PAC February 2004 Minutes by recorded by Candace Watson Lord Byng Senior Secondary Parent Advisory Council General Meeting Minutes Date & Time: February 24, 2004. Convened at 7:15 PM Location: Lord Byng Senior Secondary School, Library 3939 West 16^th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. ATTENDANCE: _Minoo Alemi, __Jan Berney__, __Ken Cameron__, Ralph Case, Yin Case, Sung Cha, Bu Cha, Ron Chartier, Hayoung Chong, Caroline Crowe, __Rick Downie__, Laurie Fredrick, __Paul Greisman__, Cathy Harvey, Elaine Knapp-Fuller, Mitra Javidan, Sid Jongbloed, Lorene Morgan, __Tracy Proke__, __Kathie Road__, __John Robertson__, Barbara Stewart, Karen Stierhoff, Pamela Su, Deborah Tildesey, Cynthia Turley, Candace Watson.,Tracy Yuen._ _ _ SCHOOL REPS: (Principal) Darlene Braeder, Rob Schindel, (Vice Principal) 1. Minutes of the January 27, 2004 meeting. / / /Laurie Frederick// moved to adopt the Minutes of the January 2004 meetins, //Tracy Proke// seconded the motion, Carried./ 2. Grad Committee Report (Ruby Smith) /(a) Ruby Smith/ - Ruby is one of the three co-presidents of the Grad Committee whose function is mostly fund-raising for the Grad Dinner/Dance. - they organize fund-raising events throughout the year such as clothing sales, concessions as well as planning events for the graduates involving the Grade 12?s and their families; there is a Byng Grad night at the end of next month; - they meet every Monday at lunch, starting early in September and Andrew Johnston is their teacher-leader. /(b) //Jan Berney/// - there is a Bingo Night planned as a Grad fund-raiser on March 25; West Van High had one and it was very successful. - it is quite simple to organize, will be at Lord Byng and ads will be around soon; - it?s open to students and parents. 3. Principal?s Report - January and February have been very busy months: /?The Crucible/? was performed in January and ?/You Can?t Take It With You/? in February. On Friday is the Swyng with Byng dance. - interim reports were mailed out today, only students who are failing or whose marks are dropping get these reports. - in sports in basketball the Senior Boys were beaten by Point Grey; the Junior Boys placed 5th in the city; the Junior Boys and Girls have tournaments this weekend: the boys at Lord Byng and the girls at Hamber. The Bantams lost in their final round. - Spring sports are coming up including tennis, track and field, soccer, rugby and golf - reports go out in April, the 12^th of March is the last day before Spring Break; - Constable Kramer is back in the school. 4. Treasurer?s Report - PG reported that there are $19,000 in gaming funds which have not yet been disbursed and approximately $9,515 in our regular account. - the grocery certificate committee has negotiated a 10% return on certificates with Stong?s; an estimated $9,000 in funds are anticipated to be raised. - this is a transition year due to new restrictions with respect to the gaming funds, a new committee is meeting on March 11, contact Rick Downie; - PG explained some of the items on the list of disbursements such as the Husqvarna Viking and the First Response program; /PG moved and RD seconded a motion to amend the Motion passed in October regarding the disbursement of PAC funds to reflect the amended Executive recommendations. The Motion carried without discussion./ 5. School Planning Council (DB) - the Council has had 3 meetings and will have 3 more. In mid-June the draft report with respect to the School goals will be completed by Staff and the Council: Academic Success, Social Responsibility and Engagement. - the SPC looks at data to measure the school?s success: the number of students in clubs and on teams; the CAPP conference, First term reports, and long term trends (Provincial exam results). - a notational report will be prepared with respect to staffing and budgets; VSB accountability will be examined ? the VSB has a contract with the Ministry; - there is a lot of data to digest; Jeff Rice has been comparing the Provincial results with the school results and the long term trend is showing upward growth. - the SPC is preparing a survey for graduated students to see how well the school prepared the students for post-graduation. 5 volunteers are needed for one evening for 1-2 hours to phone graduates from the school. LF will help to get volunteers. - the contract for the school vending machines is up this Spring and DB is looking for direction; please give concerns and feedback to KC, JS and JR. 6. Nominating Committee (LF) - the first election for the Executive is at the May meeting so that the new members overlap with the old Executive; at the AGM there is another election so that the new parents have a chance to participate. The positions of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary are filled in May. - nominations are currently being taken; we will need a Treasurer. 7. Volunteers (LF) - LF is looking for a volunteer to type the newsletter up and post it to the PAC website; please speak to LF or KC. 8. Other Business - JB still has some student directories, the cost is $3.00 - JR is the DPAC representative to the VSB which is going through a budgetary process. There is an information meeting on Thursday March 11 at the VSB. If anyone has any questions about the budget contact JR; there is a $10 million deficit ? any suggestions to be taken to the meeting would be appreciated.. - MBS said that there will be Open Houses held at Kits (March 9^th ) and Van Tech (March 10^th ) where presentations may be made to the VSB before the compliance budget is finalized. - KR announced that next month there will be a speaker on Teen Depression; in April the topic will be Sex and the Modern Teenager and in May there will be a speaker from Human Resources about the Hire A Student program. 9. Speakers (KR) - KR introduced the panel of parents: Laurie Frederick, MaryBeth Sullivan, John Robertson, Jan Berney and Kathie Roads to speak about their post graduate experiences. JR has a daughter in 3^rd Year Physics at UBC and a son in Grade 9; MBS has a much older son and one in Byng, LF has one son who graduated 2.5 years ago and one in Grade 11; JB has a daughter who graduated 2 years ago, a son in Grade 12 and a daughter in Grade 9; KR has a son who is 23, now in university out of province; a daughter 20 who is working her way toward university and a son in Grade 11. (a) KR - her son, 23, graduated high school and decided to take a ?gap year?. His version of this was to do nothing: sleep late, party, play video games. His parents insisted that he do something the following year. - he enrolled in a golf management program and went off to college in Victoria. He didn?t succeed because he didn?t work ? he really just wanted to play golf; however it taught him a bit about what he wanted and what he didn?t want. He found that he didn?t like being away and living with strangers. - then he went to Saskatchewan to live with his grandparents and worked in a warehouse, as a prep cook and he learned that Union people didn?t work as hard as he did and got paid more. - he decided to go to university; he had a girlfriend at university, he is taking a variety of things and getting very high marks ? he came 5^th in a class of 300. (b) JB - her daughter decided in Grade 11 that she was going to take a ?gap year? and she wanted to travel. She went to Australia, on her own, with no place to stay. She found that she needed a working visa or she could only work for 3 months. It took her a month to settle in, she found a job and a place to share and a friend joined her and she traveled for 3 months. - she came back very keen to carry on. She enrolled in Langara and really likes the courses that she?s taking, she?s more mature, more helpful and older. She?s taking courses so that she can transfer to university. She lives at home and works part time. (c) LF - her son said that there was no way that he was staying in Vancouver and 2.5 years later he is still living with us. - they laid some groundwork and emphasized that some form of post-secondary education was necessary in order to get a good job. - they laid out their concerns: if kids are not ready but pushed into university it can become a party year and a waste of time and money but if you take a gap year than momentum may be lost. - they gave him his choice and he decided to maintain the momentum: he enrolled in college and applied himself and did well; the second term he got a serious girlfriend and failed a course. - the second year he had no idea of what he was going to do so he tried all sorts of jobs: worked on construction, dishwasher and found the jobs that he was able to get nasty, boring and irregular. - what the parents learned is that you can?t do the work for them, that intelligence is not enough ? the student has to have drive, and confidence in themselves. (d) MBS - the parents had expectations about the perfect way but they have a very alternative boy. He was a very reluctant student wanting nothing to do with post-secondary education. - he is very active, very entrepreneurial, liked in-line skating and extreme game; - he considered BCIT (broadcasting school) he is very social but he was never really comfortable at school; - he tried Recreation Management at Langara but he didn?t like that - he worked in the bar scene but he?s a health nut and didn?t like the smoke. - the parents were very anxious and the more anxious they got the more distant he became. - he does like physical activity so he took his certification for a personal trainer, runs a gym and a hockey school in the summer and now he?s talking about taking some business courses. - the hardest thing for him was his parents? reaction. (e) JR - he had no problems, his daughter is a very good student and her strategy is to balance university with having a life. She was honour roll, principal?s list and went straight to UBC; she is now interested in police work, possibly forensics. - his son is in Grade 9, he will be a challenge. Questions: /Are you more prepared for the second one?/ - (KR) we had more realistic expectations; - (JB) we were always prepared to go along with what they wanted to do. - (LF) we went through the process of considering all the options; we will be more relaxed the second time. /Do you think that the parents? level of education is a factor?/ - (JB) no except for the pressure exerted by the parents? peers (at parties etc). In our day there was no such thing as a gap year and she thinks that it?s a good thing that this is possible now. - (KR) because her husband is a doctor and medical researcher and she has a degree she thought that her kids would be more interested in higher education, that it would just ?flow naturally?. Now, however, her son can relate to her about literature, which is something that he never wanted to do in high school. /When do you know if you?re pushing too hard or not hard enough?/ - (MBS) the harder that we pushed the more he moved away. Try to get to know your child, we?re quieter now and more cautious. - (Parent from the audience) I have 2 older step daughters, now 25 years old who are bright, social but not hugely motivated. They started taking a part-time course load and we realized that we were getting conned after the first year and gave them an ultimatum: either go full time or go part time and find a part time job. The answer was to make them financially accountable. - (MBS) sometimes parents are too close, we nurtured relationships between our son and other mentors. - (KR) sometimes you have to push ? it?s about self-confidence and the parents must nurture them that way. /Did you have the experience of the kid moving away and then coming home again?/ - (MBS) our son never came back after he moved out after high school; she believes that it is a pride issue. - (JB) our daughter wouldn?t be at home if she could afford not to be. She will move out as soon as she can; once you have the experience of being away from home it?s hard to come back. - (KR) my daughter is 20 and is still at home; it?s strange parenting quasi-adults. We had to set ground rules for her to follow; the only leverage that we have is financial. - (LF) we found that you have to let go; it takes off layers of stress if you stop telling them what to do. We got our son a cell phone so we didn?t worry about curfews as long as they could reach him and know he?s all right. We has to sit down with him and insist on the same kind of responsibility that you would expect from a housemate or roommate. /What do you do if you have a child who?s not sure what to do: (1) encourage them to take time off and get a dumb job or (2) keep the momentum up and encourage them to take a wide range of courses until they figure it out?/ - (KR) they still need motivation to take a General Arts program - (MBS) going to post secondary education is very exciting for some kids but you need to set limits and boundaries; they can go ?no strings attached? for a certain length of time. - (LF) it had to be my son?s decision, it had to be his choice. /What about the time limits set by RESP plans?/ - (JR) our plan paid for her tuition and books, from the age of 12 or 13 she knew that it was there. The first year at a Canadian university in our plan you get the principal and then a percentage of the interest after that in succeeding years. - (MBS) feels that it is important for some kids to have to pay to go to university. - (PG) under the RESP program if you have not enro;;ed in post-secondary courses by the time you are 25 then you get your contribution back but not the interest. - (MBS) she understands that part of the plan is principal and part grant; if the grant is not used then it goes into an education fund. /Other advice:/ - (KR) if your child is in Grade 12, register early at Langara as you have more choice of courses if you register early, also apply at other universities so if you change your mind there is back-up. If you?re applying out of town apply for residence at the same time. It increases the student?s confidence if he is accepted at least somewhere. - (LF) we told our son if he went full time then he could stay at home if he went part time then he needed a job and he had to make a contribution toward the household expenses. We made the mistake of calling it ?rent? initially. The leverage is use of the car and the computer. - (JR) my daughter?s boy friend is worried about the debt load that he will have to incur. I will help him to reduce his living costs. - (KR) it?s daunting to have a $50,000 debt when they get out and the government is taking away scholarships and benefits. - Once they have jobs then they must be treated as adults, house-mates, as a parent you do have a financial leverage ?boom? that can be lowered. - (JR) my daughter took 4 courses in her first year and then picked up 1 in the summer and it helped to reduce the stress. The next PAC meeting is on March 23^rd . The meeting adjourned at 8:50 PM.