Dear RMPS Parents and Carers,

Hard to believe we are at the half point of the term already - the term is flying by

Thank you to those who provided feedback on the movie event. It helps us understand where we can tweak a few things and, in the interest of transparency, we won’t be able to take on all the suggestions made, but each and every idea is reviewed. Thank you for the opportunity to do so!

The feedback will be closing off after this weekend. If you have any additional items you would like to raise, please do so here: https://forms.gle/R2cyMv93WULvYdtc7 (or through the class reps or email us directly: rmps.pfa@gmail.com )

The next event, the student disco, is fast approaching (see details below). We hope to see as many of the children there as possible!

Our next PFA meeting will be held Wednesday, 28th Aug at 7:30pm, both online (RMPS PFA Meeting 28-Aug-2024 | Microsoft Teams | Meetup-Join) and at the school. Everyone is welcome to join, members and non-members to become more involved and have your voice heard!

2024 PFA Events and Fundraisers

RMPS PFA 2024 ‘Under the Big Top’ Student Disco, Friday 30 August – The PFA’s 2024 Student Disco is coming to Robbie Mac and will be held after school on Friday 30 August in the school gym. We are busy counting down the days – it is only two weeks from today! There will be two separate discos running for an hour each:

F-Y2: 5.30pm to 6.30pm

Y3-Y6: 7.00pm to 8.00pm

Child registration (all tickets must be pre-purchased – see below) will start 15 minutes before each disco’s start time. We ask that you arrive in time to check your child in, ready for their disco to begin promptly.

All Robbie Mac students are invited! The theme is ‘Under the Big Top’, so make sure the children wear a circus themed outfit (and soft-soled shoes) to ‘top off’ a fun night of dancing and music, led by DJ BK. And please make sure they bring a full, named water bottle. The children are in for a great night. We hope to see them there!

Make sure to get a ticket. Tickets cost $10 each per child and are on sale now through Compass Course Confirmations, which is under each student’s Profile. Tickets will not be sold at the door on the night and need to be bought via Compass by 4pm on Friday 23 August.

If your child needs medication to be on hand, they can bring it in a named, zip locked bag, which will be signed in and out on the night and stored securely.

Help on the Day – Are you available to help on Friday 30 August in either the afternoon and/or evening? We are seeking volunteers at various times to help with activities like collecting balloons, setting up, supervising the discos, and packing down at the end of the night. We're using SignUp to organise our volunteers, and we need your help to make this event successful. Pick your slots and sign up as a volunteer using these 3 easy steps:

Click this link to go to our SignUp page: https://signup.com/go/cMKbWfU
Enter your email address (You will NOT need to register an account on SignUp)
Sign up! Choose your spots – SignUp will send you an automated confirmation. Easy!

Note: SignUp does not share your name, mobile number or email address with anyone other than the organisers. If you prefer not to sign up online though, please contact rmps.pfa@gmail.com and we can sign you up manually. You can still use the online form to see what spots need filling.

Important: For this event, all volunteers need to have a current Working with Children Check (WWCC). Please refer to the appendix below on applying for a FREE volunteer’s WWCC, if you do not already have one, and links to the associated school policies. A volunteer WWCC can be organised quickly. Please show your WWCC to the school office for their records by Tuesday 27 August. If you lodge a WWCC application and are concerned about not receiving the card in time to volunteer, please contact the school office to discuss your circumstances.

Check out the disco poster for further details. If you have any concerns or queries, please contact the PFA at: rmps.pfa@gmail.com.

We are super excited and looking forward to a fun night!

Other upcoming events planned:

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

Working with children check (FREE!)

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. Sometimes a check may take between 3 to 12 weeks to be processed, although they are usually done quickly.

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 at events with children attending or working on site during the school day (8.45am to 3.45pm). 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

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.

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