Welcome Back!
We look forward to welcoming families back to school on Tuesday, September 6th.

Our first PAC meeting is September 21, from 6:30-7:30 PM in the BICS Learning Commons.

Discusses cultural and artistic events and/or workshops for students.

Provides support to the school to ensure the health and safety of the students in the event of an emergency.

Tuesday, October 4th, 6:30-8:00 PM

Executive Functioning: Teach Your Kids How to Do it Themselves

The parents of BICS have chosen a wide-ranging array of career paths, and it is easy to imagine that the children of BICS will someday make a similarly diverse set of choices. In preparing our children to be independent, capable adults, in whatever field they choose, there are some common tools that will serve our future scholars, carpenters, doctors, animators, landscapers, and bookkeepers alike. Known as “executive function” skills, these internal tools relate to an individual’s ability to understand and manage space, time, objects, and people.

Based on research about fighter pilots and their amazing ability to anticipate what’s coming at them and react accordingly, the exciting field of executive functioning has yielded practical solutions to parental conundrums such as: “How do I help my child learn to avoid leaving things until the last minute?” “How can I better understand why my child who does well in school can’t seem to figure out how to put laundry in a basket instead of on the floor?” “How do I help my child learn to tolerate unfamiliarity and uncertainty more comfortably?” “How do I help my child learn to complete tasks independently?” “How do I help my child learn to stop losing things so I can give Sam Knowles a break from Lost & Found duty?” The list goes on.

Through an extraordinary two-day workshop in Vancouver last fall, internationally recognized expert Sarah Ward (MS, CCC/SLP – Executive Function Therapy) shared the invaluable body of knowledge on executive functioning that she and her colleague Kristen Jacobsen (MS, CCC/SLP – Executive Function Therapy) of Cognitive Connections (efpractice.com) have amassed from years of research and direct experience with school-aged children to answer these very questions. We are fortunate that a number of Bowen Island professionals who work with children attended this workshop, including occupational therapist (and former BICS parent) Anne Wilson.

Anne Wilson has graciously agreed, free of charge, to provide a parent workshop on “Executive Function Skills: How to Teach School Aged Children to Efficiently Manage their Tasks, Time, Space and Materials,” which will distill two days of detailed information from the Ward conference into one hour of the most relevant, practical tips for BICS parents. (She also worked with BICS staff on the recent Pro-D day on how to infuse principles of executive functioning into the classroom and school day.) Afterwards, there will be a half hour set aside for questions and discussion. The hour and a half you spend with Anne Wilson may save you and your child countless hours of frustration down the road, so put on your “future glasses” and imagine yourself at BICS on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 pm. Free childcare will be provided, courtesy of the PAC. Hope to see you there!

PAC Parent Education Committee

Tanya Kim, Sheila McBurney, Caroline Parker

The Parent Education Committee organizes learning opportunities for BICS Families. This year, the Parent Education Committee is arranging learning opportunities around executive functioning, sexual-health education and other matters. Please contact Parent Education Committee member and PAC Co-Chair Caroline Parker to suggest other areas of learning.

Provides fresh produce to the classrooms.

Coordinates fundraising initiatives to support PAC programs.

The Hot Lunch Team provides BICS with nutritious and delicious lunches on Fridays. Order here!

Acquires and supports technology hardware and software at the school.

Maintains the PAC website.