SPRING FLING 2023 - First Call for Item Donations!

 
SPRING FLING is fast approaching – we need your help to make it successful!

Save the date for Thursday, May 25 from 4-8pm at the main school. This is our 20th Annual Fundraiser to support various programs, activities, art and classroom supplies at the main & annex, and is a wonderful celebration of our school and community.

Hello Dickens Families,
Please take a look through the following points to see what you can donate – Thank You!  

1. Donations for Silent Auction:

Do you own a business or work at a business providing products that could benefit those in our Dickens Community? Or can you donate 1-2 hours of your services as a Silent Auction item? 
If yes, contact us at dickens.spring.fling@gmail.com if you can donate a product, service or a gift card. 

2. Donations for MADE IT table:

The MADE IT table is back again this year – donate your home-made handiwork and we will sell it! 

Some Home-made Creative Crafts Ideas:  
• Knitting / Crocheting, e.g. Touques, Gloves, Scarves etc.
• Sewing / Quilting, e.g. Pillow Covers, Totes (cloth bags) etc. 
• Jams & Jellies, Candy / Chocolates
• Jewellery, Hair Accessories, Friendship Bracelets
• Buttons / Pins, Greeting Cards, Ornaments, Candles, Soaps
• Key Chains – with beads, Shrinky Dink etc.
• Bees Wax Wraps
• Artwork, Pottery, Ceramics

Contact us at dickens.spring.fling@gmail.com if you have any questions in this regard. Label your items with your name + number if you want unsold items returned. We will let you know 3 weeks before SPRING FLING when and where to drop off your donations.

We will be sending another emailed request 3 weeks before SPRING FLING for the following donations. Info will include when and where to drop off items:

3. Donations for Plant Sale:

Plants, bulbs, young trees, seedlings, seeds etc – buy new or pull from your garden! Decorative pots and containers are welcome too.  

4. Donations for Gently-used Charles Dickens Cheer Gear:

Donate any Dickens Cheer Gear that your children have outgrown.  

5. Donations for Bake Sale

Cookies, Squares, Cup Cakes, Loaves, Brownies, Pastries and other treats. Please add labels with ingredients in case of allergens. We’ll also need gluten-free and/or dairy-free items. 

6. Donations for “Dance Dance Musical Desserts” ***

Cookies, Squares, Cup Cakes, Loaves, Brownies, Pastries and other treats. Please add labels with ingredients in case of allergens. We’ll also need some gluten-free and/or dairy-free items. 

More details to follow in the emailed requests, including when and where to drop off items.  

Contact us at dickens.spring.fling@gmail.com if you have questions in regards to any of these donations. 

Thank you for your generosity!

*** Note: Our "Cake Walk" was renamed and changed to "Dance Dance Musical Desserts" this year after we were informed about its origin:

Cakewalk

The ‘cakewalk’ was the name of a pre-Civil War dance originally performed by slave-people on the plantations. The winner of the contest was given a cake and hence the name. In certain instances, the dance was also performed during the auctions of the slave-people where it was used to indicate their ‘value’ to the bidders. The word alludes to some of the darkest times for African-American communities...  The word has survived in our dictionaries and it is high time that we eliminate it altogether.

Quoted from an article in An Injustice magazine.

The cakewalk was a pre-Civil War dance originally performed by slaves on plantation grounds. The uniquely American dance was first known as the "prize walk"; the prize was an elaborately decorated cake. Hence, "prize walk" is the original source for the phrases "takes the cake" and "cakewalk."

From an additional reference. 

SPRING FLING 2023 :: Thursday, May 25 from 4-8pm

 We look forward to having you join us for this celebratory event!

April 2023 - Urban Roots PAC Fundraiser

 

Mark your calendars for April! Urban Roots PAC Fundraiser 

During the month of April, all Urban Roots pop-up garden center locations will be offering 10% back to our PAC on every in-store pre-tax purchase made by Dickens families and friends. Just mention Charles Dickens Elementary at checkout!

 

Locations across the Lower Mainland will open the week of April 1st. 

There are two locations in Vancouver: East Hastings - PNE and Kitsilano

This is a great way to support our school and a growing BC business that provides communities with a local nursery experience.

Thank You, re: Fam Jam - Family Music Night

An enormous thank you to Mike and Char for hosting another fabulous Fam Jam evening on Thursday, March 8th!

Together with Mike Jackson and Char Hunter, we would like to thank the families and staff who attended the event for all their support, and thanks to the many parents & kids who shared their amazing musical talents with us as well! 

There were 150 guests in total - the largest family music night gathering we've yet had! It was wonderful to also have Dickens music teacher, Eric, contribute with a solo act, and to have him lead students in a sing and play-a-long too. 

We’d also like to extend our thanks to Vira Jackson for creating a magical atmosphere in the gym with the bunting and lighting, and to the students who helped collect the donations, and with the setting-up of chairs and tearing down too. 

Donations collected:
Two boxes filled with about 50 food items were given to the Grandview Woodland Food Connection. In addition, $385 was raised for the school’s music program.

We greatly appreciate your generous support, and look forward to seeing you again at our next fun-filled Fam Jam! 

* Here are a few pics from Vira of some of the adults who performed. We're not able to share photos of the kids, if they can clearly be identified, as we would have to obtain permission. 

Save the date for SPRING FLING!

If you'd like to know more about what takes place on the day, you're welcome to view our  facebook.com/dickenspac and instagram.com/dickensspringfling to see pictures & video clips from 2019 and previous years.

Thursday May 25, 2023 4-8pm 

Fam Jam - Family Music Night!

Dickens Main & Annex families are invited to join us for an evening of jammin' & fun!  March 8th from 6:30-9:30pm in the Main School Gym.

If you would like to perform, contact Char Hunter at char_hunter@hotmail.com to register.

Suggested donations at the door: 

$5 per family or 2 food bank items will go to the Dickens Music Program and to GV Food Bank.