​We are always happy to welcome new members onto the committee and would love to hear from you if you would like to join. However, we appreciate that not everyone can make this kind of commitment, so we also have plenty of roles for people who would prefer a job related to a particular event or would just like to help out as needed – our friends of the PTA are an essential part of our team. Please contact us if you want to get involved.

Officers

Aiga Summersgill​
Chair

​What does the chair do?

Bernadette Brent
​Vice Chair

​What does the vice chair do?

Becca Thomas
​Secretary

What does the secretary do?

Steve Wright
Treasurer

What does the treasurer do?

Aiga Summersgill (Chair)

We are a German/English family and bring up our two children in both languages and traditions. Europa School was the natural choice, but getting in was not easy. After 5 years on the waiting list, our children finally joined the school in 2017 and are now in S2D and 5DE. Whilst waiting for a place, I often browsed the PTA's website and got very excited about the variety of activities on offer. As soon as my children joined, I decided to become a member of the committee. My particular interest lies in language support and cultural events, because languages and different cultures are what sets this school apart.
 
My background is in law, which I practised in Germany. In Oxford, I ran a German language toddler group for several years and organised their fundraising events.​

Bernadette Brent (Vice Chair)

​I have two children in the german section of the Europa Primary School. We are a bilingual family and have been at Europa ever since it was opened in 2012.
 
Our kids are very happy and we all love the school. I have organised several events for the PTA before including the St Martin's Procession, the Christmas Fair class stalls and some gardening activities. I am lucky to work part-time and love being able to dedicate some of my free time to the school its community.​

Becca Thomas (Secretary)

I am English and my husband is from New Zealand. We have one son, who joined the school in reception (Spanish stream) in 2018. We chose the school because we wanted our son to grow up knowing that he is a part of a global community. 
 
I am a qualified lawyer and I currently work for Oxford University, dealing with governance issues and the university's statutes.
 
I also deal with maintenance of the website – so do let me know if you have any suggestions for this.

Steve Wright (Treasurer)

My wife Kate and I have daughters in 5EE, 3EE and 1EE.  We are English speaking at home, but have both worked abroad and appreciate the opportunity our daughters have to learn a language from an early age.

I joined the PTA in 2017/18. One of the things I want to do is build on the parent DIY days organised each year - where parents have tidied, painted, and repaired things, particularly in the primary playgrounds. Last year we did a few more repairs and DIY jobs throughout the year, and a larger project in July when a group of parents (and the class teacher) redecorated the 3EE classroom and cloakrooms.

This year, we will be trying to organise DIY days and volunteers for specific jobs and projects on a more regular basis, so please watch out for details in the school newsletters and from class co-ordinators. If you have ideas for things you’d like to help with, you can email me directly at - europaDIY@icloud.com.

What does the chair do?

The Chair provides leadership for the Committee, sets the agenda for meetings and manages meetings in line with the agenda.

The Chair needs to work closely with the Treasurer and Secretary to ensure that the association is run effectively. The Chair can be a signatory for the association's bank account, along with either the Treasurer or Secretary or other elected committee member.

• provide leadership; ensure the Committee fulfils its role in respect of governance of the association
• set the agenda for meetings, liaising with the Secretary
• ensure the agenda is followed and that all business is covered
• call the meeting to order when it is time
• welcome and involve new members
• ask for apologies for absence
• sign the approved minutes of the last meeting
• agree a date for the next meeting
• close the meeting
• write the annual report, liaising with the Secretary
• sign cheques for the PTA with one other elected committee member
• get to know committee members

​What does the vice-chair do?

The Vice Chair supports the Chair in all aspects of their role and carries out the Chair’s responsibilities where the Chair is absent or otherwise unable to carry out their duties.

The Chair needs to work closely with the Treasurer and Secretary to ensure that the association is run effectively. The Chair can be a signatory for the association's bank account, along with either the Treasurer or Secretary or other elected committee member.

• provide leadership; ensure the Committee fulfils its role in respect of governance of the association
• set the agenda for meetings, liaising with the Secretary
• ensure the agenda is followed and that all business is covered
• call the meeting to order when it is time
• welcome and involve new members
• ask for apologies for absence
• sign the approved minutes of the last meeting
• agree a date for the next meeting
• close the meeting
• write the annual report, liaising with the Secretary
• sign cheques for the PTA with one other elected committee member
• get to know committee members

​What does the secretary do?

The Secretary is responsible for ensuring that there are effective communication links between committee members and between the association and the school.

• deal with correspondence
• prepare agendas
• call meetings - giving plenty of notice
• keep a record of attendance at meetings
• take notes during meetings
• ensure that enough committee members are present to make the meeting quorate (this number is defined in the constitution)
• write up the minutes of meetings
• distribute minutes to all the committee
• make meeting & event arrangements
• co-sign cheques as required
• write the annual report with the Chair​​

What does the treasurer do?

The Treasurer is responsible for day to day admin of financial records and procedures as well as the banking and handling of money at PTA events.

• maintain accurate and detailed financial records
• present a financial report at each meeting
• liaise with the bank
• make approved payments
• consults with the bank or building society regarding the availability of higher rate interest accounts
• count and bank monies
• prepare and co-sign cheques as required
• provide and account for cash floats at events
• charity registration and Gift Aid
• pay agreed expenses
• prepare annual accounts and liaise with the independent examiner of accounts
• ensure the committee has agreed appropriate procedures for the handling of financial matters

Ordinary members

Ali Gilbart-Smith

Georgie Neville

Hermen Westerbeeke

Patricia Ciccone

Sara Rognoni

Ute Günkel-Maschek​

​Zohra Jenkinson

Ali Gilbart-Smith

Profile to follow

Georgie Neville

I have two children who have been at the school ever since it opened in 2012. They are both in the French section and are now in secondary.

For the last three years I have worked at the school as the After School Activity coordinator which I enjoy very much. I have been part of the PTA and have raised money at both summer and Christmas fair. Last Christmas we had fun making and selling pancakes and waffles.

I love being part of this school, both my children are now fluent in French and now learning Spanish as a second language.  I am very proud of them as we only speak English at home.

Hermen Westerbeeke

I have a daughter the German section of the Europa Primary School. My wife and I have both lived and worked in several different countries before meeting each other here in the UK. We’re raising our daughter trilingual (English/German/Dutch) and are ever so happy we found the Europa School.​

Patricia Ciccone

We are a multilingual family (Portuguese, English, Italian) and we were very keen to have our daughter join the Europa School.
​
She is currently in the Primary Spanish stream and enjoying the vibrant, diverse atmosphere and community spirit.

The Europa School provides a truly unique teaching experience for the students and I joined the PTA to help preserve and fund this institution.
I feel very lucky to have been welcomed and accepted in the PTA fold in my first year and hope to keep helping for the foreseeable future.

Sara Rognoni

Hello, I am originally from Italy and my husband is from Argentina and our two children are in the Spanish section. We all love the school, its amazing staff and truly international community. I feel very lucky that my children have the opportunity to go to ESUK and I believe that such a multilingual (and multicultural) education has many benefits that go well beyond the simple ability to speak another language. 

I have become part of the PTA because I am passionate about supporting the school. ​

Ute Günkel-Maschek​

We are a German-Austrian family and our son joined the German stream of Europa School in January 2019.  

From the start I was amazed by the many events organised by the PTA and soon decided to join them. I love to organise events enjoyed especially by the pupils of Europa School, such as the Movie Nights, which are very popular with primary children, and I look forward to running similar events in the near future. I am also putting together the Europa PTA Newsletter to bring the PTA’s work closer to the school community, offer information on the many ways to support the PTA and the school, and encourage parents to become involved in our events.

Zohra Jenkinson

Profile to follow