Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Members … of the Annual General Meeting ... and Mr. John...

Lycée Condorcet Sydney, International French School 758 Anzac Parade Maroubra, NSW 2035 | Tel: +61 2 9344 8692 | Fax: +61 2 9349 2626 | www.condorcet.com.au

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Members Lycée Condorcet – The International French School of Sydney

Date: Thursday 19 November 2015.

Time: 6.00 pm

Location: School hall (Block G), Lycée Condorcet,

758 Anzac Parade, Maroubra

Were present:

Board members:

Members as per attendance sheet annexed hereto.

Mr. Patrice Ribault (President/Chairperson)

Mr. Luc Marin-Curtoud (Vice-President/Deputy Chairperson)

Ms. Mona Karam (Treasurer)

Mr. Christopher White (Secretary)

Ms. Suzanne McArthur (Audit Committee)

Mr. Alan Trestour (Building Committee)

Mr. Sébastien Vallérie

Mr. Axel Higelin

Ms. Marine Pestel

School Administration:

Mr. Philippe Courjault (Principal) Mr. Jean-Pierre Guguen (Financial and Administrative Manager)

Guests:

Mr. Nicolas Croizer (Consul-General of France) Mr. Olivier Le Van Xieu (Deputy Consul of France) Ms. Emmanuelle Denavit-Feller Ms. Marie-Claire Guilbaud (Elected Consular Advisor) Ms. Danièle Kemp (Elected Consular Advisor) Mr. Jean-Philippe Grange (Elected Consular Advisor) Mr. Bernard Le Boursicot (Elected Consular Advisor) Mr. John Mac Coll Mr. Francois Romanet (President FACCI) Ms. Mallika Lheritier (Parents & Friends Association)

Minute taker: Ms. Prisca Armance

1. MEETING OPENING

1.1. Welcome:

The President Mr. Patrice Ribault, welcomed members and guests to the Annual General Meeting 2015 of the Lycée Condorcet and invited the


assembly to observe one minute of silence in reminiscence of 13 November Paris incidents.

A special welcome was extended to guests: Mr. Nicolas Croizer, Elected Consular Advisors and Mr. John Mac Coll.

1.2. Quorum:

The President confirmed the presence of a quorum and called the meeting, which has been duly convened, to order at 6.15pm. More than 30 members were present and/or represented.

1.3. The Secretary’s address:

The secretary, Mr. Christopher White, gave a short explanation on the conduct and procedures of the Annual General Meeting before opening the official proceedings of the 2015 AGM. Parents will be invited to ask questions at the end of the presentations.

1.4. Confirmation of agenda

Motion: That the agenda of the Annual General Meeting of the Lycée Condorcet held on 19th November 2015 be confirmed and adopted. Proposer: Mr. Patrice Ribault

Seconder: Mr. Christopher White

Ruling: The motion was carried unanimously.

2. THE CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT:

The Chairperson’s Report was given by the President of the Board, Mr. Patrice Ribault. Highlights from the report include:

AEFE’s anniversary:

This year the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

School board mission:

The school board’s mission has been reinstated by the President; the latter reminded the assembly of the role and responsibilities of members of the School Board.

Environment of the school:

The President explained that the school operates in a complex environment (in between French and Australian regulations); in the eye of the Australian law, the school is a non-profit organisation and as such, this brings a lot of regulations to follow. On the educational part, it has to follow educational guidelines from France due to the AEFE convention/contract.


Good governance is important for the school; meetings and work sessions are crucial for us to work together.

Enrolments and student retention:

For the first time, we have more than 800 students enrolled at the school.

The President explained that the school is increasing its student’s retention. We are succeeding in keeping students longer at the school.

Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW (BOSTES):

BOSTES accreditation has been received for Year 11 and 12; grants can finally be obtained for these class levels. This has been passed on to parents through lower school fees.

Cash flow:

More than 400,000 in the school’s cash accounts this year.

School Board’s mission:

One of the main objectives of the board is to keep school fees as low as possible. It tries to keep the increases as low as possible (a bit less than the CPI increase: 1.75%). The objective is to remain a non-selective and affordable school.

The President reinstated the mission and the role of the School Board and reminded the assembly that the board is legally and financially responsible for the school.

Board directors are volunteers and they cannot be representative of any special interest group or body. As a director of the School Board, one has to abide by the code of ethics and must sign a non-disclosure agreement.

The President took the opportunity to thank past and present members of the Board for their hard work.

Marketing and Communication:

The President welcomed Chloe Pringalle as the new Head of Communication at the school.

WHS Audit:

The school is working with the Eco-committee to make the school more sustainable/greener.

Future plans:

The IT infrastructure of the school is being upgraded. A maintenance and replacement plan will be implemented over the next 3-4 years.


More details on the future plans of the School Board will be given in the Building Committee Report.

The Master plan Vision 2020 will be presented at the end of this month. The main challenge of the 2015-2016 year is the delivery of the Master Plan. Works are due to start next July.

3. THE PRINCIPAL’S REPORT:

The Principal’s Report was given by Mr. Philippe Courjault. He thanked the members for their attendance and welcomed the guests to the 2015 AGM. The main highlights of the report are summarised below:

The Pozieres project:

On Monday 23rd November 2015, the school will be organising a gold coin donation in favour of the creation of a Franco-Australian school in Pozieres, France. This initiative will be followed by several schools in Australia to commemorate the 1916 Battle of Pozieres.

The Principal also welcomed the birth of a new network of schools with bilingual language program. Actually, there are 10 schools in Australia that offer a French-Australian program. Several exchanges are made between the Lycée Condorcet and those schools.

Enrolments:

The school has welcomed 120 more students over the two years: 40% of them are French and 30% Australians.

The proportion of Australian students tends to diminish the higher the class levels. The proportion of Australian students going from “maternelle” to primary school has decreased from 40% to 30%.

There are several reasons for the higher student retention in the school: the quality of the academic results (our students having access to universities around the world), the opening of the European Section (meaning more points in Baccalaureate and a higher ATAR).

Projects:

Upcoming cultural event: Visit of Francois Garde at the school.

Lots of pedagogical projects are being put in place. For e.g., the Web Radio project: In March 2016, we will be able to broadcast live with other schools in the network. Today, students have been going to SBS for an interview on the subject on the national broadcasting network.


Association of Alumni: The Principal is proud to announce that the school has officially launched its association of past students. The first office-bearers of the Lycée Condorcet's Association of Alumni are:

Ms. Louise SIEG (President); Mr. Theo BERTHET-BONDET (Vice-President); Mr. Mahaut ARMAND (Secretary); and Mr. Nathan DUBEAU.

Paris incidents aftermath:

The Principal shared that the school is not alone; the local community is concerned about what the school is going through. The Maroubra Junction Public School has expressed its condolences by keeping one minute of silence at the same time as the school on Monday 15th November. The Maroubra Police Station demonstrated their compassion and concern by sending flowers to the school.

4. THE BUILDING COMMITTEE REPORT:

The Building Committee Report was given by Mr. Alan Trestour. A copy of the presentation is annexed to the present minutes. Highlights of the Building Committee Report include:

Composition of the Building Committee:

The Building Committee is actually composed of:

Board Members: Alan Trestour, Patrice Ribault and Mona Karam

School Administration: Philippe Courjault, Jean-Pierre Guguen and Greg Sawyer.

He took the opportunity to welcome Mr. Greg Sawyer, the new Building Manager to help on the Master plan.

Maintenance:

A proactive maintenance management is needed as the buildings of the school are between 80-90 years old.

Overall Maintenance Budget: $210,000; a breakdown of the various costs/maintenance works 2014/2015 is contained in the annexed Building Committee presentation.

Master plan Vision 2020:


An important focus of the Master Plan is security management. The first requirement of the Master Plan is to have separate zones for the students (separating high school students for primary or preschool playgrounds). It is also very important to separate operational areas from areas of the school open to public.

The actual stage of the Master plan: the stakeholders’ reviews will start soon.

The zebra crossing was not approved by the Randwick Council but the school got an improved crossing on Moverly Road. We have received positive feedbacks from parents on the new crossing.

Other projects of the Building Committee which are pending approval from the Council: relocation of the bus stop and increased “kiss and go” parking time.

New toilet blocks for the primary will be built; they will be accessible from the inside as well as from outside the primary building. Three extra classes can be built on top of the toilet blocks; this will allow for 3 extra classes for the secondary.

5. THE TREASURER’S REPORT:

The Finance Committee’s Report and the financial statements for the year ended 30th June 2015 were presented by the Treasurer, Ms. Mona Karam. A copy of the presentation is annexed to the present minutes. The main points of the Finance Committee Report are:

School revenues:

The school revenues have increased by 8%; this is due to the increases in student numbers and also a more diversified mix of students. More students in preschool are bringing in more revenues.

School fees increase has been kept to a minimal this year (1.75% increase in school fees).

School expenditures:

A breakdown of the school expenses can be pictured in the chart on the right.

Key Performance Indicators:

The Treasurer presented some KPIs to highlight that our school is in a good position to pay its debts.

Increased cash in hand: $4.4 million.


The last 3 financial years have had positive outcomes: money is being spent on improving the school and leaving funds to be banked.

5.1. Directors’ declaration:

“In the Director's opinion, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the company is able to pay all of its debts, as and when they become due and payable.”

6. PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS:

6.1. Resolution 1: Approval of the minutes of the 2014 Annual General Meeting

A copy of the minutes of the last Annual General Meeting held on 29th November 2014 was attached to the Notice of Annual General Meeting 2015, which was sent to all members on the 27th October 2015.

Motion: That the final version of the minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Lycée Condorcet held on 29th November 2014 are confirmed and adopted.

Proposer: Mr. Christopher White

Seconder: Mr. Patrice Ribault.


6.2. Resolution 2: Acceptance of the 2014-2015 Financial Statements

Motion: That the Financial Statements of the Lycée Condorcet for the year ending 30th June 2015 are confirmed and adopted.


Seconder: Ms. Mona Karam


6.3. Resolution 3: Acceptance of the annual reports

Motion: That all the annual reports for the 2014-2015 year presented at the Annual General Meeting of the Lycée Condorcet held on 19th November 2015 are confirmed and adopted.


Seconder: Mr. Patrice Ribault.


7. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS:

7.1. Start of the ongoing election of the School Board:


The meeting then proceeded to the election of directors by ballot. The President declared the vote open at 7.30pm. The following candidates were listed up for election to the School Board:

1. Ms. Suzanne McArthur, 2. Ms. Mona Karam, 3. Ms. Marine Pestel, 4. Mr. Axel Higelin, 5. Mr. Jean-Baptiste Lanfrey, 6. Mr. Alexandre Lheritier, 7. Mr. Patrice Ribault, and 8. Mr. Sébastien Vallérie.

The President closed the vote at 8pm. The counting of the ballots finished at 8.30pm.

7.2. Results of the vote:

The results of the votes cast at the meeting and proxies received prior to the meeting were announced. Are elected as directors to the Board:

Mr. Axel Higelin, Ms. Mona Karam, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Lanfrey, Mr. Alexandre Lheritier, Ms. Suzanne McArthur, Ms. Marine Pestel, and Mr. Sébastien Vallérie.

8. QUESTIONS TO PRINCIPAL AND DIRECTORS:

8.1. Parent’s question: How big is the difference in enrolment ratios between “maternelle” and “lycee”? Is it the same in other countries?

Answer (Philippe Courjault): The Principal explained that there are 160 new students coming. The enrolment rates change constantly. The AEFE homologation allows students leaving to continue the same level in another school; this ensures continuity.

He also explained that the trend of students leaving has slowed down and it has been observed that they stay in our education system longer. In 2013, 65% of “maternelle” students were leaving before joining primary school; this tendency is changing. Enrolments in “maternelle” are still higher than high school. We are seeking to enlarge the school by the base.

Regarding the enrolment trends in other schools of the network, the Principal said that he had no data on the matter for the moment.


Answer (Patrice Ribault): The President added that the population of “expatriés” is also changing as they have older children who may eventually want to settle here.

8.2. Parent’s question: What is the school’s AEFE contribution?

Answer (Patrice Ribault): The school pays 6% of the school fees to AEFE. This caters for the salaries of the school management, 2 teachers “expatriés” and 17 “résident” teachers.

It was also explained that the AEFE is a network for professional development and training, an important accreditation body.

8.3. Parent’s question: Does the school projects to create a database of academic pathways for student graduating from the school?

Answer (Philippe Courjault): The school has now an Association of Alumni; we can encourage that they create such a database, keeping records of universities entries and pathways. The idea is to create a network around Condorcet.

8.4. Parent’s question: Considering the AEFE contribution, is it possible to put in place a different school fee policy for French and Australian nationals?

Answer (Patrice Ribault): It would be illegal for the school to put in place such a fee policy. We cannot calculate school fees based on nationalities; the school only sets different fees according to the migration status of a person (for e.g. international students)

8.5. Parent’s question: Is the Association of Alumni already formed or in creation?

Answer (Philippe Courjault): The Association of Alumni has already been created and has a complete “bureau”; the office-bearers have been named before. We are now looking at registering this association.

8.6. Parent’s question: Is the school looking for sponsors?

Answer (Patrice Ribault): The school has a special tariff for companies (as a disguised form of sponsorship). Projects of the school are usually financed by the AIS (e.g. the science labs) and the AEFE.

8.7. Parent’s question: School fees will help to fund partly the building projects of the school; can the school separate this contribution to the Building Fund so that it becomes tax deductible?

Answer (Mona Karam): The Treasurer explained that the school board does not run fundraisings for projects; however, parents should be encouraged to do so. The building project of the school is a $15 million project. The idea of a Building Fund Levy, which would be voluntary and tax-deductible, was welcomed.


The Treasurer also stated that the school has two trusts: a Library Trust and Building Trust Fund. They are dormant and the last donation dates back to 2013.

8.8. Parent’s question: Does the school have a marketing plan?

Answer (Patrice Ribault): The school has recently recruited a Communication Manager in view to build up a communication plan for the school.

8.9. Parent’s question: The school faces difficulty of permanency in certain positions; principals and directors have short term tenure. How does the school tackle with that?

Answer (Patrice Ribault): We try to make sure that information are well kept and passed on. The constitution has also been changed to allow for two years tenure for directors and prevent that the Board is renewed every year; thus allowing for some continuity.

8.10.Parent’s question: What is the plan to improve traffic around the school?

Answer (Alan Trestour): Plan to improve traffic around the school includes relocation of the bus stop and increasing parking time to 10mins instead of 5mins. The school also plans to reopen the small gate on Anzac Parade for pedestrian access. The risk assessment report is in progress.

He also explained that the school is not allowed to put a “kiss & go” area on Anzac Parade.

8.11.Parent’s question: Can the school board be composed of non-elected company directors?

Answer (Patrice Ribault): The constitution allows two director positions open to advisers from companies.

8.12.Parent’s question: The school convention with AEFE: are we negotiating or just signing?

Answer (Patrice Ribault): The AEFE convention will have to be renegotiated soon.

8.13.Parent’s question: There are 22 children in PS classes aged between 2½ - 3 years old: is that the normal student ratio?

Answer (Philippe Courjault): There is no limit to the number of students the school is allowed to accept per class; however, we consider a good figure to have between 20 - 25 students per class.


9. MEETING FINALISATION:

9.1 Meeting close:

There being no further matters to discuss, the President thanked the assembly for their presence and declared the 2015 Annual General Meeting of the Lycee Condorcet closed at 8.45pm.

MINUTES APPROVAL:

_____________________________

Signed (President)

______________________________________

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