From the Principal Team

OSHC Changes

After many years of running a wonderful school council operation for outside school hours care, the School Council has recently decided to transition to an external provider.  

This decision has come after much close deliberation and many years of looking at the pros and cons of such a change. 

It is a decision that School Council has taken extremely seriously and sensitively, with parents expressing a range of honest views, concerns and expectations throughout the process. They have also expended a lot of time and energy engaging with the process. 

I understand that there will be some hesitation about such a transition but our hopes and vision for the change is that it improves the quality of program we are able to offer the children, improves the support provided for OSHC staff to allow them to do what they do best: care for your children, and continues to ensure there is a stimulating, fun and affordable out of school care option for RNPS families. 

With that in mind, TeamKids has been selected as the successful provider and invited to build on their vacation care program and to manage our OSHC program. 

TeamKids have been running our Vacation Care program for 3 years now and have demonstrated an excellent capacity to work collaboratively with the school in the interest of students and families. 

Over the coming weeks, TeamKids will be engaging with the school community and offering parents a range of ways to learn about their program and how it might be the same or different from what your children have experienced in the current program. 

Attached is a letter from TeamKids to introduce themselves but there will be plenty more to come over the coming weeks. 

A few key points about the transition: 

• Payment fees are always set with the approval of School Council and this will not change. We always have an annual review of fees that may or may not result increases. TeamKids have committed (at School Council's insistence) to keeping the payment fees unchanged this year. 
• The transition will be effective from the first day of Term 3, Monday July 15. 
• School Council have again insisted that consistency of staffing is an important consideration. TeamKids have agreed to work with our current staff to give them the opportunity to continue working in the school's program, employed by TeamKids. We expect a number of staff will have the opportunity to continue and that staffing will remain largely unchanged. 
• TeamKids will give parents the opportunity to meet and discuss the program and the transition at different points. We have invited them to be at our Open Night next week, Thursday May 16, but there will be an information session and Q&A chance at other times, too. 
• As part of TeamKids' structure there will be a full-time Director of Service appointed to the program who will be parents' primary contact. The recruitment for this role will happen over the coming weeks. 

Recognising exceptional contributions

As we move towards an exciting new chapter that will open up more opportunities for our students, it is important to recognise the amazing work that has come before that. 

Judy Miles, supported by Lyn Cardwell, Georgia Boyd and Patrick Harman, has been the Service Coordinator and driving force behind the School Council program for 30 years. The industry has gone through extraordinary change in that time and the increased workload and accountability processes over that time has been exorbitant. Throughout all this flux, Judy has been steadfast and resolute in providing a high quality, caring and stimulating program. 

I wish to extend my utmost gratitude to Judy for the work and dedication she has made to this program and the school community. I know that there will be no end of staff, students and parents who will wish to do the same. 

Judy is currently on leave, but we hope to have the opportunity in the coming months to celebrate as a school community her achievements and commitment to the school.

Thank you, Judy. 

Instrumental teachers update

Please note that recently Alison Littlehale, our long-serving strings teacher, announced that she would be finishing up at the school in order to pursue other opportunities with her family and moving overseas. 

We wish to extend our best wishes to Alison and thank her for all the wonderful work she has done with students over the years, as well as the school band for a period of time. 

I am currently in discussion with potential teachers, seeking a replacement strings teacher and a singing teacher that can provide lessons at school. 

We will update you when one or both of these positions has been filled. In the meantime, if your child is interested in learning a strings instrument (violin, cello etc.) or singing, please let the office know and complete an enrolment form as it helps to indicate to potential teachers how many students are currently interested.