Minutes of Parent Council Meeting on 3 September 2008
Attendees: Scott Ferguson, Keith MacAskill, Audrey Ross, Rachel Byrne, Julie Moran, Bernadette Wheatley, Fiona Ferguson
Apologies: Vicky Carr, Avrix Knox, Christine Fairbairn, Debbie Innes,
Anne Williamson, Amanda Arkell, Michelle McArthur
Keith welcomed and thanked everyone for coming to the AGM (Annual General Meeting) and the first meeting of the new school year.
■ Income & Expenditure for 2007 -08
A copy of the Income & Expenditure report was presented to the group. This shows that our balance is in credit by £27.69. Keith commented that a credit balance is what we are aiming for each year. The budget allocation we get from Stirling Council is still unknown, but we are hoping this will again be in the region of £380.00.
Keith said that we should have a target in mind for this year’s fund raising and suggested an amount of £2,000.00. Anything in excess of this is a bonus and we aim to make as much money as possible for the benefit of the children at the school.
■ Office Bearers for the new school year
The new office bearers appointed are as follows:
Keith MacAskill - Chair
Rachel Byrne - Vice-Chair
Julie Moran - Secretary
Bernadette Wheatley - Treasurer
■ Headteacher’s Comments/Report
Mrs Ross spoke briefly about the last school year and her priorities for this year, which is handwriting/presentation, consistency of teaching and development of listening/talking. She also mentioned the school is looking at literacy circles, highlighted by the HMIe report. The eco-committee is working towards their green flag. Diversity and Literacy weeks have been planned for later in the year.
The school is still looking at targeting more communications by e-mail, as the cost of photocopying is expensive and the budget is very tight. Please supply your details to Mrs Ross if you would like future communications to be e-mailed to you.
The school has a huge wish list, like most schools, and is looking for help to purchase more interactive whiteboards, which cost approximately £3,000 each, as they are a tremendous learning resource. The ICT equipment is also in need of being updated.
The Primary 7 trip to Dulguise has been booked for next year, at a cost of approximately £110.00 per child. The school is looking to do a fundraiser to help raise funds for this trip.
Keith thanked Mrs Ross for her commitment over the last year and we all agreed she has done a great job and has worked very hard.
■ A.O.B.
1. The Annual Parent Conference at Viewforth, Council Chambers, will be held shortly. Details of the exact date will follow soon, for anyone who is interested in attending.
2. A Parent Forum is to be held on Saturday 20 September at the Raploch Campus, from 9.00am – 1.30pm. Supervised play services and lunch will be provided. If you are interested in attending please let Julie Moran know and your details will be passed on to Elaine Murray.
3. Parent Council logos were shown to the group and Scott Ferguson agreed to update this so it is displayed on joint communications being sent by the School and Parent Council.
4. The Eco-group will be doing the mobile phone re-cycling again this year. If you have any old mobile phones, don’t dispose of them in the meantime!
5. Keith had received information and a DVD for the Curriculum for Excellence. This was passed to the school and will be explained to parents/carers at the Curriculum evening on Wednesday 17 September 2008.
6. Rachel spoke about the Bingo Tea fundraiser which has been organised by the Fund Raising Group, for 2 October 2008 in Cowie Miners Welfare. Rachel confirmed that letters will be issued to all parents/carers about this event and tickets will be on sale in the school, (costing £1.50 for adults and £1.00 for children, for entrance and refreshments). All staff at the school will be invited. A letter has also been issued to local businesses asking for donations for prizes, to be handed direct into the school.
Rachel had asked Mrs Ross what the school would like to purchase with the monies raised. The priority for the school is interactive whiteboards and ICT equipment.
Details of this fundraiser will be posted in the Eastside News, Stirling Observer and shops in the village.
Rachel mentioned that we need helpers to sell the tickets. We will also be asking for helpers on the night to collect entrance tickets, sell bingo tickets, hand out prizes and serve refreshments.
We spoke about a raffle at the Bingo Tea and Rachel said that the Fund Raising Group will consider this further before the event.
7. Rachel spoke about the Community Council as she had heard they have funds amounting to £10,000.00 to spend on the local community. Keith will follow this up and try to attend their next meeting.
8. Rachel has made up Certificates for the children that helped out at the Community Litter Picks in July. Mrs Ross agreed that these will be handed out at an assembly by the Chair of the CCPG (Cowie Community Parent Group).
9. Fraser at Active Stirling has confirmed to Mrs Ross that there is no resource at present to carry out the Cycling Proficiency training.
10. Agreed date for the Halloween disco is Thursday 30 October 2008. Further arrangements and details about this are to follow.
■ Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting to be held in the school at 7pm is on Wednesday 19 November 2008.
Of course the sub-groups previously set up for fundraising and education issues can meet up as and when required. Details should then be fed back to the main group at the next available meeting.
