March 6           Building Bridges with Your Teen (communication)

April 17           Enjoy Parenting Your Teen (Parents Together presentation)

May 16            Capacity Cafe (youth voices)

The VSB School Calendar Committee is working with the District Parent Advisory Committee to ensure that families have an opportunity to provide feedback on the current school calendar prior to adopting a Local School Calendar for the 2012-2013 year for the Vancouver School District.

They have created a survey exclusively for parents on the following link:  https://survey.vsb.bc.ca/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=8lLJ7o4

The working committees would like to have as many survey responses from parents as possible by Friday, February 24.  Your participation in this brief survey (10-15 minutes) would assist in their deliberations.

WORKING WITH PARENTS TO INCREASE THE ONLINE SAFETY OF CHILDREN

On February 7, 2012, Safer Internet Day, countries around the world promoted safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially among children and young people. In Canada, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection has created a unique, one-stop Internet safety website – The Door that’s Not Locked – to help parents, teachers and anyone else with children in their lives learn about ways to keep kids safe.  Please visit www.thedoorthatsnotlocked.ca for more information.

PW 2012 Lunar New Year Celebration was held on January 25th during lunch at PW Cafeteria to welcome the Year of the Dragon. This event was supported by over sixty Chinese and Korean parent volunteers and over seventy Chinese and Korean student volunteers. It was coordinated by SWIS workers along with Chinese and Korean parent volunteers. The event began with a professional lion dance which made its way through the hallways of the school and led the students into the beautifully decorated cafeteria where students performed and parent volunteers provided and served a huge buffet of cultural Korean and Chinese food. Performances included: K-Pop band, Tae Kwon Do, Traditional Chinese dance, Korean traditional percussion music, Chinese string, hip-hop dance and a string quartet. With the vast majority of PW staff and students in attendance, an atmosphere of festive celebration was felt throughout our school community. This event was a huge success. A big thank you to the generous support of PAC, PW administrators, parent and student volunteers.

Please follow these links to view highlights of the celebration: http://www.flickr.com/photos/66321327@N08/

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1BbNmjVo5Zuqg

Vancouver District Parents Advisory Council (DPAC)

"What’s Up Online?" with Key Note Speaker Merlyn Horton of Safe Online Outreach Society

Topics will include:

•           Emerging trends in online youth culture

•           High risk activities online

•           The nature of sexual exploitation in cyberspace

•           Internet safety tips and resources

•           This presentation is designed for parents and youth ages 13+

Time:    7:00 - 8:30 pm                                

Place:   Alma VanDusen and Peter Kaye Rooms, Central Library, 350 West Georgia St. Admission: FREE   Seating is limited.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for Refreshments

Register by February 24, 2012 at: event@plea.bc.ca

Presented in partnership with: VPL, VSB, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, City of Vancouver, PLEA Community Services

PW Lunar New Year Celebration

On Wednesday, January 25th, PW students will be treated to an extended lunch hour to experience the sights, sounds and tastes of the Korean and Chinese culture.  There will be a  Lion Dance, wonderful student performances (music, martial arts) and free food!  We thank our two VSB Settlement Workers in Schools (Ms. Jenny Choi and Ms. Audrie Leung), our two PAC liaisons (Ms. Yoon Lee and Ms. Rae Lo), and all the parent/student volunteers who plan, execute and donate to this event. 

Donations are still welcome.  Please contact our liaisons korean@pwpac.ca , chinese@pwpac.ca.

The Vancouver School Board is embarking on an exciting new project to determine the future of our schools. The VSB has a wide-range of services, programs and educational resources available across our district. Now it’s time to take stock of what we offer and determine what programs and opportunities should be prioritized now and into the future in order to create the best possible learning environment.

To do this we are seeking your feedback through our new consultation website “Our Future” at http://ourfuture.vsb.bc.ca. We hope that you visit the website and that you will consider joining the conversation through the site’s online survey.  Thank you for your time and your consideration in helping us to chart the future of our schools.

Regards,

John Dawson

District Vice Principal - Field Services Student Information

604-713-4441

The PW Staff and Administration would like to thank all the parents who helped with or contributed food/drink  items to the November 24th Staff Appreciation Luncheon.  The Lasagna/Caesar Salad lunch (along with lots of baked goods) was enjoyed and much appreciated by all.