February 2025
These are the topics discussed at the February meeting
Chairperson’s Report
The chairperson would like to remind parents to drop off and pick up their kids in the designated zones. He says pickup time tends to be chaotic. Drivers have been clocked at 60/70 km an hour in the school zone.
We are fundraising to be able to use our website, to use Google meetings, and to host a teacher luncheon. June 6 is when the teacher appreciation luncheon is. We need volunteers and financial support. A WhatsApp group is being formed to get the luncheon organized.
Treasurer’s Report
During the last meeting, we approved the second round of club grants. $10,000 has been issued to clubs, whereas $29,000 has yet to be disbursed. Club sponsors/teachers need to submit invoices before they can get reimbursed.
DPAC Report
A letter has gone to the Vancouver School Board about the lack of transparency in school communications. Top staff have not been communicating with the DPAC. Senior staff is making it difficult to allow parents to communicate during board meetings. The board has cut the number of minutes parents/others have to address the board at meetings down to five minutes, and those topics have to be pre-approved.
It seems the Vancouver School Board is shaving their Choice Programs and Mini-school programs. Even the capacity at French immersion schools is being cut back quietly without public consultation.
Teacher’s Report
Duncan Mcdonald is a tech teacher. While describing what the tech department teaches, he showed a slide show of the various classes and what they are creating. Tech covers the following courses: Electronics and robotics, drafting and design, metal work and jewelry, and woodwork.
Every Gr 8 student will be rotated to be exposed to all of the above courses. Tech is over-enrolled, meaning way more students want to take the courses, than are available. The highest enrollment is in electronics, drafting and jewelry.
The department is facing huge challenges. Mr. Mcdonald says the new building is beautiful, but there was no plan put in place for new tools. Tools that were installed and ‘wired’ into the new school are in derelict condition. Much of the equipment is dated from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and are no longer in use. There would be costs associated not only of acquiring newer equipment, but of disconnecting the old equipment. The tools are so old there are no parts available and are not fixable. In the drafting department, the teacher has gone back to ‘paper’ assignments, as the computers are not equipped for drafting lessons.
Principal’s report
Because of the state of technology in the school, parents are asking who is ultimately responsible. Mr. Lauzon says the school is ultimately responsible for the technology and their maintenance. Some schools have better means than others to acquire this technology so there is inequity across the system. When Eric Hamber got a seismic replacement building, the technology within the school was not updated and it doesn’t seem as though the school board has the means to replace it. The school bought the technology that was appropriate for the new building, but it can’t afford to pay for it.
Mr. Lauzon thanked parents who raised close to $40,000 to pay down this ‘debt.’ And he says teachers are working hard to make sure students don’t feel this underfunding. Unfortunately, he says, it puts the school in a difficult situation, creating a ‘culture of scarcity,’ and even teachers themselves are at odds with one another. He says the school board needs to recognize this short-sightedness.
In other school news, the first school dance is coming up in April. There are now over 1,700 students registered to attend the school next year - the exact number of students the school was built for. Mr Lauzon says “we are getting very full very fast.” The Gr 8 class alone will fill the auditorium.
Grad Prom night is May 15. Typically, there isn’t much parent involvement in this event at Hamber. Students who want to participate in Prom must pay $170. 200 students must part-take to get the event to break even. 182 students have signed up so far. There are 330 grad students.