Dixon Parents Advisory Committee

Minutes of the Annual General Meetingof April 15, 2019

NOTE:  This being the Annual General Meeting, nominations were required for positions of Chair and Co-Chair, but no one came forward!  Nominations will remain open at the next meeting on May 13th.  The PAC requires a Chair for the 2019/2010 school year or it will not be eligible for various sources of funding and the result will be very detrimental to the Dixon students.  Parents are encouraged to contact the PAC or school administrators if they wish to be nominated for the open positions!

 

PAC Members Present:

Sandra Townsend – Co-Chair

Laura Gillanders - Treasurer

Lyn Yang - Fundraising

Diana White – Fundraising

Lisa Fisher – Immediate Past Chair

Volker Helmuth - Secretary

Absent:

Karen Fisher-Hagel - Fundraising 

Pilar Ramos – Early Warning Coordinator

Karin Schweizer – Co-Chair

Kay Arambulo-sy – Food Days

 

Dixon Administrators Present:

Sean Harrington (Principal)

May Wong (Vice-Princpal)

 

1. Welcome & Introductions

Sandra Townsend called the meeting group to order at 7:00 pm and welcomed all present.

 

2. Review & Approval of Agenda

Sandra motioned for approval of the agenda. Motion approved by all.

 

3. Review and Approval of Minutes of last Meeting

Sandra motioned for approval of the minutes of the meeting held January 21, 2018. Motion approved by all.

 

4. Call for Nominations for PAC Board for 2019/2020

Sandra called for nominations for the following position and those indicated were nominated and accepted the nomination:

Chair – no nominations

Co-Chair – no nominations

Secretary – Michelle Gibault-Fahlman

Treasurer – Laura Gillanders

Fundraising – Lyn Yang, Diana White, LJ Cajigas

Food-days Coordinator – Lyn Yang, Kay Arambulo-sy (in abstentia)

Early Warning Coordinator – Pilar Ramos (in abstenstia)

 

5. Administrators’ Report

Principal Sean Harrington reported as follows:

a. Parents are encouraged to reflect about their children’s learning and class environment needs and to discuss these with Mr. Harrington and/or Ms. Wong to ensure that each child will be in the class next year that is best for them.  Discussions should be initiated with Mr. Harrington and Ms. Wong as soon as possible.

b. Parent are highly encouraged to read the Richmond School District’s ‘Long Range Facilities Plan’ that deals with whether schools will need to be closed due to decreasing enrolement.   The report is at the following link:  https://www.letstalksd38.ca/8241/documents/14545

The most relevant parts of the report, dealing with “West Richmond’ schools starts at page 100, under the heading: 9.5.4  Elementary Space Utilization Considerations: West Region. 

The implications of the report are that it is likely that 2 schools may close and French immersion could be amalgamated into a single school.  However, the school district is seeking community feedback and parents are encouraged to engage with the school district through the website or at public meetings.

c. It is likely that next year all Richmond elementary schools will have the same school-day start and finish times, and that those will be 8:45 to 2:45.

d. Dixon is considering a ‘reverse lunch’ schedule for the next school year, meaning that children will go out to play first, and then after the bell rings to call them back in, they will have time to eat their lunches.  This is to counteract the current behavior of kids not eating their lunch because they are so eager to get outside to play.

e. The Quebec Trip was again a success.  The activities management provided by the L’Augerge organization was assessed as having been positive and it turned out not to be a problem that the trip was not at the same time as Carnival, because it was so close that all the various locations that were visited were already set up and able to offer a full program.  Consider might be given to making the trip a day shorter next year. Special thanks to Val Tardiffe for her exceptional leadership in making the trip happen, and to all the teachers who came along.

f. Basketball Season – another fun and successful season, ending with a wrap-up lunch, a teacher student game and the Hugh Boyd Tournament.

g. Grade 7 transition with High Schools has taken place with visits to the catchment schools. 

h. Congratulations to our Sun Runners, and thanks to the teacher coaches Ms. Maika, Ms. Evans and Ms. Leslie. 

The following events will take place in the remainder of the school year:

·     ‘Earth Rangers’ animal and nature program come to Dixon April 16^th. 

·     Monday April 29th 6 pm Camp Zajac parent meeting (September 25-27).

·     Thursday April 25th – Vancouver Track meet – UBC. Track and Field stations and practices have been taking place.

·     Thursday, May 16th – Track and Field at Minoru.

·     Friday, May 17 – Pro-D day. (Dealing with Anxiety – Leaf clinic and Matrix rebuild).

·     Wish List Items – continuing to work with District outdoor learning space. 

·     Consider $500 for bus for Vancouver Meet.

·     Planning started for our Gr. 7 Farewell day here at Dixon.

·     Wednesday, April 17th - Earth Day Assembly 9:15 am.

·     Friday, April 19th – Good Friday School not in session.

·     Monday, April 22 – Easter Monday School not in session.

·     Wednesday, May 8th - 6:30 to 8 pm Jazz Café Concert.

·     Tuesday, May 14th - Early Dismissal (2:00 pm) Richmond Teachers AGM.

·     Thursday, May 16th - Minoru Track and Field day (for most students in grade 3-7).

·     Friday, May 17th - Professional Development Day – School not in session.

·     Monday, May 20th – Victoria Day – School not in session.

·     Thursday, May 17th - PAC Pizza Lunch.

·     Thursday, May 23rd - K & Gr. 6 Immunization. 

·     Monday, May 21st - Victoria Day (School not in session).

·     Monday, May 27th – May 30th - Scholastic Book Fair – School Library.

·     Wednesday, May 29th -Welcome to Kindergarten 9:15 am.

·     Friday, June 7th - Dragon Day (Sports Day - Dismissal at 1:30 pm).

·     Wednesday, June 12th Band Concert (1:30 and 6:30 pm).

·     Wednesday, June 26th - Grade 7 Farewell assembly (9:00 am).

·     Thursday, June 27th - Last day of school. 

 

6. Treasurer’s Report

Laura Gillanders provided a detailed report, and supporting financial statements and related records for the period January 1, ending March 31, 2019, including bank statements and reconciliation. 

Balances stand at $30,224.82 Operating Account, $8,947.32 Gaming Account.  Total funds $39,172.14.  Amounts remaining to spend from voted spending budget are $9,311.48 from Operating and $1,050.00 from Gaming.

Net income for the year stands at a loss of $1,949.99, including voted spending, with the net from a donation to ‘Feed-ucate’ that the PAC approved and $768 taken from Food Day profit to give to the Quebec trip for fundraising done at last year’s Dragon Days that had not been paid to the committee.

Motion:by Diana White, seconded by Sandra Townsend, to allocate $500 from gaming funds to pay for the school bus required to take children to the track meet.  Motion approved.

 

7. Fundraising Update

Lyn reported that remaining food days are scheduled with Pizza day being moved to May 15^th.

 

8. Last Call for PAC Board Member Nominations

No additional nominations.

 

9. Vote for PAC Board Member Positions

NOTE:  No nominations were put forward for positions of Chair and Co-Chair!  The PAC requires a Chair for the 2019/2010 school year or it will not be eligible for various sources of funding and the result will be very detrimental to the Dixon students.  Parents are encouraged to contact the PAC or school administrators if they wish to be nominated for the open positions!

Those nominated were confirmed in their positions, by acclamation, and are as follows: 

Chair – no nominations

Co-Chair – no nominations

Secretary – Michelle Gibault-Fahlman

Treasurer – Laura Gillanders

Fundraising – Lyn Yang, Diana White, LJ Cajigas

Food-days Coordinator – Lyn Yang, Kay Arambulo-sy (in abstentia)

Early Warning Coordinator – Pilar Ramos (in abstenstia)

 

10. Additional Items

Lisa Fisher is coordinating the offering of a ‘baby-sitting’ certification course for grade 6 and 7 students, to take place after school at Dixon in three parts on May 28, June 4 and June 11 (students will be required to take all three parts to complete the course). More information about registration to follow on the Dixon website.

 

Motion to Adjourn Meeting:

 

MOVED, SECONDED and CARRIED that meeting be adjourned at 8:10 p.m.

Next Meetings:

May 13, 2019,

and June 10, 2019

All parents are invited!