Constitution of Sacred Heart Canossian Kindergarten

Parent-Teacher Association

 

 

A.    Name: Sacred Heart Canossian Kindergarten (“Kindergarten”) Parent-Teacher Association (the “Association”)

 

B.    Address: 10 Robinson Road, Hong Kong

 

C.    Aims

1. The Association is a non-profit organisation.
2. To strengthen close collaboration and partnership between Home and the Kindergarten, so as to foster a concerted effort both at Home and in the Kindergarten in enhancing the effectiveness of education.
3. To promote communication and exchange of views in matters of mutual concern among parents.
4. To assist and implement activities organised by the Kindergarten for improving the welfare of students.

 

D.    Membership

1. The Supervisor, Principal and all teaching staff of the Kindergarten shall be Ex-Officio Members of the Association.
2. The Parents or guardian of each student currently enrolled and the School Management Committee (SMC) members of the Kindergarten may apply for Membership. Upon the acceptance and approval of the application by the Association, the applicant shall become a Member, and there shall be one Membership only per family.
3. All Members shall have the right to vote at the election and to be eligible for election to become the Executive Committee Members.
4. All Members shall observe the rules of this Constitution, abide by the decisions reached at the general meetings of the Association and pay their annual subscriptions.

 

E.    Membership subscription 

1. Save for the Ex-Officio Members, all Members shall pay their annual subscriptions within the time period stipulated by the Association. All subscriptions once paid are non-refundable, and shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the aims of the Association.
2. Save for the subscriptions stipulated in sub-paragraph (1) above, Members are not obliged to provide any monetary aid to the Association. The Association may receive donations from Members or other parties.

 

 

F.    Organisation

1. The organisation of the Association shall consist of a General Assembly and an Executive Committee.
2. The General Assembly shall be the highest authority of the Association and be composed of all the Members of the Association. When the General Assembly is in recess, all business and affairs of the Association shall be managed by the Executive Committee.
3. The Executive Committee shall call for general meetings of the Association by way of the Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting.
4. The Association shall convene:-

• a General Meeting at the second-half of October each year for election of office-bearers of the Executive Committee for the ensuing school year; and
• not less than one General Meeting before early November each year, at which the Chairperson of the Association shall report on general affairs of the Association of the preceding year and the Treasurer shall provide a report on the financial condition of the Association.

5. An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called by not less than seven (7) days’ notice in writing to all Members.  Such meeting may be convened upon receipt of a written request from not less than one-fourth of the Members of the Association. The written request shall state the subject or subjects for discussion.
6. Not less than one-tenth of the Members present in person shall form a quorum for all general meetings.

 

 

G.    Executive Committee

1. The Executive Committee shall be composed of Members appointed at the election conducted pursuant to section F(4)(i) above.
2. The Executive Committee shall convene both the General Meeting and any Extraordinary General Meetings of the Association.
3. The Chairperson of the Executive Committee shall preside as chairperson of every General Meeting of the Association and every meeting of the Executive Committee. If the Chairperson is absent from a meeting, the Vice-Chairperson shall preside at such meeting.
4. The Executive Committee shall be composed of twenty-four (24) Committee Members, fourteen (14) of whom are Parent Members, ten (10) are Teacher Members and two (2) are consultants (The Supervisor and the Principal).
5. The out-going Committee Members and the newly elected Committee Members shall hold their first joint meeting as soon as possible after the Annual General Meeting. Teacher and Parent Committee Members shall each enroll in one of the ten functional constituencies; each functional constituency (regardless of the number of its seats) shall have only one vote.

 

6. An Executive Committee Member shall not vote or be counted as quorum in respect of any proposed or existing transaction, arrangement or contract in which he/she has a direct or indirect interest, and if he/she does vote, his/her vote shall not be counted.The term of office of each Committee Member shall be one (1) year. One of them shall be an Ex-Officio Member of the ensuing year.
7. The Election Committee is assigned by the Executive Committee and shall comprise five (5) to eight (8) Members, two-thirds of whom shall be the Executive Committee Members, and one of whom shall be the Chairperson of the Election Committee. The Election Committee may assign duties to Ordinary Members of the Association and the Executive Committee may provide assistance to the Election Committee.
8. The Executive Committee shall have the power to hold by-elections to fill vacancies occurring during the year.
9. Questions arising at any meeting of the Executive Committee shall be decided by a simple majority of votes. In the case of an equal number of votes, the Chairperson shall have a casting vote.
10. All Executive Committee Members are on an honorary basis and shall not be appointed to any salaried office of the Association.
11. Any Executive Committee Members who, in any way, has a direct or indirect interest in a proposed or existing transaction, arrangement or contract entered into with the Association, which is substantially related to the Association, and in which he or she has a material interest, shall declare to the rest of the Executive Committee the nature and scope of such interest.

 

 

H.    Finance

1. The funds of the Association may be applied to further its aims and to meet its recurrent expenses.
2. The Treasurer shall report on the financial condition of the Association at the Executive Committee meetings.
3. The Executive Committee is empowered to grant, at its discretion, sums of money from the funds of the Association to the Kindergarten to be used for scholarships, prizes or other purposes, and the Principal shall have full authority to use the sums so granted.
4. All funds received by the Association shall be deposited in a bank or banks authorised by the Executive Committee. All cheques drawn on such bank account or accounts shall be signed by the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson who is a Parent Member and countersigned by either the Vice-Chairperson or Treasurer who is a Teacher Member.
5. Members of the Executive Committee shall be liable for any debt of the Association.
6. The income and property of the Association, however derived, shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the aims of the Association as set forth in this Constitution. No portion of the income and property of the Association shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly, by way of dividend, bonus, or otherwise howsoever, to the Members of the Association.
7. The Executive Committee shall cause proper books of account (including receipts of any donations received) to be kept with respect to:-

• all sums of money received and expended by the Association and the matters in respect of which such receipts and expenditure take place; and
• the assets and liabilities of the Association.

 

The Executive Committee shall, as soon as practicable, prepare a year-end financial statement for the auditor to audit the accounts of the Association.

 

I.    Audit

 The General Assembly shall appoint an Honorary Auditor who shall audit the accounts of the Association once a year.

 

J.    Amendments to the Constitution/Dissolution of the Association

1. Any amendments to the Constitution of the Association shall be passed by a special resolution of over two-thirds of Members present at the relevant General Meeting. The Amended Constitution shall be submitted to the relevant Authority(es) thereafter.
2. Dissolution of the Association shall be firstly approved by the Kindergarten, and thereafter be passed by a special resolution of over two-thirds of Members present at the Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting.
3. If upon the dissolution of the Association there remains, after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities, any property whatsoever, the same shall be paid to the Board of Directors (School Management Committee) of the Kindergarten for distribution, in conforming with the aims of the Association.

 

Revised as at October 2018