Free Transit – As noted in the last Hudson newsletter, TransLink is providing students (K-12) free access to bus rides from October 2nd to 6th. SkyTrain, SeaBus and West Coast Express are not included.
October 2 – Cross Country meet at 3:30pm at Jericho (just across the street from the youth hostel). Look for the Hudson flag to find our team! Students are responsible for finding their own way to the meet. See your coaches/parent volunteers if you need a ride.
October 2 – An open PAC Exec Meeting is being held in the Library at 6:30pm. All parents are invited to learn about the roles in the PAC Exec. The PAC Elections are October 18. If you are interested in running, please read more here including the agenda.
October 4 & 6 – Volleyball practice at 8:05am in the gym. Grades 5 to 7.
October 6 – Spirit day. Wear red and enter a draw to win a prize!

Activities

The October PAC/school calendar is now available for download at https://hudsonpac.ca/calendar/
Ocean Explorers (Wednesdays 3:15pm-4:15pm) and Young Rembrandts (Fridays 3:05pm-4:15pm) both start next week. There’s still time to register in both programs if your child is interested. Check out the activities page for more info on how to register for these or other programs.

Advocacy

Our advocacy updates are for information only, to encourage informed parent participation in issues affecting public education, and do not represent specific positions of the Hudson PAC executive.
Seismic Upgrade Petition

The link to the Seismic Upgrades petition started by a Hudson parent can be found on our homepage. Please show your support and take a moment to sign it.
VSB trustee by-election all candidates meetings

Tuesday, October 3 from 6:30 to 9:30pm: DPAC’s all candidate’s forum will take place in the auditorium at John Oliver Secondary School, 530 East 41st Avenue (at Fraser Street). All parents and guardians of children in Vancouver public schools are welcome. The event is free but DPAC requests that people pre-register by October 2 so that they know how many people to expect. For more information, and to register, click here.
Monday, October 2 from 7:30 to 9:30pm: The Institute for Public Education (a resource worth checking out) is holding an all-candidate’s forum at the Trout Lake Community Centre, 3360 Victoria Drive. This is also a free event open to the public. More information can be found here.

Advanced polling starts October 4
Everyone is encouraged to vote in the city by-election for the Trustees for the Vancouver School Board and the City Councillor seat. These links will help you make an informed vote:
https://vancouver.ca/your-government/2017-by-election.aspx
http://vancouver.ca/your-government/candidate-profiles.aspx
http://www.vancouverobserver.com/opinion/whos-who-candidates-running-vancouver-school-board-election
Canadian Parents for French (CPF)
The local chapter of this national lobby group is lobbying for reversal of the VSB’s reduction of French Immersion kindergarten spaces by about 25% this year, based on space constraints arising from the new smaller class sizes resulting from the Supreme Court decision and the challenges of recruiting enough qualified instructors. The CPF background paper on the VSB decision and the CPF response can be found here. The CPF is requesting parents consider putting the questions about this issue in this link to all school trustee candidates.
VSB French Immersion program review

The Vancouver School Board will be conducting a broad review of boundaries, specialized programs and choice programs over the next few years, starting with a review of the French Immersion program over the next few months. DPAC is participating in this review as a stakeholder and is looking for assistance and advice from any parents or guardians with experience as urban planners, facilities planners, economists, population forecasters, statisticians, demographers and/or government policy analysts, the concern being to offer feedback to the VSB from a perspective of long-term planning for a vibrant, well-supported French Immersion program sized more closely to the actual demand. If you have expertise in any of these areas and would like to help DPAC out over the next few months, please contact Alan, Hudson’s rep to DPAC, at apatola@telus.net.

Like Hudson PAC on Facebook