Present: Tristen Cosgrove, Belinda Lavers, Laura Miles, Ruth McLeod, Kylie Screen, Karen Jones, Simon Parson, Anna Webster, David Smail, Trish Bray and Anna-Maria Ford.
Apologies: Rachel Wagland.
2. Acceptance of previous minutes from the 8th April 2014
- Email from Bronwyn Sherman, SPPS Admin Manager, re: Twilight Markets. To be discussed in General Business tonight.
- Email from P&C Federation, received by Simon Parson, re: current standing. To be forwarded to P&C members for any relevant action.
Out:
- Nil.
4. Business arising from previous meetings.
· Signatories changes to be attended to on the Canteen bank account – Treasurer advises this is in process.
· Awaiting further advice from QBE on OH&S insurance regarding grocery collection, Treasurer will provide an update when further informed.
· Fundraising amount from Welcome BBQ moved from Canteen a/c to P&C a/c – Treasurer advises this has been actioned.
· President will give Fundraising Commission Letter from Lucky Locals to Treasurer for receipting.
5. Reports/Updates
President’s Report
It’s great to see some new faces at the P&C meeting. Welcome. We’re looking forward to a fantastic Term 2!
Moved: Tristen Cosgrove, Seconded: Anna Webster.
Principal’s Report
I would like to extend a warm thank you to the P&C and wider community for your support of this year’s school & community based ANZAC activities. I believe it is our civic responsibility to outwardly promote such important events such as ANZAC Day and, as such, enormously appreciate your positive support. I would also like to acknowledge Danielle’s involvement in these activities.
Additionally, I would like to thank the P&C for providing the BBQ and canteen at our recent school athletics carnival. Your willingness to support such events greatly adds to their success and is appreciated by staff, students and parents.
I commend our students on just how well they have commenced Term 2 by settling back into back into school life really quickly.
They are benefitting from the gymnastics program, which is currently being offered at school. I’ve had the opportunity to sit in on a number of sessions with different classes and have been impressed with the high level of engagement and the delivery of the activities by the teachers.
As you will have read in the newsletter, our Year 3 & 5 students are currently completing literacy & numeracy assessments, which have been initiated by the federal government. The students completed their writing and language conventions test this morning, will complete the reading component tomorrow and numeracy on Thursday.
The testing is standardised and aimed at helping schools identify academic trends as well as monitor student progress.
The teachers are currently working very closely in their stage teams in preparation for writing their students’ reports. Teachers are and will continue to moderate student assessment tasks to ensure consistency in their professional judgement. We plan to send reports home on Wednesday, June 25.
The teachers have recently completed their CPR training as part of our annual professional learning plan. Of course, this is something we all hope we don’t have to use, but it’s reassuring to know we have some background knowledge in such first aid.
The teachers will also be receiving professional development on the new mathematics & science syllabuses this term and next.
Our students continue to perform well in their sporting pursuits at all levels. Some recent highlights include:
• Our rugby 7’s team competing strongly at the Hunter 7’s Carnival;
• 3 of our cross country runners achieved a top-six finish in the recent Hunter regional carnival qualifying them for State; and
• Both our cricket and softball teams are progressing nicely through the rounds of the PSSA knockout.
Thank you for your commitment and continued support of Soldiers Point Public School.
Moved: Simon Parson, Seconded: Ruth McLeod.
Treasurer’s Report
Balances are as follows:
Current balance
P&C account: $2,627.11
Uniform account: $5,614.95
Canteen account: $3,395.49
The P&C account has been reduced with the $660 payment made for the Audit report.
Transfer of the Welcome BBQ funds between Canteen and P&C account is complete
Both the uniform and canteen accounts have favourable balances. The canteen account balance is driven by fewer invoices in this second term to date supporting this.
I have provided an overview of the payment process for Deanne Cosgrove and the approvals for her access to the account are in progress. Once in place I will hand over the payments of the canteen invoices. I will become the approver of the invoices once set up and maintain all other duties as Treasurer, including co ordinating the annual audit requirements.
Belinda will continue to maintain and manage the Uniform shop.
The audit report was received at the P&C meeting in March with no major findings.
Moved: David Smail, Seconded: Trish Bray.
Canteen Committee Report
All is going well in the Canteen for Term 2, the new menu has gone out and the few small price increases have been well received.
We provided a sausage sizzle at the Athletics Carnival on Tuesday 6th May. A huge thankyou to Tony, Belinda Lavers, Karen & Dean Jones, Julie Thomson and Penny Whatman for all their help on the day. As this is a service to the children and not a fundraiser it is quite appropriate that a small profit of approximately $200 was made on the day. Mr. Gibson suggested a pre-order system for the sausages next year to avoid any wastage. The committee agrees that this would be an excellent idea and look forward to implementing this at next years Carnival.
Moved: Trish Bray for Paula Browne. Seconded: David Smail.
Uniform Committee Report
Current Balance: $5670.95
Deposit today: $ 175.00
Payments this month: $1650.86
Payments due June: $ 172.50
Total: $4022.59
We have been very busy over the last two weeks now that the cooler weather has arrived. We have had around fifty customers with sales of $1700.00. These sales have been mostly for jackets, long sleeve shirts and long cargo pants.
The Girl’s Cotton and Polyester Bootleg Pants and the Boy’s Long Microfibre Pants and Double Knee Trackpants are still not selling. This is mainly due to availability of much cheaper/affordable ones available elsewhere. We have a total of 57 of these items, most of which are old stock with deteriorating packaging. We propose selling them at a reduced price and discontinuing these items from our stocked items.
We suggest selling the Girl’s Cotton Bootleg Pants, Boy’s Long Microfibre Pants and Double Knee Trackpants for $10.00 and the Girl’s Polyester Bootleg Pants for $15.00.
Even though it seems like we will lose a lot of money from selling these items at a reduced price, we need to consider that a lot of these items would have been purchased at a lower price. Also last year I purchased hats on a special promotion which resulted in a saving of $330.00 and monies saved on ordering larger quantities of printed/embroidered items have resulted in further savings.
Proposed changes by way of selling off and discontinuing those stock items was discussed. Uniform Committee to action. Notice will be placed in the Newsletter. All present are in favour.
At tonight’s P&C Meeting, the SIFC updated the P&C on the following items:
· SIFC Discussion of available funds for next two stages of the Creative Play Spaces works quoted by Soil Conservation Service, NSW Department of Trade and Investment.
1.0 Seating below COLA - completed
2.0 Seating (above oval) and oval upgrade – approx $55,000
3.0 Earth mounds, drainage and mulching area above oval – approx $12,000
Costs (less gst) now able to be met through the schools 2014-2015 asset allocation ($25,000) plus available P&C funds as follows.
$12,000 Community Building Grants for playground upgrade
$21,000 Creative Play Spaces Term Deposit (approx)
$2,500 Profit from Tea towels and Disco (approx)
Approval to proceed as proposed by the SIFC outline above was moved: Ruth McLeod, All present agreed. It was again noted that these first 3 stages of the Creative PlaySpaces project must be completed before we are able to enter the 4th stage of the project erecting playground equipment. It was noted that the P&C President is applying for grants to assist with the 4th stage of our Creative PlaySpaces project.
· Meeting held with Tony Rodwell and Brad Gammell from DET to discuss future options for a new library. Funding for new two-storey building with library and permanent classrooms seems unlikely in the short to medium term. Current options include library in a new MDR to be located in the school grounds. Maybe possible to achieve this within next 18 months if funding approved 2014-2015. Brad to identify possible locations. Request that any plans developed still allow for the two-storey building with permanent classrooms as originally planned. If MDR library goes ahead there will be a need for fundraising for additional furniture and resources.
· Two quotes now received for covered walkway from COLA to Early Stage 1/Stage 1 rooms (to also incorporate drain pipe). Quotes received from Transfield and Mathieson Construction. Both included (a) cover over the walkway to the COLA stairs and (b) cover over the stairs including drainpipe. The Community Building Grant funding for the covered walkway ($15,000) will only fund (a). Additional funds to be sourced to do part (b) in the future. Meeting discussed the two quotes and recommended engaging Mathieson Construction to undertake (a).
Both quotes were distributed for P&C viewing. Approval to proceed with Mathieson Constructions as proposed by the SIFC outline above was moved: Ruth McLeod. A potential conflict of interest was disclosed by Tristen Cosgrove, who opted to abstain from the vote. All other P&C members present were in agreement with the proposal proceeding.
Tristen Cosgrove also wished the following explanation to be included to ensure complete transparency of events and reasoning (apologies for repetition):
The P&C was successful with $15,000 for Covered Walkways (initially down to Classroom 6) then this location was changed at the request of the School as the new location has more traffic.
The School has obtained the quotes and will pay the builder. The P&C will make a donation to the school for $15,500 after the grant funds are received.
In consultation with the School Improvement and Finance Committee Meeting (SIFC), over several meetings, the School sought a quote from Transfield Services. We like Transfield Services because of the all-encompassing nature of its relationship with the Department of Education although the most recent work of a pathway for the School was not to the School’s specifications and was disappointing. The quote from Transfield Services for the Covered Walkway was in two parts, the main walkway and the stairs. Excluding GST, the main walkway was $18,864.60 and the stairs section was $4,825.40.
As the quote from Transfield Services was higher than was hoped, which would require additional funds from the P&C and/or the School, it was discussed at the SIFC meeting to seek another quote from a private contractor who may be more affordable. Key concerns are quality of work, licenses and insurances of the builder and when they work such as during school holidays or during school term requiring safety checks and barricades which would be more cost. Prime concern was quality of work that the structure would be high quality so as not to be a risk of “shoddy cheap” work which may endanger children. So a “cheap and nasty” job from a private contractor was not an option. This lead the President of the P&C (Tristen Cosgrove) to propose a builder with whom he was confident of the quality of work. That builder was Warwick Mathieson of Mathieson Constructions who is the Father of Tristen’s Brother-in Law. Tristen declared this relationship immediately and abstained from any vote from the SIFC to recommend a quote to the P&C meeting.
The quote from Mathieson Constructions excluding GST was $15,156 for the main walkway and $4,680 for the stairs section.
At present the idea is to complete the main walkway first, then later the stairs section, due to limited funds.
At the P&C Meeting on 13th May 2014 the SIFC Convenor explained the above. The President of the P&C also disclosed the potential conflict of interests by using Mathieson Constructions and also abstained from any vote on the two quotes. At that meeting a P&C Member asked whether we should find another quote to have more quotes and both the Principal and the President conveyed that that would not be ideal and the President explained that what is most important is being able to trust the work so we are not looking for a cheaper quote necessarily (particularly as the grant is almost the same as the second quote for the main walkway by $156) but the fact that the President trusts the quality of the work by Mathieson Constructions and would not be able to comment on (or rely on) the quality of an alternative. The quotes were discussed an voted on in favour of Mathieson Constructions who would also undertake work in school holiday time, thus not needing barricades etc.
· The BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy was distributed to the P&C tonight, for our perusal.
The P&C endorses the School’s BYOD policy.
Moved: Ruth McLeod, Seconded: Tristen Cosgrove.
Fundraising Committee Report:
The Fundraising Committee is gaining momentum. We are keen to gather more volunteers to join us as part of this team, and are open to all who are interested, in whatever capacity they’re able to contribute, even if just via email. We plan on meeting occasionally, likely during the day, separate to the P&C meetings, to brainstorm, and to share ideas and involvement in our upcoming events & fundraisers for the school.
At the start of Term 2, the Fundraising Committee met for coffee & to discuss progress on Disco, and ideas for rolling out the Twilight Markets concept.
Disco for 13th June is near ready to proceed. Thanks to Tristen Cosgrove for requesting the services of DJ Tim Halls, a parent of the school, and thanks to Tim, who is providing his DJ services free of charge, and also to Soldiers Point Bowling Club, who have again provided their Function Room free of charge to us for the night. Thanks to Corrie Howes for submitting our documentation to the P&C Federation for insurance purposes. Thanks to Anna-Maria Ford who has a current first aid certificate & has agreed to be our First Aider on the night. We have identified that we need to equip Parent volunteers with specific duties on the night. We are working to formulate some ‘roles’ with simple instructions for those parents who stay at their child’s disco, so we can give them a supervisory or practical role to fulfil whilst they are there – whether it be crowd control, door person, admissions desk (taking money), toilet-runs or monitoring the water station. We have put a call-out for volunteers to make contact with us prior to the event, and hope that we will get some indication of how many parents will be present to share the duties involved. We are looking forward to the night ahead!
The vision for the Twilight Markets is taking shape. We’ve earmarked 2 potential dates. We feel we can soon send info out to Parents, painting a picture of the planned event, perhaps inspiring those who may wish to be involved in some of the specific stalls to step up and begin injecting further ideas, and taking ownership of the areas they’d like to manage. We will need to touch base with the teaching staff again soon, and also begin thinking about the actual logistics of the event, in regards to outside stallholders being invited, access & set-up plans, confirming stalls, entertainment, food & media plans for inviting the community. We invite anyone with ideas or with an interest in being part of the twilight markets to be in contact.
There have currently been 321 Tea Towels & 12 Aprons sold, generating a profit of approximately $800 so far. We still have stock remaining for those wishing to purchase Tea Towels or Aprons. If all remaining stock is sold the fundraising total profit would increase to approx $1500. We also have the option of placing a second round of orders.
Moved: Trish Bray, Seconded: Belinda Lavers.
General Business
· SIFC Info sheet for 2014 for all parents, as discussed in SIFC meeting April, approved to go out.
· Twilight Markets School Class Craft – resources. As the P&C have invited the School Stages to take part in creating items for the Twilight Markets as part of their CAPA groups, it is decided that the P&C will make a $600 donation to the school to go towards the purchase of craft materials, for items that will be made for selling at the Markets. All present agree & approve this donation. It is also discussed that money raised from the Twilight Markets can go towards funding items on the School Wish List. The P&C are aware that funding towards the School Wish List has been held back for some time while the focus has been on the Creative PlaySpaces project, and note that this will be able to be looked at further now that the funds for the next 2 stages of the Creative PlaySpaces works have been allocated.
· Twilight Market – Anna Webster will email the Teachers & Staff to advise of the donation the P&C are able to contribute. Fundraising Committee will arrange to meet up with Stage Teachers to further discuss the Markets and how each Stage would like to be involved. Fundraising Committee will also convene to prepare info sheet (save-the-date) for Parents, inviting involvement from the whole school community & for further planning.
· Query was raised re: School Sports Teams, on behalf of a school parent not present. Discussion held on types of Sports Teams available, and how a child is invited/selected to take part. Simon Parson detailed the range of Teams available, and explained that children are invited at the Stage Assembly to indicate their interest in taking part. Generally the teams are age specific – mostly Stage 3 (yr 5&6), occasionally a year 4 student who meets the age requirements. Announcements are made at Stage Assembly over consecutive weeks, so as to best ensure no child misses the invitation to indicate their interest.
· Next upcoming Fundraiser was discussed. School Disco – Volunteers noted. The Fundraising Committee will meet to discuss final details of the disco, and prepare roles to equip volunteers with on the night. Disco Note/Permission Slip is being finalised. Disco date has been included in the Newsletter.
Meeting closed 9.45pm.
Next meeting – 10th June 2014 – School Administration Block