East Chilliwack Elementary
Parent Advisory Council
Mon, Sept 20, 2010
Present: Nicole Johnston, Tyla Elgersma, Jen Hansen, Amy Herfst, Terri Krug, Sarah Burke, Natalie Sache, Jayne Dekany, Donna Stiles, Erik Van Laar, Caroline Laanstra, Alyson King, Bonnie Kind, Anne Russell, Tia Le Texier.
APPROVAL of AGENDA
Moved by Natalie; seconded by Donna
Approved
APPROVAL of MINUTES from June 2010
As these haven’t been written yet, this was deferred
Deferred
TREASURER’S REPORT
(See Bonnie Kind’s report for full details.)
• We are starting the year with approximately $8,500 in our main account, and 41 cents in our gaming account (all gaming funds must be spent each year by law).
• We made a profit of $372 from the Meet and Greet barbecue. Fed 256 people. Have some leftovers that have been kept frozen for future hot lunch.
• So far this year, have spent money on Meet and Greet supplies (thanks to Natalie for doing the humungous shop), and chocolate bar treats for the Teapot Hill hike.
HOT LUNCH REPORT
(Sarah Burke)
• A planning meeting was held and the following decisions made:
• Will rotate three types of hot lunches: home-made meal once a month (thanks to volunteer cooks), hot dogs, and pizza by the slice.
• No more McDonald’s except once a year in order to provide healthier fare, reduce garbage, and make distribution simpler.
• We need at least seven people to help count at 8:07 am on the first Wednesday of every month. Just show up!
• Hot lunch forms are due by 8:07 am on first Wednesday of the month.
NO LATE ORDERS ACCEPTED.
Could also use more help with distributing lunches on Fridays.
Contact Sarah Burke: 604-794-5520 or ssburke@shaw.ca
FUNDRAISING REPORT
(Nicole reported for Lorraine Brown)
• We will be having a meat raffle once again. Currently sourcing a freezer as can’t get donation from Wagner this year. May have to buy one at cost from The Brick.
• Johnston’s is once again donating some meat, and we’re buying some at cost from them. Also looking into other donors. Scott’s was suggested as some ECE families have a connection to them.
• Made $3,700 profit from this last year.
Motion to spend $350 on prize supplies for raffle.
Moved by Donna. Seconded by Natalie. Approved.
• Have decided against selling Bruins tickets as a fundraiser. Hard to sell.
• Will do poinsettia sales at Christmas and get the forms out earlier this year.
• May do a partnership with Pine Meadows where we get a payout for every tree they sell to a family that mentions our school.
• Are planning a BIG EVENT for spring to raise some major funds for playground expansion. Hoedown? Spaghetti dinner? Bit of both? Ideas?
PRINCIPAL’ S REPORT
(See Mrs. Ruth Neufeld’s report for full details.)
Start up went smoothly and classes were settled by Thursday, but then Mrs. Neufeld found out on Friday afternoon that we will get one more morning kindergarten (an addition of a half-time teacher). This means the portable classroom must be used. Chris Pauls has volunteered to take her Grade 3 class there. There may be some other shifting around of classrooms (i.e., a whole class moving to a new room).
We have several split classes this year for the first time in recent memory (have had one or two, but now have three). Haven’t had intermediate splits recently, but now we do.
Population of the school has grown from 170 to 235 in the four years Mrs. Neufeld has been here. Most growth is in the primary grades so there are many young children at the school and proportionately fewer older children: a challenge for “buddies” and other mentor activities.
Because of the decision to add eight minutes to the school day and add a week to spring break as a budget-saving exercise, school now starts at 8:02 am and goes to 2 pm.
The Teapot hike went well, but may consider something more inclusive this year, that our wheelchair-bound students can do too.
Smart learning
We are into our fourth year of implementing a ‘smart-learning’ approach that emphasizes learning by doing. Our kids are doing well across the board in district and provincial assessments. This ties in well with initiatives being introduced by the provincial ministry of education. Check out ‘21st Century Learning’ on ministry website.
Running program is now twice a week at days of each teacher’s choosing. (Some parents requested warning on which days it will be so kids can wear appropriate shoes, but Mrs. Neufeld noted it is often weather determined.)
There will be a Terry Fox run on Thurs, Sept 30. Intermediates will run on road, primaries around the track.
Soccer has started. Mr. Letkeman coaching boys; Verna Hoogeveen coaching girls, with Ms. Solheim as sponsor teacher.
NEW BUSINESS
(Nicole and others)
Playground
Our new playground equipment is nice, but rapidly becoming insufficient with so many younger children joining our school. This will be exacerbated next year with full-day kindergarten coming on.
We will need more playground equipment which means we may need to swing into higher gear for fundraising for next couple of years, and also sock away some of our current nest egg for future playground use.
Motion: to put $5,000 of our $8,000 into a savings account earmarked for future playground expansion.
Moved by Anne, seconded by Alyson
Destination Imagination
East Chilliwack has enjoyed huge success with this creativity competition activity over the past five years, both in a competitive sense in that we have done very well at the provincials and sent teams to the globals on three occasions, and in an enriching sense, in that it has provided a stimulating extracurricular activity to many ECE children.
Destination Imagination has been a very parent-driven activity at ECE: parents run noon-hour workshops to teach the kids the concepts, and then coach individual teams (which generally means provide a safe place for them to work in groups and let their imaginations run wild).
BUT WE NEED NEW BLOOD! Several of the key families are moving on to middle school and we need parents of younger children to get involved as leaders.
We will be providing info about DI at the family movie night on October 8.
Family Movie Night
• An East Chilliwack tradition!
• Thurs, Oct 7
• Doors at 5. Pizza available (pre-order). Show at 6:15 pm.
• Note: we had planned on How to Tame Your Dragon but it is not released on DVD until Oct 15, so we will provide an alternate title (Marmaduke)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
ECE PAC -- Mon, April 19, 2010
East Chilliwack Elementary
Parent Advisory Council
Mon, April 19, 2010
Present: Anne Russell, Ruth Neufeld, Cheryl Hagen, Sandi Williams, Sarah Burke, Celia Stolee, Corina Barchard, Tia LeTexier, Alyson King, Tara Field,
APPROVAL of AGENDA
Moved by Tia; seconded by Anne
Approved
APPROVAL of MINUTES from March
Bonnie noted the need to change the report on the profits made by hot lunch slightly. Hot meals prepared from scratch by volunteers net us $150-180 (hot dogs, wraps, macaroni etc). McDonalds nets us $30-$40, and pizza brings in around $50.
Moved by Alyson; seconded by Sandy
Approved
TREASURER’S REPORT
(See Bonnie Kind’s report for full details.)
We started March with a balance of $7,500 in the general account, and ended with $8,277.
We plan to spend $1,000 on tents for shelter for sports day/waterslide day, etc; $1,200 on the sound system; $125 on Grade 6 keychains; $325 on photocopying; $300 on pizza for sports day volunteers; $400 on food for waterslides; $110 for teachers’ year-end presents, and $161 to supplement field trips (the bulk of funding for field trips comes from the gaming account. Will also be paying some parents for out-of-pocket expenses for hot lunch days.
We started March with a balance of 3,738 in the gaming account and ended with the same amount.
We plan on spending $400 on field trips; $1,200 on lights, and $2,300 on field trips.
The meat raffle in the fall made $3,620 in profit, which went to a new screen, microphones, and lights (still to be bought).
The movie night in February made $408 from pizza sales.
We are considering being strategic about our buying of bulk items such as juice next year. There are times when spending $250 at Superstore will net you a $25 gift card, and we may try to bundle our shops to take advantage of this.
To improve hot lunch reporting, we may create a form for the organizer to input what was spent on each occasion, to save us waiting for receipts and not knowing how much they will be for in advance.
PRINCIPAL’ S REPORT
(See Mrs. Ruth Neufeld’s report for full details.)
1. Staffing – There have been many reductions and administrative position jugglings in the district. We have retained the one principal model at our school, unlike some other small schools where admin duties are being shared among one or more schools. We have had a reduction in our non-enrolling positions from 1.26 to .9, which will have some effect. Nobody at ECE has lost his or her job due to these cuts. We are fortunate in that we expect to keep growing because of the subdivisions near by, which is good for keeping the school well funded and well staffed.
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.
• Social Responsibility—Canucks Autism Network – lessons continue to be taught by Dar Chand; walk went well – raised about $40. The program teaches that everyone is on a spectrum and that everyone deserves respect.
• Run for Water – May 12 – same route as last year. Grade Sixes did assembly to inform other students about the issue of water for Ethiopia. Intermediates will run to Gibson and Upper Prairie again. (One parent commented that we need to ensure the police officer stays for the whole run to quell traffic this time.)
3. School Events
• Jump Rope for Heart – raised $2,000
• Spring concert April 29; 9 am and 6 pm. Both full performances.
• Deb Chand is working with a group of students to prepare them for Bookmania.
4. Sports
• Basketball tournaments are April 27 (boys) and April 28 (girls). Both teams have done very well. Cross country is on May 19 at Cultus Lake.
5. District Budget Forums: Thurs, May 6: 3:30 to 5 pm
6. Bullying session. Bernard Klop (counsellor) is willing to do one session on bullying, focusing on giving tools to the victim and addressing the bully’s behaviour. Could be in June or Sept. There would be a small fee for families to pay.
Old business
Key chains vs. dog tags.
We will proceed with key chains for the Grade Sixes. This is a change from the dog tags of previous years.
Class photos
Are rebooked for May 5. The photographer had doublebooked for April 5.
New business
DI to Tennessee
As usual, our Destination Imagination (creativity competition) teams did very well at the provincials. Two teams placed first in their category, and one of the teams, consisting of five Grade 4 and 3 boys, wishes to go the global championships in Knoxville, Tennessee, in May. East Chwk teams also went to Knoxville in 2007 and 2008. To reach their goal, the boys and their families will be fundraising fervently for the next few weeks. As in the previous years, this year’s team requested some support from the PAC in the form of $100 per child for a total of $500.
Discussion about whether to provide the funding reflected two opinions: one that we should be celebrating excellence when children at our school do well at the provincial level, and that with ten percent of the school’s students participating in DI (and a higher percentage than that if only Grade 3’s and up are counted), most families connected with the school have a chance of having a child getting this opportunity at some point. The other opinion noted that like DI, the skipping team is a parent-run activity associated with the school, and yet families were all paying their own costs to go to skipping meets in Washington and provincials in Victoria, receiving no financial support from the PAC (and families paid their own way to DI meets in Vancouver).
The group voted to provide $500 to the DI team (with one abstention), and discussed the idea of creating a general “excellence” fund to support any ECE students who make it past the provincial level in an ECE-associated activity.
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.
Jen Hansen will be handling ticket sales at the door. Alyson King and Verna Hoogeveen are handling games. Tia LeTexier is arranging baskets. Please send items to school for your child’s class basket (see list your child brought home). Bonnie Kind and Cheryl Hagen will be shopping and cooking all day. Anne Russell and others will help with last-minute preparations. Nicole Johnston is coordinating.
Everyone welcome. Get your tickets now!
New business
Events
Spring concert: Thurs, April 29
Class photos (rebooked): Wed, May 5
Spaghetti dinner: Fri, May 7
Sports Day: Fri, June 4
Awards Assembly: Fri, June 25
Waterslides: Mon, June 28
Next PAC meeting
We are going to continue with Monday evening meetings for the time being.
Next meeting: Mon, May 17, at 7 pm. Free babysitting in the gym available. All ECE parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Remaining meetings
Mon, May 17
Mon, June 21
Parent Advisory Council
Mon, April 19, 2010
Present: Anne Russell, Ruth Neufeld, Cheryl Hagen, Sandi Williams, Sarah Burke, Celia Stolee, Corina Barchard, Tia LeTexier, Alyson King, Tara Field,
APPROVAL of AGENDA
Moved by Tia; seconded by Anne
Approved
APPROVAL of MINUTES from March
Bonnie noted the need to change the report on the profits made by hot lunch slightly. Hot meals prepared from scratch by volunteers net us $150-180 (hot dogs, wraps, macaroni etc). McDonalds nets us $30-$40, and pizza brings in around $50.
Moved by Alyson; seconded by Sandy
Approved
TREASURER’S REPORT
(See Bonnie Kind’s report for full details.)
We started March with a balance of $7,500 in the general account, and ended with $8,277.
We plan to spend $1,000 on tents for shelter for sports day/waterslide day, etc; $1,200 on the sound system; $125 on Grade 6 keychains; $325 on photocopying; $300 on pizza for sports day volunteers; $400 on food for waterslides; $110 for teachers’ year-end presents, and $161 to supplement field trips (the bulk of funding for field trips comes from the gaming account. Will also be paying some parents for out-of-pocket expenses for hot lunch days.
We started March with a balance of 3,738 in the gaming account and ended with the same amount.
We plan on spending $400 on field trips; $1,200 on lights, and $2,300 on field trips.
The meat raffle in the fall made $3,620 in profit, which went to a new screen, microphones, and lights (still to be bought).
The movie night in February made $408 from pizza sales.
We are considering being strategic about our buying of bulk items such as juice next year. There are times when spending $250 at Superstore will net you a $25 gift card, and we may try to bundle our shops to take advantage of this.
To improve hot lunch reporting, we may create a form for the organizer to input what was spent on each occasion, to save us waiting for receipts and not knowing how much they will be for in advance.
PRINCIPAL’ S REPORT
(See Mrs. Ruth Neufeld’s report for full details.)
1. Staffing – There have been many reductions and administrative position jugglings in the district. We have retained the one principal model at our school, unlike some other small schools where admin duties are being shared among one or more schools. We have had a reduction in our non-enrolling positions from 1.26 to .9, which will have some effect. Nobody at ECE has lost his or her job due to these cuts. We are fortunate in that we expect to keep growing because of the subdivisions near by, which is good for keeping the school well funded and well staffed.
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.
• Social Responsibility—Canucks Autism Network – lessons continue to be taught by Dar Chand; walk went well – raised about $40. The program teaches that everyone is on a spectrum and that everyone deserves respect.
• Run for Water – May 12 – same route as last year. Grade Sixes did assembly to inform other students about the issue of water for Ethiopia. Intermediates will run to Gibson and Upper Prairie again. (One parent commented that we need to ensure the police officer stays for the whole run to quell traffic this time.)
3. School Events
• Jump Rope for Heart – raised $2,000
• Spring concert April 29; 9 am and 6 pm. Both full performances.
• Deb Chand is working with a group of students to prepare them for Bookmania.
4. Sports
• Basketball tournaments are April 27 (boys) and April 28 (girls). Both teams have done very well. Cross country is on May 19 at Cultus Lake.
5. District Budget Forums: Thurs, May 6: 3:30 to 5 pm
6. Bullying session. Bernard Klop (counsellor) is willing to do one session on bullying, focusing on giving tools to the victim and addressing the bully’s behaviour. Could be in June or Sept. There would be a small fee for families to pay.
Old business
Key chains vs. dog tags.
We will proceed with key chains for the Grade Sixes. This is a change from the dog tags of previous years.
Class photos
Are rebooked for May 5. The photographer had doublebooked for April 5.
New business
DI to Tennessee
As usual, our Destination Imagination (creativity competition) teams did very well at the provincials. Two teams placed first in their category, and one of the teams, consisting of five Grade 4 and 3 boys, wishes to go the global championships in Knoxville, Tennessee, in May. East Chwk teams also went to Knoxville in 2007 and 2008. To reach their goal, the boys and their families will be fundraising fervently for the next few weeks. As in the previous years, this year’s team requested some support from the PAC in the form of $100 per child for a total of $500.
Discussion about whether to provide the funding reflected two opinions: one that we should be celebrating excellence when children at our school do well at the provincial level, and that with ten percent of the school’s students participating in DI (and a higher percentage than that if only Grade 3’s and up are counted), most families connected with the school have a chance of having a child getting this opportunity at some point. The other opinion noted that like DI, the skipping team is a parent-run activity associated with the school, and yet families were all paying their own costs to go to skipping meets in Washington and provincials in Victoria, receiving no financial support from the PAC (and families paid their own way to DI meets in Vancouver).
The group voted to provide $500 to the DI team (with one abstention), and discussed the idea of creating a general “excellence” fund to support any ECE students who make it past the provincial level in an ECE-associated activity.
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.
Jen Hansen will be handling ticket sales at the door. Alyson King and Verna Hoogeveen are handling games. Tia LeTexier is arranging baskets. Please send items to school for your child’s class basket (see list your child brought home). Bonnie Kind and Cheryl Hagen will be shopping and cooking all day. Anne Russell and others will help with last-minute preparations. Nicole Johnston is coordinating.
Everyone welcome. Get your tickets now!
New business
Events
Spring concert: Thurs, April 29
Class photos (rebooked): Wed, May 5
Spaghetti dinner: Fri, May 7
Sports Day: Fri, June 4
Awards Assembly: Fri, June 25
Waterslides: Mon, June 28
Next PAC meeting
We are going to continue with Monday evening meetings for the time being.
Next meeting: Mon, May 17, at 7 pm. Free babysitting in the gym available. All ECE parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Remaining meetings
Mon, May 17
Mon, June 21
Sunday, April 18, 2010
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
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
Monday, December 14, 2009
ECE PAC Nov 16 2009 minutes
East Chilliwack Elementary
Parent Advisory Council
Monday, November 16, 2009
Present: Nicole Johnston, Bonnie Kind, Tia LeTexier, Ruth Neufeld, Jen Hansen,
Robert LeComte, Cheryl Hagen, Tara Field, Natalie Sache.
Approval of Agenda:
Moved by Tara; seconded by Jen. Approved.
Approval of minutes from October:
Moved by Nicole; seconded by Bonnie. Approved.
Treasurer’s Report
(See Bonnie Kind’s report for full details)
ÿ We have not yet received a gaming grant. Deposits were made from hot lunch, movie night, float, hockey game raffle tickets, meat raffle tickets.
ÿ A withdrawal of $2000 went to the Bruins to purchase hockey tickets for sale.
ÿ We made a considerable profit from the meat raffle ($3260) and a ECE family was the winner.
ÿ The Hockey game profit was approx. $1156. There were no hot lunch numbers available at today’s date.
ÿ We ended October with a balance of $6661.61 in the general account and $33.22 in the gaming account.
Principal’s Report
(see Ruth Neufeld’s report for full details)
ÿ We have hired Leighanna Potts, Stacey Christianson and Barb Litzenberger and Leanne Fetterly is back from a leave.
ÿ Teachers have completed two smart learning sessions out of six. They reviewed marking using the 1,2,3,4 system in hopes that it will be more consistent between the teachers.
ÿ Students are working on kindness until Christmas, one example is they are encouraged to greet fellow students, etc, as they pass in the hall.
ÿ Mr. Chand is our CAN (Canucks Autism Network) ambassador. Students will do activities to show how diverse we are and also those to heighten their sensitivity.
ÿ I CAN statements are being implemented by the intermediate classes.
ÿ First steps in Math were reviewed by Mrs. Pauls at the last meeting.
ÿ Volleyball games begin November 25.
ÿ Our school has had NO confirmed cases of H1N1 and the absentee rate is quite minimal.
Page Two
ÿ ECE was not chosen to have full day Kindergarten for next year because we are at capacity. We would need a portable or to use the daycare space. The daycare is nice for our community and we do not want to see it go.
Old Business
ÿ The emergency kits are all in and put away.
ÿ Movie night was very well attended. The pizza clean up wasn’t too much trouble but there was not enough popcorn for everyone. We will plan for another one next year.
ÿ Destination Imagination – consistently has a good turnout of 40-50 kids on Mondays at lunchtime. Teams will be put together soon but with this comes a lot of expenses. Each team will need to purchase the package required and register for BC provincials at $100 ea. The district (Bob Patterson) has some funds for this and they are waiting to hear. The leaders have requested $500 from the P.A.C. Cheryl made a motion, Robert seconded it. All members were in favor of donating $500 to this great program. Approved.
New Business
ÿ There will be no Christmas concert this year in lieu of a much larger Spring concert.
ÿ The skipping team won the creative portion of their recent competition (Tara noted that most of these students are in the D.I. program).
ÿ Nicole made a motion to have a Teacher’s lunch to show parent appreciation. Monday, December 14. A notice will go out to all parents asking for contributions of casseroles, salads, and other goodies. Hopefully they will have enough leftovers for the week!
ÿ Hot lunch orders will no longer be accepted if they are late. Sarah will call parents who send them past the date noted for counting.
ÿ The head lice check was done last week and none were found.
ÿ The Grade six class had their shots given last week.
ÿ Sarah Burke Photography fundraiser will be held on Nov.20 and 21st. There will be a $15 sitting fee for the family. $10 will go to the P.A.C. and $5 for the 8x10 supplies.
ÿ Speaking of photography…some were not overly impressed with Mountain West, who did the student photos, and we will look into other options for next year. Sarah will consider whether this is something she could take on.
Page Three
ÿ Mrs. Neufeld is organizing caroling for Thursday, December 17 at 9am-ish. The music class will play their recorders. The P.A.C. would like to incorporate this with the pancake breakfast fundraiser for the skipping club. Santa could also come this morning as well. Mr. Burke suggested Santa arrive via Firetruck.
He will look into this and ask Mr.Yaxley (of pumpkin patch fame) if he might
consider being our Santa this year as Mr. Roos is no longer at our school. The
P.A.C. agreed to have Santa hand out oranges and mini candy canes to the kids.
ÿ Tara questioned all the changes to the fundraising that occurred rather suddenly. The Bruins approached us because they had a cancellation and there was not much time to get it organized. We are not sure if we will do that again as it was a lot of work, we were also upset that there was a $250 table fee that we were not told of prior to the date. Thank you to Lorraine for all your hard work.
The Chocolate letters and Neufeld Farms fundraising was cancelled after the
board office called Mrs. Neufeld. These are not on the list of approved
Peanut-Free companies and we are a strictly peanut-free school.
ÿ After Christmas we want to have a break from fundraising. The Grade 6’s will be doing their run for water soon.
ÿ Sarah noted that the Xmas store newsletter went out with a date change not approved by her. She is unavailable then and will be changing it back to November 16 and 17th. A new newsletter will be sent out ASAP, also amending the fact that we are looking for gifts suitable for an adult only. Mrs. Neufeld believed that the Grade 6’s wanted it earlier to keep the last week less busy. These donations will be stored in the office and Sue has space cleared. We will have it set up in the Hawk’s nest and keep covered with tablecloths when the store is not open. Cheryl suggested having a wrapping station so the kids could wrap their own as this really slowed things down last year. The primaries will require some help.
ÿ The poinsettia date needs to be amended to Friday, November 27.
Next P.A.C. meeting: Monday, December 14, 2009 at 7pm.
Parent Advisory Council
Monday, November 16, 2009
Present: Nicole Johnston, Bonnie Kind, Tia LeTexier, Ruth Neufeld, Jen Hansen,
Robert LeComte, Cheryl Hagen, Tara Field, Natalie Sache.
Approval of Agenda:
Moved by Tara; seconded by Jen. Approved.
Approval of minutes from October:
Moved by Nicole; seconded by Bonnie. Approved.
Treasurer’s Report
(See Bonnie Kind’s report for full details)
ÿ We have not yet received a gaming grant. Deposits were made from hot lunch, movie night, float, hockey game raffle tickets, meat raffle tickets.
ÿ A withdrawal of $2000 went to the Bruins to purchase hockey tickets for sale.
ÿ We made a considerable profit from the meat raffle ($3260) and a ECE family was the winner.
ÿ The Hockey game profit was approx. $1156. There were no hot lunch numbers available at today’s date.
ÿ We ended October with a balance of $6661.61 in the general account and $33.22 in the gaming account.
Principal’s Report
(see Ruth Neufeld’s report for full details)
ÿ We have hired Leighanna Potts, Stacey Christianson and Barb Litzenberger and Leanne Fetterly is back from a leave.
ÿ Teachers have completed two smart learning sessions out of six. They reviewed marking using the 1,2,3,4 system in hopes that it will be more consistent between the teachers.
ÿ Students are working on kindness until Christmas, one example is they are encouraged to greet fellow students, etc, as they pass in the hall.
ÿ Mr. Chand is our CAN (Canucks Autism Network) ambassador. Students will do activities to show how diverse we are and also those to heighten their sensitivity.
ÿ I CAN statements are being implemented by the intermediate classes.
ÿ First steps in Math were reviewed by Mrs. Pauls at the last meeting.
ÿ Volleyball games begin November 25.
ÿ Our school has had NO confirmed cases of H1N1 and the absentee rate is quite minimal.
Page Two
ÿ ECE was not chosen to have full day Kindergarten for next year because we are at capacity. We would need a portable or to use the daycare space. The daycare is nice for our community and we do not want to see it go.
Old Business
ÿ The emergency kits are all in and put away.
ÿ Movie night was very well attended. The pizza clean up wasn’t too much trouble but there was not enough popcorn for everyone. We will plan for another one next year.
ÿ Destination Imagination – consistently has a good turnout of 40-50 kids on Mondays at lunchtime. Teams will be put together soon but with this comes a lot of expenses. Each team will need to purchase the package required and register for BC provincials at $100 ea. The district (Bob Patterson) has some funds for this and they are waiting to hear. The leaders have requested $500 from the P.A.C. Cheryl made a motion, Robert seconded it. All members were in favor of donating $500 to this great program. Approved.
New Business
ÿ There will be no Christmas concert this year in lieu of a much larger Spring concert.
ÿ The skipping team won the creative portion of their recent competition (Tara noted that most of these students are in the D.I. program).
ÿ Nicole made a motion to have a Teacher’s lunch to show parent appreciation. Monday, December 14. A notice will go out to all parents asking for contributions of casseroles, salads, and other goodies. Hopefully they will have enough leftovers for the week!
ÿ Hot lunch orders will no longer be accepted if they are late. Sarah will call parents who send them past the date noted for counting.
ÿ The head lice check was done last week and none were found.
ÿ The Grade six class had their shots given last week.
ÿ Sarah Burke Photography fundraiser will be held on Nov.20 and 21st. There will be a $15 sitting fee for the family. $10 will go to the P.A.C. and $5 for the 8x10 supplies.
ÿ Speaking of photography…some were not overly impressed with Mountain West, who did the student photos, and we will look into other options for next year. Sarah will consider whether this is something she could take on.
Page Three
ÿ Mrs. Neufeld is organizing caroling for Thursday, December 17 at 9am-ish. The music class will play their recorders. The P.A.C. would like to incorporate this with the pancake breakfast fundraiser for the skipping club. Santa could also come this morning as well. Mr. Burke suggested Santa arrive via Firetruck.
He will look into this and ask Mr.Yaxley (of pumpkin patch fame) if he might
consider being our Santa this year as Mr. Roos is no longer at our school. The
P.A.C. agreed to have Santa hand out oranges and mini candy canes to the kids.
ÿ Tara questioned all the changes to the fundraising that occurred rather suddenly. The Bruins approached us because they had a cancellation and there was not much time to get it organized. We are not sure if we will do that again as it was a lot of work, we were also upset that there was a $250 table fee that we were not told of prior to the date. Thank you to Lorraine for all your hard work.
The Chocolate letters and Neufeld Farms fundraising was cancelled after the
board office called Mrs. Neufeld. These are not on the list of approved
Peanut-Free companies and we are a strictly peanut-free school.
ÿ After Christmas we want to have a break from fundraising. The Grade 6’s will be doing their run for water soon.
ÿ Sarah noted that the Xmas store newsletter went out with a date change not approved by her. She is unavailable then and will be changing it back to November 16 and 17th. A new newsletter will be sent out ASAP, also amending the fact that we are looking for gifts suitable for an adult only. Mrs. Neufeld believed that the Grade 6’s wanted it earlier to keep the last week less busy. These donations will be stored in the office and Sue has space cleared. We will have it set up in the Hawk’s nest and keep covered with tablecloths when the store is not open. Cheryl suggested having a wrapping station so the kids could wrap their own as this really slowed things down last year. The primaries will require some help.
ÿ The poinsettia date needs to be amended to Friday, November 27.
Next P.A.C. meeting: Monday, December 14, 2009 at 7pm.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
East Chilliwack Elementary PAC meeting minutes -- Sept 21, 2009
East Chilliwack Elementary
Parent Advisory Council
Mon, Sept 21, 2009
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.
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