Minutes of Last Meeting - 10.07.2006
Present
Peter Robson, Nick Skeet, Neil Bolton, Amanda Fitzgerald, Martin Edmundson, Pauline Reed, Letitia Bradley-Proulx.
Apologies
Julie Duddy, Jackie Parker, Lis Skeet, Sarah Taylor, Pat Evans, Margaret Gill and Julia Robson.
Matters arising from Previous Minutes
None.
Chairman's Report
Peter thanked everyone involved in the Summer Fete especially Lis. He also thanked the huge wealth of helpers, over 70 in all. Peter pointed out we would discuss the fete in more detail later at the meeting but felt the money raised was a fantastic achievement and went a long way towards the Building Blocks Project.
Peter pointed out that this was a quiet period for the PTFA leading up to the holidays but he expected the parents would be busy supporting the school in both the School Play and Sports Day.
Headmaster's Report
None submitted
The Treasurer’s Report
Neil said that he was still working on the final accounts for the Fete but he felt the final figure would be over £3000. He pointed out that the fun Run money was included in the total but this would be being paid out soon. Amanda said that she was hoping Sister Concepta or Father John would collect the cheque for sister Stella and she was arranging for a photographer and someone from the Bath Cancer Charity to come and collect the other cheque. Everyone agreed it was a fantastic result.
A deposit has also been paid for the Town Hall for the St Patrick’s night celebrations next year (any suggestions as to the nature of the celebration are welcome!!).
Events Update
Summer Fete
In the final flurry of raffle draws we realised that the drawing for the bottle of whiskey Mr Loftus was raffling off was forgotten, Peter wanted to make sure that it had in fact gone ahead which it had and the winning person had been contacted.
All the prizes for the grand raffle have also been sent or delivered, however one raffle prize was re-donated and this will be used at a later date.
Neil still had the whiskey for Alf, and also a bottle for Pak who kindly allowed us to put a sign up on the wall of his restaurant at short notice. It is hoped sarah Taylor would give this to him. The fete successfully netted over £3000 pounds and the committee decided to create an Evaluation document which would be a working document and it is hoped others will give their comments so that we can leave a legacy for future fete organisers.
There were lots of suggestions for future fetes from around the table including the possibility of a Midsummer night fete with entertainment, it was felt however we were just a little bit too far off the beaten track to attract enough visitors, this raised the issue as to why our fete had not had a big queue of people waiting to come in but instead a lot their was a steady stream up to 2pm. Other issues that were raised were: The fact someone’s car was hit whilst parked, the addition parking offered at the football ground was not used, the fire engine cancelled at the last minute, the dessert storm tank was great, we can’t up Alf’s involvement, Marshfield ice-cream was expensive, Marshfield ice-cream was good quality and we were supporting local businesses plus we could use the bike to keep the lollies frozen too and the profit margin was the same on the lollies and the Ice-Cream, the raffle tickets were expensive, the raffle prizes were good and deserved the face price of the ticket.
Several people also commented on why the gate price was so cheap (30p) Peter explained we had felt we needed to be sensitive to all these issues but how the fete was also about enjoying and celebrating the school, and that it had been hoped that the raffle tickets at a £1 a piece, if the parents rose to the challenge, would have raised the bulk of the money needed.
Other ideas that were raised were that we needed an events desk, which would also serve as for trouble shooting, a contact with a supermarket procurement team who would allow us to have items on a sale or return basis would help with ordering items in future so that we wouldn’t have the problem of running out of drinks etc.
AGM
Various ideas were put forward to ensure the AGM could lead into an enjoyable evening. We felt it would be nice if we could make a display to illustrate the work carried out using photos. We felt it was important to make sure new people felt welcome but to somehow invite back the parents further up the school.
We thought a quiz night would be fun, and we could run a bar and have a small charge to enter.
Peter also reminded us that he was the lead in the Barn Dance to be held November 18th and that this was to be a family inclusive event. The school have arranged with one of the parents in Reception (Teresa Lynch) to come in to teach some dances to the children, these classes will be held in early in the new school year and whilst there will be a small charge these fees will go towards the Building Blocks Project. Details will be announced soon.
AOB
Neil enquired as to whether £25 was the right amount to give as a donation to St Johns ambulance for attending the fete, this figure was agreed.
A PA system update was given by, and it is hoped that it will be up and working for Sports Day.
The Outdoor Classroom order is pending, the model the school has chosen is a mid-range one and ideally it would have been great to have ordered it before the fete but there was not enough money available to ensure a buffer for the fete costs. the issue of building it ourselves was raised but everyone agreed that the myriad of problems involved with this option would not justify the savings made, it was therefore agreed to get this project moving.
The Transport issue was raised. This issue has been going on for a while starting with the template letter sent form St. Augustines at the beginning of June. This is felt to be a significant issue for so many reasons and has serious effects for St Patrick’s School and is set to affect it’s future. The Governors are to plan a path of Action to follow and find out the situation with regards to the meeting to be held on 5th September.
If funding is not available to bring children into the school from places like Melksham the knock on effect is that there is less funding from Government for the School. The Governors are working towards a Lobby, and the PTFA needs to support both the school and the Governors in fighting this issue. As yet there is no concrete method of attack. How best to address the issue has not yet been decided but it is important to get the true message across as to the fall out from this.
We felt that the wider issues involved have not be highlighted.
We agreed that the PTFA should lobby in its own name and use all the resources and contacts we have including the papers and MP’s. If we do not raise awareness of the issues the future of the School could be at stake, suddenly the School would have too many teachers for the pupil numbers as upto 20% of the pupils would be affected by this decision.
We also felt that the time scale for this action was chosen as it is all taking place over the holidays, (both School and Westminster). The Melksham MP is known for raising local issues on the floor but again time is a factor.
At the meeting in Trowbridge Bob Wilson, when asked about the added pollution the additional cars would create outside of the Schools said “that is not my problem” !! We felt it would be a significant problem and feel that a new petition should be raised not about transport but about the future of the School itself.
Because everyone has such busy lives and time is pressing the idea of an opt out petition was suggested and if the School agrees we thought it was a good solution.
Peter then thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting.
Date of next meeting
Next meeting AGM to be followed by a Quiz Night, to be held at the School September.