Past Presidents Report at the BSC-PTA AGM 2017-18

Dear Dr. Scarth, Mr. Harwood, Mrs. Wells, teachers, Parents, Staff, PTA members and friends, a very warm welcome to our BSC- PTA AGM 2017-2018.

I take a lot of pride as PTA President 2017-18 to present the report where we were able to bring the school community together in many occasions and were also able to contribute towards many charities and support school development projects and school events.

Also it was a great pleasure and an honor to represent the school parents at the BSC PTA. Through the BSC PTA we were able to discuss with the management on numerous matters as well as find solutions to some problems that came up during the year. This allowed the concerned parties to address their issues in a timely manner.

During this year the PTA repeated the Vision Care Eye screening project which was initiated during the last year. The PTA decided to continue this event as it helped our children as well the parents in a very helpful manner in identifying problems their children had. What we personally learnt from this event is that it is never too early to test eyes as children don’t understand to explain their problems at an early age. It was a huge success as all students got screened for it including the teachers and staff.

I hope This initiative will be continued by the upcoming committee as well.

We also organized the UN day with many parents of different nationalities supporting in large numbers. The annual Christmas carnival was held with a large number of visitors in attendance, this was enjoyed by children as well as the parents. The Quiz and movie night was

organized for the third consecutive year with Mr. Rob as the quiz master. The Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations were very colorful with almost all students in school attending with the traditional attire. It was filled with traditional food and activities for all to enjoy. Easter and Eid were celebrated and supported by the PTA for the school children to get and feel the diverse religious surroundings they live in. Arabian Nights was the theme for this year’s much looked forward to annual parent social. This was held at Watersedge with a record number of attendees. For the first time the dance went on till 3am with many parents requesting to stay more.

Rs. 1,945,090.00 was spent towards the school development and events during the 2017/2018 period. Also a further Rs. 495,000.00 was contributed towards the chosen charities.

During this year we were able to provide 04 white interactive boards costing Rs. 1,840,000 to the school. Each of these boards cost Rs. 460,000. These futuristic boards will help our children to interact with the school work in a much helpful manner. The school have planned to upgrade all classes with these interactive boards in future. Also we supported in many school events including sports events during the year with refreshments to the children.

The charity we supported this year was Cerebral Palsy Lanka Foundation (CPLF), the first and only organization in Sri Lanka for children with Cerebral Palsy(CP). CP is one of Sri Lanka’s most common permanent childhood disabilities with around 40,000 children affected and many of them completely disabled. We provided them with Rs495,000 to purchase 30 specially made wheel chairs for the organization. The distribution camp will be held during the month of September in Hambantota.

I am also pleased to announce that Rs. 987,551 is left in the bank for the new committee to carry on with their work without any problem.

I would like to take this moment to thank Dr. Scarth for all the support extended towards the PTA to carry on with their activities and the last minute requests which very often happened.

My sincere thanks to all the parents, teachers, school staff, maintenance staff, security for their support to make these numerous events successful and a very special thank you to Warren for the help he provided in our last minute requests.

I would like to thank my committee members for giving their precious time towards organizing the events and the charities, which was not easy with their day to day activities involving work and families. Also I would encourage parents to join the PTA and support to bring the school community together.

Finally, I wish Pri and the new committee all the very best in their future endeavors.

Thank you,

Vindy De Silva

PTA President - (2017-2018)