PFA News

Dear RMPS Parents and Carers,

Welcome to spring and the lengthening of the days. The end of term is nearly here, just one week to go!

Please find below a link for a survey to gauge the level of interest in a several fundraising options being considered for term 4. Please take the time to complete the survey to assist with PFA planning.

https://forms.gle/wtw9gVdCvDnK39y98
The first is a mango drive. Orders need to placed in the first few weeks of term 4 along with payment.
We need a minimum order quantity of 64 trays. Delivery is somewhere between late November to mid-December.
The second is a gingerbread house kit, likely aiming for delivery near Christmas also.

The next PFA meeting is the 16th Oct 2024, 12:30pm, both online and at the school, pencil it in!

An online link will be sent out in the newsletter leading up to the day. Everyone is welcome to join, members and non-members to become more involved and have your voice heard!

2024 PFA Events and Fundraisers

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!

Below in the next section is a wrap up of the recently held disco. A huge thank you to all involved and our co-ordinators Elizabeth Staunton and Kim Little!

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)

Thank you!

RMPS PFA 2024 ‘Under the Big Top’ Student Disco … What a spectacular night we had! – This year, the gym was transformed into a ‘Big Top’ tent, where our young acrobats, clowns, human cannonball and other circus stars danced, wriggled, twirled, somersaulted, and made happy memories together. The children were led once again by DJ Matty V (a late substitution) who got everyone up and moving to a fun mix of songs including some classics like Macarena, Let It Go and We Will Rock You. The standout for crowd participation though had to be Nutbush City Limits. (Unfortunately, DJ BK was unable to make it for health reasons … maybe next year.)

We want to express our gratitude to our disco coordinators, Kim Little and Elizabeth Staunton who worked hard to make this event a success. And a big thank you to the Robbie Mac staff who helped with preparations or on the night, but especially to Peter Watson, Stephen Roche and Melissa Khoury. We also want to thank our parent/carer volunteers who helped in different ways, from graphic design to collecting balloons to setting up or packing down the gym, or with registration and supervision at the discos – Jen Allen-Galal, Talia Banks, Karla Bennett, Gemma Faye, Amanda Lee, Kerrie Henderson, Sara McNab, Anne Mologousis, Stef Morrison, Natalie Oglesby, Avery Poole, Stan Rychlik, Tori Shaw, Carolyn Steart, Jim Szonyi, Jo Vancuylenburg and Catherine Wang. Plus, our gratitude once again goes out to TeamKids for making some marvellous decorations and to Hannah for assisting on the night. The team’s efforts in ensuring the safety and enjoyment of our students did not go unnoticed. You helped turn the night into one the children can cherish.

We wonder how many children spotted Mr F, Mrs Cassidy and Ms Seymour hiding in the decorations?

Thanks also go to Woolworths at Brickworks and Middle Camberwell, plus Kmart Burwood and Big W Doncaster for their support of this event through donations.

Some photos from the night are included at the end of the PFA News.

RMPS PFA 2024 ‘Under the Big Top’ Student Disco Photos (F-2s)

RMPS PFA 2024 ‘Under the Big Top’ Student Disco Photos (Y3-6s)

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.