January Meeting Minutes

							          Minutes of Panorama Heights Elementary School PAC Meeting
                               January 30, 2012

Chairpeople: Denise Affleck, Amtul Siddiqui
Secretary: Lani Caron

Attendees:

Jacqueline Adams                            Archana Nicholas
Denise Affleck                              Christina Parnomo
Lani Caron                                  Sabrina Scardillo
Bonnie Chung                                Amtul Siddiqui
Malia Heale                                 Georgette van de Bovenkamp
Diane Kim                                   Amy Yang
Claudia Lopez                               Murat Yuruk
Leah McGeachie                              Tracey Yuruk
C Nicharson

Meeting called to order at 7:20 pm.

Intros and Housekeeping
1. Timekeeper designated: Murat
2. Round table introductions
3. Next meeting set for Monday, February 27, 2012, 7:15 pm
4. Minutes from previous meeting: point #25 is inaccurate and should be deleted.
   Motion to approve amended minutes of the PAC meeting held November 28, 2011.
   Moved by Malia, Seconded by Jackie. All in favour. Approved.

Chair Report
5. Motion for Lee Tippetts-Aylmer to share PAC Secretary role with Lani. Moved by
   Georgette. Seconded by Malia. All in favour. Motion approved.

School Report by Mr. Cousineau and Ms. Strang

6. Job action continues. Report cards will likely not be issued, like last term. We
   invigilated and marked exams, which normally we do not. Hoping for resolution in
   March, but while it is impossible to know what will happen, one outcome could be an
   imposed settlement which would mean the teachers would not be happy, and this
   could open up the possibility of a strike. If teachers are mandated back to work, then
   activities will change, for example, they would need to go back to doing supervision.
   We will continue to give the children the best education under the circumstances, and
   try to make things as normal as possible. This year has been a challenge, but we are
   doing okay. Every school is handing it differently; some teachers are behaving like
   nothing is happening while others are quite strict; Panorama is in between.
7. The Aquavan came to Panorama! Thank you PAC for funding this. Every child got
   to see the critters set up in the gym. Each age group experienced it differently. The
   installation seemed smaller than you would expect looking at the van. This is a
   special event that we are likely not to do again for at least three years, due to cost,
   plus there should be more turnover of classes for it to be new. This year was also
   considered extra special as there have not been any field trips.
8. A champion NBA player did a fabulous job coaching; at 6’11” the kids certainly took
   notice of him! Hoops for Hope was held for grade 5s. This was a tournament/
   fundraiser for Crossroads Hospice.
9. Registration for French immersion was opened online for the first time ever on
   January 19 at 9:00 am; the first application was submitted after 15 seconds and within
   three minutes, all 44 spots were full. English registration and grade 1&4 French
   immersion registration starts February 7; doors open at 8 am, and hopefully there
   won’t be any overnight lineups. Advice is to register early if you do not have a
   sibling in the school.

   End of Principal/Vice Principal report

10. Reading Link Challenge was started in US school. There are 6,000 students
    involved in BC. Children commit to reading six books. We were able to find a
    teacher to run this on Thursdays (Mrs Homola), despite job action. Prizes were
    purchased to motivate participants – medal with “Read to Succeed” on it. There are 9
    team members in grade s 4 and 5, of whom only 10 are boys; last year the gender mix
    was 50-50. To participate, class reps can send out a message and distribute
    permission slips. There is a school and school district-wide competition, but teacher
    must decide whether to participate especially if the event is during the evening. A
    pizza party is planned, and the project cost is $321.58.
11. Clubs: An overwhelming number of children showed up at the knitting club, likely as
    it was announced over the PA system; will not do this next time. Parent volunteers
    took names, grade, teacher and knitting level. Possibly older children can teach
    younger children with a phased–in approach, and interest may wane as well. More
    needles will need to be purchased, maybe at Value Village. A $5 deposit is being
    requested for needles; might also provide an incentive to keep coming. Chess club set
    for January 31. Budget required to purchase chess sets; there are regular and learner
    boards. Motion to take $300 from gaming fund for chess purchases from Christina.
    Seconded by Archana. All in favour, Motion passed.
12. Motion to add Purdy’s to agenda from Tracey. Seconded by Malia. Motion passed.
    Leah has offered to take Purdy’s order box, which was delivered to school.
13. Teacher appreciation luncheon only for teachers and staff will be organized at
    beginning of week so there is time to use up leftovers. Proposed for early part of May,
    either the first or second week. Appreciate food donations, and a take away gift will
    be provided.
14. Financial review was done by Lee Tippetts-Aylmer and Sherry Azini – thank you! -
    to determine whether the PAC funds are being fairly managed. The backup was fine
    but some financial statements and a bank reconciliation needed to be prepared. There
    are new procedures in place to ensure things are being done in a transparent way, we
    are following regulations and are being fiscally responsible. We will be ready if there
    is an audit.
15. Gaming account has been drawn on for Aquavan, chess clup, two additional
    performers at $700 each. Motion to approve cheque order by Claudia. Seconded by
    Archana. All in favour. Motion passed. $200 spent on sports equipment and grade 5
    pins (thanks Malia). Motion to approve $200 for treat days by Leah. Seconded by
    Jackie. All in favour. Motion passed. Motion to approve $570 for computer lab
    headphones by Christina. Seconded by Claudia. All in favour. Motion passed.
16. The bullying prevention workshop was enjoyed by 50 people. Some felt it could
    have gone longer because it was engaging, but others found it was long as there was
    no advertised end time. Would like to post the handout on the website and perhaps
    provide a summary of the information. It is helpful to have a common language.
    There is awareness among children regarding bullying, though difficult to
    differentiate from bugging. Parents need to address it with their children. It would be
    easier to address in school yard if the teachers were supervising, as they know the
    children. Plus children might be more likely to approach teachers because they know
    them. Mr. Cousineau wants people to know that if a teacher’s response to any
    incident is not satisfactory, then parents should contact the administrators. PAC co-
    chair welcome ideas for future sessions – possible a workshop on empowerment and
    body image, or sex education. The latter can be done in the evening so parents can
    choose to participate, but if it is school-wide, there needs to be permissions slips; this
    might not be the best year to be doing this. Motion to increase workshop budget to
    $600 by Claudia. Seconded by Christina. All in favour. Motion passed.
17. Walking school bus was skipped last month due to bad weather. Next one is
    February 16, March 8, April 19 and May 17. The two urns purchased work perfectly.
    Four additional carafes have been donated.
18. Popcorn for Treat Day continues to be an issue – we have the largest size without
    getting a movie theatre capacity popper. The problem is needing such a large
    quantity in a short time. Treat days can also be something like frozen yogourt bars.
19. Hot lunch generates $1,500 to $2,000. So far, we have netted $4,000.
20. Traffic issues remain the same; people park, drive and stop where they want; many
    by-law infractions around the school. We have seen students grab the handle of
    moving cars, which is dangerous.
21. Canadian Parents for French are holding tae kwon do activities with siblings
    welcome, as well as ice skating events and parent date nights. All very good deals.

Motion to adjourn meeting. Moved by Tracey, Seconded by Georgette. Approved.
Meeting adjourned at 9:07 pm.