January 2005 PAC Meeting Minutes This is a DRAFT copy Lord Byng Senior Secondary Parent Advisory Council General Meeting Minutes Date & Time: January 25, 2005. Convened at 7:15 PM Location: Lord Byng Senior Secondary School, Library 3939 West 16^th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. ATTENDANCE: _Umberto Assamori,_ _Jan Berney, Kirsten Brawn, Kurc Buzdegan, Ken Cameron, Michele Carrington, Dot Clouston, Laura Cottle, Caroline Crowe, Laura Cruikshank, Judy Davis, Rick Downie, Louisa Flynn, Janet Karp, Eve McBride, Glenda Matthews, Kathy Mukai, John Robertson, Karin Smith, Cindy Tsai, Candace Watson._ _ _ SCHOOL REPS: Darlene Braeder, (Principal), Rob Schindel, (Vice Principal). 1. Minutes of the November 23, 2004 meeting. John Robertson moved to adopt the Minutes of the November 2004 meeting. Eve seconded the motion. Carried. 2. Principal?s Report (Rob Schindel and Darlene Braeder) Rob Schindel - Mid-year exams start on Monday January 31 and students write Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The schedule has been posted at the school and will also be posted to the web site for parents? reference. - Thursday and Friday next week will be the CAPP Conference. The ESL classes, Grades 12, 11, 10 and 9 have made their selections; the Grade 8?s will make theirs on Thursday. - The survey on the Code of Conduct is finished; this involved students, staff and some parents. The information will be utilized to revise the Code of Conduct. This will be tied in with the Satisfaction Survey which is going to be done. Darlene Braeder - Ms. Braeder has some grad wear order forms which should have come home with the students; this is an initiative of the Grad Committee to raise funds for grad. - The graduation ceremonies will be at the Chan Centre on June 3, followed by a DinnerDance at the Wall Centre and a Dry Grad after. Grad activities have been expanded this year to help keep the grads busy, having a good time and safe. - the Bottle Drive which took place on Sunday raised $1,500 toward grad. - the 80^th Anniversary Committee, formed of staff, a PAC rep and some alumnaeare planning several events, building on events which already exist. The first event is Swyng with Byng on February 11, followed by the first symphony concert, the Alumnaestudent basketball game in April, My Fair Lady to be performed in May and the second symphony concert (in May) followed by an alumnae tea party. - the aims of the celebrations are: to reconnect the alumnae with the school and its activities, to reacquaint the alumnae with the changes in the building, and to raise funds toward a scholarships. The goal is to raise $80,000 ($1,000 for each year). The administration wants to be able to award scholarships which go beyond what the funding allows them to do. The school is also asking for gifts-in-kind, such as digital cameras, software, from alumnae and merchants in various professions and industries. - the stage in the auditorium has been re-built (just finished) and it looks great. There are new curtains and lights making it a good and safe setting for the students. - the Byng Arts auditions are on February 15. - sadly, our boys basketball team suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of their arch-rival, Kitsilano. - the Byng survey conducted by Dr. Marshall of UBC, has been completed; Dr. Marshall will present a report to the SPC who will then bring the information to the staff, students and parents. - Several trips are planned: the Band is planning a trip to New York, the Track and Field team are planning a trip to the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago) and some of the Spanish students are planning a trip to Cuba. - permission was asked at the Parent-Teacher meetings for a combined FrenchArt trip to Paris for Spring Break 2006. Questions: - How are the alumnae being contacted? DB answered that there has been a mail-out, a notice has been posted on the web page asking parents and students to spread the word, there will be something in the Courier and on community television. The committee is looking at all the options. - Are the alumnae being contacted the same was for the basketball game? DB answered that Spence McTavish is in charge of this event, that he retains good contact with the alumnae and he organized the 75^th anniversary game. 3. Treasurer?s Report (Kirsten Brawn) - Kirsten posted the PAC transactions from September 2004 to January 2005 on the overhead. She noted the gaming account transactions on the second page. The cheques for the Wish List ?A? disbursements have not yet been written. - Kirsten noted that the Blueberry fund raiser raised $290 and that the Grocery Certificate program shows a return to date of 7.5% with a profit for January of $870.28. - The reason that the Wish List ?A? cheques have not yet been written is because we are waiting for approval to put some of the disbursements through the school system so that the school can collect the GST rebate. - Kirsten has applied for the 20042005 school year PST rebate and we will collect ??? She has been informed that the PAC is not eligible to collect GST and therefore some of the disbursements will be disbursed by the school (the school is eligible to collect GST). Invoices will be required. - KB pointed out that $6,567.26 remains to be allocated to Wish List ?B? requests. - Kirsten noted that the PAC will still retain both accounts: the Gaming account must be maintained in order to be eligible for the gaming funds and the Regular account will still be used for disbursements which do not have GST applied to them. - Kirsten invited questions either after the meeting or by telephone. - Ken Cameron thanked Kirsten for all of the work that she has done on the GSTPST, which is a complicated matter. KC, DB and a VSB representative had a meeting to discuss the GST and the school is going to set up a special account. - Ken explained that the Executive had discussed the matter and recommended the following motion: That the PAC agree that PST and GST rebates received by the school on disbursements financed by PAC funds be retained by the school for use at the school?s discretion. - Louisa Flynn made the motion, Rick Downie seconded it. There was no discussion. Carried. - John Robertson made a motion to receive the Treasurer?s Report; Eve seconded the motion. Carried. 4. Wish List (Rick Downie) - RD explained that we are behind in getting the Wish List ?A? cheques out because we are waiting on the PSTGST process. The committee will advise the recipients and ask for receipts before the next PAC meeting. - Wish List ?B? is now under consideration; the committee will be meeting again to make recommendations for the allocation of these funds (the funds total about half of the amounts requested). These recommendations will be brought to the next PAC meeting. 5. Lord Byng?s 80^th Anniversary (Karin Smith) - Karin explained that her position is Volunteer Co-ordinator so it is her role to co-ordinate the list of volunteers with the projects coming up. She is also the PAC representative on the 80^th Anniversary Committee. The committee (which is made up of DB, KS, teachers and alumnae) has had a few meetings and they hope to have representatives from each of the planned events at the next meeting. - Karin reported that if parents want information on the 80^th anniversary events they can go the the Lord Byng PAC web site and click on the 80^th Anniversary button on the left. - An e-mail has been sent out to the list of volunteers and Karin hopes that each volunteer will find something of interest to get involved with , whether it?s a specific event or a particular activity (such as putting up posters). Regular e-mailings are planned. - Karin stated that parents who are not on the volunteer list and want to be could see her at the end of the meeting. 6. Swyng With Byng (Kurc Buzdegan) - Kurc announced that Swyng with Byng is the first 80^th anniversary event and it?s the 7^th annual Swyng with Byng dance. - He urged parents to attend as it is not only a lot of fun but also the Music Society?s opportunity to raise funds for the band and the orchestra as well as toward scholarships. The Society is looking to increase the amounts of the scholarships awarded. - He explained that there is a dance and a silent auction. The Senior jazz band performs and professional musicians sit in it is a lot of fun dancing to the music from the ?40?s and ?50?s. The quality of the performance is excellent and the event is licensed (beer and wine). - For the Silent Auction the Society is soliciting items from all different sources and there have been some very generous donations, such as art work worth $1,200, musical instruments. It is a good opportunity to help out the society. - He noted that February 11^th is coming fast (2 weeks Friday) and for more information about tickets, contributions and helping out parents can log onto ByngMusic.org and link to Swyng with Byng. - The Society plans to use the momentum throughout the year to make sure that the alumnae is kept informed of events, with links to merchants who have contributed. - KC and JR attested to the success of the Silent Auction (Ken spent a couple of hundred dollars and JR purchased a rug that his dog has appropriated). 7. DPAC Report (John Robertson) - JR had more information on the the parent advocacy program which was mentioned at an earlier meeting. The role of the parent facilitators is to support and facilitate support for parents trying to communicate with the system; to assist parents in getting through the process (of dealing with problems, getting information, etc). Facilitators must be either in the system or have been in the system in the last two years and cannot be employees of the VSB or members of DPAC. - JR also reported on a letter sent recently by the DPAC to the Ministry of Education regarding elimination the Grade 10 provincial exams. This issue was raised at the last PAC meeting but there appeared to be no particular problems that Byng parents had with the exams. - JR said that one PW parent explained the concern about kids ?on the edge? who might drop out of school if they can?t handle the exams. - He asked the parents if there was any interest in pursuing the matter further. - Eve stated that as a parent, teacher and counselor she has talked to a lot of people about the exams (not just Byng people) and that most people are firmly against the exams. She said that the PW representatives met with the Ministry on Thursday and asked JR whether he had any information on that? (No). - Karen M. said that she has an ?edge? kid and she can see that the exams will bring enormous stress into his life; that anxiety hinders his ability to remember. She understands that kids have to write exams but she believes that there are enough exams already in place. - One parent stated that universities and colleges will not be looking at these exam results and so they are a huge waste of time and money. - Another parent stated that the best assessment is made by teachers who know the students. - One parent stated that there are some schools who support the exams (Magee and Churchill) but that maybe the edge kids should have more accommodations to help them to be successful. - JR re-stated the question: do the members of the PAC want to endorse the letter sent by DPAC? He personally doesn?t believe in system-wide exams which seem to contradict the reasons that schools have individual programs (like Byng Arts) and do not account for the fact that students learn at different speeds. - Kirsten B. asked why, if the exams don?t mean anything, students would be compelled to leave school if they fail? - Darlene Braeder explained that Lord Byng does have final exams in all subjects; these account for 10% to 20% of the final mark. - The provincial exams written by the Grade 10?s, in English, Science and Math, account for 20% of their final mark and therefore the school exam is being replaced with a cross-provincial exam. Students are already required to pass English 10, Science and Math before going on to the Grade 11 courses. - 52 credits are required to graduate; this has now been extended to Grades 10, 11 and 12. - DB explained that students have been doing exams in a similar form in anticipation of the provincial exams, so they are prepared (teachers have sample exams). - Exam prep classes are available: the CAPP conference offers an Exam Preparation and Study seminar that students can sign up for. The teachers will go through the review process with the students with the students to make sure that they are comfortable. - JR asked whether the exams are based on the same curriculum? DB answered yes, every subject has curriculum learning objectives and these generate the questions that are on the exams. - Jan Berney asked DB whether it made a difference if someone who knows the kids marks the exams. DB replied that the classroom English teachers will be marking the English exam. They will be doing ?blind? marking and they will compare each other?s marks so they can standardize the marking. - The other provincial exams will be marked by the Ministry. - 80% of the final English mark will be generated by the classroom teacher; 20% will be based on the exam. - Eve asked about compensatory time for these teachers and DB responded that they will not have to supervise exams and will be excused of other duties to make up for the time. - Karen Mukai asked whether the marks would be back in time for kids to be enrolled in summer school, if this is needed? DB said that this is still being worked out with the Ministry but she suggested that by the middle of June teachers will have told the students where they stand in the 80% over which they have control so if the kids are failing then they should enroll. - Ken Cameron stated that the matter had been discussed at some length by the Executive who had decided not to make a recommendation to the PAC. - Rick Downie noted that he was not at the last Executive meeting and would like to make a motion: Notwithstanding the need for exams, the Board should recognize the negative effects of the exams on a minority of the students with anxiety, special needs and other social issues. Some facility should be made for input from counselors, teachers, parents and other professionals so that special consideration and accommodations may be given to those for whom the exams cause difficulties. Karen M. seconded the motion. Carried. - JR also mentioned a letter that he had received from the Families for School Seismic Safety who are expressing concern about unsafe schools; they would like to speed up the process so that it is completed in 10 years rather than 15. - Louisa Flinn said that she has a daughter in Grade 8 and the kids don?t seem to know about exam etiquette or protocol, such as do they go home in between the exams, how earlt should they get there? DB said that a bulletin will be going out on Thursday or Friday to explain these things. She hopes that the parents will read the bulletins too so they realize that the kids may be home early on some days. 10. Speaker, Leslie Grant Smith, VSB Youth and Family Worker and Community Schools Team Leader. - Jan Beney introduced Mr. Leslie Grant Smith who apologized for being so long in coming to speak to Lord Byng. He explained that he is a member of one of the two Community School teams serving the West Side (West 2). Traditionally, there were 20 community schools on the West Side. Due to cutbacks, the VSB took all of the money allocated to community schools, took away the designation and created 12 community school teams. - Each team comprises a youthfamily worker, a literacy support person and a co-ordinator. Each West team has 4 secondary schools and their feeder schools. West 2 is responsible for Kits, Byng, PW and U-Hill and 14 feeder schools. - Mr. Smith handed around brochures explaining the philosophy of the program which is to provide services and programs to our children often by partnering with other agencies such as Big Brothers, Safe Teens, After School programs. - The West Side is under-served, more teams are needed. Two teams serve 40 schools. Mr. Smith said that the parent groups could help by advocacy. - The reason that the West Side has fewer teams is because the criteria is ?vulnerability? and the West Side has fewer vulnerable children. Different forms of vulnerability are not acknowledged. - One program has been proposed, by Zoe Jordan, called the Big B Link. This program wants to help instill a sense of tradition to new students to Byng and so the Team is going to give facilitation training to approximately 15 to 20 kids ranging from Grade 9 to 12. The training will teach them to facilitate groups and they will connect with the Grade 7?s from the feeder schools. So kids will be giving information to the elementary school kids which will be more effective than getting the information from teachers or the administration. - He urged the parents to think of things that the Team can help with. Questions: - Who should parents write to? Mr. Smith answered: the trustees and he suggested that if the PAC?s could collectively write a letter it would have more impact. - There was a question about children with learning disabilities and Mr. Smith pointed out that disabilities are funded in a different way and that this is a very political issue. - What criteria would be useful to add to the criteria for vulnerability? Mr. Smith suggested: single parent families; families where both parents are working and kids are home alone after school; the problem of kids with expendable income and no activities, the transition from elementary to high school. - Mr. Smith noted that Hudson Elementary has a 40% turn-over every year; and University Hill elementary has a similar turn-over. - One parent commented that such as service is wonderful especially because of the loss of counselors due to cut-backs. She suggested that the theatre groups in the feeder schools be invited to the Spring Byng play (an afternoon performance). DB noted that this is already done; every year the feeder schools are invited to the dress rehearsal. Another idea of Zoe?s group is to bring kids from the feeder schools into some of the classes so that they experience the programs offered by Byng. - How does the team connect with kids who live in the neighbourhood and don?t go to school? Mr. Smith said that the counselors usually know about these kids and there was a youthfamily worker who had a case load. He does some one on one work with these kids but a lot of his time is spent in crisis management. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM. The next meeting is February 22.