St. Joseph the Worker Elementary School

Parish Education

Committee

Annual Report

2013 ~ 2014

St. Joseph the Worker School

Parish Education Committee

2013-2014 Annual Report

Table of Contents:

1. Pastor’s Report – Friar David J. Poirier, SA

2. Chairperson’s Report – Paul Wigboldus

3. Vice Chairperson’s Report – Frank Kis-Toth

4. Treasurer’s Report – Sharon Sequeira

5. Fundraising Report – Marina Crego & Jose Flores

6. Parent Participation Report – Andrea Weeks

7. Maintenance Report – Gabriel Labrador & Frank Kis-Toth

8. Policy Report – Adelaide Dede

9. Community Relations/Parent Resources Report – Jose Flores

10. Uniform Report – Vincent Uy

11. Secretary Report – Adelaide Dede

12. Principal’s Report – Paul Fraser

St. Joseph the Worker School AGM February 2014 Pastor’s Report

The 2012-2013 School year was successfully completed, and the first half of the 2013-2014 was brought to a happy conclusion.

We had to make do without our regular music teacher, Mr. James Lerner, for the first half of this year due to some serious health issues requiring surgery from which we hope he will be recovered sufficiently to return to work by the end of January. Mr. Jamie Withers, co-Vice Principal, was laid low with a serious cardiac incident and his duties have been assumed by Mr. Todd Rogers until he is able to return to work, an event we hope to see by mid-February. The many prayers offered by the school community for each of them have been deeply appreciated, and we join in thanking God for their steady progress in recovery.

The installation of the new Big Toy has made the playground a more joyful and active place, as

has the installation of a large rock which is destined to become the centrepiece of a planned Rosary Garden. That space will be a multi-purpose space, used for prayer, instruction (weather permitting), quiet meditation and play. All in all it will be a wonderful addition to our parish grounds.

With the support of the Knights of Columbus and the Friends of St. Joseph the Worker Parish the

lighting and sound rigging in the gym/Parish Hall have been renewed affording improved acoustics and better light, all at a reduced power demand, giving the parish a considerable savings on Hydro bills.

With gratitude for the dedicated hard work of PEC, Staff, parents and students, I remain,

In Christ, David J Poirier, SA Pastor

St. Joseph the Worker School Parish Education Committee Chairperson’s Annual Report March 2013 – February 2014

The Parish Education Committee Annual General Meeting, as well as this report, present an overview of the past year in the community of St. Joseph the Worker Parish School. The Parish Education Committee, together with our Pastor Father David, and Principal Paul Fraser, work closely together to run our parish school. We ensure that Catholic Independent Schools Vancouver Archdiocese policies are implemented and we set our own policies within the CISVA framework for St. Joseph the Worker Parish School. We also manage school finances as well as oversee the hiring of staff in consultation with Father David and Mr. Fraser. General meetings are held once a month and parents and parishioners are welcome to attend as observers. If anyone has any questions for the PEC, please submit your questions to the PEC in writing and the PEC will provide a written response. This year has been my first year as chairperson of the PEC. As chairperson, I work closely with Fr. David and Mr. Fraser, as well as with individuals and committees in their specific portfolios. I am also responsible for facilitating our monthly meetings, acting as part of the interviewing committee for new and returning families, facilitating our faith development & goal-setting retreat and organizing our AGM. As the CISVA delegate, I attended the CISVA AGM earlier this year as well. With every year, there are changes to the PEC which always brings sadness as friends leave, and excitement as new faces bring fresh ideas to the table. In June we said goodbye to our past chairperson, Tara Ennevor and to Pauline Sturton, with whom I shared the Fundraising portfolio. I thank them both for all the work they did for our school and the years they served on the PEC. This year we welcomed new PEC members Adelaide Dede and Gabriel Labrador. I wish to thank all the members of the PEC, as well as Fr. David and Mr. Fraser for the energy, dedication, hard work, humour, and humility that they bring to each and every meeting, not to mention all the hours they put in behind the scenes, organizing people and events to bring us together as a community. The PEC is very grateful for the support of parents. Our school is blessed with a parish community that values a quality Catholic education and is willing to go above and beyond to ensure that we maintain our standards. Your involvement demonstrates to our children how much we believe in their education and future, after all, we are their primary educators. Thank you and God Bless, Paul Wigboldus, PEC Chairperson

St. Joseph the Worker School

Vice-Chair Annual Report 2014

As Vice-Chair, my duty is to support the Chair when and as

needed. In the event our Chair is unable to fulfill any of their

duties, I step up and take them over as long as

necessary. Our current Chair, Paul Wigboldus is very

involved and has not required me to fill any of his roles in the

past year. This year I have also managed the Maintenance

Portfolio with Gabriel Labrador. Sincerely, Frank Kis-Toth, P.E.C. Vice Chair Person

Treasurer/Tuition

As Treasurer, it is my responsibility to:

Prepare and submit the school budget to the PEC, and on approval to the CISVA

Monitor all school accounts

Oversee the collection of tuition and

Provide monthly printed financial reports

Please find attached the treasurer’s official 2012-2013 annual report. The actual figures on this report are from audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2013. Actual 2012-2013 Actual expenses were 2% below budget as the school had lower administration and maintenance costs. Excess revenues generated were used towards the playground (big toy) improvement which was installed in September 2013.

Budget 2013-2014 The 2013-2014 budget represents a slight decrease over the 2012-2013 budget, which is consistent with the actual revenues and expenses incurred in the prior year. Instructional expenses continue to be the largest expense at 85% of total budget and the balance 15% of the budget is used for all other administration & operating expenses. To balance the budget, we continue to rely on parish subsidy and fundraising revenues. Budget 2014-2015 The budget for the next school year is currently being drafted. Tuition Every year the CISVA sets a tuition scale for all schools. We are not allowed to exceed the highest rate that is set. Our tuition for 2013-2014 is not the maximum allowed by CISVA. Every Year the CISVA tuition scales are presented to the PEC. The committee reviews revenue versus expenses for the upcoming school year and votes on a reasonable tuition that will meet the school’s financial needs. Sharon Sequeira Treasurer/Tuition, PEC

St Joseph The Worker School

Treasurer's Annual Report 2012-2013

February 18, 2014

The actual figures for the school year 2012-2013 are from the audited financial statements.

The 2013-2014 budget is presented for comparison.

Budget

Actual

Budget

2012-2013

2012-2013

2013-2014

REVENUE

Provincial Government Grant

$ 837,312

$ 833,282

$ 863,010

Student Fees - Current Year

554,870

559,390

574,845

Parish Subsidies

75,000

50,000

75,000

Fundraising & Miscellaneous

65,000

81,940

65,000

Interest Income

5,000

10,288

7,000

Special Education Grant (+ other grants) 210,300

227,273

155,600

TOTAL REVENUE

$ 1,747,482 $ 1,762,173 $ 1,740,455

EXPENSES

Administration

$ 118,193

$ 97,658

$ 120,506

Instructional and Student Activities 1,489,211

1,480,002

1,476,401

Insurance

13,000

12,122

14,000

Operation and Maintenance

98,648

92,356

98,909

Other

28,430

30,900

30,639

TOTAL EXPENSE

$ 1,747,482 $ 1,713,038 $ 1,740,455

EXCESS OF REVENUE OVER EXPENSES $ - $ 49,135 $ -

Financial Year End: June 30

Actual 2012-2013

Actual expenses were 2% below budget as the school had lower administration and maintenance costs.

Excess revenues generated were used towards the playground (big toy) improvement which was installed in September 2013.

Budget 2013-2014

The 2013-2014 budget is a slight decrease over the 2012-2013 budget, which is in line with

actual revenues and expenses incurred in the prior year. Instructional expenses continue to be the largest

expense at 85% of total budget and 15% of the budget is used for all the other operating expenses.

To balance the budget, we continue to rely on parish subsidy and fundraising revenues.

Budget 2014-2015

The budget for the next school year is currently being drafted. Sharon Sequeira

Treasurer/Tuition PEC

Fundraising Report

February 2014

Roles The fundraising roles on the PEC are to oversee the planning and implementation of our major fundraisers; the annual Walkathon, and the annual Guardians Gala. The money raised from both of these fundraisers help fund our essential operation costs of our school allowing us to maintain the education experience we have come to expect for our children.

Walkathon This annual event which is held in the early fall, is a favourite for the children and this year we were blessed with utilizing the new walk way along Railway for part of the walk. With close to 95% school family fundraising participation, the Walkathon of 2013 has once again surpassed our target of $25,000.00. The total amount raised this year was $28,525.00. Thank you to our school families, and parish community who helped make the Walkathon another success.

Guardians Gala We are currently planning our largest school fundraiser, the 17th Annual Guardians Gala, which will once again be held at St. Joseph the Worker School. This year the gala will take place on Saturday, May 10th, 2014. Your personal Invitation can be found in your AGM package. Last year the Gala raised more then $32,700.00. Thank you to everyone involved in planning, working up to and during the event and of course to all those who attended. We look forward to this year being even more successful. Sincerely, Marina Crego and Jose Flores Fundraising Representatives

Parent Participation Annual Report 2013 – 2014 At St. Joseph the Worker School, the Parent Participation Program supports and enhances the School and Parish Communities. All School parents must participate in this program which builds community, and raises or saves the school money. The Parent Participation Program assists in three areas:

1: In school 2: Sacramental Preparation 3: Fundraising

Working within the school can be very rewarding while getting to know the staff and students. Some examples of jobs include Office Aid, Lunch Hour Supervisor, and Library Aid. The Sacramental Preparation team works with the Parish Religious Education Department in preparing our Grades two and seven students for First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and Confirmation. The Fundraising team organizes and executes both of our fundraising events, the Walkathon and the Guardians Gala Auction. All of our hourly workers support the above areas with most hours worked in Fundraising (including some Parish initiated fundraisers, like shopping card selling after Mass.) The PPP has continued to evolve to meet the needs of the school and to honour the talents and needs of our parents. We always try to be conscious of the amount of flexible hourly jobs and those jobs that can be completed on evenings and weekends. We understand that families are busy so we ask that in return all parents understand the responsibility we have in fulfilling our duties for the school and our children. In closing I would like to say that the Parent Participation Program is a great way to be involved with the students, at the same time building our own friendships with other parents. On behalf of myself, and all of the PEC, thank you for your continued involvement this school year. Andrea Weeks Parent Participation PEC

Maintenance Annual Report 2013-2014 4th quarter of 2012:

Installation of hangers for the gym’s washrooms

Repairs to the principal’s office door to add a window.

Repairs to the school main entrance. These 3 small projects were done with the participation of a few school parents under Frank’s supervision. 2nd quarter of 2013:

Installation of new cabinet’s doors and new handles in all classrooms. The company that sold the cabinet’s door to the school was in charge of the installation under the supervision of Gabriel Labrador.

Demolition of the Big Toy. We were able to do this project thanks to the cooperation of some school parents under the supervision of Gabriel Labrador.

3rd quarter of 2013:

Installation of the new Big Toy. This installation was a big success thanks to a big group of school parents who donated their time to be able to finish the project in one day.

Attendance to the security meeting to evaluate proposals for the installation of a new alarm system for the school.

4th quarter of 2013:

Replacing of the cabinet’s door handles for the classrooms of Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade. The original handles needed replacement because their edges were too sharp and they could be dangerous for small kids.

Installation of a boulder as the starting point for the Rosary Garden by the Big Toy.

Replacement of the lighting in the gym. The new lights will reduce electricity consumption substantially.

Respectfully submitted by Gabriel Labador and Frank Kis-Toth

Policy Report 2013-2014

The responsibility of the Policy Portfolio is to create and update policy and

procedures in consultation with the Pastor, Principal and the Parish

Education Committee.

St. Joseph the Worker’s policies are reviewed to ensure that they are in

constant accordance with the CISVA policy manual. This past year, the

focus has been on a complete overhaul of the Bully Free Policy. You will

find copies of this policy in your re-registration package. Please take the

time to familiarise yourselves with this new, updated policy.

The next local policy in line for a complete overhaul at St. Joseph the

Worker is the Special Needs Policy.

Thank you,

Yours in Christ,

Adelaide Dede

Policy

Community Relations/ Parent Resources Report

February 18, 2014

Dear Father David, Fellow PEC Members, Parents and Friends,

It is an honor to serve a great group such as ours here at St. Joseph the

Worker Elementary School. The goal of the Community Relations portfolio

is one that seeks building a community through events that celebrate our

diversity, friendship, and the teachings of our school.

We hold events that bring our families from different grades together, and

institutionalized them such as the New Parent Night, Family Fun Night, ,and

Movie Night.

New Parent Night was led by Mr. Paul Fraser, who has always been a

strong supporter of community building events, and the members of the

PEC. The event welcomed around 20 new families to our school and

introduced the group to our core values and was also an opportunity to

forge new friendships. New this year was our introductory games that

had parents chatting and enjoying the evening.

Family Fun Night, our school’s social evening, is our main event to bring

our families together. This year’s theme is “Celebrating the Olympics” and

some of the highlights we plan for this year is the surprise treat of Purple

Ice Cream donated by Vincent Uy.

.

This past December was our second family Movie Night and was

attended by about 150 members of our school community. We hope to

add another Movie Night before the school year ends.

As our events are mostly outside of parental volunteer hours, We would

like to extend to the many individuals who assist us based on their love

and stewardship to our school community.

If you have any suggestions, I am always open to new ideas to add to our

community-building events. It is a pleasure working with such a great

community.

Yours truly,

Jose Flores and Vincent Uy

Uniform Report for 2013 -2014 A few “thanks” are needed before I proceed. Thank you to Denise Lorenz for her big help in monitoring the gym strip sales. Thank you to my fellow PEC members for their continued support. This year we continue to have two parents working as a team sharing the job of maintaining uniform checks throughout the 2013/2014 school year. We have Sandra Manzano and Natascha Lawrence as part of the Uniform checks team. Please continue to extend them your cooperation in their efforts to continue to instill pride in wearing the St. Jo School Uniform. We have continued the reward of earning a “treat” in response to three stars in a row being earned by a class. The treat is determined by the individual teacher as before. As of this report, the year has smooth regarding any complaints about uniform issues and problems from our supplier, Neat Uniforms. As in previous years, we will hold a Used Uniform Sale in May prior to the NEAT Uniforms sale. This helps departing families dispose of uniforms and for current families, recycle uniforms that their children may have outgrown. This helps reduce the cost of clothing for other families. This will be held on May 28, Wednesday. Details will be announced in April. The NEAT Uniform Sale is scheduled for June 11, 2014, Wednesday. For new parents, this is FIT Day for new uniforms and as before there were will be a discount given by NEAT Uniforms for purchases made this day only. I urge the parents to take advantage of this. We are currently using the new sports uniforms with the updated Guardians Logo for sports. This year as per CISVA Coaches Handbook regulations, we have included numbers in front. Parents are reminded to “cold-wash and hang-dry” so we can stretch the life of the uniforms. There are no plans for the Track Suits this year as our current plan to run this only every 2 or 3 years. It has been an honor to serve in the Uniforms portfolio this year. Thank you parents for your continued support! Sincerely, Vincent Uy, Uniform Portfolio

UNIFORM CHECKS REPORT

Sep 19 Oct 17 Oct 30 Nov 01 Nov 25 Dec 01 Jan 16/17 Jan 27

K * * * * *

1 * * * * * * *

2 * * * * *

3 * * * *

4 * * * * *

5 * * * *

6 *

7

* Means whole Class had complete uniform on the day Uniform Checks were conducted

Secretary Report 2013 – 2014

The responsibility of the secretary is to:

accurately record and distribute the monthly PEC minutes to all PEC

members in a timely manner

ensure PEC minutes are posted on the board and school website for

reference

send appreciation cards to volunteers

participate in sub-committee meetings and PEC organized events

This past year all the PEC minutes were posted on the board for Sept. –

Dec.2013.

The website will be updated after tonight’s meeting. The PEC appreciated

several individuals for their exceptional volunteer work towards the school.

In September, the PEC members attended the CISVA leadership conference.

This conference provided a better understanding of the CISVA policy and its

application for effective leadership in the schools.

The PEC members attended the Twilight Retreat which explored and

reinforced the theme ‘Walk Humbly with our Lord’.

I would like to thank Denise Lorenz for her accuracy, efficiency and

professionalism in recording the PEC minutes, and distributing the minutes

to the PEC members after review.

Thank you,

Yours in Christ,

Adelaide Dede

Secretary

A.G.M. Principal’s Report : 2013/2014

The past year has had many points of excitement, mixed with moments of sadness and

tragedy. We continue to pray for the family of our faithfully departed Roxanna Chen,

a school parent and staff member. We also continue to pray for the health of two

other staff members - Mr. Jamie Withers and Mr. James Lerner. Thanks be to God, both

are expected to make a full recovery and resume teaching very soon. Yet, as life

continues to show us, sadness is always mixed with hope and happiness. Now at the

half-way point of the school year, there are a number of joyous school and community

-based events to report on during the previous 12 months.

Our theme this year, “Walk Humbly with Our Lord” has been incorporated into a variety

of our school activities and programming. As a school, we have looked at what

walking humbly actually means, both in words and in actions. I think the best

expression I have come across to date on this wonderful theme is: “Being humble

means to think of yourself less, but not to think less of yourself.”

On the administrative side of our parish school, we have just gone “live” on version 2.0

of our blog-based school website as we continue to provide school families with

important information and updates. Our Fundraising page is now titled “Giving” and

incorporates new information and ways to support both of our major school fundraisers,

including a new PayPal option. Our goals have been two-fold: increasing

communication and decreasing our carbon footprint.

A central School Growth Plan goal for the 2013-2014 school year has been to

implement a Kindergarten to Grade 7 Program. To this end, we are piloting a new

program called AIM French. Staff have received 3 in-school workshops so far this

school year on the gesture-based, interactive program. The development of this new

language program is based on a 2-3 year implementation schedule.

Beyond our various sports teams and athletic competitions, the year has been filled

with a balance of both athletic and artistic activities. Twice in the past year, the Grade

2-7 classes have enjoyed in-school fencing lessons, and the entire school enjoyed a

week-long ‘Brazilian soccer skills’ workshop. The month of December featured a

wonderful Christmas celebration with a new format – a para-liturgy for the first part of

the celebration and a classroom teacher-led presentation during the second half.

…/2

One of the many characteristics that makes our school community special is the level

of involvement our parents have in the school and in supporting in any way they can.

This was visibly demonstrated not once but twice during the last year. In September of

2013, St. Joe’s received a beautiful new playground structure that was installed by

nearly 2 dozen of our dedicated parents. It was an amazing day of stewardship, cool

tools and community. And what an amazing play structure it is!

A little further into the school year, our community mobilized again – this time to offer

support to the many victims of Hurricane Haiyan in the Philippines. By the time we were

done, well over 100 large shipping boxes had been filled with life-saving materials and

were bound for the hardest hit areas. We should all be proud to be part of such a

giving and supportive community.

On behalf of the students and staff of our school, I would like to thank the entire parent

and parish community for your continued dedication and support of our school and its

children. Your love and commitment to Catholic Education is a shining example for all

other parish communities.

God Bless,

Paul Fraser