THE MINUTES OF THE ICS GENERAL PTA MEETING, HELD ON SATURDAY 26TH OF NOVEMBER, 2013,
AT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL (ICS), JABI; ABUJA.
The meeting began at about 11:30am with an opening prayer from Mrs. Kehinde, the ICS High School
Principal. There were 53 parents and staff in attendance. The PTA executive was also in attendance
with apologies given by Mr Kayode Olumolu.
1. The PTA chairman, Mr. Ayonote, welcomed everybody and introduced the newly elected PTA
executives. He lauded the effort of the school for moving from its old site to the permanent
location despite some infrastructural challenges that the school is facing. He said the PTA is
committed to partnering with the school, especially during this time of transition and reiterated
that the support and assistance of the whole ICS family is needed, to facilitate an even
smoother transition to the permanent site. He highlighted the proposed projects that the PTA
wishes to embark upon. These include supporting the ongoing security improvements at the
school, the school road project, the school bus proposal, traffic management at school junction;
the International Day and the Christmas Party. He also added that an interactive PTA dedicated
tab will be added on the school website for the PTA to share information of the PTA’s activities
with the school community and enhance communication between the PTA, parents and
teachers.
2. Mr. Ayonote informed the audience that the International Day Celebration and the Christmas
Party would come up on 30th November and 14th December 2013 respectively and urged
parents and teachers to support the programmes slated for the academic year.
3. On security, he stated that the school has a Security committee that oversees security issues,
and encouraged parents with inputs to share these with the committee or join the committee
to support its ongoing activities. ,
4. Mr. Ayonote also brought to the house’s attention the existence of a second access road to
ease congestion at the school junction; as the existing school junction is an ongoing challenge
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to man. Mrs Kehinde indicated that the Road Traffic Authorities had been approached to
provide back up support to the school security guards in ushering traffic for vehicles entering
the school access road, but so far service has been intermittent.
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5. Mrs. Lee-Maeba (First Vice Chair - PTA) and Mrs. de Wagt (PTA Volunteer member), outlined
the International Day plans and dates. They encouraged parents to get actively involved in
this year’s event. Mr. Sarki reviewed their explanation and also urged parents to be part of
the whole programmes.
6. Question and Answer Section

A parent raised two but inter-related concerns regarding school security and the school
access road. He posited that the fixing of the access road to the school is paramount. He
urged the PTA to source funds and fix the road. He also, suggested that there should be a
number of security check points leading to the school to search vehicles approaching the
school.

In response to the issue another parent raised the concern about the ensuing traffic
congestion that would result from such a stop-and-search routine and the potential safety
issues.

The validity of the school tag was brought under scrutiny, by one parent, citing that
sometimes parents come to pick their children without their tags on and are still granted
access onto school grounds by the security guards. She recommended a rethink on the issue
and tighter security, suggesting the creation of a police post at the gate.

One of the new parents indicated that routine check may pose a challenge to traffic flow and
suggested that plans for the alternative road be placed on hold until the security of the first
access road is completed. Additionally, with regards to security, he also expressed worries
about children playing soccer in the open field behind the school, as a safety and additional
security risk to the children.

On the issue of security personnel allowing parents without tags (permits) to pick their kids,
a parent defended the guards and said most of the guards are already familiar with parents
who regularly pick up their children and could enhance the security of children at the school.
On a separate issue, she also indicated that that the yearly celebrations of the International
day tend to be dull and uninteresting, thereby proving a deterrent to attendance.
Additionally, it was cited that there is very limited contact between the PTA and the parents
and therefore little personal touch added to the inclusion of prospective interested parents
(both Nigerian and foreign) in preparation for the day’s events. It was suggested that the
PTA invest some time in contacting parents to garner support for the International Day
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celebrations. . She also expressed her disappointment on the ineffectiveness and
unavailability of some teachers at the just concluded Student-led conference.

A parent cited the terrorist attack on a Kenya mall as an impetus to make the school more
security conscious. She proposed a form of safety drill education for the students. Mrs.
Kehinde explained that the school has such safety measures already in place.

A parent also complained that ICS’s parents do not interact well. Seconding the issue, a new
parent indicated that it would be useful to provide more guidance to new parents. It was
suggested that a new parents’ orientation session should be considered to support new
families’ inclusion into the school as well as assimilate into the ICS culture. To, this end, new
parents were requested to stand up and were then given slips of paper to fill in their details
to facilitate the process of contacting them.

In the meantime, a parent counselled that members should remember that God is the
ultimate security, reminding the gathered house that the school is based on Christ as its
foundation. She implored that everybody has to be prayerful and vigilant concerning the
issue of security.

With regards to the issue of communication, Mrs. Adewusi, ICS’s Admin Officer, recalled an
emergency incident last year and recounted how ICS effectively notified parents about the
crisis, sending SMSs.

On the issue of kids playing soccer in the open field, another parent expressed worries over
reptile attacks. Mrs. Wede responded that the field has been and is usually fumigated.

Mr. Bosun, a parent who wishes to run the bus business was invited to explain his plans. He
explained the type of “comprehensive insurance” backing the school bus. Some parents
were not fully convinced of the plans (especially the insurance) and there is need for
additional information. However, some parents also indicated that the pricing could be
lowered and/or a scale of pricing used to take into account families with more than one
child.

A parent brought to attention the slippery marble floors at the Early Years Department, as it
is not safe for children. Another parent complained of poor lighting in ‘Grade 3 Blue’, and
the issue of the generating power plant not functioning for some days. Mrs. Wede gave an
explanation on these issues and indicated that the school was looking into them..

Some parents proposed the recitation of the Nigerian national anthem to be routinely
practiced on a weekly basis for all ICS students. Mr. Ayonote promised to get back to them
on the issue. He also enjoined parents to teach their kids some fundamental morals such as
greeting of their elders. Mrs. Ogbe, a PTA executive, recommended that “Homeroom
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parents” should be restarted so that effective communication could be achieved amongst
parents.

Another parent raised a concern about how the ongoing bean cake sales by a food vendor
outside the school could compromise school safety. Mr. Ayonote thanked everybody for
coming.

Mrs. Kehinde rounded-off the meeting with a prayer.

The meeting closed at 12:05 pm
Chairman
Secretary
Sarki, Ayonote
Nwelih,
Cosmas
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