East Chilliwack Elementary
Parent Advisory Council
Mon, Oct 19, 2009

Present: Anne Russell, Ruth Neufeld, Verna Hoogeveen, Robert Lecomte, Tara Field, Alyson King, Lorraine Brown, Bonnie Kind, Nicole Johnston, Tara Ames

APPROVAL of AGENDA

Moved by Bonnie; seconded by Nicole
Approved

APPROVAL of MINUTES from September
Ruth noted that she had made slight amendments to the September minutes: she changed ‘assessment for learning’ to ‘formative learning’ (its formal name) and noted that the removal of last year’s six percent surplus wasn’t a budget cut per se. The school still received the same amount of money this year, but they weren’t allowed to keep last year’s surplus.
Moved by Verna; seconded by Anne
Approved with amendments


TREASURER’S REPORT
(See Bonnie Kind’s report for full details.)

We are still awaiting our provincial gaming grant. The bad news is that due to provincial government budget constraints gaming grants to schools have been cut to $10 per student instead of $20 per student. Concerned parents are encouraged to contact their MLAs if they wish to protest this.

We ended September with approximately $7,600 in the general account. Cheques issued were in relation to the barbecue, gaming grant licence, and fruit and treats for the Teapot Hill hike. Deposits came in from barbecue revenue and hot lunch. The gaming account has approximately $300 in it (still awaiting grant).

Hot lunch: due to inadvertently ordering too many pizzas, we only made a slight profit that day ($5), but the home-made grilled cheese day was lucrative. Still awaiting receipts for McDonalds day.

FUNDRAISER’S REPORT
(Lorraine Brown)
The meat draw sale is going well, with approximately 2,000 tickets in circulation. Lorraine is printing more and sending a notice home this week. Draw is Nov 2. Volunteers needed to help sell at Mon, Oct 26, Bruins game.

Christmas fundraising package (pointsettias, Neufeld Farms, chocolate letters) will be coming home with students soon.

Focus this year is on new equipment to enhance assemblies and performances, such as a new screen (already up), microphones, new camera, lighting, etc.

PRINCIPAL’ S REPORT
(See Mrs. Ruth Neufeld’s report for full details.)

The big surprise since the last meeting was the addition of a new teacher to our school at the grade two level (welcome Mrs. Elizabeth Baker). This was beneficial in that we have no more split classes, but a bit of disruption and adjustment for everyone. Once the grade two class was created, families on the ECE waitlist were contacted, and even more students joined our school.

We now have 220 kids, and the major numbers are in the primary grades. There are twice as many primary as intermediate students. We will also be having two more 4.5 hour/day educational assistants joining the school, as there are more students requiring assistance here now.

The Terry Fox run went well, raising over $600 (down from last year).

Teachers spent one after-school session last week on smart learning lessons based on assessment results. They will spend their Oct 22 Pro-D day talking about what worked, what didn’t, and where to go from here. Will also be looking at school-wide ‘writes’ to determine what a 1, 2, 3, and 4 looks like at each grade level.

Ruth Neufeld and Rick Letkeman will be spending a day with district-helping teachers to find out more about how to use formative assessment practices to be more focused in the strategies ECE teachers use to support student learning.

ECE is the only school in Chilliwack to be offered a chance to take part in a school-based program sponsored by the Canucks Autism Network, a program that addresses accepting differences, promoting tolerance, respect, etc. We will be receiving $1,000 worth of materials to support this program. There are several children with autism in the school so we are a good candidate for this program. It also focuses on how we are all on a spectrum, not just those with autism. The Canucks Autism Network is run by members of the Aquiliini family, who also own the Vancouver Canucks. For more info see http://www.canucksautism.ca/

ECE will have an early dismissal day on Fri, Oct 30. Parents are encouraged to drop in with their children for student-led presentations on work done so far, between 11:15 am and 1:15 pm. Buses will take children home leaving at 11:15. If you plan to drive your child home please contact the school, so busing can be accurately predicted.

Some parents noted that holding this session in the daytime makes it impossible for them to attend because of work commitments. Ruth noted that the teachers wanted to hold it during the day. She also noted that these sessions are not the time for one-on-one conferences with teachers, and that parents are encouraged to contact teachers anytime for a meeting to address any specific concerns.

Fruit and vegetable program is going well. Soccer teams are doing well, and there are lots of enthusiastic cross-country running participants, including many from grade three.

Bernard Klop, the counsellor assigned to our school, is willing to run an eight-session parenting course in February. It would be free of charge unless parents wanted to include snacks and babysitting. It is based on Gordon Neufeld’s Hold on to Your Kids philosophy. We could partner with Cheam and/or Little Mountain schools for this.

We continue to hold school-wide runs on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, right before lunch. Students will run in all but the worst weather. So light to medium rain = yes, they are running. Sleet = no.

There will be no Christmas concert this year. Instead, the plan is to mount a spring concert, perhaps on a larger scale than we’ve ever done before. Mrs. Pauls is looking into this.


Old business
Movie night is Wed, Oct 21. Doors open at 5:30, pizza served at 5:45, movie starts at 6:15. Monsters vs. Aliens will be showing. Families are asked to take care not to make too much mess with the pizza, and to help clean up after movie.

There are still a very few emergency kits not restocked and sent back. Please send back asap.

New business
We are looking for someone to attend the District-wide PAC meeting on Thurs, Oct 22, at 7 pm at the Kipp Centre.
Robertson is having a craft fair to which all are invited.

There was some discussion of the H1N1 virus and ways to reduce risk even further. Mrs. Neufeld said teachers are encouraging students to wash their hands frequently, that she’s hearing them reminding the students, and that she will remind teachers of the importance of being vigilant about this. Some parents advocated for alcohol-based hand sanitizers in the classrooms and other locations.

Events
Movie night: Wed, Oct 21
PD days: Thurs and Fri, Oct 22 and 23
Cut and carve day: Fri, Oct 30
Early dismissal and student-led parent teacher conferences: Fri, Oct 30 – 11: 15 am (come and see what your child has been doing in school, any time between 11:15 and 1:15).

Next PAC meeting
We are going to continue with Monday evening meetings for the time being.
Next meeting: Mon, Nov 16, at 7 pm. Free babysitting in the gym available. All ECE parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

East Chilliwack Elementary
Parent Advisory Council

Mon, Oct 19, 2009

Present: Anne Russell, Ruth Neufeld, Verna Hoogeveen, Robert Lecomte, Tara Field, Alyson King, Lorraine Brown, Bonnie Kind, Nicole Johnston, Tara Ames

APPROVAL of AGENDA

Moved by Bonnie; seconded by Nicole

Approved

APPROVAL of MINUTES from September

Ruth noted that she had made slight amendments to the September minutes: she changed ‘assessment for learning’ to ‘formative learning’ (its formal name) and noted that the removal of last year’s six percent surplus wasn’t a budget cut per se. The school still received the same amount of money this year, but they weren’t allowed to keep last year’s surplus.

Moved by Verna; seconded by Anne

Approved with amendments

TREASURER’S REPORT

(See Bonnie Kind’s report for full details.)

We are still awaiting our provincial gaming grant. The bad news is that due to provincial government budget constraints gaming grants to schools have been cut to $10 per student instead of $20 per student. Concerned parents are encouraged to contact their MLAs if they wish to protest this.

We ended September with approximately $7,600 in the general account. Cheques issued were in relation to the barbecue, gaming grant licence, and fruit and treats for the Teapot Hill hike. Deposits came in from barbecue revenue and hot lunch. The gaming account has approximately $300 in it (still awaiting grant).

Hot lunch: due to inadvertently ordering too many pizzas, we only made a slight profit that day ($5), but the home-made grilled cheese day was lucrative. Still awaiting receipts for McDonalds day.

FUNDRAISER’S REPORT

(Lorraine Brown)

The meat draw sale is going well, with approximately 2,000 tickets in circulation. Lorraine is printing more and sending a notice home this week. Draw is Nov 2. Volunteers needed to help sell at Mon, Oct 26, Bruins game.

Christmas fundraising package (pointsettias, Neufeld Farms, chocolate letters) will be coming home with students soon.

Focus this year is on new equipment to enhance assemblies and performances, such as a new screen (already up), microphones, new camera, lighting, etc.

PRINCIPAL’ S REPORT

(See Mrs. Ruth Neufeld’s report for full details.)

The big surprise since the last meeting was the addition of a new teacher to our school at the grade two level (welcome Mrs. Elizabeth Baker). This was beneficial in that we have no more split classes, but a bit of disruption and adjustment for everyone. Once the grade two class was created, families on the ECE waitlist were contacted, and even more students joined our school.

We now have 220 kids, and the major numbers are in the primary grades. There are twice as many primary as intermediate students. We will also be having two more 4.5 hour/day educational assistants joining the school, as there are more students requiring assistance here now.

The Terry Fox run went well, raising over $600 (down from last year).

Teachers spent one after-school session last week on smart learning lessons based on assessment results. They will spend their Oct 22 Pro-D day talking about what worked, what didn’t, and where to go from here. Will also be looking at school-wide ‘writes’ to determine what a 1, 2, 3, and 4 looks like at each grade level.

Ruth Neufeld and Rick Letkeman will be spending a day with district-helping teachers to find out more about how to use formative assessment practices to be more focused in the strategies ECE teachers use to support student learning.

ECE is the only school in Chilliwack to be offered a chance to take part in a school-based program sponsored by the Canucks Autism Network, a program that addresses accepting differences, promoting tolerance, respect, etc. We will be receiving $1,000 worth of materials to support this program. There are several children with autism in the school so we are a good candidate for this program. It also focuses on how we are all on a spectrum, not just those with autism. The Canucks Autism Network is run by members of the Aquiliini family, who also own the Vancouver Canucks. For more info see http://www.canucksautism.ca/

ECE will have an early dismissal day on Fri, Oct 30. Parents are encouraged to drop in with their children for student-led presentations on work done so far, between 11:15 am and 1:15 pm. Buses will take children home leaving at 11:15. If you plan to drive your child home please contact the school, so busing can be accurately predicted.

Some parents noted that holding this session in the daytime makes it impossible for them to attend because of work commitments. Ruth noted that the teachers wanted to hold it during the day. She also noted that these sessions are not the time for one-on-one conferences with teachers, and that parents are encouraged to contact teachers anytime for a meeting to address any specific concerns.

Fruit and vegetable program is going well. Soccer teams are doing well, and there are lots of enthusiastic cross-country running participants, including many from grade three.

Bernard Klop, the counsellor assigned to our school, is willing to run an eight-session parenting course in February. It would be free of charge unless parents wanted to include snacks and babysitting. It is based on Gordon Neufeld’s Hold on to Your Kids philosophy. We could partner with Cheam and/or Little Mountain schools for this.

We continue to hold school-wide runs on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, right before lunch. Students will run in all but the worst weather. So light to medium rain = yes, they are running. Sleet = no.

There will be no Christmas concert this year. Instead, the plan is to mount a spring concert, perhaps on a larger scale than we’ve ever done before. Mrs. Pauls is looking into this.

Old business

Movie night is Wed, Oct 21. Doors open at 5:30, pizza served at 5:45, movie starts at 6:15. Monsters vs. Aliens will be showing. Families are asked to take care not to make too much mess with the pizza, and to help clean up after movie.

There are still a very few emergency kits not restocked and sent back. Please send back asap.

New business

We are looking for someone to attend the District-wide PAC meeting on Thurs, Oct 22, at 7 pm at the Kipp Centre.

Robertson is having a craft fair to which all are invited.

There was some discussion of the H1N1 virus and ways to reduce risk even further. Mrs. Neufeld said teachers are encouraging students to wash their hands frequently, that she’s hearing them reminding the students, and that she will remind teachers of the importance of being vigilant about this. Some parents advocated for alcohol-based hand sanitizers in the classrooms and other locations.

Events

Movie night: Wed, Oct 21

PD days: Thurs and Fri, Oct 22 and 23

Cut and carve day: Fri, Oct 30

Early dismissal and student-led parent teacher conferences: Fri, Oct 30 – 11: 15 am (come and see what your child has been doing in school, any time between 11:15 and 1:15).

Next PAC meeting

We are going to continue with Monday evening meetings for the time being.

Next meeting: Mon, Nov 16, at 7 pm. Free babysitting in the gym available. All ECE parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

East Chilliwack Elementary PAC meeting minutes -- Sept 21, 2009

East Chilliwack Elementary
Parent Advisory Council
Mon, Sept 21, 2009

Present: Anne Russell, Broni Wiebe, Ruth Neufeld, Verna Hoogeveen, Tara Field, Alyson King, Jen Hansen, Lauren Haggerty, Donna Stiles, Cheya Grant, Tia LeTexier, Bonnie Kind, Nicole Johnston, Tara Ames

APPROVAL of AGENDA

Moved by Bonnie; seconded by Nicole
Approved

APPROVAL of MINUTES from June and August (verbal report)

Moved by Verna; seconded by Anne
Approved


TREASURER’S REPORT
(See Bonnie Kind’s report for full details.)

We are starting the year with almost $5,800 in our general account and only $1.65 in our gaming account. This is intentional, as all gaming grant money must be spent each fiscal year.

We will be paying out of the general account for expenses associated with the Teapot Hill hike and the welcome back family barbecue.

We will be depositing cash fromthe first sales from the meat raffle tickets to the gaming account to help pay for the cost of ticket printing and meat.

We made $266 profit from the Sept 17 barbecue and $3,300 from hot lunch sales in 08/09.


PRINCIPAL’ S REPORT
(See Mrs. Ruth Neufeld’s report for full details.)

Enrollment is up to 220 students, although the full time equivalency comes in at under 200, as the kindergarten students only count as half a student each.

Once we get over 200 FTE, we receive more funding for library, learning assistance, etc, so it can be a good threshold to cross.

We were lucky to have all classroom placements settled by Wed. Some schools still didn’t know by Mon. (Ed note: days after this PAC meeting, ECE was given an additional teacher, which meant shuffling of classroom placement in the primary grades.)

Our classes are generally very full and we’re turning families away. There is some room in Grade 4 and 5 only (and one spot in kindergarten).

(PAC members noted that we sold 40 more burgers than last year at the welcome back barbecue; we will be ordering an additional 50 for next year.)

The Teapot hike went very well. The students seem to do it faster every year. Might need to have more people at the relatively few turning points so nobody goes the wrong way. Some kids missed the corn but the fruit and treats were a hit, and they all love playing capture the flag.

The school goal remains: to develop more powerful thinkers, listeners, speakers, readers, and writers. We will be continuing with Smart Learning strategies and Literacy Place. At the k/1 level we will continue oral language initiatives like Talking Tables.

Intermediate teachers are taking part in a district initiative to develop ‘assessment for learning’ practices at our school. Rick Letkeman will attend training sessions throughout the year and help coach our staff through this process. (Our primary kids do very well when assessed, but by the time they reach grade 7, things have slipped, so the kids need a boost at the intermediate level.) ‘Collaborative teachers’ will visit our school to relieve the intermediate teachers so they can learn more about this, and also to share information on the ‘assessment for learning’ practices.

Healthy Buddies program, which saw older kids teaching younger kids about healthy exercise and nutrition, will continue, but will expand to include social responsibility and anti-bullying components.

The Running program continues. This is ECE’s solution to the provincial directive to incorporate 30 minutes of exercise a day into the curriculum, as well as a generally healthy and good idea. Teachers can choose to take the students outside at either 11:15 or 11:30 for 15 minutes to half an hour’s worth of running.

The Fruit and Vegetable program will continue to run. Volunteers needed to help. A coordinator for ECE is in place.

Extracurricular soccer and intramural house teams have started up.

The school has been hit with a budget cut. Since ECE finished the year with a six percent surplus, that amount has been clawed back from this year’s budget. Staff are brainstorming on ways to cut costs.

The school district has printed a pandemic plan in light of the H1N1 virus concern. Copies are available to download online. We are emphasizing strongly to students to practise good hand hygiene and avoid spreading germs.

New business

Hot Lunch
We will be getting monthly reports about cash flow from hot lunch sales. We want to ensure that this is a moneymaker for the school. We are moving from Jim’s Pizza to Little Caesars for pizza. A parent requested vegetarian options and the PAC agreed to look into these.

Fundraising
Everyone was congratulated on achieving the goal of the new playground. Our new priority for fundraising is electronic equipment for our gym, to enhance assemblies and concerts.

The first fundraising project is a meat raffle, complete with a new freezer, thanks to donors Johnston’s Meats and Wagner Appliances, plus sponsors 89.5 The Hawk radio and the Chilliwack Bruins.

All families are encouraged to sell tickets. $3 each or two for $5. If we sell 2,000 tickets, we’ll make a $5,000 profit. Kids can bring a book of tickets home to sell. We’ll also need help selling at Bruins’ games.

We have already ordered a new screen for the gym. May also buy microphones, Ipod docking station, lighting, and a camera, all to enhance assemblies and performances at our school.

Destination Imagination
This has been a very popular activity at our school since in was reintroduced in 2005. We have sent teams to regional, provincial, and global championships. Destination Imagination is a creativity competition in which teams of children take on a creative challenge and compete against teams from other schools. East Chilliwack also offers a lunch time “for fun” DI program in the fall on Mondays. Feel free to drop in and find out what it’s all about. All kids grades 1 to 6 can take part in the activities. Students in grades 3 to 6 can join competitive teams. We need more parent volunteers for DI this year.

Movie night
Our school movie night for the fall will be Wed, Oct 21 (the next two days are non-instructional days so the kids can stay up late on Wed). We will be showing Monsters vs. Aliens in the gym. Bring your blankets, or lawn chairs, wear your jammies (if you like) and get comfy. Free admission. Doors open at 6:15. Pizza by the slice will be sold, and popcorn will be free. Bring your own water.

Next PAC meeting
We are going to continue with Monday evening meetings.
Next meeting: Mon, Oct 19, at 7 pm. Free babysitting in the gym available.