Parent Council encompasses all NWS parents and provides a means of contact, communication, and support in addition to your class teacher and other school staff.  As Interim Parent Council Chair, I am initiating this Parent Council News "E-zine" to provide you with information about Parent Council Activities and Volunteering Opportunities.  If this outreach effort is welcomed and appreciated I hope to continue this service once a month.  If you would prefer not to receive this E-zine in the future you can click the 'Unsubscribe" link at the end, where there are also links to "Forward" this to a friend and to "Update your profile" if you wish to change your subscribed email address.  There's also a link on the NWS Parent Council Website where you can subscribe.

Please take a few moments to read about the following Parent Council Activities and Volunteering Opportunities and use the links on the left to send a message to request more information or to offer your support. Thank you! Best wishes, Iain Pardoe.

We are very fortunate that virtuoso pianist and NWS parent, Dharel Verville, has offered to perform a Benefit Concert at the United Church in late February. A group of parents and staff are currently organizing the concert. You can support this fundraising event in a variety of ways, including coming to the concert, selling tickets, spreading the word to the community, and helping out on the day. Check the weekly Bulletin for more details and contact faculty chair, Phil Fertey, in the organizing group if you'd like more information or can help in any way.

Our school is currently working with a budget deficit. Although the school remains on a sound financial footing, the Faculty and Board are having to make tough decisions to balance the budget. The best way for the school to become healthier financially is to increase enrollment at the school (the school receives $4600 from the government for each student, regardless of how much tuition the family pays). To spearhead this effort the school is creating a third Kindergarten class in the main school building. The Lighting the Way to the Future fundraising campaign is built around this theme. You can support this campaign by making a tax-deductible donation (you can even donate online) and encouraging relatives and friends to do the same. The campaign also needs parent volunteers to join a "Campaign Group" with a faculty member and the school administrator, Bev Barcham, to help get this campaign off the ground, and also someone who could help develop an Alumni Database - contact Bev if you can help.