Playground Guys Donation

Oh my goodness!  I totally forgot to mention that as part of our agreement with the Playground Guys they will be making at $17, 600 donation to the MPS Community Playground Fund!  Woohoo!  That bring us to $76,000!

Town Approves Funding

We are proud to announce this evening the Morinville Town Council has voted in favor of a $30,000 grant to support the construction of Phase I of the Morinville Public School Community Playground! The grant will be held in trust by the Town until such time as the PFA secures the remaining funds, grants, donations or otherwise. With this addition to our coffers we will be immediately moving forward with the grant writing process in hopes of securing the coveted CFEP grant.

Calahoo Meats Fundraiser

The PFA has a chance to place a Calahoo Meats order alongside our order of turkeys for the 4th Annual Turkey dinner.  This is a great company with extremely competitive prices!  They've got everything from chicken, to jerkey, beef, even some sides like perogies.  You can view (and print, if you so choose) the catalogue HERE and can place your order HERE.  Orders can be paid for by cash or cheque (made payable to MPES PFA) dropped off at the school (make sure to clearly label your payment so they don't get mixed up with school fees) or online by clicking the Paypal button below.  Orders must be placed no later than Sept 1st, though payments can be dropped off until the 5th. 

Mabel's Labels Fundraiser

Shop at Mabel's Labels online and 20% of your purchase goes directly to the Playground Fund! 

"Founded by four moms, Mabel’s Labels is the leading provider of labels for the stuff kids lose!® Our award-winning products are extremely durable, laundry, dishwasher & microwave-safe and 100% guaranteed. Plus, they’re customizable and perfect for everything from school supplies to shoes, sports gear, clothes, bags & more!"

Click here to start shopping!

NEW: Community Carnival Site

There is now a MPES Community Carnival page.  This page will feature our sponsors and community groups, as well as important info regarding the Carnival.   More than anything it's a just a chance to show off the Carnival in all it's glory!

Feel free to check it out and share to potential guests, sponsors, and/or community groups!
http://mpescommunitycarnival.blogspot.ca/http://mpescommunitycarnival.blogspot.ca/

PFA Bylaws

November 4^th, 2013

MEMBERSHIP

·         Any parent or guardian of an MPES student is to be considered a member of the PFA society.

·         All members have the right to vote at any official meeting of the Parents Fundraising Association.

·         Members have the right to inspect the books and records as held by the President and/or Treasurer at any official meeting by providing the President with a minimum of 7 days notice.

·         Members are expected to behave in accordance with the Bylaws and Objectives of the Society.

·         As members are automatically considered members of the society for the duration that their children attend Morinville Public Elementary School, they need not resign.  However, their membership shall expire if their children are no longer in enrolled at the school.  Members can not be expelled from the society.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

·         Board of Directors, Executive Committee or Board, shall mean the Board of Directors of the society.

·         The Board shall, subject to the bylaws or directions given it by majority vote at any meeting properly called and constituted, have full con troll and management of the affairs of the society, and meetings of the Board shall be held as often as may be required, but at least once every three months, and shall be called by the President.  A special meeting may be called on the instructions of any two members provided they request the President in writing to call such meetings, and state the business to be brought before the meeting.  Meetings of the Board shall be called by 10 days’ notice in writing emailed to each member.  Any four members shall constitute a quorum, and meetings shall be held without notice if a quorum of the Board is present, provided however that any business transactions at such meeting shall be ratified at the next regularly called meeting of the Board; otherwise they shall be null and void.

·         A person appointed or elected a director becomes a director if they were present at the meeting when being appointed or elected, and did not refuse the appointment.  They may also become a director if they were not present at the meeting but consented in writing to act as director before the appointment or election, or within ten days after the appointment or election, or if they acted as a director pursuant to the appointment of election.

·         Any director or officer, upon a majority vote of all members in good standing, may be removed from office for any cause which the society may deem reasonable.

·         The term of office for the Board shall extend from appointment to the following year’s Annual General Meeting.

·         Members may hold positions for consecutive terms, but must be nominated and elected for each.

PRESIDENT

·         The President shall be ex-officio a member of all Committees.  He/she shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the society and of the Board.  In his/her absence, the Vice-President shall preside at any such meetings.  In the absence of both, a chairperson may be elected at the meeting to preside.  The President shall be responsible for the organization of the society’s records and correspondence.  The President shall be responsible for the delegation of duties, communications with school administration, society members, and the community at large, and ensuring the general working order of the society.  The President shall maintain copies of all books and records.  The President shall be responsible for a final audit of all books before passing them on to the next year’s executive.

SECRETARY

·         It shall be the duty of the secretary to attend all meetings of the society and of the Board, and to keep accurate minutes of the same.  Such minutes shall be presented to the President, electronically, for distribution no later than 7 business days after the meeting in question.

TREASURER

·         The Treasurer shall receive all monies paid to the society and be responsible for the deposit of same in whatever Bank, Trust Company, or Treasury Branch the Board may order.  He/she shall properly account for the funds of the society and keep such books as may be directed in the Operating Procedures of the society.  He/she shall present a full detailed account of receipts and disbursements to the Board whenever requested and shall prepare for submission to the Annual Meeting a statement duly audited of the financial position of the society and submit a copy of same to the President for the records of the society.  The audit shall be performed by the Treasurer, secondly by the President.  The Office of the Secretary and Treasurer may be filled by one person if any annual meeting for the election of officers shall so decide.

·         All funds disbursed by the Treasurer shall be by official MPES PFA cheque, signed by both the Treasurer and the President and ONLY once the amount and recipient lines have been properly filled.  No blank cheques or cash shall ever be issued by Treasurer.

·          

MEETINGS

·         This society shall hold an annual meeting on or before September 30^th in each year, of which notice in writing to the last known email address of each member shall be delivered by email 10 days prior to the date of the meeting.  At this meeting there shall be elected a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Event Coordinator.  The officers and directors so elected shall form a Board, and shall serve until their successors are elected and installed.   Any vacancy occurring during the year shall be filled at the next meeting, provided it is so stated in the notice calling such meeting.  Any member in good standing shall be eligible for any office in the society.

·         All general meetings of the society shall be open to all members, however separate casual planning meetings may be scheduled to include specific members and subcommittees without a public invitation extended to all members at large.  These meetings will not include votes or official business.

·         General meetings of the society may be called at any time by the President by notice via email to the last known email address of each member, as well as a posting to the electronic MPES Parents and PFA boards.  A special meeting shall be called by the President upon receipt of a petition signed 3 members in good standing, setting forth the reasons for calling such meeting, which shall be by email to the last known address of each member, delivered by email to the last known address of each member.

·         Four members in good standing, two of which must be members of the Board, shall constitute a quorum at any meeting.

VOTING

·         Any member (any parent/guardian of a current MPES student) shall have the right to vote at any meeting of the society.  Such votes may be made in person, or by proxy through express written consent sent directly to the President by email prior to said meeting.

RENUMERATION

·         Unless authorized at any meeting and after notice for same shall have been given, no officer, director, or member of the society shall receive any remuneration for his/her services.

BORROWING POWERS

·         For the purpose of carrying out its objectives, the society may borrow or raise or secure funds in such manner as it sees fit, and in particular by the issue of debentures, but this power shall be exercised only under the authority of the society, and in no case shall debentures be issued without the sanction of a special resolution of the society.

SOCIETY SEAL

·         The society will not be adopted an official seal.

BYLAWS

·         The Bylaws may be rescinded, altered or added to by a “Special Resolution”.

DISSOLUTION

·         The Society may be dissolved by special resolution.  Any funds still held will be donated directly to Morinville Public Elementary to be dispursed as they see fit.

PFA Operating Procedures

April 7^th, 2013

Roles and Responsibilities of PFA Executive

·         Chair

o   The chair shall be responsible for all correspondence associated with the PFA, including the maintenance of up to date records and reports, including both digital and hard copies of all minutes, agendas, reports and research garnered by the PFA.  This information will need to be available to any member of the PFA upon request within a reasonable time frame ie. One week.  Previous year’s records should be kept, bundled together, to act as reference for future events, fundraisers, and activities.

o   The chair shall act as the “voice” of the PFA, and its official contact unless this duty has been otherwise delegated based on a specific endeavor ie. Another member elected to act as a contact for the bottle drive.

o   The Chair shall present all members of the PFA executive, the Principal, and the chair of the School Council, a copy of each meeting’s agenda at least 24hrs prior to said meeting.

o   The Chair shall preside over all meetings

o   It will be assumed that the Chair is responsible for any duties not otherwise described herein, or within the Society’s Bylaws, or delegated to other members (hence the importance of clearly delegated duties).

o   The Chair shall oversee all delegated duties and shall be responsible for ensuring that they are performed in a timely fashion.

o   The Chair shall be responsible for providing a second signature on all cheques written on the PFA account.

·         Vice Chair

o   The Vice shall act in the Chair’s stead whenever the Chair is unavailable. 

o   The Vice shall keep themselves apprised of all matters pertaining to the PFA through steady and regular contact with the Chair and Executive

o   The Vice shall assume a leadership role in regards to duties which need to be delegated by the Chair.

·         Treasurer

o   The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial records of the PFA.  This should include detailed records of all PFA activities and events, with an itemized breakdown of expenses and revenues.

o   The Treasurer shall be responsible for issuing all payments and reimbursements from the PFA account, in conjunction with the Chair’s second signature.

o   The Treasurer shall be responsible for holding any moneys prior to deposit.

o   The Treasurer shall be responsible for attending regularly scheduled PFA meetings with a brief report which shall include a current balance, and any recent transactions.

·         Event Coordinator

o   The EC shall be responsible for organizing any PFA sponsored events.

o   The EC’s responsibilities can include:

§  Creating a budget for the event

§  Soliciting and organizing the necessary volunteers

§  Gathering materials and supplies

§  Decorating the venue

§  Hiring and establishing a payment schedule for any entertainment

§  Determining the needs of the event ie. Lighting, music, etc.

§  Coordinating event cleanup

§  Coordinating all activities, and volunteers the day of.

o   Any of the EC’s responsibilities may be delegated to other members, however it shall be assumed that they are the EC’s responsibility unless overtly stated otherwise.

Policies and Procedures

·         Financial

o   All payments and reimbursements made by the PFA shall be made by cheque, signed at the time of by both the Chair and Treasurer, with a record of said payment noted in the financial records.

o   Neither the Treasurer nor the Chair shall ever sign a cheque that is not fully filled out ie. No blank cheques.

o   All cheques returned NSF shall be subject to a $7 processing charge.

o   Unless otherwise stated, all PFA funds will be split according to the following schedule:

§  Playground 50%

§  Resources and Equipment 25%

§  Student-only activities and subsidies 10%

§  Community events (Town and School community) 10%

§  Contingency Fund 5%

·         Communication

o   Communication with the MPES community shall be of utmost importance.  All members shall strive for thorough and respectful communication with the MPES community at large.  Official requests, concerns, and questions shall always be redirected to the Chair unless a separate member has been delegated. 

o   Meeting agendas shall be emailed within the week prior to any meeting to all members of the PFA executive, the Principal, and the Chair of the School Council.  They shall also be promptly and permanently affixed to the MPES Parents’ Group Facebook page as well as the MPES PFA Facebook page for all parents to see and comment on.  This shall be the responsibility of the Chair.

o   Meeting minutes shall be emailed within 7 business days of any meeting to all members of the PFA executive, the Principal, and the Chair of the School Council.  They will be posted for the remainder of the school year to the MPES Parents’ board next to the north entrance of the gym.  They shall also be promptly and permanently affixed to the MPES Parents’ Group Facebook page as well as the MPES PFA Facebook page for all parents to see and comment on.  The Secretary will be responsible for forwarding these minutes to the Chair, who shall then distribute them accordingly.

o   Materials that need to be sent home with students shall be provided to the school 5 business days prior to the date they need to be sent home.  Whether they need to be sent to all students or to “class reps” will need to be explicitly stated to office staff.

o   Any announcements sent home with students should also be posted online.

o   The PFA shall strive to enter a blurb in each monthly school newsletter.  The deadline for these entries will need to be confirmed with the Principal.

·         Partnerships

o   The PFA shall strive to maintain healthy and mutually beneficial relationships with the Principal, the School Council, the MPES Community, the Town of Morinville, and the community at large. 

o   The PFA and School Council shall have overlapping meetings on the same night with the Chair providing a brief report at the beginning of the Council meeting.

o   The PFA shall provide the School Council with an operating budget at the start of each school year.  This budget will cover any and all Council requests.  It shall be assumed that requests beyond this budget shall be dealt with by the Council itself.  The amount for this budget shall be voted on at the June meeting of the PFA for the following year.

o   Requests for PFA funds can be made by any group associated with MPES.  Requests are expected to be made either in person at monthly meetings after a request has been submitted to the Chair to be added to the agenda, or in writing.  All requests will be put to a vote, with any MPES parents and guardians welcome to enter their vote.  Results of the vote will be posted in the minutes.

o   Any concerns that do not directly relate to the PFA itself will be directed to the Principal ie. Receiving newsletters in time, concerns re: social media, etc.