Monday, January 26

SPRING FLING 2015

Save the Date!  Thursday, May 28 from 4 to 8p.m.

Our Annual SPRING FLING is the PAC’s largest fundraiser at Dickens. All students, at both the Main & Annex, benefit from the funds raised at this event.

Request for Volunteers:


Key Leaders for Specific Areas: We need leaders for specific areas to help with planning and organization. If you are interested and able to volunteer, contact Andy Mitchell (our Spring Fling Manager) for more info at: amitchell@telus.net

Silent Auction Volunteers.  Take on as little/as much work as you are able. Contact Andy Mitchell at amitchell@telus.net if you can help out or would like more info about these volunteer positions:

Silent Auction Central Coordinators: This position can be filled by one person, or a team of two people. The person(s) would oversee general organization and management, including recruiting volunteers and assigning tasks.

Silent Auction Volunteers are also needed for the following tasks:
  • Donations:  As many volunteers as possible to solicit local businesses for donations, gathering and storing donations,  preparing bid sheets and donations for auction. (approx. 2 hours per person January/February).
  • Classroom Baskets:  1 volunteer from the Annex and 2 Volunteers from the Main School. Prepare notices to go home asking parents for donations, gathering donations, preparing donations in baskets for the auction.
  • Onsite at Event:  8 volunteers to organize the tables and support the auction during the FLING.
  • Distribution Coordinators: 4 volunteers for the week after SPRING FLING, as parents pick up sold items, before/after school.


Request for Hand-crafted Donations:


The “Made It” table is here again this year! Last year this entrepreneurial table and its goods brought in over $1,200 which is fantastic! This is an early reminder that we are looking to the community for hand-crafted goodies and great artistic ideas. So start knitting, sewing, crafting, pottery, jewellery-making, or whatever you do! We welcome anything home-made. For more info, contact Kerryn Williams ("Made It" Coordinator) at kerrynwilliams@hotmail.com

Thank You!

Saturday, January 24

PAC Update re: Enrollment and Space Issues


Our parent community remains very concerned about possible changes being proposed for Charles Dickens (Main and Annex) to solve enrollment pressures.

Thank you to all parents/guardians who helped move us forward over this past week. It’s been very stressful for all involved - much has transpired in a short time. Thanks also to everyone who attended the meeting on Tuesday at the school and/or the VSB Committee II meeting on Wednesday.

In addition to the email letter update provided on January 22 from the school, we wanted to share more information with you:

You will likely have noticed from your own conversations this week that not all parents necessarily agree with each others’ perspectives; each and every parent is looking for answers on how this issue will affect them and will advocate for what they believe is best for their family.

At this time, the PAC Exec is aware and understands there are parents who do not agree with our recent communications or the petition we circulated on Wednesday morning, or the position we took at the VSB meeting. Emotions are running high among parents/guardians and staff at both sites. It is crucial though that we all understand the facts, issues and outcomes.

The PAC represents and supports several parent/guardian groups at both the Main & Annex. It will not serve us well as a community to be divisive; this may hurt our ability to advocate strongly to the VSB for the best possible long-term sustainable solutions.

There are many groupings within the context of the enrollment and space issues, and of course there are also the teachers who are another group. We’ve noted these groupings below, and included a few facts which were shared at Tuesday’s meeting:

1.    Parents of in-catchment children at both sites (over 600 students)
These numbers fluctuate annually due to non-school factors. There is usually an attrition of +/- 10% of Kindergarten registrations before the new school year begins. There is historically +/-10% attrition at the 5th grade as children move to special programs such as French immersion.


2.   Parents of out-of-catchment children at the Main (90 students)
For many years, enrollment in Vancouver had been falling. This means schools would take all student registrations regardless of location. As noted in the letter from both the school and the PAC earlier, there are many factors which have resulted in the enrollment issue now facing us. The VSB considers students in enrolling classes in and secure. Of the 90 students, 71 are in the intermediate grades and by the start of 2016/17 school year, almost all will have moved into high school.


3.    Parents of in-catchment children who are enrolled for Kindergarten (GrK) for September 2015 (currently at 47 applications)
With the Enrollment Management Plan, all schools have a capped sustainable number of GrK students they can accept. Current registration closes on Jan 31. The number of registrations received to-date for the 2015/16 school year are within Dickens’ sustainable range. The 17 children from the Annex moving over to the Main has no affect on any GrK registrations.


4.    Parents of children in the ELAC class (14 students, half are in-catchment)
For the VSB, this is a District class and follows a unique set of criteria and policies. They have stated for 2015/2016 ELAC will remain as it is. They have also stated that by 2016/17, 11 of the students will have moved to high school, with only 3 remaining (who are all in-catchment students). New students will be admitted during this intervening time but they are being informed of the current issues at hand.


5.    Parents of out-of-catchment children at the Main, with a sibling(s) who may or may not get into Dickens and/or who may have already been turned down last September
They fall into the lottery for registrations, behind in-catchment children, even though they have a child(ren) at the Main.


6.    Parents of out-of-catchment children at the Annex now grandfathered into the Main (40 students)
Please note that any Annex out-of-catchment children transferring to the Main over the next three years does not affect the number of in-catchment GrK students that can be accepted (GrK registrations are capped for sustainability – see 3. above). And per the Committee II Report, “It should be noted that staff and some parents have expressed significant concern about the possibility of having to adjust the multi-age model currently in place at Dickens Elementary. Fear has been expressed that allowing the out-of-catchment Annex students into Dickens Elementary will somehow destroy the school’s ability to organize in a multi-age format.  That is not accurate.”


7.    Parents who live in-catchment with children due to come to Dickens in September and/or beyond
The number of students is unknown.


Tuesday’s Emergency Parent Meeting at Dickens

We had over 85 parents/guardians present, representing both sites. The tone was positive – people listened generously and there was a sense of community. By the end, parents were better informed and were offering to act quickly given the PAC was only invited that day, to present to the VSB the following day.

A small group from both the Main & Annex created a petition for parents/guardians to sign on Wednesday morning and posted a letter to the PAC Blog for parents to send to VSB Trustees - this was the true Dickens spirit at work! The Trustees informed us that they received several letters. While we also gathered over 200 signatures at both sites, we had no need to bring this forward to the VSB during Wednesday’s meeting.

The other outcome of the meeting was the idea to create a PAC led sub-committee of parents/guardians who are interested in helping to do the “heavy lifting” with us to get ready for our presentation to the VSB’s Committee at a future date (hoping for an appointment in April*). Parents can help with tasks, brainstorming etc. during the day or evening - the more brains the better! Some parents have already volunteered to work on this committee. If you'd like to join the PAC led sub-committee, please email dickens.pac@gmail.com


Wednesday’s VSB Committee II Meeting

The PAC Chairs met with VSB senior staff on Monday, and were informed Tuesday that the PAC Exec was added to the Committee II agenda for Wednesday to make a presentation.

This was to be the PAC presentation, separate from the Annex OOC group. Our position for this meeting was to get the VSB to split the two decisions (Annex grandfather distinct from space/enrollment issues) as we had not been given sufficient time for parent consultation. We were successful in the request for splitting and delaying, and the Annex parents were also successful. Per the letter from Anna Maria today, our parent community now has the time needed for consultation, dialogue and the ability to suggest sustainable solutions. 

*We are awaiting a date from the VSB on which we will be asked to present - we have asked for a time in April due to the March spring break.

We strongly encourage you to read the following documents (click on the links) and become more familiar with the facts:

·      PAC Chairs presentation to Committee II - http://goo.gl/w5oaeK

·      Annex Parents’ presentation by Maggie Milne to Committee II - http://goo.gl/uQAFVj

·      Parents’ support for the Annex delegation by Christy Thomas to Committee II - http://goo.gl/c2SWk8

·      Committee I Minutes - http://goo.gl/GAtSqu

·      Committee II Report* (still to be revised) - http://goo.gl/FAJqNf


Next Steps

As decisions on space and enrollment issues have been deferred, no decisions have been made to date, other than the Annex grandfathering. So the five proposals in the Committee II Report* are still on the table, and are all up for discussion.  

While the impact of space and enrollment issues will not be immediately felt, not until 2016/17 or the school year after, the VSB is conscious that time is needed for consultation and that adequate time is required to put any decision(s) into action.

As we obtain more information within the next week or so, we will update you on that and the next steps for our sub-committee. If you wish to volunteer for the PAC led sub-committee in the interim, please email dickens.pac@gmail.com


Wednesday, January 21

Send letters to the VSB today! re: Enrolment Pressures

As you heard on Friday (Jan 16) and in the follow-up correspondence from the PAC (Jan 18), there is a Committee II meeting at the VSB (1580 West Broadway) today: Wednesday, January 21 at 5p.m. to discuss and make recommendations about "enrolment pressures" at Dickens. The meeting has been changed to the Boardroom to accommodate more people - Please come, if you can!

The VSB needs to hear from Dickens parents! Parents were at the Main & Annex this morning to collect signatures on a petition. 

Please also send an email to the trustees today before the meeting, to voice your concerns: A sample letter (similar to the requests on the petition) can be seen at this link: http://goo.gl/1411el

Feel free to edit this sample letter as you wish and sign your name. 

Emails should be sent to the VSB Trustees:

christopher.richardson@vsb.bc.ca

and, if you wish, cc to Anna Maria (Dickens Principal) at aniccolimu@vsb.bc.ca

Many thanks!
Dickens PAC


Sunday, January 18

IMPORTANT MESSAGE - Response to school letter

PARENTS & GUARDIANS - READ AND TAKE ACTION NOW!
PAC Follow-up to School Letter sent on Friday, January 16 2015

Our parent community is very concerned about possible changes being proposed for Charles Dickens (Main and Annex) to solve the enrollment pressures we continue to face.

Over the past years, enrollment at both the Annex and Main has steadily increased resulting in the challenges we are facing at this time. As a result, the VSB implemented a measure called the Enrollment Management Plan that essentially monitors our enrollment closely. Additionally, it changed the status of our Annex students from continuing cross-catchment to new applicants. However, this measure fails to address the unique relationship an annex has to its mother school. 

The interpretation of policy, practiced at Dickens for over 30 years, allows children enrolled in the Annex, including those who are cross-boundary, to transition over to the Main when they complete Grade 3. This was changed by the VSB last fall without consultation of the affected families. 

It should be noted that the restriction of the Dickens cross-boundary children transferring to the Main will not alleviate the stresses of increasing overall enrollment at Dickens and does not affect the number of in-catchment Kindergartens that can be accepted (it is capped for sustainability).

Your PAC supports ALL Dickens students and parents/guardians. 

Our goal is to ensure that all students are accommodated and not impacted by our space challenges and that Dickens families support each other while we advocate to find a solution together. It is our belief that the existing Dickens cross-boundary students attending the Annex should now be grandfathered in at the Main. Promises made to these families should be honored and the children should not be made to pay for poor planning on the part of the Ministry and the VSB.

It is important to note that no decisions have yet been made by the District or the VSB at this time. 

The enrollment crisis we continue to experience is symptomatic of bigger issues: 

We are experiencing chronic underfunding by the Ministry, and there is a city agenda to zone specific areas for densification without any provision for infrastructure to accommodate such rapid growth. The population in this neighbourhood is projected to continue to grow. As directed by the Ministry of Education policy, the VSB can only plan based on data reflecting current population numbers. Clearly this is short-sighted and damaging to the cohesiveness of any community and is the real problem that needs to be addressed! 

The PAC is now seeking clarification from the VSB and the Administration about the potential changes to multi-age classes as well as the possible changes to physical space at both schools. We will communicate our findings to parents via the PAC Blog and Parent Class Rep email communications.

It is our understanding that multi-age is not at risk at Dickens but that the high student enrollment may be accommodated by splitting age groups differently than they are today: e.g. shift Grade 4’s out of the 2/3/4 class groupings so that 30 rather than 24 kids can fill an enrolling class. Dickens parents feel very strongly that our multi-age groupings should not be threatened in any way and we want to be very sure that there is no threat in the proposal!

Reduction of library/open space:

We also feel that reducing library/open space to create extra classrooms is not a good solution in schools that have no other useable teaching or meeting spaces for larger groups of students. Staff and students utilize the library/open space at both the Main and Annex daily to meet, study, and learn. 

We are calling on all Dickens parents to mobilize quickly as any of the proposed changes will affect our entire community. There is much more at stake here than a group of students moving over from the Annex!

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
  1. Please take time to send an email to the VSB Trustees now and express your support for a sustainable and appropriate solution for our growing enrollment – the more we send the better: Email joy.alexander@vsb.bc.ca (Liaison Trustee) and copy banderson@vsb.bc.ca (the assistant to our Director)                                                                  
  2. Attend our emergency PAC-hosted parent meeting on Tuesday January 20 at 6:30pm at the Main School. During this meeting we will try to gather more feedback and respond with information we have. Childminding will be provided.                                                                                         
  3. Attend the VSB Committee II meeting on Wednesday January 21 at 5:00pm. The more we show our support, the stronger our voice is collectively.
  • Committee II Meeting - Planning and Facilities Committee, Room 120 of the Vancouver School Board Education Centre, 1580 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Thank you,
Dickens PAC 


Friday, January 16

City Wide Advocacy Workshop

Save this date to advocate for our children: Thursday, January 29

Vancouver DPAC is hosting a City Wide Advocacy Workshop at 6:30 pm at the VSB at West Broadway and Fir. 

The key-note speaker is Adrienne Montani from First Call, with a mission to mobilize British Columbians to work together to ensure our children and youth have the rights, opportunities and resources to reach their full potential. 
The group's campaigns and actions are based on the belief that all children and youth in BC should have first call on society's resources. 

Breakout sessions will be led by DPAC Vice-Chairs Farah Shroff and Diana Day and Marlene Rodgers from Public Education Now http://ppen.ca/


Childminding, free underground parking and healthy snacks will be provided. 


Tuesday, January 13

Creating Successful Students

The Learning Brain

Highly renowned researcher, neuroscientist, and Lord Nelson parent, Dr. Lara Boyd, will discuss how children's brains change with learning and development.  She will present recent data showing brain plasticity in children and conclude with some practical tips for maximizing learning and brain plasticity.  

Monday, 26 January 2015 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
The Gym at Lord Nelson Elementary
2235 Kitchener Street, VancouverBC

Reserve your ticket online today at www.thelearningbrain.eventbrite.ca for only $5. 
Space is limited so act quickly!

If tickets remain on the day of the event, they will be available at the door for $7.Laura has asked that all proceeds of the evening be donated to Lord Nelson's technology fund.