Parent Council meeting and AGM – 21.9.15
Our Parent Council met as arranged this week on Monday 21.9.15. This meeting also incorporated the AGM.
During the AGM the following positions were agreed –
Chairperson – Colin Rodger
Secretary – Caroline Devlin
Thank you to Colin and Caroline for agreeing to continue in these posts.
Treasurer – Jo-Anne Russell
Thank you to Jo-Anne for taking on this role which was previously undertaken by Julie Dempsey. My thanks go to Julie for her commitment to this role and for her contribution to the Parent Council and the school in general in recent years.
We have been delighted to welcome some new members this session and would happily welcome more. The Parent Council is keen to swell its numbers in order that there is a bigger pool of volunteers to support school events throughout the year. There are six meetings per session which last a maximum of two hours and thereafter parents attend other school events eg providing refreshments at school events including concerts.
A number of issues were discussed at Monday’s meeting including fundraising and transport issues.
Fundraising
Our Parent Council is always keen to support the school by undertaking fundraising events and is keen to explore new ways of raising funds. Any ideas would be most welcome. Please feel free to e mail or call the school with new ideas. Following the suggestion of the Parent Council I have met with members of our S6 Leadership Team to discuss some of the suggestions made by parents and ask for the pupils’ ideas on new ways of fundraising .
Safety on school buses
If your child travels on a school bus, you will no doubt be aware that there have been some operational issues due to contract changes which have occurred. We continue to liaise with SPT to iron out these issues and ensure arrangements run smoothly in the future.
The Parent Council did raise a concern regarding the wearing of seatbelts on our school buses. Having had concerns about this issue in the past, the Parent Council had looked in to the matter and learned that it is not a legal requirement for pupils to wear seatbelts. Clearly though as we all wear seatbelts in cars we are aware of the importance of wearing seatbelts so I would ask all parents to encourage their children to use them at all times on the school buses.
I have asked that this issue is raised with pupils in Tutor Groups and assemblies and have also asked the Leadership Team to encourage S6 pupils to be good role models on the buses by using seatbelts and also encouraging younger pupils where possible.