JO PAC Minutes of the Meeting – September 23rd 2021
JO PAC Meeting
Date: Sept 23rd, 2021
Location: Zoom
Attendance: Shannon Kaplun – PAC Chair, Darnelle Moore – Secretary, Samantha Anderson – DPAC Rep, Lara Spence – Communications, Sue Bains – Treasurer, Corina Tataru – Communications, Linh Shukla – Fundraising, Nancy Palejko – Teacher Rep, Brent Schieman – JO Principal, Gurpaul Sohal – JO Vice Principal
- 37 others
____________________________________________________________________________
Meeting called to order – Shannon
Motion to accept minutes from April 2020 PAC Meeting/2nd – Tracy/ Corina
Motion to adopt the agenda for tonight’s meeting/2nd – Tracy/Corina
____________________________________________________________________________
Message from PAC Chair Shannon Kaplun
- This is her first year as PAC Chair
- Read thank you letters from 2021 Grade 12 Scholarship Recipients
- Read thank you letter from the library
- Talked about a special science and math program that is available – The Knowledge Society, https://tks.world (applications closed for the upcoming period, but worth investigating for the future)
____________________________________________________________________________
Item 1 – Staff Liaison Report Nancy Palejko
- Nothing much to report on yet
- The BCTF is pushing for more Covid Safety in schools including the disclosure of cases in schools
Action Items: none
____________________________________________________________________________
Item 2 – Principal’s Report Brent Schieman
Lots of staff changes
- 2 new VPs
- Introduction of Gurpaul Sohal from the Delta School District as one of the new VPs
- Sam Lin in Computer Science
- Steph Huang in Math
- New Office Admin coming soon
School enrollment is down
- Currently 2021/2022 enrollment is 985 students
- 2020/2021 enrollment was 1053 students
- Projections for 2021/2022 was for 1020 students so we are 35 students below projection that is why there has been some juggling of staff and courses
- June 2021 there were 250 outgoing grade 12’s
- Sept 2021 there were/are only 174 incoming grade 8’s
- June 2022 will have 240 outgoing grade 12 students
Semester System
- Students and teachers are getting used to it and everyone doing their best
- FIT Block is something new and can be used for assemblies, homework, opportunity to talk with teachers for extra help
- Sohal commented that from what he sees, the students are using the time well and that there is a “college campus” feeling as students are sitting in the cafeteria chatting, doing homework etc.
Covid Updates
- Rules are being upheld
- The students are great about wearing their masks
- There were ZERO spreading events at JO last school year and it is expected to be the same this year based on the everyone following the guidelines
- There was a vaccination clinic at the school but there are no numbers to report on
Others
- Photo Day Sept 27
- No School Sept 30 for Truth and Reconciliation Day
School Building Updates
- JO was built in 1921
- Gym floor has been sanded and repainted for the first time since 1971 (that was 50 years ago!)
- Auditorium has been updated with new lighting and sound system as well as a new screen
- There is hope that there will be more use of the auditorium as well as opportunities for community use
Questions
Q: Is there anything that the PAC can do to help increase enrollment at JO? (Corina)
A: (Brent)
– help shed a positive light on the school
– community building
– keep website / fb updated
– International students
– highlight the special programs at the school
– students taking pride of ownership
– increase school spirit
Action Items: post photos and events on your own social media and tag JO, encourage kids to do the same
Q: Will there be anything happening for Truth and Reconciliation Day? (Teresa)
A:
- No assemblies are allowed yet
- There is no school on Sept 30th
- There is an Indigenous teacher and worker at the school for special programs
- There are Indigenous programs at the school
- There has been a call for participation on Sept 30 in terms of recognizing the day by wearing an orange shirt and participating in programs that are being put on through other organizations such as a drumming circle
Action Items: all parents/caregivers talk to your kids about the importance and relevance of this day, take a moment of silence at 2:15pm to reflect
____________________________________________________________________________
Item 3 Financial Update Sue Bains
- Account Balances
- Gaming Account $287
- Consultative Account $6123.97
- Legacy Account $1082.14
- All the balances are “true” ( all ou going cheques have been cashed, and no outstanding expenditures from these balances)
- Grant application for the gaming funds were submitted in May, funds are expected in October, the grant is based on previous year enrollment numbers
- General Expenditures
- Athletics, clubs, music, drama
- DPAC membership fee
- Scholarships
- Thank yous to teachers/staff
- Some grad activities
- Teachers/Staff/Students put together proposals and present to Mr Schieman, he checks to make sure there are not any other funds coming for those specific asks. He then will put together a list of asks for money from the PAC.
Action Item: Brent to ask teachers for their proposals now with a view to have the funds available to them by November
____________________________________________________________________________
Item 4 DPAC Update Samantha Anderson
- DPAC stands for District Parent Advisory Committee
- The DPAC works with the school board on policy issues and works with trustees
- School Board is searching for a new Superintendent
- Interesting to hear about the facilities planning from the school board
- JO is slated for seismic upgrade soon, the question is when?
- There is a new process for Anti-Racism
- Upcoming presentation on the VSB Strategic plan and they are looking for parent consultation
- The last DPAC meeting was Sept 9th
- Sam puts the notes from these meetings on the JO PAC Blog
Action Item: none
____________________________________________________________________________
Item 5 Intro to the JO PAC Executive (a lot of new people on the exec)
- Shannon Kaplun – PAC Chair 1st year
- Darnelle Moore – Secretary 1st year
- Samantha Anderson – DPAC Rep 2nd year
- Lara Spence – Communications outgoing
- Sue Bains – Treasurer 1st full year
- Corina Tataru – Communications 1st year
- Linh Shukla – Fundraising 1st year
Action Items: looking for co chair as Shannon will be leaving at end of term since her son is graduating
___________________________________________________________________________
Upcoming Meetings
October 20, November 17, January 19, Feb 16, April 20, May 18 7pm Zoom
___________________________________________________________________________
Motion to adjourn meeting / 2nd: Shannon/Darnelle/Tracy
