• On Tuesday, September 17th, the PAC is hosting a family BBQ to coincide with the school's Welcome Back Celebration. This will be a great opportunity to catch up with other EMJS families and you don't have to cook dinner!
• There will be burgers and hot dogs (meat and veggie), veggies and fruit. Please preorder your food here: https://emjs.hotlunches.net (access code EMJS). Deadline to order food is Sunday September 15th at midnight.
• We need parent volunteers to help make this event happen! If you can spare 30 min during the BBQ to help flip burgers, serve food or sell 50/50 tickets, or if you can help with food prep before the BBQ, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080f45acac2da2f85-welcome
• The PAC will also have an info table at the BBQ where you can pick up a Thrifty Foods Smile Card or a Fairway Market card if you need one! 

• Are you new to EMJS and would like to know more about the PAC? If so, we would love for you to join us at our first PAC meeting of the year on on Thursday, September 26th at 7pm. We meet in the library and childcare is available for children aged 3 y and up. 
• If you have questions about the PAC before the meeting, please feel free to email us at exec@emjspac.ca or chair@emjspac.ca
• Other information about the PAC is available on our website: https://emjs.hotlunches.net

• Thank you to those parents who already signed up to be a class rep! 
• Class reps are still needed for many divisions. If you would like to volunteer, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080f45acac2da2f85-room2
• A guidance document for class reps is available here: PDF

• Does your grade 5 student want a hoodie this year? Are you interested in having special events for families of Grade 5s? Would you like to help fundraise or organize these events? If so, please consider signing up to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080F45ACAC2DA2F85-emjs

• For more info on PAC activities please visit our website: https://emjs.hotlunches.net
• Ordering is open for the BBQ (deadline Sept 15th at midnight)
• Ordering for hot lunches will open soon!
• Even if you don't ever plan to order anything, please register for an account as this will let you select what information you want displayed (or not) on your class contact list. You can now register for an account here: https://emjs.hotlunches.net (Note: even if you set up an account last year, the system is reset every summer so everyone needs to register each year for a new username and password). The access code is: EMJS
• There will be 9 hot lunches this year, all on Wednesdays: Oct 23, Nov 13, Dec 4, Jan 22, Feb 12, Mar 4, Apr 15, May 6, and May 27
• All proceeds from our fundraisers go toward specialized instruction for our kids (e.g. chess, Artists in Residence, Science Venture) and other opportunities for the school that would not be possible without PAC funding.
• We need a volunteer from every division at all our lunches to help distribute food to every classroom. If you want to signup you can indicate your availability when you order lunches, and/or email emjs@hotlunches.net to find out more about how you can help. It is a great way to see your child and their friends during the school day and also meet other parents!

• We are looking forward to Walk and Wheel to School Week (WWTS), which runs from October 7-11.
• During this week (and hopefully as often as possible during the school year!) we encourage all EMJS students to choose an active way to get to school - walking, biking, scooting or skateboarding! We will have draw prizes each day of the week for those children that walk or wheel to school. 
• Parent volunteers are needed to help organize activities for the week and hand out draw tickets before school during WWTS. If you would like to help, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080F45ACAC2DA2F85-walk or email Heather Macdonald (heather002@gmail.com). 

• Does your child/do your children want to do the Thrifty Food Kids Run being held after the Good Life Fitness Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday, Oct 13th? If so, when you register your child(ren), be sure to add them to the EMJS school team. It would be great to bring some EMJS school spirit to this fun community event!
• As an added incentive, the school team with the most participants registered for the Kids Run by Wed, Oct 9th wins $1000 for their school! 
• The registration fee is $20 with ALL proceeds going to KidSport Greater Victoria. "KidSport Greater Victoria is on a mission to raise and distribute dollars locally to ensure that children in financial need have the opportunity to participate in seasons of organized sport, So ALL Kids Can Play."
• Race details can be found here.

• Below are a number of very easy ways you can help fundraise for the PAC when you are shopping:
• Load up your EMJS Thrifty Foods Smile Card every time you shop, particularly in the next few weeks (and you can load it up now and spend it later!). You can still collect your own Air Miles when you make purchases using the card - all that changes is Thrifty Foods generously donates 5% of what you load on the card back to our school!
• Load up your EMJS Fairway Market Community Card and use it at Fairway Markets the same way as the Smile Card.
• When buying bread at Cobs Bread on Oak Bay Avenue, tell them you have a “Dough Raiser” account under the name “Margaret Jenkins”.
• When buying shoes at Finn & Izzy on Oak Bay Avenue, tell them you would like to support Margaret Jenkins school.
• Before your bottle returns are processed at any Return-It Bottle Depot location, let the attendant know you would like the payout to go to “École Margaret Jenkins PAC”
• More details about these programs: https://emjs.hotlunches.net/admin/view-doc.php?dnum=9694

• In case you missed it before summer vacation, School District 61 approved the proposed changes to school catchment boundaries, which will be in effect for the 2020/2021 school year.
• You can find more details on the approved changes here: https://www.sd61.bc.ca/news-events/community/catchment-boundary-review/
• Links to new catchment maps:
  • Elementary
  • Middle
  • Secondary

Last year, starting with the action of just a single student, Greta Thunberg, millions of students took to the streets to demand governments take real action on climate change. Despite the incredible growth and strength of this movement, students know that we will not achieve these necessary actions without having workers and adults working alongside students in solidarity.

During the week of September 20 - 27, there will be actions across the planet, including right here in Victoria. Parents 4 Climate hope to reach out to parents in the community to work together to solve the climate crisis.

Specifically, on September 23rd, a professional development day, Parents 4 Climate is co-hosting a Rally & Teach-in along with the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association and Dogwood BC. 

They hope to connect students, parents, teachers, and everyone else in our school communities to talk about strategies to stop catastrophic climate change. The event will take place from 1:30pm - 3:00pm on the lawn of the legislature.

There will be speakers, activities and information tables from a variety of environmental groups around the city. There is a Facebook event available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/638460760011883/