CONSTITUTION

SECTION 1:  NAME

The name of the Association shall be L’ASSOCIATION DES PARENTS FRANCOPHONES DE LANGLEY (herein referred to as the « Association »). For the purpose of banking and legal documents the Association may be referred to as the « A.P.F.L. »

SECTION 2:  NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

The Association will operate as a non-profit organization with no personal financial benefit.  This provision shall be unalterable.

SECTION 3:  MANDATE

3.1 To foster cooperation and communication between parents, the school administration and staff at l’École des Voyageurs in providing for education of the students.

3.2 To promote and support in a financial or logistical manner the French learning environment at l’école des Voyageurs, as well as in its extracurricular activities.

3.3 To advise the school principal and staff on parental views about school programs,

       policies and activities.

3.4 To contribute to the effectiveness of the school by promoting the involvement of parents and other community members, and to be a communication link with related groups.

3.5 To serve as a sponsoring body for school events and programs. To organize fund raising activities and to make use of government grants, programs, donations, gifts and private funds to meet the objectives of the Association.

3.6 To organize cultural, social or educational activities for the advancement of Francophone education.

3.7 To assist in providing funds for materials or activities deemed necessary to meet the objectives of the Association.

3.8 To carry out all other activities deemed necessary to meet the objectives of the Association.

BY-LAWS

SECTION 4:  MEMBERSHIP

4.1 All parents and guardians of students registered at l’École des Voyageurs are voting members of the Association.

4.2 Administration and staff (teaching and non-teaching) that are not parents or guardians of students of l’École des Voyageurs may be nonvoting members of the Association.

4.3 The Association shall not have at any time or at any meeting more nonvoting than voting members.

SECTION 5:  MEETINGS

5.1 General meetings of the Association shall be held at least six (6) times during the school year to conduct current business.

5.2 Notice of general meetings is to be provided to the members through the school newsletter and/or by e-mails from the Secretary of the Association no less than five (5) days before the general meetings and no less than ten (10) days before an Annual General Meeting (herein referred to as the « AGM ».)

5.3 Additional general meetings shall be held at the discretion of the Executive of the Association (herein referred to as the (« Executive ») or upon the receipt of a petition representing fifty (50%) of the voting members.

5.4 An AGM for the purpose of the election of officers who will constitute the Executive shall be held no later than June 28 of each year.

5.5 The meetings of the Executive shall be held at the discretion of the Executive.

SECTION 6:  VOTING

6.1 The voting members present at any duly-called general meeting shall constitute a

      quorum, but a quorum at no time shall consist of less than five (5) members.

6.2 Unless otherwise provided, questions arising at any meeting shall be decided upon by a simple majority vote.

6.3 The format of the meeting shall follow the agenda as adopted at the beginning of the meeting.

6.4 In the case of a tie vote, the motion will be lost.

6.5 Voting by proxy will be permitted with the exception of the election of officers at the AGM.  A letter must be given to the Secretary before the vote and must be signed and dated no more than seven (7) calendar days prior to the vote.

6.6 Voting shall be done by the show of hands with the exception of the election of the Executive, which shall be done by secret ballot.

SECTION 7:  ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

7.1 The Executive officers shall be elected from the voting members (no proxy) at the AGM.

7.2 No Executive officer shall be a teacher or principal of l’Ecole des Voyageurs.

7.3 In the event of a vacancy on the Executive during the year, the members shall elect a new officer who shall hold office until the next election.

7.4    Any voting member can submit his candidacy or be nominated by another member but it must be accept prior to the vote (in person or by e-mail to the secretary).

7.5    Only one person shall be elected to and hold each of the Executive Officer roles of President and Vice President.

7.6    Any one of the positions of the Executive Officers of Secretary and Treasurer may be shared by a maximum of two (2) persons.

7.7    No person shall hold more than one elected executive position at any one time.

SECTION 8:  EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

8.1 The affairs of the Association shall be managed by a board of elected officers.

8.2  The Executive officers will be as follows:

A. PRESIDENT

1) Shall convene and preside at all AGM, general, special and Executive meetings.

2) Shall ensure that an agenda is prepared and circulated in advance to the members for all meetings.

3) Shall appoint committees where authorized to do so by the Executive or membership. 4) Shall be an ex-officio member to all committees.

5) Shall take such actions or ensue that such actions are taken by others to achieve the

objectives and purpose of the Association.

6) Shall be the official spokesperson for the Association.

7) Shall be a signing officer.

8) Shall submit an annual report at the AGM.

B. VICE-PRESIDENT

1) Shall assume the responsibilities of the President in the President’s absence.

2) Shall accept extra duties as required.

3) Can be a signing officer.

C. TREASURER

1) Shall administer and be responsible for the monies in the accounts of the Association 2) Shall provide a report at the monthly general meetings on the accounts of the Association.

3) Shall prepare and submit an annual financial report of the Association for the AGM in

accordance with Section 11.

4) Shall ensure that another financial signing officer has access to the financial records of the Association in the event of his/her absence.

5) Shall be one of the signing officers.

D. SECRETARY

1) Shall provide notices and record the minutes of general, special and Executive meetings.

2) Shall distribute minutes to members of the Association in a timely manner.

3) Shall prepare and distribute the agenda in advance to the members for all meetings.

4) Shall keep an accurate copy of the Constitution and Bylaws and if and when changes are made they shall be done so in red and the copy amended shall be dated and initialled and a copy submitted to the school office of l’école des Voyageurs for safekeeping.

5) Shall issue and receive correspondence on behalf of the organization.

6) Shall safely keep all records of the Association.

7) Can be a signing officer.

SECTION 9:  TERM OF OFFICE

9.1    The term of office of the Executive shall commence on July 1 of each year and shall be for one year.

9.2    Any Executive officer who desires to withdraw from membership on the Executive shall notify the Executive in writing. The resignation shall become effective upon acceptance by the Executive of the Association.

9.3    Any Executive officer who misses two (2) consecutive meetings without cause shall be deemed to have tendered written resignation.

SECTION 10:  COMMITTEES

10.1 Standing and ad-hoc committees shall be formed when necessary.

10.2 Committees are responsible to the Executive and members.

10.3 Members may be appointed to committees as needed by the President (after consultation with the Executive).

SECTION 11:  FINANCES

11.1 An Annual Financial Report shall be distributed to the members present at the AGM.

11.2 All funds of the Association shall be on deposit in a bank or financial establishment

registered under the Bank Act.

11.3 Signing authority for accounts may consist of the President, the Vice-President, the Treasurer and the Secretary (If necessary).  Two signatures, one of which will always include that of the Treasurer, will be required for all expenditures. Two members of the same family cannot have signing authority.

11.4 Any expenditure of the Association in excess of $500.00 will be first presented to and voted on by the Executive, and then approved by a majority at a general meeting.

11.5 The end of the financial year for the Association will be July 1st of each year.

11.6 If a need for an audit is agreed upon by the members at any general meeting, an independent auditor will be appointed as needed.

11.7 The Association is not permitted to borrow monies.

SECTION 12:  CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAW AMENDMENTS

12.1 Any amendments to the Constitution and By-laws of the Association may be made at the AGM or an emergency AGM, providing:

a) Ten (10) days written notice of the meeting has been given to all members.

b) The written notice shall include notice of the specific amendments proposed.

c) A two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of those voting members present at the meeting will be

required to amend the Constitution and By-laws.

SECTION 13:  CODE OF CONDUCT

13.1 The Association is not a forum for the discussion of individual school personnel, students, parents or other individual members of the school community.

13.2 An Executive member who is approached by a parent with a concern relating to an individual is in a privileged position and must treat such discussion with discretion, protecting the confidentiality of the people involved.

13.3 A parent who accepts a position as an Executive officer of the Association shall:

a) Upholds the constitution and by-laws, policies and procedures of the Association.

b) Performs his/her duties with honesty and integrity.

c) Work to ensure that the well being of students is the primary focus of all decisions.

d) Respects the rights of all individuals.

e) Takes direction from the members, ensuring that representation processes are in place.

f) Encourages and supports parents and students with individual concerns to act on their own behalf and provides information on the process for taking forward concerns.

g) Works to ensure that issues are resolved through due process.

h) Strives to be informed and only passes on information that is reliable and correct.

i) Respects all confidential information.

j) Supports French public education.

SECTION 14:  DISSOLUTION

14.1 A simple majority at an AGM or emergency AGM may dissolve the Association.

14.2 In the event of dissolution of the Association, all assets and funds remaining after the satisfaction of its debts and liabilities shall be given or transferred to such non-profit educational or community groups or organizations in British Columbia having a similar charitable purpose.  All funds from the gaming account shall be disbursed in accordance with the prevision of the Gaming Policy and Enforcement branch, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.  This clause is unalterable.

14.3 In the event of dissolution of the Association all records of the organization shall be placed under the jurisdiction of the school principal of l’École des Voyageurs.

SECTION 15:  NOTICES

15.l All notices shall be deemed to have been given to the members of the Association on the notice being sent by e-mail to the parents or guardians of the student at l’École des Voyageurs.