PFA News
Dear Robbie Mac families,
Term 2 is well underway and what a busy term it has been. We hope that all the mothers and special women in our school community had a lovely and enjoyable time at the Mother’s Day morning school activity. Thank you to all the teachers for organising the classroom activities and to Noel Jones for providing the coffee van.
A new flagpole has been installed at the school this week using funds raised by the PFA over the last year. This flagpole will be used to display the Torres Strait Islander flag as part of the school’s Reconciliation Action Plan. Thank you to all families in the school community who have contributed at all the PFA events!
Only a few days away
Education Week Open Night BBQ Fundraiser, Wednesday 17 May – The RMPS PFA will be running a BBQ from 5pm – 6:30pm on the Education Week Open Evening. We will be cooking up sausages from Dench Butchers Forest Hill and honey soy lemongrass chicken skewers from Sataylicious. Come on down and grab a bite when you come to visit the classrooms.
All funds raised on the night will go towards supporting the school’s Campfire Conversation event that focuses on fostering greater understanding and awareness of Australia’s Indigenous culture, history, and perspective. This event aims to provide a safe and respectful space where students and the wider community can engage in meaningful dialogue with indigenous community members, elders, and/or experts. The school plans to hold an immersive day, where students will participate in activities such as a smoking ceremony, art classes, Indigenous food and ‘Understanding Reconciliation’. Through these activities, students will have a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing indigenous communities, explore the rich cultural heritage of indigenous people, and discuss ways to promote greater respect, inclusion, and equity for indigenous people.
Help on the Day – Are you available from 6-7pm on Wednesday, 17 May? We would greatly appreciate your help to assist with cooking, assembling orders, serving, handling sales and payments, and packing up to make this BBQ event a success.
Please sign up to volunteer to help us out at the BBQ by following these 3 easy steps:
1. Click this link to go to our SignUp page: https://signup.com/go/rSTzLnL
2. Enter your email address (You will NOT need to register an account on SignUp)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots – SignUp will send you an automated confirmation. Easy! Tip: You can check the ‘Hide Full Spots’ checkbox to see only the ones that still need to be filled.
Note: SignUp does not share your name, mobile number or email address with anyone other than the organisers. If you prefer not to sign up online though, please contact the PFA via rmps.pfa@gmail.com and we can sign you up manually. You can still use the online form to see what spots need filling.
PFA Volunteer Sign-Up
The PFA committee would like to invite parents and carers to fill in the 2023 RMPS PFA Volunteer Sign-Up Sheet to register your interest in helping and/or to provide feedback to us. Please assist us to help our children have fun this year, raise some money and bring the Robbie Mac community together. There are lots of volunteering options – coordinators who help organise events and helpers who assist an event. We cannot do this alone!
As a coordinator, you will be liaising with us, the school, providers, 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 you will not be doing it all by yourself. We and the school are here to help! So, have a look and see if any of the roles fit your lifestyle and schedule.
Helpers help. This can either be by supporting a coordinator on the day of an activity or beforehand – any help is appreciated, whether it be assisting to setup, supervise, sell something, source donations, lend an item or buy something.
Please follow this link to fill out the sign-up sheet: https://forms.gle/sQPqg7a235DrUtsS7 by Monday, 22 May 2023. We look forward to hearing from you!
We will look at all the sign-ups before allocating roles. Once activities are allocated, we will discuss event dates and what’s involved with volunteers. The PFA and the school really appreciate any assistance you can provide – we know you are doing other things outside of school volunteering!
What is the 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.
Our next meeting will be held in the Conference Room, RMPS Admin Building on Tuesday 16 May 2023 at 2:15pm – 3:15pm.
Please complete the sign-up sheet if you have an idea you’d like to share with us or would like to get involved in the committee and/or activities, or you'd simply like more information on the PFA – rmps.pfa@gmail.com.
Best wishes,
Wen Li (President), Elizabeth (Secretary) and Bård (Treasurer)
FREE Working with Children Check (WWCC)
Ever thought about volunteering at a school (e.g., excursion, swimming, classroom, fair) or PFA (e.g., disco, colour fun run) 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 https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/individuals/applicants/how-to-apply-1. Once you have completed the online application you will receive an application receipt, followed by a card after the check is completed.
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 – it is recommended to do this using your mobile phone.
- 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 or may even be completed on the same day. 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.
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: