Minutes - Nov. 19,2009

Friends of NMS General Meeting

In Attendance: Mr. Alan Atkins, Mary Leo Dick, Janice MacFarlane, Mary Rowe, Jennifer Sheppard, Kari Hirst

Meeting called to order by Mary Rowe as Chair at 6:43PM

Welcome by Mary. Jennifer moved to approve agenda. Motion seconded by Mary Leo.
Minutes of June General Meeting distributed. Mary moved to approve, seconded by Janice.

Principal’s Remarks: Mr. Atkins expressed his appreciation of help from the Friends. Without all of their hard work, many of the activities which the children enjoy would not be possible.

Completed Tasks Since Sept. 2009: Mary distributed a list of the activities with which the Friends were involved this fall. Mary Leo reviewed with those present; Volunteer forms have been distributed to parents. We now have about 184 registered volunteers. Forms are still coming in. The distribution list is up and running. Parents were addressed at Meet the Teacher night and encouraged to participate. Volunteers are reminded to familiarize themselves with Policy 701and submit completed questionnaire. A Criminal Record Check is mandatory for anyone working closely with children (ie.tutoring, coaching, supervision etc.) as well as anyone wishing to let their name stand for CoChair. The school has offered the use of a bulletin board in the lobby for the group to use as a means of communicating activities; Volunteers were notified that Mrs. Birney would like help with noon hour supervision in the Methods and Resource room; The Grade 6 BBQ was a big hit again this year with 3 BBQs going and numerous volunteers; Thirty volunteers turned out to put on the French Book Fair which ran Sept. 29, 30 and Oct. 1, 2009. Twenty three volunteers ensured the success of the English Book Fair which ran Oct. 20,21 and 22, 2009. Both Fairs generated large profits in excess of last year’s sales which translate into high volume of books for the classrooms; The Corn Boil had Mrs. Walsh-McKillop’s team picking corn at Harvey’s Big Potato. Mr. Atkins stood watch for bears. Eleven parents and grandparents prepared, cooked and served corn on the cob to the entire student body Oct. 2nd. Harvey’s donated the corn and the extra was given to the food bank; The Halloween Dance on the 29th was a blast with 15 parent chaperones, many of whom came out to decorate that afternoon; The office and bulletin board were decorated for Fall and Halloween. The bulletin board carried postings for Remembrance Day as well; The Pumpkin Patch was decorated again this year. Several pumpkins were submitted, all of which received a prize; A Pick Me Up table was provided for the teachers again this year. The lounge was nicely set up with 18 people providing food donations. A special Thank you goes out to the Custodians who cleaned up after the ravenous hoards of teachers; The Firefighter Challenge ran Nov.19th. The children have a great time. We had many volunteers for the day and also for the decorating conducted the evening before. We had very many complaints that the volume from the sound system was much too loud. That has made some people reluctant to come out for this event. The volume should be more comfortable to make the event more enjoyable and avoid the risk of hearing damage to those present. A big thank you to Tim Horton’s for the donation of the urn of coffee. The school provided 6 dozen muffins. Everyone had happy tummies; Thank you to the Fredericton Firefighters for putting on this spectacular event. Guaranteed Fun every time!!!

Upcoming Tasks: The H1N1 immunization clinic originally scheduled for Nov. 4th will now be conducted Nov. 25th. We have several volunteers to help the large contingent of nurses slated. The entire student body will receive vaccine that one day. Hopefully everything will go to plan; A Healthy Eating Initiative is planned for Nov. 26th. Menu TBA. Several volunteers have committed their time to feed the entire student body in one day; A Christmas Dance is scheduled for Dec.17th. All volunteers welcome. The kiddies will be so excited; Nominations for the three CoChair positions will be accepted Dec. 7 to 11. With 184 volunteers, surely there are at least three people willing to step forward and let their name stand for the executive. Anyone with the slightest inclination is encouraged submit their nomination with a Criminal Record Check. The group needs energetic individuals to keep the large number of volunteers informed and involved. Elections take place Jan. 13, 2010. New executive will be installed at the Annual General Meeting the following day.

New Business: None added

Next Meeting: Annual General Meeting January 14, 2010 at 7PM

Adjournment: Janice moved to adjourn. Mary Leo seconded. Mary adjourned meeting at 7:08PM