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Our PAC programs and events are only as great as our volunteers. 
Our children are so lucky to have so many wonderful parents and guardians who have volunteered their time during the school year.
Please consider volunteering for something this Spring and next year
that suits your interests and the time you have. 
THANK YOU!
Are we having a Spring Fair? It's up to you!

Did you know our Spring Fairs are entirely organized and run by parent volunteers? Please consider joining the team!

This year, our Spring Fair is tentatively scheduled for Friday June 8th, 5-8pm.  

We usually have bouncy castles, hamster balls, field games, a cupcake walk, facepainting, food, music and much more!

However we can't run this event without some wonderful parent volunteers!

If you would like to help, please check out the signup genius (link below). There are instructions for each coordinator role and names of past volunteers who can help answer questions.

Please sign up so we can take the tentative out of the date!
 
What's happening with Bike Club? 
 
The good news is we have a lot of parent volunteers to help run Bike Club this year - thank you parents! The bad news is we don't have enough space to offer as many spots as in previous years. We aren't able to use the school field and we can only use part of the paved areas around the school. We do have access to a portion of Pemberton Park and we hope to offer a few out-trips, but because of the limited space we can only offer spots to children of those parents that volunteered (~40 kids) and the Club will only run for 4 weeks (May 23-June 13). We know that Bike Club is a highlight of the school year for many kids and that many will be disappointed with this news but unfortunately, this is the best we can do this year. Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to working with the District and EMJS administration to try and bring back Bike Club to its prior position next year. If you have any questions, please send an email to 
emjsbikeclub@gmail.com
What's the latest on the parent survey?

The PAC has built up a surplus of nearly $20,000 in unallocated funds from the past few years due to various reasons. The PAC wants to ensure this surplus is directed at worthwhile causes and therefore sought parent feedback in how this money is spent.
  • We received 166 responses to the survey. Thank you to everyone who responded!
  • Please see the weighted average results below. 
  • PAC Executive have a meeting this week to discuss the survey results and to plan the 18/19 PAC budget. 
  • Please note we will base our spending decisions on the survey results as well as teacher and administration feedback, factors affecting implementation of ideas (including availability of volunteers where appropriate) and budget needs for the 2018/19 school year.
Do you want Wednesday Hot lunches to continue next year?

We need more volunteers to join our lunch team if we are going to continue next year!  
Available roles include:
  • Food ordering
  • Picking up certain items each week and bringing them to the school (e.g., cookies, carrots, apples etc). This also includes the White Spot orders that are picked up each Wednesday at 11:15am. 
  • Set-up on Wednesday mornings around drop-off time and also at 10:30am.
  • Delivering food to classes and helping with recycling each week. 
Helping with the Hot Lunch Program is a great way to see your kids during the school day and to meet other parents. Younger children often accompany parents to the school. 
If you can help or have question please contact 
emjs@hotlunches.net
How can you support your PAC and keep our school such a great place to be?

We are grateful for the many contributions of our PAC Executive but unfortunately several of our parents are moving on next year. This means we have some volunteer vacancies to fill! Please consider volunteering for one of the roles listed below so we can keep all of our great programs and events running. Detailed guidance documents are available for many of these roles!
Interested? Questions? Email Kirsten at
 chair@emjspac.ca


Current EMJS PAC Volunteer Opportunities 2018/2019

  • PAC Executive Roles 2018/2019 (June 2018 onwards with handover time)
    • Chair, Treasurer, Co-Secretary, Members at Large
  • PAC Communications Coordinator (August 2018 onwards)
    • Writing and sending out PAC Newsletters via Mailchimp.
    • Surplus Spending Coordinator (depending on spending decisions)
  • Lunch Team Coordinators - for setup Wednesday mornings at drop off, and at noon Wednesdays. (September 2018 onwards)
  • Website / Twitter & Info Documents
    • Information for parents
    • Information for teachers (budget, Wednesday field trips, contact details)
  • Staff Appreciation 2018/19 (December/February)
    • Holiday, Administrative Professional Day and End of Year Cards/Gifts
    • February Luncheon
  • Neighbourhood Holiday Cards (Summer & December)
  • Spring Fair Coordination and Team Leads – June 8, 2018
  • Co-Lead to for Emergency Preparedness - purchasing supplies in Aug/Sept, coordinating restocking classrooms in Sept, and Emergency Snack Day in June.
  • Visual Arts Committee members
  • School Recycling Team
  • VCPAC Liaison (Attend monthly meetings)
What are highlights from the last PAC meeting?
  • Vanya McDoell from Fairfield Gonzales Community Centre spoke and said that the portables are due to be occupied by September 2018.  There is high demand for out of school care (OSC) and there will be an additional 21 spaces next year but there are still families on the waiting list. The gym will still used for OSC but will be made available for basketball next year. 
  • Samantha Dickie spoke about all great work VAC has been doing this year. Stay tuned for a VAC update in the next week!
  • PAC has been in contact with the Growing Young Farmers Society and school administration will share their program and ideas with staff. 
  • the Mayor of Oak Bay is installing a plaque at Trafalgar Park to recognize the efforts of EMJS students. 
  • the School is working with the Fire Department about how best to manage space in the gym during school assemblies. 
  • It's looking like English and French will be roughly split 50/50 next year in the school. There may be an additional Division.
  • New water fountains are being installed outside the gym and Mr. Pite's classroom. 
  • the parking lot area will be used for staging and storage of supplies as the portables are completed so that is why it hasn't been open for parking yet. 
  • work will be done on the school field in the summer to fix drainage and other issues. 
  • staff will be discussing school goals on the Pro-D Day May 18th. Goals will most likely target the themes of outdoor learning, literacy, numeracy, science and collaboration. 
  • Mr. Johnson spoke to the events surrounding the parking lot and hopes all members of the school community can now move forward together in a positive way to form a partnership our children deserve. 
To see the full minutes of the PAC meeting please look outside the office on the PAC board or email Kirsten at chair@emjspac.ca
When is the next PAC meeting? NOTE DATE CHANGE! 
  • Our Annual AGM.
  • Tuesday May 29th, 7pm in the school library.  Childcare provided for ages 3 and up.
  • This is our annual AGM where PAC Executive will present the PAC 18/19 budget and all PAC members can nominate and vote in our Executive. 
  • Attending the PAC meeting is best way to really know the issues of the school and all the great things PAC and the school are up to!  Hear updates from the School Administration and ask them about any issues that concern you. 
Would you child like to win a prize for active travel to school?
  • Consider walking or biking to school with your kids now that the weather is nicer! Your kids could win prizes!
  • To encourage active travel to school, Island Health is sponsoring the Way2Go campaign from May 7-17th. Kids who walk, bike, scooter or skateboard to school can enter to win prizes like rec centre passes, Hershel backpacks and SportChek gift cards. Details can be found here: http://way2go.islandhealth.ca
  • Bike to Work & School week is May 28th-June 3rd. Stay tuned for more information on how we’ll celebrate Bike to School week at EMJS. You can also learn more about this great community program and see how to participate here: https://www.biketowork.ca/victoria
  • If you have to drive to school, consider parking at our Drive to Five spot on Gonzales and walk along the path to get to school.
What's happening in the School District?

Supporting Gender Creative Children and Youth

A free workshop for parents and caregivers

  • Do you have a gender creative person in your family?
  • Do you want to be a better ally to your child’s gender creative friends and their families?
  • Are you seeking support with advocating for your gender creative loved one?
  • Do you want to take an active role in creating inclusive schools and communities
When: Tuesday, May 29th from 6:30-8:00pm
Where: The School District 61 Board Room, 556 Boleskine Rd.
Cost: This is a free event supported by School District 61

For more information, or to RSVP, please Kingsley@ambitgenderdiversity.com

Food Allergies and Schools  

Speaker Dr. S Cameron, Pediatric Allergist
What:  Parent Education Evening: Food Allergies and Schools, Speaker Dr. S Cameron, Pediatric Allergist
Where:  Spectrum School Theater
When:  May 24, 2018, 6:30-8:00 pm
Who can attend:  parents, administrators, teachers, school staff

 https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/food-allergies-and-schools-tickets-45664042380

Dress Code

The Board of Education approved Policy 5132 Student Dress Code and Regulation 5132 Student Dress Code. In December, The Board of Education directed the Superintendent to develop a draft dress code policy and regulation to bring back to the One Learning Community Ad Hoc Committee and all stakeholders. There have been 16 public meetings about dress code since June 2016.
 
Policy 5132 Student Dress Code will be reviewed annually. For more details about the policy and regulation passed, please review Board Agenda (pages 74-77):

www.sd61.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/91/2018/04/April-23-2018-Regular-Agenda-and-Attachments_revised.pdf

Use of Digital Technology 

The Board of Education approved updates to Policy 1300 Acceptable Use of Digital Technology, revised Regulation 1300.2 Employee Acceptable Use of Digital Technology and Regulation 1300.3 Student Acceptable Use of Technology, with a few recommendations.
 

For more details about the policy and regulations, please review Board Agenda (pages 113-145):

www.sd61.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/91/2018/04/April-23-2018-Regular-Agenda-and-Attachments_revised.pdf

Would you like to nominate a teacher for an excellence in education award?

Nominations are open for the new Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education, an opportunity to recognize the enormous contributions of education professionals who go above and beyond to make life better for students in British Columbia.

Awards will be given out in nine categories, ranging from community engagement to Indigenous education. Nominations will be accepted until June 18, 2018. Shortlisted nominees will be announced in late August. 

To nominate an education professional, go to: www.gov.bc.ca/excellenceineducation

Nine awards are available:

  • Teacher award categories include community engagement, outstanding new teacher, technology and innovation, diversity and inclusion, Indigenous education, social equity and extracurricular leadership.
  • A school and district leadership award is open to principals, vice-principals and administrators.
  • An outstanding support award is open to support staff (including bus drivers, crossing guards, student supervisors, education assistants, Indigenous support workers, custodians, maintenance workers and those completing clerical functions).
What's happening in the neighbourhood?

Over the last few weeks, the City has been making changes to the draft Gonzales Neighbourhood Plan based on direction from Council. The City also been meeting with different groups and individuals to plan the next round of engagement. The revised plan should be ready for your review in June.
 
The City will be looking for your feedback on:
  • How does this plan celebrate and maintain neighbourhood character while allowing for some change to meet the future housing needs of Gonzales residents?
  • How will this plan help the neighbourhood address issues of housing choice, aging population, building community, retaining the urban forest and climate change?
  • How do these changes fit with your hopes for the future of the neighbourhood?
Look for more details on upcoming engagement opportunities soon.
victoria.ca/gonzales
You can see the previous PAC newsletters if you missed them
https://us16.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=63aab2d1baa3fb928a5635602&id=4675384377
If you have any feedback or input to provide to the PAC Exec you can email Kirsten at chair@emjspac.ca or Exec collectively at exec@emjspac.ca

If you have information to add to our next newsletter,
please contact comms@emjspac.ca
EMJS PAC Twitter
EMJS PAC Website
Margaret Jenkins School Website & Calendar
EMJS Hot Lunch Website
Our mailing address is:
comms@emjspac.ca

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Ecole Margaret Jenkins School Parent Advisory Council · 1824 Fairfield Road · Victoria, Bc V8S 1G8 · Canada

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