Dear Robbie Mac Families,

We hope that you all are keeping warm and in good health this winter. As we delve deeper into the year, the PFA is delighted to provide an update on our ongoing efforts to support our school community.

Only a week away

Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser, Saturday 5 August – Mark your calendars for the Bunnings BBQ Sausage Sizzle on Saturday,

5 August from 9am ’til 4pm. Come together with your family and friends to grab a bite! Our coordinator, Lindsay Gamble, has done an amazing job in getting everything organised for the day. Thank you to all the volunteers who have offered their time to help at the event. All proceeds from this event will go towards purchasing new sports equipment

Current Events and Fundraisers

‘FUN’raising Bites Fundraiser, ends Tuesday 15 August – We are now about halfway through this fundraising event and there has been lots of activity going on. It is looking like it will be a tremendous success and we have received positive feedback from many families. Several families have requested extra biscuit carry boxes, with one being onto selling their 12th box, which is an amazing effort! Our goal is to raise $6,000 from the Gourmet Bites Box sales for Robbie Mac. Your continued support and participation are invaluable in making this a successful fundraiser, raising funds to go towards new 2023 play equipment such as soccer goals (requested by students) or a Gaga Pit for the children to enjoy, and to also help the Bite Size Kids Appeal.

Make sure you are selling those boxes and remember you can ask for more. There are some extras available at the school office.

Prizes We have two scrumptious ‘hampers’ to give away for our ‘FUN’raising Bites Fundraiser – check out the photos. The lucky winners will be the two families who raise the most money from biscuit sales overall by the end of the fundraising activity. We will tally the sales after Tuesday 15 August, when all money (and leftover boxes) has been returned to us.

If you have any queries, please contact us at: rmps.pfa@gmail.com.

PFA Student Disco, Friday 25 August – Our little dancers and music enthusiasts are in for a treat! We will be holding the annual PFA Student Disco on Friday 25 August in the school hall, with separate disco events for the Foundation to Year 2 and Years 3 to 6 students, led by DJ Matty V:

F-Y2: 5.30pm to 6.30pm

Y3-Y6: 6.45pm to 7.45pm

Please put the date and times in your calendar. All RMPS students are invited!

Tickets will cost $10 per child, and will go on sale through Compass next week, on Friday 4 August. Sales will run for two weeks, closing at 4pm on Friday 18 August.

The children can wear a disco themed outfit to ‘get down and boogie’ in and please make sure they bring a full, named water bottle.

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.

As we organise the roster for setting up, supervising the discos, and packing down the event, we anticipate putting out a request for volunteers shortly. If you would like to help at the disco, you will need a Working with Children Check (WWCC). If you do not already have one, a free volunteer’s one can be applied for using the instructions at the end of the PFA news, ‘FREE Working with Children Check (WWCC)’. Also, a copy of your WWCC will need to be kept on file at the school office, so please ensure you organise this. (A WWCC is also needed to help at the School Fun Run.)

If you have any concerns or queries, please contact the PFA at: rmps.pfa@gmail.com

Wanted: Coordinators

The success of our fundraisers and events relies on the dedication of volunteers like you. If you are passionate about making a positive impact and bringing exciting experiences to our school community, we invite you to join us as a coordinator. We are currently seeking enthusiastic individuals to help plan and organise the following events:

Referendum Day Fundraiser (Term 4)

As a coordinator, you will be liaising with us, the school, providers (as applicable), and families to ensure we have enough people to help and that what is needed is organised. Most of the work can be done from the comfort of your home and these events have been run before. You will not be doing it all by yourself. We and the school are here to help! If you can take on a coordinator role to support the school and PFA, please reach out to let us know at rmps.pfa@gmail.com.

Term 4 PFA Events and Fundraisers

The following events and fundraisers are currently planned for Term 4:

World Teachers’ Day Morning Tea (Friday 27 October)

Foundation Transition Morning Tea (Wednesday 22 November)

School Fun Run (Colour Run) (Monday 27 November) – we need a coordinator Referendum Day Fundraiser (anticipating Term 4)

Other small fundraisers may also be run throughout the remainder of the year.

Note that plans to hold a Parents and Carers Night in 2023 has now been cancelled

PFA

The 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 to raise vital funds for school improvements. Without volunteers, there would be no PFA.

All RMPS parents and carers are welcome to register as PFA members, enabling them to receive copies of meeting minutes, vote on items/actions and the office bearer (executive) roles as applicable, and be elected to PFA office bearer roles. If you would like to register as a member, please contact us for a copy of the registration form. Note that you do not have to be a member to help on events or attend meetings.

Next meeting: Wednesday 30 August 2023 at 8:00pm – 9:00pm. This will be an online Zoom meeting. We look forward to having parents and carers join us for this meeting.

Best wishes,

Wen Li (President), Elizabeth (Secretary) and Bård (Treasurer)

The PFA Committee

FREE Working with Children Check (WWCC)

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 about possible options. A check may take between 3-12 weeks to be processed.

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. 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

Numeracy at RMPS