Dear RMPS Parents and Carers,

Mid-May and winter is fast approaching, we hope everyone is well rugged up for the cooler mornings, but the sunshine through the day has been glorious and great for the children to burn off energy during their breaks.

Our next PFA meeting for the term is scheduled for 29th May (7.30pm at the school office and online)

In the news this issue:

Bunnings BBQ The sausages were a hit!

An enormous thank you to Amy Nethery and David Hundt for being our coordinators at this year’s Bunnings BBQ.

The takings on the day exceeded $2,000 and on top of that, many people on the volunteer roster got to know more members of our school community.

From the PFA executive team we very appreciative of all the volunteer efforts on the day and the lead up to the event. A round of applause to all and thank you!

2024 PFA Events and Fundraisers

A question that was commonly asked by the volunteers at the Bunnings BBQ is what are we raising funds for?

There are two projects the school has earmarked for the current fundraising activities.

GaGa pit
If you are head scratching on this one, you aren’t alone!
Have a look here: How to Play GaGa Ball in Elementary PE (youtube.com)

2. A chicken coop and associated chickens

For providing a connection to animals for the children

Future events in planning:

Family Event – Possible Movie Night (Tentatively end of Term 2, Date TBC)
Student Disco (Term 3, Friday 30th August)
World Teachers Day Morning Tea (Term 4, Friday 25 October – event TBC)
School Colour Fun Run (Term 4, Friday 15 November)

If you have ideas for other events please don’t hesitate to reach out as the committee is open to new ideas and variations. We are keen to hear from you!

You can contact the PFA committee by email for any input or questions: rmps.pfa@gmail.com>

Thank you for reading and we look forward to continually building our school community.

Lindsay (President), David (Secretary) and Bård (Treasurer)

(PFA Exec Team)

Appendices

Information: PFA – What is it? And why is it important?

The Parents & Friends Association (PFA) is a group of volunteer parents and carers who help organise events and fundraising activities for RMPS, welcome families and bring people together from within the community. This helps us all connect more closely with our school and each other while raising vital funds for school improvements. With every dollar raised, the opportunity for our children grows just that little bit more. Without volunteers, there would be no PFA, hence we encourage everyone to become a member and help us to kick some amazing goals this year!

It does not matter if you can spare 10 min or 10 hours, being involved will help you and your children to have the best environment we can achieve in our community.

Working in cooperation with the Principal and School Council, the PFA’s aims are to:

contribute to the wellbeing of the school community
encourage the participation of all parents and carers in the life of the school and the education of their children
provide opportunities for parents and carers to
- get to know each other,
- be informed about their child’s school
- extend their understanding of school operations
- build their knowledge of general education policy
contribute to proposals on school policy and other educational issues (as identified or discussed with the Principal or School Council)
raise funds for the benefit of the school

As a registered association, it is a requirement that the PFA has a minimum of three office bearers (executives) – President, Secretary and Treasurer. The current PFA executives are:

Lindsay Gamble (President) – father of Tahlia (2G)
David Wingate (Secretary) – father of Alister (FS)
Bård Sæter (Treasurer) – father of Madeleine (5G) and Aksel (1R)

About PFA Registered Members

All RMPS parents and carers of children attending the school, or any other interested individual of the immediate school community, are welcome to become Registered Members of the PFA. Registered Members can:

Receive copies of meeting minutes
Vote on items/actions at meetings
Vote to elect office bearers (executives)
Nominate to be elected to PFA executive roles
Be elected to PFA executive roles.

All members must sign and complete a Member Registration Form annually. After signing and submitting the form, a person becomes a Registered Member until the next AGM. If you would like to register or re-register as a member, please contact us via rmps.pfa@gmail.com for a copy of the registration form.

Note that you do not have to be a member to help on events or attend meetings.

FREE Working with Children Check (WWCC)

Ever thought about volunteering at a school (e.g., excursion, swimming, classroom) or PFA (e.g., disco, colour run) activity or event, or even at your child’s sports or dance club, but haven’t been able to because you don’t have a Working with Children Check (WWCC)? Well, you can get a volunteer WWCC for FREE! Applying for one takes about 15-20 minutes and you can do it online via Working with Children Check (service.vic.gov.au). Once you have completed the online application you will receive an application receipt, followed by a card after the check is completed. (Note: We recommend you do this using your mobile phone because of the photo process etc.)

What you'll need to do

Prove your identity with documents using your phone. The online application shows you which ones.
Fill out the online application form
Consent to Service Victoria passing your info on to the Working with Children Check (WWCC) Unit Victoria (Department of Justice and Community Safety) to process your WWCC application. (Services Victoria does not keep your information, they just pass it on.)

Your Working with Children check

The Working with Children Check Victoria screening process looks at:
Your criminal record in all Australian states and territories, including any charges, regardless of the outcome
Your professional conduct as determined by these groups, and

Whether you're required to report under sex offender legislation

If you have applied for a WWCC but are unsure whether your card will arrive before you want to volunteer at an event, please speak to the school office about possible options. A check may take between 3-12 weeks to be processed.

Copies of WWCC cards are kept on file by the school for compliance and a Working with Children Check is required for doing child-related work which includes volunteering. Please provide the school office with a copy of your card.

If you would like to get a WWCC card but are not confident doing this yourself, please contact the school office for assistance by calling 9890 2372.

For RMPS related volunteering, please also read the school’s:

Visitors Policy
https://robmacps.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Visitors-policy.docx
Volunteers Policy
https://robmacps.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Volunteers-policy.docx

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