The new President of the APEEE has a chat with VP Comms. Read on to find out a bit more about Catherine!
1. Tell us a bit about yourself, your background
Thanks for asking me to give this interview! I am the mum of 5 children, the youngest of whom is 15 years old and in S4FR. Of French origin, I have been in Belgium for 25 years. I find Brussels to be a really pleasant city. After spending more than 20 years as a fonctionnaire at the Commission, I recently moved to the European Parliament. I organise meetings for the 7 political groups outside Europe. I travel frequently but I am sure that I can reconcile my professional life with my role in the APEEE at Laeken.
2. Why did you want to join the CA?
From 1996 to 2006 I was actively involved in various APEEEs. First at Uccle, and then at Ixelles when that school was created. I was a member of the launch committee. Afterwards there were negotiations between Uccle and Woluwe in relation to the allocation of students, the budget, the transfer of canteen staff… I was a member of the Canteen committee and for a number of years I was in charge of the transport committee. I was also VP Admin for a few months. I learnt a lot during those years and I hope that my experience will be useful for our school community.
3. What do you see as the biggest challenges facing our school/APEEE?
The growing school population year on year.
Pedagogical issues.
Ensuring that there are the means to meet the ends… (and so it goes on J )
The list is long because we have a lot to do and not many parents. Even though there should be 21 of us, only 18 candidates stood for election. The first challenge will be to ensure that we can work together as a new CA.
4. What are your priorities for this year?
Although I have only just been nominated President, I have already received a number of requests from parents and the Comité des élèves (Student Council) concerning the creation of a cafeteria. There is a real need for this even if some parents are opposed to it for different reasons. Given the growing number of adolescents each year, we need to re-examine this issue.
5. What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
The number of emails relating to the APEEE I have to reply to! More seriously, I like life to be full of surprises, I like challenges. I like lots of things in huge measure …and I invest myself fully. But once I have dealt with a question and all that remains is routine or less creativity, I find a new passion (with one exception – my love life)
Do you need to contact the President? email: president@bru4.eu
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