PTA Minutes Tuesday, September 22, 2015

MINUTES OF THE MEADOWBROOK PREPARATORY SCHOOL

PTA MEETING

Held on TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2015

Present:
There were sixty one (61) persons in attendance. A register was taken and has been placed on file.

Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7.40 a.m. by Mrs Michelle Isaacs.

Prayer
Following the chorus “There’s a Sweet Sweet Spirit in This Place”, the prayer was offered by the Principal, Miss Gloria Francis.

Welcome
The PTA Secretary, Mrs Michelle Isaacs, extended welcome to everyone and a special welcome to the new parents, Director, Principal and teachers to the first meeting for the academic year 2015-2016. She informed the meeting that the PTA President, Rev. Sadikie Lyttle Forbes had migrated and she would be acting in the position until the Annual General Meeting takes place in January 2016, at which time a new PTA Executive would be elected.

Apologies
Apologies for absence were tendered on behalf of the Vice President Mrs Karla Francis and the Assistant Secretary Miss Shakira Campbell who had work commitments.

Heritage Trust Fund
Ms Joan Buchanan from Heritage Trust Fund made a presentation on the offerings from her institution. She highlighted the benefits of saving for our children’s tertiary education through the Heritage Trust Fund.

Confirmation of Minutes
Subject to the following amendments, the Minutes of the Meeting of June 2, 2015 were confirmed on a motion by Mrs Gwyneth Davidson and seconded by Mr Arnaldo Bolt.

Page 2, paragraph 2, line 2 – change ‘The stated the following’ to ‘He stated the following’
Paragraph 3, line 5 – change ‘find’ to ‘fund’


MATTERS ARISING
CCTV: The meeting was informed that there was a balance of Sixty Three Thousand, nine hundred and sixty dollars ($63,960.00) to be paid for the CCTV. Mrs Isaacs indicated that funds would have to be raised for the final payment to be made to Inter Global Technology. She also stated that the camera in the parking lot had not yet been grilled and the assistance of the parents was being sought in raising the funds to complete the project.

Bathroom Repairs: The repairs have not yet been carried out in the bathrooms. Mrs Isaacs noted that an offer was made to do the work free of cost, by a parent who is a plumber. The offer has not yet been taken up. A check will be made of the items that were donated and exactly else would be needed.

Grade 3 Diagnostic Test: The meeting was informed that there was full mastery for the Grade Three Diagnostic Test which was administered in June 2015.
School Fee: There was an increase of seven thousand dollars ($7,000.00) in the school fee with took effect from September 2015.

GSAT Data Analysis: Mrs Isaacs expressed gratitude to the three parents who had volunteered to analyse GSAT data along with the Principal, in order to create a flyer for the promotion of the school. The flyer was created and has been placed on the Meadowbrook Preparatory School website.

Special Needs Class: The advertisement/promotion of the special needs class has not been done, as additional work is to be carried out.

The school was congratulated on the advertisement that was placed in the print media following the release of the GSAT results in June 2015.

PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE
The Principal, Miss Gloria Francis, used the opportunity to welcome all new parents to the MPS family and expressed her hope for a long and rewarding experience.

Prize giving: The prize giving ceremony was held on July 2, 2015 where twenty nine (29) students graduated.

GSAT 2015: Twenty nine students sat the GSAT exam. The results are outlined below:
13 achieved averages of 90 – 98%
9 achieved averages of 80 – 89%
4 achieved averages of 70 – 79%
3 achieved averages of 60 – 69%



Teachers Workshop: There was a workshop during the first week of September on the following:
i. The teaching of Mathematics and
ii. Assessment in teaching

The Principal stated that MPS will place more emphasis on the improvement of academics in all classes going forward.

Grade Four Literacy 2015: All students achieved full mastery in the 2015 Grade Four Literacy Test.

Performing Arts: Meadowbrook Preparatory School continues to excel in the performing arts. There were five (5) entries in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission dance competition where the school won two (2) gold medals, two (2) silver medals and one (1) bronze medal.

Extra-Curricular Activities: The school will be offering a number of extra-curricular activities during the 2015-2016 academic year including chess, dance, spelling, track and field, school challenge quiz and steel band. Karate has been added to the list and the cost will be circulated.

Two students will participate in the Annual Gleaner Spelling Bee competition in October 2015.

Pick Up: Miss Francis reiterated that following dismissal, teachers are asked to remain with the students for a one hour period. At the end of that hour, if students have not been picked up, they are sent outside to play where they are unsupervised. Parents were urged to pick up their children in a timely manner.
School Enrolment: The enrolment is currently at one hundred and forty five (145) students and of this amount, twenty eight (28) were new students. Six (6) students transitioned from the Pre-School to the Prep School. The average class size is twenty two (22) students.

School Secretary: The meeting was advised that Mrs Harvey, the school Secretary, had submitted her resignation letter, so the school will need to hire a Secretary to fill the position.

Pre-School: The Meadowbrook Pre-School celebrated its first year of operation on September 1, 2015. It was pointed out that daily rates were available for parents who were interested.

MPS 55th Anniversary: The school will celebrate its 55th anniversary in January 2016 and a number of activities are being planned. Parents were invited to assist with the planning of the events.

Back to School Church Service: As is customary, Meadowbrook United Church will host a special church service on Sunday September 27, 2015 at 10.30 a.m. All parents and students are invited to attend and students should be dressed in their uniform.


The Director Mrs Winsome Reid was invited to bring greetings. Mrs Reid extended a warm welcome to all parents, returning and new, and urged parents to continue to provide the positive support that was exhibited throughout the last school year. She noted that parents played a critical role in ensuring that the school improves. Mrs Reid stated that at the start of operation at the Meadowbrook Pre-School, ten (10) students
were enrolled and seven (7) have transitioned to the Prep School. Since September 2014, the number of students enrolled in the Pre-School has doubled. She indicated that a new project would be announced following its approval by the School Board.

In closing, Mrs Reid encouraged parents to continue to make Meadowbrook Prep the school of choice and to make recommendations to friends and family.

NEW BUSINESS
Mrs Isaacs advised that there were two events on the school calendar for the Christmas Term – (i) Heritage Breakfast and (ii) Christmas Concert. She explained that the Heritage Breakfast was first held in October 2014 to raise funds for the purchase of the CCTV.

Heritage Breakfast: Mrs Isaacs admitted that the pre-ordering did not flow as smoothly as anticipated but assured the meeting that the upcoming event would be better organized. Parents were encouraged to place orders ahead of the event but this did not happen. For 2015, orders which are placed in advance will be handled before orders placed on the day of the event. The proposed date for the Heritage Breakfast is October 30, 2015 and the cost for the tickets will remain at $500.00, provided that parents assist by contributing items.

The following parents volunteered to assist with the planning of the event:
Ron Francis Domonique Lewis Rosemarie Heath Sharon Swaby
Mrs Grindley Paulette McKay Karen Swannack Ms Drysdale
Mrs Fox Morris Miss T. Campbell (Teacher Rep.)


Heritage Celebrations: Miss Campbell informed the meeting that the school would be hosting its Heritage Celebrations on Friday October 16, 2015. The event will commence with a concert. There will be sampling of different foods as well as fun and games in the school yard. The theme for this year is ‘Out of Many One People’

Christmas Concert: The second fundraising event for the Christmas Term will be the Christmas Concert on December 10, 2015. Parents were urged to support this event which is usually an excellent one.

Evening of Excellence: The school will provide an opportunity for students to showcase their talents during an Evening of Excellence which will be planned for April 2016. Meadowbrook United Church and Meadowbrook High School will be invited to perform. The following parents volunteered to assist with the planning of the event:
Teena Miller, Claudette Pious, Hopal Brady.

Stephanie Butterfield Miss Gloria Francis (Principal) Miss T. Campbell (Teacher Rep.)

Mrs N. Braham (Teacher Rep.)


Grade Representatives: Each class is required to select a grade representative and those individuals will sit on the PTA Executive. The selection should take place during the Grade meetings which are scheduled for October 2015.


PTA Executive: Mrs Isaacs advised that there were a number of vacancies on the PTA Executive and encouraged parents to offer their services when the election is called in January 2016 at the Annual General Meeting.

1. President position vacant 
2. Vice President Karla Francis
3. Public Relations Officer position vacant
4. Treasurer position vacant
5. Secretary Michelle Isaacs
6. Asst. Secretary Shakira Campbell
7. Teacher Representative Tavianna Campbell

Co-opted Member Gwyneth Davidson
Co-Opted Member Ron Francis

With regard to the vacant posts, Michelle Isaacs will act in the post of President and Shakira Campbell will act in the post of PR Officer.


Special thanks were extended to Mrs Hillary Davis and Mrs Gwyneth Davidson for monitoring the MPS website and blog. The blog can be accessed at meadowbrookpreptajamaica.blogspot.com.


ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Parking: Parents were again reminded to use the parking area when they are dropping off or picking up the children. The danger of parking on the sidewalk outside of the school was emphasized, particularly for individuals exiting the school compound.


GSAT Teacher: Special thanks and commendations were extended to the GSAT Teacher, Miss Sutherland, for the tremendous work that was done with the students.


School Capacity: There was a concern that the school population at Meadowbrook Preparatory School had fallen below 50% of the total capacity. Reference was made to another prep school where the numbers had also dwindled but the school took the decision to lease/rent a portion of the school property in order to earn an income. The question was put forward as to what was the vision for improving the number of students for the school.

The Principal advised that there is a marketing plan in place and asked that parents assist in the marketing of the school.


Positive School Vibes: Parents were urged to have constant dialogue with the teachers and in the event that there was a problem, it should be addressed quickly to prevent it from becoming a calamity. Further, all parents were encouraged to continue to build a positive vibe at the school, as it has been said that Meadowbrook Preparatory School is ‘The Best School Ever’ based on a comment from a past parent.


In closing the meeting, Mrs Isaacs used the opportunity to express her gratitude on behalf of the Parent Teachers Association to the former PTA President Rev. Sadekie Lyttle Forbes and former Treasurer Raquel Chin, for their contribution to the Meadowbrook Preparatory school and the PTA Executive. She wished both individuals all the best in their new endeavours.


Adjournment
The meeting ended at 8:50 a.m. on a motion moved by Mr Ron Francis and seconded by Mrs Teena Miller.


Recorded and prepared by Mrs Teena Miller

Give Your Child The Tools To Succeed - Come to Meadowbrook Prep School

The Constitution of the Meadowbrook Prep School PTA

THE CONSTITUTION OF MEADOWBROOK PREP SCHOOL PTA

Click the aims and objectives to download the entire constitution of the Meadowbrook Prep PTA.

PTA Minutes - June 2 2015

Meadowbrook Preparatory School

PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATION MEETING

 DATE: June 2, 2015

MINUTES

PERSONS PRESENT:

Forty-five (45) persons were in attendance.  A register was taken and is on file.

CALL TO ORDER 

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:45 am.by President S. Little Forbes who also said a prayer.

 

APOLOGIES

There were no apologies for absence.

READING, CORRECTION & CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

The move for the confirmation of the minutes was made by Mrs. Teena Miller and seconded by Mrs. Sadekie Lyttle-Forbes.

WELCOME

Welcome was extended to all by the President. A special welcome was given to Mr. Kez Harrison, the newly elected Chairman of the School Board.
 
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

CCTV Project

The camera in the parking lot has to be grilled.  Tags are being sold for $2000 per person to raise funds for this project.  Corporate sponsors have been contacted.

Stakeholder’s questionnaire

Regarding the repairs to the bathrooms, $48,000 worth of equipment and paint will be needed.    A parent who is a plumber has offered to do the job free of cost.

Principal Update

Ms. Francis thanked the parents for the support given throughout the school year.

July 2^nd will be the official end of the schoolyear. Some students will go off before.

To date, $132,000 were collected from the lapathon.  The Principal would have loved to see some more parents there and so she asked parents to prepare for next year’s event.

Development meet: It was a good day. Seventeen (17) schools participated.

Inter-school Prep. Champs was May 30, 2015. 25 students entered.  MPS went to three semi-finals and entered in the final events.  Overall, the boys placed 23^rd out of 60 schools and the school placed 28^th on the final day.  Ms. Francis implored parents to turn out to these events to support the students.

Grade 3 Diagnostic Test will be administered June 9-10.

Parents were reminded to assist the student in preparing for their end of year test so that they can get a good report card. In the future the students may need to get a report or recommendation from the school and their report cards will be used to provide same.

Prize giving will be on June 26 for Grades 1-4.  Prize giving and Valedictory Service will be on July 2, for Grades 5 & 6.  Report cards will be distributed on July 7. Registration of new students is ongoing.  Parents are being asked to promote the school so that the population can be increased in the new school year.

The school will be competing in five events at the Nestle Schools Swimming Championships June 5, 2015.

Ms. Francis expressed thanks for the support given to the May Fair.

NEW BUSINESS

1.       Increase in School Fee
Mr. Kez Harrison congratulated the PTA for its involvement in the life of the school.  He proceed to give the background for the need to increase the school fee. The stated the following:

The school has been running a deficit.  It costs JA$49 million dollars to run the school for one year. Seven million of that is used for swimming, the canteen, pre-school and the Tuck Shop. The remaining $42M will have to be provided by the 180 students currently enrolled. This means that it costs $233,000 per child per year or $78,000 per child per term.  The current school fee of $60,000 is therefore inadequate to provide for each child each term, (a deficit of $18,000 per student per term).

This means that statutory deductions are not paid over in time.  He is aware of the difficulty some parents face in paying school fee and highlighted the fact that special payment plans have been worked out with parents.

He agreed that moving the school fee from $60,000 to $78, 000 is not realistic.  He pointed out that if there were more students in the school, the deficit would be reduced.  He also pointed out that if the PTA and the school could do more find raising, then the deficit could also be reduced.

A healthy discussion ensued. Suggestions of $69,000 with an extracurricular activity, $65,000 and $67,000 were made.   It was also suggested that an incentive could also be given to parents who bring in another student.  Mr. Harrison will take the suggestions back to the School Board where the final decision will be made.

It was also suggested that much more advertising of the school should be done. The strategies could include distributing flyers to household in the Meadowbrook & Havendale communities, parents distributing same at their work places and in their communities and the use of social media.   It was stressed by the parents that important information on the school such as its ranking with other institutions should be made available to prospective parents. The school needs to build on its product then do the marketing.  Three parents, Ms. Arthurine Miller, Mrs. Stewart and Mr. Basil Davidson volunteered to sit with the Principal and pull the relevant data to use in promoting the school.  The information gathered could be emailed to parents who would then post it on social media.

It was pointed out that the support of parents for the fund raising activities planned would be critical.
 
2.       Special needs students.
Ms. Small was commended for the excellent job she was doing with these students.  It was suggested that the school considers this as a formal program and advertise it.
 
3.       Summer School
Summer school will run for three weeks.  The cost will be $10,000 for 3 weeks if payment is made in full or $4000 per week.

ADJOURNMENT

With their being no other business on the minds of the parents except the impending school fee increase, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 a.m. on a move made by Ms. Tracy Ann Robinson and seconded by Mrs Shana Swaby.

Recorded & prepared by: O. Michelle Isaacs- Secretary

RESULTS FROM PTA STAKEHOLDERS EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

RESULTS FROM PTA STAKEHOLDERS EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

Grade
Grade		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	1.00	7	20.6	20.6	20.6
	2.00	8	23.5	23.5	44.1
	3.00	7	20.6	20.6	64.7
	5.00	2	5.9	5.9	70.6
	6.00	4	11.8	11.8	82.4
	Multiple	6	17.6	17.6	100.0
	Total	34	100.0	100.0

The majority of the parents in attendance at the meeting where the data was gathered are from lower school – grades 1-3, accounting for 65% of the parents.  Twenty four percent (24%) of the parents have children in Grade 2, 21% were from Grade 1 and 3 respectively. Eighteen percent (18%) had children in multiple grades, while 12% were parents of Grade 6 children. Noticeably no grade 4 parents were in attendance at the meeting.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE DECISION TO ENROLL CHILD AT MEADOWBROOK PREPARATORY SCHOOL

The main factor that influenced most parents sending their child/children to Meadowbrook was the closeness of the school to their home (26/34-76%). The other two major factors were cost of fees (13/34) and recommendation of parents (13/34-38%). Quality of GSAT passes seemed to have a lesser impact, however, since the only 6 of the parents had children in that grade this should be interpreted carefully.

Other factors listed by parents for their child’s enrollment are as follows:

1.      Provision of an after care service

2.      Association with the UCJCI**

3.      The fact that it was a church school**

4.      How the children express themselves and their use of English

5.      Alma mater

6.      Overall achievement of the students

7.      Ability to work closely with teachers

8.      Only school that had a vacancy at the time

EXPERIENCE OF THE SCHOOL’S ATMOSPHERE

The parents provided their assessment of the school’s atmosphere.

1.      A very clean environment. The teachers are accessible and engaging and the children are well behaved**

2.      For the most part, safe clean, conducive to learning and reasonably accommodating *****

3.      Child centred and very family oriented.

4.      Warm*********

5.      Excellent, good, very good

6.      Generally good but I have some concerns about how the children are spoken to by the teachers and the quality of the toilets

7.      School is calm, member of staff focused and friendly

8.      It has been one that is family oriented. Teachers and staff are friendly and accommodating

9.      It has been wonderful

10.  It’s been Ok***

11.  Loving caring environment for children, committed classroom teachers but parents not friendly with each other

12.  My expectation has been met and my child is excelling

13.  My experience has been generally positive. The few areas of concern that have come up have been addressed by the Administration to my satisfaction

14.  Pleasant, homely, spiritual

15.  Staff is courteous

16.  The atmosphere is good. I feel comfortable and the child is comfortable

17.  Teachers and atmosphere are very warm

18.  Very good, I don't regret sending my child here

RATING OF INTERACTION WITH ADMINISTRATION OF THE SCHOOL

Rating of Office Staff

The majority rated their experience as excellent (47%).

Rating of Principal

The majority rated their experience as excellent (41%).

Rating of Director

The majority rated their experience as good (41%).

Rating of Teachers

More than half of the parents rated their experience with the teachers as excellent (53%).

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

1.      Bathrooms**** 2.      Better organization of some extra-curricular activities 3.      Communication 4.      Consistency in after school activities 5.      Cooperation of parents with homework 6.      Greater parent engagement 7.      Have younger people on the board 8.      Language programme French and Spanish needs consistency 9.      Lunch needs more variety 10.  More extra-curricular activities*** 11.  More sporting activity 12.  Paved parking area 13.  Rules of the school to be known to the parents 14.  Some children need to speak standard English 15.  Sport day, more variety 16.  The chairs need to be repaired or changed 17.  Top management to be more visible and engaged 18.  Upgrading facilities especially inside classrooms

19.  Better play area-grass area instead of concrete 20.  children need to be more competitive 21.  better transparency with fundraising in terms of how much is raised and exactly what it will be used for 22.  Do more features on local TV highlighting achievements. Engage in PR activities that raise the profile and image of the School 23.  Frequency of bathroom cleaning during the day 24.  Getting students more involved in 4H and Brownies 25.  More vegetables and less rice in lunches 26.  Parking lot 27.  Security 28.  Continuous upgrade of teacher quality and teaching technique 29.  Incentives when raising funds for the school 30.  Reduce cost of energy

 FACTORS THAT MAY BE AFFECTING STUDENT POPULATION

From the parents perspective the following factors may be influencing student performance

1.      Lack of advertisement on the school's performance******

2.      Perception that there is quality/better teaching elsewhere****

3.      Fees***

4.      Bullism

5.      Director and Principal's attitude towards parents and staff

6.      Lack of participation of all parents

7.      More energized leadership

8.      Persons in an around the community are not aware of this great school and have not utilized the opportunity

9.      Quality of teaching at some grades

10.  School is not properly promoted

11.  Location

12.  Size of compound

13.  Uncertain

14.  More GSAT passes

COMMENDATIONS

The parents felt that Meadowbrook should be commended for the following:

1.      Creative and performing arts****

2.      Extra-curricula activities****

3.      Christian related activities ***

4.      Dancing***

5.      Parent-teacher interaction ***

6.      Academic performance**

7.      GSAT Results*

8.      Caring environment for children

9.      Cultural Education

10.  Curriculum well rounded

11.  Development and grooming of students is wholesome

12.  Devotion

13.  Excellent  teachers

14.  Professionalism

15.  The school is clean

16.  Easy to interact with teachers