The next regular PAC meeting is on Monday February 23rd, starting promptly at 7pm and will be held in the main school library. Among other regular agenda items, we will hear from a dietician on healthy food choices for children. (Meeting agenda | Minutes of the previous meeting). Minutes for all past PAC meetings can be found in the meeting minutes archives.
Want to attend but need help minding your children? No problem, child-care (not for infants) is provided during the meeting.
February 2009: A project agreement to start the design and planning for a new, seismically designed, Douglas main school is reportedly near at hand.
January 2009: Seismic upgrades arrive, early, at the Annex. Seismic building upgrades were planned for the Annex to start later in the school year but mysteriously portables have arrived on-site already. A schedule and other information will be posted as it's available.
December 2008: Your PAC Chair and members of the Seismic Building Renewal committee met with our riding MLA, Wally Oppal, to stress the importance of this project. Mr. Oppal has committed to speak with Education Minister Shirley Bond in the new year and report back to us.
Monday November 3: Principal Emeno submitted our school community's requirements analysis document to the Vancouver School Board; from there it is to be submitted as part of a package of other similar proposals from three Vancouver schools: Kitchener, Secord, and Sexsmith.
Monday October 27: At the special PAC meeting held Monday night VSB staff outlined what appears to be a new and promising direction for expanding the funding envelope available to schools facing reconstruction under the B.C. Seismic Mitigation Program. This very recent development presents an opportunity for Douglas Elementary and all its stakeholders to achieve the most comprehensive project definition and budget for our school replacement project.
At the request of the Ministry of Education the Vancouver School Board has been instructed to present its final recommendations and budget request for the Douglas Elementary project no later than November 7th. Douglas PAC will continue to work with Principal Emeno and other VSB staff to ensure a timely and comprehensive submission is made to the Ministry of Education on our school community's behalf.
Please watch this space for updates as this new process rolls forward.
January 2009 Principal and Seismic Renewal Committee Chair meet with VSB staff to discuss proposal from MEd for Douglas school rebuilding. Based on this discussion and the specifics of the proposal, we recommend acceptance.
By November 3 Principal Emeno will present stakeholder findings and our school replacement project requirements to the VSB.
By November 7 the VSB will submit their proposals for four schools: Douglas, Kitchener, Sexsmith and Secord
VSB anticipates Project Agreements for the school projects noted will be developed by December; the P.A. is a key document which permits school boards to proceed with major capital projects, and represents the key objective our PAC has been seeking for some time.
Vancouver School Board facilities and planning staff meet with Douglas Elementary stakeholders at a special meeting of the PAC on Monday October 27th.
Parents representing Douglas PAC presented to a Committee II meeting at the Vancouver School Board on October 21.
In late September there was a staff session with VSB facilities and planning department staff; there remain a number of concerns we have regarding functionality we need to see in any new structure.
June 2008: A submission was made by the PAC to Committee II at their last regular meeting; following that meeting we received a commitment from VSB staff to further discuss the specific needs of Douglas Elementary.
April 2008: The Vancouver School Board recently hosted an information session at our school; staff are prepared to recommend a replacement facility to the VSB Facilities and Planning Committee.
Checkout the seismic resource page being maintained by the PAC for information on the status of our school's upgrade or replacement. Annex parents please note: the changes / rebuilding of the main school is an issue for you too - please get involved!
Check out the PAC information bulletin board, located just inside the Brigadoon street entrance of the main school, for updated information regarding the PAC and current events.
Can you help? A new school year has begun, as has the planning for the many PAC-organized events held throughout the year. Help your PAC make a difference in our schools by helping out - a little, or a lot - all contributions are welcome!
We are always looking for volunteers from both the Annex and Main school communities! If you can help in any way, please fill out this form and return it to your child's school and one of our PAC volunteers will get in touch with you.