February 2021 Newsletter
Greetings Parents and Guardians
Welcome to Quarter 3!
It's hard to believe we are already more than halfway through the school year!
The Hamber PAC executive team hopes that you and your family are managing well with the new schedule implemented this quarter.
As we start the 3rd quarter, we hope you all are well and keeping safe in spite of the COVID-19 exposure events at the school and in our community. With the vaccine distribution somewhat stalled in the province, we are aware of the added stress as the new variants creep their way into the province.
In the meantime, the Hamber PAC continues to be focussed on communicating to the school’s administration team any concerns and feedback that we receive from the parent / guardian community. Should you have any questions about your child’s class, please first contact the subject teacher directly, before the administration team.
You are invited our next Hamber Pac Zoom meeting
When: Tuesday, February 16, 2021 07:00 PM Vancouver
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lcu-ppjIsGtJINF-YZ7Q1rlI_8PQczlFF
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Should you have questions about the agenda or you wish to add items for discussion, you must email those to us in advance to chair@hamberpac.ca so that we can try to adjust the agenda to accommodate the requested changes within the scheduled meeting time.
Minutes from January 19 2021 (last meeting) virtual PAC meeting
Principal Jansen’s report/slide presentation January 19, 2021
Eric Hamber PAC Agenda, Feb 16, 2021
Virtual Meeting via Zoom
AGENDA ITEM
SPEAKER
Time Slot
Welcome
Approval of Agenda and Jan 19/21 minutes (last virtual Pac Meeting)
Peter Couch
7:00pm -7:05pm
Chair Report
-Seismic Update
-Fundraising Update
Peter Couch
7:05pm -7:20pm
Treasurer Report
Donna Chao
7:20pm -7:25pm
Teacher Rep Report
Nick Francis
7:25pm -7:35pm
Principal Report
Marea Jensen
7:35pm -8:05pm
Other Business
Peter Couch
8:05pm -8:15pm
Adjournment
Next meeting: April 20, 2021 (no meeting in March)
Gaming Fund Requests review and allocations
At the November 17, 2020 PAC meeting, the PAC executives presented the requests from the teachers’ for funding of various extracurricular activities for approval. The meeting attendees voted to grant almost all of the requests received that met the Provincial Gaming criteria. We have begun to distribute the funding and will update you on disbursements at our next meeting
Hamber Seismic Project Update
The PAC had formally requested for a Seismic Advisory Group (SAG) meeting to take place before the end of 2020, this did take place just before our last PAC Meeting (January 2021).
We gave an update on that meeting to report that where the questions below were answered in the positive. , however
For reference, these are some of the concerned concerns we had raised at the last SAG meeting:
We believe it is important for parents / guardians to understand the design changes in response to the City's Conditional Approval resubmission requirements, as set out by the Director of Planning.
We would also like an update on the timeline as the information we received from the City's Planning Department highlights that there is a 14 week review period before the development permit is issued. Will this result in a delay to the construction start date?
How does the recent merger with Stuart Olson affect personnel on the project leadership team?
You can see renderings and review the application information here: https://shapeyourcity.ca/5025-willow-st
Message from the District Parent Advisory (DPac) Chair
Parents,
A few words on the work that DPAC has been doing:
Long Range Facilities Plan (LRFP) - This VSB planning document has been the focus of the DPAC for a number of years, including hours of time this year with a dedicated committee that guided our feedback to the board (thank you to our volunteers!) and made multiple presentations to the VSB Facilities Committee and stakeholder groups. The board passed the 2020 LRFP on January 25th. We are pleased that the trustees articulated their educational vision for the district in this document. We will work with the VSB to ensure that steps are taken to realize that vision.
Anti-racism - Our goal is to provide resources to PACs and parents that inform anti-racism work in their communities. Our recent January 28th general meeting had a number of speakers addressing the goals, mindset and steps to take in anti-racism work. We will post video to our website shortly.
School liaison officer program - In December, the DPAC exec took a position in favour of cancelling the school liaison officer (SLO) program (approved minutes) and have provided feedback in the consultation process. The consultation process will also include an online survey for parents and students and an opportunity for written submissions by individuals, groups and organizations -- details to come.
Budget, Fine Arts review - DPAC has also provided feedback on Budget 2021-2022 and the recent Fine Arts review. Parents can provide additional budget feedback at the page above, and can email media@vancouverdpac.org for any last minute feedback on the Fine Arts review.
Information from the BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils (BCCPAC)
Members should be aware that the second installment of the Federal funding to school districts is expected to be spent as per the instructions on the first installment; the Ministry of Education will be confirming with districts on how the funds were allocated. The Ministry is committed to ensuring districts deliver what is needed to ensure all students remain connected to their school communities and are provided the remote options needed by families.
IF your district is not providing a flexible remote option for students who remain enrolled in their current school but will not be returning to in-class instruction, please let BCCPAC know as the Ministry is very clear in this expectation.
Additionally, in alignment with the Equity and Inclusion Guiding Principles, districts are to ensure students will:
Be able to attend school full time or have a plan to ensure supports and learning continue if a student needs to learn at home
Have access to the necessary health and safety supports
Continue to receive supports and services as identified in their IEP, including 1:1 supports
Not be grouped in segregated settings as a part of the establishment of cohorts
Please review the details below issued by the Ministry of Education and these updated documents:
To support the COVID-19 response for K-12 education, the federal government announced $242.4 million in one-time funding for the 2020-21 school year, with the first half of the investment being allocated in September. The second instalment of this funding arrived on Jan. 29, 2021. The Ministry of Education is allocating $101.1 million to school districts and $7.5 million to independent schools, and is providing school districts an additional $3.5 million to manage COVID-19 exposures in schools.
To support Indigenous learners, $8.2 million will go towards addressing learning loss and student health, technology for remote learning, education and mental health support, adapting classroom spaces and enhanced cleaning.
There will also be $900,000 allocated for six regional rapid response teams, one for each health authority and one dedicated to support independent schools, with representatives from both school and provincial health staff.
School districts and independent schools will be able to spend the second instalment of federal funding in the following areas, based on local needs:
Hiring teachers to deliver education programs including extended transition programs
Hiring and training custodial and administrative staff to support students in their safe return to schools and to implement school safety plans
Purchasing additional non-medical masks or other personal protective equipment
Improving ventilation and air systems in schools
Increasing hand hygiene, including additional handwashing and hand sanitizing stations
Cleaning equipment and supplies
Mental health support
Software and computer or tablet loans for students learning remotely; and
Additional transportation costs to accommodate additional routes and enhanced cleaning
Resources:
Mental Health Links - for Covid 19: Supports for you and your child
Helpful resources from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)
Kelty Mental Health Resources at BC Children's Hospital (support & resources for families including peer support for youth)
Information about Covid-19 in Vancouver Coastal Health
Thank you
This school year has continued to be characterized by new challenges and evolving routines. We appreciate the work of the Hamber administration, educators, support workers, maintenance, custodial, and administrative staff in preparing a safe learning environment for our children as laid out by the Ministry of Education and the VSB.
As always, we appreciate you, as parents and guardians in the Hamber PAC community, for your cooperation and support to work together with the school to succeed in these unprecedented times.
Peter Couch: Chair
Anne Yu: Vice Chair
Leslie Louie: Secretary
Donna Chao: Treasurer