Wednesday, June 29

Have a wonderful, restful and safe summer break!

We'll see you again on Tuesday, September 6 in the new school year!
 
If you haven't had a chance to browse through our 2019 SPRING FLING Photos & Videos go to our Facebook or see them on Instagram —this is our main annual fundraiser. Hopefully, we'll be able to host our 20th SPRING FLING next year in the spring!


PAC Executive Roles for 2022-23 :: Can you assist?


We had 25 Parents/Guardians join our PAC Executive this past year, working together in teams with the Principal & Vice Principals from the Dickens main & annex schools. 


Joining the PAC Executive is a great way to:

  • Learn about what’s going on at Dickens
  • Have input and vote on how government and fundraised dollars are spent
  • Advocate for the benefit of Dickens’ Students
  • Get involved in your Child’s School Community


Meetings are held once a month between September and May, with the AGM in June, and usually last 1 to 1.5 hours but you are free to leave early {or arrive later} if necessary. Child care is provided.

Positions available for the coming year include:
  • Chair/Co-chairs – arrange and lead meetings, meet with Dickens administration and serve as a conduit between parents/guardians and the school
  • Treasurer – responsible for the budgeting & disbursements process
  • Secretary/Co-secretaries – minute keeping at executive meetings and AGM
  • DPAC Representative – this position represents the Charles Dickens PAC at the district level, meeting once a month with other Vancouver School DPAC representatives to facilitate communication between the parent community and the Vancouver School district.
  • Members-at-Large – various roles and capacities throughout the year, as needed. We very often work in teams! 

Also need help with one small once-off Graphic Art task!
We need a
 Graphic Designer {or two}, to assist our Communications Team with one small once-off task, early in the new school year, regarding SPRING FLING. It's not necessary at all, to join the PAC Exec to help us out with this task. Thank you for reaching out to us!

Please forward this info to any Dickens Parents & Guardians who may be able to assist us. Email: dickens.pac@gmail.com to let us know if you can help, or if you have any questions. 


You can and will make a positive impact at the Dickens schools!

Minutes for PAC Executive Meetings (2021-2022)

2021

2022

Thursday, June 23

Singing Club—one of many PAC-sponsored activities

Singing Club is a vibrant, thriving extra-curricular activity sponsored by Dickens PAC, and is one example of many activities that runs throughout the year for which we raise funds. 

After the Vancouver School Board gave the go-ahead for school clubs to be cautiously re-established in September 2021, numerous Grade 3 to 7 students joined the singing sessions in the main school gym during Tuesdays' lunch breaks.  

The brainchild of Dickens' parent, Eve-Lyn de la Haye, Singing Club began five years ago in 2017 with 18 students. The numbers gradually increased over time, reaching a total of over 50 participants this school year. 

Affectionately called, "Evie" by her students, she is passionate about working with children to reach their full singing potential. As she teaches, she builds their personal presentation skills, which in turn boosts their self-confidence and their ability to communicate
 
Students sang at the virtual Remembrance Day Assembly in November 2021 and presented a brief Winter Concert after school in the Red Courtyard. 

However, due to pandemic measures, singers were unable to participate in the Vancouver School District’s Elementary Choral Festival, hosted annually at John Oliver Secondary. When Singing Club first participated in the music festival in 2018, custom royal blue Dickens' T-shirts were produced by Jackson’s General Store that could be reused again in consequent years but sadly they were not used over the past two years, due to the cancellation of larger gatherings.  

In February 2022, students were treated to a field trip to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's "Carnival of the Animals" at The Orpheum in Downtown Vancouver, BC. Group-discounted tickets were enjoyed by 48 students and 12 parent/guardian volunteers. Students were exposed to different musical instruments, genres and styles of music.  

Singing Club ended on a high note with three beautifully presented songs at the two, in-person Spring Concerts on June 9. Here's a sample of one of the songs, A Million Dreamssung by Evie from which the students learned the song.  It was written for the musical drama film, "The Greatest Showman", and was sung by Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams and Ziv Zaifman.

In conclusion, students not only blossom in their ability to perform but participating in Singing Club also helps them to establish a stronger sense of community, belonging and connectivity at Dickens.  

Some Notes: 

1) If your Grade 3-7 child(ren) would like to join Singing Club in the 2022-23 school year, they can join in September 2022 once registration opens – announcements will be made accordingly. 

2) Look out for more info here on our PAC Blog, in the fall, to learn how you can initiate / kickstart or restart a Parent-led, Teacher and PAC-sponsored Club at Dickens.

For more info and/or questions about Singing Club contact us at dickens.pac@gmail.com


Top Left: Students sing at the Vancouver School District’s Annual Elementary Choral Festival in 2019.  Top Right: Singing Club presents at the virtual Remembrance Day Assembly in November 2021.  Below: The VSO performed the Carnival of the Animals, at The Orpheum, in February 2022.

Sunday, June 19

Staff Appreciation Events and Thank You Posters at Main School & Annex


Early in the morning of  Thursday, June 16 we arranged to thank and celebrate our Main School Staff with delicious coffee / tea & breakfasts treats from Coffee Bike Vancouver.  A scrumptious homemade lunch for Annex Staff was organized and hosted by annex parents that afternoon. 

Thank You to all Dickens Parents & Guardians who assisted with each of these events*. W
e so appreciate your time and energy, as well as your generous food, beverage and dessert donations!

Kind regards,
Dickens PAC

{*We were unable to host a joint staff event due to pandemic restrictions}

Staff Appreciation Breakfast at Main School 









Staff Appreciation Luncheon at Dickens Annex





Tuesday, June 14

Staff Appreciation - June 2022


Once again, due to pandemic restrictions, we've been unable to host a full Staff Appreciation Luncheon for all members of our Dickens Staff. 

However, we have some early morning treats that will be served to Staff at the Main, from Coffee Bike Vancouver. Parents & Guardians at the Annex will be notified about assisting with a separate event for Annex Staff.

Thank you,
Dickens PAC 


  

Wednesday, June 1

Welcome to our Visitors on June 1 (main school) and June 2 (annex)!

A warm welcome to our visiting 2022-23 Kindergarten Families!


Here's how you can get to know more about the Charles Dickens PAC (Parent Advisory Council) at the main and annex schools!


These are our channels of communication with you *:

PAC Blog: Find out Who is Dickens PAC? and What do we do? Bookmark our blog at dickenspac.blogspot.com             

Newsletters: Receive our monthly PAC news! Click on the “Subscribe” button on the right side of the blog. Alternatively, click here and fill in your details!

Facebook: We're at Facebook.com/dickenspac  Please add us to "Your Shortcuts" and "Like" our page!

Instagram: “Follow” us at Dickens SPRING FLING Instagram.com/dickensspringfling  Browse through photos and videos from previous years to find out more about our main annual community & fundraising event.

Thank You! We’re excited you’re joining our Dickens Community. Wishing you a wonderful summer, and we look forward to meeting you in the new school year!

* Please share this info with as many new & current Dickens Families as possible - Thank You!

Sincerely, 

Sara Getz, Jessie Mok and Kate Shapiro (2021-22 Co-chairs) 
and the PAC Executive Team 

© Charles Dickens PAC




Annual General Meeting (AGM) and PAC Elections

AGM & Elections for the 2022 - 2023 School Year

Dickens Main School Library
Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 7:30 pm


It’s time to elect your Charles Dickens PAC Representatives for the 2022-2023 school year. All parents, from Kindergarten through Grade 7, are invited to attend and vote, so please mark your calendar! 


Joining the PAC is a great way to:
  • Learn about what’s going on at school
  • Have input and vote on how government and fundraised dollars are spent
  • Advocate for the benefit of Dickens’ students
  • Get involved in your child’s school community

Meetings are held monthly between September and May, with the AGM in June, and usually last around 1-2 hours.

Positions available for the coming year include:
  • Chair/Co-chairsarrange and lead meetings, meet with Dickens administration and serve as a conduit between parents/guardians and the school.
  • Treasurer – responsible for the budgeting & disbursements process.
  • Secretary/Co-secretariesminute keeping at executive meetings and AGM.
  • DPAC Representative –  this position represents the Charles Dickens PAC at the district level, meeting once a month with other Vancouver School DPAC representatives to facilitate communication between the parent community and the Vancouver School district.
  • Members-at-Large – various roles and capacities throughout the year, as needed. We very often work in teams! 

We also need a Graphic Designer or two to help our Communications Team with one small once-off item in the new year (re: SPRING FLING) - thank you for reaching out to us!  

All parents are welcome to attend the AGM but please note that in order to ensure quorum for this meeting, we request that you let us know if you are planning to attend. To do so, please send an email to dickens.pac@gmail.com by Tuesday, June 14 at 5pm.

An Agenda will be provided via the PAC Blog and by email no later than Wednesday, June 15.

For parents & guardians wishing to attend, but aren’t comfortable coming in-person, the Zoom link will be updated on the PAC Blog by 5pm on June 15.

Any Questions? Send an email to Jessie, Kate or Sara (your current PAC Co-Chairs) at dickens.pac@gmail.com  


Get involved in your child’s school community.
Your participation can make a positive impact!


Helping kids cope with media coverage of war and other traumatic events

The intense media coverage that accompanies traumatic events, such as war, violence in schools, acts of terrorism and natural disasters, can be very disturbing for children and teens. 

Certain young people may be particularly vulnerable, and more sensitive children can be seriously distressed simply by watching TV, YouTube or TikTok replays of current events that have made recent headlines.
Parents, educators, health practitioners and others who work with kids can help lessen anxieties arising from the coverage of these challenging events by using the following tips prepared by MediaSmarts and Dr. Arlette Lefebvre, Staff Psychiatrist, Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, ON.


The same info can be downloaded here as a PDF