The following info is from the Parent Advocacy Network (PAN), which represents over 40 school PACs throughout the city.
 
www.panvancouver.ca

Presentation to Select Standing Committee - PAN Needs YOUR Help
PAN presented to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services on September 19th and during our presentation we were asked a number of questions. Due to time constraints, two questions were "takeaway" items for us and we NEED YOUR HELP! It's the data from these questions which will help show yet again how much parents are funding schools and how much has and continues to be taken away from our children.

Please take a few minutes to answer the three questions on our web form  - http://www.panvancouver.ca/news/request-for-information-questions-from-the-select-standing-committee-presentation
And we hope you can help share the link to the questions through your networks and on social media. The more data we have, the stronger the argument.

Thanks~

VSB Board Meeting Re Closures - Attend & Write to Trustees
It's critical that Vancouver parents write to Trustees and attend the Board Meeting tonight September 26th - its important for everyone to attend to show support, to give feedback to Trustees regarding closures via email and to read the VSB reports on the 11 schools on the list. While you may think the closures won't affect you...they will. Just as the budget shortfall will affect all of us in different ways, so too will closures. 

• TONIGHT September 26, 7pm - VSB Board Meeting at Tupper Secondary - Trustees will decide which, if any, of the schools on the potential closure list to move forward with public consultations.

PAN sent a letter to Trustees on Friday regarding the flawed process for closures


VSB Closures - What YOU Need to Know
The whole closures discussion - like the funding debate - is and can be confusing. It's key that parents and families can access the facts to better understand the issues. We posted information on our website which we hope will help. We've tried to educate and inform with facts and we hope the information will be helpful to families across Vancouver as we now enter "closure conversations".

The info is found here: http://www.panvancouver.ca/school-closures.html  The links take you to a series of pages with navigation at the bottom. We will be adding some information on timeline shortly and will be turning the copy into a PDF shareable document shortly too.

Please share the link widely within your networks - we are trying to reach as many affected families as we can. And follow our lead on Twitter and Facebook in promoting it.


Give Feedback to the Select Standing Committee 

Again this year, PAN presented to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services.

FACE BC and PENS also presented - we encourage you to read these presentations to better understand the issues and what is at stake for public education.
The same ALL PARTY committee that has recommended increased funding and a review of the funding method for public education for two years straight. Help ensure this year is no different, in fact, assist them in giving even stronger recommendations for Budget 2017.

Important dates:

• Website is now open to receive submissions and online survey responses
• Public hearings begin on Monday, September 19.
• The consultation ends on Friday, October 14.
• Report on its consultation to be released by Tuesday, November 15, 2016

First PAN Meeting for new School Year - Tues Oct 4

Our monthly meeting is coming up fast and will be on Tuesday October 4th at the Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood Pub (private room at the back) at 7pm.  We look forward to seeing many of you there as we have much to discuss and need your input. 
AND if you aren't able to attend a meeting but you can be more involved in the work happening behind the scenes or can take on a small project, email and let us know. Attending meetings is just one thing - there are a great many others things that need doing.

The Future of Public Ed Event - Wed Oct 5
The Tyee is hosting an education evening called “The Future of Public Education: Beyond the Headlines". Our own Jen Stewart of both PAN and FACE is one of the speakers. Details about the event are online and you can purchase tix too. The event on Oct 5 is from 7-9pm and will feature speakers who will explore what is, and what could be, for public education in British Columbia. From innovations to challenges, and from the perspective of teachers, academics,students and parents, they will delve into the possibilities ahead for our education system.

Surrey Ed Advocacy Event - Oct 11
Our friends in Surrey will be holding their event Advocating for Education 101 on Tuesday October 11th.  The event will be held at Ecole Woodward Hill in Surrey from 6:30-8:00pm. If you require childminding, you will need to register. If you are able to attend and show your support - yeah! If you aren't able to attend, please help spread the word on social media - all information is posted online and their poster is attached.

Vancouver City Council Stands Up for Neighbourhood Schools
On September 20th, Vancouver City Council unanimously passed a motion put forward by Councillor Andrea Reimer calling on the Province for capacity criteria based on community and educational need. It's a great help when more groups are pushing back to the provincial government! 
The City will now write to the Minister of Education, with a copy to the Chair of the Vancouver School Board, to request that the Provincial capacity requirements be amended to: 
• Allow for a lower capacity requirement where mitigating factors exist, such as significant enrollment fluctuation; 
• Decouple the requirement for school boards to close schools in order to get funding for life-saving seismic upgrades; 
• Support right-sizing of neighbourhood schools where there is a clear, consistent trend of lower enrollment; and • Change the formula for calculating capacity to reflect that place-based learning is critical for the success of inner city and Aboriginal learners.

www.panvancouver.ca
www.facebook.com/panvancouver
PAN Vancouver@PAN_Vancouver

David Livingstone's bottle recycling program has been going strong for many years now and this year we even kept going over the summer with weekly pick-ups from 5 Point and Fish Counter on Main Street. So we'd like to thank these local businesses for their ongoing support as we continue our partnership and we'd also like to thank Andrew, Hans and Chris for doing the pick-ups during July and August. Our bottle drive is a big fundraiser for the school and we're starting it up right away, so start collecting your empties and those of your neighbours too!


How can you support the school's recycling project? 
- Bring in all your empty drink containers, cans and bottles (no dairy or soy please) and drop them off in the big blue bins in the recycling room (besides the gym) or in one of the round blue bins you can find in the hallways.

- We're also looking for several volunteers to help us sort the incoming recycling - once a week, once a month... you decide how often you are available and we create a schedule to cover the weeks. This is a simple job that can easily be done after school along with your child(ren) if you want. Gloves are provided.

- And lastly, we're looking for 1 or 2 people with a truck or a (mini)van to help with the weekly pick-ups. The time commitment for this would be about 1 hour per month, preferably on Sunday or Monday evenings.


If you have any questions about our recycling project or if you can help with either pick-ups or sorting, please email Caroline.

Thank you for taking such great care of the garden this summer! Maintaining the garden over the summer is a huge help to teachers, adds to the beauty of our neighbourhood and kids love to see their garden thrive.

Do you want to help in the garden during the school year too? Here are some garden projects that could use your help:

• Offer to volunteer in your child's classroom. Many teachers appreciate having a parent with them when they're in the garden with their students. 

• Mow the grass. The school has an electric weed wacker that we use to cut the grass. Having a regular or periodic mowing volunteer would be great.

• We'll build a trellis for the raspberries soon. Would you like to help out when we do? 

• Buy and plant fruit trees. A few of our trees are looking quite sad and need to be replaced with different varieties. 

• Or maybe you have another idea you'd like to make happen in the garden?

If you're interested, let me know how you'd like to help and we can work together to get you started!


Thanks again,
Lea Elliott
lea.elliott@gmail.com

September 22nd, 2016

Bring the whole family !

Classrooms Open 5:00pm - 5:30pm
BBQ 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Bingo 6:30pm - 8:00pm

As part of the open house and bingo night, the PAC will be hosting a BBQ fundraiser.
We hope you can join us for some yummy food and to connect with the school community. Then stick around for a fun evening of Bingo and prizes hosted by Mr. Mitzel.

All BBQ orders will be done online this year. To order, go to www.munchalunch.com/schools/livingstone/

Sign in or register and click on the “Fundraising Open” tab. 

The deadline to order is September 19th.

Menu:

Hot Dog $3.50
Hamburger $5
Cheese Burger $6
Veggie Burger $5
Water or Juice $1
Ice Cream Cup $2

Hot Dogs and Burgers come with chips this year.

Volunteers are needed to make this event a success. Click HERE to add your name to the list.

Thanks to Windsor Quality Meats for donating much of the food.

The smell of popcorn will soon be filling the school hallways. This year, the David Livingstone PAC is selling popcorn cards at a cost of fifteen dollars ($15) per card.  Each card will give your child 11 bags of popcorn.

Purchasing the cards will be managed exclusively on the Munch-a-Lunch site this year, so convenient, hooray! Once you've paid for popcorn on the site, your popcorn worries are over, we'll take it from there.

The deadline to order is September 19th and can be made at the same time as your Fun Lunch order !

​Popcorn will be for sale at $2 per bag if you choose not to purchase the card in September. Just send your child to school with $2 cash on the day of the sale which will be announced via the Sunday email newsletter. (Remember that buying a card means you save money AND we can predict volume a little easier.)

​The first popcorn day will be announced soon.

​Log in or Sign Up
​
​​Ordering and Payment Info

If you need assistance or have questions about ordering, please contact Vanessa Lobel.