Minutes of Parent Council Meeting on 25 June 2008

Minutes of Parent Council Meeting on 25 June 2008

Attendees: Scott Ferguson, Keith MacAskill, Audrey Ross, Rachel Byrne, Julie Moran,

Apologies: Vicky Carr, Avrix Knox, Christine Fairbairn, Debbie Innes,

Bernadette Wheatley, Anne Williamson, Amanda Arkell, Michelle McArthur

■ Introduction/Welcome

Keith welcomed and thanked everyone for coming to the final Parent Council meeting this session. It was an opportunity to discuss our success over the last school year and to decide if any action points from previous minutes needed to be carried forward to the new school year.

Keith confirmed that the AGM (Annual General Meeting) would take place as our first meeting in the new school year. We will look at electing various roles at this meeting.

■ Our Successes

The newly formed Parent Council was set up in 2007 and considering this was our first year, we all agreed we have done very well.

- Everyone agreed the findings of the HMIe report were very encouraging and show that the school is definitely moving in the right direction.

- The set up of the school web-site is an excellent way of communicating what is happening at the school and hopefully this will continue to evolve through time, with the involvement of the children at the school. Your suggestions on how to improve or develop this are welcome!

- The Halloween and Valentine discos were a great way for the children to get together and enjoy themselves. It also helped raise funds for the Parent Council.

- It was good to see that the School and the Parent Council can be a team and work closely together, i.e. at Parent Consultations, the Christmas Concert and the Fun Days.

- We shown that we can network with others. We helped the Communities Team distribute questionnaires to every household in Cowie. We raised concerns with the Police and local Councilors over pedestrian safety. We spoke to the Community Council and Focus Group about ideas for a Community Clean-up in the village.

- The trip to Dulguise for P7’s was very rewarding and a good memory for them to take away from their time at Cowie Primary School.

- The P7’s decided on their own Graduation Party this year and they thoroughly enjoyed it. They even wrote letters to the Parent Council to thank us for organising this for them.

From the total funds raised over the last year, together with the amount we received from Stirling Council and the monies passed to us from the previous Parents Association, we used this to subsidise the summer school trips by £5.00 per child and pay for the P7’s Graduation Party. With the small amount of money left over, we are looking to purchase water bottles for all the children at the school.

■ Minutes from the last meeting being carried forward

We will continue to pursue the £10,000 grant with Grounds for Learning, to improve the school playground.

Slogon for Parent Council communications still to be discussed and ideas put forward.

■ A.O.B

1. We agreed that we need to be more organised for fundraising events next session. The Fund Raising Group plan to do a bingo tea, shortly after the start of the new term. The school discos will more than likely be as before, Halloween and Valentine, along with a further fundraiser after Christmas time. A copy of the forward plan will be available from Mrs Ross, so that fundraising can be organised in advance.

2. A communication was given to parents/carers of the new P1’s to welcome them to the Parent Council and to give them further information about the group.

3. The school’s newsletters will continue to jointly communicate the activities of the School and the Parent Council. The school will continue to look at other ways of communicating this information to parents/carers, i.e. via e-mail.

4. The school plan to have a ‘meet the teacher’ event shortly after the children return in August. A ‘Literacy Week’ has also been planned for later in the school year.

5. The temporary classrooms were removed in July and the area was fenced and turfed.

6. The monies raised by the sponsored skip, more than £2,000 in 2007 to improve the school playground, has now been spent. This was used to pay for the football, basketball, noughts & crosses and draughts markings, as well as other playground equipment. This will also be used to pay for the school staged area, which should be ready for the new term.

7. The ‘Eastside News’ is a new newspaper being distributed to local villages. The school is aware of this publication and it can be used as another way of publicising the achievements and celebrating the success of the school.

■ Date of Next Meetings

AGM - Wednesday 3 September 2008 at 7pm in the school. We hope to see you all there.

The next meetings to follow this are in the school at 7pm on:

19/11/2008

25/02/2009

27/05/2009

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.

Mrs Ross, can you organise the lets for these meetings.

Date of Next Parent Council Meeting

Our final Parent Council Meeting for this session has been set for Wednesday 25 June 2008. If you are interested in attending please contact Julie Moran, via the School, before this date for further details. Any agenda points you have should also be passed to Julie Moran.

Minutes of Parent Council Meeting on 7 May 2008

Attendees: Keith MacAskill, Audrey Ross, Vicky Carr, Rachel Byrne,
Bernadette Wheatley, Anne Williamson, Amanda Arkell

Apologies: Avril Knox, Christine Fairbairn, Debbie Innes, Scott Ferguson,
Julie Moran, Michelle McArthur


Introduction/Welcome

Keith welcomed and thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.

Amend and approve minutes from last meeting on 12 March 2008

1. It was confirmed that Scott had up-dated the School web-site http://www.cowieprimary.ik.org/ and now had a feedback/comments facility.

2. The Community Centre access point is now open.

3. Mrs Ross agreed that the Eco-Group would be happy to liaise with the Parent Council with regards to a Community Clean-up. It was agreed that combining the two schools would work well.

Action: No update from Debbie who agreed to speak to her Dad who is part of the Community Council, to see how they can help.

Action: Rachel will continue to follow up the previous action point and speak to Bob Wylie about the £10,000 grant mentioned during an earlier Pupil Council Meeting.

Action: Julie will contact Margaret Brisley again for a response to her previous communication, about the concerns over pedestrian safety at Mount Oliphant.

4. We spoke again about using some of the Parent Council funds to buy water bottles for children to use during school time. Before taking any further action with this, we will speak to Debbie to get an update as she was going to ask her employer about the availability of free water bottles. Mrs Ross also agreed to speak to Mrs Young who may have contacts at Highland Spring. Rachel confirmed this company kindly donated water for ‘Fun Fit Friday’. We would also need to confirm numbers to include the new Primary 1’s. It was suggested that we sell the water bottles on the Fun Day but it was agreed after some discussion that some children might not bring them back to school after the holidays.
Action: Debbie to update the group on the availability of free water bottles from her employer. Mrs Ross to speak to Mrs Young.

5. Mrs Ross confirmed that she had some logos and would show them at the next meeting.

6. Mrs Ross confirmed the School Uniform Order for this year included homework satchels.

7. Mrs Ross confirmed she had spoken to Mrs Young regarding the Primary 7 Graduation Party and the school would like help from the Parent Council with this event. Mrs Ross confirmed that there would be 15 children graduating.

Action: Rachel agreed to speak to the P7’s to find out what kind of party they would like.

8. Mrs Ross confirmed that she had still not received the HMI Report.

Agenda

1. The Fund Raising Group confirmed that they had decided not to organise a fundraising event as there was alot going on in the school during the last two months of term i.e. Fun Day, Sports Day, School Trips and P7 Graduation etc.

Action: To obtain school forward plan from Mrs Ross so fundraising can be organised in advance for the following year.

2. Keith suggested to the group that we wait until the AGM Meeting to elect a Treasurer/second signatory for the Parent Council Account. The funds raised so far are kept in the school funds account. Rachel informed the group that including the devolved budget of £380.00 there was £1233.57 altogether. As mentioned in the last meeting the Parent Council are donating £5.00 per child to help towards the cost of their end of term excursions.

Action: Treasurer to be elected at AGM.

3. Sports Day will be organised by Primary 5 and Mrs Fleming as part of their Citizenship topic. Mrs Ross informed the group that the ‘huts’ should be moved in time for Sports Day on 6 June 2008. She confirmed however in the event of the grassed area not being available Mrs Devlin at St Margaret’s agreed for the school to use their playing field. The group voiced their concerns over the organisation of last years Sports Day confusion over time, potted sports in morning and races in afternoon resulting in parents coming to school twice etc. Mrs Ross also advised the group that there is a possibility of the grassed area being covered with astro turf. Claire Stevenson Chairperson of St Margaret’s Parent Council may be obtaining the turf from Forthbank, Stirling – this is still to be confirmed.

Action: Mrs Ross will investigate further into the running of Sports Day and discuss with Primary 5/Mrs Fleming.

4. Unfortunately the playground has been left in disarray after the building works. Mrs Ross confirmed that after numerous communications with contractors the various potholes left as a result of the refurbishment have now been repaired. The litter in the playground is still a concern. Mrs Ross also confirmed that the Pupil Council was now eager to spend some of the money they raised on equipment and staged area as planned before the refurbishment. There was some confusion over whether or not children could play football. Mrs Wheatley confirmed that a new football rota had been started for the P4-P7’s and that it was only stopped due to the lack of space during the building works. There is a possibility that football markings may be laid for the P4-P7’s as previously mentioned by the Pupil Council and that the P1 - P3’s could play football on the grassed/astro turf area.

Action: Mrs Ross will speak to School Janitor regarding litter.

5. Some members of the group voiced their concern with regards to dogs being allowed in the playground during school hours. Bannockburn Primary School has ‘No dogs allowed’ signs however Mrs Ross said they didn’t make that much difference.

Action: Mrs Ross will look into Stirling Council’s policy on this matter and may obtain signs in due course.

6. It was confirmed that the Community Centre is not being used for gym as the classes are now going outside.

A.O.B.

1. The group asked Mrs Ross if the school would like any help from the Parent Council during the Fun Day or whether we should have our own stall. It was decided that the Parent Council would choose to run two stalls. Mrs Ross showed the group a list of activities/stalls and ‘Guess the combination of the safe’ and ‘How many sweets in the jar’ were chosen. We would run the two stalls together with an area showing other parents an overview of what we have all achieved to date i.e. events, money raised and future plans etc.

Date of Next Meeting: To be confirmed.

UPDATE ON FUNDS RAISED FROM THE FEBRUARY 2008 DISCO

A total of 125.77 was raised from the last school disco in February 2008, which was
organised by the Parent Council. Thanks to everyone who helped and contributed to this event. It was a success and the children had fun!!

CHANGE OF DATE FOR NEXT PARENT COUNCIL MEETING

Please note - the date of the next Parent Council Meeting has been changed from Wednesday 30/04/2008 to Wednesday 07/05/2008 at 7pm in the school. All parents who have children at Cowie Primary School are welcome to attend. See you there!

March Meeting Minutes

Minutes of Parent Council Meeting on 12 March 2008


Attendees: Scott Ferguson, Keith MacAskill, Michelle McArthur, Audrey Ross,
Rachel Byrne, Julie Moran, Bernadette Wheatley, Anne Williamson, Amanda Arkell

Apologies: Vicky Carr, Avril Knox, Christine Fairbairn, Debbie Innes


■ Introduction/Welcome

Keith welcomed and thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.

■ Amend and approve minutes from last meeting on 16 January 2008

1. Keith confirmed that he has received a cheque for £612.00 from the previous Parents Association which will now be banked into the Parent Council Account.

2. The feedback we received from parents at the Parent Consultations on 6 February 2008 was very positive. We asked parents for fund raising ideas, their ideas on how to improve the school, if parents would support a Race Night and feedback about the Cowie Primary School website.

3. Action: Rachel will continue to follow up the previous action point and speak to Bob Wylie about the £10,000 grant mentioned during an earlier Pupil Council Meeting.

4. Keith has had no response from Iain Binning about the School Travel Plan. Mrs Ross confirmed this was because he was no longer in his post as School Travel Co-ordinator. The Cycling Proficiency Courses will be considered by the group at a later date, run by
Recyke-a –bike in Fallin and the Police.

5. Amanda asked if visitors to the school website http://www.cowieprimary.ik.org/ could add their own comments/feedback.

Action: Scott will update the site to include a comments/guestbook facility.

6. It is hoped the Community Centre access point to the school will re-open soon.

Action: Julie will contact Margaret Brisley again for a response to her previous communication, about the concerns over pedestrian safety at Mount Oliphant.



7. Rachel asked at our previous meeting if the school would consider being involved in a community clean up, due to the amount of rubbish lying within and outside the school playground.

Action: No update on this as yet. Mrs Ross agreed to liase with the Eco-group to see how the school can support this. Debbie agreed to speak to her dad who is part of the Community Council, to see how they can help.

8. The school disco in February 2008 was well attended and the children really enjoyed themselves. A huge thanks to Gavin McArthur who was our D.J for the night. We agreed that the infants would have benefited from playing more games to keep them occupied. An update on the funds raised at this event will be detailed in the next school newsletter, to be issued to parents/carers in April 2008.

9. We spoke about using some of the Parent Council funds to help with the cost of replacing the curtains in the Gym Hall with black-out blinds. This would benefit all children in the school. We agreed to re-visit this at a later date.

10. Keith confirmed that the Race Night would go ahead in April/May 2008 and a date is still to be confirmed. He suggested that a steering group be set up to organise this event. After further discussion we set up two steering groups as follows;


Fund Raising

Rachel Byrne
Amanda Arkell
Michelle McArthur
Bernadette Wheatley
Julie Moran


Education Matters

Audrey Ross
Anne Williamson
Scott Ferguson
Keith MacAskill


These groups can meet at any time, as and when it’s appropriate, and would feedback to the main group on their progress at the next available Parent Council meeting. Keith mentioned that these groups are not exhaustive and other parents can join them at anytime.

11. We agreed to re-visit the role of Treasurer next session. A separate account exists within the school for Parent Council Funds. Irene Gower is the main signatory for this account.

12. We spoke about using some of the Parent Council funds to buy water bottles for children to use during school time. Before taking any further action with this, we will speak to Debbie to get an update as she was going to ask her employer about the availability of free water bottles.

Action: Debbie to update the group on the availability of free water bottles from her employer.

13. We agreed that Parent Council Communications should have a ‘slogan’. Mrs Ross mentioned that in future she would like to see communications being issued with Cowie Primary School, Stirling Council and Parent Council ‘slogans’.

Action: Please bring along your ideas for a Parent Council ‘slogan’ to our next meeting.

■ A.O.B

1. Amanda asked if the school could include homework satchels on the school uniform order form this year.

Action: Mrs Ross said she would arrange for this to be done.

2. Rachel asked what arrangements have been made for the Primary 7 graduation and leavers party, as the Parent Council are happy to help with this.

Action: Mrs Ross will speak to Mrs Young about this.

3. The Parent Council agreed to subsidise a school trip for each class by £5.00 per child next term, from Parent Council funds.

4. Keith and Mrs Ross spoke about the HMIe inspection the week commencing 17 March 2008. The inspectors will be in the school for three days and will meet with different groups of people, i.e. parents, teachers and the Parent Council. The last inspection carried out at the school was in 1998, but this will not form any part of this inspection. A copy of the final report is normally available approximately six weeks after the inspection takes place and the school will then implement the action points.

■ Date of Next Meeting

The date of the next meeting has been set for Wednesday 30 April 2008 at 7.00pm in the school. All parents are welcome to attend this meeting.

Action: Mrs Ross agreed to organise the let for this meeting.

Date of the next meeting

The next meeting will be on Wednesday 12 March 2008 at 7pm in the school.