Dear RMPS Parents and Carers,

Happy Halloween!

Next week is our spooky time of year, and we wish everyone a safe and social night for those choosing to celebrate the event..

The sausage sizzle on the weekend went very well and a big thank you to all those that volunteered. Drinks were very popular and it was great to help keep everyone hydrated and fed.

The final figures are yet to be calculated from the fundraising. We’ll have an update in the next newsletter. The funds raised will be used to support our grade 6 students as they prepare to graduate.

The next big event in the calendar is the Colour Fun Run.

Andrew Jeffrey is our coordinator for this event. If you see requests for support, please read them and support where you can, to help Andrew in making this a success.

Don’t forget to help your children seek out sponsors as we strive to set a new record for our fund-raising for the event! Funds raised will go towards procurement and installation of a Gaga pit. (Yes - these are a huge hit with the kids!)

To everyone who filled in our fundraising survey, thank you! After careful consideration of the feedback, the PFA has opted to not pursue either option given the aforementioned Colour Fun Run is also on. We’ll look for more opportunities in the new year.

The next PFA meeting is the 20th Nov 2024, 7:30pm, both online and at the school, pencil it in!

Everyone is welcome to attend, members and non-members, and to become more involved and have your voice heard!

The meeting link will be available in the newsletter preceding the meeting

2024 PFA Events and Fundraisers

Upcoming events planned:

World Teachers’ Day Morning Tea (Term 4, Friday 1 November)
School Colour Fun Run -Start getting those sponsorships in! (Term 4, Friday 15 November)
Foundation 2025 class morning tea (Term 4, Thursday 21 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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