November 2024
These are the topics discussed at the November meeting.
Teacher’s Report
Reece Worth is a math and music teacher. He has been the Eric Hamber tech rep for the last 7 years.
The situation is dire when it comes to aging technical equipment at Hamber.
He tells us the school board used to have a ‘students bring their own tech’ policy, but quickly discovered how inequitable that was. However, the VSB is not providing funding for schools to update their technology. $250,000 was provided in the VSB district budget for updating tech equipment, but that has already been spent. Many of the computers at Hamber are nearing the end of their lives. Only one computer lab at Hamber is up to date. Many devices are dated 2012, so they are obsolete. It costs $1,000 to buy a single computer, or $34,000 to update one lab. A teacher updated all of her MacBooks last year to discover they became obsolete this past summer, so photos can’t be processed. Even computers purchased in 2022 are becoming obsolete. The drafting department has been ‘Frankensteining’ computers to keep them operational. In two to three years most computers at Hamber will cease to function. Computers running Windows 10 will be obsolete, as that operating system will be phased out with the introduction of 11. In about a year Windows 10 will not be supported.
Bottom line: this has to be on the VSB radar and tech support should have long range funding.
Treasurer’s Report
$27,000, or about 68%, of PAC’s gaming grant has been allocated to various Hamber clubs. There are very stringent rules on how this money can be spent. It can only be spent on extra-curricular activities.
Here is a sample of what some clubs got:
Tea club $400
Dragonboat team $2,000
Athletics $9,000
Japan bowl club $200
Clubs day $940
Newspaper club $1,000
Grad committee $3,500
Science dep’t $150
Experiment club $500
Principal’s Report
Mr. Lauzon is still floored by the ‘catastrophic debt’ that he has been handed – a total of $180,000. The school board and province built a new school, but paying for the technical equipment – the TVs, the overhead projectors, etc, has landed in his lap. So far the direct drive has raised $33,000. He supports any efforts to get this on the VSB agenda.
It is parent-teacher week. He realizes there aren’t enough time slots and they are not suitable for all parents. But he encourages parents to reach out directly to the teachers. He says teachers are not receptive to opening up evening-meeting slots.
He has been looking into a ‘tap and pay’ system for students when it comes to fundraisers, paying for pizza, etc. He says 167 grads recently enjoyed a grad boat cruise. The band, choir, music, drama and fashion departments are very busy. Administration is in discussions about what new courses to offer up next year. Prom/grad will happen at the Fairmont and Orpheum, and he’s looking into alternative grad-gown rental companies.