Hi folks,

Couple of things to tell you about in this last week of school….

• On Thursday June 25th, a Farewell ceremony and reception will take place for the grade 7’s and their families. An area will be flagged off behind the school beside the music room after lunch and organisers have kindly asked that noise is kept to a minimum at pick-up time and that younger kids stay out of the flagged area.
• Just to plant a thought in your mind over the summer break about volunteering next school year…we need someone to fill a few positions, including assistance with the Safe Arrival, Enviro Club and Valet programs.  It would also be awesome to find someone who might have experience in applying for grants.  There’s cash in them grants for our school if we know how to find it!
• If this turns out to be the last newsletter this year (but who knows!), have a fantastic summer break and see you in September.

Your PAC exec.

Dear parents,

You are all awesome!  Thank you so much for supporting last Friday’s Spring Carnival!  Because of your volunteering, hard work, donations and enthusiasm, we raised over $9,000 for our PAC!  ($9260.69 if you want to get precise).  And while that’s very cool, what was even cooler was seeing the whole community come together to have a kick-ass good time.  Here’s the proof that show how kick-assedy it was!

Now for the thank yous – because amazing events like this don’t just happen without a lot of people putting a lot of work into it.  Firstly, our amazing organiser – Tamrah Corben who gave up nights, weekends, her personal life and perhaps even a little bit of her sanity to pull it all together.  Then there were people like Shelley Smith Clarke, Adrian Clarke, Sine Scott, Louise Byron, Heather Merry, Dana Kovanda, and Nichole Randal from the planning committee.  Caroline Leonard did an incredible job coordinating and communicating with all the classes about their booths and volunteer sign up, not to mention a lot of running around on the day of, Dana Lyseng put together an outstanding Crazy Hair booth,  Lisa Birrell did an amazing job on the posters and Bettina Harris, Sarah Denis, Madeleine Tattersall and a few more PAC Execs also did double and triple duty selling tickets, manning booths and counting money.  Let’s also not forget the fabulous MCs, Darren Davis, Chris Randall and Ryan Edgar for the community games, they really got the crowd going and spurred on some awesome enthusiasm.

While you’re thinking good thoughts about these people, give some to yourself as well for volunteering at the booths and the Cook Shack as well as donating towards the mystery bags, silent auction, raffle baskets and cake walk.

You may have also noticed a few teachers and staff who joined us in the festivities. Normand Ponton, Mr Choi and Ms Ivana P all signed up to be dunked, which really got the kids excited. Linda Gelley, Sylvie Trigg, Anne Zayonc, Monique Belanger, Joulia May, Anami Naths and Carla Orr, who stayed late to help clean up, were also there. It was great to see them participate and support us.

A very special thanks to The Lynn Valley Lions and SaveOn Foods for a yummy cook shack.

For those lucky winners of the silent auction prizes please contact Heather Merry at heather.merry@yahoo.com and raffle baskets please contact Shelley Clarke at scsmith00@hotmail.com . If you have any receipts for purchasing supplies for the Spring Carnival and would like to be reimbursed please contact Kara Burgoyne at burgoynekara@gmail.com .

And finally, we would love to hear from you. If you have any feedback that you feel is important to share, for example booths you’d like to see return, suggestions about new booths, etc., please email Tamrah at corbenst@telus.net. We value your input and work towards making this carnival better every year.

Now – let’s start talking about the Christmas Craft Fair.

Just kidding.  :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

The PAC Executive

Ross Road News Extraordinaire

Volume No. 2, Issue No. 3

Today’s Top Story

Less than two weeks from now on Friday, June 12, 2015, groovy, good times are coming to Ross Road Elementary School! At this point everyone knows that the 2015 Spring Carnival has been carefully planned and that our school is going to stage a night to remember, but here are some more details on the evening’s events you won’t want to miss.

Hippie Days Are Here Again. This is your chance to sport the fashions of the sixties you never got to wear. Your organizers are hoping everyone—young and old—will get Hippie and dress for fun, flair and freedom!

Dunk Tank. Only the bravest grade 7s will dare to take a seat in the dunk tank. See if you can get away without getting wet. One of your fun-loving teachers has signed up, too. It will be too good to miss when he or she goes swimming!

Community games. Team up to race in the parent and child three legged race. Try your skills in the sack race or assemble the strongest group of adults vs students and then again in girls vs boys tug of war.

Music Entertainment. We couldn’t have Hippie Days without some groovy sounds filtering through the air. This year The Flying Sofas will be our musical guests for the Spring Carnival.

Inside Scoop

Here’s more on what you need to know to get the most out of our carnival.

• The popular mystery bags will be offered in two openings at 5:30 and then again at 6:30. Half the bags will be distributed during each time slot. In order to ensure that every child gets at least one, we will be stamping children’s’ hands when they receive their bags. No double dipping, please!
• Tickets are only $1 each and will be available for purchase the week of the Spring Carnival starting Monday, June 8th as well as on the day of the fair
• Community is a big part of this year’s carnival — we want to see parents out there engaging in some friendly competition and fun with the Join the sack and three legged races or pull your weight in tug of war.

Help Wanted Ads

• Mystery Bag Maker. To ensure the success of this station we need all the parents to do one of two things –donate one mystery bag for each child attending Ross Road or contribute $3.00 per child to cover the cost of bags we will put together. For the older children, consider gift cards to booster juice, hair accessories, fun stationary, and Please do not include toy weapons and add only new items to the bags. We are aiming for 250 mystery bags this year. Drop it off at the PAC donation box or bring them on the day of the carnvial.
• Skills required – sweet tooth and sharing nature. The Cake Walk is always one of the most popular booths. On the day of the event, please drop off home-baked goods as well as store- bought items. Every cupcake and cookie helps.
• Cook Shack Hands. Skills required – grill ready and The Cook Shack needs to be set up, manned during the BBQs, and torn down. We need fourteen people to sign up. Shift times are 3-5, 5-7 and 7-9 pm.
• Raffle Baskets. This year’s game prizes are popsicles. Earn 3 and trade them in for a fun raffle basket. We need more baskets for kids. Please donate a kid friendly basket or money towards one.

Please contact the Spring Carnival Coordinator, Tamrah Corben at corbenst@telus.net to volunteer, donate and for any questions.

Ross Road News Extraordinaire
Volume No. 2, Issue No. 2

Today’s Top Story
The 2015 Spring Carnival is around the corner, Friday, June 12, 2015 from 5-8 pm, and it’s sure to be a great Ross Road community event. This year it will be a HIPPIE theme and a performance by The Flying Sofas, so get ready to get groovy. Think tie-dye, flowers in your hair and clothes with flair.
Come hungry for our classic Cook Shack favourites brought to us by the Lynn Valley Lions: burgers, hotdogs, fries, onion rings, and much more. And what’s a carnival without popcorn, cotton candy, and wholesome home-made goodies.
Community is a big part of this year’s carnival and we want to encourage parents to participate in some friendly competition. Pair up with your children or go solo and enjoy our sack races, three-legged races and Tug of War. Try for victory in multiple events – adults against kids and girls against boys.

Inside Scoop
Here’s more on what you need to know to get the most out of our carnival.
• This year’s Spring Carnival brings the chance once again to win a very special Raffle Basket. This is the way it works: You receive a popsicle stick for each booth you visit and for each activity you try. Collect 3 popsicle sticks and then redeem your sticks for 1 raffle ticket. The more popsicle sticks and raffle tickets you collect―the better your chances are of winning a fantastic raffle basket.
• Silent Auction items will be on display during the event. Stop by to see what amazing things you can bid on.
• The top stations like Cake Walk, Crazy Hair and Bouncy Castles are back!
• New this year, a Dunk Tank. Only the bravest grade 7s will be dunked. So get your hippie on and share the love!

Recap from last week

Reminders from last week about our carnival.
• Tickets are only $1 each and will be available for purchase the week of the Spring Carnival as well as on the day of the event.
• Raffle Baskets are again this year’s big prizes as a reward from your hard work at the each station. This means that the more fun you have at the fair, the better your chances are of winning a fantastic raffle basket.
• Midway Games are always a popular place to have some fun!

Help Wanted
• We need DONATIONS. Please help us make this another huge success. One way to do this is to donate Mystery Bags, and items towards Raffle Baskets, Silent Auction, Cake Walk. Financial donations are also an easy way to help and very much appreciated!
• Parents:  the Cook Shack needs your help setting up, manning BBQs, serving food and tear down. We need 7 people to sign up.
• Do you have a truck and some time to pick up and drop off the Midway games? We need new volunteers to help. If this is something you can do, please send an email to Tamrah – corbenst@telus.net.

Please contact the Spring Carnival Coordinator, Tamrah Corben at corbenst@telus.net to volunteer, donate and for any questions.

Dear parents,

So, clear your calendars because this Wednesday is the Ross Road PAC AGM! Seriously, where else would you rather be on a Wednesday night at 7pm than in the library with lots of other awesome parents and very cool staff? This is what’s going down.

1. Approval of minutes of the GM of Feb 4, 2015
2. Business arising from the minutes
3. Brief updates and new business
4. Special singalong with Justin Bieber*
5. Principal’s report
6. Treasurer’s report

VOTING ON THE FOLLOWING:
Up to $12,000 to be spent on Teacher Wish List items
Up to $1000 on uniforms for track & field/cross country
Up to $500 for Food Day bins
$5000 to be allocated for Sports related programs in 2015/16 school year
$4,000 to be allocated to the PAC IT Fund for future IT related purchases
Up to $5,000 for projector installation to be completed
For a total of $27,500
* If the budget allows, the guy that writes these emails would also like a new car*

6. Elections:
a)PAC Exec. elections
b)School Planning Committee elections
7. Other

Also, get your bikes tuned up and out for summer! Ross Road’s Bike to School Week is the first week of June this year, June 1st – 5th. Consider biking to school with your kids or part way. Teachers will be tallying up the number of students who bike to school each day and the class (one intermediate & one primary) with the most participation will win a pizza party! Also, on Friday June 5th, Escape Adventures will be setting up bike stations on the field to teach safety & skills. All classes will participate – students without bikes can participate by running/walking through the activities. A waiver needs to be signed for this activity so look out for it from your child’s teacher.

Finally, thanks to those who came out a few Saturdays ago for the parents social evening at the Black Bear Pub. They were extremely supportive and cooperative and everyone had a great time. We will definitely hold a parent social there again!

See you on Wednesday! Don’t forget to bring your Justin Bieber memorabilia to get it signed!**

Your PAC executive

* These things probably aren’t true.
** Don’t worry if you forget it. He could always sign a library card for you or something.

Ross Road News Extraordinaire

Volume No. 2, Issue No. 1

Today’s Top Story

The anticipation is building! This year’s Spring Carnival will happen on Friday, June 12, 2015 from 5-8 pm. As always, all Ross Road families are invited to join in for one of the most entertaining nights of the school year. The theme of this year’s carnival is still a tightly kept secret, and all we can do is wait and see what the organizers come up with. If you have any cool ideas for a theme, it’s not too late to share them with the committee. Please email Tamrah – corbenst@telus.net

With sadness last year’s Spring Carnival was cancelled despite all of the hard work and preparation that went into its planning. And although fun is the order of the day, remember too that the Spring Carnival is important because it’s the last fund raising event of the school year and the PAC really needs to make up for last year’s shortfall arising from the cancelled carnival.

Inside Scoop

Here’s what you need to know to get the most out of our carnival. Tickets will be available for purchase the week of the Spring Carnival as well as the day of the event. The Cook Shack will be hosted by the Lynn Valley Lions Club with all the food being donated by Save On Foods. There will be a live band, family-friendly races, raffle baskets, silent auction, mystery bags, pony rides and classic midway games—just to mention a few of the fun-filled activities being planned.

Help Wanted Section

Raffle Gift Baskets. Our organizers are looking for kid-themed baskets. So think: Lego, crafts, iTunes gift cards, Apple accessories, summer fun items, Starbucks & Indigo gift cards. Cash donations are an easy way to contribute. Why not drop off a cheque in the PAC mailbox at the school? For raffle basket donations contact Shelley – scsmith00@hotmail.com.

Silent Auction. Donations might include services such as personal training, photo shoots, landscaping and spa treatments or merchandise, for example, restaurant gift cards, hotel getaways and passes to local attractions such as the Grouse Skyride, Capilano Suspension Bridge, Sea-to-Sky Gondola, etc. Silent auction donations and queries can be directed to Dana – danakovanda@gmail.com.

Cook Shack. We need volunteers to help with set up, cooking, serving and breaking down the station at the end of the night, so if you love food and the bbq send an email to Tamrah – corbenst@telus.net