MINUTES OF MURTHLY PRIMARY SCHOOL PARENT COUNCIL
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HELD MONDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2009
Present: Mr J White (Headteacher); Mr A Clow (Chairperson/Treasurer); Mrs S Mason (Teacher); Mrs C Couser; Mrs C Kavanagh-Duncan; Ms A Port; Mrs K Stephen; Mrs S Mackenzie (Secretary)
Apologies: Mrs L Borrie; Mrs G Gray; Councillor Kellas; Mrs J MacDonald; Mrs P Milligan; Mrs S Robertson; Mrs L Smith; Mrs J Thomson
Mr Clow welcomed those present, and thanked them for attending the meeting.
1 Minutes of Last Meeting and Matters Arising
Heartstart Training – This is still to be finalised.
Eco-Groups – To be discussed during the meeting.
Uniform – The quality of the uniform is to be monitored by parents. Mrs Kavanagh-Duncan told the Group that she had asked a friend to produce sweatshirts with the Murthly logo which he had done for her children, and Mrs Kavanagh-Duncan will update the Group on the quality of these garments.
2 Treasurer’s Report
Mr Clow distributed the Accounts for the last academic year to those present. These Accounts will be posted on the school website.
Mr White told the Council that he had concerns that school finances may change over the next financial year, and that more funds may need to be raised in the school due to funding changes in the future. This may be helped by more fundraising (to be discussed later in the meeting). At present, the level of fundraising enables our account to break even. It was suggested that we should try to raise more funds through more fundraising events, and perhaps aim for a target of £1,000 more than we currently raise.
3 Election of Office Bearers
Mr Clow kindly agreed to carry on in his role as Chairperson and Treasurer of the Parent Council. Mrs Mackenzie was also happy to remain Secretary for the next year. Mrs Stephen thanked Mr Clow and Mrs Mackenzie on behalf of the Parent Council.
4 Establishing Links with Children in Other Countries
Mr White told the Group that he had received information from an organisation called Glow which established links with school sin Norway. Murthly Primary is one of 5 schools in the Perth & Kinross are who will establish links with schools in Norway. The P5-7 class will link up with the chosen Norwegian school.
Perth Grammar School has a link with a school in Bangladesh, which Auchtergaven school has also joined, and now they are looking at establishing a further link with a school in Trinidad. Mr White has spoken to Mr Lowe regarding the possibility of Murthly linking with this school in Trinidad also, and this link would be maintained with the P3-5 class. The P1/2 class is likely to be involved in linking with an African school, possibly in Kenya or Ghana. Further details of all three links will be passed on when available.
5 Planning and Tracking Pupils’ Progress (New Method relating to Curriculum for Excellence)
Mr White gave a presentation on the above, and will add details of these updates to the Murthly website. If parents cannot access the website, please let Mr White know.
6 Lottery Bid for Outdoor Classroom
Mr Clow has the application form for the Lottery bid, and will liase with Mr White over the next month to complete and submit this application.
7 Plans for the Year Ahead
Mr White shared the following plans for the next academic year with the Group:-
Glenalmond College – We hope to redevelop the link with Glenalmond College with various events over the coming year. Mr White plans to meet with relevant staff from Glenalmond to discuss activities.
Health & Sport – Mr White met with Mr David Paul to discuss Health and Sporting opportunities, and they plan to draw up a programme for the next year.
Prefects – All P7 pupils have been made Prefects which it is hoped will give them responsibilities which will help them to feel valued within the school. All prefects have been issued with booklets detailing their role and duties, eg as a point of contact for younger children who may have issues in the playground which can be helped by a prefect rather than the teacher. They have voted to wear yellow badges, and the staff are looking at suitable privileges for the prefects. Any prefect whose behaviour is deemed inappropriate will have their badge withdrawn, along with prefect privileges.
Pupil Council – The Pupil Council will change its structure this year. Pupils will no longer be nominated and voted as representatives for the whole academic year. Instead, there will be three blocks over the year, and staff will discuss and nominate pupils they feel are deserving of such nomination. In doing this, it is hoped that pupils who might not feel comfortable putting themselves forward for the Council will have an opportunity to represent their classmates. When staff have nominated their choices, pupils will then vote for who they wish to represent them on the Council for that block.
Toddler Group – The toddler group meet every Friday morning in the school hall, and this seems to be well attended. The group had received funding for the purchase and erection of a shed to store their equipment in which was welcomed by the school as it would free up some of the school’s storage space! Some parents had voiced concerns that the noise level from the hall may distract pupils in the P5-7 classroom, but Mr White told the Council that this seemed to be ok at the moment, but would be monitored. Mr White also assured the Council that should any event for school pupils be scheduled for a Friday morning, the toddler group would be informed that the school event would take priority. With these concerns in mind, it was felt that the toddler group was, overall, a welcome addition to the school, and a good stepping-stone to nursery and primary school for these children.
Nursery – The nursery are currently trying to raise funds for the purchase of a summerhouse.
8 Fundraising
To date, Mr White and Mrs Mackenzie had not received any formal notice from parents who would be interested in becoming involved in a sub-committee for fundraising. However, Mrs Mackenzie and Mrs Smith had been encouraged that, if asked, there were parents who would be willing to help out although not necessarily wanting to take charge of fundraising. Mrs Couser suggested that it may be an idea to have a social evening at the school which would hopefully encourage parents to come and meet informally and discuss ideas for fundraising events, as well as introducing them to the parent council. Suggestion Boards will be put up asking for fundraising ideas, talents/skills parents may be willing to share with pupils, and also whether they would prefer parent council meetings to alternate between afternoons and evenings.
Mrs Smith would be asked to buy snacks and drinks for this event.
9 Parental Involvement
Mr White reiterated to the Council that unless we have parental involvement on the eco committee and rights respecting committee the school will be unable to put itself forward for the relevant awards. As yet, parents were still required to come forward to help with these committees. Mr White and the staff are keen to encourage parents to bring their skills to the school, and are looking for parents to volunteer to bring these talents to the children in school. For instance, if a parent has a health background, they might participate in a class teaching basic first aid; if there is a parent who is a good cook, they might like to come and make something with pupils in school. It was suggested that parents could put forward their names and talents at the social event on 30 September.
10 PE Kit
Mr White informed the Council that a pupil had spoken to him about the possibility of the school having their own branded tracksuits. The pupil had attended an event where they had noticed some school teams wearing the same outfits and had commented on how good they looked. Mr White asked the Council for their thoughts on purchasing a dozen tracksuits, perhaps with the Murthly logo on them, for use by pupils representing the school at sporting events. This idea was met with approval by the Council, and it was agreed that Mr White would look into costs etc, such costs to be met by the Parent Council funds.
With regard to PE kits in general, the Council and Mr White wished to remind parents that children should wear navy blue or black shorts with a plain white or pale blue t-shirt for PE sessions. No football kits are to be worn for sports in school. Mr White would remind parents of this in the next newsletter.
11 Any Other Business
Mrs Mackenzie had been asked to check how pupils were monitored at lunchtime regarding eating their packed lunches. It had been noticed by parents that some pupils were returning home with lunch bags which had barely been eaten, which was becoming a cause for concern. Mr White assured parents that staff are present at lunchtimes, and it was quite difficult to ensure that all pupils ate what they had been given for lunch, although they were encouraged to do so. Mrs Mackenzie suggested that perhaps parents could volunteer to help out over the lunchtime period by coming up to the school on a rota system. Mr White was happy to allow this, particularly for P1/2 pupils, and once again this would be included in the next newsletter. Should enough parents come forward and be willing to spare an hour a week/fortnight (based on how many helpers are available, a rota would be put together.
12 Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Parent Council may be held on Thursday 12 November 2009 at 6.30pm (Date of this may have to be changed.)
Mr Clow closed the meeting with a vote of thanks to those who attended.
1. The Parent Council for
2. The Objectives of the Parent Council are:-
I. to work in partnership with the School to create a welcoming school which is inclusive for all parents
II. promote partnership between the School, its pupils and all its parents
III. to develop and engage in activities which support the education and welfare of the pupils
IV. to identify and represent the views of parents on the education provided by the School and other matters affecting the education and welfare of the pupils
3. The membership of the Parent Council will be all parents/carers of children attending the school.
4. The Parent Council will co-opt up 4 members of the community.
5. Co-opted members will be invited to serve for a period of two years, after which the Parent Council will review and consider requirements for co-opted membership.
6. A member of staff will also be on the Council.
7. The Head Teacher will not be a member of the Council but has the right and duty to attend every meeting.
8. Representatives of the Pupil Council may be invited to attend if appropriate.
9. The Parent Council will elect a Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer for the period of one year with the option of serving more than this if agreed by the Council. The Chairperson may also be Treasurer. The Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer of the Council will be appointed by Council members. The Chairperson must be a parent of a child attending the School. If the child ceases to be a pupil, a new Chairperson will be agreed at the next meeting as long as 10 members of the Council are present.
10. The Parent Council will make a report at least once each year on its activities.
11. If 6 members of the Parent Council request a special general meeting to discuss issues falling within the Parent Council’s remit, the Office Bearers of the Council shall arrange this. All members of the Council will be informed with at least 2 weeks notice and, at the same time, circulate notice of the matter, or matters, to be discussed at the meeting.
12. The Annual General Meeting will be held in September of each year. A notice of the meeting including date, time, and place will be sent to all members of the Parent Forum at least two weeks in advance. The meeting will include:-
I. a written report on the work of the Parent Council and its committee(s)
II. discussion of issues that members of the Parent Forum may wish to raise
III. approval of the accounts
IV. Selection of Office Bearers
