PAC MEETING MINUTES
THOMAS HANEY SECONDARY – PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL
TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016
ATTENDEES
Grant Frend – Principal
Maria Green-Andreolli – Chair
Kellie Walker – Vice Chair
Jennifer Rusconi - Treasurer
Pamela Morrey - Secretary - SENDS REGRETS
Meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m.
REFRESHMENTS AND WELCOME
Refreshments were available as everyone arrived and the PAC Executive welcomed parents to the meeting.
INTRODUCTION OF EXECUTIVE AND ADMINSTRATION
Maria Green-Andreolli welcomed everyone and introduced the executive and administration.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Please note that all information discussed at this meeting can be found on the THSS website under the Parents/PAC heading. Notices and announcements are sent to parents/guardians via the parent portal.
PRESENTATION BY MR. JEFF RADOM (MATH DEPARTMENT HEAD)
You will find all math course outlines and a link to math resources, pathways, etc, at www.thssmath.com. Math website has instructional videos online which can be helpful. If you have any questions, please contact Jeff Radom by phone or email (). Help sessions are also available after school in Mr. Radom’s TA Room on Monday’s and Wednesdays.
Math 8 – Standard for all students
Math 9 – Standard for all students
Math 10 - Options of A&W 10 (for students pursuing a career in trades) or Foundations 10 (for students planning to attend university), PROVINCIAL EXAM worth 20% of the student’s overall mark.
Math 11 - Options of A&W 11 (for students pursuing a career in trades), Foundations 11 or Pre-calculus 11 (for students planning on entering post-secondary Sciences or Engineering)
Math 12 - Options of A&W 12 (please note that A&W 12 not required for graduation), Foundations 12 (for students entering post-secondary Social Sciences or Humanities), or Pre-calculus 12 and Calculus 12 (post-secondary Sciences or Engineering)
Foundations is a doable math stream. Pre-calculus is harder but it will get you into all universities and colleges. If students are planning are going on to university and taking any math class, it is highly recommended to take Calculus 12 (AP Calculus 12 – 1st year credit).
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BCAMT (BC Association of Math Teachers) (www.bcamt.ca) outlines what institutions are accepting what math. Note: Always double check with the institution itself as requirements change.
CONNECTIONS 11 PROGRAM
Chris Connolly, along with Jennifer Godfrey and Jennifer Lunoch (taking over for Mr. Mark
Biggar on Paternity leave), spoke about Connections 11 Program. Due to the programs
Popularity, numbers have soared in the past to over 120 students, which makes it difficult to
manage. 90 students works ideal for this type of working environment in relation to teachers
supervising and interacting.
This course allows students the opportunity to work in a “pod” system. The courses offered through Connections are English 11, Social Studies 11, and Law 12 and the purpose is to create a cohesive sense of community and social awareness through unique experiences via fieldtrips and events. The main difference between Connections and the more traditional offering is in the delivery of content. Class culture is an important part of the program, and the teachers involved encourage academic and social connections through school and community involvement. There is a large field trip component of Connections so that the application of course content may be observed first hand. Interaction with classmates during class time and on field trips is an important component of Connections. Students learn to appreciate and share information with the other program participants in a way that’s productive and exclusive. Objectives and special tasks are implemented through the learning process so the students can measure their progress along the way. There is not a formal course fee for the program, but it is expected that students fund their participation on course outings. Preference will be given to students who take the full selection of courses listed above. Student must complete an application form to enroll in this course. There will be mention of this program at the Great Assembly on February 19th with more information for the meeting time and application process to follow.
GENERAL REPORTING FROM PAC ON SCHOOL ACTIVITES PORTION:
ADOPTION OF MINUTES
The minutes from the NOVEMBER 17TH, 2015 meeting were motioned to be adopted by Joshy Charan and seconded by Cathy Antalek. There were no matters arising from the November 17th, 2015 minutes.
CHAIR REPORT AND NEW BUSINESS:
Gaming Funding Awarded to Teachers/Principals for select programs, materials and equipment to the sum of $20,673.60 as based on voting from November 17th meeting. This information has now been posted to the school website under the PAC tab for parent’s perusal. We reserved some funds from our original mandate of $23,000.00 to spend as some of the projects selected had contingencies with regard to taxes, exchange rates and shipping/freight charges that could not be confirmed by the time of the bids submission for voting by our PAC and parents. Thank you again to our helpful parents who attended that meeting and helped us choose some fantastic opportunities for our students.
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$500.00 donation received from Royal Canadian Legion for Dry Grad Celebrations and a thank you letter has been mailed out.
Awaiting confirmation of our February speaker with regard to the HACK YOUR FUTURE SERIES on Planning and Procrastination presentation. This presentation was already featured on another parent evening not hosted by the PAC. A new topic will be arranged and made available to the parents via the parent portal and school website within the next couple of weeks.
SCHOOL PLANNING COUNCIL (SPC) is no longer required by the district as past in the last bit of legislation brought forward in 2015, our principal noted however that he would still be happy to meet with parents to review the schools upcoming proposed plans should they request such a meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT
There is currently $30,382.53 in gaming funds account. Many of the teachers granted requests are in the process of going through the district’s accounting system, at present we are awaiting invoices from the district for the programs/projects that were granted. No other items to report in finance at this time.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Course planning assemblies will be taking place late February. Students will receive information from their TA as to when they will be approached by the counsellors thereafter in their English classes to begin the process for the next school year.
Upcoming student activities are: Trip to Big White Ski Resort, Winter Formal Dinner & Dance for grades 11 and 12 students, assorted fishing adventures and trips in the works.
February 10th Immunizations will take place for the Grade 9 students.
Lots of future travel trips are being planned. Concerns about the risk management of some of these trips have arisen with the recent terrorist actions that took place in Paris, with liability issues playing a role in how and where the destinations are and how they are planned.
With report cards coming up prior to the Spring Break, Monday’s teacher’s session this past week was focused on improving working with parents via new reporting and tracking student’s progress methods. This is an ongoing dialogue to find more effective solutions as to how to keep parents in the loop in relation to their child’s academic status.
Provincial Satisfaction School Surveys have been emailed out to all Grade 10 and 12 students’ parents this past week as provided by the Ministry of Education. This is an important tool to assess important areas of the school curriculum and environment. Please take the time to complete this important survey.
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Upcoming Important Dates:
February 3rd: Grade 8 Info Night 7pm
February 5th:Schools not in session
February 8th: Family Day – no school
February 10th: Gr 9. Immunizations, 8:30 am
February 15th:Collaboration block 8:30 – 9:30, TA 9:30 – 10:00 (no Y block)
February 16th:PAC meeting 7pm
February 17th:Y Day
February 18th:Non-instructional Day
February 19th: Non-instructional Day – Curriculum Implementation Day
February 26th:Marks cut-off
PAC MEETING SCHEDULE:
The PAC Meeting schedule can be found on the THSS website. The PAC welcomes and encourages all parents/guardians to attend. No fundraising is involved.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at 7 pm in the Suddaby Room: MEETING TOPIC TO BE ANNOUNCED.
Thank you to all of the parents who attended tonight’s meeting. We hope to see you at our next meeting in February.
Meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm.