Ubuntu

Minutes of Meeting of PSA on 20th January 2016

Parents School Alliance

Minutes of Meeting

Conference room, Deens Academy

Date: 20th January 2016

Attendance: Arti Agarwal, Swati Ranjan, Kavita Srivastava, Dahlia Joseph, Neelima, Bonita, Shanthi Menon

Meeting location: Conference room, Deens Academy

Meeting started: at 09:05 AM

Agenda & Discussion Points

  1. Scholastic
  • Quiz introduction is a good initiative.
  • Scholastic Maths – questions framed for FA and SA require good thinking skills and are very good. It will be good if the teachers share more similar / HOTS type of questions in form of worksheets as questions in textbooks are limited.
  • English communication – feedback provided for teachers especially new ones.
  • Grade 7 – the white boards are being replaced by green boards as it has been felt it is better for visibility. Questions were raised whether this is replacement of smartboards. The response is NO ; it is only the white writing board being replaced by green . Smartboards are continuing as is.
  1. Facilities
  • Toilet and hygiene concerns being raised by parents repeatedly was shared. PSA members will do random checks, at prudent intervals, without any intimation to school to assess and report.
  • Canteen – Shanthi mam to review on what is being sold and to direct avoiding of junk. Biscuits, etc. are fine as at times it is a convenience for some parents on a need basis. Children are to be discouraged from carrying money to buy and will be good if parents intimate the class teacher if they do and why.
  1. Co-Scholastic
  • Club Activities – for coming year selection of club will be based through an app/ website. The clubs like Robotics do not have bandwidth to take larger numbers but ones which can, the intake number has been increased. Jewellery making regarding which concern was earlier raised has recently got positive feedback from parents to the principal. Also, to understand what the children are doing as part of these clubs recommendation has been made that they send initial curriculum details and a regular report similar to other subject reports.
  • Field Trips – this year has seen none or very few field trips across grades. This will be addressed and next year will see more field trips in the calendar. Also, Shanthi Maam clarified that the school will continue to not have any overnight stay or visit in keeping with CBSE guidelines.
  • Sports Day – there is repeated remarks from parents on the sports day selection and activities on the day itself. The selection dates are mentioned in the calendar and happens in the school itself; absenteeism cannot be accommodated in the process. Also due to limited time in the final sports day, all heats etc. are done beforehand in school itself.

Feedback has been shared on the time spilling for the secondary grades sports day this year and also on the costumes/ accessories being difficult to procure or not adding value. The kindergarten and junior sections sports organisation was better with good timelines.

  • Focus on sports – it would be desirous to see Deens doing better in inter-school competitions. The sports coverage across the months is put up in the website. Yoga is compulsory for all. Gunjur campus will not have a swimming pool.
  1. Transport
  • We will have a separate discussion with the transport team present. Concerns regarding Northstar were briefly shared.
  1. Other Points
  • Commingle extending to 13th April and less holidays. Request has been made to try and club the Commingle together for siblings and if it can be brought ahead. Also current session had lesser holidays in Deens compared to other schools; to be looked at in next years’ calendar.
  • Kindergarten teachers – specific feedback shared with Shanthi Maam. Also, Shanthi mam shared that Seema mam from Kideens and Shashi Maam from Deens has recently won an award across schools.
  • English curriculum change in grade 4 and 5 – Shanthi Maam shared that in the next academic session, the English curriculum will undergo some change. It will have only some compiled stories and poems instead of textbook and the grammar will be covered through the stories itself. There will also be additional stories/ books mentioned as supplementary for reading. This change has been visualised to improve the reading and comprehension skills of children, apart from improving their spelling ability
  • PSA members reiterated the presence of a tailoring shop adjoining the school wall as a poor impression. A letter will be addressed by PSA members to the management regarding this.