Home School Collaboration

Constitution

1.

Name of the Association :

St. Stephen's Catholic Kindergarten Parent-Teacher Association (hereinafter referred to as the Association)

2.

Venue: G/F, 14 Wing Fong Road, Ha Kwai Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong

3.

Purpose:

3.1

Promote communication, cooperation and communication between schools and families to enhance the effectiveness of education;

3.2

Strengthen the collaboration between parents and schools, and lay a good foundation for learning in nurturing young children's spiritual, moral, intellectual, social and physical development.

3.3

Develop parental potential and contribute expertise to help schools promote their teaching activities by planning and organizing various types of activities;

3.4

Encourage parents to participate in parenting education activities to promote the relationship between parents and children.

4.

Member:

4.1

Membership categories and qualifications:

~Parent member

Parents or legal guardians of students who are enrolled in the school can now be members. If there is more than one child in the parent's membership, the family will be a unit, and one representative will join the membership and pay the membership fee;

~Ex officio member

The current principal and all teachers are ex officio members of the Association and are not required to pay membership fee;

~Honorary member

The current school supervisor, school manager, retired principal or teacher may be invited by the Executive Committee of the Association to become an "honorary member" of the Association. As an honorary member, he or she will serve as an advisor to the Association.

4.2

Member rights:

~Parents and ex officio members of the Committee have the right to action, vote and be elected at the Annual General Meeting and the Extraordinary General Meeting. After the member is elected, he becomes a member of the Executive Committee of the Association;

~Honorary members may provide advice to this Council, but have no right to action, vote and to be elected;

~All members are free to participate in the activities organized by the Association.

4.3

Membership obligations:

~All members are required to abide by all constitutional and general resolutions of the conference;

~Parent members are required to pay a membership fee;

~The Executive Committee assists the Council in the implementation of all meetings and activities;

~All members must respect the religious beliefs of the school sponsoring body.

5.

Membership fees:

5.1

Members pay an annual fee of HK$30 (except the ex-officio members) within the first month of each school year; the annual fee is calculated on a per-family basis and the contributions paid are non-refundable;

5.2

If the membership fee needs to be adjusted, it must be actioned by the Executive Committee and submitted to the General Assembly for approval;

5.3

If the parents of transfer students join the meeting during the middle of the school year, they must pay the annual membership fee;

5.4

The collected membership fees can only be used for development meetings, funding the activities of the Association and promoting school development;

5.5

Members are free to donate to the Association for development purposes without any condition, provided that the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors have agreed to accept the donation in advance.

6.

Organization and function:

6.1

General Assembly:

~This Council is composed of a General Assembly and an Executive Committee;

~The General Assembly is composed of all members and is the highest authority of the Association. During the intersessional period, the Executive Committee shall handle the meeting;

~The General Assembly is convened by the Executive Committee, which may convene an annual general meeting or a special general meeting;

~The General Assembly is held by the chairman of the Executive Committee; the secretary of the conference is appointed by the secretary of the Executive Committee;

~The General Assembly is held at least once a year and is convened by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall send the notice and agenda to the members two weeks before the meeting;

~For example, if a total of 5% or more parents and ex officio members are required to organize a special general meeting in writing, the chairman must convene during a three week period and must send the notice and agenda to the assembly seven days before the meeting. The discussion and resolution are limited to the original agenda and no temporary motions may be discussed;

~The matters resolved at the general meeting must be approved by more than half of the attendees. If the outcome is 50/50, the chairman may cast a decisive vote;

~The statutory attendance at the General Assembly is 5 % of the total number of parents and ex officio members. If a quorum is not present, the chairman must reschedule the meeting within three weeks. Once reconvened, the General Assembly has to proceed even without a quorum.

~The powers of the General Assembly include the election, appointment and removal of members, review and approval of financial reports, and the receipt and approval of the Chairman's report;

~If the Chairman of the Executive Committee is absent from the General Assembly, the Vice-Chairman (parent) of the Executive Committee shall be the President of the Assembly.

6.2

Executive Committee:

The Executive Committee consists of eleven volunteer members, including six parental members and five ex officio members. Parent committee members are elected by the General Assembly; ex officio members are elected by the school and appointed by the General Assembly;

The members of the Executive Committee are as follows:

Chairperson: A member of the parental committee

Vice Chairperson: One parent and one member of the committee

Secretary : One parent and one member of the committee

Treasurer : One parent and one member of the committee

Recreational Officer: One parent and one member of the committee

Liaison Officer: One parent and one member of the committee

~The head of the Executive Committee is the principal (Inspector General)

~The positions of the members of the Executive Committee are elected by the parent Executive Committee. As a matter of course, the members nominate the recommendation. The Vice-Chancellor, the Director or a senior teacher appointed by the principal is the Vice-Chairman.

The duties of the Executive Committee members are as follows:

Chairperson

~Convene and preside over the General Assembly and Executive Committee meetings

~The Implementation of the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee

~The Implementation of the burden service and the signing of documents

~Act on behalf of the Executive Committee for the annual meeting report in the general meeting

~Act on behalf of the Association for external liaison and attendance

Vice Chairperson

~Assist the chairman in handling all meetings

~When the chairman is absent or resigned, the vice-chairman (parental committee member) acts on his or her behalf.

Secretary

~Prepare the agenda for the meeting (after consulting the chairman), record and keep the minutes of the general meeting and the executive committee

~Keep letters and documents for record

~Keep all meeting minutes, previous newsletters, notice letters issued by the Association, parent letters and friends' school letters

Treasurer

~Responsible for the income and expenditure accounts of the Association

~Prepare annual budget

~Present the audited financial report at the annual general meeting

Liaison Officer

~Coordinating, promoting and enhancing the liaison of members (including division of labor and review)

~Promote and strengthen the relationship between the school and the students’ families

Recreation Officer

~Responsible for planning and promoting members' recreational activities and promoting activities in line with the purposes of the Association

~Parental members shall serve for one year and can be re-elected;

~The Executive Committee meets at least four times a year;

~The meeting of the Executive Committee must be attended by more than half of the members;

~All proposals must be approved by more than half of the participants before they can become a resolution. If the number of positive votes is equal to the number of negative votes, the chairman may use voting rights to make a decision;

~If executive members leave in the middle of the year, other members or the current executive members may share their duties until a new executive member is elected.

7.

Financial management

7.1

Finance:

~The financial management (including membership fees and donations) of the Association is limited to the development of conferences, membership benefits and the promotion of school development;

~The sum of all the meetings shall be deposited in the bank selected by the General Assembly. The cheque shall be signed by the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson and the Treasurer. The signature shall be valid for each of the Parents and the Ex-officio members;

~Any fundraising activities of the Association must be approved in writing by the Board of Directors and must be handled in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the Government;

~The Executive Committee has the authority to decide to allocate a portion of the funds from the Association to the school for scholarships, awards and educational-related purposes. The school has the right to use the grants in accordance with the designated use of the Executive Committee;

~The ex officio member, (Treasurer) must keep the documents and accounts for seven years;

~This will have to maintain a balance of payments.

7.2

Audit:

A parent member and a teacher member are selected by the general meeting to review the accounts. If debts and liabilities surface in this meeting, the Executive Committee will explain it and has to be held responsible.

7.3

Discipline:

If a member violates one of the following, the executive may issue a warning or expel him or her:

~Violation of the Articles of Association

~Guilty of criminal law in Hong Kong and convicted by the court

~Carry out an activity in the name of the school or the association

7.4

Revision and dissolution:

~Any amendments to the provisions of the syllabus must be accepted by the Executive Committee before the convening of the General Assembly, and more than two-thirds of the total number of parent members and ex officio members must be present at the meeting;

~The decision regarding the dissolution of the Association must be accepted by the Executive Committee as an agenda, and the General Assembly or the Special General Assembly shall be convened in accordance with the procedures, and more than two-thirds of the total number of parent members and ex officio members attending the General Assembly shall be approved;

~The School Board has the power to dissolve the Parent Teacher Association when the decision or action of the Parent Teacher Association is contrary to the purpose of the Association. All assets and surpluses must be approved by more than two-thirds of the total number of parents and ex officio members present before deciding to donate to the school or a statutory charity in Hong Kong.

7.5

Supplementary rules:

~The resolutions and activities held in this meeting shall not contravene the Education Ordinance or interfere with the administration of the school;

~All members are not authorized by the Executive Committee to make any statements or conduct any activities in the name of the Association;

~If in the chapter, any provision is ambiguous or if any meaning is not sufficiently clear, the Executive Committee has the right to interpret it so that it can function effectively;

~The next election must be held within three months prior to the expiration of the Executive Committee's term of office.

(Revised in October 2017)

Note 1: Parents who are enrolled from 1 Sept 2014 must become inevitable members and pay the membership fees.