OUR CONSTITUTION | St Margarets

1. NAME

The name of the association shall be “St Margaret’s Ex-Students’ Association” (hereinafter referred to as “SMESA”).

2. PLACE OF BUSINESS

The place of business of SMESA shall be at “111 Farrer Road, Singapore 259240”, or such other premises as may from time to time be decided by its Board of Management subject to the approval of the Registrar of Societies. SMESA shall carry out its activities only in places and premises which have the prior written approval from the relevant authorities, where necessary.

3. THE MISSION

The mission of SMESA shall be to promote the development of the total well-being of all students of St. Margaret’s Primary School and St. Margaret’s Secondary School (hereinafter referred to as “the School”) and to preserve the love for the Alma Mater by maintaining bonds between the School and its former students.

4. THE VISION

The objectives of SMESA shall be:-

(a) To uphold the School’s motto:- Charity, Patience and Devotion;

(b) To foster a spirit of friendship and mutual co-operation among its members;

(d) To organize social and recreational activities;

(e) To bring about a better understanding and goodwill among all races living in Singapore.

5. MEMBERSHIP

(a) Life members shall be open to former students of the School provided that the applicants have completed at least one year in the School, are at least 21 years of age and are not currently attending any primary school, secondary school, centralized institute or junior college.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Management shall have the discretion to approve applications which do not fall within the foregoing definition on a case by case basis

(b) (i) Youth Members shall be open to students of the School who are:

alumnae less than 21 years old; and
graduating from the School

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Management shall have the discretion to

approve applications which do not fall within the foregoing definition on a case by case

basis. Youth Members shall have no voting rights and are not eligible to hold office or have

a say in the management of SMESA.

(b) (ii) Youth members upon reaching 21 years of age may convert their membership to Life

Membership and by paying the relevant membership subscription provided always that the

members currently attending primary, secondary schools, centralized institutes or junior

colleges shall not be admitted as members.

(c) Associate members may comprise parents of current and past students of the School who have rendered services to the School or SMESA. They shall not have any voting rights and shall not be eligible to hold office or have any say in the management of SMESA. Admission to the Associate membership shall be by invitation by SMESA’s Board of Management.

(d) Honorary members and Advisors may comprise current and past principals and members of the teaching staff of the School or any other distinguished persons whose expertise is required by SMESA. They shall not have any voting rights and shall not be eligible to hold office or have any say in the management of SMESA. Admission to the Honorary membership and Advisors shall be by invitation by SMESA’s Board of Management.

(e) Patrons may comprise members of the School Management Committee or any other distinguished persons as SMESA’s Board of Management shall decide. They shall not have any voting rights and shall not be eligible to hold office or have any say in the management of SMESA.

6. APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

Applications for Life and Youth membership shall be made in writing or on-line on the prescribed form to the Honorary Secretary, who shall submit such applications to SMESA’s Board of Management for approval.

7. SUBSCRIPTIONS

(a) Any person, duly approved according to Rule 6 above, shall be required to pay her subscriptions and shall then be deemed to have the privileges of a member of SMESA.

(b) Life members shall pay a subscription of S$100.00, respectively or such amount as SMESA’s Board of Management may from time to time determine.

(c) Any member whose subscription is in arrears for more than one (1) year may have her membership suspended until such time as she pays all her arrears.

(d) The SMESA’s Board of Management shall have the discretion to waive the payment of any subscription and/or arrears of subscriptions.

8. BOARD OF MANAGEMENT/ MEETING

(a) The management of SMESA shall be vested in a Board of Management (hereinafter called “the Board”) which shall consist of the Immediate Past President and the following twelve (12) members elected at its Annual General Meeting once in every 2 years :-

President
2 Vice-Presidents
The Honorary Secretary
The Assistant Honorary Secretary
The Honorary Treasurer
The Assistant Honorary Treasurer
5 Ordinary Board Members

When a new President is elected, the immediate past President shall assume the position of Immediate Past President for a period of one (1) year.

(b) The President and/or a member of the Board nominated by the President shall represent SMESA in the School Management Committee.

(c) The President, Vice Presidents and Honorary Secretary may be ex-officio members of all sub-committees.

(d) The Board meeting shall be held at least once in every two (2) months after giving seven days’ notice to Board members and at such a time and place as the Board may deem fit. The President may call for a Board meeting at any time by giving five days’ notice.

9. TENURE OF OFFICE

(a) Tenure of office of the members of the Board shall be for a term of 2 years. They shall be eligible for re-election consecutively except for the Honorary Treasurer and the Assistant Honorary Treasurer who shall not be eligible for re-election for the same post or related post after being elected for 2 terms consecutively, that is to say, the Honorary Treasurer and the Assistant Honorary Treasurer shall not hold the same post, related post or both for more than 2 terms of four (4) years consecutively, but she shall be eligible for re-election for the same post or related post after a lapse of at least one (1) term.

(b) For the avoidance of doubt, after having served as Assistant Honorary Treasurer for one (1)

Term, the Assistant Honorary Treasurer shall be eligible for re-election consecutively for the post

of Honorary Treasurer but for only one (1) term. This shall also be applicable to the Honorary

Treasurer in similar circumstances.

10. POWERS OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

The Board of Management shall have the following powers: -

(a) To appoint such sub-committees as it may deem fit;

(b) To authorize the expenditure of a sum not exceeding S$15,000 per transaction from SMESA’s fund for SMESA’s purposes. Any expenditure in excess of this amount shall require the approval of the members at a general meeting;

(c) To invite, approve and/or reject applications for membership;

(d) To add, alter and/or amend any existing rules subject to approval thereof at any subsequent Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting (hereinafter referred to as “the General Meeting”);

(e) To frame by-laws which shall be binding on all members;

(f) To expel any member of the Board who fails to attend three successive meetings without any valid reason;

(g) To co-opt not more than five (5) members to the Board where such co-opted members will not have any voting right on the Board;

(h) To co-opt members to fill any vacancies in the Board until the next Annual General Meeting and the co-opted member shall have the same rights, duties and responsibilities, of the position filled.

11. DUTIES

(a) The duty of the Board is to organize and supervise the day-to-day activities of SMESA and to make decisions on matters affecting its running when the General Meeting is not sitting. It may not act contrary to the expressed wishes of the General Meeting without prior reference to it and always remain subordinate to the General Meetings.

(b) The President shall act as Chairman at all Board and General Meetings of SMESA and represent SMESA in its dealings with third parties.

(c) The duty of the Immediate Past President is to assist the President in the smooth transition of leadership and to carry out any duties as may be assigned by the President.

(d) The Vice-Presidents shall deputize for the President in the latter’s absence.

(e) The Honorary Secretary shall:-

(i) send out notices for all meetings;
(ii) keep records of membership, minutes of meetings, correspondence and all other documents relating to the affairs of SMESA.

(f) The Assistant Honorary Secretary shall deputize for the Honorary Secretary in her absence.

(g) (i) The Honorary Treasurer shall keep all funds, collect and disburse all moneys on behalf of

SMESA and shall also keep accounts of all monetary transactions and be responsible for

their correctness.

(ii) Cheques and other forms of withdrawals or payments from the bank shall be signed or

authorised by the Honorary Treasurer or the Assistant Honorary Treasurer and any one of

the following signatories:

The President
The Vice-President
The Honorary Secretary.

(h) The Assistant Honorary Treasurer shall deputize for the Honorary Treasurer in her absence.

(i) SMESA’s representative(s) sitting on the School Management Committee shall put forward any matters which SMESA may from time to time require the School Management Committee to consider and shall report back to the Board of the decisions of the School Management Committee.

(j) The Chairman of any sub-committee shall be responsible to the Board in the management of her sub-committee and shall have the following duties and powers, namely: -

(i) To keep record of all the activities of her sub-committee and to report such activities at

the Board meeting;

(ii) To incur any expenditure that may be deemed necessary provided she first obtained

the approval of the Board.

(k) Where the Board deems appropriate, alternative arrangements for Board meetings may be convened, held or conducted, whether wholly or partly, by electronic means such as electronic communication, video conferencing, tele-conferencing or other electronic means.

12. GENERAL MEETINGS

The supreme authority of SMESA is vested in a General Meeting of members presided over by the President.

(a) Annual General Meeting

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held once a year not later than in April of each year for the purposes of:

confirming the minutes of the previous AGM;
receiving, and, if approved, adopting the Annual Report and audited Statement of Accounts;
electing the Board of Management;
transacting any other business of which notice shall have been duly given;
electing the Honorary Auditors.

(b) Extraordinary General Meeting

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) shall be convened when necessary or upon a written requisition signed by at least ten (10) members, and such requisition must state in writing the business to be transacted thereat.

(i) Notice of the Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting shall be given to

members at least seven (7) days before the date of the meeting.

(ii) The Notice together with copies of the Minutes of the Last General Meeting, the Annual

Report (comprising the President’s Report and the School Representative’s Report) and

the audited Statement of Accounts may be sent to the members electronically unless

otherwise requested by members in writing.

(iii) The Annual Report and Statement of Accounts shall cover the period from1 January to 31

December of each year.

(iv) At all General Meetings, the President shall take the chair, and, in the event of the

President’s absence, the 1st Vice-President shall take the chair or in the latter‘s absence,

then the 2nd Vice-President.

(d) Where the Board deems appropriate, alternative arrangements for Annual General Meetings or the Extraordinary Meetings may be convened, held or conducted, whether wholly or partly, by electronic means such as electronic communication, video conferencing, teleconferencing or other electronic means.

13. VOTES

Each Life member is entitled to one vote at any meeting, and in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a casting vote. Members may vote by proxy, which shall be in writing in the physical or electronic prescribed form. The proxy form may be returned by hand, normal post, e-mail or other electronic means and to be received by the Secretary at least one (1) day before the date of the meeting.

14. QUORUM

(a) Board Meetings

At least 50% of the Board members present at the Board meeting shall form a quorum.

(b) General Meetings

(i) At least 15% of the total Life membership shall form a quorum for an Extraordinary

General or Annual General Meeting.

(ii) Should there be no quorum present at an EGM or AGM, the meeting shall be adjourned for

half an hour and resumed thereafter. Should the number then present be insufficient to form a quorum, the members then present shall be deemed to form the quorum but they shall have no power to alter, amend or make additions to the existing Constitution.

15. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

Any alterations, amendments or additions to the Constitution shall require at least two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present (including proxies) at the AGM or EGM when the required quorum has been met and shall not come into force without the prior written approval of the Registrar of Societies.

16. GENERAL

Any member who infringes any existing rules or by-laws or whose conduct is deemed detrimental to the well-being of SMESA, may, subject to the approval of two-thirds (2/3) majority of the General Meeting, be requested to resign or be struck off the Register of the Members of SMESA.

17. INTERPRETATION

In the event of any question or matter arising out of any point which is not expressly provided for in the Constitution, rules or by-laws, the Board shall have power to use its own discretion. The Board’s decision on the Constitution, rules and by-laws shall be final unless reversed at a General Meeting of members.

18. APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS

Two (2) members who are not members of the Board shall be elected as Honorary Auditors at the Annual General Meeting and shall hold office for two (2) years only and may not be re-elected for a 2nd consecutive term. They will be required to audit each year’s account and present a repot upon them to the AGM. They may be required by the President to audit SMESA’s account for any period within their tenure of office at any date and make a report to the Board.

19. APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEES

(a) If SMESA at any time acquires any immovable property, such property shall be vested in trustees, subject to a declaration of trust. Such trustees are to be appointed at a General Meeting.

(b) The number of trustees shall not be more than four (4) or less than two (2).

(d) A trustee shall be deemed to have relinquished her trusteeship under any of the following situations:-

(i) on her death;
(ii) on her being certified to be of unsound mind;
(iii) on her absence from Singapore for a period of 12 months or more.

(e) If a trustee is guilty of misconduct of such a kind as to render it undesirable that she continues as a trustee, a General Meeting may remove her from her trusteeship.

(f) Vacancies in the trusteeship shall be filled at a General Meeting.

(g) Notice of any proposal to remove a trustee from her trusteeship or to appoint a new trustee to fill any vacancy shall be in accordance with the requirements for a General Meeting.

(h) The trustees of SMESA shall:

(i) be elected by a General Meeting of members.

(ii) not effect any sale or mortgage of property without the prior approval of the General

Meeting of members.

20. PROHIBITIONS

(a) Gambling of any kind, excluding the promotion or conduct of a private lottery which has been permitted under the Private Lotteries Act Cap 250, is forbidden on SMESA’s premises. The introduction of materials for gambling or drug taking and of bad characters into the premises is prohibited.

(b) The funds of SMESA shall not be used to pay the fines of members who have been convicted in the court of law.

(c) SMESA shall not engage in any trade union activity as defined in any written law relating to trade unions for the time being in force in Singapore.

(d) SMESA shall not attempt to restrict or interfere with trade or make directly or indirectly any recommendation to, any arrangement with its members which has the purpose or is likely to have the effect of fixing or controlling the price or any discount, allowance or rebate relating to any goods or service which adversely affect consumer interests.

(e) SMESA shall not indulge in any political activity or allow its funds and/or premises to be used for political purposes.

(f) SMESA shall not hold any lottery, whether confined to its members or not, in the name of the Society or its office-bearers, Committee or members unless with prior approval of the relevant authority.

(g) SMESA shall not raise funds from the public for whatever purposes without prior approval in writing to the Head, Licensing Division, Singapore Police Force and other relevant authorities.

21. STATEMENTS

Public statements including circulars, letters, press release, pamphlets and other media statements, must first have the approval of the Board before their release.

22. DISSOLUTION

(a) SMESA shall not be dissolved except with the consent of not less than three-fifth (3/5) of the Life members who must be residing in Singapore at that time. These members may vote either in person or by proxy or convey their consent by post at the General Meeting convened for that purpose.

(b) In the event of SMESA being dissolved as provided above, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of SMESA shall be fully discharged, and the remaining funds will be disposed of in such a manner as the members deem fit.

(Approved by members at AGM held on 17 April 2021 and by ROS on 25 August 2021)