St. Mary's
Past Students' Association
Constitution
(updated March 2006)
1.
The Association shall be known as the St. Mary’s Past
Students’ Association (hereafter referred to as “the Association”).
2.
The Association’s address shall be:
c/o St. Mary’s
Canossian College
162 Austin Road
Kowloon
Hong Kong
3.
The objectives of the Association are:
3.1 To
cultivate and promote friendship among past students of St. Mary’s
Canossian College (hereafter referred to as “the College”) and St.
Mary’s Canossian School (hereafter referred to as “the School”).
3.2 To
foster and promote close relationship and better understanding
between alumnae and current students of the College and the School.
3.3 To
promote and provide recreational, social, educational and cultural
activities and pastimes for members of the Association.
3.4 To
organize programmes and activities in support or for the benefit of
the College and/or the School.
3.5 To
grant scholarships and prizes for the benefit of the College and/or
the School.
3.6 To
organize charitable activities for any other cause considered
sufficiently worthy by the Association.
3.7 To
carry out all such other lawful activities, including raising funds
and accepting gifts and donations, for the purpose of achieving all
or any of the above objectives.
4.
Membership
4.1 Life
Member – Any person who has been a student of the College or the
School for
not less than one academic year, and has
paid the membership fee, may become a
Life member.
4.2 Associate
Member – Any full-time staff, past or present, who has served the
College
or the School for not less than one
academic year, may become an Associate
Member.
5.
Members’ Rights and Privileges
5.1 Life
Members shall be entitled to:
(a)
elect and be elected to the Executive Committee;
(b)
receive newsletters and notices, propose agenda items and
attend the
Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General
Meeting;
(c)
form quorum and have one vote at the Annual General
Meeting or
Extraordinary General Meeting;
(d)
nominate and second candidates for the Executive
Committee; and
(e)
participate in all activities of the Association at a fee
to be determined by
the Executive Committee.
5.2 Associate
Members shall be entitled to participate in all activities organized
by the
Association.
6.
Members’ Obligations
6.1 All
Members are obliged to abide by the Constitution and resolutions of
the
Association.
6.2 All
Members are obliged not to carry out acts that may embarrass, defame
or cause
disrespect to the Association, the College
or the School, or bring the Association, the
College or the School into disrepute.
6.3 The
Association may, through a resolution at the Annual General Meeting
or any
Extraordinary General Meeting, expel a
Member from the Association if she has
contravened clause 6.1 or 6.2 above.
7.
Patrons
7.1 The
current principals of the College and the School shall, ipso facto,
be the Patrons of the Association.
7.2 The
Patrons shall provide input to the Association in regard to
policies, developments or other matters of the College or the
School; facilitate communication between the Association and the
College or the School; as well as give advice and comments to the
Association on the latter’s deliberations
7.3 The
Patrons may appoint members of the teaching staff of the College and
the School to be teacher liaison officers. The maximum number of
such teacher liaison officers shall be four (4) for the College and
two (2) for the School.
7.4 The
Patrons may each appoint one of the teacher liaison officers to
attend the Executive Committee meetings.
8.
The Executive Committee
8.1 The
Association shall have an Executive Committee (hereafter referred to
as “the Executive Committee”), which will manage all affairs of the
Association.
8.2 The
Executive Committee shall be elected from amongst the Life Members
of the Association.
8.3 The
Executive Committee shall comprise a Chairman, two (2)
Vice-Chairmen, one (1) Secretary, one (1) Treasurer, one (1) Legal
Secretary, two (2) Publication Secretaries, one (1) Social Convenor,
one (1) Membership Secretary and a maximum of five (5) Committee
members.
8.4 The
Chairman of the Executive Committee shall automatically be the
Chairman of the Association.
8.5 All
members of the Executive Committee shall serve without
remuneration.
8.6 The
term of office of the Executive Committee shall be two years.
8.7 Nominations
for election into the Executive Committee shall be submitted in
writing
to the Secretary not less than seven (7)
calendar days before the Annual General
Meeting.
8.8 Life
Members that are over eighteen (18) years of age shall be eligible
to stand for
elections into the Executive Committee.
8.9 The
Executive Committee shall meet at least three (3) times a year.
8.10
Five (5) Executive Committee Members shall constitute a
quorum for Executive
Committee meetings.
8.11
The Executive Committee may form sub-committees or ad hoc
committees to carry
out one or more specific tasks that
are conducive to meeting the objectives of the
Association as set out in this
Constitution.
8.12 The
Executive Committee may co-opt Members to any of its sub-committees
or ad
hoc committees.
8.13 The
Executive Committee may nominate any of its Members to represent the
Association in any committees of the
College or the School, any other committees,
advisory bodies or organizations,
provided that participation in those committees,
advisory bodies or other
organizations would be conducive to meeting the
objectives of the Association as set
out in this Constitution.
8.14 The
Executive Committee shall pass resolutions by a simple majority of
those
attending and voting at the Executive
Committee meeting. In the event of an
equality of votes, the Chairman shall
have a casting vote.
8.15 The
Executive Committee shall keep proper minutes of its meetings.
9.
Annual General Meeting
9.1
The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held
between 1 January
and 31 March at such venue as the Executive Committee shall determine.
9.2
The Executive Committee shall send written notice and agenda
of the Annual
General meeting to all Members by mail, facsimile, email or other means at
least
fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the Meeting.
9.3
The following businesses shall be conducted at the Annual General
Meeting:
(a) To adopt the minutes of the last Annual General Meeting;
(b) To
receive the Executive Committee’s Annual Report;
(c) To
receive the Annual Statement of Accounts for the last fiscal
year duly approved by the Executive Committee;
(d) To
appoint Member(s) of the Executive Committee, if such is needed;
and
(e) To
conduct any other business.
9.4
Twenty (20) Members shall form a quorum.
9.5
The Chairman of the Association shall take up the
chairmanship of the Annual
General Meeting. In case the Chairman is not able to attend the Annual
General
Meeting, either one of the Vice-Chairmen shall take up the chairmanship.
9.6
All resolutions shall be passed by a simple majority of the
Members present and
voting at the Annual General Meeting.
9.7
Every Member present at the Annual General Meeting eligible
to vote shall be
entitled to one (1) vote. In the event of an equality of votes, the
Chairman shall
have a casting vote.
9.8
Any other business may be conducted at the Annual General Meeting if
at least ten
(10) Members serve a written notice to the Executive Committee no less
than five
(5) calendar days prior to the meeting.
9.9
A Member who is unable to attend the Annual General Meeting
may, through
signing a proxy form prior to the Meeting, authorize another Member to be
her
proxy to attend and vote at the Annual General Meeting.
10. Extraordinary General Meeting
10.1
The Executive Committee may, at any time, and shall, upon
receipt of a request in
writing by not less than ten (10) Members, convene an Extraordinary
General
Meeting.
10.2
In the event of the Executive Committee failing to convene
the Annual General
Meeting as set out in section 9 above, or an Extraordinary General
Meeting
notwithstanding its receipt of such a request from not less than ten (10)
Members
as set out in clause 10.1 above, twenty (20) Members may, with the written
consent
of the two Patrons, convene an Extraordinary General Meeting.
10.3
An Extraordinary General Meeting may be held for one or more
of the following
purposes:
(a)
to consider, sanction or deal with any proposed
alterations or revisions to the Constitution;
(b)
to deal with any matters raised by the Executive
Committee;
(c)
to consider any proposal for the expulsion of a Member;
(d)
to receive the resignation of any Member of the Executive
Committee;
(e)
to remove any Member from the Executive Committee; or
(f)
to fill any vacant post of the Executive Committee.
10.4 Notice convening an Extraordinary General Meeting shall
be sent to Members no
less than five (5) calendar days before the Meeting and shall specify the
date, time
and place of the Meeting and the purpose for which the Meeting is
convened.
10.5 Twenty (20) Members shall form a quorum.
10.6 The Chairman of the Association shall take up the
chairmanship of the
Extraordinary General Meeting. In case the Chairman is not able to attend
the
Extraordinary General Meeting, either one of the Vice-Chairmen shall take
up the
chairmanship. In an Extraordinary General Meeting convened under clause
10.2,
the Members present at the meeting shall elect a Member to take up the
chairmanship of the meeting.
10.7 All resolutions shall be passed by a simple
majority of the members present and
voting at the Extraordinary General Meeting.
10.8 Every Member eligible to vote shall be entitled to one
(1) vote. In the event of an
equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.
10.9 A Member who is unable to attend the Extraordinary
General Meeting may,
through signing a proxy form prior to the Meeting, authorize another
Member to
be her proxy to attend and vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting.
11. Financial
Management
11.1
The Financial Year of the Association shall be from 1
September of each year to
31 August of the following
year.
11.2
The income of the Association, however derived, shall be
applied solely towards
the objectives of the
Association as set out in this Constitution.
11.3
All expenditure and payments from the Association’s accounts
shall be approved by
at least two (2) Members of the
Executive Committee.
11.4
The Executive Committee shall determine the four signatories
for the Association’s
cheques and accounts.
11.5
All payments exceeding $100 shall be paid by crossed cheques
signed by any two
of the four signatories.
11.6
The Executive Committee shall keep proper accounts in respect
of:
(a)
all monies received and spent by the Association and the
matters in
respect of which such receipts and
expenditure take place; and
(b)
the assets and liabilities of the Association.
11.7 The Executive Committee
shall approve the Annual Statement of Accounts
prepared by the Treasurer as
required by clause 9.3(c).
11.8 The Executive Committee
shall decide whether there needs to be an investment
strategy, and if so, the
details of such an investment strategy or the appointment of
investment advisers to advise
on such an investment strategy.
12. Amendments to the
Constitution
12.1 Notice of proposed amendments to
the Constitution shall be given to the
Committee in writing and shall be
signed by not less than five (5) Members.
12.2 Amendments to the Constitution
shall be passed only at the Annual General
Meeting or at an Extraordinary
General Meeting.
12.3 Upon receiving notice of the
proposed amendment of the Constitution, the
Secretary shall give notice to all
Members at least five (5) calendar days before the
Meeting.
12.4 No amendment to the Constitution
shall be valid unless passed by a two-third
majority of all those present and
voting at the meeting.
13. Dissolution
13.1 The Association shall not be dissolved
except with the consent of a two-third
majority of the Members present
and voting at the Annual General Meeting or any
Extraordinary General Meeting.
13.2 The dissolution of the
Association must secure the written consent of the Patrons of
the Association.
13.3 In the event of the Association
being dissolved, any balance remaining to the credit
of the Association after providing
for outstanding liabilities shall be donated to the
College and the School in equal
shares.
14. Fees
14.1 The Executive Committee shall
determine the level of membership fees payable by
a Life Member.
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