PA Committee meeting 13th January 2010 - REPORT

Cindy van Velzen opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending.

New pupils
Some section reps reported delay in getting details of families of new pupils so that they can be welcomed into the school community and help can be offered. It was suggested that class reps ask the school secretaries directly for email addresses if necessary.

ESK WebUntis and Learning Gateway.
Currently it is felt that the ICT facilities of WebUntis and Learning Gateway are underutilised for school and classroom matters. Here is an opportunity for an ICT facility to enhance communication between pupils/teachers and parents. Herr Roosegarde, who is responsible for ICT at ESK has the intention that these facilities should be used more in the school community.

Absenteeism of Teachers (Lost hours)
Once again this topic was discussed. Addressing the issue of “Lost Hours” is one of the PA’s 2009/2010 year’s objectives and it will explained to the teachers and class reps at the party on the 29th January.

SAC (School Advisory Council) meeting 25th November
Cindy van Velzen reported that she felt the SAC meeting in November was very good and there was a positive atmosphere of enthusiasm from everyone attending. It was evident that the timing of the SAC meetings is causing a problem for many parents. Currently the meetings are held at 3.45pm, and the PA will investigate if it is possible to offer care for smaller children when there is a SAC meeting scheduled.

Category II school fees.
There was a short discussion on Category II fees. Some parents have already had meetings with the Director on this topic and it has been acknowledged that there is confusion about the processes taken to calculate fees. The school is taking steps to rectify this situation and Etoile Education is hosting a drinks evening for all Category II families on 11 February 2010 to get a better idea of what the issues were.

Management meeting
Cindy and Ana reported on their meeting with the school management that morning. Condolences were expressed at the news of the death of the school doctor. Herr Hoyem said that the school is now looking for a new doctor to take over the school duties. Herr Hoyem informed everyone of the forthcoming international Choir festival on 28th and 29th May, to be held at ESK. The music project for Classes 1 and 2 in the Oberschule from Herr Klagges was discussed. Herr Hoyem and the school management were very enthusiastic and gave their full support for it.

PA Funding requests
Efforts were being made this year to standardize requests for funding and avoid the ad hoc decision making of the past. The PA is committed to supporting all projects that meet their criteria for promoting cross-curricula, cross-section and the enhancement of the school community spirit. All forms will be downloadable from the PA website when the PA committee have agreed and finalised the forms.
The forms include School or class activity financial request, social fund request, project day funding request.
It is important that the PA’s financial details are presented to allow flexibility and to have clarity showing where the money comes from and where the money is being spent.

29th January Dinner for Class Reps, teachers and school staff
The preparations for the New Year’s dinner have started. Cindy will introduce everyone at the start of the evening, and will also outline PA work and objectives for this year with particular emphasis on the role of class reps, project days, funding, etc...
This dinner evening will be also the first meeting of the PA Committee with Class Reps. 

Canteen and other working groups
So far no Canteen committee meeting has been announced. Mr Hamid Bateni has kindly volunteered to go on a regular basis for a week to get a accurate overview of each day. Scolarest had been asked to send us their overview of the first term and recommendations.

Forthcoming events
4 February - Interparents General Assembly - Mrs Ana Gorey will be attending.

28th February - ESK Admin Board meeting

16th April Grundschule Sports Day