Meeting Opened at 7:45Pm

Public School
Parents & Citizens Association / MINUTES
13 March 2013

Meeting opened at 7:45pm

ITEMS / MINUTES
1. Introductory Matters
·  Welcome & Recording of Attendance / Kerri McCaw, Carly Clarke, Tracey Morris, Craig Partridge, Allison Richards, Rebekah Flynn, Caitlin Moroney
·  Apologies / Sally Ross, Michelle Sciberras, Danielle Turner, Liane Buckley
·  Minutes of Last Meeting / The minutes of the previous meeting be taken as read and moved as correct. Moved Rebekah Flynn. Seconded Carly Clarke. CARRIED.
2. Reports
·  Principal / Mr Partridge advised:
·  Merit selection panel is working through the process to fill one of the temporary positions.
·  Playground improvements and are moving along well. Thank you to everyone who has been involved.
·  Hunter River High has had some delays in delivering the cubby house but it should be in place soon. The recent wet weather has raised some concerns about run-off and the placement of the cubby house and whether it will need to be raised off the ground. It should be possible to move the cubby house if required.
·  The assembly on 22 March will include lots of great performances for Harmony Day. Families are invited to have a picnic lunch with the children before the assembly. Year 6 will be holding a stall to raise money for the Year 6 gift.
·  Winter sports trials are on 22 March.
·  Hall improvements – A large screen is to be installed above the stage. The school is looking for a qualified welder to assist with this and will include a request for help in the school newsletter.
·  Bus passes – There has been a blitz on bus passes recently. Children catching the buses need to have their bus passes with them. Mr Partridge was of the understanding that children in Years 3 to 6 could continue using last year’s bus pass. If a child loses their pass parents need to apply to the bus company for a replacement, at a cost of around $10.00.
·  Several parents at the meeting advised their children in those years had brought home a new bus pass this year and the bus passes were a different colour to the previous year.
·  The school cricket team will play Largs at Seaham Park on Thursday 21 March. This is part of a local competition and the team is expected to play another couple of matches this term and three later in the year.
·  Other upcoming events include cross country on 15 March, Athletics carnival on 28 March.
·  School parliament – Ministers have been selected. Parliament will meet in assembly weeks and report at assemblies.
Action items: - Mr Partridge to check
-  if children in Years 3 to 6 received new bus passes.
-  If the footballs in the shed are being regularly pumped up.
·  Treasurer / A Richards advised:
·  Opening balance at 1 February 2013 was $20,718.57
·  Income for February was $1991.08 - $15 membership fees, $1962 uniform sales, $10 fundraising, $4.08 interest
·  Expenses were $371.80 - $75.00 for admin/postage, $96.80 Seaham Signs, $200.00 McCaw family for boat.
·  This gives Cash at bank $22337.85 plus $75.00 unpresented cheque (for audit fees) gives statement balance of $22412.85.
·  There are a number of invoices due soon , including $1350.00 to reimburse the school for concrete and turf, $7689.82 for uniforms, Mothers Day stall invoice and reimbursement for McCaw family for timber and other supplies for garden. After taking these into account, the balance is $11366.83.
·  The P&C also needs to reimburse the school for payment of the CivCon invoice. The school has received the Hunter Water grant money so P&C only needs to pay the balance.
·  Caitlin Moroney to be reimbursed for postage costs.
·  Will contact bank for new cheque book and form for changes in signatory.
·  Canteen Committee / T Morris advised:
·  There are 3 dates where an extra person is required for the roster. These dates have been advertised in the school newsletter.
·  The price list and roster have been updated on the school website.
·  The 1st raffle has been drawn, with Cassie McCumstie, one of the new mums, taking the prize. Another raffle will be drawn towards the end of term.
·  The glass doors of the pie warmer shattered a couple of Mondays ago. No one was injured but lunch orders were late as the prepared food had to be binned due to glass contamination and lunch orders re-done. Thank you to the children for their patience on the day and to everyone involved in the clean-up.
·  A form is being included in the newsletter to compile an email contact list for volunteers.
·  The canteen will be kept locked when not staffed.
·  A special lunch day is planned for the last Wednesday of term with fish burgers and a combo of fish cocktail pieces and wedges. If this is popular these items may be added to the menu in term 2.
Mr Partridge asked if a BBQ could be held or parents be able to order lunch from the canteen on 22 March (the Harmony Day afternoon). This will depend on availability of volunteers. Alternatives may be to bring the special lunch day forward or to sell orange foods and drinks. The canteen will also be open for snacks and drinks.
C Clarke suggested the canteen keys be colour coded.
Action item: T Morris to:
-  Discuss with committee whether to hold a BBQ or bring forward the special lunch day.
-  Organise for the keys and locks to be colour coded.
·  Uniforms / C Clarke advised:
·  A stocktake has been completed and the value of stock on hand is $7774.00. This consists of LW Reid $6272.00, Midford $735.00 and unpaid orders $767.00.
·  Size 10 blue polo shirts and sizes 8, 10 and 12 microfibre jackets need to be ordered as there are none on hand.
·  Stocks of the smaller size bucket hats are also low.
·  Winter orders to the value of $1360.00 have been received which cannot be filled from stock on hand.
·  Another order shouldn’t be required until the end of the year.
·  Rule of thumb has been to keep 20 of each size shirt in stock. (sizes range from 4 to 16)
Motion to spend $1200.00 on uniforms. Moved K McCaw. Seconded C Moroney. CARRIED.
·  Correspondence / C Moroney advised:
Incoming correspondence:
·  Fundraising
o  Signature engravings
o  Make cents fundraising
o  Adidas school fun run – this could be combined with the cross country or a-thon in the future
o  Bakers Delight hot cross bun program (5% of purchase to school if mentioned when purchasing)
o  Show bags.
·  ABC jumping castle hire
·  Royal Far West School P&C requesting donations for Solve It reading tutor program
·  NSW government re school global funding for term 1
·  P&C Journal for Term 1 2013.
Outgoing correspondence:
·  thank you letters and certificates of appreciation, for donations/discounted goods and services for the sensory garden, have been sent to
o  Rainbows End
o  Civcon Water Services
o  Port Stephens Garden Supplies
o  Boral Concrete
o  Brandy Hill Quarry
o  Paul Taylor
o  Heritage Garden Centre
o  H&D Mitre 10
o  Paterson Fern Nursery
·  Letters will shortly be issued to
o  Australian Charities & Non-profit Commission – completed registration form and responsible persons information
o  P&C Federation – annual association record and copy of audited financial reports.
3. General Business and Other Business Arising
·  Action items from last meeting / ·  Reimbursement for laptops - Mr Partridge confirmed the P&C needs to reimburse the school $7000. Payment does not need to made immediately.
·  Class and teacher list - A list of classes and teachers for this year will be included in the Week 7 newsletter.
·  Petition - Mr Partridge confirmed the petition can be mentioned in newsletter and held at office for school community to sign. T Morris advised a copy of the petition has been placed in the canteen and has been circulated to the email list on 9 March with the February minutes. K McCaw will include request to sign petition in the newsletter P&C News section.
·  Toilets –Mr Partridge advised the toilets have been inspected, the dispensers will be replaced with rolls and S Armitage is fixing the door. C Clarke volunteered to assist with frog removal.
·  Portfolios – information about the NSW Teachers Federation ban on student portfolios was included in the Week 5 newsletter.
·  End of year certificates – Mr Partridge advised class graduation certificates will be issued this year.
·  Music program - Expression of interest included with Week 5 newsletter to gauge interest from students and families in expanding the music program.
·  S Armitage to approach Councillor Le Mottee about flashing lights for the crossing. – to be carried forward as update not available
·  Uniform stocktake – completed, refer to uniforms report for details.
·  Sensory garden update / R Flynn & K McCaw advised:
·  Civcon are expected to install the automatic timer in the next week.
·  Thanks to everyone involved in building and installing the boat and seating.
·  Bunnings have been out to look at the garden area and have offered to build some garden beds and edging along paths and to provide items like bird baths, a rain gauge and plants.
·  Fantastic plant donations have and are continuing to come in. These are being looked after but cannot be planted until Bunnings marks out the areas they will be working on.
·  Brandy Hill Garden Society may also make a donation.
·  Approx. 3 cubic metres of weed mat and soft fall are required for the construction zone.
·  Pavers - D Turner approached Premier for costs. Premier cannot supply 2nds and prices dearer than those obtained from Newtech.
·  The quarry may supply crusher dust for the paver base.
Action items:
-  Provide some photos of the trickle stream to Civcon.
-  K McCaw to get prices for weed mat and soft fall for an email vote.
-  R Flynn to get prices of pavers from Newtech.
·  Fundraising / Living Fundraiser:
·  Bags have been issued to the oldest child in each family.
·  Each bag contains 10 items, a mix of vegies, flowers and herbs.
·  Bags may contain a different mix.
·  Payment and unsold items are due back on Friday 22 March 2013. Reminders will be included in the newsletter.
·  Orders for extra items will be filled from unsold stock where possible.
·  Liane Buckley is taking over running of this fundraiser from K McCaw.
Mothers’ Day stall:
·  Order has been placed.
Action item – K McCaw to include full list of items available on the school Facebook page. - Completed.
·  Flashing lights update / Robyn Parker attended a tree planting at Seaham Park on Friday 8 March and then was available to meet with the community at Seaham Shop. K McCaw and R Flynn discussed the crossing with her, giving several examples of other schools in the Maitland and Port Stephens area that have had flashing lights installed, and felt she was very receptive to the concerns raised. Ms Parker was able to observe the amount and nature of the traffic at 3pm.
Ms Parker advised:
·  There has been a survey and assessment of the crossing and based on that assessment, Seaham is 150 on the list of NSW schools waiting for flashing lights to be installed.
·  She will find out how many crossings have flashing lights installed each year, i.e. how long our wait is likely to be.
·  In the interim other options to pursue are changing the crossing type (e.g. from a children’s crossing to a pedestrian crossing) and approaching the traffic management committee to get a traffic management controller (also known as a school traffic supervisor or lollipop person) for both mornings and afternoons.
·  Fete / ·  A fete sub-committee of 3 or 4 people is needed to organise the fete.
·  R Flynn suggested revisiting the ‘unwritten policy’ of only allowing stalls and activities where all profits go to the P&C. A guideline could be that a certain percentage of profits, e.g. 70%, is to be donated. The Junction has the Olive Tree markets and New Lambton included markets with their fete in 2012.
·  Activity suggestions include
o  Dunk the principal (or other teacher or local personality)
o  Slime
o  Plaster painting (e.g. Plaster Party)
o  Face painting, if there are enough volunteers to minimise long queues
o  A Lego building competition
o  Knocking over cans with a Nerf gun
o  Match the teacher to the baby photo
o  Haunted house (this was very successful at the last fete)
·  Items are needed for the silent auction. This has been a big money raiser at previous fetes due to the quality of the items donated.
Action item: K McCaw to include request for expressions of interest to be on the sub-committee in the school newsletter. – Completed. Included in week 7 newsletter, interested persons to contact K McCaw by 5 April.
·  Athlete’s Foot school rewards program / S Armitage advised (by phone):
·  The Athletes Foot at Green Hills sponsors schools by donating $5 to the school for every pair of shoes purchased at the store. The buyer needs to mention the school when purchasing shoes to ensure that the purchase is linked to the school.
Action item: K McCaw to register the school with Athletes Foot and find out more about the program.
·  Bakers’ Delight school program / C Moroney advised:
·  Bakers’ Delight will give a give a percentage of your purchase to your school at a nominated time. Your school needs to be registered and you need to mention your school when making a purchase.
Action item: C Moroney to register the school at Bakers Delight Raymond Terrace.
·  Agenda items / Any items for inclusion in the agenda should be emailed to Kerri McCaw on . Please note there is an underscore between gav and kez.
·  Authority to Sign Cheques / ·  $1350 to school for terms 1 and 2 library donation
·  $1350 to the school for concrete and turf
·  $1128.20 to SMART fundraising (Mothers’ Day stall items)
·  $96.80 to MAPS fundraising (Mothers’ Day stall items)
·  $734.80 to K McCaw for sensory garden expenditure (timber, paint, nails, screws etc for seats)
·  Total $7689.82
Moved K McCaw. Seconded C Clarke. CARRIED.
·  Next Meeting / Wednesday 10 April 2013.

Meeting Closed at 9:15pm.