A Few PAC Details

Just wanting to let all Yennadon families know that our hot dog hot lunch last Friday raised just over $1000! Thanks to all of you for your support as we continue to raise money for the Above and Beyond wish list put together by Yennadon teachers and support staff.

A special thanks goes to all of the parents who came out and volunteered to help make and serve the hot dogs and brown bags of veggies and treats. It was a little bit chaotic at times trying to coordinate six different stations of boiling hot dogs, a late grocery store delivery of snap peas, and the discovery that half of the buns were unexpectedly unsliced…. but we got it done, thanks to the enthusiastic efforts of our parent volunteers!

Our successful hot lunch was followed up by a special event – BC Lions kicker Paul McCallum brought the Grey Cup to our school and all students had the opportunity to come to the library to see and touch the trophy and take some photos. Check out the Principal’s Blog for pictures of this memorable event.

Anyone who has ever tried to do any cooking in the PAC Kitchen knows that it is a small and crowded place for a group of people to cook in. Leanne Regan and Melodie Bakker took it upon themselves this week to clean it out and it looks amazing! There is suddenly so much more room and it all looks so shiny and clean…… the PAC wants to say a big thanks to you both for making our future cooking experiences less cluttered.

We have had a few parents asking us if the Scrapbook Crop event is happening again this year and the answer is YES. So, for any parents who are interested in spending a fun day scrapbooking, mark your calendars for April 28. Details to follow.

Thanks again – Yennadon is a wonderful community of students, staff and parents and as a PAC we want to let you know that we appreciate all the support.

January 10, 2012 PAC General Meeting Minutes

PAC GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 7PM

1) Attendance
-all those present introduced themselves and signed in to the attendance sheet. There were 15 people in attendance.

2) Welcome – Sherry Audette welcomed everyone

3) Call to Order

4) Adoption of Minutes of Previous Meeting
-minutes of October 14, 2011 meeting were passed around. They were motioned to be adopted by Sherry Audette and seconded by Sarah Turner.

5) Principal’s Report – Mr. Bondi reported on the following items:
-It has been a busy number of months at school so far. Due to job action, there have been no field trips but instead, a number of individuals and groups have come into the school to conduct fun learning experiences for the students – drama, science, music, etc.
-The new mural on the gym wall looks really good. Perhaps we should consider the artist to update the school logo as this is something that has not been done for many years.
-Basketball season has started. Due to job action within the district, there are only about half the number of teams participating in the league as have participated in the past. Yennadon teachers have continued on with sports team participation and the parents expressed appreciation for this.
-There are currently 2 student teachers working/learning within the school.
-Christmas concerts worked out well during the day with the new format. There was a positive response from parents.
-Parents commented on appreciating the progress reports that were distributed by teachers. Even though there were none of the usual formal report cards, parents generally feel that teachers have communicated well with them and the progress reports sent home by individual teachers were helpful.
-Mrs. Bogdan has retired and will be missed.
-Kindergarten registration time is approaching and the District has opted not to redraw the boundaries. Yennadon is projected to have approx 70 students in catchment to register. The District’s priority regulations are that priority is given first to in-catchment with siblings already enrolled, then to in-cachement students, and then to out of catchment with siblings already in school. It was noted that over the last number of years, everyone who has been there by 7AM on registration day to stand in line and register has made it in time to be enrolled.
-Assembly will be held on Wed January 25 featuring the Kindergarten students doing some songs and Jason Craft, the mural artist, doing a presentation about the making of the mural.
-On Friday, Jan 27, the Grey Cup will be coming to school and visiting the classes.
-DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is starting this week for all Grade 5 classes. This is a 9-week program conducted by the RCMP and there will be a graduation ceremony at the end for all students who complete the program.

6) Voting on PAC Executive Members
-The following individuals were voted into the PAC Executive for these positions:
-Juliette Gordon & Meimi LeFloch – Fundraising Co-Coordinators
-Billie Seneviratne – Member at Large
-Motion was made to nominate these individuals by Sarah Turner and seconded by Kelly Garay. All vote results were unanimous in approval.

7) Treasurer’s Report – Sarah Turner reported on the following items:
-There is currently approximately $40,000 in our gaming account and $3000 in the general account.
-The Christmas raffle raised just under $3000 in profit
-The Bake Sale raised $760
-Hot Lunches have already raised over $2000 this year and we had only budgeted for $3000 so this fundraiser has been very successful
-Art Cards raised approx $1600. There was some discussion about taking a break from this fundraiser next year as many families in the school have purchased quite a lot of cards over the last few years and the money raised this year was less than in the past.
-There is still $22,000 that the PAC is waiting upon the teacher’s to pay for Above and Beyond items already agreed to. The system is different this year in that in the past, Mr. Bondi could call a meeting and all teachers together would decide when and how to spend the money and it would all be done that way. This year, due to job action, the Administration is not permitted to call this meeting so the teacher’s will need to arrange the payment of these funds without going through Administration. The PAC will wait for instructions and purchases to release this money as agreed once the teachers have met to make the necessary decisions.

8) DPAC Report – Kelly Garay reported on the following items:
-All information on the DPAC website is still related to December of 2011. Kelly is waiting on future information about meeting dates, locations and agenda items.
-A reminder to all parents that DPAC meetings are open to all parents who wish to attend.

9) Coffee Club
-The coffee club meetings hosted by Mrs. Skerratt (school counsellor) on various topics of interest to parents were very popular last year.
-The school counsellor this year, Ms. Laustrup, is new to the school this year and still getting acquainted with Yennadon and the students. It was recommended by Mr. Bondi that the PAC wait until March or April to ask her about starting up with Coffee Club again.

10) Open Discussion – The following items were discussed:
-The Parking Spot Raffle. Do we believe that if we raffled off a prime parking spot monthly and had it clearly labelled as being reserved for the raffle winner that this would be successful? Would other parents respect the space and stay out of it? Mr. Bondi checked with the District about putting up a sign and painting the space and they would charge approx $500-$600 to mark the space. Do we believe we would make that money back in the raffle? It was decided to follow up on this topic with the parent who initially had the idea to see if she is willing to follow through on working to make this happen. Mr. Bondi noted that if we do use a staff space for this, it will be necessary to mark off another staff space somewhere else to make up for it. This was noted and understood by parents.
-Nut Allergies – a parent wondered what the process would be for making Yennadon completely nut-free. It was noted that this is not possible to guarantee, and at this time, Yennadon is a “nut-aware” school with certain classrooms with highly allergic students being the spaces that are to be completely nut-free (but it was noted that this relies on other parents only sending nut-free items to school and this can not be guaranteed by Yennadon as a school).
-PALS program will be taking place at Yennadon on February 7 from 3-4PM. This is a free program, hosted by our Kindergarten teachers, for 3-5 year olds to attend with a parent to teach about early literacy and positive school experience. Open to everyone but you do have to contact the school to register in advance.

11) Meeting Adjourned at 8:15PM

12) Next Meeting: March 6, 2012, 7PM

Thanks for your Support

Hello Yennadon families and Happy New Year to all!
As a PAC Executive, we realized that ever since Paul Garay resigned his post as PAC Chairperson, this blog has been sorely neglected. But we want to start using it again as a communication tool and a reminder to all parents that we are representing all of you and would value any input, ideas or feedback that you have about our fundraising efforts as we strive to continue to make Yennadon a positive and fun place of learning for all of our children.
First of all, we want to communicate a big THANK YOU to all of you who participated in any way with the Christmas concerts. We are so thankful first of all to the teachers for their hard work and preparation to make the concerts a success. Thanks you also to so many parents who donated items to the bake sales on each of the concert days. The bake sales raised approximately $600 and those of us who were selling the items received many compliments as to the quality of the baked goods. The raffle sales were also a great success and we so very much appreciate the effort that went into buying and selling them. The raffle made a profit of $3660.
As is usual with our fundraising efforts, all money raised will be donated to the Above and Beyond program established at Yennadon two years ago. At that time, the teachers each made a “wish list” of items that they believed would make their educational programs better and we set a goal of completing those wish lists within 3 years. Some of the recent items paid for through this program were the taiko drum lessons, the new mural painted on the gym wall, and sports jerseys. If you would like more details or to see a copy of the Above and Beyond list, please contact us or attend the next General Meeting.
On that note, we would like to remind everyone that our next PAC General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 10 at 7PM in the school library. Free babysitting and refreshments will be provided. These meetings are an excellent way to find out a lot of information about what is going on at school and a good opportunity to have questions answered. All parents are welcome to attend. If you have something that you would like to have discussed at the meeting, please let us know in advance so we can prepare and place your topic onto the agenda for the evening.
Thanks once again to all of you and please feel free to email us at yennadonpac@gmail.com if you have any comments or questions. Hope to see many of you on January 10!

1st Hot Lunch a Blockbuster Success!

First of all, a big thank-you goes out to all the parents and exec who helped out with today’s hot lunch program. Because of you, it was a huge success! Also, another big thank-you to Leanne for heading this fundraiser up.

As you know, this was our first hot lunch this year and I am excited to announce that we broke all records from the past. Not only did we completely sell out of all the pizza, but we managed to raise a whopping $1244!!! In the past, hot lunches would typically raise an average of between $600-900, so this is great news.

Another first, is the fact that we partnered with Flying Wedge pizza (a more healthier and better quality pizza), and managed to keep the cost of the program at $5. Thank-you Flying Wedge!

Over Half Great Little Coupon Books Not Yet Received!!!

So far, I’ve only received approximately 50% of the Great Little Coupon Books back from the parents. We need ALL those books back, or the money to pay for them ASAP please! The company was kind enough to supply every student with a take-home copy, but now those books need to go back to the company.

Thank-you for all your books (and orders) so far. From my rough calculations to-date, we’ve managed to raise over $500 for the school.

Pac-Man’s Gotta Eat Too!

I really hate breaking it to everyone like this (on the blog), but it’s true… Pac-Man’s gotta eat too! What exactly does this mean, you ask?

Last Spring, I was approached by the Exec to take-on the role of Pac Chairman for 2011-2012 school year. At the time, I was a part-time accounting student, part-time musician, full-time Dad. My wife is a full-time nurse. It seemed like a role that I could fulfill and possibly a good fit as I have a background in sales and marketing, public speaking, communications, blah, blah, blah…

After completing school, my goal was to work from home doing accounting, play some music, do the Dad thing, and fulfill my duties as Pac Chair. Unfortunately, work has not been that fruitful (both accounting and playing music), and the Pac Chair position is strictly a volunteer position.

This week, I was blind-sided by an offer I just couldn’t refuse; a full-time accounting position with a very recognized and reputable charitable organization. Everything that I wanted in a job (other than the commute to East Vancouver) was being offered to me. In this rather depressing job market, it seemed like an opportunity that I needed to grab quick… and that’s exactly what I did.

Regretfully, I am going to have to step down as your Pac Chair during the month of November and have someone else fill my shoes. I will work with the Exec to help find that new person, and I hope to stay involved as a member-at-large keeping up with this blog and more “behind-the-scenes” activites.

I really enjoyed my short tenure as your Pac Chair, and hope to stay involved as best as I can. I want to thank all Pac Execs and Mr. Bondi for their help and support this fall, and look forward to still seeing everyone around the community.

Sincerely,
Paul J. Garay
Pac-Man

PAC Presents Hot Lunch: Friday October 28

Yennadon’s first Hot Lunch day is coming up on Friday, October 28th! The lunch will consist of 1 pizza slice provided by Flying Wedge Pizza, 1 fruit, 1 dessert, and 1 juice box. The cost will be $5. Students are to bring their money that day in a envelope or plastic bag as teachers will not be collecting money. If your child would like a second slice of pizza, please send an extra $2 ($7 total).

All proceeds from hot lunches go towards staff “Above & Beyond” lists (i.e. sports equipment, computers, teaching tools, library, support staff tools, etc.)

** Volunteers are needed**
If you can help with the Hot Lunch Program (roughly 1 hour), please contact: Leanne 604-785-4520, leanneregan@telus.net

2011/12 Budget

As promised, I have the 2011/12 Budget available for download (Excel). Click here to download it.

QSP.ca reminder and Great Little Coupon Book fundraiser

REMINDER: This Friday is the last day to get your QSP.ca magazine orders in.

Also, this week you’ll notice an envelope come home with your children containing The Great Little Coupon Book. This is a fabulous little coupon book that features 50% off, 2 for 1 and other great offers from local companies that your family will be sure to enjoy. Many of the coupons can be used multiple times. You simply take the book in to the shop and the merchant stamps it for you.

If you decide to keep the book, simply fill out the order form and send back a payment. If you want more books, keep the first book, fill out the form (with how many additional books you want), and send back the payment. The coupon books are only $10 and half of the money goes to the PAC. I feel that this is great value, and I’m buying at least 2 books myself; one for each vehicle. If all I did was visit the local Waves Coffee shop a few times, the book would more than pay for itself. Maybe I’ll buy a few more as Christmas gifts…

PAC General Meeting Minutes

PAC GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, October 4 2011, 7PM, Yennadon Library
1. Attendance – 17 parents in attendance according to signature sheet passed around table.
2. Call to Order – Paul Garay
3. Welcome – Introductions – Paul Garay
4. Minutes from previous meeting (May 2011) – adoption
Minutes from General Meeting of May 10/11 were motioned to be adopted by Sherry Audette and seconded by Leanne Regan. Motion approved.
5. Principal’s Report -Kim Bondi
-571 students in total; 9 fewer than last year but Kindergarten numbers affect the classroom so the school is completely full in the Primary grades. A few more students could potentially be squeezed into the Intermediate grades if necessary.
-Job action has had some effects on the start of the school year but for the most part, teachers and administration are working around the challenges. At this point, as per district guidelines, most field trips have been canceled as has District Cross Country meets and BookFest. There will also be no report cards issued by teachers but parents are able to make an appointment to meet with their child’s teacher to discuss specifics regarding their child’s progress. Christmas Concerts are still being planned by Yennadon teachers and will be held during school hours instead of in the evenings. Mr. Bondi and Ms. Ramsey are working with teachers to get all forms and notices handed out to students and returned as well as all money being collected as teachers are not able to do these tasks within their job action guidelines.
-120 students participated in the Summer Reading Challenge and handed in their forms to show their goal achievement. These 120 students were rewarded, as promised, by a pizza and ice cream lunch with Mr. Bondi and Ms. Ramsey. Photos of this event can be seen on the Principal’s Blog.
6. Reports of the Executive
i.Treasurer’s Report, budget vote – Sarah Turner
-The Budget as discussed and approved by the Executive had a few proposed changes at this meeting. First: the cost of renting a bus for a class to take a field trip has doubled over the last few years. This results in field trips being extremely expensive just for transportation alone. Parent drivers are generally available in Primary grades but in Intermediate grades, a bus is usually required to transport all students. It was decided to add $5000 to the budget to pay half of the cost for a bus for each Division once per year to reduce the cost of field trips. Second: Mr. Bondi proposed a mural being painted in the gym to increase the colour and spirit of Yennadon. Kanaka Elementary has a beautiful one in their gym so Mr. Bondi spoke to the artist who did the one at that school. He said the cost of doing one at Yennadon (with student participation as well) would be approximately $2600. There was a one time payment of $1200 from the school vending machines that Mr. Bondi offered to contribute to the cost of this mural if the PAC budget would cover the remaining. This was discussed and agreed.
-The Budget was reviewed by attendees and then Paul Garay motioned to adopt. Sarah Turner seconded the motion. The motion to adopt the budget as presented was carried unanimously.
ii. DPAC Representative -Kelly Garay
-Reported on District PAC meeting held on Oct 3/11. Kelly reminded everyone that DPAC meetings are open to all to attend and are an excellent way to keep informed about what is going on in the District as a whole, not just at Yennadon.
-District is working on a comprehensive disaster plan. They are planning to create zones throughout the district so that different schools within walking distance of each other would have different “big ticket” items. Consideration is being given to where bridges are and what schools could be cut off from each other in case of a disaster and zones are being created accordingly. It should be noted that all schools in District 42 are seismically up to date.
-There is going to be a free kids clothing exchange at Eric Langton Elementary on Nov 19. This is meant to be a community event where people bring clothing that they no longer need to exchange for things they could use. There is no expectation of bringing items – anyone who needs anything can come and take what they need. PACs are being asked to do a clothing drive at their school. It was discussed that Yennadon has literally no space to store clothing for a clothing drive but if parents are wanting to participate, they can volunteer to collect items at school and bring them home with them or have a designated pick up date from people’s homes. If you are interested, Kelly Garay has the contact information for the organizer of this event and can pass it along with all details.
-Community Literacy Society is currently running a competition to reduce screen time. This can be done as a school or as individuals. Information is available at the Library.
-Community Literacy Society is looking for volunteer tutors to teach adult learners or ESL students. All volunteers will be trained free of charge. This is a great opportunity for mature high school seniors or adults who desire volunteer experience.
-District Superintendent Jan Unwin has a blog that she claims is not interesting enough! She needs submissions by PACs about their schools to make her blog more interesting.
-Next DPAC meeting on November 3 at Kanaka Elementary.
iii. Still looking for Fundraising Coordinator if any parents are interested in joining the PAC Executive.
-Also need parents regularly as volunteers. If you want to be contacted if we need parent volunteers, please pass along your email address to yennadonpac@gmail.com.
7. General Discussion
i. Thanks to Flying Wedge for 2 free pizzas!
ii.PAC Email and Blog are up-and-running! email: yennadonpac@gmail.com blog: http://yenpac.wordpress.com/
-There have been over 800 hits on the blog since the start of the school year. The PAC really wants to have good communication with parents so please read the blog for any updates or let us know if you have any questions about anything!
ii. General Meetings: January 10th, 7pm, March 6th, 7pm May 8th, 7pm
8. Fundraising Update
i. 2 fundraisers currently underway:
-Art Cards; have already been started in classrooms so they can be ready in plenty of time for Christmas. This year will potentially be a little more complicated than in the past because teachers are not going to be collecting any money or order forms. Administration will do whatever they can to make this work as smoothly as possible and parent volunteers will also likely be needed. This will be the first opportunity for parents to use the PayPal option and reduce the amount of money needed to be collected manually, although cash will still be welcomingly accepted.
-QSP.ca – reminder that if you or any friends or family members want to subscribe to a magazine, ordering it through QSP is very economical and supports our school. If you can’t remember Yennadon’s identification number, the QSP website makes it very easy to look up so your support will be received.
ii. Family Photo Night: November 18-19. $15 sitting fee. Free 8″x10″. Appointments will be arranged by Photo Express will all proceeds of sitting fees to PAC. Information about how to set up your family’s appointment will follow.
iii. http://www.GreatLittleCouponBook.ca/ This fundraiser will be happening later this year. Coupon books have a local focus and will be only $10 each.
iv. Meridian Meats fundraiser – details to follow.
v. Hot Lunch update – Leanne Regan will be organizing these events every other month. The first date will be October 28. Parent volunteers will be needed. Each student who wishes to participate will pay $5 for a lunch of pizza, juice box, fruit and treat.
vi. Snack Day update – Jeanette & Meimi will organize Snack Days for alternating months with hot lunch. Dates will be announced. Thematic snacks were suggested and Haney Bakery will be contacted regarding appropriate treats for each date.
9.Open Discussion
-A suggestion was made to have a raffle for a prime parking spot. For example, raffle tickets could be sold for $5 each and the winner gets a nice close parking spot reserved for their family for a month. Mr. Bondi will look into the details of making this possible.
-Next PAC General Meeting, January 10th, 7pm in the Library