HELP OUT

There's always lots going on at Darlington Public School - and P&C activities are run by volunteers fitting it in around work & parenting. We can always do with more hands on deck!

Below are things we currently need help with:

Playground Project

We are currently sourcing student and parent ideas for upgrading the playground. Parents who would like to get involved - especially architects/designers/landscapers - please contact darlo.parents@hotmail.com to join the working group. More info here

Crossing Safety

You may have seen the parent volunteer assistants in hi-vis vests attending at the two pedestrian crossings nearest the school. The role of the assistants is to increase driver awareness of the crossings by providing a clear, visible adult presence. This role is informal and assistants have no authority to stop or direct traffic or pedestrians, but we have found that their presence effectively calms traffic by causing cars to slow down and check their driving environment. Ideally we’d like to have two assistants present per crossing, morning and afternoon. If you’d like to help out for a morning or afternoon a week please contact Rebecca: rks@wideopen.net.au.

Abercrombie Precinct Action Group

Sydney University is undertaking extensive construction work right next to the school, called the Abercrombie Precinct. Parents concerned by the impact of this construction work on children at the school are encouraged to get in touch - please view the Action Group page for more information. Take note of when your child is impacted by construction dust or noise, and tell us about it.

Ethics Classes

We currently have 5 ethics teachers who run 5 ethics classes - to run more classes we need more volunteers. You do not need any experience  - you will be given training, learning & teaching materials and support. More information is available on the Ethics Page or contact our Ethics Coordinator Rebecca Shanahan rks@wideopen.net.au. 

Garden Club

The garden club is a subcommittee of the P&C and was established by parents with the goal of giving students hands-on gardening experience from start to finish: sowing seeds, nurturing edible plants to harvest, using/cooking harvested foods, and seed-saving.

The gardeners work on Friday mornings, and if you are interested in helping out on Fridays or at the occasional weekend working bees, please contact Kyong at kyongaroo@yahoo.com or Nichola at nichola@biocore.com.au

Have an idea to improve the school?

The P&C is always open to hearing your thoughts and ideas on what we can do to improve things and help out the school.

However, one caveat:  What is in short supply are people to put up their hand to make these ideas happen. If you have an idea, it is far more likely to become a reality if you take the lead on it.

Some ideas that have become a reality through self-empowered parent leadership:

• A group of parents wanted to create a kitchen garden at the school, they formed a Garden sub-committee and gained a government grant to pay for initial set up costs.
• Rebecca Shanahan wanted students to have access to Ethics classes, so she researched the issue, became an Ethics Co-ordinator, and sourced our first volunteer ethics teachers so that the school now has some ethics classes running.
• Katharine Vanderwal noticed an issue with piles of unclaimed uniforms in Lost & Found, and the ongoing need for parents to source uniforms for their children as they grow out of (or lose) their uniforms - so she is creating an online second hand uniform store for the school.
• Luci Temple thought there might be a more efficient way to raise money for the school, and created our first online fundraiser.

Ideas that currently await leadership (i.e. they won't happen unless someone puts up their hand) include:

1. Halloween Fete
2. Working Bee
3. Car boot sale / Garage Sale Trail
4. Art Show or Auction
5. Grant writing  & Awards (see this document for a list of potential grants to apply to)
6. Christmas in July
7. Class Parent Leaders
8. Homework Club
9. Science Week / Technology Fair
10. Parent, Teacher & Student forum - joint goal setting & prioritisation of how to work together to improve student outcomes.