Dear MIS Community,
I need your help.
As you might be aware, the Parent-Teacher Verein, the PTV, is the parent organisation at MIS that is responsible for so many of the wonderful events and opportunities that families in our community enjoy. They support effective distribution of information. They organise community-based events, like Winterfest, Frühlingsfest, and the Mosaic of Cultures Day. They support families new to MIS and new to Germany with orientation information, presentations, and programmes. In short, they are the “spirit” in “community spirit”. Without the PTV, there would be much less opportunity for parents and families to connect with, benefit from, and understand the school.
We need new PTV board members. The excellent current PTV board members who have served for the past few years are not in a position to continue in their roles at this time. With their departure, we must find new volunteers.
We need new PTV officers who will collaborate together (and with the head of school and other school leaders and employees) to maintain and strengthen the connections between families and the school.
Who would make a good PTV officer?
The officers meet weekly to plan events and coordinate the work of the PTV. They increase their efforts around the times of big events. The main qualifications are
a.) a love of MIS,
b.) good organisational and interpersonal skills, and
c.) approximately 5 to 15 hours per week to dedicate to the work (around the biggest events, more time may be needed).
Don’t fear!
Some parents have told me that they fear being responsible for a Verein and aren’t sure that they have the requisite knowledge and skills to do the role. But this is not a problem. Although the PTV is technically a separate Verein from the school, the school has lots of knowledge and resources that it can bring to bear to support the PTV. You don’t need to have experience or knowledge about Vereine and you do not need to be a German speaker. We have people at school who can support the PTV officers when there are questions or concerns regarding governance issues. The main work of the PTV involves planning and executing the activities of the PTV. It is not more complex or high-stakes than that.
The PTV Board gets elected for an annual term at the beginning of each school year during the Annual General Meeting (AGM). This year, the AGM will take place on the 11th of September 2024 at 9:30 in the LADC Auditorium. The following positions are open for election:
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PTV Chair
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PTV Vice Chair & Operations Officer
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PTV Second Vice Chair & Communications Officer
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PTV Treasurer
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PTV Secretary
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PTV Rep Coordinator
(Roles such as Rep Coordinator, Operations and Communications Officers are adaptable and may be reorganized based on the needs of the incoming team.)
A very positive thing is that the current board members have declared their willingness to be available for an extended and supportive handover to the new Board members.
Position Descriptions:
PTV Chair: The Chair leads the board and oversees all aspects of the organization's governance, ensuring that the PTV’s goals and responsibilities are being met. They liaise with the school’s leadership team and administration to coordinate events and volunteering opportunities, oversee event planning and fundraising efforts, and regularly engage with Reps and PTV members to ensure smooth operations.
PTV Vice Chair & Operations officer: The Vice Chair acts as a substitute for the Chair when needed. The Operations Officer focuses on optimizing processes within the PTV, streamlining workflows, and plays a key role in the planning of big events by running an events committee.
PTV Second Vice Chair & Communications Officer: The Second Vice Chair steps in if both the Chair and Vice Chair are unavailable. The Communications Officer is responsible for keeping the community updated on PTV activities and creating all program and event-related communications, graphics, signage and advertising.
PTV Treasurer: The Treasurer manages the financial accounts and taxes, prepares budgets for the events, maintains accurate financial reports, ensures transparency, and oversees the financial audits.
PTV Secretary: The Secretary handles the PTV email account, schedules meetings, prepares agendas, takes minutes, and manages all administrative tasks.
PTV Rep Coordinator: The Rep coordinator oversees all the group Reps, providing guidance and support in their roles. They ensure Reps receive updated group membership reports and are responsible for recruiting new Reps as needed.
I hope this gives you a good insight into the workings of the PTV Board and that it inspires YOU to consider taking on one of these roles. It would be a real loss to the MIS community if the PTV were to end its work because of a lack of volunteers. If you are interested or have any questions, please reach out to a current board member or send an email to ptv@mis-munich.de