April 2021

April 2021 Message from the Chair Parents: I hope your spring break was restful. With the return to school, we are looking to provide feedback to the VSB on a number of topics. Secondary students saw significant changes to the school experience this year. DPAC is looking to provide parent feedback on what we learned this year and how we might apply it to secondary school in a post-pandemic future. Survey here, open until April 4th 5PM DPAC is gathering parent questions on the draft VSB 2021-2022 budget to be answered at our April 13th Budget townhall. The VSB budget is in a shortfall position, so it is important to hear parent questions and concerns. Submit questions (and get more info) here. We’ll be looking to provide information to the VSB about their strategic plan in the coming weeks. April 18th-24th is National Volunteer Week. I want to applaud all volunteers that support their school communities. Your contribution is important to keeping our schools connected and strong, especially in this trying time. PACs -- I encourage you to tap parents on the shoulder and ask for help. People want to help their communities, and it is important for PACs to plan for the future. DPAC also is looking to the future, as our exec inevitably turns over -- parents interested in helping us in our work with the VSB, please contact chair@vancouverdpac.org Stay safe Gord Lau, 2020/21 DPAC Chair Upcoming DPAC Events Thursday,  April 8, 7pm - DPAC Executive Meeting Tuesday,  April 13, 7pm - VSB Budget Town Hall The VSB Secretary Treasurer will answer questions provided by parents in by April 6.  Provide questions here. Thursday, April 22, 7pm - DPAC General: UNDRIP All meeting information (registration, agendas, minutes) on our meeting page. All parents of VSB students are welcome to attend DPAC meetings. Subscribe to our meeting calendar. DPAC Committees and Working Groups Childcare Committee 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 Committee 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 vik.khanna@vancouverdpac.org. School Restart 2021/22 Working Group We are getting more information from the VSB about providing feedback for school restart (particularly the secondary model).  Interested parents please contact Krista Sigurdson at krista.sigurdson@vancouverdpac.org. Anti-Racism Working Group DPAC has struck a working group that is laying the groundwork to create an anti-racism committee to shadow the VSB Anti-Racism Committee, as well as advise DPAC and work in concert with executives in anti-oppression work. Interested parents place contact Karen at karen.tsang@vancouverdpac.org 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. April is: World Autism Month, and National Poetry Month Thursday, April 1 – April Fool's Day (till noon) Friday, April 2 – Good Friday (Public Holiday) Sunday, April 4 – Last day of Passover (Jewish); Easter (Christian) Sunday, April 4 – Ching Ming/Qing Ming (Sweeping the Grave Festival) (Chinese Buddhism)  Sunday, April 5 – Easter Monday (School Holiday) Wednesday, April 7, 5pm – VSB Policy & Governance Committee Meeting Wednesday, April 7, 5pm – VSB Personnel Committee Meeting Tuesday, April 6 – National Tartan Day Thursday, April 8, 7pm – DPAC Executive Meeting Saturday, April 10, 6pm and Sunday, April 11, 5pm –  CERBC Wisdom Circle Discussions (see Sustainability section below for more details) April 10 - April 17 – National Wildlife Week Monday, April 12 – Estimated start of Ramadan (Islam) Tuesday, April 13, 7pm – DPAC presents VSB Budget Town Hall Tuesday, April 13, 7pm – VSB Information Session: Land Disposal, Sir Stanford Fleming Elementary Wednesday, April 14, 5pm – VSB Student Learning Committee Meeting April 13 - April 15 – Songkran -- Thai New Year Thursday, April 15 – VSB Special Board / Committee of the Whole Meeting April 18 - April 24 – National Volunteer Week Saturday, April 24 – World Meningitis Day Wednesday, April 21, 5pm – VSB Finance Committee Meeting Thursday, April 22, 7pm – DPAC General Meeting -- UNDRIP Focus Monday, April 26 – VSB District Wide Pro-D Day Monday, April 26, 7pm – VSB Board Meeting Useful Information & Resources Check out our resource page for presentation slide decks.   Springtime Fun The Sierra Club recently hosted a webinar with scientific illustrator Dr. Julius Csotonyi to learn more about the southern mountain caribou, including how to draw one. Included is an educational worksheet created by the Sierra Club's learning team. More learn-to-draw webinars will happen in coming months.   Here are 20 STEM activities for kids to do at Left Brain Craft Brain   The Native Bee Society of British Columbia's quarterly newsletter is packed with information about the flexible social lives of sweat bees, spring gardening tips to benefit the pollinators, and an art contest if your passion is drawing native bees.   The Reifel Bird Sanctuary is a terrific half-day trip from the city. Book your parking space 3 days in advance to arrive either between 9am and 11am, or between 1pm and 3pm, and your family can stay till 4pm. Call early in day, especially for weekend bookings. Still one of the best deals around, as entrance fees are $5 for adults, seniors and children to age 14 are $3. Bird seed is available for purchase and having birds feed from your hand or head is a thrill for kids and adults alike. Sustainability On April 2, 2pm, The Sustainabiliteens will host Thank the Hummingbird Warriors, an event on Zoom in celebration of nesting hummingbirds who, under the Migratory Bird Convention Act, have stopped the deforesting of trees on Burnaby Mountain. The gathering is in honour of the thousands of trees that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion plans to cut down in Burnaby, without Indigenous consent or municipal permits.   School Streets is a City of Vancouver and Vancouver School Board pilot project to encourage active transportation in children and their families getting to and from their schools. Hastings, Lord Roberts and Van Horne Elementary Schools are testing out implementing a car-free block beside a school open to walking, biking, and rolling during pick-up/drop-off (30 to 45 minutes depending on location) from April 12th until May 7th of this year.   Students, parents, teachers, community members, the newly forming Climate Education Reform BC (CERBC), a youth-led organization advocating for an intersectional climate-educational system, is putting a call out for people to join their first Wisdom Circle discussions, to be held on Saturday, April 10th (5PM to 6:30PM) and Sunday, April 11th (4PM to 5:30PM). Register on Evenbright.   PACs might be able to sponsor Sierra Club workshops this spring in Vancouver, including the Climate & Place (online or possibly in person) and People & Plants (grades 3 - 5) (in person). Check out all of their offerings.   Elementary Students Clean Up Richmond Slough -- Richmond News   The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCFT) is offering Leadership Environmental Action Project (LEAP) grants to high schools. These grants of up to $5000 support BC high school students to learn about and practice conservation through place-based learning projects that focus on BC’s biodiversity.   Theatre of War (USA) will be presenting its dramatic reading of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, The Oedipus Project, to facilitate a global conversation about environmental justice in a new digital amphitheatre. Sophocles’ ancient play, first performed in 429 BC just after a plague that killed nearly one-third of the Athenian population, is a story of arrogant leadership, ignored prophecy, intergenerational curses, willful blindness, and a pestilence and ecological collapse that ravages the archaic city of Thebes. Performers include Bill Murray, Frances McDormand and Jumaane Williams, a New York City Public Advocate, and a Chorus of Nobel Prize-winning scientists. This free online event is being presented as part of the Nobel Prize Summit: Our Planet, Our Future, hosted by the Nobel Foundation and organized by the National Academy of Sciences in partnership with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and the Stockholm Resilience Centre/Beijer Institute.  Diverse Learners Inclusion BC and the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship (CIIC) have together created four short films to raise awareness about the exclusion of students with developmental disabilities and to offer information and possible pathways to success for students, families, and schools.   Dyslexia BC, a grass roots organization concerned with the lack of services and knowledge for dyslexia and other learning disabilities within the British Columbia education system and other government support systems, is asking families with kids who have disabilities to participate in their survey, deadline April 15, 2021. Survey results will help produce data that will help anyone advocate for dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities.   SD8 Trains Teachers in How Trauma Affects Kids -- Nelson Star    Everything you thought you  knew about ADHD is wrong -- Mashable   Education Assistant (EA) Standards of Practice Working Group is comprised of education assistants, parents, post-secondary institutions, inclusion organizations, and Teamsters committed to ensuring BC’s education system has provincially mandated standards of practice for education assistants as students with disabilities are designated as a vulnerable population. At this point, post-secondary education programs for EAs vary greatly, making the skill sets of graduates inconsistent. Work stopped with COVID, but the group is advocating for a restart. Expand your Indigenous Understanding The Museum of Anthropology at UBC offers a teaching kit about Musqueam, by Musqueam People. While this resource collection was written and created with teachers and classrooms in mind, it is a fulsome resource for all of us living on the territories of the Musqueam People.   Lawyer: Large-scale Transfer of Crown Land to First Nations will Shock B.C.’s System -- Campbell River Mirror   Learn about Senákw, the new housing initiative headed by the Squamish Nation   Pam Palmater, Mi'kmaq lawyer: Canada Should Declassify, Deconstruct and Defund the RCMP -- Canadian Dimension   First Peoples Law: Aboriginal Law Report. This week's edition includes hunting rights, fishing rights, logging, mining, birth alerts, burial sites, private property, UNDRIP and more.   Not in the Past: Colonialism is Rooted in the Present -- The Conversation   Students at UBC Okanagan (UBCO), located on the lands of the Nsyilxcn Peoples, will newly be able to earn bachelor’s degree of Nsyilxcn language fluency as offered by that university in partnership with the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) and the En’owkin Centre in Penticton. This degree is being implemented as an element of the UBC Okanagan’s Declaration of Truth and Reconciliation Commitments, and part of the university’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. The goal is to sustain and revitalize language traditions, restore language competence, and protect the knowledge of the host communities.   Register for Michif Language Workshops with the Métis Nation British Columbia Being Anti-Racist Read The Other Side of ‘Cancel Culture': Students Open Up About Racial Abuse on Campus -- Ricochet Media   How Textbooks Taught White Supremacy -- Harvard Gazette. A historian steps back to the 1700s and shares what's changed and what needs to change   On April 7th at 5pm, the Graduate Student Association of UBC’s Social Justice Institute with support of the Noted Scholars Lecture Series presents Rethinking 'Social Justice': Notes on the Coloniality of of Justice and the Now, to be live-streamed on YouTube. This discussion looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated and laid bare existing inequities, as we face a global economic recession where the most affected are racialized, working class/low income, migrant, and women. As communities around the world respond to the impacts of the pandemic and look for tools and frameworks to build a more just future, we ask how justice can be (re)imagined and achieved? Email for more information.   Watch Mothers Against Racism's series on Revolutionary Mothering, featuring Symbia Barnaby   Are We Automating Racism? -- VOX   Listen to The Globe and Mail's Colour Code, a podcast on race in Canada   Listen to The Brief: Pipeline Blockade   Check out Born Asian: Help Stop Anti-Asian Racism Trans and Non-Binary Information Learn More about Trans and Non-Binary Identities, and check out this Holistic Trans Body Poster   Trans Rights are Human Rights -- BC Human Rights Commission   LGBTQ2I+ Rights -- Canadian Human Rights Commission   Why Accepting your LGBTQ2I+ Child Matters, and How To Start -- Option B Org Police in Schools BC Civil Liberties Association presents Policing Black and Indigenous Lives In Canada: A Digital Teach In   On April 13 at 4pm, Vancouver Pride Society presents Defund Police, a 2-hour online Zoom panel to explore and address some of the common questions and strategies around what defunding police actually looks like, and how reallocating funds to community safety initiatives may protect and uplift the experiences of LGBTQ2SIA+ community members in their experiences with public safety. Tonye Aganaba moderates this panel featuring Meenakshi Mannoe, Pivot Legal Society; Kit Rothschild, PACE Society; and Jeffrey McNeil Seymour, a 2-Spirit Social Worker and Educator. ASL interpretation and automatic zoom captioning is available. Email Vancouver Pride for more information.   Policing in Canada Archives from APTN Youth Mental Health 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   Kids Help Phone is a 24/7 national service offering professional counselling, information, referrals and volunteer-led, text-based support for young people in English and French.   Here to Help is an online guide to navigating mental health struggles and crises, as well as substance use information.   TrevorSpace is an affirming international community for LGBTQ young people ages 13-24.    Free mental health program for teens - YMCA   Youth-led study focuses on vaping during the pandemic -- The Nelson Daily Scholarships, bursaries and awards The Nadine Marshall Scholarship from the Kindness Foundation ($1000 to a VSB student), to recognize exceptional high school graduating students, inspired by the vision of a kinder world and committed to making a difference, with a scholarship to assist them in furthering their education. Deadline is April 23, 2021.   Vancouver School Board maintains a list of scholarships, bursaries and awards available to VSB students. Tutoring Opportunities Edu Beyond offers free tutoring for K-12 students whose families don't have the resources, using student volunteers for subjects including science, social studies, English and French, and math. See above section for more information about EDU Beyond, and sign up here.   Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland have a free Study Buddy weekly mentoring program for female identifying youth ages 7-17. Big Brothers of Vancouver also offer similar free-of-charge mentoring programs for male-identifying youth. COVID-19 & Immunizations Government of BC Immunization Plan (translated versions provided) Vancouver Coastal Health Information Page (book your vaccine appointment) & Mental Health Kelty Mental Health together with FamilySmart parent peer support workers have created a new digital tool, Ask Kelty Mental Health, which offers answers to common questions families have about accessing mental health supports and services. An online survey has been launched by researchers at BC Children's Hospital, UBC, and SFU, and is seeking to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the mental health of children, youth, adults and parents. & School Option 4 families have diverse reasons for choosing not to return to school at this time, 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 Option 4 Families of Vancouver SD#39 (Facebook)  & Masks How do you face COVID-19? By upping your mask game (CBC) Why you might want to start wearing better masks -- even outdoors (CBC) For your reference, Children and Masks by the World Health Organization (WHO) & Resources First Nations Health Authority's Mental Health and Cultural Supports during COVID19   COVID19 resources for individuals and families, to aid in creating opportunities for constructive interactions with children during COVID19 times from the Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC) Resources for supporting  Participate in a BC Children’s Hospital study of the impact of COVID-19 on youth mental health. Students who are 10 to 17 years old, and parents of children and youth aged from 6 to 17 years old are invited.  Get support for your child or youth through Kelty Mental Health Resource Center, based at BC Children's Hospital. Kelty helps families across the province navigate the mental health system, gain peer support, and connect to resources and tools. & Further Resources BCCPAC's COVID Resource page Provincial COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidelines for K-12 Settings BC's Back to School Plan (website) Information for School Districts & Independent Schools (website) WorkSafeBC: Education (K-12): Protocols for returning to operation (website) BCCPAC Updates   Gaming Guidelines Revised for 2021 Community Gaming Guidelines for PACs/DPACs for 2021-22 school year have been released.   Updated K-12 Guidelines Guidelines for K-12 Updated with new mask requirements.  Report on the Mental Health of BC Youth McCreary Report on the Mental Health of BC Youth. Have a read.  Report on Youth Vaping McCreary Center released results of survey of youth and vaping. Have a read. PACs and Schools Working Together - Article Article by President Sinclair with good info on PACs for parents & administrators.  Important Dates & Deadlines April 8, 7PM – Community Gaming Grants has revised and updated the DPAC/PAC Guidelines for the 2021-22 school year (to be released on April 1). BCCPAC has partnered with Gaming branch staff to host a live 90 minute session to share the information (some good revisions have been made) and answer any and all Gaming funds related questions by PACS and DPACs. The session will cover a program overview, revisions to the DPAC/PAC Guidelines and the Capital Project grant, advice and examples of eligible uses of PAC funding, commonly asked questions, and will include a Q&A period. Register  May 1 – BCCPAC AGM AGM Booklet May 28-29 – Parent Education Conference VSB  News Masks required indoors for students in Grades 4-12, all staff, visitors  Secondary School Schedule Changes Q3, Q4 2020-21  Two Vancouver schools first in Canada to use mass timber in their seismic replacement projects Secondary students hear from Canada’s first Muslim, African-born, South Asian senator Vancouver School District partners with BC Children’s Hospital, UBC, Vancouver Coastal Health to better understand COVID-19 in schools Students across disItricts gather virtually to listen, discuss, and raise Black voices 2021-22 Kindergarten Registration Update Vancouver School District extends Learn From Home Transition Option Updates from March Committee Meetings Highlights: Special Board Meeting - March 29, 2021 Committee meeting highlights: Policy & Governance - March 3, 2021 Highlights: Special Board Meeting/Committee of the Whole - March 8 and 9, 2021 Facilities Planning Committee Highlights: March 10, 20211 Highlights: Special Board / Committee of the Whole meeting of March 2, 2021 Upcoming Committee Meetings (see all) Tuesday, April 6, 7PM – Committee of the Whole Wednesday, April 7, 5PM – Policy & Governance Committee Wednesday, April 7, 6:30PM – Personnel Committee Monday, April 12, 7PM – Committee of the Whole Wednesday, April 14, 5PM – Student Learning and Wellbeing Committee Wednesday, April 21, 5PM – Finance Committee Monday, April 26, 7PM – Board Meeting VSB Facilities: Public Engagement on Fleming Site April 13, 2021 -- VSB will host a public engagement process regarding the south portion of the Sir Sandford Fleming school site before consideration by the Board about declaring the site surplus to the future educational needs of the school district. This engagement process is the first step under Board Policy 20: Disposal of Land or Improvements which may lead to the disposal (lease, sale or transfer) of the site. From 7pm until 8:30pm on April 13, a public information session will be held. Non-education aspects will be the main focus. Any member of the school communities are welcome to join, using a livestream link that will be posted at govsb.ca/south-fleming-site on the day. You will also find information about the south portion of the Fleming Site at that link. For more information, please read this report presented on March 10, 2021, during the Facilities Committee Meeting (Ppt attached). Staff from the Vancouver School District will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. An online survey will be open to submit comments following the information session. If the Board passes a resolution to declare the site surplus to the District’s future educational needs, additional consultation and input will also occur throughout the disposal process. VSB Budget 2021/22 On Monday, March 29 the initial draft 2021/22 budget was presented and posted (draft / PowerPoint). The draft budget requires finding almost $15 million in savings to maintain status-quo. Opportunities for parents/PACs/community members to engage: Tuesday, Apr 6 – VSB Committee of the Whole Meeting (Delegations, stakeholders & public input on draft budget) Tuesday, Apr 13 – DPAC Town Hall with VSB Finance staff Thursday, Apr 15 – VSB Committee of the Whole Meeting (Delegations, stakeholders & public input on draft budget) Email budget2021-2022@vsb.bc.ca to submit written submissions regarding budget priorities for development of the 2021-2022 operating budget or to register to participate in the on-line Committee of the Whole Board meetings. Your email must be received by 4:30 pm on the Wednesday before the Committee of the Whole Board meeting date. Version Updates and Voting Wednesday, Apr 21 – Finance Committee Meeting Monday, Apr 26 – Board Meeting - 3 readings and adoption of Budget 2021-22. Ministry of Education News K-12 schools supported by regional COVID-19 rapid response teams  Compensation fund opens for those impacted by incorrect exam results On March 12 Estimated Operating Grants for 2021/22 were announced. The ministry is increasing the basic per-student allocation for standard, alternate and continuing education schools rate by 4.3% this year. They also rolled the Teachers' Labour Settlement Funding and a few other previously separate funds into the basic operating grant. Other Government News First members appointed to minister’s new advisory council - Sixteen people from throughout the province have been appointed to the new Minister’s Advisory Council on Children and Youth with Support Needs (CYSN MAC). State of emergency extended to continue B.C.’s COVID-19 response - The Province of British Columbia has formally extended the provincial state of emergency, allowing health and emergency management officials to continue to use extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act (EPA) to support the Province's COVID-19 pandemic response. Parliamentary secretary’s statement on anti-Asian racism - Rachna Singh, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, has released the following statement on anti-Asian racism in response to the recent shootings in the United States and various rallies happening across this country: Upcoming Announcements Capital Plan response letters are normally issued to Districts in March. Our understanding is the districts may now know which of their minor capital requests have been granted but that the major capital requests will be responded to after the Provincial budget is announced in late April. Capital Project Updates Seismic Mitigation Program (SMP):  Seismic Mitigation Program Progress Report – March 2021 (PDF) Capital Projects Underway in VSB Bayview Community Elementary Chief Maquinna Elementary David Lloyd George Elementary David Livingstone Elementary Dr. George M. Weir Elementary Eric Hamber Secondary Edith Cavell Elementary Henry Hudson  Elementary Lord Byng Elementary Lord Nelson Elementary - Recently Completed Lord Selkirk Elementary Lord Tennyson Elementary - Recently Completed Maple Grove Elementary - Recently Completed Sir Matthew Begbie Elementary Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary - Recently Completed General Wolfe Elementary Photo taken of hellebores in a bowl in Van Dusen Gardens, March 2021 kt

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