New Gardens Completed

Have you seen the new addition to the school yard? Gardens! In the form of 11 giant planters near the undercover area!

In May 2020, over 30 families came to the school in hour-long shifts to scoop gravel, cut landscape fabric, carry plants, move trees, shovel soil, plant shrubs and spray water all while maintaining social distancing. The result is a magnificent garden that positively transforms the north side of the school.

Come check-out the plants – from Japanese maple trees to flowing grasses; native shrubs like salal and red-flowering currant to aromatic herbs such as thyme, rosemary and sage. Thanks goes out to Alison Maddaugh who designed the gardens and Jacqueline Shaben who cracked the whip. Another huge thank you goes out to teachers for highlighting the need for an outdoor teaching garden, school administration (past and present) for keeping the ball rolling, VSB School Grounds for facilitating all the deliveries, even during this time of social distancing and to Figaro’s Garden for cutting us a good deal on the plants. And last but not least, the PAC parents who fund-raised in previous years to improve the school grounds.

Update: The tables and benches were installed in August 2020.

And check out this story (in french) on Radio Canada about our garden!

Mural Completed

Our beautiful mural in the undercover area is complete!!

Check out the photos! Thank you so much to artist and Hastings alumnus Blake Wydeman! A shout out to Ms.Nina’s art club and the other students who assisted Blake. And thank you to the PAC Grounds Improvement sub-committee for making this happen!

When you are out getting some much needed fresh air and exercise, please ride or walk by and check it out!

And here’s a game: Try to match the fruit names with the pictures. They are all BC native berries:

Salmonberry
Thimbleberry
Huckleberry
Cloud berry
Salal berry
Native Trailing Blackberry

For real pros, try to match the leaves…. Enjoy!

Welcome Back Event

Tuesday, September 22, 2020 | 8:45 – 9:45 am

In this new school reality, we recognize that it is more important than ever for our parents and guardians to make and maintain connections. In the spirit of community building, we would like to invite you to a Welcome Event Tuesday, Sept. 22nd.

The PAC will have a table set up near the main entrance of the school, just outside the fence – look for the bright green tent! We will be handing out small welcome gifts for all Kindergarten and new students, and PAC executive members will be on hand to answer any questions you might have.

Please come by and say hello. We hope to see you there!

Walking School Bus

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this initiative is on hold for 2020-2021.

Hastings PAC is delighted to support our school’s Walking School Bus program, now in its third year. The WSB provides leadership opportunities for senior students and for students to form connections between different grades and programs. It also provides a fun way for students to have additional physical activity on a daily basis, and to decrease the level of vehicle congestion around school. In an era of growing awareness around climate change, every participant in the WSB is taking steps forward to the planet we want to have in the future.

This year’s WSB is running as Team Burrardview, Team Templeton, and Team Victoria Drive. Each morning, WSB groups walk along specific routes, picking up additional students as they get closer to school. If you’re interested in joining a group or want to know about starting up your own, please email WSB planning lead Claudia Gawryluik at claudiagawryluik@gmail.com.

Urban Safari Online Field Trip

Thursday, June 18, 2020 | 11:00 am | Online

Friday, June 19, 2020 | 1:30 pm | Online

Your Hastings PAC celebrated the end of the school year by organizing an online field trip by Urban Safari Rescue Society, an animal rescue society that specializes in rescuing and caring for exotic animals.