PTA Minutes, March 15, 2016

MINUTES OF THE MEADOWBROOK PREPARATORY SCHOOL PTA MEETING

HELD ON TUESDAY MARCH 15, 2016

Present:  There were thirty six (36) persons present.  The signed register has been placed on file.

Call to Order:  The meeting was called to order at 7.52 a.m. by the PTA President, Mrs Michelle Isaacs.

Prayer:  The prayer was offered by the Chairman of the School Board, Mr Kez Harrison.

Welcome:  The PTA President welcomed everyone to the second meeting for 2016 and special welcome was extended to parents who were attending a PTA meeting for the first time.  Special welcome was also extended to Dr Tanya Perry, Dental Surgeon and her assistant Samantha Rhule, as well as the Board Chairman and the Principal.  She indicated that Dr Perry would be making a presentation on the care of the teeth.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Dr Tanya Perry, Dental Surgeon who operates from The Smile Centre gave a power point presentation entitled ‘How to Care Your Pearly Whites’.  Following the presentation, a prize was offered to a parent who answered two questions correctly and a prize was presented to the parent who arrived first for the PTA meeting.

The Meadowbrook Preparatory School family expressed their gratitude to Dr Perry and her assistant for the presentation.

Confirmation of Minutes:  Subject to the following amendments, the Minutes of the Meeting of November 17, 2015 were confirmed on a motion by Mr Michael Stewart and seconded by Mrs Sharon Morgan Grindley.

Page 3, paragraph 1, line 1 delete ‘student’ and insert ‘Board Member’

             paragraph 2, change ‘Miss Daley’ to ‘Mrs Daley’

Page 4, paragraph 4, change ‘GISA’ to ‘JISA’

MATTERS ARISING

Closed Circuit Television:  Mr Shane Sterling, offered his assistance  with the adjustment that is required for the CCTV.

Bathroom Repairs:  The Principal reported that the project will be undertaken during the Eater break.

Heritage Breakfast:  The President informed the meeting that twenty four thousand dollars ($24,000.00) was contributed from the money raised from the 2015 Heritage Breakfast towards the purchase of the water cooler.

Christmas Concert 2015:  It was reported that the event was a success.  A total of one hundred and twenty two thousand dollars ($122,000.00) was collected and money is still outstanding.  Congratulations were extended to the teachers and the students for an excellent event.  Special mention was made of the performance by Karen Smith who is a past student of the Meadowbrook Preparatory School.

Evening of Excellence:  The Committee which was established to make plans to host an Evening of Excellence to showcase the talents in the performing arts of the students at both the prep school and high school was reminded that a meeting should be scheduled to commence the planning activities.  The proposed date of April 2016 would not be met and the Planning Committee is to make recommendations for a new date.  Mrs Braham was asked to head the committee.

PTA Blog:  The President advised that the minutes of the PTA meeting will be placed on the Meadowbrook Prep School Blog prior to the next meeting. The address is meadowbrookprepptajamaicablogspot.com.

Parking Area:  The President expressed her gratitude to the parents who assisted in spreading the dirt in the parking area.  She pointed out that there was a challenge when using the area as there were a number of large stones in the dirt.  She proposed that a project be undertaken to remove the stones and level the dirt, this may require the use of a grader.

NEW BUSINESS

PTA Executive:  The President introduced the members of the PTA Executive which was elected at the Annual General Meeting in January 2016.  The members are:

Mrs Michelle Isaacs                 President

Mrs Sharon Morgan Grindley Vice President

Mr Michael Stewart                 Treasurer

Mrs Hopal Brady                     Asst. Treasurer

Mrs Teena Miller                     Secretary

Mrs Karen Swannack              Asst.  Secretary

Miss Tavianna Campbell         Teacher Representative

Mrs Norena Braham                Teacher Representative

Mr Basil Davidson                   Co-opted Member

Mr Ron Francis                        Co-opted Member

Mrs Raquel Duncan                 Co-opted Member

Miss Shakira Campbell                        Co-opted Member

Mr. Wayne Burnside                Co-opted member

Miss Gloria Francis                 Principal

PTA Lyme:  A suggestion was made for a social event to be arranged for an evening of relaxation and fun ‘to build a vibe’ among the teachers and parents.  It was suggested that the event be scheduled for a Friday evening to accommodate as many persons as possible.  The matter is to be further discussed by the PTA Executive.

Board Chairman:  The Board Chairman, Mr Kez Harrison was invited to address the meeting.  He offered congratulations to the PTA Executive on their appointment and the fact that there would be a representative on the Board to put forward recommendations and suggestions from the school body.   He pointed out that in his research he found that prep schools with an active PTA body were more successful than those without one.   He stated that the school can accommodate four hundred and forty (440) students and currently there was an average of one hundred and sixty students(160) enrolled.  He appealed to the parents to assist in growing the school population by inviting other parents to enrol their children in order to improve the school programme.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Sports Day 2016:  One parent expressed his concern with the recently concluded Sports Day.  He stated that some students did not get an opportunity to participate and this could demotivate the children.  He urged the Principal to ensure that in the future there was a better level of participation and communication.

Another parent indicated that some students did not run in their correct classes and noted that the level of organization required improvement.  Further, the individual who did the announcements was a parent whose children had left MPS over five years ago and no current parent was asked whether they were available for those duties.  It was his opinion that parental involvement was lacking.

In responding, the Principal explained that  she had received the report in relation to the student who did not participate and pointed out that the child was listed for participation; however when the race was being announced, the child could not be found.  With regard to the announcement on Sports Day, the Director Mrs Reid was invited to make the announcements, but she invited Mrs Murphy, the past parent to assist.  She indicated that in the future assistance will be sought from current parents prior to looking outside.  Miss Francis advised the meeting that all concerns in relation to Sports will be discussed and addressed.  She asked that parents with concerns submit them to the Parent Representative for the class.

The Principal stated that for Sports Day 2017 the following will be in place:

Ø  Early planning

Ø  Parent involvement

Ø  Students involvement

Ø  Increased communication

The Chairman stated that he also had some concerns and indicated that he will make some recommendations on how Sports Day can be improved.

Parent Concerns:  The following concerns were raised:

Ø  No Art & Craft Teacher

Ø  No Library Sessions

Ø  Students required to pay twenty dollars ($20.00) to make a telephone call from the office

Ø  Parents not notified when there was no Club on Fridays

In her response, the Principal stated that all class teachers have been asked to conduct the Art Class until a teacher is identified.  She indicated that she would carry out an investigation to confirm whether the clubs were being held on Fridays.

GSAT 2016:  The Principal informed the meeting that seventeen (17) students will be sitting the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) on Thursday March 17, 2016 and Friday March 18, 2016.  She noted that she was satisfied with the progress that the children had made and that they were going into the GSAT with an average grade of 90%.  It was her expectation that the students would do well.  The following areas were covered in preparation for the GSAT:

Ø  Mental preparation

Ø  Extra lessons after school

Ø  Saturday classes (inclusive of marathons)

Ø  Meeting with Principal twice weekly

Ø  Involvement of Parents

Mr Sterling commended MPS on the support provided for the GSAT students and indicated that he would be willing to provide assistance in whatever way he could.

Mrs Brady used the opportunity to ‘BIG UP’ Miss Jennifer Sutherland on the awesome job that she was doing with the Grade Six students to get them ready for the exam.  She noted that Miss Sutherland was at school very early in the mornings and left late in the evenings to ensure that the lessons were imparted.

The Principal issued an invitation to the Grade Six parents to attend devotion on Wednesday March 16, 2016 where a special service will be held for them. 

School Closure:  Miss Francis informed the meeting that there will be no school for students in Reception to Grade Five on Thursday March 17, 2016 and Friday March 18, 2016.  However, students, with the exception of Grade Six, must report to school on Monday March 21, 2016 and school will close for the Easter break on Tuesday March 22, 2016.

Fundraising 2016:  The President informed the meeting that the bank account was extremely low and asked for suggestions for fund raisers.  The following suggestions for fundraising were put forward:

·         Cake Sale

·         Wacky Hat Day

·         Breakfast on the Go (fruits, cereal bar, juice)

Lapathon: The Principal advised the meeting that the annual lapathon is scheduled for Saturday April 9, 2016 at Emancipation Park.  The event will start at 6.00 a.m. and will end at 8.00 a.m.  Sponsorship sheets have been given to the students to seek donation for the event.  Parents were encouraged to support the event.

Meadowbrook Games 2016:  Meadowbrook Games 2016 will take place on Saturday April 30, 2016 at Jamaica College.  Information will be communicated to parents leading up to the event.

PTA Meetings:  The President asked the parents whether they were satisfied with the meeting being held in the morning or if it would be better to convene the meetings in the evenings.  Some parents suggested that it be moved to the evening in an effort to increase the attendance.  It was the view of other parents that the same individuals that attend the morning meetings would be the same ones attending the evening meetings.  It was proposed that a note be sent home with the students to determine whether the meeting should be convened in the mornings or in the evenings.

Prior to the end of the meeting, the teachers in attendance were presented with a token from the PTA President.

Adjournment:   There being no further matters for discussion, the meeting was terminated at 9.16 a.m.

END