of this year’s Annual General Meeting event. Together, we celebrated important advocates for Quebec education at both the local and provincial levels.
The Gordon Paterson Award recognizing outstanding educators who have given long service to Quebec education and have encouraged the participation of parents was awarded to both Noel Burke, the former Chair of the Lester B. Pearson School Board and founder of the NEXTschool initiative, and Cathrine Le Maistre, a retired Associate Professor at McGill University’s Faculty of Education and former Chair of the Advisory Board on English Education.
The QFHSA Volunteer of the Year Award is given to a long-time Home and School volunteer who encourages parents to get involved in their children’s education, promotes harmonious relations between parents, staff, administration, and volunteers, is reliable and “indispensable,” and is professional and adds value to Home and School life. Though launched in 2019 to commemorate the QFHSA’s 75th anniversary, the pandemic disruption meant that this was the first time the award was presented. Making up for lost time, the QFHSA awards committee selected two recipients for the award: Tayba Huot of Clearpoint Elementary Home and School and Julie Mergl of École Primaire Beaconsfield.
The Pat Lewis Environmental Award, which recognizes the outstanding efforts of elementary or high-school students towards an environmental cause, was awarded to the Children’s World Academy school community. At Children’s World, there is an amazing collaboration of parents, teachers, staff, and students to develop sustainable and eco-friendly practices. The awards committee lauded Children’s World Academy’s Green Committee and Green Team for their tremendous efforts to promote sustainable practices and support our environment.
Two local Home and School Associations received the 2022 Newsletter Award, which celebrates outstanding Home and School newsletters that keep parents informed and build community within local associations. The Forest Hill Elementary School – Junior Campus newsletter team of Cris Baluch, Wendy Entwistle, and Lisa Davignon were celebrated alongside the team of Patty Marinelli, Costa Tsirbas, and Laura Wittebol at Laval Junior Academy.
Resolutions Adopted at the Annual General Meeting
At the business portion of the meeting, the QFHSA’s Resolutions Subcommittee presented eight resolutions, all of which were adopted. The resolutions address the following issues:
- Objection to the Definition of “Historic” Anglophones and the Consequent Restrictions to Eligibility for Services in English
- Request to Maintain Race, Religion, and Culture as Central Themes in the Proposed Citizenship Course
- A Call to Suspend and Amend Law 21
- Request to Be Included in Future Consultations as a Partner in Education
- The Offering of Bilingual Services by Student Ombudsmen
- Immigrating Ukrainian Children
- Quebec English CEGEP Curricula
- Quebec English CEGEP Admissions Policy
The text of the eight resolutions is available here.
Welcoming New and Returning Board Members
This year’s annual general meeting also saw the re-election of four board members and the election of newcomer Cindy Lockhart. Outgoing director Brian Rock was thanked for his long, dedicated service on the QFHSA board of directors. With the addition of board members in the midst of their mandates, the slate of directors for the 2022-2023 year is as follows:
Rosemary Murphy, President
Ginette Sauvé-Frankel, Executive Vice-President
Maxime Côté, Vice-President
Natasha Drysdale, Vice-President
Wanda Leah Trineer, Treasurer
Debi Brown, Secretary
Elizabeth “Bobbi” Brown, Director
Nick Giannakoulis, Director
Cindy Lockhart, Director
Samantha Patel, Director
Chris Schaler, Director
Linton Garner, Immediate Past President
Looking Back… and Ahead to Next Year
It is hard to believe that we have been dealing with the global pandemic since March 2020. Through the long ordeal, local Home and School associations have shown amazing resilience. Volunteers persevered through numerous lockdowns, changing pandemic measures and restrictions, and hardest of all—limited or no access to their schools. Every Home and School volunteer is a hero in our minds. In the Summer Issue of the QFHSA News newsmagazine, the QFHSA will publish this year’s list of Unsung Heroes and Golden Torch leaders at local Home and School associations. The QFHSA News will be available on our website in early July. As we look to the 2022-2023 school year, we have great hopes that Home and School life will resemble pre-pandemic times more than ever—with joyous opportunities for local Home and School communities to rediscover, rekindle, and reconnect.
Memories from the 2021 Annual General Meeting
The Quebec Federation of Home and School Associations (QFHSA) closed out the endlessly surprising and challenging 2020-2021 year with its 77th Annual General Meeting. Held on the evening of June 3rd, the online event was attended by delegates from over 20 local Home and School associations across the province of Quebec. They were joined by representatives from a number of organizations, including the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, and the Quebec Provincial Association of Retired School Educators. 
An Inspiring Presentation
The event began with a presentation by Ms. Heidi Yetman, President of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers. Ms. Yetman spoke about the challenges Quebec elementary and secondary school teachers are facing—everything from safeguarding the health of their students during the COVID pandemic to their long, laborious contract negotiations with the Quebec government.
8 New QFHSA Resolutions
The QFHSA’s Resolutions Subcommittee presented eight resolutions, all of which were adopted at the meeting. The product of timely research conducted by the QFHSA’s Education, Rights and Resolutions Committee, the resolutions focus on such challenges as the teacher shortage, curriculum problems, shortcomings in the way school elections are organized, unhealthy school buildings and the climate crisis. You can read the resolutions in their entirety here.
A Warm Welcome for New and Returning Board Members
The QFHSA is very pleased to welcome Nick Giannakoulis, Samantha Patel, and Chris Schaler, all newly-elected members of our board of directors. This year’s annual general meeting also saw the re-election of six current members of our board. The slate of directors for the 2021-2022 year is as follows:
Rosemary Murphy, President
Ginette Sauvé-Frankel, Executive Vice-President
Maxime Côté, Vice-President
Natasha Drysdale, Vice-President
Wanda Leah Trineer, Treasurer
Debi Brown, Secretary
Linton Garner, Immediate Past President
Elizabeth “Bobbi” Brown, Director
Nick Giannakoulis, Director
Samantha Patel, Director
Brian Rock, Director
Chris Schaler, Director
Outgoing directors Meaghan Dufour and Renate Sutherland were thanked for their important service to our organization.
Looking Back… and Ahead to a New Year
The QFHSA’s 202-2021 Book of Reports provides details on the Federation’s activities over the past year. In the book’s annex is our organization’s Financial Statement to December 31, 2020. This document is available below. Our local Home and School associations have more than met the challenges of this past year; they have worked incredibly hard to enrich the lives of the students and families in their school communities. Each year, the QFHSA helps local associations recognize the heroes in their midst—and there were many heroes in 2020-2021! In a year when most Home & School volunteers were not allowed inside school buildings, school staff often stepped in to lend a hand for Home and School initiatives. It is no surprise, then, that this year’s list of Unsung Heroes includes staff from several schools alongside Home & School volunteers. All of our Unsung Heroes and our Golden Torch leaders deserve our sincere thanks for their perseverance and drive during this unforgettable year. The complete list of the year’s award recipients along with the winner of the QFHSA Newsletter Award is published in the summer issue of the QFHSA News (available in early July). The QFHSA looks forward to the 2021-2022 school year with much anticipation and hope for our local Home and School associations.
The 76th Annual General Meeting, which had been scheduled for May 2, 2020, was postponed to August 22, 2020. The meeting was held via the Zoom platform due to restrictions on public gatherings in force at the time. The program was a very simple one that covered the basics that needed to be addressed: adoption of an agenda; approval of the minutes of the May 4, 2019 AGM; acceptance of the financial statements; the proposal of a budget for 2021; the election of new members of the QFHSA board of directors, and the appointment of the auditor for 2021.
Although we missed the camaraderie of getting together in person and sharing the H&S spirit, we look forward to next year when, hopefully, we will be able to connect with everyone in a meaningful way, even if, again, it cannot be in person. The annual Book of Reports, usually distributed by email to the delegates, is available below for all H&S members to reference.
