Present: Simon Parson, Ruth McLeod, Brenda Madden, Belinda Lavers, Karen Jones, Trish Bray, Anna Webster, Tristen Cosgrove & David Smail.
Apologies: Anna-Maria Ford.
Previous minutes - 9th September 2014 accepted
Business arising from previous meeting/s
Nil
Correspondence – In/Out
In:
-QBE Workers Compensation Annual Premium record of payment.
-Bank Statements.
Out:
-Cheque has been presented to the family of State Sport student who had requested financial assistance in Aug/Sept.
Reports/Updates
President’s Report
Thank you to all for attending tonight. We all look forward to an exciting Twilight Markets this Friday evening.While it is true that many people have come together to volunteer to make this special event happen, it certainly would not have happened without the leadership and drive of Trish Bray and Anna Webster who had the idea for this event and who made it all happen.
Whilst sums donated have been announced in the past, it was very pleasing to note that the P&C has physically donated $51,100 to the School in the last few months. You can see the effects of this as you look around the School. I would also like to thank the School, and in particular Mr Parson, for the co-contributions to these major projects to make it happen much sooner than we had imagined.
It is pleasing to see that there are definite moves afoot in the planning for a new library and it will be exciting when this too becomes a reality.
Thank you to all our volunteers and our wonderful Paula who make all the things we do happen!
Moved: Tristen Cosgrove, Seconded: Anna Webster.
Principal’s Report
Term 4 has commenced very smoothly for students and teachers. We have had a number of new students enrol putting our population at 353 students across 14 classes.
As most of you are aware, construction of this next stage of the Creative Play Spaces project commenced in the last week of Term 3. We have seen steady progress with the project which is now beyond the halfway mark. In the short term we will see:
·The completion of the concrete seating at the northern end of the field;
·The preparation (top dressing) and subsequent turfing of the top field following the installation of the sub-soil drainage; and
·The continuation of construction works on the swale & batter.
Within the contract we have allowed for 900 m2 of top soil & turf for the top field. With the removal of the aluminium seating in the south-western section of the field I suspect we will need additional soil and turf. I am currently negotiating a price for the additional area with the builder. The school will be meeting any shortfall for this additional work.
I expect we will have the builders on site until the end of Week 3.
I published some of our 2014 NAPLAN results in the newsletter last week to give the community a general idea on how SPPS is fairing at the state level.
The following percentages included the top 3 skill bands i.e. Year 3 = Bands 4-6 & Year 5 = Bands 6-8 and how SPPS compares with the state average:
·In writing, our ambitious target for Year 3 students was to have 80% achieving Bands 4-6. We achieved 75%, while the state was 70%.
·In Year 5 we hoped to have 65% of students in Bands 6-8 and we achieved 58%. The state was 46%.
·In reading, our goal was to have 68% of Year 3 students achieving Bands 4-6. We had 80% achieve this, while the state average was 72%.
·In Year 5 we hoped to have 70% of students in Bands 6-8. We achieved 73%. The state was 61%.
·In numeracy, our goal was to have 70% of Year 3 students achieving Bands 4-6. 83% achieved this, while the state was 66%.
·In Year 5 we hoped to have 70% of students in Bands 6-8 and we achieved 65%.The state average was 58%
As a staff we are pleased with our students’ results and it’s also reassuring for the teachers to see how our students compare on a wider scale.
Regarding staffing - last week we saw the return of Mrs Hunt who has been on leave. Mrs Hunt will be working at the school every Wednesday. Also, this Thursday will be Mrs Beavan’s last day before she commences her maternity leave.
On Monday, October 27, I have arranged for a yoga teacher to come to the school and undertake some yoga lessons with some of our classes. The aim is to introduce a number of fundamental movement skills as well as enable students to learn about self-regulation / self-responsibility.
Following the trial the teachers and I will discuss if we consider it to be something we’d like to introduce to the school in the future.
From October 22-24 I shall be attending the 2014 NSW Primary Principal’s conference in Sydney. Whilst I’m away each of the assistant principals will be in charge.
The teachers have undertaken some additional professional learning already this term relating to the new mathematics syllabus, which is to be implemented in 2015.
At the end of this year we conclude our 2012-2014 Strategic Planning period, as we make way for the new 2015-2017 Strategic Plan. As a staff we have undertaken a number of reviews / surveys to assist in gaining feedback to inform future planning, for example, the survey regarding the Effective Learning Code.
This planning process is a very important process as the new Strategic Plan will guide our future direction as a school and school community. Therefore, between now and the end of the year the school leadership team will engage in a number of planning days as we prepare to draft the school’s new Strategic Plan for 2015-2017.
I expect to be able to share & discuss our Strategic Directions at our next meeting.
On October 28, we will be holding the Parent Information Evening for parents of students commencing Kindergarten in 2015. This will be followed by the remaining orientation visits in November. It would be appreciated if we could have a number of P&C representatives attend the Parent Information Session to be available to share information about uniforms / canteen and the P&C in general.
Parents interested in their child applying for placement in a selective high school in 2016 will soon receive notification about the process. I urge parents to read the overview details very carefully & note applications can only be made electronically. Applications will need to be submitted by November 17.
I thank the P&C and the parents of Soldiers Point Public School for your continued support throughout the term and look forward to seeing you at the Twilight Markets on Friday.
Moved: Simon Parson, Seconded: Ruth McLeod.
Treasurer’s Report
Balances as at 14 October 2014:
P&C account:$4,129.96
Uniform account:$6,939.53
Canteen account:$4,105.92
Petty Cash:$63.69
The P&C account
Twilight Markets:
Showbags income deposited of $1, 815.00
Invoices to be paid of $1,596.06 (Bensons Showbags $1,096.20 & Mr Showbags $499.86)
Declaration of wages submitted for 2012/2013 & 2013/2014 this week, so expect a refund.
Invoices to be paid for October and wages for this week paid balance of $2,135.25.
Superannuation and PAYG payments to be handed over to Deanne Cosgrove this month.
Other Business
Arranging Floats for Twilight Markets.
Moved: David Smail, Seconded: Trish Bray.
Canteen Committee Report
The Canteen is fully stocked for the beginning of Term 4. We hope to have a Meal Deal this term and the committee is meeting this week to discuss a possible date. We hope to have the flyscreen door replaced as soon as possible as with summer around the corner flies are a problem and it is uncomfortably hot in the Canteen with the main door closed. Could we clarify whose responsibility it is to have this screen door replaced? Year 6 continue to be a delight to work with, they will be missed when they move on to High School and I look forward to Year 5 stepping up to take their place. The Canteen is organised for the upcoming Kindy Orientation night with some fresh fruit sorbets on offer for the new parent's to sample.
Moved: Karen Jones, for Paula Browne, Seconded: Anna Webster.
Note: It is also mentioned by Karen, that a surface spray or pest treatment may be wise soon, in the canteen area & surrounds, given the warmer weather. All are in favour of the Canteen Committee making a decision on which method of treatment they wish to use, and either performing the surface spray treatment on floor areas safely themselves, or submitting a request to the school for a fuller pest treatment to be done.
Uniform Committee Report
Current Balance:$6939.53
Deposit today:$ NIL
Payments this month:$ 114.60
Total:$6824.93
Payments due next month:$1111.60
Total:$5713.33
Extended Credit (Feb 2015)$4658.20
Uniform Shop sales have increased this term. We still have some reduced stock available.The shop is currently very well stocked, with the exception of nine Bomber Jackets which are on backorder.
The Uniform Shop will be closed this Friday 17 October 2014 due to the Twilight Markets.
I will be attending the Parent Information Evening on Tuesday 28 October 2014 to display and talk to parents about the School Uniform.
Moved: Belinda Lavers, Seconded: David Smail.
School Improvement & Finance Committee Report
Discussed SIFC October meeting, as per minutes: http://sppspc.weebly.com/sifc101014.html
Moved: Ruth McLeod, Seconded: Trish Bray.
Fundraising Committee Report:
Twilight markets will be a fond memory next week, with only 3 days until the event we are well and truly counting down.
There will be 39 market stalls to browse & shop from on the night. This is made up of 18 stalls rented by parents of the school, 6 rented by outside stallholders and our 6 P&C stalls, along with the 9 Stage Stalls run by students, teachers & some parent helpers. There will also be the Rotary bbq, our P&C run Dinner Boxes, a Slushie stall and an (almost confirmed) stallholder of fairy floss. This is a stall run by the Nelson Bay Action Group, which is a not for profit organisation who were formally APEX. They have said that they would donate 50% of their profits from their stall to the P&C fundraiser.
There are only minimal expenses for this event so far (donation to school for craft resources, cost of showbags, slushie machine hire, few minor bits & pieces) and with the $600 received from stallholder payments & the pre-paid showbags money in, we are already showing some good profits. The potential profits from all sources on the night indicate it will be a good fundraiser. As a P&C at previous meeting, we had earmarked the Twilight Markets Fundraiser to go towards helping the school where resources are needed, particularly where it can assist Admin. We would still like this to be the case.
Corrie has taken care of the insurance notifications for this event, and has advised that all necessary paperwork has been lodged and received by the P&C Federation. The P&C Federation are apparently very pleased with the attention to detail we apply in this area. Thank you Corrie.
We are going to pick up 29 trestle tables and (possibly) some chairs from SP Bowling Club and Beachside Christian Fellowship, who have kindly offered us their use for the night. Salamander Bay Recycling is helping us out with the pick up of these bulky items, and may need access to the school via the bottom off-road access. We will return these items on Saturday morning. (We will need access to the hall on Saturday.) We would also be very appreciative of extra trestle tables or tables of any sort, that anyone is able to bring in for use at the event. Please let us know if you have one we can borrow.
We hope that the students are excited about the markets, and appreciate all of the help that the staff have offered. A special thanks to Bronwyn and Simone in the office, who have graciously printed loads of promotional materials and dealt with people asking questions about the markets. Bronwyn has also offered to send out an alert via Skoolbag to parents on Thursday about the markets, plus more specifically about the call for baked goods.
Ruth McLeod has organised show bags and they have been delivered. Ruth has also organised a letter box drop, with approximately 700 leaflets being delivered to houses in the area last weekend. Thanks to Ruth for her invaluable support and experience.
We are hoping to see an article in the Examiner this week promoting the markets. Thank you to Brenda Madden for working on this for us.
Rotary are having a walk through on Wednesday afternoon to assess accessibility for their ute and trailer. They are a bit concerned with access so hopefully this will address their concerns. If they cannot get access to the school using this route, then they will use a portable BBQ instead of their all-in-one trailer.
Woolworths have kindly partnered with us to supply all of the ingredients and items we require to produce our P&C run Dinner Options stall. This is a huge donation, as these dinner items could net the P&C approx $1000 profit. We are having a big bake off on Thursday with the preparing and cooking of the frittata and vegetable filo rolls. Paula has kindly offered us the use of the canteen for this preparation and storage. We have bought some take away containers and lids to use for presentation of these dinner options. Anyone who is interested in coming along to help, please do so. These dinner boxes will sell for $5 each on the Fri evening, giving marketgoers another option for a healthy yummy dinner rather than just the Sausage Sizzle on offer.
Slushy stall is confirmed with two flavours. Nathan Ford has offered to man this stall most of the night. Thank you to Anna-Maria and Nathan for making this stall possible, at cost price.
Raffle is going well, with 12 prize packs up for grabs, ranging from a child’s bicycle to donated goods such as candles, gift vouchers, swimming pool passes and beauty products. We are promoting the raffle as a really good investment as the tickets are only being sold on the night and ticketholders have a good chance of winning a prize. Thanks to Karen Smail for organising the raffle.
The entertainment will be a highlight, with Fin Adnam MC-ing the event with a megaphone. Fin will be announcing events, promoting stalls, promoting food options and generally letting people know what’s going on. The entertainment from the kids will be great, with student groups performing plus buskers. We also have Megan Spiller kindly donating her time and talent to create our market atmosphere. We would like to propose that all busking monies raised be donated to the school music department.
Money handling & security is being sorted out. We are hoping that Tristen and David have found a third person to help them on the night. The money role is to collect any money from the P&C stalls (including student stalls) and take it to the canteen for storing and counting. One person needs to stay with the money at all times. Three volunteers for this role would be good as we don’t want one person stuck in the canteen all night.
We are a bit concerned as to the lighting on the night. We didn’t realise that the daylight savings nights are still quite dark as early as 7.15-7.30pm, and the top COLA does not have lighting. We have approached a few people to ask if they can help out. Currently we have Adam from AV lighting and Dan Bowen offering to help set up some temporary lighting options (flood lights) using power cords. This would need access to either the library or a classroom for power. We believe that this is necessary not only for child safety, but for stall holder safety when packing up.
We have also asked the teachers if they have any chill out furniture that we can borrow from their rooms for our chill out zone at the northern end of the COLA.
Friday will be a busy day, with lots of volunteers on the day collecting tables and chairs, preparing the baked goods stall, preparing the used book stall and generally getting ready for the afternoon. At this stage we are keen to keep the lines of communication open, and if any of the staff or parents need any information please contact us.
Moved: Trish Bray, Seconded: Karen Jones.
Note: It is also mentioned by Belinda Lavers that unfortunately due to poor response, the Sydney Shopping Bus Trip has been cancelled.
General Business
·Twilight Markets final preparations discussed.
Meeting closed 9:10pm.
Next meeting – 11th November 2014 – School Administration Block