Meeting Minutes 25th November 2024

A.Micklem added some follow-up information about the communication plan in the MoMs.
No other comment received. The Minutes are approved.

1. Financial report: status (M.Grandinetti);

M.Grandinetti has consolidated the financial balance status for the years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, and presented them during the Board meeting.

The possibility to reduce the number of bank accounts (from currently n.4 to n.2 = current and BAC), inherited from the past activities is discussed by the Board. This would reduce the fixed bank costs while financial control is now facilitated as payments are done digitally through the website and can be traced easily.

The financial balance status will be distributed to the Board for information and eventual comments before the next Board meeting and General Assembly of 16/12.

The Board warmly thanks M.Grandinetti for having done the financial status.

1. Supporting the new treasurer (L.van Wijk);

1. A.Micklem and L.van Wijk have met the volunteer person who offered to support AGSEV on the accountancy/ financial matters.
2. Accounting (‘commercialista’) and admin. support: The needs of the Association have been better specified in order to ask for an offer.

Point on the positions to be filled and the organization of the ballot (election committee)

Only n.10 candidatures received before the limit date, for n.15 free positions. Therefore elections are not needed: all 10 candidates will be automatically elected.

The president (J.Barroso) recalls that if a candidate is co-opted during the General Assembly, s/he can be appointed for two years. If after the GA, s/he can only be appointed until the next elections in 2025.

Pres. & All

1. Preparation of the coming Education Councils (date, points to be discussed)

The EC / Secondary is planned tomorrow 26/11 (from 17.30 by Teams); Joao, Eva and Daria will participate, Ally will confirm.

For the EC /primary, P.Blondel will ask confirmation of the date with sufficient prior notice to A.Selvaggio

1. Participation to the next Administration Council

J.Barroso recalls the participation to the Admin. Council is limited to n.2 AGSEV members, generally the Pres. and Vice-Pres. 

The participation is to be decided by the next AGSEV Board on 16/12 for the next Admin.Council; J.Barroso informs he can be available if needed, in particular to discuss the Italian L2 (see point 5g) below).

Pres, Vice-Pres. & All

1. Support to COMSEV: meeting done by COMSEV with AGSEV Board members;
   AGSEV can support, regarding communication, to the parents via the WhatsApp community.

This was confirmed that there is no question from COMSEV Board to restrict the access to the Mensa for pupils not registered to the COMSEV and taking their home-made lunches. The question has however been raised by the sanitary authorities (ASL) to the School, following an audit done in the Mensa 

1. COTSEV interface (reimbursement of all the n.200 AGSEV shares but one, therefore n.199): Action Pres. J.Barroso still to send the request to AGSEV.

Pres, Vice-Pres. & All

• Issue of the spurious AMOK alarms (letter sent by the parents, to be sent by AGSEV);
  Following the various letters received by the parents’ class reps from primary, the Sec.Gen (P.Blondel) will draft and circulate a letter from AGSEV, backing the parents’ claims and requesting to discuss the matter with the School management at the next School Admin.Council.

• After-school activities: AGSEV should monitor that the invoice payments are done for all kids. A.Micklem suggests to revisit the whole process and check if this can be eased on this aspect.

G.Ferrari informs that payments have already been done for about 60% of the teachers.

• Organization of the Christmas market on 17/12 (stand AGSEV)

A.Micklem has already asked for a table to the School (no answer yet), informs this could be a good occasion to attract new members. The Board agrees to sponsor offering the coffee to the class reps (biodegradable capsules / Action A.Micklem).

Calendars could also be sold at this occasion.

• Support to the Christmas concert of 11/12: the Board agrees about sponsoring up to 300€ the buffet.

• Feedback from the BTFWW group

Ally debriefs about the BTFWW initiative, underlining the importance of diffusing awareness about the climate challenge by means of education: not only pedagogy in the classroom, but diffusing best practices from school to home, teaming up in projects for sustainability (see ANNEX 1 to the MoMs).

• Proposal of projects to the School, preferentially in the area of sustainability: a first batch of proposals has been submitted to the School (for instance insonorisation of the Mensa).

1. WG Italian L2: the survey has been distributed by the School to the parents.

J.Barroso informs that n.455 answers have been received from the poll; a last reminder will be done tomorrow via the WA community

1. Info on School trips procurement: u

VCs question remains still open for non-mandatory trips (e.g. Auschwitz) on next year, as the School stated it will use the FWC and is refusing to consider alternate and cheaper offers which could be found by parents. This is indeed the case of the trip to Auschwitz in March 2025 for which parents representatives found 3 offers, all of them for the amount around 500 euro, everything included (health and accident insurance as well as the cancellation insurance in case of force majeure, all meals, departure and arrival on Malpensa in reasonable hours) while the school decided – without any explanation – to use Morandi agency for 800 euro, without any kind of insurance, dinner to be paid in addition and departure and arrival on Bergamo in non comfortable timing obliging students to be at school at 4.00 a.m. on the day of departure.

More generally, A.Micklem and G.Ferrari suggest to raise again the question of ensuring the best price/quality offer for school trips at the next School Admin.Council.

• Status on InterParents (IP): next meeting planned this week in Munich; A.Micklem will participate as lead for the Working Group on sustainable development. Will debrief on next Board (see ANNEX 2 of the MoMs).

• The Board members agrees to purchase a ‘Jabra’ table microphone system for ensuring better quality of video-conference Board meetings (Action: G.Ferrari)

• BAC committee: as a matter of principle, the Board agrees to sponsor and support the event as done in previous years (budget advance and use of the account, support to S7 BBQ). The possibility to use the AGSEV website for ticketing/data collection could also be envisaged.

All