Minutes of the meeting on the 9^th of June, 2008

Who was there: Alys, Andrea, Bo, Kay, Federica, Marika, Mike, Ursula

Money: Frida sent the message that she is finding it difficult to open a bank account as she is not British. So the role of treasurer and the responsibility of opening a bank account was passed on to Marika and to a reluctant Mike, who know about a Steiner-inspired financial institution that operates through Post Offices.[BEA1]  They are to open an account with it as soon as possible, as Bonny needs to transfer money to it asap.

Moreover, it was agreed to prepare a letter to send to the Tintagel Trust to ask for support for activities, as people on the Trust might be prepared to help in some ways. Federica will draft one and bring it to next meeting. The Freeman College will also be involved and it might be worth writing to Aonghus Gordon exploring potential ways in which the College might consider offering support in the future.

Parent and child groups: The groups on Wednesday afternoon at Kindi and Friday morning at Federica’s are up and running well. It was agreed to go ahead with Longshaw and Ursula will book a place for Monday mornings, beginning from September. The cost is of 12,50GBP for a 1,5 hour session. It will be necessary to pay for it every month in advance. It was agreed to use money from the Seven Hills account to pay for the first month and then use the money collected at meetings of the P&C group, though it is unlikely to be enough.

There was a discussion about keeping the second P&C group in town and various venues were mentioned, including the Chapel at Fulwood and the Institute in Heeley[BEA2] . Mike to investigate how much the Institute might cost per session.

‘Older children’ activity group: We had a thorough discussion of what to do for ‘older children’ whom will be left stranded by the closure of the Kindergarten. Alys told to people at the meeting about her and Jenny finishing the NEST course for Steiner school teachers this month. We agreed that the option that would work best for the children would be 2 or 3 days (as we are unlikely to be able to afford more) of Steiner inspired activities for children aged 3-4 to 6. Half days would be good for children but not for potential teachers, therefore the hours might be less than a full day but the pay to offer would be that of a full day work (ca. 120GBP). Parents or carers would assist the teacher in carrying out activities, but still there would be a substantial cost involved. The 3^rd day could entail a eurhythmy [BEA3] session (Bo to find out cost). Moreover, there are legal / insurance issues to be explored and the key question of the venue[BEA4] . Marika is going to find out what are the ‘legal’ possibilities.

Advertisement/fund raising: The stall at the Netheredge Fayre raised 60GBP (and cost 20GBP). For next times, it seems better to focus on advertisement and public awareness, rather than on selling crafts, as Ursula had to shoulder much of the craft making in preparation for the day. It was agreed to participate in that vein of ‘public awareness’ to the Crosspool Fayre (12^th of July) and to the next Netheredge Fayre (14^th of September). Bo to find out a list of fayres across Sheffield.

 Unfortunately, the Freeman College will not give us the premises for the summer Fayre because they could not insure the event given the issue with asbestos. This means that there will be no summer Fayre. Maybe a Christmas Fayre.

Advertisment and public awareness were discussed more generally. It was agreed to try to cast a net across the whole of Sheffield, rather than the usual S10/S11 and to make an effort to have several magazines/newspapers mentioned Steiner education[BEA6] . Marika mentioned the fact that we need to be certain about activities before advertising and this will certainly be kept into consideration. Mike is to find out how to have an interview in the Star [BEA7] for him and Federica. Marika is to draft an article which could appear in Link or Chatterbox. Federica to find out advertisement rates in Link/Chatterbox. We also need a leaflet for distribution (Marika to bring one taken from ? next time?

Next meeting: 18^th of June, at Frida and Andreas’ place, 8pm. Items on the agenda so far: bank account, letter to Tintagel Trust, Longshaw, and leaflet for distribution.