Meeting called to order on or around 7:10 pm. Meeting was held electronically (via Zoom).
Attendance: Cliff L., Sheeba F., William A., Irina R., Jennifer J., Jessica L., Jevy W., Vicky P., Principal Andrew
Lee and various parents (approximately 3 with some leaving early)
Absent: Jason H., Sena A., Head Teacher Casey Armstrong
Opening Remarks
The PAC Chair gave a brief introduction and touched upon items such as school activities in the last couple
months (hip hop and tennis) and fundraising efforts (Hot Lunch, upcoming Fun Fair).
The PAC appreciates everyone’s time to attend these meetings. To maintain meeting etiquette and
efficiency, a time limit and a time check will be given for each agenda item to keep the meeting length under
a reasonable time.
Adopt Minutes from last General meeting held January 10, 2024:
The Minutes from the last General meeting were not available for circulation at time of this meeting.
Adoption of the January 10 th minutes will be tabled to the next General meeting (scheduled for May 8,
2024).
Executive Updates
Constitution and Bylaws (C&B) Update. The Chair briefly updated (during his Opening Remarks) that the PAC
has initiated steps to updating the C&B. Members of the Executive team have come together to start the
process and hopefully have a preliminary draft available near the end of the school year.
DPAC Update. The last DPAC meeting had a presentation and discussion on Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity (SOGI) and how it is an integral part of the academic structure, which has been around since 2016.
Slides were presented of what it true and not true (regarding implementing it into the school curriculum). If
anyone has questions – please communicate with teachers, principal, and local community representatives
for more information.
DPAC has recently formed a new interim executive team. New elections will happen within the next couple
of months for the upcoming year, as roles are turned over.
DPAC will be launching a survey to canvass to entire school community pertaining to the budget allocation
for all schools in Burnaby.
CPF update. The last CPF meeting discussed the following items:
French Film Festival – although the film title was not revealed until 2 weeks before the viewing date,
1 of our French Immersion classes did attend and it sounded successful
BBQ Event – the date has been confirmed for June 15 th ; location is still be announced; once it has
been confirmed, a flyer should come out to communicate it to schools
Summer Camps – CPF still in process of securing a location to hold the summer camps – stay tuned!
Budget update. The Treasurer provided general updates and overview regarding the February 2024
financials and banking activities in the Fundraising and Gaming accounts, as well as a summary of the
current Cash Flow statement:
Fundraising account – Hot Lunch (incoming sales and outgoing expenses for Term 2 to date); Grade 7
(incoming popcorn sales); Quebec Trip (incoming KK donut sales)
Gaming account – Pancake Breakfast (outgoing expenses)
PAC-sponsored and Standing Updates
Hot Lunch. Term 2 execution has been running quite smoothly. The committee plans to roll out a survey to
canvass families about feedback, experience, volunteering and general comments for the committee to
consider. The Committee is finalizing details for Term 3 to be rolled out by end of the week before Spring
Break. We are on track to surpass the proposed budget for the year.
Tomorrow is the last hot lunch for the term (Pizza Day) and the grade 7s will be fulfilling all the volunteer
duties and shifts. They are excited to help and show appreciation for the PAC’s in-kind donation towards
their year-end leaving event. Special thanks to Danielle Millar for her assistance in coordinating with
applicable parties.
The committee is thinking of ways to potentially engage the intermediate students (gr 5-7) to help in a light
and minimal capacity on hot lunch days, perhaps even a stewardship of some form. The Chair will reach out
to the school admin and staff with a proposal.
Website. No updates to provide for this meeting. There was some light discussion on liability concerns,
which stemmed from a conversation at a DPAC executive meeting. Our website coordinator provided a
general background on the host website server Sperling currently uses which was handed down from the old
legacy system and somewhat archaic. It was agreed that further discussion is needed, and this topic should
be revisited further.
Safety. The next Stay Safe workshop is coming up on April 29th (pro d day) and registration is full. The PAC
is looking for parent volunteers to help supervise kids during recess and lunch break – please reach out to
vice-chair@sperlingpac.com if your child is attending the workshop that day and you can help out with
supervision.
The Babysitting course is scheduled for June 7th (pro d day) and registration is ongoing; there are still some
spots available to date. The course is open to kids 11 years and up (eligible to participate if they are turning
11 in the 2024 year). The registration cutoff timing for the babysitting is at the end of May.
Fun Fair. Lots of brainstorming happening with the committee. The following are activities in the works: Fire
Truck; Food options; Stage Entertainment; Games – using activity (punch) cards; Basket Raffles – with class
involvement – aiming to make themed baskets that will be bundled together for raffling off – each class to
have a theme for suggested donations; Silent Auction – will be smaller this year – just a few big ticket items;
50/50 cash draw – for purchase online.
The Committee is asking if DPAC might be able to find out if we could book human hamster ball rentals as an
activity (booked in the past) – is it considered an inflatable? At the meeting, a DPAC Rep looked it up and
found that ‘inflatables’ could pose a liability and safety risk.
The next Fun Fair meeting date is scheduled for either April 4 th or April 11 th at 6:30 pm, watch out for an e-
mail after Spring Break to confirm.
Grade 7 Committee. The committee has quickly now grown to 6-7 parents and have raised approximately
$4,000 to date with a target amount of $7,000. Fundraising plans are popcorn sales in Term 3; additional hot
lunch day earning extra funds; Neufeld Farms frozen goods – orders between April 8 th – 22 nd ; delivery date on
May 1 st ; possible fundraiser for movie night and raffle.
Yearbooks (71 orders) will cost about $2,000 and are in progress. The year end (grad) event has been
confirmed for June 18 th at Central City Fun Park (4 – 7 pm). The year end leaving ceremony dates are June
26 th and June 27 th .
Quebec/Ottawa Trip committee. The committee held its first Krispy Kreme fundraiser at Kensington Plaza; it
was a great success and sold out in 2 hours! There will be a second donut sale after Spring Break
(Kensington Plaza as well as a second location). Other proposed fundraising plans include holding a second
bottle drive – welcome to drop off bottles this Sunday; possibly a plant basket sale; possible Domino’s
fundraiser; planning for a clothing drive/donation – looking to find a date and space that might work.
The committee continues to face challenges in communicating out their fundraisers without the school’s
involvement.
Fruits & Veggies Program. All is well and moving along; no further updates to provide for the meeting.
Lost & Found. The committee is looking for volunteers to help manage the Lost & Found as one of the
volunteers is no longer available to help. They are also looking for volunteers now to prepare for succession.
New Business/Items:
School Spirit/Merchandise. There was roundtable discussion about school spirit and brand identity – such as
a new mascot and logo; school merchandise was also suggested. The principal mentioned that at his
previous school, school merchandise was quite successful as a part fundraiser and raised school spirit –
enough funds were raised to give every student and staff a spirit t-shirt. The logistics of distribution
orders/sites to facilitate would be something to consider and discuss further.
See further related notes on this topic in the Principal’s Report below under School logo.
Principal’s Report
The school thanks the PAC for continuing sponsorship – such as Hip Hop and Tennis programs.
The principal provided the following updates and information:
School activities:
Tennis program (after Spring Break) – every class will get 5 sessions; allows for individual classes to
do a session at a time, versus pairing up with classes (less crowding and will enhance the lessons)
Primary Days of Music Festival (held today) – for primary grades only; classes commuted to another
Burnaby school to watch
Sperling Intermediate Concert – will be held on May 23 rd ; morning and afternoon concert
Assemblies – being split into two separate assembly times due to capacity limits and gym space
Literacy Week (this week) – lots of fun ways to help celebrate literacy for the kids, such as a Scrabble
themed activity on the school field
Website matter. The District has been discussing potential liabilities of outside sites, such as PAC sites; it has
trickled down to the DPAC level which is where the PAC has been receiving some information by the DPAC
reps.
Yearbook. The yearbook company that the school uses, Edge Imaging, recently had a data breach, which
caused a bit of a holding pattern. The breach affected our past grade 7’s from last year only; there was no
data breach that affected the current grade 7’s as they hadn’t submitted anything (images etc.) to the
company yet. Notice will be sent to the PAC community and to past grade 7 families from last year regarding
this matter.
Summer School Session. Registration begins on April 16 th at 10:00 am with enrollment closing on May 29 th .
The sessions are always very popular and will fill up fasts. Sperling will be a host school (full day sessions)
this year; a new host school this summer with sessions will be University Highlands Elementary.
School logo. Teachers have been exploring the school logo and whether to re-start with a new logo or revive
the old one (Storm). Sperling does not actually really identify with any specific logo or mascot. This could tie
into Spirit Wear discussions down the road (as referred to above in these Minutes).
Construction. Updates on the interior and exterior parts of the school:
Interior – overdue for revitalization; painting will be the first step; it will be a long process –
about a week per classroom – and 23 classes so it will take the remaining part of the school year;
after that, carpentry and electrical work, trim work will also be done.
Exterior – utilities work around the school and streets are not great but not a disaster either; we
have adapted pretty well all things considering; raised crosswalk – this has been approved along
Adair (across from the fire hydrant) with a curbed bump on the north side (cannot on the south
side because of the hydrant which needs to be flush); timing of works – will begin with Hycrest
(over Spring Break) and then move onto Sperling, and lastly Adair (Told it was going to be
working on it during the summer; may affect Fun Fair traffic and summer school traffic)
Question: there is a crossing guard along Holdom by Halifax, and one along Hastings too…how does that
happen?
Response (by Principal): The District allocates those based on high-risk traffic areas (busy busy roads); the
school is working on getting the District and the City to see that Sperling is now a high-risk traffic area, like
Holdom was when they initiated the crossing guard there.
Question: Could student crossing guards be used at the new raised crosswalk Adair (once completed)?
Response (by Principal): Sperling staff will have to look at these in phases, starting with the adult guard, then
shifting the student guards over.
There being no further business to attend to, the meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm.
Next General Meeting (AGM) – May 8, 2024 at 7:00 pm