Ata da Reunião do PTA de 03 de junho de 2002

Minutes of a meeting held on Monday, 3rd June 2002 , at Rua Real Grandeza 99, Rio de Janeiro.

Present:
Executive Committee: Jenny Byers (JB), Lúcia Damázio (LD), Susan Malpas (SM), Debra Platt (DP), Roberto Steinfeld (RS).
Subcommittees: Lizanka Marinheiro (LM), Jeanne Levier (JL), Ana Cecilia Meirelles (ACM)
Also present: Edison A. Silva

Apologies: Cynthia Fraga , Karla Taylor

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

Item		Action
1. Matters arising from the previous meeting	Judo and Capoeira A survey at Urca has revealed that no one is interested in Judo or Capoeira at this time. It was felt that too much time may have elapsed for this year's Class 6, but that this year's Class 5 should be surveyed at the end of Term 2, before they go to Urca, to see who might be interested in carrying on. Chess JB has emailed the chess federation and is awaiting an answer. Drugs talk Luciana Ribeiro had met with Geoff Pollard and it was agreed to organise talks by the people LR is recommending on two separate evenings. There has been some discussion on whether to have the talks at Urca or Botafogo. Preliminary dates were booked at Botafogo, however no notice has gone out yet and it is felt that time is moving on. After some discussion the meeting agreed to propose new dates for Term 2, at Urca, so that the dates can get into the term calendar and there will be plenty of time to publicise the event. Barra project LD reported on what she feels is a significant amount of resistance to the project. JL agreed. There seems to be widespread concern that the money and effort that is supposed to be going into Botafogo and Urca, will instead go into Barra. There is also concern that the Headmaster and perhaps others will be too stretched by the added burden of a new school. SM said that some of these questions were fully dealt with in the Board's letter, however it was pointed out that the letter was only sent in English, and the majority of parents either do not read in English, or may miss some of the meaning. There was lengthy discussion on whether the best answer would be to arrange a breakfast meeting, an evening meeting or to send the letter in Portuguese. SM informed that a Development Talk was planned for next term. JB felt that once again, if the talk was to be only in English, many parents might not come. It was felt that Simon Clayton's spoken Portuguese is fluent enough to answer any questions or explain any points that might arise. No final decision was reached and SM will discuss with the Head and the Board. Jubilee stall PTA will do the fishing stall, using remaining prizes from Founder's Day. We will also hire the Trenzinho Come-Come which provides a good variety of food for children, and Sorvete Italia. Volunteers are urgently needed to man the stalls. JL volunteered. LD will send an email appeal for more helpers.	Yanira to coordinate with Geoff Pollard JL to liaise with LR, GP SM LD
2. Events	Accounts are not ready from FDF as the Treasurer is waiting for the bill from Sodexho. However due to reduced numbers profit is expected to be well down on last year.
3. Finance	Following the recent fiasco over the bank account, and considering how far away the branch is, it was decided that a new PTA account would be opened. The school has an account at HSBC on the R. Voluntarios da Patria, so RS will try to set up an account there.	RS
4. Extra-curricular activities	There has a series of problems involving the Drama teacher and after some discussion it was decided not to have her again next term. There are only eight children doing Drama, and it is felt that there might be more but for the personality of the teacher. Jane Anderson will be approached to see if she has any suggestions for a replacement.	Yanira
5. Any other business	Security A nursery mother has expressed concern over the security in Rua da Matriz. It seems she was the victim of an attempted robbery, and she feels that this is due to several factors: 1) The policeman on duty in the road is more concerned with issuing traffic fines to people who have parked badly while trying to collect their children 2) The school's doormen are chatting to each other and not paying any attention to what's happening. LD had forwarded the mother's email to the Head and administration, and the reply has been that an extra doorman will be put on duty to keep an eye out. There was lengthy discussion about the ideal solutions to this problem, which may not in fact be all that significant anyway. No one at the meeting was in favour of having armed security or policemen at the school gate. It was suggested that the local PM could be asked if they would do a round twice a day at the appropriate time, to act as a deterrent. SM also suggested meeting with CET Rio to discuss possible changes in traffic and parking regulations. Until then however, it was agreed that the new scheme with an extra porter would be tried, and given the physique of the person in question, it was felt he would be sufficient deterrent to any petty criminal working in the area! Mother trees JB brought up the subject of the class lists, which has gone quiet due to preparations for Founder's Day. Cynthia Fraga and Karla Taylor will be working on this again. Communication at Urca JB brought up the question of delivery of notices at Urca. She had talked to four different people in Classes 6, 9 and 10 at Urca, all with different tutors, and none of them had brought home either the PTA notices asking for donations and help with FDF, or the FDF flyer itself. A fifth child had seen the flyers "around the school", but had not been aware of them being given out in his tutor group, although he is not the family courier (having a younger sibling). It has been confirmed that the notices were all sent to Urca, and the question is, what happens to them when they get there, and can the situation be tackled, yet again? Uniform RS brought up the subject of the continuing lack of enforcement of correct school uniform. In spite of the letter which went home a few months ago, children (or parents) are still bending rules, and getting away with it. There was some discussion about how to tackle this…can children be sent home or turned away at the door for wearing the wrong uniform? There was a distinct feeling that parents would not tolerate this "zero tolerance" attitude from the school, which gave rise to points about why people choose the British School in the first place - i.e. supposedly the discipline is one of the attractions… DP said she routinely tells children to remove incorrect jumpers, but things like shoes or shorts are obviously more difficult. It has been suggested by Karla Taylor that she will take photos of children in the correct uniform, and that these will be distributed instead of the current drawings to avoid any further discussion. In the end, it was agreed that until the staff are prepared to enforce the rules consistently, nothing will change. Photographs SM stated her wish for a final decision on the subject of school photographs. Opinion was divided on the merits of Leon (last year's photographer), over Dinand, who had done previous years. The chief complaints about Leon were 1) The size of the photographs, and the fact that they were presented as a package deal, whether parents wanted those sizes or not; 2) The choice, in some cases, of an orange background, when previous years have all been blue. The feeling amongst the staff has always been that Leon's photographs were much better than Dinand's, and the children looked more natural. JL was keen to have a natural background such as the Margaret Mee garden, but this is considered difficult because of light and shadow, which changes throughout the day. SM will discuss with Leon and try to come up with an acceptable package, and less controversial backgrounds.	SM to discuss with manage-ment Cynthia, Karla Urca subcommit-tee to talk to GP SM

There being no other business, the meeting was closed at 8.30 p.m.

NB -Date for next meeting: MONDAY, 5th August 2002, 7 pm.

JB 04/06/02

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