In attendance:

• Meeting called to order at 7:05p.m. Members welcomed by Chair.

1. Adoption of Agenda (Eric)

• Copies of minutes distributed.

• Moved (Linda Bartram) and seconded (Joyce Yao) that November 20th, 2002, Meeting minutes be accepted as distributed. Approved.

4. Business arising: Update on Student Council Funding Request– (Eric)

• updated figures now show Council presently has about $6700 surplus.
• PAC Executive has considered this situation a recommends that requests for funding support be re-considered nearer the end of the school year (May, June). Eric will inform students of this decision.

• Thanks extended to Linda and Cam Bartram for helping to organize the staff appreciation lunch last December.
• Criteria for viable schools in the District will be reviewed at several upcoming meetings. Eric has more details and will post on the bulletin board.
• A query was made as to whether there will be District funding of additional sports uniforms needed at Mt. Doug next year. No extra monies have apparently been made available in the capital budget. PAC should therefore expect enhanced level of funding requests next year, with the arrival of the new Grade levels.

• A School Planning Council (SPC) is to be formed at Mt. Doug and the other schools in the District. The SPC will consist of the Principal, one teacher and three parents (one from PAC executive and two others). Council’s role will be to ensure that a school plan is in place, and that this plan makes sense; there is no expectation that the SPC is responsible for implementation of this plan.
• Election of parent council members is planned for the February RAMPAC meeting. PAC has some latitude on eligibility and can allow candidates from feeder schools. Given the influx of new grades next year, PAC agreed this was desirable. Meva to contact Arbutus re: notifying parents there. Eric will contact Lansdowne and Cedar Hill. Mt. Doug. Parents will be solicited in the next newsletter.
• Grad banquet will be held at the Empress this year (May 30^th).
• UVIC ceremony will happen shortly before (May 27^th).
• Notice distributed to all Grade 12 students regarding some admission policies for post-secondary institutions. Camosun college applications start on Jan13th; first come, first served but students need at least a C+ in English 12 if they plan to subsequently transfer to a University.
• Interns are a desirable teaching resource. The good news is that, starting in 2004, Mt. Doug will have a 3-year period with access to these individuals.
• Staffing: a number of teachers in the District have indicated a desire to teach at Mt. Doug as a first choice. By the end of January Meva expects to hire 8-10 from this group for the next school year.
• Partnerships with UVIC have progressed well. Two professors now involved; one to work with the science program, the other to study the effects of reconfiguration on the culture of the school.
• As a result of an issue with one sports team in the fall all Mt. Doug teams are now ‘on probation’. As follow-up, Meva has ensured that all team coaches are aware of the ‘code of conduct’ and had them confirm this in writing. Issue also with a planned Grade 9 football team—an advertisement in a local newspaper was perceived as an effort to recruit players from outside of the Mt. Doug catchment area. The advertisement was revised.
• Communication on the internet (ICQ) has resulted in both a student and parent feeling threatened. Also there has been an incident involving students surfing on MacDonald’s trays being pulled by a vehicle.

4. Administration – (Vice Principal)

. policies and procedures are being prepared for the School Planning Committees. Once the SPC is formed at Mt. Doug, it’s members will receive training concerning these materials.

-Cheryl Riglin expressed concern that employees of the School District were not eligible for SPC membership.

5. Student Council Report (Jessica Page)

• Grad fashion show planned for March. Request for PAC involvement likely; more details at the next PAC meeting
• 2^nd leadership trip planned for Strathcona in February
• Latest budget shortfall now projected to be about $1000. Eric informed Jessica of the executive decision re: PAC support if they are short of funds at the end of the year.

- a key objective is to stay in touch with the new students. This will entail short homeroom periods Mondays-Thursday, with a mix of Grade 12 (mentors) and Grade 9 students. Staff support (TA’s) will be high. Grade 10, 11 and rest of 12 students will also have a homeroom for announcements and attendance.

10.1 Grade 12 - No report

10.2 Grade 11 – No report

3. Communication (Linda Bartram) –

-notes prepared concerning the teacher appreciation lunch. Copy will be included in the minutes. Eric will also file a copy in the PAC folder.

-Linda has also requested parent feedback regarding bus congestion issues. No response. Looks therefore to now be less of an issue.

-Linda asked the office to distribute message to parents, via the e-mail list, regarding the staff appreciation lunch. This was not possible, given the wording of the current consent form. Meva will see to relaxing this wording next year.

 

4. VCPAC – No Report

10.5 Finances – (Paul McGroarty)

11. New Business – Eric

12. Adjournment: meeting adjourned at 8:42 p.m. with PAC approval.