Sperling PAC
General Meeting Minutes for February 15, 2023
Meeting called to order at on or around 7:08 pm. Meeting was held electronically (via Zoom).
Attendance: Kelly, Sheeba, Jessica, Livia, Jason, William, Cliff, Irina, Jevy, Kristin, Principal Mr. Lee and Head Teacher Ms. Venos, and various parents
Adopt Minutes from Last General Meeting November 16, 2022
The previous Minutes from the last General meeting held on November 16, 2022 were passed and adopted. The motion to adopt was moved and seconded.
Items discussed:
Old Business from Last General Meeting
PAC Table. The PAC received lovely feedback from parents. The PAC plans to hold another one possibly at end of March (March 31st ).
New Business
After School Programs/Activities. In the past, Burnaby Parks and Recreation have offered programs held onsite at the school (after school). Other outside organizations often provide programs as well. All of these programs are provided and implemented outside of the physical school’s administration. All programs have to be approved by the District that considers safety plans, community values, and organizations that are proven as good entities to work with. Burnaby Parks and Recreation has been having a hard time getting enough staff to facilitate and offer more programs. While they are looking to increase the opportunities available, it should be noted that all organizations need to go through an approval process through the District.
The school admin (such as the secretary) are not involved or can assist with any questions regarding the programs and registrations, etc. Parents would need to contact the organization directly in relation to program information.
Volunteer Coordinator Position. The PAC is looking for someone to help maintain and update a volunteer database. This person would also coordinate and liaise with committee members on PAC organized events and activities held throughout the school year, such as hot lunches, pancake breakfast, Sperling Sprint, Fun Fair and would work together to set up volunteer sign ups. If anyone is interested in this role, please contact Kelly at chair@sperlingpac.com
Updates
- Hot Lunch. The committee provided a general update and feedback from Term 1’s rollout. Positive feedback overall by parents and students. Mixed feedback on some of the food and vendor (one in particular due to undercooked items). Overall, many parents were appreciative on the return of hot lunch and the hard work by the committee. Term 2 is in progress and included its first in-house Hot Dog day. The hot lunch could not be done without the volunteer help by families. Thank you to all that have signed up and helped thus far.
- Pancake Breakfast. The event was a success and an overall amazing effort by everyone. So many volunteers and many happy and smiling faces from the students. Everyone was so happy to have it return after COVID and 2-year hiatus.
- Grade 7 Committee. The committee has finalized the year-end event it will be held on June 26th at Central City Fun Park (Surrey). The venue was chosen based on a majority vote by the students. In regards to fundraising, the committee thanks the school and PAC for all their help and support. The recent fundraising efforts by the committee were Shopfunds, Winter Concert Concession and Winter Concert Raffle (lottery draw of the coveted front row seats). Some upcoming efforts include Popcorn Day(s), including a Popcorn and Juice ‘store’ during lunch – on March 2nd which lines up with a hot lunch day. Another planned fundraiser is the Neufeld Farms (frozen foods) fundraiser, which will begin on Friday, February 17th until March 8th . The pick up date will be April 3d (5:30 – 6 pm) at Sperling School. There is also a parent who is hosting a photo shoot session – taking place in May (more details to come out).
A reminder that the Grade 7 committee also has a bottle depot account (located at Kensington Plaza). The account is (by phone number: 604-839-0311). - DPAC Update. There was a meeting on January 16th which focused on Long Range Facility Planning. The District is looking at enrollment (which is going up rapidly) within the broader community. They will be going to the province with a master plan and seeking funds; the project is currently at the phase of community engagement. No school closures are being considered (good news!) The requirements of schools are being considered and possibly new boundary lines and catchment areas, as well as current projects for seismic upgrades.
There will be an Open House Meeting that is scheduled for February 22nd from 5-8 pm at various District offices. If one cannot attend there is an online form survey.
The next DPAC meeting will be on February 21st , which will discuss the topic of Emergency Preparedness. - Lost & Found. Many items were around just before Christmas. The Committee will post the items on the Instagram account (@ecolesperlinglost) soon. The committee parents will also be doing another empty run of unclaimed items just before Spring Break. The Committee is looking for more parent volunteers – please contact Kelly at chair@sperlingpac.com if you can help out!
- PAC Website Update. The website has now been updated with current information, including:
– (under News Link) to-date and past Minutes
– (under the Calendar Link) events connected to the school calendar and any other PAC related events
– (under the PAC tab) – you will find email addresses for all PAC Executive and Committee representatives; outlines of all the PAC meeting dates and times; general descriptions and Q&As about PAC
The link, which was also posted on the chat at the time of the Zoom, is: https://new.sperlingpac.com/ - CPF Update. CPF held a recent French movie showing but many schools weren’t able to make it unfortunately as transportation was an issue. Another session of French language learning classes (for parents/adults) are being made available in April. L’Ecole (book subscriptions) are underway; Sperling will receive 3-4 books due to the amount of subscriptions by families this year.
The next CPF meeting is slated for February 21st. - Budget Update.
Fundraising Account:
a. Incoming funds received:
i. Hot Lunch orders and payments (via MunchalunchStripe deposits)
b. Expenses disbursed:
i. Invoice for Hip Hop sessions
ii. Invoice payments disbursed to various hot lunch vendors
iii. Unused Munchalunch credits since 2020 (due to Covid) disbursed to various parents per written e-mail instructions. Note there are still approx. 30 more accounts with unused credits that require follow-up; there are also funds to be donated to the school that are still in progress.
Gaming Account: There were no funds received nor expensed since the last General Meeting.
Grade 7 Account:
a. Incoming funds received:
i. Popcorn fundraising proceeds
ii. Hot lunch program donation proposal of $500 (see paragraph below)
Motion for the current budget was proposed to be adopted with an amendment to increase the grade 7 donation from the Hot Lunch proceeds from $500 to $600. Motion was seconded and approved by majority show of (online) hands. The budget was approved and the Treasurer will amend the budget accordingly. - Principal’s Report. The principal thanks everyone for the warm welcome to Sperling; he is trying to get out there and be visible. He is encouraging of all communications that are happening or should happen.
At the District level, he emphasized the Long Range Facility Planning as summarized by the DPAC Representative at this General Meeting.
The school has been able to secure Metro Transit Police/Speed Patrol onsite to observe and analyze as well as provide some bylaw enforcement.
Thanks to the grade 6/7 basketball coaches; teacher time and their efforts is very appreciative. Sports is about building sportsmanship and camaraderie and we wish them a successful season. Track and Field (grades 4-7) is coming up in May and June.
Wheelchair Basketball will be coming in shortly for the next gym session – all ages.
We are approaching that time when report cards are coming out soon and the whole process of student communicating learning. Report cards alone are not just the only part of the whole learning picture; conversations help to consistently and continue to open up the lines of communication among parents, caregivers, teachers and students.
Meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm.
The next General meeting will be May 17, 2023 (AGM).