The next meeting of the Parent Council will take place on Wednesday 5th May at 7.00pm in the school staffroom.
The Annual Report for Session 2009-2010 will be discussed as will development plans for Session 2010-2011.
All parents are welcome to attend this meeting and any items for the Agenda can be submitted via Fiona Gornall, chair, or the school office. Several of the office bearers have completed their three year term in the council – Fiona Gornall will be standing down as chair and Mr Doug Tullis will also be standing down.
New members are urgently needed to allow the Parent Council to continue.

Further to the AGM the Parent council welcomes Philip Thomson and Ruth Rennie as new members. Fiona Gornall remains as chair and Doug Tullis as secretary. This will be their third and final year of office. The next meeting is on November 18^th at 7pm in the staff room. All parents are welcome to attend. Any matters for the agenda please contact any member of the committee or the school.

The role of the Parent Council is to assist Mrs Paterson and the staff in maintaining the smooth and happy running of the school. It also provides a link between parent/carers and staff, where issues can be raised and discussed at meetings. Examples of this practice over the last session include:

Reading and commenting on revised school policies.
Collecting information from nursery parents for a quality of care report
Clarification of the school’s position on such things as Halloween celebrations and disruption to school meal service.
An ongoing campaign to improve road safety and considerate parking outside school.
Meetings are held every 6 to 8 weeks in the staff room. They are never longer than 2 hours and are very informal. Please give some consideration to joining the council. You would be made very welcome. Everyone who has a child at St Mary’s school or nursery has an opinion that matters. A wide cross section of views is important and it would be good to involve as many families as possible.

At the AGM on 10th September 2008 the following was discussed and agreed:
Committee Members are as follows
Post holders:
Chair: Fiona Gornall
Treasurer: Alison Diamond
Secretary: Mary Toop
Ordinary members:
Rosalind Ginoris, Doug Tullis, Andrew Proctor.

We would like to welcome new committee members:
Mary Watson
Lisa Stewart
Caroline Paterson

The staff representative is
Jenny Kinvig

Parents/carers from nursery and school are welcome to attend any meetings. If anyone has a matter to be discussed please contact Fiona Gornall or Mary Toop and it can be added to the agenda.

The minutes of the meetings are posted on the outdoor school notice board and on the school website.

The next meeting is Wednesday 22nd October 2008 at 7.00pm in the staffroom.

There is a DVD available explaining the new Curriculum for Excellence which replaces ‘5-14’. Please ask Fiona Gornall if you would like to borrow it.

We are still working with Stirling Council to implement improvements in safety measures along Smithy Loan, as outlined in the travel plan sent home earlier in the year. It is a very slow process. Parents/carers can help by

· Only driving along Smithy Loan if completely necessary, using the India Gate as an ideal car park – PARK AND STRIDE

· NOT parking at either end of the ZIGZAGS

· REMEMBERING it is illegal to drop off/park on the single yellow line opposite school

· Watching your speed

Please could this message be passed on to all parents/carers who have the responsibility of bringing/collecting your children from nursery and school.

Finally we would like to express our thanks to Janice Cameron who has been a member of the Parent Council and former School Board. We shall miss her expertise, knowledge, experience of all things ‘St Mary’s’ and her sense of humour. We wish her a very happy retirement.

Fiona Gornall

Chairperson

St Mary’s Episcopal Primary School Parent Council

Next Meeting:
The date of the next meeting of the Parent Council is to be confirmed.
All parents are welcome to attend and any items for the agenda can be given to Fiona Gornall or Mary Toop.