September 2026 Newsletter

These are the topics discussed at the September meeting

Principal’s welcoming remarks

Mr. Lauzon thanked parents for coming or logging on, pointing out he had a separate meeting for Grade 8 parents in early September.

He says while parents of high school students might be under the impression that parent participation is less important at this stage, he says the opposite is true. He stresses that his administration is very approachable, and is urging anyone with concerns or questions to reach out and make appointments with the administration or teachers. He also notes the issues parents raise at PAC meetings are relayed to the teachers.

Previous president’s report

In a written report, Jackie Lee gave thanks to the former PAC executives, and pointed out to progress made on a number of issues last year, namely addressing traffic problems in front of the school. There is now a left hand turn lane on 33rd, and there are parking restrictions in place. This came about after a visit by the mayor, a councillor and a trustee. He is reminding us to be aware of the proper ways to drop off your kids at school to avoid traffic tie-ups.

Election of PAC executive

Octavio West, who has been our treasurer, is now the new chair

Adam Chodos, who has been co-treasurer and co-chair, stays on as  treasurer

Charlotte Wilkinson steps into the secretary position

Preetika Mehra has agreed to be our District PAC rep

Members at large include Allison Tredwell, who looks after our website, Renee Bernard, who composes our newsletter, and Nick Despotakis, who happens to be the school’s former vice principal

We are still looking for a vice-chair, who could help in co-signing cheques

Treasurer’s report

The PAC has two accounts: one is general and one is connected to the gaming grant. Last year we provided funding to various clubs, including athletics, Mandarin, Leo, and theatre just to name a few. Typically, there is money left over from the previous year and this year is no exception. Sometimes clubs request money, but never submit receipts so the money stays in the PAC fund. 

Last year, we received $60,000 in requests. At the beginning of the year, clubs and their sponsors receive a form to make funding requests. Because we don’t have enough money to give to every club, the PAC has to make decisions. Previously, athletics was the focus of the funding, and within athletics, a few sports got a lot of funding. Now, the aim is to deliver more funding across more clubs. 

Next month, we will be open to funding requests, after we learn just how much of a gaming grant we will be getting. At the end of the year, the treasurer makes a report to submit to the government, outlining how the funding was used.

Teacher report

Kari Hewitt is a social studies/Indigenous studies teacher. She has taught in the district for 15 years, but has chosen to teach at  Eric Hamber because of the supportive atmosphere. She highlighted that this coming Wednesday is Truth and Reconciliation Day, a day not necessarily about shaming, but about acknowledging the past and having discussions about “where do we go from here.”

Principal’s report

Mr. Lauzon is again stressing that he is very accessible and approachable. But to be able to have informed answers to questions during the PAC meetings, parents are encouraged to pose the questions to him beforehand, so he can do some background research.

The school is overcapacity, with over 1,700 students. And the student body will continue to grow as the neighbourhood densifies. About a dozen in-catchment students who tried to enrol during the summer were out of luck. He says enrolment is always a moving target, as people move into the neighbourhood, while other students decide to take online classes. The school board scrutinizes the school timetable and will question why some classes have low enrolment.

The start of the year is always challenging because timetables are often incomplete. He says it’s a challenging process and a complex dynamic but counsellors are working hard to rectify outstanding issues.

Traffic in front of the school is still an issue. He says kids are still darting across 33rd Avenue and that we need more traffic calming measures, especially given we no longer have a winter time change that had been useful in keeping mornings filled with as much natural  light as possible. He is reminding parents they should not be dropping their kids off in front of the school, but at least a block away.

As far as communication with parents, he understands there needs to be more information going out to parents of the Grade 12 students, who are preparing for grad photos, prom and grad ceremony among other events. But he also believes newsletters from the school should contain fresh information and not  just repetitious messaging that parents tend to ignore.

A big change that was announced as the school year started was how the school board no longer wants to cover transaction fees charged by Cash Online. Since 2017, when the board started using Cash Online, the board covered those fees. Now that 4.5% fee will be passed onto parents. There has been no VSB communication to parents about this. Mr. Lauzon hopes the board will let parents know soon.

And finally, Mr. Lauzon says the big message this year for students is to stay off their phones during class. Students, he says, should be completely present in class and for their classmates. Phones should be out of sight. However, he acknowledges that school messaging often occurs on Teams, Discord and Instagram.