The Hastings PAC Garden Club wants you! (and your weeding tools, your brooms, your shovels, your secateurs.. you get the idea) We are getting ready to get growing in the school garden, which makes this the perfect time of year to do a little clean up in our green space.
Please join us Thurs Feb 27 from 3-5 pm at the undercover area so that we can pull out weeds, dig up plants that didn’t make it through the winter, and generally spruce things up. It’s the first thing we need to take care of, with sessions planned for later this year to improve the quality of our dirt, and then get planting!
Work gloves are also highly recommended. Children are welcome to join if they can follow strict safety rules, and are under the direct supervision of their parent(s).
It’s that time of year again — where Hastings PAC launches some of our most well-loved fundraising initiatives to help guide our programming through the rest of the year!
The annual poinsettia sale is back in a big way. This year, choose from red or white poinsettias in a 6″ pot, measuring a sumptuous 16″ x 16 each. These gorgeous holiday plants add a festive touch to any classroom, office, or home, and are priced at $12.50 each. We’ve tried to make ordering easy by setting up payment through the existing SchoolCash system for VSB families, but if that isn’t your jam, please feel free instead to fill out a paper order form at the office and submit payment there. We are also happy to help facilitate orders — especially if you are not a current Hastings family — if you email info@hastingspac.ca. Sales close Fri. Dec. 6th and unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate late orders.
Pick up will take place after school Thurs Dec 12 at the undercover area from 3 – 5 pm, or at the Winter Warm Up taking place on the same day in the school gym from 5 – 7 pm.
New this year is an expansion of our Hastings Merch offerings! We are delighted to help you show off your school spirit in tuqueriffic fashion. Check out the fine embroidery of the classic Hastings Howlin’ Wolf on the rolled cuff of these tuques — they’ll keep you warm and stylish at all times. Perfect for tucking under your holiday tree or stuffing into a stocking, the Merch tuques are available in white, black, and lime green. Best of all, we’ve been able to negotiate a bigger price savings from our supplier than originally anticipated, so we are now dropping the price per tuque from $28 to $25 each! Get ’em while you can, by ordering through SchoolCash. Orders also close Fri. Dec. 6th, although we will be selling a limited number of additional tuques at the Winter Warm Up. Your pre-order will be available at the PAC table Thurs. Dec 12 from 5 – 7, and if you can’t make it, we’re happy to do classroom delivery the following day on Fri. Dec. 13th.
That’s also the day we’ll be distributing the sweet treats from Purdy’s! Ordering from the beloved local chocolatier is a holiday Hastings habit — please make sure to get your order in through this link (campaign 75090) by Tue Dec 3. Volunteers will be helping to organize the mountain of delicious boxes and then getting them to you on Fri. Dec 13 from 2:45 – 4 pm in front of the school (or if the weather is Grinchy, in the undercover area.)
Finally, for those heading to the Winter Warm Up, we are also bringing back the amazing merino wool socks we first brought in last year as a pilot project! When they were so well received, we knew we had created a new Hastings holiday tradition. We figure part of the fun is feeling the socks and then picking out which colour suits you best, so we are not actually doing any pre-orders for this item. They are only available in limited quantities, so make sure you don’t miss out — come see us at the PAC table at the Winter Warm Up. These socks will have you literally feeling as though you’re walking on a cozy warm cloud for just $10 a pair.
We are very grateful whenever Hastings families and community members choose to support our fundraisers. The funds raised are an integral foundation for the various programs we run in conjunction with the school to enhance the lives and experiences of Hastings students. That said, we understand that sometimes the budget just doesn’t feel as though it’s going to stretch far enough. If that’s the case, please don’t hesitate to either reach out to our principal or to PAC through info@hastingspac.ca, and we will definitely be able to figure something out.
Wishing you all the very best of the holiday season!
Hastings PAC is excited to announce we are ready to move forward with our new monthly hot lunch fundraiser! It will typically take place on the last Friday of the month, except if there is a day off from school or holiday break impending.
As of this week, you can take one thing off your to-do list and support Hastings PAC initiatives by ordering lunch through our provider C’est Mon Cafe (CMC). Funds raised go into supporting programs and initiatives for Hastings students like enhanced learning opportunities, food security in a variety of different forms, and classroom supplies.
-click ‘order’ for the correct time period (CMC splits the year up into Sept-Jan, and then Feb-June.)
-check out the menu first (it’s not this old-timey one in the illustration!), consider whether you want any add-ons like sides or beverages for your child(ren), and when you’re ready, click through to the order form itself (a Google form.) Please make sure you include your child(ren)’s first and last name, grade, and correct division number (check it here if you’re not sure what it is.) Meals are delivered on the day based on the division number, so having correct information ensures children get to eat their meals as quickly as possible. Don’t worry too much about the ‘odd’ and ‘even’ calendar day menus; the Google form only allows you to select from available options.
IMPORTANT – ORDERS AND PAYMENT MUST BE IN BY 6 PM the day before the hot lunch fundraiser occurs. For example, for the hot lunch fundraiser occurring Fri Oct 18th, orders must be received by CMC before 6 pm on Thurs Oct 17. If the order is not sent in on time, your child(ren) will not receive a meal. This is at CMC’s discretion, and is outside the control of Hastings PAC.
ALSO IMPORTANT – CMC allows you to specify in the form whether your child(ren) has/have specific dietary needs, such as gluten-free, vegetarian, or halal meals. However, if you have specific allergy or other concerns, it is best to email CMC directly to see what they can accommodate properly and safely. These requests and requirements must also be received by CMC in advance.
At the moment, the Hot Lunch Committee has set four dates for this fundraiser (Oct, Nov, Dec, and Jan) and if you would like to participate in all four days, you can go ahead and order those meals now in advance for convenience’s sake. However, there is no obligation to order more than once (or at all, this is completely voluntary!) You can also choose to order just one meal, and then play it by ear from there as to whether you would like to order again, as long as you order before 6 pm the day before the hot lunch fundraiser is next scheduled to take place.
Ordering and payment goes directly through the provider, but all communications about the hot lunch fundraising days will come through the PAC email newsletter, so if you are not already signed up for that, please do so now through the embed form here, on the right hand side of the website page.
If you are on the regular daily hot lunch program, you are certainly welcome to take part in the fundraising hot lunch! Any extra meals from daily hot lunch will be distributed to those who would like to have them or take them home. If you would like to participate in the hot lunch fundraiser but it feels outside your current budget, please email Trevor and we would be delighted to coordinate.
This is a new adventure for Hastings PAC, so if you have any thoughts or feedback as we go along — or perhaps have an idea for a meal you’d like to have brought in for a special occasion — please absolutely get in touch!
Enterprising Hastings student S.T. is trying to get a Rubik’s cube club going at lunchtime, but he needs your help. If you have any cubes languishing at home without anyone to pay attention to them, please drop them off to the office attention to Hastings PAC. We’ll get these over to S.T. and the staff member sponsoring this club so that kids can start getting their cube on as soon as possible.
Both standard Rubik’s cubes and speed cubes would be welcome. They are hoping to get the club going after Thanksgiving, so please start sorting through your toy boxes now if you get the chance! This will give the kids some lunchtime options for activities when the weather starts getting a little more dreary.
While you’re at it, we’re also passing along a request from teachers and staff for gently used puzzles, toys, and arts and craft supplies that you may no longer need. Donating these items clears out your home, allows these items to be enjoyed by others, and most importantly, sustainably fills up the cupboards at school. Hastings PAC is proud to support our teachers and staff by supplementing their classroom budgets, but getting these donations allows the funds to stretch even farther — while preventing usable items from going into the landfill. We call that a win-win-win for our kids!
Please feel free to also drop these items off to the office c/o Hastings PAC, we will take it from there.
Please join us Tues Oct 8 at 6 pm in the multipurpose room at school to help shape the Walking School Bus groups for this year! This grassroots organizing night is a key component of deciding what routes the groups will take each morning (with some operating after school as well), what the ground rules are, and in fact, which groups run at all.
The Active Travel page on this site gives you a general overview of how Hastings PAC is trying to encourage families to find ways to get to school that don’t involve using a car. That can mean scooting, biking, or using your own two feet!
The Walking School Bus groups are a great way for students to get some fresh air and exercise in the morning, make friends with children from other programs and grades, and to take action on climate change. Participants meet at the starting point and walk together along a designated route to (and/or from school), picking up additional students along the way as needed. It’s also a great opportunity for Gr. 6 and 7 students to demonstrate leadership and caring about their community.
Some groups have decided to compensate leaders, while others have opted not to. It’s a group decision made at, you guessed it, the planning night!
We already have the following groups:
Burrardview (student-led)
Penticton & Georgia (student-led)
Garden (parent-led)
Ferndale & Lakewood (parent-led)
We can add stops and even entire groups based on our planning night, so please be sure to join us! We’ll have pizza and beverages available, so you don’t even have to worry about dinner, and kids are definitely welcome.
