Catholic School Council

Bishop Ryan Catholic School Council

In their pastoral letter Renewing the Promise, the Ontario Bishops suggest to parents of Catholic school students "School Councils are opportunities for faith formation and collaboration, where parents and school staff learn from each other, pray together, and work alongside each other to ensure all children have opportunities to grow in faith and in their learning." In this spirit, I encourage you to consider joining our Catholic School Council in order to work with your child's school to create the best possible Catholic Education experience we can. As a parent/guardian, you too are part of the Bishop Ryan family - a valued member whose voice we want to hear.

Catholic School Council meetings are typically once a month. Commitment to the Catholic School Council ranges from 5-15 hours a month depending on your desired level of involvement. Committee work may be requested at times to assist the school and the council to achieve vital projects.

For more information, please see below . . .

Catholic School Council Meeting Dates - 2025-26

Monday, September 22, 2025*
Monday, October 20, 2025
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 @ 7:00 p.m. (Chairperson Orientation Session at the Nicholas Mancini Centre)
Monday, November 17, 2025
Monday, January 19, 2025
Monday, February 23, 2025
Monday, April 13, 2025
Monday, May 11, 2025
Monday, June 15, 2025

All meetings will take place in Bishop Ryan CSS's 2nd Floor Library Learning Commons at 7:00p.m.

*The Catholic School Council will be elected on this night.

Members of the Bishop Ryan CSS Catholic School Council, 2025-2026

Chairperson: Jaime Alves

Vice Chairperson: Bunmi Bosede

Secretary:Jennifer Hines

Treasurer: Maria Cipolla-Virly

Members at Large: Beatriz Tieado, Alberta Adah, Onyinye Mbanefo, Chevi Lushington, Asfa Shafqat, Seun Shobowale, Kabedi Nina Wanga, Mara Afonso, Deji Ayodele-Oni, Abi Ayodele-Oni, Felicitas Emelifonwu, Stephanie Hume, Saima Mirza, Cathy Natha

Bishop Ryan Teaching Staff Rep: Diane Devcic

Bishop Ryan Non-Teaching Staff Rep: Kathleen Thompson (Chaplain)

Community Rep: Rosemary and Rick Ferroni

Student Rep: Joey Zannoni

Principal: Christina Groppo ( [email protected]; 905-573-2151)

Bishop Ryan Catholic School Council Mission Statement

To work in partnership/collaboration with our School, Parish, and our Parent Community in support of the Academic Success, Spiritual Development, and Personal Growth of our children.

Vision
To be a strong voice for the parents in our school community and provide a forum for their effective engagement, communication and participation. This will be supported by our mutual values of respect, appreciation, trust, faith, pride and commitment.

Objectives/Goals
1. To improve communication between the Parent and the School by providing a contact name and e-mail address for Parents to provide feedback/comment directly to council.
2. To improve the visibility of Parent Council to Parents and the School Community by providing an information Bulletin Board from Parent Council and dedicated Parent Council web-pages.
3. To develop online information resources for our Parents – including but not limited to:
4. To organize an annual parent outreach community evening – networking, information seeking
5. To act in an advisory capacity to the Principal and Senior Staff in accordance with the policies and guidelines of our Catholic School Board and Ministry of Education.