Irvine Elementary Pac

Meeting Minutes

September 23, 2015

Introductions of the PAC executive

PAC Chair Cristin Wilson PAC Co Chair Tara Tait Secretary Sinead Joy and Rachel Loffler Treasurer Denice Greekas Volunteer Spot/Volunteer coordinator Loreen Dall Emergency Prep Jenn Godin Hot Lunch Lisa Ploss Hot Lunch Jenn Godin School Liaison Brenda Hynes KM Club Tonya Pankratz Book Club Camille Gooderham Campbell Treat Days Jenn Godin, Lisa Ploss PAC Bulletin Board Gillian Martens DPAC Rep Jason Lapenskie CPF Rep Not yet filled Movie Night Michelle Tack Social Chair Tracy Harford Recycling Tonya Pankratz Volunteer Draw Tracy Carslake Facebook Lisa Ploss Twitter Brenda Hynes Fruit & Veggie & Milk Ilana Hoegler, Camille Gooderham Campbell SPC Lisa Ploss, Carrie Adams, Lisa Smith Santa's Breakfast Carol Spence Brenda Hynes

In attendance: Sinead Joy, Rachel Loffler, Cristin Wilson, Tara Tait, Jenn Godin, Tonya Pancrantz, Camille Gooderham Campbell, Brenda Hynes, Michelle Tack, Loreen Dall, Denice Greekas, Salima Dhanji, Leanne MacGregor , Trisha Hubbard, Jessica Ng, Colleen Harper, Kara deBoer, Shannon Law, Michelle Wong, Lisa Smith and Laurie Birnie (school principal)

Principal’s report: Mme Laurie Birnie

 Excited to begin in a new community; Irvine parents and families have been very welcoming. The teachers are amazing as well.  Irvine has a very supportive community

 Mme Birnie is keen to incorporate the children’s outside interests to encourage the development of the whole child.

 Focus on the wellness and mental health of children to create a safe and healthy school environment.

 Mme Birnie is a member of the BC school health coalition (integrated representation from health to education)

 Attachment, connectedness and belonging will be in focus this year so to ensure that the school environment is a place where students are happy to come.

 Give them skills to deal with conflict and problem solving. Working with children to develop skills so they are successful and can work together despite their differences.

 Mme Birnie's motto for the year. "Look, listen and learn"

Financial report

The PAC has two accounts :

 The first is a gaming account at RBC: It’s current balance is 33.84$

 This account is purposely kept low because it the account that holds the grant from the government which is allocated to a PAC (each PAC has to apply each year). The grant works out to approximately 20$ per child. This fund has a specific criteria, for instance it can be used to purchase non curricular material. The funds should be allocated in October.

 The second is CIBC account with a balance of $9548.00 as of Aug 31, 2015. This comes from movie nights, the carnival, treat days and hot lunches.

 To submit any receipts there is an allocated box in the office with forms to complete. Please attach the receipt and let Denise know that you have left a receipt. Please give Denice a couple of days to prepare the cheques.

Social update

 Jenn has prepared a list of dates for hot lunch, treat days and dates for movie nights will be prepared shortly by Michelle Tack and her committee. Treat days

The following dates have been organized for treat days.

 Oct 7 popcorn

 Dec 9, Feb 10, Mar 9, Apr 6, Jun 8.

 Treat days are $1. Please make sure the kids bring exact change please. Oct 7th is popcorn but the treats for subsequent dates have still to be determined.

Hot lunches

 Oct 28 Little Ceasars

 Nov 18, Jan 27, Apr 27, May 18

 Sports day June 24 --The PAC traditionally offer a free hot dog combos on this day but parents must register in advance.

Ordering hot lunches

 This year the PAC is planning to have all the hot lunch menus on Munch-a-lunch. The menus for the whole year will be on the site, which will enable parents to order for the whole year, if desired. Orders can be paid for through the Munch-a-lunch site via credit card payment but we can do cheques as well (but the order should be made first through the website). There is no transaction fee for parents as they order, however each time there is an order, the PAC pay a small fee, so it is preferable to order hot lunches in as few transactions as possible in order to save money.

Book club:

 The first book club of the year for grades 4 and 5 will be “I want to go home” by Gordon Korman. There will be two groups with 9 spots in both groups so 18 in total and could run a third if the demand is high. The students will have the opportunity to read the book and then be quizzed on the books in preparation for the school and district event.

Movie nights:

 Michelle Tack is offering to organize the committee for the movie nights. She is looking the people to work with on the planning and running of these events. This normally entails determining the number of movie nights, setting up and determining what is being shown, what is to be sold and running the popcorn machine. Volunteers are sought for the nights through the “Volunteer Spot” website. More information to follow.

 Last year the concession brought in over $400.

Other items for discussion

Head lice (Salima)

 The Greater Vancouver Lice Clinic offer parent education sessions about the treatment of head lice, which include what steps to take in order to eliminate the lice. The cost is $300 for the adult session. This might be an option as a program to run on alternate years to the Seleema Noon’s Sexual Health.

Staff welcome lunch

 On October 2nd, the parents will host a staff welcome lunch. Parents are invited to bring in a potluck style lunch. A Volunteer Spot email via the school liaison will be sent out. On the Volunteer Spot link, there will be a suggested menu from which parents can sign up to bring listed items. Look out for the email. The PAC will purchase a set of bowls and cutlery for the luncheon. Tracy Harford is coordinating.

CPF representative : no volunteer as of yet.

Fund raising:

The PAC is aware of a number of items that will be in need of replacement in the next couple of years.

 The emergency bin has been temporarily repaired and is okay for this year but it will likely need to be replaced next year. The was a short discussion on who to contact to purchase a new/used bin but it was raised that there is someone with the connections with the a company who provides emergency bin so the item was put to the side for the moment.  The purple playground is nearing the end of its life and is need of replacement. Mme Birnie will look into information regarding the playgrounds life span and when it needs to be replaced. Also the pea gravel is possibly out of date. Fundraising for a new playground will be a longer term project and the discussion on how to raise the funds will be determined at a later date.

Current means of fundraising:

 The Family Donation Program : optional program to fund raise without the need to run regular events. A letter is normally sent home with information on how to donate and lists a number of ways in which the money is used to benefit the school.

 Last year we raised approximately $4000.

 The carnival and other events also bring in extra capital.

New means of fund raising for a new playground were discussed:

 Perhaps we need to look into applying for grants. Port Coquitlam has grants available that we can apply for as well as the Vancouver Foundation.

 Kinder Morgan also offers opportunities but it requires their name on the play equipment. Other large corporations also do similar grants.

 The PAC would then be looking for a volunteer to help coordinate the grant applications.

Teacher funds:

 Each year the PAC provides funds to the teachers. This year the PAC agreed to fund

o $100 per division for incentive programs,

o $100 for French and English student support services

Green report: Tonya Pancrantz

 This year 18 divisions plus the staff room are participating in the recycling program. Soft plastic and other materials are all sorted and recycled.  The PAC supports the recycling program (pay fees of approximately $14 per year).

Kilometer club:

 We’re going back to the 10 days in the fall and 10 in the spring. Over the course of the schedule last spring, over 40 parents volunteered. A meeting will be set to organize and make posters etc. for the Km club via Volunteer Spot.

 A letter/email will sent out next Monday (Sept 28th) with details on how to register for KM club. The permission forms will need to be back by October 2nd, with a start date of the 5th. It will run for ten days (weather dependent) with one extra day buffer (where we then take the best 10 days).

 The 3h15 bell will no longer signal the end of the run, so an air horn will signal the end of the run.

 Km Club meeting will be Oct 4th, Tonya to confirm location and time.

Sports bags:

 The playground equipment bags need to be upgraded for each class. To replenish the used equipment for the 19 divisions it would be a cost of about $420. Items needed: footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, and racquets.

 The PAC agreed to go ahead with the purchase of new equipment for all classes.

 Tether balls: 6 that work and waiting to be put up.

 Issue raised around accountability --when the sports bags are replenished, can individual divisions organize something to ensure the equipment is brought back in every day.

School Supplies:

 A discussion was raised about the Emergency kits listed for purchase from the Creative Children order packs; these are not required and are not stored at school. Could these be removed from the lists as new parents purchase them only to find out later they are not kept at school? The school has water and granola bars instead. Granola bars will be collected in October.

 Emergency forms are now online.

New business:

Beyond the bell –

 Mme Birnie met with the coordinator from Parks and Rec and there will not be a program in the fall but they will have one in the spring. The PAC does not manage the program. Mme Birnie will be meeting again to discuss the programs to be offered.

 A discussion was held on the option of transporting students to Hyde Creek for their after school programs, however the question was raised about who would do this and how this would work.

Meet the teacher night:

 The teachers have opted to do welcoming conversations in all grades. This is a general discussion with the teacher and a chance to get to know each other.

 The student is welcome to attend but this would be a family decision. In the fall, parents normally get a check list as an informal report.

Staffing:

 Confirmed that Mr. Srdjan Djekanovic (D is silent) is our new resource / skill development Ms. Gordon until further notice.

Communication:

 There are now liaisons for all classes.

 Brenda has been tweeting regular updates on events and news.

 School Pro-d – September 25th ,2015

Next meeting is October 21, 2015