December 1996 Volume 1, Issue 1
Mulgrave Musings
The committee speaks
Welcome to the first newsletter from the Mulgrave School public relations committee. For those of you who don’t know what this committee - or any of the eight others at the school - are really all about, this newsletter is for you.
Over the next couple of pages, we will inform you of what each of the committees actually does – as well as update you on some of its recent accomplishments.

As many parents are aware, Mulgrave School has introduced a Parent Advisory Committee structure to ensure that school planning, communications, and fundraising activities reflect the joint vision of parents, staff, and board of the school. Parent input and involvement is actively sought in the areas of Strategic Planning; Capital Fundraising; Public Relations; Operations; Curriculum and Education; Fundraising; Technology; and Site.

How is communications handled?

A member of the Board of Directors chairs each committee and is responsible for reporting to the board each month on the activities undertaken and issues raised by his or her committee. In addition, the Public

Relations Committee is publishing a Parent Advisory Committee Newsletter each month (the first issue of which you hold in your hands), offering a brief summary of the work being done by each committee. We hope that it will serve as a useful reference throughout the year.

Are the committees closed?

The committees are always open to interested parents. If parents have questions or ideas to bring to a committee, they should contact the committee chair (preferably a week prior to the next meeting), and ask that the item be placed on the agenda. Parents may come to a particular meeting in order to provide input in person, or they may ask that the chair or another committee member pass along the information. Do not hesitate to contact our Public Relations Chair (Nancy Spooner 986-1792) if you have any questions.
January
21, 1997		 Education Committee meeting
At 9 AM, the first Education Committee meeting of the new year will take place at the school. All committee members please note the date and time.
February
22, 1997		 East meets West Winter Social
Mark this date on your calendar now and be prepared to follow Marco Polo’s culinary journey through three distinct regions of Europe and Asia.
Advances in education  
The education committee
The educational head of the school is contractually responsible for the development and implementation of the school’s yearly subject curriculum. It is based on provincial ministry outlines and requirements. The Education Committee has taken as a mandate, education issues in the broader sense and is looking into such issues as post-secondary liaisons, exchange programmes, community relations/programmes, educational scholarships. All of these issues are being examined with reference to post-secondary education, work experience/exposure and networking with influential individuals or groups for inspirational and developmental purposes. Meanwhile, a proposal for the appointment of Honorary Governors of Mulgrave School has been formulated by committee members Dr Anne Wallis and her husband Dr Lawrence Meyer. The Board has approved the proposal and details of the idea can be found below.
The committee comprises: Chair: Mrs. Hamer (984-9030); Co-chair: Mr. Larose; Members: Mr. Nall, Dr Wallis, Dr Best, Mrs. Kassam, Mrs. Turner, Mrs. Tetzken, Mrs. Ferguson, Ms. Gowan
Mulgrave Honorary Governors proposed
It is proposed that a group of six Honorary Governors be appointeesenting one Honorary d, of the following areas: Education, Science, Arts/Drama, Sports, Business/Finance and Citizenship/Diplomacy

 The Honorary Governors would be chosen for their achievements, international recognition, lack of direct affiliation with the school, local residence and belief in the pursuit of excellence in education. In addition, it would be hoped that the Honorary Governors would consist of both men and women, so that strong role models of both sexes are promoted.

These Honorary Governors would provide an opportunity for the school to access outside expertise and establish wide-ranging contacts. The Honorary Governors could provide a great deal of cutting-edge, real-life expertise in areas that as a small school we simply do not now have the resources to provide internally. They would hopefully open doors that we may not even know exist and provide unique opportunities for networking at the highest levels for both the staff and the students. The affiliation of this group of experts with the school would also be important because it would provide those who are so intimately associated with the school with valuable opinions that

come from an objective viewpoint. The Honorary Governors of Mulgrave School would also add prestige and lend even more legitimacy to our school, especially in it’s early stages.

We would like to ask the parent body as a whole to put forward suggestions of people that are known to them whom we might ask to become one of the Honorary Governors of Mulgrave School. There are many people who live in Vancouver who have accomplished extraordinary things in their lives and whose inspiration, expertise and international recognition would make them the perfect choice for Honorary Governor of Mulgrave School. If you know of anyone who you feel fits this description please forward their name along with a short paragraph describing why they should become one of the Honorary Governors to the Education Committee by Wednesday January 15th.

Thank-you,

Anne E. Wallis (986 5649)
The public relations committee
This newsletter is the work of the Mulgrave School Public Relations Committee. It exists to assist with PR work for the school and perspective to the Board of Directors on many of the issues before it. In developing a PR plan, the committee is identifying objectives, target audiences for its messages and how best to communicate them. Chaired by Nancy Spooner, the committee is Lisa Dimaris, Anne Millerd, Vikki Patterson, Kathie Kiloh, Siobhan Rayer, Lynne Swanson, Sharmina Murphy, Tara Houghton, Milena Robertson, Katie Larose and Geof Wheelwright.
 
The Public Relations Committee will next meet on January 22, 1997 at 3:45 PM at the school
Planning
The Strategic Planning Committee had its first meeting on December 5, 1996. The meeting started with a review of some of the strategic issues that had been addressed on the past by the Headmistress and the Board of Directors, and in particular with a review of the School’s Mission Statement.

Strategic Planning Committee
The fundraising committee wants to keep the "fun" in fund-raising and needs your help to do it
The Parents’ Fundraising Committee met on November 13 with ten members in attendence. Guidelines and objectives for fundraising were reviewed and established. It was agreed that the major "fun-raising" events – a Winter Social in February, the Spring Gala on May 9 and the Fall Fair – should be undertaken in 1997 and other activities were also reviewed. It is intended that the School should not endorse or promote a succession of minor fundraising sales, which may have the and should instead focus on major fundraising events. The Committee agreed to sponsor a "parent to parent" information newsletter advising parents of other fundraising opportunities that are available to them if they want to participate. It was also noted that the tax year end is approaching and that the school provides tax deductible receipts
The site committee
The goal of the site committee is to find a location that would house a school of about 40,000 square feet with a capacity of up to 640 students within the budget limitations outlined by the Capital Fund Raising Committee. the ideal site would contain a five acre parcel centrally located on the North Shore. The specific location of the school on the North Shore is not a huge issue in terms of parent access, however, as the committee has determined that any location on the North Shore is readily accessible via the Upper Levels highway. A number of options are being discussed at the moment, although little can be said about them in detail just yet as the sensitive nature of the planning and land acquisition process requires a certain level of discretion until all interested parties have firm proposals to put before the Board.

Capital Fundraising Committee
This committee has started operating through two sub-committees: Financing and Philanthropic. The main committee operates as a communication and discussion forum for the members of the two sub-committees.

On the financing side, a meeting was held with Van City recently to provide committee members with a better understanding of a financing scheme that it operates for independent schools. Schools already using the Van City scheme include Meadowridge and St. John’s. The scheme is quite straightforward and provides 100 per cent financing for up to $6 million for a school acquisition and/or build. The secuirty sought is first mortgage over the land and/or buildings and parental guarantees for 50 per cent of the loan. Meetings are arranged with one other credit union and at least one bank to ensure that we have a competitive scheme available. The committee has studied this scheme and believes that the debt service cost is a constraint. Meanwhile, on the philanthropic front, the principal charitable foundations have been identified and the nest step is to match those with the best potential empathy for Mulgrave so that a strategy for approaching each of them can be developed. Direct lines to key influencers in the Vancouver Foundation have been identified.
The Technology Committee
Who does what?
Strategic Planning
Chair: John Koenig
Telephone: 929-0343
Capital Fundraising
Chair: Rick Bryant
Telephone: 925-0363
Site committee
Chair: Wayne Smithies
Telephone: 985-4458
Parents’ fundraising
Chair: Jim Robertson
Telephone: 926-7979
Technology
Chair: Andrew Woods
Telephone: 980-2541
Public Relations
Chair: Nancy Spooner
Telephone: 986-1792
Education
Chair: Linda Hamer
Telephone: 984-9030
Operations
Chair: Linda Hamer
Telephone: 984-9030

Planning together for 1997

 

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