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.