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
Sunday, April 18, 2010
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.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Aug 27 informal fundraising planning meeting
M i n u t e s
ECE PAC — informal fundraising planning meeting
Wed, Aug 27, 2008
Wildcat Grill
Present: Lorraine Brown, Tara Field, Cheryl Hagen, Bonnie Kind, Verna Hoogeveen, Anne Russell
The meeting was called by PAC president Cheryl Hagen as there is a major fundraising event (ECE golf tournament at Bridal Falls golf course) on Sat, Sept 27.
Tickets for the tourney will be $50, bringing us approximately $10 profit per ticket. We will be selling a maximum of 75 tickets. Golfing starts at 2:30, with dinner at approx. 5:30 pm. There will be door prizes and a silent acution.
Cheryl reported that she had met with principal Ruth Neufeld that day and while Mrs. Neufeld supports the idea of a golf tournament, she does not want us to solicit any of the same sponsors who supported the hoedown in June, as she is concerned about donor fatigue. For the same reasons, she wants us to hold no more than one major fundraising event per school year. Thus, if there is a golf tourney in Sept, no hoedown next June.
Fundraising coordinator Lorraine Brown has been busy lining up sponsors and prize/auction item donors, and gave an update.
There will be opportunities for hole sponsorship at $100 per hole. Sponsors are encouraged to provide their own sign; ones generated by us will be basic laminated signs. Several sponsors have been found already. There can be more than one sponsor per hole.
We will be raffling a one-year membership at Bridal Falls golf course. Tix $2 or 3 for $5. We have Cottonwood Mall booked for several days to sell tickets, and need parent volunteers to staff the booth for two-hour shifts.
There will be a prize for closest to the pin on one hole.
Star FM is providing us with extensive on-air free advertising. Lorraine will also be making an appearance on the morning show to promote the event. Hole sponsors’ names will be featured on the Star FM spots and on their website.
We will be seeking musical entertainment from some East Chilliwack alumni.
All ECE parents are encouraged to help by:
Soliciting sponsors, prizes, and silent auction items (a solicitation letter is available from Lorraine).
Taking a shift or two staffing the booth at Cottonwood Mall
Attending the tourney as a paying player and encouraging friends/family to sign up
Volunteering to help at the tourney.
Call Lorraine Brown at ________________________ or lorrbrown@gmail.com to volunteer, and to find out who has been solicited already.
Actions:
Cheryl to keep Mrs. Neufeld informed of our plans
Tara to handle getting raffle tickets printed (using SD 33 printshop)
Anne to solicit ECE alumni musicians
Lorraine to coordinate sponsor/prize solicitations and to continue to liaise with Star FM
Other news:
Welcome Back meet and greet on Thurs, Sept 11. Hot dog/burger dinner. Volunteers welcome. Contact Sarah Burke at ____________________
Schoolwide (except kindergarten) hike up Teapot Hill on Tues, Sept 9.
Volunteers welcome. Contact ____________ at ____________________
Fundraising possibilities for 2008/09: Epicurean party, student-designed Christmas cards, scrapbook evening.
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