ESK PA COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT 29.09.09

Wednesday, 29 September 2009

Cindy van Velzen was happy to see most of the PA present as we had a lot on our agenda. It had been quite the start of the new year with an unprecedented number of meetings with the school and the start up of the new canteen, website and more after-school activities than ever. Cindy reported that the PA Bureau had met with the school management team on the 11 September 2009 (see appendix) to discuss the PA objectives for this year. The “3C’s” have been successful and the PA are committed to continue improvements on this front. The Canteen is settling down now and Scolarest will indicate areas for improvement when the Canteen situation is reviewed later in the year. Communication has been enhanced through the launch of the PA website. There are still many areas suitable for development, and some of these developments are already in the pipeline.

This year objectives are the “3L’s” are Language, Lost hours and Lignes Directif (guidelines and policies). The first step for Language has been the increased language-based activities offered in AA. Regarding Lost Hours PA requested some concrete figures about absenteeism so that the situation can be evaluated in context. Also, very importantly the PA will continue to request that policies and guidelines are set and formalised in writing for parents especially for important issues such as bullying, discipline and SEN, amongst others.

Anja Bühner reported that a few course leaders have pulled out of the After school Activities programme and she is trying to find others to take them over. Another course might start in January and run for 6 months. There was no uptake for the “German theatre” which may have been too expensive. Sport activities were also slightly more expensive but only by a few Euros. Various alternative activities have been offered in place of cancelled courses. There are also activities for teachers running after 18.00. The insurance situation for Badminton in the Sports Hall still has to be checked and confirmed. Courses start on Monday and the majority of them have been confirmed by the date of this meeting. Only a few are outstanding. There are many brand new courses this year, many of them language clubs. e.g. European Library, Turkish, etc. which also fit in with our objectives.

Michel Messmer expressed concern that school buses are often being cancelled because the numbers of children choosing to travel on them are too low. This service is a service offered by the school and he asked if there was not an alternative (e.g. a mini-bus) that could be arranged until the numbers increased again. There was a quick discussion on Transport issues namely the fact that the PA is not at all involved or responsible for the service.

The PA Finances were needed in order to have a general idea as to what our income and outgoing expenses were. Clear guidelines needed to be given as to how financing could be requested and forms should be drawn up. Also a form for the Social Fund. The Committee approved a 50€ request from the Social Fund for the 5th year primary section to help finance a school trip to Sinsheim.

Next meeting – 4 November 2009
Cindy van Velzen
President