ARIS PSA Meeting 16 April 2018
Our PSA (Parent School Association) makes up a vital part of the ARIS Community. If you are still not familiar with the ARIS PSA, then you might just know of the Annual ARIS International Day, which happens to be a PSA Event!
This year’s International Day being a huge success among the ARIS and outside community, would be an understatement. We are so thankful for all of the support and hard word that PSA has put into this. This week, there was a PSA meeting to discuss the success of the event, what could have been, what they could do with or without and future events. The heart of the success in the PSA events is the collaboration between different parents and communities and the willingness to learn and develop.
What was discussed of this week’s post International Day PSA meeting, was plans for next year’s International Day. They discussed and came to the conclusion that the timing of 1pm to 6pm is exhausting for students, staff and the PSA. Moreover, the food vendors at this event were not a huge success as the Country stalls provided enough food. Before International Day, while everything was planned and categorized, on the day of the event, there were still too many surprises. Altogether, some expectations were not met, and some were exceeded.
For next year’s event, an important aspect to keep in mind is Risk Management. With the crowd and the horses at this event, one small mistake could have been a jeopardy. As this is at the end of the day a school which has the students at the center of all learning, next year’s event aims to involve the student body from both the Primary and Secondary schools more – as participants, chaperones. That way, students learn as well. With reference to the “too many surprises”, one major development that was agreed upon was that they will set a deadline for all the countries that want to have a stall at the next event. Plus, they will fill a form stating their plans and whatever they need, so as to have their resources allocated effectively for their own and the school’s safety.
Other than the International Day discussion, the PSA also spoke about ways in which they could increase Parent and School involvement, or reach out to more parents. They came up with a plan for ARIS PSA Social Media, in addition to the email subscription that they already receive. They talked about future plans such as the Basketball Court and projects that they can get involved in, in next year’s ARIS Cares theme, on ARIS’ 15th Birthday.
The school runs on collaboration between every single person that makes up the ARIS Community. We cannot express just how much we are happy to have a PSA as such, working with us.