Minutes September 19, 2018

• By JO pac
• Posted in Meetings
• On September 21, 2018
• 1 Comment.

Present:       Sheril Gelmon, Ramandeep Kaurminhas (PAC Co-Chairs), Jo-Ann Gordon, Wendy Sinclair (Co-Secretaries), Lara Spence (Communications/Social Media), Sheri Wiwchar (Co-Fundraising Coordinator), Suzanne Smythe (DPAC Rep), Damian Wilmann (Principal), Shareen S. (Science Teacher, PAC Liaison) and 35 parents

The meeting began at 7:00 pm with approval of the minutes from the May 23, 2018 PAC meeting by Lara Spence, seconded by Wendy Sinclair.

1. Principal’s Report:

Damian Wilmann, Principal – does admin for Gr. 12 students

Doris Sandri, Vice-Principal – new to school – does admin for Gr. 8 and 10 students

Ms. C. Kinnon, Vice-Principal – new to school – does admin for Gr. 9 and 11 students

Teresa Minato – Office Manager

New Teachers – Jason De Couto (Music), Grace Lee (Math), Cameron Phillips (French), Amy King (STEM), Joe Wollenberg (Take A Hike program) and others (please see the WAAG Sept. 14 for complete list).

School Update –

– 1127 enrollment for Sept 2018

– School Plan (4 pillars – Social & Emotional Well-Being; Building Curiosity & Imagination; Accessible Learning; District-wide Aboriginal Goal)

Gr. 8 – LINK Crew with Mr. Edge and Miss Reeve coordinated welcome week. It was a success!

Communication –

– WAGG (week-at-a-glance) – parents weekly

BC’s New Curriculum – implementation of new Gr. 10-12 curriculum has begun.

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/

The BC government mentioned JO’s STEM program (Gr. 9, 10) in a news release, as an example of good implementation of the new curriculum (only 4 schools mentioned out of 153 in the province).

On-Line payment system – 50% parents paid school fees on line; encouraged to use it for all school payments. Check out more information on website – jo-online.vsb.bc.ca

2. PAC Meetings: (Jo-Ann Gordon)

Dates for the 7 PAC meetings are –

Sept. 19, Oct. 24, Nov. 28, Jan. 23, Feb. 27, Apr. 17, May 22 (last meeting)

No meetings in December 2018, March 2019, or June 2019 (social in June TBD)

Lara is arranging for guest speakers for each meeting, on relevant topics to build our knowledge of John Oliver clubs, departments (music, athletics, etc.) and parenting issues/concerns/skills. Please contact her with any ideas you may have (lara@laraspence.com) Meetings are also shown on the school calendar and PAC website.

3. Treasurer’s report: (Tracey Santos)

Balance of the accounts is as follows:

1. PAC Gaming Account – $2,416.16. Gaming Grant funds for 2018/2019 will be released in October ($20/student x 1,112 students = $22,240 based on last year’s enrolment). Gaming Grant funds cover a third of the money needed to run clubs, sports and music in the school. Fundraising by the PAC is needed if we want to help make up the shortfall. There are only certain items Gaming Grant funds can be used for, which is why we also have the Consultative Committee funds.
2. Legacy Account (from JO 100 year anniversary) $4,448.23. It has been used for new lighting in the auditorium and is being saved for when the new school is built. A scholarship comes out of the account.
3. Consultative Committee Account (from fundraising, individual, corporate and group donations) $7,166.98 – used for paying for Teachers’ lunch (May/June), and other requests if we run out of Gaming Account funds, or Gaming funds are not a viable funding source.

Tracey will renew the annual PAC/DPAC membership ($150).

4. PAC positions:

PAC Co-Chairs – Sheril Gelmon and Ramandeep Kaurminhas

Co-Secretaries – Jo-Ann Gordon and Wendy Sinclair

Co-Treasurer – Tracey Santos and _____________________________

Co-Fundraising Coordinators – Jennifer West and Sheri Wiwchar

Co-Communications/Social Media – Lara Spence and _________________________________________

DPAC Rep/Advocacy – Suzanne Smythe and __________________________________________

Email Sheril (sherilgelmon@gmail.com) if you would like to volunteer for any of the positions above.

5. DPAC: (Suzanne Smythe)

DPAC meetings are held once a month at the VSB on Broadway. Any parents who want to bring up issues are welcome to attend. There is at least one parent on each committee. Join Suzanne at the meetings or share information with her you would her to present. These meetings are where important decisions about schools are made.

6. Liaison Teacher: (Sharween Siddeeq)

With the upcoming municipal election (Oct. 20) the teachers union is endorsing a few candidates. Information will be posted on the website once it is known.

Parents are encouraged to come to events happening in the school. Dry Grad needs parent volunteers to ensure it happens for the Gr. 12’s. Parents with children in any grade are welcome. Please contact Sharween if you have time and interest to volunteer (ssiddeeq@vsb.bc.ca).

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 pm with the next PAC meeting to be held Wednesday October 24, 2018 at 7pm in the Library. Clubs and teachers will present requests for funds from the Gaming Grant. Parents will vote afterwards. Depending on the number of presentations, this meeting may go until 9pm.

The meeting was adjourned.

To stay in touch and help learn about/share the happenings at John Oliver, please:

• Read the WAAG (week at a glance) – comes each Friday (from JO office)
• ‘Like’ on Facebook (com/john.oliver.secondary/)
• Follow on Twitter (@jo_school)
• Read PAC blog (this site!)
• Read School website: (jo-online.vsb.bc.ca)
• Follow Mini on Facebook (com/johnoliverminischool)
• If in Mini, join Mini School parents (facebook.com/groups/620874101402791/