PFA News

Dear RMPS Parents and Carers, 

Welcome to autumn, although you wouldn’t have thought so just yet; it very much still feels like summer.

Congratulations to everyone on a very successful Colour Run.

We are still waiting for the final tally but based on the announcement last week of exceeding the $10,000 mark only 5 months after the previous run, it is a truly stellar effort – Thank you all!

A HUGE thank you to all the volunteers for making the day such a wonderful event and special mentions and appreciation to Andrew Jeffery for shepherding this event through the calendar – THANK YOU!

IMPORTANT ITEMS

1.The annual general meeting for the PFA is on the 17th of March, 7:30pm at the school in the main office staffroom. 

Please join us in the school office as we hold this important event. There are retiring members of the committee, and we need new members to join us and work together to make RMPS the best it can be.

Membership forms and committee nomination forms are attached below.You can also join the meeting online:

Meeting link: RMPS PFA AGM Meeting 2025 | Microsoft Teams | Meetup-Join

2. As mentioned in the previous newsletter, we are seeking to understand the capacity of the community to support the PFA activities.

Please take the time fill in this survey: https://forms.gle/W3AcpTzQRSLiWYir8 and nominate where you feel you can help.

Thank you!

Notices and events

Our overall current list of planned events is as follows:

(*) – depending on federal government election being called.

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) 

SCHEDULE 1: Parents’ Club Registration Form 

Parents’ Club/Association Registration Form 2025

I ………………………………………………………* wish to become a Member of the Roberts McCubbin Primary School’s Parents’ Club/Association. By signing this form, I agree to abide by the Club’s/Association’s Constitution at all times, including upholding the values in clause 2 of the Constitution. I will strive to make a positive difference in the school community; act honestly and with integrity; use resources responsibly and appropriately; engage genuinely with the community; comply with relevant legislation and policies; and to treat everyone in a considerate, fair and courteous manner.

I am aware that my registration needs to be renewed at the next Annual General Meeting.

Address*………………………………………………………………………………………………

Phone number....…………………………  (or)  Mobile number…….……………………………

Email*………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Child(ren) Name(s) and Year Level(s)……………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

*Required information

The Club/Association Secretary is required to maintain a log of registered members of the Club/Association and their addresses in accordance with the Club/Association’s Constitution.

The Parents’ Club/Association will seek to provide information including meeting agendas and any supporting documentation via email.

Signature……………………………………………….

Date……………………………………………………..

This form will be filed in the school building, will be the property of the Minister and will be made available to officers authorised by the Secretary of the Department of Education. 

All school clubs, (including Parents’ Clubs), are governed by the Department of Education, and therefore must protect the information that they collect. This means that all members of Roberts McCubbin Primary School Parent and Friends Association must comply with Victorian privacy law and the Schools’ Privacy Policy. All ‘personal information’ collected, used or disclosed by this Club, is protected by the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) (collectively, Victorian privacy law).

RMPS PFA Nomination Form for Office Bearer Positions

I, ……………………………………………………………………………………….as a member of the Roberts McCubbin Primary School Parents and Friends Association wish to nominate for the position of:

[please tick desired position] 

☐ President 

☐ Secretary

☐ Treasurer 

Candidate’s details

Name………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………

Residential Address……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Contact phone (optional)……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Email (optional)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Name of Nominator (can self nominate)………………………………………………………………………………

Signature of Nominator………………………………………………….Date…………………….………………………

Candidate to complete

I accept the nomination and I am prepared to serve as an office bearer of this Club

Signature of Candidate…………………………………………………Date…………………………………………….

*All fields must be completed unless marked (optional)

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.