Minutes PTA meeting of 25th September 2001

Minutes of a meeting held on Tuesday, 25th September 2001, at Rua Real Grandeza 99, Rio de Janeiro.

Present: In the absence of Lúcia Damázio the meeting was chaired by Flávia Rodrigues (FR).
Committee Present: Bia Sena (BS), Cynthia Fraga (CF), Flávia Miranda Corrêa (FMC), Flávio Lopes (FL), Jane Robertson (JR), Jenny Byers (JB), Kátia Salen (KS), Paola Fox (PF), Ralph Jennings (RJ), Regina Helena Camargo (RHC), Virgínia Días (VD), and several other parents.

Apologies: Ana Cecïlia Meireles, Lúcia Damázio, Márcia de Luca, Karla Taylor.

Circulation: P.Wiseman, T. Pientznauer, G.Pollard, L.Dimmock, S. Clayton, C. Ribeiro

Item		Action
1. Matters arising from the previous meeting	Insurance - Since the last meeting a proposal from Mony Consultoria has been put forward via email around the PTA group, to incorporate a school fee insurance policy into the monthly fees. The low price of the premium, around R$12 per month, would only apply if the whole school adheres to the scheme, therefore the only way to ensure this would be to add it to the monthly fees. This obviously needs to be decided by Paul Wiseman and the School Board, so a proposal will be put together and forwarded to them for inspection. PTA donations - We are awaiting a reply from the school as to how our donations would best be spent. LATASA - We are awaiting a reply from the school as to whether the recycling project will be accepted, with a view to starting it in February. Website - The website is ready and the banner is already up at the school. Magnets are being made and will be distributed shortly. Non-uniform day - This will be held on October 1st, donations of R$2 per child to be collected by the class teacher.	Lúcia Damazio is forwarding proposal The School The School LD, JB, FL, FR to meet at 9am -collect cash from teachers
2. Events	Halloween Volunteers are needed for the bar and other games. The entrance fee will be R$3 per car. NB. Since the meeting Lucia has also asked for donations of food to be brought in lieu of payment. KT will amend the flyer accordingly. Prices will be the same as for Founder's Day except for the fishing and the hoopla. A slightly higher price will enable us to buy a better quality of prize. The cost of the flyer was approved at R$628 for 2000. The banner is up outside Thompson and a letter will go home to parents this week asking for sponsorship and help. A list of toys and sideshows contracted was circulated and a draught of the flyer, which looks lovely. Dinner Dance - Neither Maura nor Mayra were present to explain the quotes received from possible venues for the party so nothing could be decided. FL would like to see a proper budget drawn up for this and other events, in order to be better prepared in the event of cancellation.	RJ will recruit adults for the bar and students to help out with the games MX, ML to present proposals a.s.a.p.
3. Donation Week	Once again almost nothing is coming in from Urca and several parents have said their children feel awkward about bringing the donations as there is still nowhere obvious to leave them and hardly anyone else does it. Children at Urca have been told "Just leave it in my office" which is hardly encouraging. Even some children at Botafogo feel they are in the minority by bringing donations. It is felt that the teachers need to be encouraged to make the act of donating something worthwhile and fun. If community work is to be part of the curriculum then it is up to the teaching staff to relay the message appropriately. RJ undertook to reorganise the collections via the tutor groups at Urca. He will try to get the tutors to be more enthusiastic too. PF and VD will try to implement more adoptions next year as it is felt this is more personal and the children get more involved. Class 5 has one child per class and it seems they are having some problems keeping the donations up to the required level.	RJ to talk to tutors PF to talk to Lygia
4. Other business	School Photos. FR brought up the subject of the change in photographer this year. She felt that if the school was going to change a procedure which involves the parents so directly, since they pay for the photos, then the school should have consulted with the PTA. JB> added that individual photographs at Urca appeared to be optional this year, so her son had not had one taken. If there is going to be an option, then it should at least be the PARENTS' option, not the child's. RJ thought a letter had gone out but JB> received nothing. Mochila triangle??It was generally agreed that the PTA would like to have been consulted, and that the children should all be photographed if the parents are not going to be consulted. School days. Stephanie Crockett (SC) brought up the subject of the number of school days in the year, which she felt must be below the requirement. It is generally assumed that the school is working within the law on this point although there was no means of checking this. SC added that the extended half term break followed by two days of Parent/Teacher consultations seemed to be extremely badly organised. This is especially true for the Botafogo children who go back to school for one day and then have another day off. The danger is that some people will just take the whole week off, and the fragmented week will be somewhat useless anyway. There was general agreement on this point and the PTA's opinion will be voiced officially. Food. SC raised a complaint about the school menus. She feels strongly that there is too much carbohydrate, too much junk food and too many sweet desserts. After some discussion and explanation about how the catering works, it was felt that in the absence of a qualified nutritionist it was impossible to decide whether the menu was really too high in carbohydrates. It was suggested that an independent nutritionist be consulted, and if it is found that the menu is badly balanced, the PTA should take its concerns to Sodexho. KS indicated that she could obtain such a report. RHC suggested a breakfast meeting on the subject so that Sodexho and parents can have the opportunity for discussion and this was agreed unanimously. Letters home. The point about PTA letters to parents having to be approved by Lesley Dimmock was again raised. It seems a parent sent an unofficial letter home a while back which was nothing to do with the PTA, but which has meant that the directive has been reinstated. Various solutions were discussed; none was agreed, as the perennial problem is that it takes too long for approval to come back. Lucia D to try and find a solution with Lesley/PW etc.	RJ to check on letter PF, VD to write a letter KS to get another, independent opinion RHC to organise meeting LD, senior management

The other items on the agenda were deferred to the next meeting when Lúcia Damázio will be back. They are:

AGM 2002
Extra-curricular activities 2002
Change of Statutes

There being no other business, the meeting was closed at 9.10 pm.

Next meeting: Tuesday 30th October 2001, 7 pm.

JB 05/10/01

Back to Minutes of PTA Meetings