DIXON PAC MEETING MINUTES

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Present: Teg Bains, Colleen Reid, Jenna Newman, Simi Malhi, Lisa Hunt, Rainbow Koo, Robby Dhaliwal, Lauren Ellis, Matthew Ellis, Taylor Sims, Charissa Anderson, Tracey Mack, Kristina Dale, Liz Hong, Emilia Lim

Administration: Bonnie Leslie, Mike Murray

Regrets:

Welcome & Introductions

- Mike gave a Land Acknowledgement to thank the hǝn̓q̓ǝmin̓ǝm̓ speaking peoples on whose land we live (over 16 different groups that travelled along our neighbourhood); this area is important to sturgeon waters and were stewarded by the indigenous people and for this we thank them

- Call to Order:

- 6:38 pm called to order

- Quorum has been met per current bylaws

- Review and Approval of Minutes from last meeting: 

           - Will move this action to approve June minutes for next meeting

- Approval of Agenda:

- Collen approves and Simi seconds; all approve

Treasurer’s Report

• The fiscal year end is August 31^st and there are currently no outstanding items
• We have two bank accounts, one regular and one gaming account; the gaming account received grant money from the government equivalent to about $20/student
• The gaming account balance is $6900, and we will be receiving the grant in the next month or so and it will be about $6700, we will be spending last year’s balance money this year
• The general account balance is about $44,000
• Next PAC meeting will occur in October, and we will be looking into the budget in more detail
• Form to change signing officers have been submitted to Coast Capital and will be sorted out soon
• Gaming report due in November
• BCID credentials to be sorted out – Jenna has one and another account will be set up for Colleen
• Last year we were below budget, especially because of hot lunch profits and didn’t spend as much as assumed – we have a surplus going into this year
• Every year we fund a per student field trip; it’s been $12 per student but we could consider increasing it
• $350 for each division to use for classroom supplies
• Saleema Noon workshops will happen this year
• Anyone can contact Jenna with any additional ideas/questions
• We received a letter from the scholarship receipt from Hugh Boyd student graduate - $300 scholarship – the guidance counselors administer this and handle it, PAC doesn’t decide

Administrator’s Report

• Last spring PAC has mentioned that it would be nice to have staff come to the meetings, Bonnie is here today, and Mike is grateful that she is here today
• The school enrollment has decreased year to 297 students
  • Every grade is full except Kindergarten in English and French
  • There is a waitlist starting to occur for students wanting to attend Dixon as we had lost two teachers/divisions
  • Majority of schools across Richmond have decreased enrollment numbers
  • With schools with less than 320 students, the library time goes down a day and is open for four days instead of five, there is no vice principal and secretary time goes down by a day as well
  • Maximum capacity at Dixon currently is 350
• We have a couple new staff members
  • Amanda Wardrop will be teaching Division 6 – Grade 6/7 French immersion
  • Margaret Hill who had previously been at Gilmore for 34 years will be teaching gym and Grade 3 English prep
  • Joanne Wong will be a noon hour supervisor
    • Currently, we have three noon hour supervisors
• Seismic updates
  • The main entrance will be unavailable starting tomorrow due to a new sewer line
  • The gym is not accessible until mid-October
  • Classes in portables will be moving in two weeks, drywall is being dried and millwork/cabinets are going in right now
  • Classes in annex currently (Kindergarten/Grade 2, Grade 3), will move into the portables MLUs
  • The library and annex will be renovated after, with the library moving into a portable
  • The boiler room is going to have its roof raised to ensure everything is one level
  • The office staff room will move once the gym kitchen has been made and the front will be demoed completely, it will stop where the new washrooms are currently, and everyone will have to use the back entrances
  • A parent has a question regarding the Grade 7 area, this area used to be where the picnic tables were, the drop off area will be constructed here now
    • The Grade 7 area is not coming back and all spaces on the property are accessible to anyone
    • The benches for the Grade 7s during the assemblies will remain
  • The school’s position on social media – problems have arisen in other schools that Mike has worked at, regarding other kids/swearing etc, school can assist with solving the problem, but it’s important that parents understand that children under 13 shouldn’t have access to social media (that means all students in this school), all devices need to be turned off and put into the backpack during school hours, schools involvement is only helping solve problems but main responsibility is on the students
    • Mike urges parents to ensure that their kids are off the Discord app
    • Students connected to the school district WIFI will be unable to access social media pages
  • Jenna mentions that there are social media workshops for parents to become aware of which apps and what kids are doing
  • DARE is starting in Grade 5 next week on Tuesday with the RCMP
    • It will be a ten-week program
  • Two primary foci this year
    • Literacy - raising reading/writing/speaking/listening abilities
    • Social Responsibility – kids at Dixon are good about being polite in front of adults but with friends they change, school is working hard on changing that behaviour, learning how to be kinder and gentler and how to be a better friend and less judgy
  • Mike requests the PAC for some soccer equipment and has asked for grounds workers to move the soccer nets to be closer or install another one to create a shorter soccer field
    • Pop-up goals (4 x $250) = $1000
    • Soccer balls (30 x $20) = $600
    • Jenna moves the motion to put $1600 in the budget for the new equipment, Taylor seconds, all in favour
    • $50/child for ten lessons for swimming lessons and students will receive a certification after these ten lessons – maybe the PAC could cost share with parents
      • Would take place in January/February
    • Provincial government gives every school money to provide for families that need the assistance of the family affordability fund, for field trips/lunches/supplies etc.  This is always confidential
    • Teachers are discussing Young Actors project
    • Covered area to be finished in two weeks
    • Need an accessibility parking spot in the front lot, the two spots are being covered by construction currently

Chair Report

• Mike sent around the important dates email with PAC meeting typically occurring on Tuesdays
• Bylaws have been posted on the Dixon PAC website
• The PAC is always looking for engagement ideas
  • One suggestion was to split up PAC meetings to in person and online
  • Open to other ideas to get more parents involved
  • The PAC newsletter is being sent out more frequently now, and waiting for new emails from the new parents to include them in these emails
  • If anyone has any engagement ideas, feel free to reach out to Colleen
• We have a WhatsApp group regarding parent volunteering
• Does anyone have community grants they want to apply for?

RDPAC Report

• Matthew mentions that meetings don’t start until October 7^th, and any parent can attend these meetings in the evenings
• The meeting on Nov 4^th is a PAC 101 meeting where they run different courses for different PAC activities

Fundraising Update

• Charissa brings up updates regarding movie nights
  • 1^st movie night will occur on October 3^rd; however, the gym is unavailable, are we able to find a different Friday that will work?
  • Minecraft movie can’t be done because it might be exclusive to HPO, a lot of different movies have restricted
  • Teg suggests doing an outdoor movie night if the covered area is complete by then, however, there was some speculations on what the capacity of this space would be. Teg suggests we can get people to buy tickets ahead of time
  • The next movie night will be in January 23, March 6, May 1
  • Lauren will be handling the food aspect
• Purdy’s hasn’t been booked yet as we were waiting for the craft fair date
• Spirit wear online store to be up and running by the end of the week
  • We might do Dixon spirit wear Fridays
  • Parents can donate pieces that their children have outgrown
• Do we have any other fun fundraising ideas?

Craft Fair 2025

• The craft fair will take place November 27, 2025
• We will email families soon with the top priority being families making donations for the silent auction
• Mike is going to send a save the date
• Need assistance from parents regarding getting donations such as sending out flyers and picking up anything donated
• Vendors from last year have been contacted
• It will be $50/per table with a discounted rate for Dixon students $40/table
• There is a craft fair WhatsApp group
• Donations can be submitted to the admin office
• We have a letter template to send out to businesses, and we have a non-profit number if needed
• Tracey mentions a COBS fundraising program where people who buy bread can mention a school, and they put that amount together for the end of the year

Lunch Days Update

• The first hot lunch will be on October 2^nd with additional information to come out this Friday in the newsletter
• Reached out to a few vendors from last year but also reaching out to new vendors such as the ones that were at the craft fair last year
• There are questions if the gym will be available
  • The first two hot lunches (October 2/16) will be bin delivery
  • It is suggested we use the staff room to get the bins ready as the library will be under construction during this time
• Oct 30 is a pizza day, and we will need the gym
• Volunteers are needed for a 45-minute window starting at 11:20am
• New spreadsheet for volunteering will be sent out in the WhatsApp chat
• Need maps for the first hot lunch

Questions and Discussions

• Rainbow asks if we’re doing skating this year for Christmas
  • Mike will try to book it for December
  • This session occurs during school time
  • Previously, the school was split into two different sessions
• Mike asks if instead of just a grade 7 yearbook, should we do one for everyone in the school?

Adjournment

- Adjourned at 8:25pm