February 2021

/

February 2021

Message from the Chair

Parents,

A few words on the work that DPAC has been doing:

  • Long Range Facilities Plan (LRFP) - This VSB planning document has been the focus of the DPAC for a number of years, including hours of time this year with a dedicated committee that guided our feedback to the board (thank you to our volunteers!) and made multiple  presentations to the VSB Facilities Committee and stakeholder groups.  The board passed the 2020 LRFP on January 25th.  We are pleased that the trustees articulated their educational vision for the district in this document.  We will work with the VSB to ensure that steps are taken to realize that vision.
  • Anti-racism - Our goal is to provide resources to PACs and parents that inform anti-racism work in their communities.  Our recent January 28th general meeting had a number of speakers addressing the goals, mindset and steps to take in anti-racism work.  We will post video to our website shortly.  
  • School liaison officer program - In December, the DPAC exec took a position in favour of cancelling the school liaison officer (SLO) program (approved minutes) and have provided feedback in the consultation process.  The consultation process will also include an online survey for parents and students and an opportunity for written submissions by individuals, groups and organizations -- details to come. 
  • Budget, Fine Arts review - DPAC has also provided feedback on Budget 2021-2022 and the recent Fine Arts review.  Parents can provide additional budget feedback at the page above, and can email media@vancouverdpac.org for any last minute feedback on the Fine Arts review.
We are also looking to chat with any parents that might be interested in making the DPAC stronger and more resilient.  We have open positions on the DPAC executive -- having these positions filled gives us more capacity to do our work but more importantly, allows us to have continuity of service as our volunteer executive inevitably turns over.  If you know anybody that can help, please contact me.   

Be kind, be calm, be safe.
Gord Lau, 2020/21 DPAC Chair

Upcoming DPAC Events

For PACs maintaining Facebook groups

  • A PAC recently reported concerns that an individual was posing as a parent to join their private Facebook group.  A reminder to vet individuals joining your private groups.


For PAC Treasurers

  • A new information sheet is available from VSB Finance with guidelines for PACS about GST and PST issues when money is spent from school-held PAC accounts (under what circumstances rebates are available, how to work with school administrations when outside contractors are involved in playground construction, etc.).  The sheet and a form for PACs to use when claiming PST rebates are now posted on the DPAC website resources page, http://vancouverdpac.org/resources, under "Resources for PAC Treasurers".  If you have any questions, please contact Alan at treasurer@vancouverdpac.org. 

DPAC Committees

Childcare
  • The committee is focused on encouraging increased access and wider options for school-age care.  Interested parents please contact committee lead Alan at alan.patola.moosmann@vancouverdpac.org
Facilities Planning
  • The committee just did a lot of work going through the VSB LRFP and will be creating a detailed Seismic Toolkit. Interested parents please contact DPAC chair at chair@vancouverdpac.org.
Anti-Racism
  • Interested in helping to create the Terms of Reference for this committee?  Email: chair@vancouverdpac.org. ToR will be on the February 11 DPAC Executive agenda.

Important Dates


2015 - 2024 -- The Decade for People of African Descent

In December 2014, the UN General Assembly, in its Resolution 68/237, proclaimed the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024).

Under the theme "Recognition, Justice and Development”, the Decade provides an operational framework to encourage States to eradicate social injustices inherited from history and to fight against racism, prejudice and racial discrimination to which people of African descent are still subjected.

February is: Black History Month and Inclusion Month

Useful Information & Resources

Black History Month

February is Black History Month in Canada. The originally week-long event was created by American historian Carter G. Woodson, who contended that the teaching of black history was essential to ensure the physical and intellectual survival of the race within broader society. Canada adopted Black History Month in 1995.

Modern History Going Back in Time

Groups such as BC Community Alliance (BCCA), the Hogan's Alley Society and the BC Black History Awareness Society are working to ensure we know a more complete story of Vancouver and BC. Others across the country are doing the same. Here are some interesting stories: The Vancouver International Film Festival offers Everywhere We Are, and event celebrating Black voices in cinema, engaging in the storytelling of Black filmmakers, Black writers and Black actors that are shifting the paradigm, using film as a language of revolution.
 

More Cultural Celebrations

  • Hoobiyee 2021, the Nisg̱a'a new year's celebration, would have been celebrated at the PNE Forum at the end of the month but has been suspended this year due to COVID. Learn more about the annual lunar celebration by following the link.
     
  • LunarFest – 2021 Year of the Ox starts on February 11th
    Celebrate the Year of the Ox at virtual LunarFest with crafts and stories. The second animal of the Chinese zodiac, the ox denotes the hard work, positivity and honesty that will be manifested in all of us in the coming 12 months, according to astrologers. Visit the lanterns at šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square (formerly known as the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza), take time for stories that remind us of the ever-important family connections we share.

Expanding Your Indigenous Understanding:
Focus on UNDRIP


Numbered treaties were agreements signed by Indigenous nations with the British Crown to share the land with European newcomers, starting with Treaty 1, the Two Row Wampum. Treaties were not signed to surrender lands, nor to sign away any nation's right to retain their identity and cultural practices.Treaties did not give Canada authority over Indigenous people.

The Indian Act was written to change the relationship of Canada and Indigenous People, to force-assimilate them into mainstream Canadian society. It contains policies intended to terminate their cultural, social, economic, and political distinctiveness. The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), written by Indigenous people from around the world to address their oppression and dispossession from their lands, was not initially adopted by countries including Canada because the foundation of UNDRIP is Free Prior and Informed Consent.

Canada agreed to adopt UNDRIP years after most other countries did the same, but have now authored Bill 15 to address concerns that UNDRIP would interrupt business as usual in Canada -- meaning Canada's ability to continue to extract resources from Indigenous territories using free prior and informed consent. Indigenous sovereign people say that Bill 15 rewrites international treaties in yet another attempt to put the Indigenous Nations under the jurisdiction of Canada (like municipalities as opposed to having nation-to-nation status. Bill 15 removes their rights and undermines the original intent of UNDRIP.

Here are some sources that explore UNDRIP and the concept of Free Prior Informed Consent:

Correction:

  • Last month we published information abput Treaties. A parent reached out to offer better information about treaties and British Columbia. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) offers further information about the modern day treaty process including maps and mapping resources, stored on the UBC Library site, and on the UBCIC site, Specific Claims in BC.
 

Diverse Learners

  • BCEDAccess has produced a series of COVID conversations videos with topics ranging from access to education, IEPs, and what to do if your child doesn't get what they need.
  • ADHD series by the Provincial ADHD Clinic / Kelty
    •  Feb 3, 12–1PM – ADHD Basics. This webinar will focus on the basics of ADHD and how it affects children, youth and their families. It will debunk stigmatizing myths of ADHD, reveal neuroscience findings and encourage healing through understanding. Note: Treatment options will not be discussed in detail. Please register for our ADHD treatment webinar at https://keltymentalhealth.ca/eventADHD3.
    • Feb 10, 12–1PM – ADHD Treatment in Children & Youth. This ADHD webinar will focus primarily on the various medications used to treat ADHD and other mental health challenges
    • Feb 24, 12–1PM – Parenting a Child with ADHD. This webinar will focus on parenting strategies for children and youth with ADHD.
  • Feb 22, 6:30PM – Dyslexia BC and The Learning Disabilities Association Fraser South Chapter (LDAFS) present Tutoring vs. Remediation. What's the Difference?

Entertainment, Arts and Culture


While we continue to await the warmth of Spring 2021 to get comfortably outdoors, it is a great time to take advantage of cultural events being offered.
  • Check out PUSH Festival for online creations of dance, music and theatre 
     
  • Those Winter Sundays  This collaboration between Theater of War Productions and the PBS' Poetry in America is a recording of two readings by the actors Bill Murray (Lost in Translation) and Moses Ingram (The Queen’s Gambit) of Robert Hayden's 1960s sonnet “Those Winter Sundays,” followed by a guided discussion about the everyday struggle of surviving, thriving, and connecting during this difficult winter.
 

Pink Shirt Day: Feb 24

  • Feb 24 – Pink Shirt Day. This Pink Shirt Day the focus is working together and treating others with dignity and respect. 

Real Acts of Caring Week: Feb 14-20

Youth Mental Health -- Growing Resilience

  • Jack.org offers mental health presentations for students in grades 9 to 12. The talks are delivered by trained and certified young people with lived experience and an understanding of the practice of maintaining mental wellness to their peers. Their Virtual Jack Talk is available online.

  • Check out resources that focus on youth at TeenMentalHealth.org.

Anti-Racism

The SLO Program

Sustainability

Parenting

  • Feb 25, 10–12PM – Caring for You Workshop. BC Children's Hospital, Online Webinar. We know from the research that it is essential that we take care of ourselves and foster our own well-being so that we have the capacity...

Eating Disorders Week: Feb 1-7

  • PEDAW – Provincial Eating Disorders Awareness Campaign

    The Provincial Eating Disorders Awareness (PEDAW) campaign is launched every year from February 1st – 7th with activities and events taking place throughout the year.  It is a province-wide effort, brought to you by Jessie’s Legacy Eating Disorders Prevention & Awareness, a program of Family Services of the North Shore, to raise awareness around prevention and early intervention of eating disorders as well as media literacy, resiliency, building healthy body image and self-esteem.

    We hope you can take an active role to support the launch of this movement and start some meaningful and engaging discussions, as well as activities at your school, with your family or at your workplace.
     
  • Open Hearts, Honest Conversations: Loving Our Bodies and Ourselves during a Pandemic - A podcast by Family Services of the North Shore. Tune in to a conversation between registered clinical counsellor, Valerie Dolgin, and manager of Jessie’s Legacy program and clinical counsellor, Joanna Zelichowska, on the topic of eating disorders and body image during the COVID-19 pandemic.
     
  • Feb 4, 7–8PM – The Voice in the Mirror filmed reading. A filmed reading of The Voice in the Mirror for Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2021 
     
  • Let Us Eat Cake podcast - Co-hosts and Registered Dietitians Ali Eberhardt and Hannah Robinson are dedicated to ditching diet culture, taking weight stigma and fatphobia head on, and cutting the bullsh*t out of “health & wellness”. New episodes available every Thursday!
     
  • Eating Disorders and Substance Use: Pinwheel Education Series Recording (English) - Learn about the connection between eating disorders and substance use, the impacts on child and youth mental health, strategies and resources available for families to support their loved ones and themselves. 
     
  • Parents Survive to Thrive Guide: A Resource Guide for Parents of a Child with an Eating Disorder, written by parents with lived experience. (English) - This guide was created to offer parents ideas, advice, tips, tools, and helpful strategies from other parents and caregivers who have been through the recovery process with their own child.
     

COVID-19: School

  • Option 4 families have diverse reasons for choosing not to return to school at this timel, and a variety of experiences with how learning at home is working.  Families choosing this option from across the district are connecting to share resources and stories, and for mutual support.  To find out more, please reach out to parent Kyenta Martins at kyenta.martins@gmail.com, or follow either of these links:
     
  • For your reference, Children and Masks by the World Health Organization (WHO

COVID-19: Resources

Further Resources during COVID19

BCCPAC

Updates

  • BCCPAC reminder: The 2020-21 Student Learning Survey is now available for students in Gr 4, 7, 10, & 12 and their parents. More information
  • BCCPAC Member awards: We all know a parent/guardian/caregiver who is deserving of recognition. Parents give of themselves daily and rarely receive sufficient recognition. It's these contributions that make a difference. Applications are due Feb 28. More information
  • BCCPAC Educational Award: honouring a well-rounded Grade 12 student attending a BCCPAC member school who plans to pursue post-secondary studies. The recipient will receive an award in the amount $1000.  Applications due Feb 28. More information

Important Dates & Deadlines

  • February 28
    • Board Nominations Deadline - Nominations to the Board of Directors for election at the AGM in May must be received by this date.
    • Awards Nomination Deadline - Nominations for our annual Awards for presentation at the AGM in May must be received by this date.
    • Ordinary Resolutions Deadline - Proposed Ordinary Resolutions received by this date will be included in the Resolutions Booklet circulated to members.
  • May 1 - BCCPAC AGM - save the date

VSB 

News

Board Meeting Jan 25, 2021

Updates from December Committee Meetings

Upcoming Committee Meetings (see all)

  • Tuesday, Feb 2 – Committee of the Whole
  • Wednesday, Feb 3 – Policy & Governance Committee
  • Wednesday, Feb 3 – Personnel Committee
  • Wednesday, Feb 10 – Student Learning & Well-Being Committee
  • Wednesday, Feb 17 – Finance Committee
  • Monday, Feb 22 – Board Meeting

VSB Budget 2021/22 timeline

  • Tuesday, Feb 2, 7pm – VSB Committee of the Whole Meeting (First public meeting on VSB Budget 2021/22. Delegations, stakeholder and public input on priorities; stakeholder workshops feedback)
  • Monday, Feb 8 – Budget Survey opens
  • Wednesday, Feb 17, 5pm – VSB Finance Committee Meeting
  • Friday, Feb 19 – Budget Survey closes
  • Tuesday, Mar 2 – VSB Committee of the Whole Meeting (Delegations, stakeholders & public input on priorities; budget survey results)
  • Friday, Mar 12 – Ministry of Education Funding Announcement
  • Monday, Mar 29 – Special Board Public Meeting - present status Quo Budget 2021-2022 draft
  • Tuesday, Apr 6 – VSB Committee of the Whole Meeting (Delegations, stakeholders & public input on draft budget)
  • Thursday, Apr 15 – VSB Committee of the Whole Meeting (Delegations, stakeholders & public input on draft budget)
  • Wednesday, Apr 21 – Finance Committee Meeting
  • Monday, Apr 26 – Board Meeting - 3 readings and adoption of Budget 2021-22
 
  • The budget email address (budget2021-2022@vsb.bc.ca)  is now active for accepting written submissions regarding budget priorities for development of the 2021-2022 operating budget.  
  • Those who wish to participate in the on-line Committee of the Whole Board meetings, presenting on budget priorities or regarding the draft status quo budget, must register by sending an email to budget2021-2022@vsb.bc.ca. Your  email must be received by our office by 4:30 pm on the Wednesday before the Committee of the Whole Board meeting date.  Please indicate if you will be presenting on behalf of a group and include the name of the group, if applicable.  

Ministry of Education

Updates

Call-Out

  • Applications open for new minister’s advisory council - The Province is accepting applications for the new Minister’s Advisory Council on Children and Youth with Support Needs (CYSN MAC).Applications for positions on the CYSN MAC will be accepted from Jan. 27 to Feb. 24, 2021
Photo: A group of women in front of the Y.W.C.A. boarding house at 698 Ontario Street, Toronto, Ontario, 1913-1917.
(William James/Library and Archives Canada/PA-126710)
 
Twitter
Facebook
Website