Discussion on new resolutions. Students awarded specialty prizes at recent Provincial Heritage Fair
May was a busy month for the P.E.I. Home and School Federation, following April’s successful AGM.
President Shannon Bruyneel, vice-president David Schult and PEIHSF executive director Shirley Smedley-Jay met with Education and Early Years Minister Natalie Jameson and Erin McGrath-Gaudet, deputy minister, in early May to discuss the five resolutions passed at April’s AGM.
The Chief Public Health Office has responded to the resolutions on screen time in primary and elementary schools and on the feasibility of installing vaping detectors in schools. The CPHO responses are posted on the PEIHSF Resolutions page (https://peihsf.ca/resolutions/). Other responses will be posted as they are received. The executive looks forward to meeting with the Public Schools Branch director
and chair of the PSB board of trustees in the near future.
Following are the winners of the P.E.I. Home and School Federation specialty prizes at the Provincial Heritage Fair: Mary Albert from West Royalty Elementary (One Room School House) and Arina Makelska and Amalia Barbosa from Sherwood Elementary (Moving to P.E.I.).
The new PEIHSF board met in Charlottetown on May 28. The board is seeking volunteer directors for the Charlottetown Rural, Bluefield and Morell families of schools. Contact the PEIHSF office for information and consult the PEIHSF website for application information (https://peihsf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BOARD-MEMBER- APPLICATION-May-2024.pdf).
In community news, the Department of Health and Wellness and the P.E.I. Chief Public Health Office are seeking public feedback on the development of a five-year provincial wellness action plan. Islanders can fill out the Live Well P.E.I. Survey until July 5, available at
https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/health-and-wellness/live-well-pei-wellness-action-plan.
Consultation sessions began in late May, and the final session was held in Summerside on June 6. Contact livewellpei@ihis.org or 902-370-6990 for information. The CPHO has created a nicotine pouches fact sheet (https://peihsf.ca/wp-content/uploads/
2024/05/20240423-Nicotine-Pouches-Fact-Sheet-Final_ENG-2.pdf), which may be of interest to parents and educators concerned about reports of youth experimentation with and use of nicotine pouches. Print copies of product fact sheets can be requested at livewellpei@gov.pe.ca.
Local Home and School associations are involved in year-end activities, fundraisers and socials. Now is the time to start planning ahead for September by recruiting new local executives and volunteers. Locals are encouraged to reach out to their parent and guardian communities to find new representatives and spread the word about Home and School to new families. The federation welcomes questions and requests for guidance on strengthening local associations for the coming academic year (902-620-3186 or peihsf@gov.pe.ca).
The P.E.I. Home and School Federation wishes all students, school staff and families a happy, productive, and safe final month of school.
———————————–
Shannon Bruyneel, president of the P.E.I. Home and School Federation, lives in Charlottetown with her husband and three children, who attend West Kent Elementary School and Queen Charlotte Intermediate School. A Home and School column appears in The Guardian during the school year on the first Friday of the month. For questions about this column or to find out more about the work of the P.E.I. Home and School Federation, contact peihsf@gov.pe.ca or 902-620-3186/1-800-916-0664.