AGM Meeting Minutes Date: June 17, 2022
Location: Online
Attendees: Chris Wong, Lina Wong, Amy Richards, Jalene Anderson Baron, Marian Massalay, Kathryn Hennan, Suja Jose, Tammy Majeau, Joanna Bourne, Sarah Baker, Sophia Pin, Seema Deol, Kaitlyn Kassian, Anna Dorocicz
Meeting called to order at 6:34pm
Brief welcome and introduction by Board President, Tammy Majeau
Approval of Agenda. Motion made by Amy Richards; seconded by Lina Wong. All in favour, none opposed. Motion carried.
Adoption of 2022 AGM meeting minutes. Motion made by Marian Massalay; seconded by Joanna Bourne. All in favour, none opposed. Motion carried.
President’s Report:
it has been one year since the preschool changed its name; it has been a successful transition
at last year’s AGM we were sad to announce that Mme. Gigi would not be returning in the fall as she was going on maternity leave; but, we were so fortunate to find a gem in Mme. Suja. She has worked really hard this year and it shows
We’ve really had a wonderful year, in spite of the challenges of Covid. Thank you all (our teachers, our board, our parents, our kiddos) for taking things in stride. The weather’s warming up; we’re able to get outside more. It’s good for our mental and physical health. The year end party was a lot of fun!
We got to go on our first field trip in a long time, and we are excited to be slowly returning to normal operations
Looking forward to next year:
in terms of Covid, we are moving back towards how we were operating prior to covid but we will be following the Public Health guidelines and will communicate any changes as necessary
for September we are going to continue offering morning classes only, Monday to Friday with a few adjustments
we will no longer have cohorts, which means parents can enrol their child any two to five days of the week
we will continue with having parents drop off children at the door but we will no longer have staggered drop off and pick up times. Drop off will be from 8:55am-9am and pick up will be at 11:15am
masks will not be required to be worn by students, teachers, or visitors; however, if you’d like your child to wear a mask, that is perfectly acceptable
we will consider offering afternoon sessions (12:30pm-2:45pm) if there is enough interest. Meant to add a survey question to new registration form but forgot. We need to know if you are interested and which days. Maybe parents of children in morning kindergarten would be interested in enrolling their children a couple of afternoons per week at the preschool. An email will be sent out. Please respond if you are interested
We have changed our fees. They are updated on the website. The parent portion of the fees has been reduced thanks to the government affordability grant. Parents can also apply for subsidy. Mme. Suja will send out information at the start of the school year.
The registration form has been updated. No need to pay another registration fee if you paid before the new form was available.
We are moving to pre-authorized debit for preschool fees. Our treasurer, Joanna, is working on getting the system up and running. If you already submitted post-dated cheques, they will be returned to you.
● Teachers:
Mme. Denise will be with us all year as our French Teacher
Mme. Suja will be with us from September - December
Mme. Gigi will be returning form maternity leave and will be with us from January - June
● Other news:
The board is currently looking into the possibility of opening a second location on the west end of Edmonton; possibly absorbing an existing preschool that appears to be struggling
We are still in the early stages of the process and will keep you updated
Please let us know if you or anyone you know is looking for a preschool on the west end
6. Treasurer’s Report
We are in good standing financially
We will always run a deficit as we are a non-profit; however, the funds raised from the bi-annual Casino fundraiser enable us to cover our expenses
We need to repay a government loan of $40K by December 2023, and we are in a position to be able to do that
see the attached financial report for additional details
7. Election of 2022/23 Volunteer Parent Board
The board must consist of no less than 5 and no more than 10 directors
A director is any member in good standing (either a parent who has a child enrolled in the program, or an individual who expresses their interest in writing and who is approved by the board, who wishes to be on the board in order to further the objectives of the Society)
The commitment is approx once/month meeting, most of which will likely be virtual and then whatever the role entails
The board positions include: president, vice president, registrar, treasurer, payroll administrator, fundraising coordinator, volunteer coordinator, and secretary
As per the bylaws, next year’s board needs to be elected at this year’s AGM
Most of this year’s board is willing to remain on the board for next year. Dave, Joanna, and Tammy are willing to continue on as Payroll Administrator, Treasurer, and President even though they will not have a child enrolled in the program for the 2022/23 school year. Seema is willing to stay on as Registrar, Amy as volunteer coordinator, and Marian, who is currently vice president, is interested in taking on the fundraising coordinator role for next year
A motion is made by Sophia Pin to re-elect the incumbent members of the board (Tammy Majeau, Dave Bourne, Joanna Bourne, Amy Richards, Seema Deol, and Marian Massalay). Seconded by Jalene Anderson Baron. All in favour; none opposed. Motion carried.
That leaves two vacant positions: vice president and secretary
Kaitlyn Kassian and Lina Wong express interest in being on the board but not sure which position
Tammy Majeau nominates Kaitlyn Kassian to be on the board. Kaitlyn accepts nomination. Seema Deol seconds. All in favour; none opposed. Carried. Kaitlyn is elected to the board.
Joanna Bourne nominates Lina Wong to be on the board. Lina accepts the nomination. Amy Richards seconds. All in favour, none opposed. Carried. Lina is elected to the board.
Kaitlyn Kassian and Lina Wong are elected as directors. Their positions will be finalized at the first board meeting of the new board.
8. Meeting adjourned at 7:18pm