Busby School Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) Society

January 14, 2025 — 5:00pm
Busby School

Meeting called to order at 5:06pm by Victoria.

In attendance (16): Angie Bachand, Leane Maguire, Victoria Demmink, Stephanie Brown, Sylvia
Fischbuck, Delanna Spargo, Kyli Ford, Jen Stoby, Carolyn Dumbeck, Kendall Wojciechowski,
Miranda Srayko-Slifka, Charlene Hengen, Karin Ackerfeldt, Megan Romaniuk, Abby Keyes,
Maureen Schnirer

Previous meeting minutes: Sylvia adopted Victoria’s minutes as presented and read. Jen
seconded. All in favour. Carried.

Treasurer’s Report: Delanna adopted her financial report as presented and read. Kyli seconded.
All in favour. Carried. Account balances per attached report:
General account balance—$12,349.15
Casino account balance—$26,354.19

Standing business:
Spring fundraiser: Kyli will organize Calahoo/Cisco fundraiser (timing: before May long
weekend, ideally). To revisit in March. No spring fundraiser planned in the interim.

Orange shirt supplier: Leane provided an update. Waiting for formal estimates from two
companies—see attached Appendix A. Recommended deciding by May/June to allow for
enough time to get the shirts for September. Considered: Society buys shirts for students (and
staff), but also open it up to families to order for themselves and siblings. First quote: $10-$15
for kids/youth sizes; $2,000 total cost estimated for discussion purposes. Considered: Reserving
those funds for experiences for students instead of shirts vs. inclusivity, recognizing Indigenous
artists and Truth and Reconciliation Day. Suggestion: Send an order form home. Parents
indicate which current students need or would like a shirt (free), and if they would like to order
extra shirts (paid) for themselves or non-student siblings. To revisit at March meeting once have
both quotes.

Concert seat sale: $430 total earned. Sold 33 x 4-seat tickets, and 20 x 2-seat tickets. 32 seats
in the front two rows were allocated to the raffle. It wasn’t too much work for Aubrie; she thought
it worked well and is happy to continue it going forward. Next year: front door premium parking
raffle as well? Also, to plan for accessibility aids/location (so readily available in case of
emergency).

Playground grants/funds: Angie requested and is still waiting on a playground catalogue.
Miranda to review catalogue and possible fundraising and grants. Jen can provide guidance on
grant applications. Community-accessed playground. Look at age-appropriate equipment for B-
Prep (ages 3-4), as well as accessible playground equipment for mobility-impaired children
(currently the playground is not accessible to all). Jen mentioned there are people that helpdesign playgrounds, which Miranda will look into. Will also look into government/matching
grants, and doing things in stages rather than all at once (as long as the full playground vision is
there).

Luchi’s garden: Jen and Committee will bring forth a proposed budget at the March meeting.

New business:

Fund request—Mrs. Keyes: Requested funds for grade 6 (only) activities:
Cross-country ski trip to Tawatinaw: The students have already been skiing around the school
property. $85 all in for skiing, plus busing ($500 ballpark) = $585 approximately. End of Feb/beg
of March, weather-dependent. Motion: Megan made the motion for PAC to cover the cost of the
cross-country ski trip, including busing. Seconded by Jen. All in favour. Carried.
Glenda/The Studio in Westlock County: Pilot project for Glenda to lead a pottery activity in the
classroom (reduced cost, as it’s her first time in-classroom). $20/child plus $50 total for travel =
$390 all in (there are 17 children in grade 6). Cost includes clay for a mug, water, cost of firing
and glazing. The school will have to hold onto the mugs for 30 days and drive them to the studio
twice for firing. Noted: 4-H did not have a good experience with Glenda at The Studio—the
logistical component was not very organized. Mrs. Keyes is willing to stay on top of the
organization piece. Glenda was good with the kids. Motion: Megan made the motion for PAC to
cover the cost of the in-school pottery class. Seconded by Jen. All in favour. Carried.

Hot lunch budget: Currently approx. $300, but flexible. Food costs have gone up, but some
lunches cost more, some are less, and over the course of the year they tend to even out. Ex.
Taco in a bag is quite expensive because of the cost of ground beef; cost reduced this year by
using larger bags of chips instead of the small ones. Last year was about $100 net cost for hot
lunches. Makes sense to increase the budget, to take pressure off parent volunteers, and to
take into consideration increased food costs and increased number of students. Motion: Kyli
made the motion to raise the budget to $400 maximum for each hot lunch without increasing the
cost to students of $3/lunch; to be revisited in Sept 2025. Leane seconded. All in favour.
Carried.

Left-handed ukuleles: Two children in grade 6 are left-handed. Ms. Bachand is already taking
care of it—having the appropriate number of ukuleles restrung.

Provincial grant: $500 to engage more people into school parent council. Grant and criteria
presented by Leane—see attached Appendix B. Idea: Presentation on kids and online and
social media safety. One option: Centre for Trauma-Informed Practice (CTIP), Madison
Cameron, Lethbridge University program—Leane to email more details once she receives them.
Cost includes 4 presentations: grades 4-6 student presentation, staff training, parent session,
and one other. $2,000+tax, plus travel from Lethbridge. Victoria to look into inviting other
schools (Dunstable, Clyde), who may not have yet used their grants yet. Other options: There
may also be someone local who can do the presentation. Now that topic has been agreed upon,
Leane will look into more options and present them at the March meeting (or by email sooner, if
needed).

Next meeting on March 11, 2025 at 5:00pm, Busby School.

Meeting adjourned at 6:21pm by Victoria.

Busby School Advisory
January 14, 2025 — 4:15pm
Busby School

Meeting called to order at 4:15pm by Victoria. Land Acknowledgement.

In attendance (15): Angie Bachand, Leane Maguire, Victoria Demmink, Stephanie Brown, Sylvia
Fischbuck, Delanna Spargo, Kyli Ford, Jen Stoby, Carolyn Dumbeck, Kendall Wojciechowski,
Miranda Srayko-Slifka, Charlene Hengen, Karin Ackerfeldt, Maureen Schnirer, Abby Keyes

Previous meeting minutes: Sylvia adopted Victoria’s minutes as presented and read. Carolyn
seconded. Carried.

Standing business:
-Grade 4 & 3 hot lunches: Karin, Steph, Maureen, Delanna have the grade 4 lunch covered.
(Pulled chicken sandwiches, caesar salad, cookies.) Sam, Carolyn, Victoria are doing grade 3
next month.
-Hoodie feedback: New supplier Burke Group (delivered Dec. 2024). Toques (new) are a big hit.
Will continue to use Burke going forward: price is good, they were good to deal with, and in
Edmonton so easy to pick up. Next year will plan in Sept. 2025.
-Christmas backdrop feedback: Nice touch. Fun for both families and staff. Bench that Sam
brought was very helpful. Suggestion for next year: use clamps on the frame, because the tape
ended up falling and rips the backdrop a bit when removed. Jen is going to donate the
photography backdrop stand to the school—thank you! Idea: Now that the school has a stand,
consider getting more backdrops for different holidays/events (smaller ones—10×10).
-Luchi’s memorial garden: Jen will head up planning flowers, etc. Miranda can help.
Landscaping and planting, because sidewalk currently has a bit of an edge (drop-off) by the
outdoor classroom. Karin has some extra cement pads for a walkway she can donate, if
needed.
-Playground slide safety: Ms. Bachand put in a request for an inspection; waiting on response.
Maintenance can’t do anything to lift the one side of the slide; no initial concerns for the age
group it’s designed for (ages 5+). B-Prep is 3-4 years old, and the school doesn’t have
equipment specifically age-appropriate for them. Angie will speak to Kelly Ferguson (Early
Learning Program principal) for suggestions.

New business:
-Christmas concert volunteers: Big shoutout from Victoria to all the volunteers that made the
Christmas concert a huge success. From Mr. Pfaeffli clearing the parking lot, to the pizza lunch
and 50/50 volunteers—big thank you to everyone who helped out!
-Skating rink: Currently shut down because of warm weather. Carolyn explained it needs to be
at least -10C to pour another tank of water on the rink, as the water is warm, so it needs colder weather to freeze or it takes a very long time. Victoria thanked the Busby Fire Department and
community members who help maintain the skating rink.
-Principal’s report: see attached report; presented by Angie. Appendix A
-Trustee report: see attached report; presented by Maureen. Appendix B

Next meeting on March 11, 2025 at 4:15pm, Busby School.
Meeting adjourned at 5:06pm by Victoria.

Appendix A

Principal’s Report
Jan 14th, 2025

• Thanks for all your support throughout the Christmas concert season. Rehearsal Pizza to 50/50
  tickets. We really appreciate PACs help
• School population
  Since our last meeting, we received 1 new student in our grade 3 class, taking our total school
  population k-6 to 122
• Upcoming events
  Basketball season is in full swing
  Miss. Knapp will be coaching the girls and Ms. Bachand is coaching the boys with our first game
  against Dunstable on the 22nd
  January 21st – MLA Janis Irwin will be visiting
  January 23rd K-3 tubing at Tawatinaw
  Jan 28th -Grade 4 Assembly @ 2:30
  Jan 30th -Grade 4-6 ski trip to Tawatinaw
  February 6 and 7 Teacher’s convention
  Feb 11 and 13 -Parent Teacher interviews
  Feb 25th -Grade 6 Assembly
  Feb 26th -Pink Shirt Day
  Feb 27th -Final Basketball Tournament
• Calendar
  Board Approved Calendar, now it’s time to place our Alternative Days
• Surveys
  Starting at the beginning of February please keep an extra close eye on your inbox for the
  division parent satisfaction survey

Society

Nothing from Principal

Appendix B
January 2025 Board Report for Busby School as prepared by Trustee Maureen Schnirer

• Approved 2025-2026 School Year Calendar
  Following an extensive consultation process the calendar reflects our commitment to balancing
  instructional time, staff planning needs, and family considerations. The calendar retains the structure
  and rhythm of the 2024-2025 school year, providing predictability for families and staff while addressing
  feedback.
  First Staff Day: August 25, 2025.  • First Student Day: August 27, 2025, which allows for a gradual start
  before Labour Day. This schedule gives schools the opportunity to host welcome events such as Meet
  the Teacher nights, school tours, and BBQs to help students and families ease into the new school year.
•  Rotary Music Festival
  PHSD donated $2000 to the festival
• Award Nominations Open
  Please nominate a member of your community for the Award link below:
  Exemplary Awards Nomination Form – Pembina Hills School Division
• Policy Reviews and Updates:
  Trustees are reviewing and updating several policies.  There is an emphasis on ensuring clarity and
  alignment with legal and operational standards.  One to note – is Policy 04: Trustee Code of Conduct.
  This was revised with recommendations from the legal team and subsequently approved.  The appendix
  regarding sanctions was removed, as the content was integrated into the revised policy.
• School Board Elections on October 20 th , 2025
  Nomination forms are now available online for School Board Elections in Alberta!   Pembina Hills put
  together a candidate information package and its available on the Pembina Hills website.  If anyone has
  election-related questions, please call Secretary Treasurer Heather Nanninga @ 780-674-8504.Bylaw 07-
  2024: Requiring Criminal Record Checks for Trustee Nominations
• Municipal Partners Delegation: Meeting with all stakeholders in the division.
• Busing when stop sign out. Fly By Update:
  The Board has brought fly-bys to ASBA’s Zone 2/3 advocacy committee – where we are advocating for a
  provincial campaign to an Alberta wide crisis regarding rules governing school buses. We are looking for
  casual bus drivers, training provided Careers – Pembina Hills School Division
• Board Meeting Agenda for tomorrow, January 15, will discuss:
  Board Memberships review RF Staples Aviation program update, monthly financial reports, AP 70-120 Student Transportation in private vehicles