Date: Monday, 6 April 2009
Venue: Fellowship Hall
Present: Melanie (Co ordinator & Terror Tots), Kimone (Administration & Terror Tots), Liz (New Tots on the Block), Gabrielle (Yummy Mummies), Amber (Marsh Mini’s), Olivia (Nat Parenting), Gretta (Busy Bees), Rev Blair & Mavis (Uniting Church), Adele (Bright Sparks), Lisa (Marshmallows), Yvette (Multiple Marshians), Elise (Munchkins), Julie (Little Marshians)
Introductions: New group starting 8 April
Apologies: Jayne Runge (as Secretary), Sam (Treasurer & Puddleducks), Maxi kids
Absent: Kids Club
Meeting Commenced At 7.35 PM
Business arising from the previous Minutes of the March meeting
The donation made in lieu of payment to Marg Bennett (Clown) to the “Darley Neighbourhood House”, should have read “The Neighbours Place”.
Interim budget – approved. Motion moved by Kimone, seconded by Amber.
Coordinator (Melanie)
Teddy Bears Picnic
Held 22 March 2009
Good weather and good fun had by those who attended, but very disappointing attendance – 16 families attended (from 100+)
Lions Train didn’t turn up.
Some groups felt the event didn’t cater to babies very well, which was why they didn’t attend. Suggestions were made for an entertainer, music or ball pit for next time to remedy this.
Donation to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal
· PGV advises that they have been inundated with toys. Cash donations to PGV Vic Bushfire Fund can be made to support playgroups. 3 sites lost.
· Initially $300 was suggested as a suitable donation amount. A proposal to lift this amount to $1000 was put forward by Amber. A final figure will be endorsed at the meeting in May after all leaders discuss the donation amount with their groups.
Toy Donations
· We gratefully accept all toy donations. We ask that all toys for donation be clean and left in the kitchen for the attention of Helen (Puddleducks). Helen & Sam will decide if they are safe for use and where they should be stored etc.
· We currently require small sized low heeled shoes for dress ups (ie teenage girls or ladies Size 6-7), train set (or pieces of) that match our existing set (ie Aldi or Ikea).
· Baby toys have been separated from the other boxes of toys in the hall, cleaned and disinfected, and placed in the red cupboard for groups with babies to take out when required. The baby toys have been separated further into two boxes and labelled with the applicable box. ‘0’ for 0 to 6 months and ‘1’ for 6 to 18 months olds. A request was made that the groups with babies clean or wipe the toys down before storing them away again after each use. A big thank you to Mel for undertaking the initial clean of the baby toys over the last couple of weeks.
Fundraising Officer
· 1 nomination received from Liz Strike, New Tots on the Block. Motion moved by Kimone, seconded by Elise to accept Liz as Fundraising Officer effective immediately.
Stockdale & Leggo board
· Church Council has advised that whilst they are not opposed to a sign, it cannot contain any advertising or business logos. Therefore, Stockdale & Leggo are no longer interested.
· Suggestion that we approach the Church for permission to erect our own sign on the playground fence facing Foodworks (ie “Join Playgroup 5367 1234”)? Motion supported by Amber, seconded by Adele.
· Suggestion that the sign needs to read ‘Individuals and groups’ as well as the phone number. The Church’s phone number is agreed as the best to use, as it will remain consistent.
· Julie’s husband is a sign writer, so if permission is granted from the Church and once content is confirmed, we can approach him regarding a quote to produce the sign.
Church Fete – 2nd May
Jumping Castle offer:-
· Operator will waiver the hire fee
· Charge a pay-per-ride fee of $3 per child.
· Split the day’s takings equally between the operator and playgroup.
· We would also not charge to have a staff member supervise the castle
· No risk, guaranteeing you a profit and minimal, if any, need for volunteers.
· Castle - Scooby-Doo (larger and can fit more children on at once)
Agreed to proceed, however, need to drop the price to $2 per ride ($1.5 to operator, $0.50 to Church or $1 each if operator agrees). As our current bank balance is good, suggestion made that all playgroup profits from the day be donated back to Church.
Mavis from the Church is worried that parents spending lots of money on the jumping castle will therefore not have money to spend at the fete. It was suggested that the jumping castle might bring more families to the fete as well though.
The jumping castle would need to be set up in the car park, in full view of the road to attract parents.
Mavis will seek approval from the Church Council on 7th April to undertake this activity.
Draft budget for the year period 1 July 2009 – 30 June 2010
· Budgeted income for year - $9740 ($7740 weekly fees & $2000 Church fees).
· At this stage, no fundraising budget for.
· Budgeted expenses for year - $7795
· Contingency of $500 allowed for all year – is this enough or $1000? Agreed to leave it at $500 for now
· Budgeted end of year surplus - $4390. Remember we are not for profit!
Wish List 08/09
Items 1-16 included in July 2009 budget
· Butter knives removed from wish list as some have already been donated by Liz. Request for other cutlery to be donated if available.
· Budget for toy foods, saucepans to be increased from $50 to $100 to include new storage unit
· Wooden train set removed, as buildings are required more than track. Kimone to donate some buildings and Liz to make some.
· Suggestion made to look in the St Bernards Op Shop for plastic dolls and clothes
· Dolls house to be redecorated and refurbished, with furniture acquired to suit Barbie doll size dolls
Items 17 & 18 included in November 2009 budget (in time for outdoor weather and toy sales)
Items 19-27 discussed at meeting re priority, funding and timing
· All outside and kitchen items may require discussion with Church
· Repairs to kitchen drawers put at top of list, due to safety concerns. Adele to approach her father in law regarding a quote for repairs. Budget reduced to $500, as other cupboards not currently
requiring refurbishment.
· New fridge second on list. Bar fridge agreed as suitable size and budget reduced to $300
· Repairs to sand pit to stop sand pouring out third on list.
· Replacement of surfaces (soft impact or artificial turf) fourth on list (with remaining funds to be
invested until year 2 or 3 for this to occur and depending on church assistance).
· Hook on door of shed removed from list, as the padlock can be used to secure door against
fence.
· New locks to be purchased for shed, as small one is too small.
· Timber outdoor table with seating for adults to be tabled as possible funding project through the
Shire later in the year.
· Any items that do not get up this year will be carried over to 2009/2010 for consideration.
Action:
· Donation to the Playgroup Vic Bushfire Appeal
· Fence sign - follow up with Church
· Church fete - follow up with Church
· Budget 1.7.09 – 30.6.10
· Wish list 08/09
By Whom/When:
· All group leaders to discuss the donation amount with their groups
· Melanie
· Mavis & Melanie
· May meeting
· May meeting
Administration (Kimone)
· First Aid Course – 2nd May (clashes with Church Fete), so needs to be rescheduled
· Request was made for a Sunday afternoon session, as Saturdays are hard for some parents
· Suggestion was made that Playgroup cover the entire or partial cost of the first aid course to encourage participation. A vote was taken, with 7 people voting for the cost to remain the same and 3 people voting for the playgroup to cover the cost and reimburse the six people who paid during the first session. Melanie suggested that Amber add the first aid funding to the wish list for next year so that it can be discussed again.
Action:
· Reschedule First Aid
By Whom/When:
· Kimone
Treasurer (Sam)
Church fee – now $20 per family per annum due TODAY (6th April) and no concession rate.
Weekly fees received for March - $508.40
Expenses paid in March $1013.06
Current balance is $3122.75
A schedule of weekly fees paid per group for January and February was provided with a calculation of the average number of families per week per group for the month of February paid. A total of 63.55 families paid (out of a possible 100+) to attend for the month.
Fundraising (Vacant)
Nothing to report.
Purchasing (Sam on behalf of Helen)
· Dress up cupboard installed and in use. (A big thank you to Melanie and Owen Tudball for several hours of assembly.)
· Easter & Mothers Day craft purchased. Easter masks in bottom of craft cupboard.
· Mothers Day craft to be taken from surplus box closer to the day.
Church (Blair)
· Church schedule for the Easter period is on the Community Notice board
· Church in the park went well
· The Church magazine is also on the notice board for everyone to look at
· Working bee on 18 April, in preparation for the Fete on May 2. A display of miniature living will be in the Playgroup hall and a DVD of Queen Mary’s doll house will be in the Church, with a donation box
· The Church has confirmed that there will be no discount to the Church fee for this year. $20 per family. Several members mentioned that they had concession holders who were disappointed with this. The committee has discussed several avenues for reimbursing concession holders; however, consensus was not reached. Attendees at the meeting were to go back to their groups and speak to their members. Any further issues can be raised with Melanie or Kimone privately on mellytud@ofx.com.au.
General Business
· Website/blog (Chelsea & Sam) – some work has been completed and Sam and Chelsea are working with Reverend Blair to continue this.
· The outside gate is to be replaced before the end of April. It has already been ordered.
· The play pen gate on the hall door needs to be looked into, as some small children are able to open it.
· Brat Pack is changing their name to Busy Bees, as they are no longer brats!
· Cleaning the hall is still an issue, with several groups mentioning the time it takes to do a proper job. Liz suggested having a professional cleaner come in regularly to do a thorough clean of floors, chairs, tables, etc, however, this would not negate the responsibility for each group to at least vacuum after each session to remove small sequins and other objects that could be harmful to babies and toddlers. This is to be further discussed at the May meeting.
· The artwork displayed on the storage and craft cupboards to be removed and rotated more regularly.
Action:
· Cleaning issue
· Play pen gate @ entrance door
By Whom/When:
· May meeting
· Melanie / Sam
MEETING CLOSED AT 9.20 PM
NEXT MEETING
Monday, 4 May 2009 @ 7.30 pm
