PFA News

Dear RMPS families,

Following a little PFA News hiccup, we wanted to give an update on events including the World Teachers’ Day morning tea, Student Disco and School Colour Fun Run.

Thank you

World Teachers’ Day (WTD) – As a follow up to the gifts and cards handed out on the actual World Teachers’ Day, we hosted the annual thank you morning tea on Wednesday 19 October. Staff were very appreciative of what the school community did to make them feel valued and had a wonderful time together enjoying a lovely spread of food including croissants, Turkish bread, fillings, treats and fruit and granola yoghurt cups. They also got to learn a little bit more about each other through a game where they wrote down a little-known fun fact about themselves to put in a jar, then when pulled out, the teachers had to match the fact to a fellow colleague; many laughs were had! We won’t spill the beans on who belongs to what fact, but some interesting details came out during the get together. Can you guess who can play Hawaiian tunes with their nose? Who almost got run over by Phil Collins? Or has played the Saxophone since the age of 10 and was part of the La Trobe jazz band? And thank you to our fantastic team of volunteers who helped in different ways including sourcing flower donations and making them into table arrangements, lending vases, and setting up, hosting and packing up the morning tea on the day. Very ably led by the ever enthusiastic and supportive Carolyn Steart, the team included Avery Poole, Karla Bennett, Kim Little and Tori Knight. Thank you for giving up your time and helping, we couldn't have done it without you!

Student Disco – In addition to the school’s update in the last newsletter, we also wanted to acknowledge what a wonderful evening was had by the students, boogying away to tunes led by DJ Sam I Am including old faithfuls like YMCA, Nutbush City Limits, the Macarena, Uptown Funk, the Chicken Dance and Rasputin. It was great to have such amazing support from the school and families, with teachers and parents volunteering their time to ensure a successful and fun event. Here is a big shout out to Kim Little and Kat Dowson who helped with organising the disco, to Sandy Sui and Vanessa Huang who assisted with the posters, and to the following for helping with decorations, setup, pack up, registration and/or supervision:

Parents: Andrea Murray, Andréanne Boileau, Carolyn Steart, Chris Pappas, David Dowson, Elaine Chung, Jen Buxton, Jim Tzikas, Karla Bennett, Kelly Longworth, Kim Jones, Marion Rudge, Michael Knight, Nicole Perazzo, Sophia Tzikas, Stan Rychlik, Suzie Jackson, Tom Hartney, Tori Knight and Zoe Frost.

TeamKids: Hannah Doyle and children with a special mention to Pippa Steward for the spectacular sun she made us.

Staff: Peter Watson, Stephen Roche, Erin Cheung, Melinda Browne, Natasha Robb, Tim F, Kelly Vimpani, Lisa Ralling, Emma James and Kate Pickburn.

Your support and effort contributed greatly to the success of the disco and is truly appreciated.

Only a few days away

School Colour Fun Run, Monday 14 November – The RMPS PFA is offering all students the opportunity to participate in the School Colour Fun Run “THE BIG SHOW + COLOUR DAY”, which will be held on Mon 14 November on the school oval between 1-3pm with the Principal/teacher colour bombing/sliming at 3pm. We will (hopefully) have Chase the mascot helping. This is a much-loved event that gets the children outside and moving and it’s raising funds for the school’s planned indigenous garden playground, on top of covering the costs of hosting it. We cannot wait to see them revelling in getting blasted with colour while running around. We welcome parents and family members to attend and cheer the children on. Spectators will be able to watch from the Synthy grass.

You may have seen Compass posts and class rep messages asking for assistance. We do need help to make this a great event for the children …

Child Sign-Up and Fundraise – Children can sign up for their own fundraising profile page, create their avatar and most importantly, share their link to source donations safely online. Fundraising continues until 18 November. We currently have 163 children signed up, which is about 45% of students and only 103 (29%) with donations raised (a big thank you to these families!). So, if you haven’t done so already, please:

Help your child(ren) create a profile page at schoolfunrun.com.au.
Share the profile page to seek donations. To get started with fundraising, can you think of five people you can share the profile page with who are likely to donate?

Help on the Day – Are you available for 30 minutes or more on Monday 14 November? We are seeking volunteers at various times using SignUp to help with activities like spraying children with water, throwing coloured powder at them, using bubble wands, helping on the course, being Chase the mascot, setting up and packing up. We need our community to make this event successful and we only 59% of the roles filled, so it would be fantastic if you can help on the day!

Please pick your slots and sign up as a volunteer following these 3 easy steps:

Click this link to go to our SignUp page: https://signup.com/go/OFjNphw
Enter your email address (You will NOT need to register an account on SignUp)
Sign up! Choose your spots – SignUp will send you an automated confirmation. Easy! Tip: You can check the ‘Hide Full Spots’ checkbox to see 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.

Important: This is an event that is working with children and therefore, requires a current Working with Children Check (WWCC). Please refer to the article on applying for a FREE volunteer’s WWCC if you do not already have one and links to the associated school policies.

Prizes and Charities – Students who raise $10 or more will receive a reward, and the more money raised the better the reward and the more you help the school! For those who would prefer not to receive prizes such as toys or gadgets, there is the option to donate to some wonderful not-for-profit causes. During the Prize Ordering Period (11-18 November), students can elect a charity to donate some or all of their prize money to. It would be fantastic if you can discuss this with your children and encourage them to help in this way. The two charities being supported are:

Daniel Morcombe Foundation, which combines with the school’s respectful relationships program. Help in their mission of KEEPING KIDS SAFE. The Foundation specialises in education programs for both children and adults in how to keep kids safe, while also directly supporting young victims of crime.

GreenFleet is a leading not-for-profit organisation committed to protecting our climate by restoring our forests. Donations will help create homes for Koala’s by planting trees throughout Australia.

What to wear –

Students

Come to school in an outfit that they can run around with, preferably a WHITE or light-coloured T-Shirt that may get stained with colour
Will most likely be messy and wet when picked up as this event is at the end of the day – a towel will be handy!
Will use their school hats when not running in the fun run and have access to their classroom tub for storing water bottles

Adults

Spectators – Spectators are spectators only, so do not need any specific clothing but should be prepared for stray colour powder and water.
Helpers – Helpers are likely to get wet and/or come into contact with colour powder, so it is advised to come in older clothes and lighter colours, if possible.

Note that the colour powder to be used is non-toxic, non-hazardous and de-gradable, and made from corn starch and various food grade dye colours.

If you have any queries, please email the PFA via rmps.pfa@gmail.com.

Upcoming PFA Events

Foundation Transition Program Morning Tea, Wednesday 16 November – The 2023 Foundation children continue their transition program in Term 4, getting ready to join Robbie Mac next year. While the children are in the classrooms, the parents/carers will be offered morning tea in the hall on Wed 16 November between 9:00-9:50am. This is a great opportunity for them to meet each other and have a chat, as well as to start to feel a part of the school community and meet some existing families. Current parents and carers of RMPS students are more than welcome to attend, so put the date in your calendar and come in and say hello.

State Election Day Sausage Sizzle, Saturday 26 November – Who can’t wait to have a (democracy) sausage on Election Day?! Even if you don’t vote at the school, still come down for a sausage or two or three… Preparations are well underway and the team can’t wait to cook you a snag, but we need volunteers to help. If you can assist for an hour or more between 9:00 and 2pm, please SignUp. (You do not need a Working with Children’s Check for this one.)

Please pick your slots and sign up as a volunteer following these 3 easy steps:

Click this link to go to our SignUp page: https://signup.com/go/HZCLwSU
Enter your email address (You will NOT need to register an account on SignUp)
Sign up! Choose your spots – SignUp will send you an automated confirmation. Easy! Tip: You can check the ‘Hide Full Spots’ checkbox to see 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

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 executives as applicable, and be elected to PFA executive 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 November @ 2:15pm – 3:15pm

PFA President – Vacant Position

The PFA has been a vital part of hosting events for the school and raising funds that ultimately help our children and the community. The president is a critical role that leads the operation of the PFA. Please get in touch if you'd like more information on the role, a copy of the position description or to express your interest in taking it on – rmps.pfa@gmail.com.

That’s it for now,

Elizabeth (Secretary) and Bård (Treasurer)

The PFA Team

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 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
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.

If you would like to get a WWCC card but are not confident doing this online 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

Robbie Mac Fair - March 2023

We’re excited to share that the famously fun-filled Robbie Mac Fair is making a come-back in March 2023! It’s a wonderful opportunity for us all to come together and celebrate our incredibly diverse, welcoming and supportive community.

As the committee starts to shape the event, we invite you all to get involved in whatever way you can to help make this event one to remember!

Sponsors

It takes a village to put on a fair and we’re looking for local businesses to join the fun through scaled sponsorship opportunities. We’ll have opportunities to highlight your businesses & brands, along with your support. Whether you can donate financially, or through gifts, products or services, please reach out to us at robbiemacfair@gmail.com and we can talk through the options.

Volunteers

We understand that everyone’s lives are already full and busy, but if you can spare time or expertise to help us build the event, please connect with us. Whether it’s through the planning the event or helping on the day itself, more hands make light work and any assistance is gratefully received. In particular we’re looking for help in engaging and scheduling entertainment for the day. Volunteers are at the heart of what makes our community so special. You’ll find the committee is fun and open to ideas, big or small. (And just quietly, our meetings have been known to include some delicious treats and an escape from the evening bedtime routine!) Reach out to us at robbiemacfair@gmail.com if you can help in any way.

Entertainment

We know that our community holds a multitude of unique and wide-ranging talents, be it music, dancing, sport or even magic! If you have a group that would like the opportunity to share their talents, please let us know so we can start to build out a schedule of marvels for the community to celebrate. It’s a great opportunity to introduce & engage a wider audience and encourage future participation.

The Fair has always been a wonderful event for family and friends to come together for good times. There’ll be rides, stalls, food, and much much more! (Not to mention our wonderful Art Show) We can’t wait to bring it back for old and new friends on 18 March 2023!

We look forward to hearing from you all soon.

From the small but mighty RMPS Community Fair Committee!

Art Fair - Volunteers Needed

The Art Show Committee is looking for new volunteers to join us to help plan and organise for the 2023 show. If you would like more information about what is involved or are interested in joining please contact Kathryn Anderson via rmpsartshow@gmail.com

Before and After School Care Program