The meeting was chaired by Charlotte Ellehoj, Elementary School Chair.
1. Minutes of last meeting were approved.
2. School Reports
Elementary School
Middle School
- Volunteers required for December 17th Christmas carolling evening. Will be held in High School ampitheatre 5-6:30pm. Please bring a flashlight/ torch.
High School
- At last school coffee Dr Hetzel presented results of 2002 survey on smoking, drugs and alcohol use by students at AES. Kathy Bader described warning signs of usage.
A summary of the presentations made is available on Middle School website or ask Gail Walker for a hard copy if required.
- Next HS coffee 7pm Dec. 2nd, topic: what can be done to improve out-of-school social options for students in the relatively safe and healthy venue of the school campus. Both parents and High schoolers welcome to come and brainstorm ideas. Would particularly welcome hearing about experiences in other international schools.
- High school students would like a pool table for the student union. If anyone has or knows of one they are willing to donate or sell, please contact Gail.
- Also need cheap but attractive outdoor chairs and tables. Plus something to provide shade also required for hot months. Please contact Gail if know of source or can help in anyway.
- Trying to organise reception evenings for parents for each of the High school grades. Already have parent’s willing to host one of these discussion evenings in their home for 9th and 10th grade. Now looking for 11th and 12th grade parent volunteers. If interested, please contact Gail.
3. Board Representative
- Student role now up to 997 students.
- School security has been the prime focus and school is about to appoint a Head of Security to ensure full measures are maintained in the school.
4. Treasurer
- India Night under the Stars a great success. Have yet to finalise figures, but it looks like raising as much money as last year even though fewer attended as sponsorship was good.
5. Events
- The next event is Sharon Lowen’s dance performance in the school theatre on the evening of 24th January. This is a popular event and the money raised will be donated for sound and lighting equipment in the Hall of Peace.
6. Welcoming Committee
- A successful reception was held for new parents in October. Another is planned for January to greet new parents arriving after Christmas.
7. Any other business
- Congestion at Gate 5 was reported when the SAISA coaches arrived, as cars had been allowed to park on both sides of the road. Bob Dow to look into this.
- If anyone wishes to contribute to PSA newsletter, please contact Chris Files before the end of the month.
8. Guest speaker:
- Dr. Marsha Meckler spoke on ‘Terrorism And It’s Impact On Children’.
Marsha explained that children can be affected by terrorism even indirectly via the media. Depending on the child’s developmental stage, the stress/ anxiety it causes may be displayed in different ways. Signs to look out for are changes in sleep patterns, nightmares, behaviour regression. Security separation issues may become apparent with your child wanting to know where you are at all times. Stomach and head aches may increase. Adolescents may become irritable or angry. The effects may also be related to a child’s temperament, with the more anxious children displaying greater symptoms.
With terrorism news, parents can help in several ways:
- By limiting exposure to media, particularly TV. If they do want to watch, it is better to watch with them to better understand their reactions.
- By talking issues through. However, recognise that children often won’t want to discuss issues directly. Better to ask objective/ indirect questions instead, such as ‘What have you heard about this?’ or ‘What do your friends think about this?’. It is important not to avoid or minimise the issue but to calmly listen, not to probe and let them lead the conversation. It can help to focus on what is being done to help the situation- security people, doctors, firefighters etc,.
A discussion was then held around the issue.
- It was acknowledged that the new position of Director of Security in the school would make children more aware of a potential threat, but that such specialists can help to make a proper assessment of the threat and then take steps to minimise it.
- Some parents expressed the desire to know in advance when the school is going to hold a Security Drill, particularly if their children have been in terrorist situations before, as such a drill could trigger past fears.
Some High school parents would like to see ‘safety against violence’ included in the curriculum as part of health and social studies. Additionally, the importance of looking at the statistical risks of terrorism and the like, particularly with older children, was discussed, as well as ‘putting the media hype into perspective’.
- More information on the school security plan was requested and Mike Foxall informed the meeting that soon all parents would be issued with a wallet sized card telling parents what to do in the event of a security threat at the school.
9. NEXT MEETING JANUARY 22ND- TIME tbc.
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