P&C Meeting Minutes April 9th

For those who couldn't make it to the last meeting, here are the minutes and attachments from the April 9th P&C General Meeting.

P&C Meeting Minutes April 9th
President's Report April 9th

Post meeting notes: 

• Post meeting note re lead cleaning: the school has confirmed with the cleaners that the trusses will be cleaned during the school holidays.
• Post meeting note re independent traffic assessment: quotes are coming in around $2.5 - $3k and as such it is not considered a priority at this stage. We are investigating cheaper alternatives.
• Post meeting note re artisan markets: Liz has informed the executive that the tender process etc will have to be submitted by the school so there is no need for P&C involvement at this stage

The next P&C Meeting will be on Wednesday 14th of May 2014. If you would like something placed on the Agenda please let us know by Tuesday 6th of May - email darlo.parents@hotmail.com

Playground Design Project

Dream Playground Ideas

These holidays when you find yourself confined with wet weather and a child complaining they’re bored, hand them paper and pencil to draw or write their playground ideas. Or if the weather is nice, snap some photos of the best playgrounds you visit.

Submissions will help inspire playground improvements that the school and P&C are planning. Download the flyer here.

Where is the playground going to go?

The section of the playground due for upgrade as a priority is the soil area running along the Top Playground boundary next to the IXL building. (See images below). Students are not currently allowed to play in this area due to the dirt. Covering the dirt is essential for OH&S. 

Process

1) Inspiration Phase: Feel free to let your imagination run wild as this is a brainstorming bit. What would you like  most for the school playground? How would you like to spend your lunch time at school? Draw, paint, write, take photos, or make a collage or model to show us your ideas.  Submit these to us before 9th of May so we can include them in a display.

2a) Sorting Phase: We'll identify reoccurring themes and ideas to understand what types of things are most popular among students. We may also do a survey of shortlisted options for all students to complete. This will give us a base to then design a playground that incorporates elements that kids most want.

2b) Planning Phase:  Behind the scenes the school, P&C, and various adults involved with the working group will be doing the boring but necessary bits to make sure the playground will be safe and within budget (i.e. some ideas might be popular but unachievable due to issues of safety or expense). We'll work out what we can do in the short term, medium term, and long term. Hopefully we'll have a parent architect or designer helping us (put your hand up!). A P&C Working Group is being created and any parents interested in getting involved on the details are welcome to join. Any big P&C decisions will be raised at P&Cgeneral meetings where all members can have their say. We'll probably need to do some fundraising and/or apply for grants and matched funding.

3) Building Phase: This is the noisy messy bit. Works will be scheduled to take place when it won't affect students. Some small DIY elements may be achieved by a parent working bee, other more complicated bits will need us to bring in builders etc to do the work.

4) Playing Phase: I think you can work out what this phase involves!  Kids having fun, and enjoying the playground upgrades.

School Layout

Darlington Public School Playground Upgrade

The section marked in green is the rough area that is prioritised for upgrade. Below are some photos of the space.

We haven't measured it yet but it's about 4-5 metres wide, and 65 meters in length. We'll update you once we've got proper measurements.

(If anyone wants to volunteer to take measurements  & draw scaled picture, step right up)

School Ideas

Some ideas for playground upgrades from the school include:

• Cover the dirt with liquid soft fall
• Stencil onto the liquid soft fall roads and have a bucket of toy cars
• Hand ball courts on the drive way
• Refresh existing stencils on the lower playground and add some more (e.g. snakes and ladders, hopscotch).

Past Student Consultation

In 2012 33 students from Darlington Public School were consulted for inspiration during the design process for Reconciliation Park in Redfern.  

• Consultation Report
• Student Ideas

Erskineville Playground Crawl

Seeking some local inspiration? Use this map to go on a park crawl around Erskineville. 

Get Involved

Contact us on darlo.parents@hotmail.com to get involved in the Playground Working Group or ask questions.

What do you care about?

During my involvement at Darlo I've noticed that there are no shortage of parents with great ideas on how to improve things at the school for our kids. Many a conversation at birthday parties, play dates, and barbeques involves one or more people saying something along the lines of: "What they should do is...". We all have our own bug bears - an issue that we really understand or care about, and are frustrated if it's not addressed.

However, the difference between the ideas that get turned into reality versus those that never go further is whether someone cares enough to not only talk about a problem but to put their hand up to become part of the solution, to say "I'm going to make this happen."

Once that first person steps up, others rise to support them, and that's how things get done. Our achievements last year, and every year, can only be accomplished through the efforts of many parents volunteering their time and energy.

So we would like everyone to think about the one thing they'd like most to see improved or changed at Darlington, and whether they care enough to help make it happen.

If you do care, and are able to help, please get in touch with the P&C, school, or one of the below people - working together to improve the school experience for our kids.

Get involved!

Garden Subcommittee: Seeking volunteers to help out with the garden working bee on Sunday 23rd of March 12pm-4pm. Regularly meets Friday mornings. More info here or contact Kyong at kyongaroo@yahoo.com or Nichola at nichola@biocore.com.au

Trivia Night: Seeking volunteers to help out with the trivia night fundraiser. More info here or contact Heather Clement: heather@fixylady.com.au or 0431 217 302

Sydney Uni Development Subcommittee: Seeking volunteers to help out with advocacy issues to minimse impact of the development on the school kids. Contact the P&C darlo.parents@hotmail.com

Ethics Classes: Seeking volunteers to teach ethics class. More info here, or contact Rebecca Shanahan: rks@wideopen.net.au

Pedestrian Crossing Duty: Seeking volunteers to help children cross the road safely. Contact Rebecca Shanahan: rks@wideopen.net.au

School Fete: seeking volunteers to join a subcommittee to organise the school fete. Contact Marianna Koulias mariannakoulias@gmail.com

Student engagement activities/ clubs: the school has indicated that what they would love most from parents is our time, particularly to enable the school to run extra activities (e.g. photography club, chess club, writing club, computer club) as was trialled fourth term last year. If you have a passion, interest or ability for something that you could share with a group of enthusiastic students please talk to Liz Sinnott.

Sushi orders: seeking volunteers to help collate and count sushi orders on Wednesdays. Contact: school front desk.

We are seeking organisers for the below:

• Working Bee. Co-ordinate with principal to set a date, wishlist of working bee tasks, identify costs, purchase of materials, manage volunteers, etc.
• Playground Working Group. Co-ordinate a small group of like minded parents to work with school/principal to identify school needs, consider playground options, identify best solution, funding requirements, possibly apply for a grant, etc.

Got your own idea you'd like to make happen?

Contact the P&C to gain support to get your idea up and running, or come along to a P&C meeting (second Wednesday of every month, 6pm, in the school staff room).

darlo.parents@hotmail.com

http://darlingtonsandc.blogspot.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/253101788067191/?fref=ts

Results from the P&C AGM

Last week the P&C held the Annual General Meeting and a new executive was elected consisting of:

President: Luci Temple

Vice Presidents: Viv Smith, Marianna Koulias

Treasurer: Nichola Jephcott

Secretary: Heather Clement, Anna Butler

Non-office bearers: Ifeanna Tooth, Kim Bell-Anderson, Rae Cooper, Jen Burn, Rebecca Shanahan.

We thank last year's executive committee for all their hard work, and welcome their continued involvement, whether it be attendance at P&C meetings, working on a subcommittee, helping out with fundraisers, or supporting the school & teachers directly.

Michael Keating summarised achievements made by parents at the school over the past year, including: 

• incorporation under the P&C Federation; 
• farewelling Colleen with the gift of a trip to the US; 
• MADfest; fundraising BBQs & stalls; 
• online fundraiser, movie mayhem, 
• support for Mabo Day and NAIDOC celebrations, 
• ongoing work by the Garden subcommittee in planting, harvesting, and integrating gardening into kids learning; 
• ethics classes; pedestrian crossing duty;  
• advocacy in relation to the Sydney University Abercrombie precinct development.

Many thanks to all the parents who organised or helped out, as well as those who got involved with the school in other ways, such as helping out in the classroom, on school excursions, or by running an interest group (such as the Photography Club).

Traffic Issues

Traffic around the school is heavier than usual due to works at the university. We are also beginning to experience the annual influx of student drivers who are often inexperienced and unfamiliar with the area’s speed limits.

To help keep our kids safe, please

• Escort younger kids across crossings rather than dropping them off and observing from your car.
• Use the roundabout to make turns: illegal U turns near crossings over double lines are unsafe.
• Don’t stop in the road at the crossings to drop off your kids, this blocks other drivers’view of them and other children.

A survey of traffic on Abercrombie and Golden Grove Streets was conducted in Week 2 by Oz Traffic, and this is the first step to hopefully get a “Lollypop person.”

Crossing Duty

In the absence of an official "Lollypop person", 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. It takes 30 minutes, and is done on a rotation basis so you can commit just for one session per week if that suits.

If you can help out with crossing duty please contact Rebecca: rks@wideopen.net.au.

Mad Hair for Matilda

Today students wore mad hair to school, with gold coin donations going to support Matilda's YMCA swimathon.

Matilda is in year 6 at Darlington Public School, and participating in the the swimathon on 2nd of March. You can help her by donating online here : https://ymcaswimathon-ianthorpe2014.everydayhero.com/au/matilda.

"please help me raise money so that kids with disabilities can learn to swim, it's great that you are helping me and I say a huge THANKS! wish me luck on the 2nd of March!"

Well done to Matilda who has already personally  raised $1,090 to this great cause!

Her team is $265 short of their goal, so please consider helping them out.

Trivia Night

The first Darlington Public School Fundraiser for 2014 is coming...

When: Friday 4 April 7:00pm
Where: At the school
How much: Tickets will be $25 per person including pizza. $250 for a table of 10. Alcohol will be available for purchase on the night.
What: A chance to connect with other parents while trying to answer questions about anything and everything. Lots of prizes, raffle, silent auction, dancing. Lots of fun!!

Now we need your help:

Donations: Can your work place or business offer a voucher that we can auction? Do you have some amazing gift from granny that you don’t want/need but someone else would? Do you have contacts with alcohol or pizza suppliers who you could ask to help?

Volunteers: We need people to...

• Contact (either in person or with a letter) local businesses and organisations to ask for donations such as...‘lunch for 2’ or ‘icecream for 4 kids’, ‘book vouchers’
• Make a poster to advertise the event
• Sell tickets and organise tables
• Set up and decorate the hall and collect things needed a few days before the event
• MC for the event
• Provide entertainment – Do you know a band who would want to perform?
• Man the bar on the night (preferably with RSA certificate)
• Clean up etc.

If you can help out in any way please contact Heather Clement on heather@fixylady.com.au or 0431 217 302.

Last 4 Days!

Online fundraiser count down

It's down to the last few days of the fundraiser!

We're sitting at $6,031 - which means we've raised enough for 5 desktop computers and four tablets! 

There's still time to help by pledging or sharing. We would really love to raise a further $1,469 so that we'll have enough tablets for 1 per classroom. 

Tablets are the cheapest type of computer ($250 each), and have additional features that allow multimedia creation including video, photos, and sound recording. Tablets will have priority use by students with special learning needs, with secondary use for class multimedia projects.

Ways to pledge:

If you can't pledge via the website & paypal (preferred), please download this Pledge Form and pay by direct deposit, cheque, or cash.

Why raising this money for new technology is so important: The new Australian Curriculum places development of student technology skills as a requirement alongside other skills such as literacy and numeracy, and the new Minister for Education has indicated an intention to make the NAPLAN an online test from next year - both these things are difficult when our school has on average only 4 aging computers per classroom.

Goals

The school identified that the first priority was to raise $5,000 for five desktop computers, and that the next technology priority is 10 tablets (one per classroom, $250 each). 

The primary use of these tablets will be for students with special learning needs, with secondary use by classes for integrated learning including creation of digital works such as videos, photos, sound recordings, animation, ebooks, digital artwork.  

The next priority in the school technology plan is 34 notebooks ($500 each) for a mobile computer lab - which will allow a teacher to do an integrated technology lesson to a whole class.

Spreading the word:

There's still time to spread the word, to help us get more pledges. 

Whether it's talking to family and friends, or talking to local businesses, or approaching media, commenting on blog posts, letters to the editor, letter boxing flyers, asking organisations that have a mailing list or blog or social media account if they could mention the school fundraiser. 

If you don't feel comfortable asking for money, that's okay, please consider asking people if they can help in other ways that are no trouble to them - such as if a cafe will let you put up a poster, or if an organisation can tweet the link. There are images, posters, and flyers available to share or download on the P&C blog 

Another way to spread the word is indirectly, by talking or writing to media and bloggers about the issues related to the fundraiser - such as how the Education Minister is talking about taking NAPLAN online, but that would mean our school would need about 80 computers for year 3 & 5 students - which we simply don't have. 

Other talking topics might be the new Australian Curriculum that requires development of technology (ICT) skills yet the lack of funding for computers makes it hard for teachers to teach it; the inadequacy of the new NSW model of funding public schools which is still leaving many public schools underfunded, etc. Just find a way to mention that our school is trying to work around these problems with the fundraiser - and give them the link.

Let's put in a last burst of effort over the next four days - see how much we can raise!

Virtual Chocolate

Check out the amazing design parent Suzy Pickles did for the virtual chocolate bars!

You can print this out as a flyer to hand out or letterbox:
Chocolate Flyer in Word  
Chocolate Flyer in pdf 

91% of the way!

Wow! It's amazing to see pledges for our online fundraiser rise in one week from from 33% of our goal to 91%! There are some incredibly generous supporters helping us out (see full list).

In Thursday's Daily Telegraph an opinion piece by Education journalist Maralyn Parker mentioned our school fundraiser! The link to the online version is here : "Upsides and downsides with the new funding model for schools"

How you can still help
We've still got a bit of a way to go to reach the goal, so please continue to spread the word. Some ideas:
• Drop flyers in letterboxes around the neighbourhood
• Talk to local businesses about supporting the school fundraiser
• Put up posters or hand out flyers at local events, such as the Redfern Now screening

You can download images, posters & flyers here - or you & your kids can make your own!

Help Darlo Go Digital
Let’s be honest – while reaching the $5K goal will be fantastic, wouldn't it be even better if we could raise twice that for the school?

The school needs 34 notebooks to create a mobile computer lab, tablets for special needs students, and more computers and tablets in classrooms so that students and teachers are able to meet the new Australian curriculum requirements that include proficiency in Information & Communication Technology skills.

Please don’t ease off just because we've almost reached the $5,000 goal. We have 20 more days till the fundraiser ends -  let’s raise as much as we can for these kids!

One third of the way to our goal!

Darlington Public School's online fundraiser has been running about a week now, and we've just hit the 33% mark towards our goal!

This is a fantastic milestone to reach! Many thanks to everyone who has chipped in so far and helped to spread the word.

All or nothing goal

This type of online fundraiser means that pledges will only be processed into real payments IF we reach our goal. We have 28 more days to hit the $5000 goal or we'll get nothing. Yup, that's right, we'll lose those pledges ($1654 so far) if we don't hit the goal. That's why it's called "All-Or-Nothing."

(Conversely, that means that if you have pledged to the fundraiser, if the goal is not met, no money will be taken from your account).

Help Darlo reach the goal

So what I need you to do - if you haven't already - is help us get to the goal. 

1) Pledge as little as $2 to score a virtual chocolate bar (designed by Suzy Pickles). 

If you haven't yet paid the voluntary school contribution, consider pledging it into the fundraiser. 

2) Ask people who care about your child's education if they can support the fundraiser. Can the grandparents chip in $2? How about aunts, uncles or family friends? 

If Darlington parents do these two things, we will reach the goal without a problem  - and be able to supply more computers to the school.

For more ideas on how to help the fundraiser read the post Help Darlo Go Digital

Help Darlo Go Digital!

Online School Fundraiser

We've just launched our first online fundraiser "Help Darlo Go Digital"  to raise money for computers for Darlington Public School.

Why an online school fundraiser?

An online fundraiser allows parents to share the link to family and friends who may live far away, who wouldn't be able to get involved in one of our barbeques, bake sales, or raffles.

It also makes it easier to share with organisations and people who care about getting more computers into public schools and might be able to spread the word to a bigger group of people who might be able to help. This type of fundraiser has been used to raise up to millions of dollars by tapping into people who care.

Three ways you can help us reach our goal

1. Visit the fundraiser online, watch the video, read the details : Link
2. Pledge your support. Every dollar helps! There are some great rewards for giving your support.
3. Share: Tell some of your friends and family about it and give them the link, whether by phone, email, social media or in person.

Spreading the word is just as important as pledging money - so even if you can't give financially please think about helping us reach our goal in other ways.

More ways you can help:

• Put up a poster at your workplace, on a community noticeboard, on electricity poles, or in local cafes.
• Letter box your neighbourhood with flyers
• Blog about it
• Ask local businesses to chip in
• If you have media contacts, ask them to mention it or do a story.
• Get your kids involved in saying "Thank You" to fundraiser supporters (more info below).

Saying Thank You to Supporters

The rewards being offered to supporters are mostly ways of saying "Thank You" for their help. We are getting students involved in this as we think it's important that they be part of the process.  Children will participate in saying "Thank You" by either writing an email, making a card, certificate of appreciation, or video.

If your child is at Darlington Public School, please fill out a consent form and return it to the Front Desk so your child can participate.

Four ways you can help us say thank you to supporters:

1. Complete and return the consent form to the school: 
2. View the "backers" list on the fundraiser, and say thank you either in the comments section, by social media, or if you know them personally by email, phone, or in-person.
3. Help your child make a reward for us to give to a supporter*
4. Help a group of kids at school to make rewards for supporters*

*Contact us to co-ordinate this.

Resources

Below are fundraiser images, posters, and links to help spread the word.

If you make some of your own, please let us know and we can add them below.

• Web link : http://villageraised.com/fundraiser/help-darlo-go-digital/
• Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5uwyNhrM0Q
• Consent Form : https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByjE-ppwsgUQNnVXY1lMX0V0V1U/edit?usp=docslist_api
• Pledge Form (if you can't pay online) : https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByjE-ppwsgUQN19TOU1mbnc4SEU/edit?usp=docslist_api
• Poster 1 PDF : https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByjE-ppwsgUQOVlFWUNhYjczSVU/edit?usp=docslist_api
• Poster 2 PDF:  https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByjE-ppwsgUQQ25MREZYMTRMN3c/edit?usp=docslist_api
• Poster 3 PDF: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByjE-ppwsgUQRk5OTG9zRC1xSnM/edit?usp=docslist_api

Poster 1 JPG

Poster 2 JPG

Poster 3 JPG

QR codes (if scanned with a QR code reader on a smartphone it will take transfer to fundraiser website).

QR code to online school fundraiser

QR code to online school fundraiser - with whitespace

Epic effort at the election cake & jam stall / bbq today, raising over $1500! Thanks to all involved for your time organising, helping, cooking, selling, cleaning, spruiking. A special mention to to team Askew - woulna happened without the both of you!

Roll up, roll up.

The DPS S&C are holding a BBQ & Cake / Jam Stall at school during the local government elections next Saturday 8th September, and we need your help!

There are many ways you can help out...

BAKING:
Please bring your baked goods to the school either on Friday 7th (location to be determined), or directly to the cake stall on Saturday 8th. Please label your lovely donations with the type of baked good as well as the ingredients. Suggestions include:
- muffins
- whole cakes
- cupcakes
- honey joys
- chocolate crackles
- lamingtons
- gluten free options
etc

ROSTER FOR HELP ON THE DAY:
There will be three shifts of three hours each, if you are able to volunteer for one of these shifts please reply with your name and the timeslot. If you can't commit to a full three hours but still want to help out for an hour or two, please let us know by email.

8am - 11am
11am - 2pm
2pm - 5pm

PREPARATIONS BEFOREHAND:
So you can't bake, and you are busy on Saturday, but you still want to help out? Assistance with preparation jobs small or large over the next week would be very much welcome too! These jobs include things like making signage, ordering / picking up packaging for cakes, shopping for general supplies, helping co-ordinate the cake collection on Friday at school etc.

Please email us if you are able to help with any of the above.

Thanks!

Darlington School & Community Association (S&C)

darlo.parents@hotmail.com

Rock Trivia Is Back!

Darlington Public School S&C Fundraiser

ROCK TRIVIA • SILENT AUCTIONS • LIVE AUCTIONS • LUCKY DOOR PRIZES • DANCING • SINGING (for a price)

Details are:

Time: 7:30pm, Saturday 31st March

Place: Souths on Chalmers

Cost: $20 per ticket

Please note: Tickets do not include dinner or drinks, but you can purchase your own at Souths on Chalmers if you would like. Food brought in from outside is not allowed.

TICKETS & TABLES:

- Tickets will be available for sale in the school playground (outside the office, at the Golden Grove entrance) most mornings & afternoons from Monday 18th March. If you are unable to be at school at these times to purchase tickets, please reply to this email to arrange another way of securing your ticket/s.

- Each table seats 8 people so gather together with your buddies and nab a table!

- For new parents to the school, we will try to get together tables for each year / class. Stay tuned.

Easter Gourmet Hamper Guessing Competition

The annual Darlington Public School S&C EASTER GOURMET HAMPER GUESSING COMPETITION is back!

Please bring donations to the School office before Thursday 29th March

gourmet food • recipe books easter eggs • chocolate • wine • baskets • jams • chutneys


Ticket books will be going out in children's bags over the next week, there are extra books at the office if yours doesn't make it home!

Back to school

Happy 2012!

No doubt there are many excited kids out there raring to get back to school (and possibly some excited parents).

Just to let you know that from now on the S&C meetings will be held on the FIRST Wednesday of every month. So that means this Wednesday for the first one.

I realise it's a busy week for most of us, but it would be great to see you there. A great opportunity to get moving and plan out the year.

Cheers

Pete

Darlington School & Community Association (S&C):

President - Pete Wilson
Vice Presidents - Rebecca Askew, Michael Keating
Treasurer - Jen Burn
Secretaries - Anna Butler, Suzy Pickles

Hi Everyone

A last minute change of plans for this Wednesday’s meeting. As the final school week wraps up there are quite few things on, such as the Year 6 Farewell, which means many staff won’t be able to make the meeting.

Given many of the agenda items do require input and sign-off from the school, we thought it might be best to cancel the meeting and hit the ground running next year.

But we also thought it might be a good time for a very informal catch up at the pub (The Royal on Abercrombie Street). The S&C Executive will be down there from around 6pm on Wednesday if you fancy a shandy or two.

Thanks to all those who have contributed items to the agenda. They have been noted and if you would like any of us to follow up in the meantime please let us know. Or perhaps we can discuss on Wednesday night?

And one final thing. Due to a few people’s schedules we are planning on changing S&C meetings to the FIRST WEDNESDAY every month next year (that makes February 1, 2012 our next date).

Thanks again for your involvement with Darlington PS and if we don’t see you Wednesday night, have a great Christmas and enjoy the break.

Cheers

Pete and the S&C Executive

Darlington School & Community Association (S&C):

President - Pete Wilson

Vice Presidents - Rebecca Askew, Michael Keating

Treasurer - Jen Burn
Secretaries - Anna Butler, Suzy Pickles

With respect we acknowledge the Gadigal people as the custodians and traditional owners of the land where our children go to school.

"Voluntary School Levy - NSW Government policy enables all schools to request contributions from parents to enhance their School's educational and sporting programmes. School contributions are voluntary and payment is a matter for decision by parents. The voluntary school contribution for 2010 is $100 per child for the year, and payments can be made at the office. The S&C would like to encourage all families to make this valuable contribution to our school."

If you would like to receive emails from the S&C, please send an email to darlo.parents@hotmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

Preschool Funding Campaign

As many of you will have heard, the State government has increased the fees for preschool by more than double. As the childcare rebate is not available for preschools in public schools our wonderful preschool at Darlington is threatened with closure due to low numbers.

Click on these links to read some recent newspaper articles about the issue:

August 16: Spelling out how NSW preschools can do better

September 8: Preschool fees move has parents doing sums and raising expectations

October 9: Preschool fee jump pressures parents

October 27: Preschool fee backdown is cheery news (for some schools)

October 28: Child's play no more - preschool enrolments tumble with new fees

November 1: A good early start is a child's best chance

To send a form letter to the NSW Premier, Barry O'Farrell, NSW Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli, and your local State MP, go to Stop Fees in DEC Preschools at the NSW Teachers Federation Website. Please add a personal message if possible.

Best of all, please download the petition at the Redwatch website, get it filled out and return to the S&C President (details on the form).

Thank you to everyone

Just a quick note to say thank you to all involved with the Halloween Fete last Saturday and to all of you who came along. It was a great success. Bec Askew was phenomenal in bringing it all together, ably assisted by a great team on the stalls, a stellar bunch of performers, as well those of you who came along and departed with a few bucks to help our school out. I hope you had a good time.

It was also a terrific opportunity for the Darlington Public School Community to come together. It’s always great meeting new parents and those parents you don’t usually bump into during the hurried drop offs and pick-ups. We’re a good bunch, I reckon.

And most importantly, we raised $12,000!! A great effort. More news soon on where these valuable funds will be spent to further improve the great thing we’ve got going at Darlington.

Cheers

Pete
[S&C President]