Hey you!  Yes, you – the Ross Road parent!  You’re looking great!  Did you get a haircut?  New glasses?  Whatever it is, it’s totally working for you.

There are two very important things to discuss today (well, three actually – but I’m no longer allowed mention olive stuffing in PAC posts)

1. Is high school important to you and your kids? (ps:  the correct answer to that question is “yes” – even if your child wants to run away and join the circus.  Even clowns need calculus)   If so, then please, please, please get up to speed on the current discussion around the seismic upgrade/total rebuild situation at Argyle High School.  We’re at a critical point in a multi-year process and the powers that be are about to decide what Argyle will look like for the next 50 years and what facilities it will contain.  There is much community discussion around the sale of a parcel of land near Braemar and it’s impact on an Argyle rebuild and you owe it to your family to understand what’s going on as it WILL have a direct impact on you if you’re planning on sending your kids to Argyle. So, here’s some information for you….
   1. This PDF is from School District 44 gives some background.
   2. This is the school district’s blog page. The latest entry includes the full presentation given by John Lewis, Superintendent of Schools, including an overview of the history of the Argyle Capital Project; funding the “gap”; building and site enhancements; timelines; and the next steps.
   3. This is the Facebook site set up by concerned Lynn Valley parents to show their support for a full rebuild of Argyle.

I’ve asked Jessica Stanley, who is a school trustee and a parent at Ross Road about the confusion around the issue, and this is what she said.

The key source of alternative interpretations is the information about the Braemar land development and whether or not the Argyle rebuild is dependent on development of that land. The full rebuild of Argyle is not dependent on the sale of that land parcel but that is our current funding plan for the enhanced design. We could seek alternative funding sources (which wouldn’t be the easy option) and/or we could choose to scale down the design (e.g., change the theatre).

2.  On a more fluffier issue – I saw a movie once where a bunch of kids banded together to save Christmas.  Not sure why Christmas needed saving, or what they did to save it, but I remember it had a young Keanu Reeves in it and it was awesome.  Unfortunately, Keanu isn’t a parent at Ross Road, which is sad for so many reasons, not least of which is that Christmas at Ross Road needs saving!

Every year, we have an event that brings in thousands of dollars in fundraising.  But more importantly, it’s a ton of community fun (literally, we weighed it last year and that’s how much fun it was).  We need someone, or a group of someones to step up and organise Christmas at Ross Road this year.  It doesn’t have to be a fair….it could be something completely different (a concert perhaps?)   It’s also the sort of thing that a few people could take on as a group.

Here’s the direct appeal –  will YOU (yes, you….) please consider helping out the school and taking charge of a Christmas event. Say yes and here’s my solemn promise to you.  Do this, and you can ignore every single other volunteer appeal for the rest of the year.  (unless, of course, you love volunteering…in which case, we should totally talk).

Please get in touch with Tamrah (corbenst@telus.net) if you are prepared to be Ross Road’s Keanu Reeves.

Thanks and have a good weekend.