As part of the agenda at our last Parent Association meeting, Chairperson Lynn expressed her concern for succession planning for the Association. Since she won't have children enrolled at Wilma Hansen School, she can no longer sit as Chair in September. This position, along with Secretary, Vice Chair, and Treasurer needs to be filled.
The Parent Association at Wilma (as at many other schools) is a money manager. Through volunteer effort, we raise funds at Casinos, Bingos, and other fundraisers like the magazine subscription drive. As a democratic body representative of each parent in the school and in conjunction with school administration, we create a yearly budget with those funds. The budget is used to fund or subsidize various programs at the school that enrich our student's educational experience. Without this extra money, parents would be paying more for some programs and some things would need to be dropped altogether. A sampling of the PA contributions:
- Apple ipads for classroom use - $8,000
- Quick Draw Animation Society ( Artist is Residence) – Spring 2013 - $10,000
- Equipment for New Design Suite - $10,000
- Author visit – David Poulson – Last Sam’s Cage - $600
- Pro Tech Breakaway rims for basketball - $600
- Pads for volleyball standards - $1150
- Volleyball uniforms - $3120
- SMART document camera - $900
- Set of GPS devices - $900
- Stoves for Outdoor Ed option - $900
- Academy of Reading literacy software - $5650
- Explorer Idol: Gr 7 musical theatre program - $685
- Bussing for field trips (Calaway Park, Leisure Centre, Drumheller) - $6800
- Awards and student recognition - $4000
- SALTS subsidy
If we don't fill these executive positions, we can't have a Parent Association, without which there will be no casino or bingos - the primary sources of this money.
If you feel you can help and want to step up, now is a great time to learn about the roles we need to fill. No experience is necessary, there will be people around to help, and there are many guides on how to run a meeting and the PA. Here is a link to our by-laws, these are the primary guide for the Association. If you want to help or have questions, please let us know. You can reach Lynn at jewittj@telus.net or myself at scampsall@gmail.com if you want to know more.