We have several announcements and information to share:
- The DPAC Executive Team has distributed Christmas Cards to each school in our District. Contact your School Administrator to confirm its arrival and plan to pick it up in January if you haven’t done so already.
- A statement was recently released regarding booking schools for PAC events. A link to the information on our website is here. Please share this with all your PAC Executives and Volunteers as soon as possible. The DPAC Executive Team is available to visit your January PAC meeting to explain this and other initiatives we are involved in. Email us at exec@sd57dpac.ca with your meeting date and time and we will connect with you.
- Sometimes issues arise in our schools that cause frustration for parents. It may not seem like you get the answers or action you require within an expected timeframe. This can cause friction between parents and the student against the teacher and Principal. Every effort is made to resolve the issue at the school level but if necessary an escalation process can be followed. A link to the chart on the SD57 website is here. We ask that parents who are concerned about the programs or services at their school, contact DPAC for assistance in advocating on their behalf. We do not advise you to publicly share opinions on Social Media as it can cause defamation of our valuable Staff members. Contact us anytime by email or message us on our Facebook page.
- The District is working on providing PACs with SD57 email addresses to aid in communications regarding meetings, events, and policies. Stay tuned for more on this in the New Year.
- We encourage all PACs to register and pay annual dues ($75) for a BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils (BCCPAC) Membership. The deadline for applications is December 31, 2019. This is allows your PAC to get information and vote on initiatives that parents advocate on province wide. DPAC sends representatives to the AGM in May and will ask for your proxy vote if your PAC is unable to send a representative. We offer a reimbursement of your membership fee after the proxy forms are submitted. Win, win!
- The Honorable Shirley Bond and Honorable Mike Morris plan to attend our January 6, 2020 DPAC meeting. If you have questions for our MLAs regarding education in BC, funding for programs and facilities, or any other school related concern, please email us your question to present at the meeting. We welcome all parents to join us for this exciting opportunity to hear what the Opposition Party supports in the BC Legislature.
- Invitations have gone out for our Parent Café on January 18, 2020. It will be from 10am – 2pm at the Prince George Civic Centre. The cost is $5 and it includes drinks and lunch. This is an event where parents, PAC volunteers, and executives can freely ask questions to the DPAC Executive and network with each other. Many topics come up including parent engagement, fundraising ideas, successful events and hot lunches, how meetings should run, the roles of the executive members, relationship with the Principal, and much more. There are limited spots so register now at this Eventbrite link.
Thanks again for your interest and support for all that we do to represent parents in the District. We are open to feedback and suggestions at monthly meetings or through email.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2020!
From the School District No. 57 District Parent Advisory Council Executive