DPAC 19-09-2016 General Meeting Notes
Burnaby D.P.A.C. Meeting Minutes
D.P.A.C. MEETING NOTES
Burnaby Central Secondary School
Room A206 – 6011 Deer Lake Parkway
Burnaby, B.C.
DATE: September 19, 2016
TIME: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Attendance:
Schools by Zone:
Brentwood North: Alpha, Burnaby North, Aubrey, Brentwood Park, Confederation Park, Capitol Hill, Kitchener, Parkcrest, Westridge
Cariboo Lougheed: Burnaby Mountain, Armstong, Cameron, Lyndhurst, Seaforth, Second Street, Stoney Creek, Twelfth Avenue
Central West: Burnaby Central, Moscrop, Brantford, Cascade Heights, Douglas Road, Gilpin, Inman, Lakeview, Marlborough
Kingsway South: Burnaby South, Byrne Creek, Edmonds, Stride Avenue, Taylor Park
District Staff:
Gina Niccoli-Moen, Superintendent
Heather Hart, Assistant Superintendent
Wanda Mitchell, Assistant Superintendent
Board of Education:
In attendance: Ron Burton, Chair (Central West); Katrina Chen (Brentwood North); Larry Hayes (Cariboo Lougheed); Baljinder Narang (Kingsway South); Gary Wong (Kingsway South)
Regrets: Harman Pandher, Vice Chair (Central West); Mei Ling Chia (Brentwood North)
DPAC Executive:
Kristin Schnider, Chair (Cariboo Lougheed)
Jocelyn Schonekess, Vice Chair (Central West)
Herman Louie, Treasurer (Central West)
Shams Chowdhury, Secretary (Kingsway South)
Jen Mezei, Past Chair (Cariboo Lougheed)
Stace Dayment, Member at Large (Brentwood North)
Dave Dye, Member at Large (Cariboo Lougheed)
Gadis Setaiputri, Member at Large (Central West)
Calvin Taplay, Member at Large (Brentwood North)
- Welcome and Introductions: Kristin Schnider, DPAC Chair
- Meeting was called to order at 7:03 pm and parent representatives were welcomed.
- Kristin introduced the District Staff, Board of Education, and DPAC Executive members.
- Attendees were asked to briefly introduce themselves and indicate the school that they represented.
- Board Chair Address: Ron Burton, Trustee
- Board members and District administrators present were invited to introduce themselves and to share something about themselves that is not generally known.
- Sourcing for a new Secretary Treasurer continues; thanks were extended to Jen Mezei and Kristin Schnider for their assistance in the interview process.
- Trustee Burton welcomed both returning and new DPAC representatives, noting the healthy range of parents in the role (parents of both young students and those about to graduate).
- Burnaby has a strong parent-district relationship, and the Board is grateful for this rich and respectful partnership. Research clearly indicates that parent involvement has a positive impact on student achievement and success.
- This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Burnaby School District’s establishment of PACs; Burnaby was also one of the first districts to establish a DPAC.
- Trustee Burton thanked parents for their passion and wisdom in preparing students for the challenge of a changing tomorrow. The Board looks forward to working together with parents as the new curriculum is implemented.
- Superintendent’s Address: Gina Niccoli-Moen, Superintendent
See presentation “Welcome to the 2016-2017 School Year” posted on the DPAC website.
Highlights
- “A Look Back…”: Some of the many successes of the last school year were highlighted, including >2000 grade 12’s graduating with $4.2M in scholarships, awards, and bursaries and a number of student initiated projects that met needs locally and nationally. Burnaby students are impacting the community both here and abroad.
- “Busy Summer…”: Significant summer activities were highlighted, including SD41 participation in the July 29 Pride Parade (parents, students, trustees, CUPE staff, teachers, administrators), various school building upgrades, student driven sustainability projects, hosting Spain administrators who wanted to learn about the BC curriculum, a summer session serving 7600 students, and Burnaby senior administrators presenting at the BC Superintendent’s conference on Burnaby’s innovative implementation of the new curriculum.
- “Looking Ahead…”: Burnaby’s programs are gaining recognition provincially and internationally. In September, the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program won the premiers’ literacy award and the International Program won the prestigious Study Travel Star High School Award. The Ministry of Education has communicated key areas of change (slide 26 in the presentation) around which they will be sending out more information in the coming months, and asking for parent input starting in the fall. Reassurance was given that the fundamentals will still be taught, but with the addition of the soft skills students need to be successful in the changing world.
- Understanding Assessment in the Redesigned Curriculum: Heather Hart, Assistant Superintendent & Wanda Mitchell, Assistant Superintendent
See Slide 38 of “Welcome to the 2016-2017 School Year” presentation
Regional Sessions on Kindergarten Transitions: BC School Superintendents Association is partnering with the Early Years Office and the Ministry of Education to hold sessions in the fall and spring to work together to improve Kindergarten transition for students and families. Details on page 2 of the following bulletin: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/family-and-social-supports/child-care/early_years_office_update_summer_2016.pdf
- Graduation Program: There are no significant changes this school year, except for changes to provincial exams (Details here: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/graduation-info#grad-table ). The number of credits required for graduation will remain at 80. Other changes will be phased in, targeting 2017-2018 for full implementation.
- Redesigned Curriculum: K-9 redesigned curriculum is in full implementation; keep in mind that teachers are at different stages of application. The focus is bringing in the big ideas of critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Parents are encouraged to bring any questions directly to teachers or to read the details online. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/overview
Gr 10-12 redesigned curriculum is in its optional implementation year, and details are provided online, as well as opportunity to provide feedback: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/10-12
- Communicating Student Learning:
- K-9 report cards will look the same: 3 formal reports, 2 informal reports. K – 3 reports will contain performance scales and comments; Gr 4-9 reports will show letter grades, comments, and effort marks.
- Two new areas of evaluation will be added – Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies, and Career Education. K-5 reports will require a comment in these areas, Gr 6-9 will have a letter grade and effort mark. Further reading: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum
- 3rd term reports will include a student self assessment in the core competencies.
- New reporting guidelines are being developed for Gr 10-12, to be implemented in the 2017-2018 school year.
- The Ministry of Education will begin consulting with students and parents this fall, working with PACs and DPACs, on a variety of topics including frequency and timing of reports, format and examples, use of letter grades, and proficiency levels.
- DPAC will also be sending out a questionnaire to PACs via listserv to collect parent questions. The goal is to have questions compiled by November.
- Break: 7:59 pm; re-adjourned 8:12 pm
- Table Top Activity: All DPAC representatives
- DPAC representatives worked in Zones to answer the following 2 questions on paper:
- What types of parent information evenings (PIEs) would you like to see DPAC host this year? What kind of parent education is needed at your PAC/school (subject areas, topics, etc.)?
- What would you like to get out of DPAC this year? What do you want to hear about/learn about at general meetings? What do you want to see the DPAC Executive working on?
- Feedback was collected and will be used to guide DPAC executive in planning this calendar year.
- DPAC representatives were encouraged to send any further ideas/questions via email to info@burnabydpac.com.
- DPAC representatives worked in Zones to answer the following 2 questions on paper:
- DPAC Updates
- Parent Information Evenings (PIEs)
- Vendor Fair (6 pm) & PAC 101 and Treasurer Workshops (7pm): Tuesday, October 4th at Burnaby Central. Although all portions of the event (Vendor Fair & appetizers, workshops) are free of charge, participants are required to register. Suggestion was made to secondary school PACs to encourage parent committees such as band or dry grad committees to attend the finance workshop. Workshop details and registration at the following link: https://dpac.burnabyschools.ca/event/2016-pac-101-and-treasurers-workshop/
- DPAC Executive Vacancy: Kingsway South Zone needs an additional representative to sit on the executive. Representatives may be nominated at any DPAC meeting.
- BCCPAC: PACs were reminded that annual membership fees must be submitted by the Dec. 15 deadline in order to be eligible to vote at the spring BCCPAC AGM. BCCPAC provides advocacy for student/education issues at a provincial level and PACs were encouraged to be members. http://bccpac.bc.ca/memberships/
- Parent Information Evenings (PIEs)
- At Your School – Show & Tell and Questions
- Fuel Your School Initiative: ca is partnering once again with Chevron to raise funds for public school classroom projects. Between Oct 1 and 31, 2016, Chevron will donate $1 for every 30L (or greater) gas purchase to fund eligible projects. Applicants must be full-time teachers. For more details, please visit https://myclassneeds.ca/en/
- “S-Trips”: There is a travel company that targets secondary students, usually through social media, for group travel, particularly for spring break trips, or for so-called “grad trips”. This company is not district or school sanctioned and parents are advised to be cautious and aware. Secondary principals are aware of this company, which has been operating for a number of years, and already communicate to secondary parents about this company’s actions.
- MEND Program (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do it!): A free fitness and healthy living program supporting children 7-13 who are above a healthy weight, and their families. The current session is almost full (only 2 family spots left), but MEND will present at the next DPAC meeting and hold another session in the new calendar year. For more information: http://childhoodobesityfoundation.ca/mind-exercise-nutrition-mend/
- Internet/Social Media Safety and Digital Literacy Education 101 for Parents: Presented by Burnaby Mountain PAC at 7 pm on Thursday, October 13. Speaker is Darren “White Hatter”Laur, a retired Victoria police officer and recognized social media investigator. Target audience is parents of students grade 6 through high school. Half of the seats are reserved for district parents.
Speaker background: http://www.personalprotectionsystems.ca/bio.html
Registration mandatory at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/internetsocial-media-safety-and-digital-literacy-education-101-for-parents-tickets-26116595440
- Question: External groups are sometimes brought in to provide education programs within schools to students. What are the guidelines/vetting process for external groups?
- External groups that provide educational programs to students during the school day undergo a strict vetting process through the district, and may involve district staff, local school administrators, teachers, and community coordinators.
- External groups that provide programs to students in the out of school hours follow a protocol for rental of school facilities, but their staff are not vetted by the district. These groups either:
- Sub-rent allocated times and spaces from Burnaby’s Parks and Recreation department; or
- Apply for rental of school facilities directly through the district. Rates vary depending on the nature of the group (profit, not-for-profit, etc.).
- Question: Some school PACs have indicated that the DPAC flyer for the PAC101 & Treasurer Workshop was not passed along to them by their administrator. Are administrators expected to convey these communications to PACs? Superintendent Niccoli-Moen indicated that she will remind administrators at the next two administrator meetings that the expectation is to pass along all pertinent notices to school PACs.
- Question: Have the email issues encountered by the school district last school year been resolved? Yes, the email/listserv systems are fully functional, with no residual issues. Parents are also encouraged to check the school websites for information, as most schools are striving to make all notices or updates available on the school website.
- Question: Armstrong was the pilot for a building refurbishing program last school year. Are there any updates as to the direction of this program going forward? District administrators have viewed the refurbishing efforts and are pleased with the pilot. Next steps are to be determined. The Armstrong DPAC representative brought forward a concern that rotten wood beams in the playground were part of the refurbishing (painted). Concern was noted by administration.
- Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:58 pm by Kristin Schnider.
Next Meeting: Monday, October 17, 2016 at Burnaby Central Secondary School
WEBSITE – dpac.burnabyschools.ca Email your events to be published.
COMMUNICATION – Email info@burnabydpac.com or chair@burnabydpac.com
FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/BurnabyDPAC
TWITTER– @BurnabyDPAC
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