School and Kindergarten Parents and Friends Association Meeting – Thursday 21st July, 9am

The next PFA meeting will be the General Meeting which will be held on Thursday 21st July at 9am in the Davey Building Conference Room (school administration building). This is a great opportunity to meet new parents, staff and a place where you can share your ideas for fundraising and how you would like to see the money raised to be spent on your children. All parents are encouraged to attend and toddlers are welcome.

PFA - who are we?

“PFA” is short for Parents and Friends Association, of which Alyson McPhan has been the President for the past 6 years. Along with a group of volunteers (parents, grandparents, friends), the PFA meets once a month, with its primary purpose being to raise money to provide things which school fees and/or the government, do not.

Wish Lists are collected from the teachers and students, outlining what they would like the money we raise to be spent on. As an example, some of the things purchased by the school with PFA-raised funds are:

· Sports Uniforms for interschool sports events;

· New library books and classroom readers;

· iPad charging stations;

· Bee-bots (coding);

· Playgrounds/equipment;

· Art supplies; and

· Grade 6 Graduation Celebration.

We are always keen to welcome new faces at the meeting, and also receive any new ideas or suggestions for fundraisers. Some of the fundraisers we consistently run are:

· Friday lunch orders (previously via Stewart’s Bakery pre new school build)

· Special Lunches

· Secondhand Uniform Shop

· Christmas and Easter Raffle (canvassing for donations)

· Pie drive/Donut drive

· Bingo and Parma Night

· SpringFest (market day, trots, carols)

· Sausage sizzles

· Working bees

The PFA also arranges events which generally don’t make a profit, rather provide a service for the children (i.e. Mother and Father’s day stalls) instead. These services would not exist without the PFA, and people volunteering whatever time they can spare. Volunteering can include things like choosing/ordering/wrapping gifts or prizes for raffles, collating orders, package into classrooms, run a stall etc. A lot of behind-the-scenes work goes into all fundraising efforts, so any time people are able to help out is always greatly appreciated. Even if you don’t purchase something during a pie or donut drive (for example), dedicating an hour or two to drop by and help sort or wrap gifts is just as valuable. Anybody is welcome to attend a meeting at any given time. You do not need to join the committee to attend a meeting. There is no obligation to do anything at all. A copy of the Minutes from every meeting is always available to anybody who would like to read them. If you would like to be added to the distribution list, please contact the Secretary, Amy McIntyre via email: amy.k.read@gmail.com

Bingo/Parma Night - Tuesday 9th August

Where : Ballarat Bingo Centre

Midlands Golf Club, Ballarat

Time : Parma’s at 6pm in the Midlands Bistro

Bingo - Eyes down 7:45pm sharp

Bingo Books : $6.00 per voucher

Parma: $25 includes parma, chips and salad, and drink (beer, wine, soft drink) with $5 donated back to the school

The PFA have arranged a Bingo and Parma Night at the Ballarat Bingo Centre and Midlands Golf Club. Vouchers for bingo are available to purchase for $6 each (cash only please), which are exchanged for the bingo books on the night. Please leave your name and number of attendees at the office along with cash for the bingo vouchers. Parmas to be paid for on the night.

Please mark this date in your diary and we hope all families will be able to attend the evening.

SpringFest Harness Racing Night - Friday 7th October

Where : Ballarat and District Trotting Club

Time : 6pm, first race 6.30pm

Tickets : $40 per person

U16 $22 per person

Includes entry, 3 course meal and racebook, drinks at bar prices

Please leave your details and payment (cash or EFTPOS) at the office.

Cookbooks – Grow, Harvest, Prepare, Share - $5 per book

The Parents and Friends Association have produced this beautiful, full colour cookbook printed on luxurious high quality paper. This fantastic book is sure to last a lifetime, making it a great memento from our school, kindergarten and community of Miners Rest. All recipes featured in the book have been tried and tested. The cook book will be selling for $5.

Student Display Folders

Through the PFA, we also have Student Display Folders for sale for $15 each. These are great for storing your child's reports, achievement certificates etc. Both the Display Folders and Cookbooks are available from the School General Office.

School Lunches – Monday and Thursday through Quickcliq.com.au

Lunches need to be ordered online through the website www.quickcliq.com.au. Please note: sauce is provided in each classroom, and you cannot specify which colour donut. Some days, not all items are available or sell out quickly. We recommend to try and order as early as possible, with orders closing at 8.15am on the day of delivery. Please update your child’s profile to reflect the correct teacher and room (this saves a lot of time when the caterers are distributing the lunches into the classroom containers).

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