Parents Nursery Association Committee

Minutes of the Meeting Held at 7.30pm on 11 March 1999.

Present.

Marianne van Brandenburg, Emma Denston, Elizabeth Aitken, Celia Bockmuehl, Helia Hollmann, Jim Huntington, Stephen Cowley. Apologies were received from Margie Sunde & Jamie Vandenberg and Colin & Clare Malcolm.

Timing.

We agreed to discuss possible items for sale at the Autumn Fayre at the late May meeting.

We also agreed to discuss a new draft constitution at that meeting. It was subsequently decided that Stephen would draft a replacement constitution.

Treasurer's Report.

Elizabeth reported that we had £ 1096.51 in the bank, of which £147.70 is owed to the French teacher. We have commitments of £42 for helium balloons, £85 to patchwork circus & approximately £20 for the pony and trap for the Birthday Party, and £120 for the band for the ceilidh. Hence we have approximately £681.81 at our disposal (although sale of tickets for the ceilidh should cover the cost of the band).

Sixth Birthday Party.

Preparations for the Party are going well. It will be held on 27 March from 10.00 to 12.00. There will be helium balloons (from Mackay's, East Road), a pony and trap, and Patchwork Circus will perform from 10.30 to 11.30.
Action: Helia.

Marianne reported that Robert's dad is willing to provide ice-cream. At the meeting we did not decide how much to buy. Stephen notes that last year we purchased £25-30. Robert's dad suggested selling prices last time. We will need a rota to person the stall.

Emma and colleagues again kindly offered to arrange face-painting.
Action: Emma.

Celia has purchased raffle tickets, and these will be sold at the nursery for the backdrops from the Christmas play. The tickets will be on sale from 15/3/99 at 50p per ticket, or three for a £1. We agreed to ask the man from the Patchwork Circus to perform the draw.

Celia and Emma are organising the cake. Shui and Jim/Caty offered to bake a 8" and 10" plain sponge cake, respectively. These should be delivered to the nursery on Friday 26 March by 17.00.
Action: Celia, Emma, Shui, Jim/Caty.

Helia, Celia and Marianne agreed to turn up at 9.15 on Saturday 27 March to help prepare for the Party.
Action: Helia, Celia, Marianne .

Stephen agreed to produce a flyer. We agreed to ask Colin/Clare to produce a poster for the front door.
Action: Stephen, Colin/Clare.

Stephen offered to purchase some juice and paper/plastic cups if necessary. Marianne will advise on the quantity needed.
Action: Marianne , Stephen.

Marianne reported that notices will go up on the room doors requesting nibbles/snacks from parents.
Action: Marianne .

Ceilidh and Pot Luck Social.

Margie has booked a band for Friday 30 April from 19.30 to 23.00; the cost is £120. It was agreed that we would charge £5 per ticket for parents, and £ 2.50 per ticket for staff. If a significant profit was made we agreed to provide a bigger subsidy for the staff Christmas dinner next year. We agreed to encourage friends to come. Stephen agreed to produce tickets. We agreed that they would be available to be sold at the Birthday Party.
Action: Stephen.

Jo and Emma will be producing decorations for the ceilidh; they were thanked for their efforts.
Action: Jo, Emma.

Celia agreed to co-ordinate the catering. We agreed that we would put up a sign-up sheet for those attending so that they could indicate whether they were going to bring an `international' salad, main course or sweet. Jim offered to organise French bread. Celia will advise committee members as to what to bring once other parents have signed up, however committee members are requested to sign up early and to encourage other parents from the same room to attend. Attendees will need to bring their own lubricant, while we will provide snacks/nibbles (to be arranged at the next meeting).
Action: Celia, Jim.

We agreed to fix on times for dancing later. Stephen has since discovered that the band leader, Janet Magee, suggested starting with dancing, then taking a break for dinner, and then having more dancing. He proposes the following timetable:

7.30-8.00 Drinks, nibbles

8.00-9.00 Dancing

9.00-9.45 Dinner

9.45-11.00 Dancing

He notes that we have agreed to provide food for the band members.

Staff Charity Day.

Emma reported that the annual Staff Charity Day will take place on Friday 28 May and will have a Grand National theme. The Charity to benefit has not been decided yet, but may be a charity that provides riding lessons for the disabled. This was very well received by the PNAC.

Picnic.

We agreed to delay a decision on the picnic until the next meeting.

Playhouse.

We agreed to spend upto £700 on a playhouse, but hope that less might be spent. The consensus was in favour of a 8'$\times$6' wooden house, rather than a smaller plastic house. Stephen agreed to try and seek out a Which? report that he thought might exist, and would indicate what to look for. Jim agreed to phone around possible suppliers. Marianne agreed to check it out with Kids Unlimited .
Action: Stephen, Jim, Marianne .

Nursery Information.

Marianne reported that there is a new cook, Shirley. Amelia, a trained nursery nurse, has left for another Kids Unlimited nursery at Addenbrookes. Michelle (a modern apprentice) has joined the Baby Room, joy has moved to Toddler 1, while Sharon has moved to Pre-5s. Mel T. has moved to 2-3s, while Mel P. has moved to Toddler 2.

Emma has been on a training day on mentoring skills, while Marianne has been on a course on training trainers, and has attended a local Pre-School Alliance meeting in Cambridge. Sue & Jo are training as assessors.

Marianne reported that Kids Unlimited will be opening new nurseries of about 120 places at the Science Park and at Fulbourne. This is in addition to the 100+40 places at Addenbrookes. Given Amelia's move to another Kids Unlimited nursery, some concern was again expressed that the opening of a large number of new Kids Unlimited nurseries in Cambridge might result in significant numbers of well-trained staff leaving the University Nursery .

Marianne reported that Kids Unlimited had decided that the waiting-list would continue to be operated by Marianne , rather than centrally.

USCC.

Stephen reported that Anne Ferguson-Smith had attended her first USCC meeting. Unfortunately he had forgotten to bring a copy of her email (already circulated) which contained a query.

Any Other Business.

Stephen suggested that the door entry code to the University Nursery be changed. Marianne said that she would implement this.

Marianne reported, to Stephen's delight, that there were more helmet pegs.

Date of Next Meeting.

It was agreed to hold the next meeting of the PNAC at

7.30pm on Thursday 22 April 1999 at the Nursery.

SJC

A postscript version of this document is also available.