Victoria West Elementary School Parent Advisory Committee February 12, 2014 6‐8 pm General PAC Meeting 1. 2. 3.
Introductions (if new members) Acceptance of the agenda (1 min) Principal’s Report (10 min)
(4 min)
4.
Executive Reports a. President’s Report (5 min) b. Treasurer’s Report (5 min) c. VCPAC Report (5 min) Business/Action items arising from previous minutes: a. Communication Board ‐ update b. Labyrinth check in c. Parent Ed Night in March d. Playground Committee‐ update e. Breakfast Program‐ assessment f. Mural Replacement g. Use of remaining 2013‐2014 gaming funds‐ideas New business a. b. …
5.
6.
Attendance: Kim, Ahna, Maria, Carolyn, Amy, Coral, Mercedes, Jana 1. Introductions (if new members) (4 min) done 2. Acceptance of the agenda (1 min) ‐ 3 additions to the agenda – Monks school supplies, Mabel’s Labels and earthquake supplies 3. Principal’s Report (10 min) Jana spoke to teachers at today’s staff meeting about the Breakfast Program and lack thereof over the past few weeks. ‐ The staff would like to see a breakfast program offered in some capacity. ‐ The current system of toasting bread and offering jam is time consuming for the volunteer and is of low nutritional value. ‐ Granola bars cannot be offered due to their high sugar content, so the idea to have a grab and go system in the office with bars and fruit would not work. ‐ New Idea: baskets for each classroom which include fruit and cheese or boiled eggs ‐ Volunteers could make the baskets up ahead of time so that a consistent morning volunteer would not be needed. ‐ Baskets can be housed in the Planning Room in case a child misses the opportunity in the classroom.
Actions: The PAC (Coral and Mercedes) to write up a proposal for Jana to present to teachers. Mercedes to speak to Sandy Matthews who coordinates lunch and breakfast programs for the District. Kindergarten registration - 2 transfers out, 7 transferred in for a total gain of 5 students Ready, Set, Learn - happening on Wednesday, Feb. 19th from 1‐2pm for those children that will attend Kindergarten in September, 2015 - visitors will meet in the Library and then head to the gym stations and then Kate Longpre will guide everyone to the community center for a Kinder gym Wifi - will be installed shortly (free of charge) but not turned on - the majority of teachers voted to turn the wifi on - the PAC will survey the parents once any pressing questions have been answered Action: Amy and Ahna will work together to request questions from parents re: wifi installation, to be followed by a Survey Monkey re: turning on wifi in the school Satisfaction surveys - have gone out to the parents of Grade 4 students Computers - The entire computer lab needs software upgrades and 28 computers need to be replaced (can’t support the upgrade to Windows 7). - The money will come out of the school’s computer budget - There are 105 computers in the school and the Administrators are trying to determine which ones the teachers use. All of them? - One high functioning computer is needed in each classroom to run the Smart Boards. - Tec (Technology enabled classroom) packs are arriving shortly to Ms. Solecki and Ms. Alvarez’s classrooms - The PAC asked if the school would allow corporate sponsors to fund the new computers (Telus?) No more line ups - lines have been a common place for behavior issues to happen among the students - there were not line ups in the past –only in recent years - the bell will ring and students will make their way into the school and their classroom - Makes for a quieter, gentler start to the day. February is anti‐bullying month ‐ 24th is Pink Shirt Day
4. Executive Reports a. President’s Report (5 min) None b. Treasurer’s Report (5 min) - All 11 divisions were given fieldtrip funds from the Gaming grant and we have not heard back from them if they will money left over this year. - Currently there is $2835.00 in the gaming account and $3481 in the chequing account as well as $252.28 in the earthquake supplies account. c. VCPAC Report (5 min) VCPAC meeting at Rockheights on Jan. 28th - Colquitz Middle School instituting a BYOD (bring your own device) program to enhance students’ learning. Thought to be less expensive than renewing software for computer labs. - Proposed closure of Sundance Elementary School: program will be moved to Lakehill Elementary without a Principal in order to reduce costs due to the District’s $2M deficit. - The District Superintendent, John Gaiptman has resigned and the Deputy, Sherri Bell, will step up. 5. Business/Action items arising from previous minutes: a. Communication Board ‐ update - The idea of having a 4x8 communication board with only a magnetic white board (no cork) was presented and the PAC voted unanimously in favour. - add a PAC logo along the top of the board Action: Carolyn and Jana to sort out the construction of the new communication board b. Labyrinth check in - Aaren absent c. Parent Ed Night in March - March: Carlyn Lindsay re: Self Regulation at home - May: Island Sexual Health re: talking to your children about sex Action: Mercedes to confirm March’s presenter. d. Playground Committee‐ update Action items: Carolyn to look up grant writing through the City. Jana to confirm the roles of the school and plans of the City with respect to the land e. Breakfast Program‐ assessment See the Principal’s report f. Mural Replacement ‐ Torn and faded on the front of the school. Would like to replace it, possibly with just a reprint of the same art.
‐ Other ideas: PAC paying for school wide involvement with the making of a new mural (for example artist Misha Smart does classroom programs while creating a mural on the school). Very expensive but maybe we could use the gaming funds. ‐ Jana suggested looking into Arts Reach/Artists in the School (possibly through Sue Brown) Actions: Mercedes to follow up with Misha Smart and Carolyn Hooper‐ past PAC member. Carolyn to contact Gaming Branch to see if using gaming funds for a student participation mural event is allowed. g. Use of remaining 2013‐2014 gaming funds‐ideas Ideas: ‐ helping with the purchase of school computers ‐ Author visit (hasn’t happened yet this year). There is a gala in May for the Red Cedar Club so that might be a good time to ask one of the authors to come into the school ‐ Mural artist ‐ Teachers request: more computers/ technology (IPADS) ‐ Internet safety (inviting Darren Laur to speak to school) – The Grade 5s are in the computer lab on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings Action items: Mercedes to talk with Ms. Speller re: hosting an author’s visit. Amy to talk to her friend, Robin Stevenson who is an author that might be interested in coming in 6. New business a. Mabel’s Labels ‐ received cheque for ~$59 and will promote is again in the next newsletter b. Monks ‐ The school supplies list will be out after spring break and then we can pass them onto Monks for our annual fund raiser. c. Earthquake Supplies - Coral will finish purchasing the earthquake kiosk supplies as per the list provided by Conan (past co vice‐president) Random bit: Need a techno savvy volunteer to help with movie night….Coral to provide laptop… Mercedes to see if Todd/Warren can help with set up.
**Reminder: Next PAC meeting is Wednesday MARCH 5th (due to spring break). See you there!