Minutes from March 22 meeting

East Chilliwack Elementary 
Parent Advisory Council
Mon, March 22, 2010

Present: Anne Russell, Ruth Neufeld, Jen Hansen, Alyson King, Verna Hoogeveen, Robert LeComte, Nicole Johnston, Bonnie Kind.

APPROVAL of AGENDA

Moved by Jen; seconded by Robert
Approved

APPROVAL of MINUTES from February
Moved by Robert; seconded by Verna
Approved


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

We had an opening balance of $7508 in March
Deposits for March included (rounded numbers) $408 for pizza at movie night, $1378 for hot lunch in February, $356 for the bake walk, $79 from Jim’s (we had been overcharged for pizza), and $1444 for hot lunch for March.

Still to be deducted were hot lunch expenses (awaiting request for reimbursements). Hot lunch consistently brings in around $200 profit, although some (the ones our volunteers make from scratch) are more profitable than others (McDonalds).

We ended up paying the Chilliwack Bruins $1,390 out of the $2,000 they claimed we owed due to a confusion as to whether we had to pay a table fee, and whether we had to pay them for unused tickets.

There will be no gaming grant this year, but we are optimistic for the 2010/11 school year. The treasurer and president will be working on the paperwork for this in May and June.



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


1. Staffing — New educational assistant position — Stacy is on maternity leave — replacement is Melinda Vezina; secretary Sue Epp will be off on a medical leave for a month.

2. School Goal

To develop more powerful thinkers, listeners, speakers, readers, and writers.
• Intermediate teachers continuing to develop their use of formative assessments to inform their teaching.
• After school collab/pro D — continuation of previous work on formative assessment practices, reviewing and revising the school improvement plan, looking for a math assessment that we can use throughout the school.
• Social Responsibility — CAN — Canucks Autism Network — Lessons have been taught throughout the school. We will be doing a walk for Autism Awareness on March 31 from 10:15–11:15 am.
• 

3. School Events
• Olympic and Paralympic activities went well — had guest speakers in for paralympic theme — Brad Hagkull of Chilliwack and his son Ben (who uses a wheelchair) talked about the importance of doing your best, how finishing is winning, and the opportunities that are available to all who try. (see http://teamhagkull.blogspot.com/)

• Spring concert is April 29 — there will be 2 performances — during the day and evening. Need volunteers to help with costumes and props. Chris Pauls will be letting us know what kind of support she needs.

• Mar.30 – Jump Rope for Heart kickoff. April 9 — Jump Rope for Heart event.

• Deb Chand is working with a group of students to prepare them for the district Bookarama – April 21.


4. Report cards — went home week of March 22. Parents at the meeting commented that it would be “nice to see some 4’s” on report cards in areas where students have scored very high marks. It seems a bit of an oxymoron to some parents to have their student coming home with A grades and 3’s (meeting expectations rather than exceeding expectations). Ms Neufeld noted that the numbers aren’t just based on projects students hand in, but also on participation, and oral contribution. She explained that the focus is on learning outcomes — has the student mastered the important components of the material? She noted that the new philosophy is that failure is not an option — the job of educators is to ensure that students don’t fail by working out ways to help students master the curriculum. Learning is now less about memorizing facts and more about learning how to be a lifelong learner.

5. Sports
• Basketball has started — Lynn Eburn is coaching the girls (who are on a winning streak) and Casey Sas and Ms. Neufeld are coaching the boys.
6. District Budget Forums: April 15, April 22. 

7. Power to Parent with Bernard Klop — 8 sessions, Wednesday evenings, starting April 7, 7-9 @ Bernard Elementary. Light refreshments and child minding provided. Bernard is willing to do one session on bullying — giving tools to the victim and addressing the bullies’ behaviour.

Old business

Teacher lunch
The group agreed to do a teacher (and staff) lunch in appreciation for everything that they do for our children all year. People were invited to bring food items to school on Monday, April 12.

Planning for Spaghetti dinner
Building on the success of last year’s dinner, we decided to hold another one, this time on Friday, May 7. Funds raised will go to audio-visual equipment and field trips.

It will include spaghetti, caesar salad, buns, and cookies. There will be games (bring loonies), and a silent raffle, with theme baskets assembled by each class. Help is needed. Call Nicole Johnston at 604-794-5646 or knjohnston5@shaw.ca to volunteer.

Grade 6 memento
We will go ahead with a memento for the Grade Sixes, but it may be a keychain rather than a necklace.

School photos
Are looking at going ahead with a different company this fall.

Skipping
Some of the Vertical Zone ECE skippers travelled to Bainbridge Island in Washington for a skipping event. Lots of fun, jumping, performing, involved.

Events
The group decided on dates for a number of upcoming events. Also listed here are other planned events.


Destination Imagination provincials: Sat, April 17

Spring concert: Thurs, April 29

Spaghetti dinner: Fri, May 7

Sports Day: Fri, June 4

Awards Assembly: Fri, June 25

Waterslides: Mon, June 28

Last day of school: Tues, June 29.

New business

Next PAC meeting
We are going to continue with Monday evening meetings for the time being.
Next meeting: Mon, April 19, at 7 pm. Free babysitting in the gym available. All ECE parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Remaining meetings
Mon, April 19
Mon, May 17
Mon, June 21