(The following was an address given at the start of a P&C General meeting on Friday, 19 March 2010.)
Thank you for coming along this morning. It is great to see so many new faces. My name is Daniel Strassberg and I am the 2010 P&C President for LCWPS. I have 2 children at the school, l a daughter in year 5 and a son in KS.
Five years ago I attended my first P&C meeting, just like many of you. I came to learn about the school and see what I could do to add greater value to my children’s education and experience at school. I did the math, being a qualified accountant, and worked out I had 12 years at this school.
Like most of you here, I too work full time, my wife part time, I travel extensively with work both locally and overseas (some 212 trips in 4 years, more than some of the pilots at school.) I believe in public school education, though I was privately schooled. I want, like all of you, the best for my children and have seen the results already in both my children.
So what is the LCWPS P&C and who are we?
It is a voluntary association, like a sporting club, and is made up of financial members, the school community, citizens from the local area and the school itself. Our primary objective is to assist the school in providing support, both financial and community based. The P&C run activities that benefit the community and to make our school something special for this generation and the next. There are a number of parents at this school that were students here themselves!
The P&C is broken up into3 layers, an executive that sits on top to oversee the activities and bring the sub entities together.
The Executive is:
- Vice President & Web site: Lori Franck
- Vice President & fund raising: Doug Garske
- Treasurer: Katie Schliebs
- Assit Treasurer: Sam Saber
- Secretary: Janelle Levett
- Canteen: Susana Ellery-Plunkett
- Uniform shop: Monste Wallace
- Band: Katrina Nash
- Halloween: Robina Bonwick
Second layer is the general P&C (today’s gathering) and finally the sub entities, like band, uniform shop, canteen, chess club, maintenance, and all of the major fund raising activities that we do.
Fund raising is our major source of revenue and we use these funds for a number of activities:
Contribute nearly $100k a year to the school budget to purchase:
- Readers for the classrooms. Each new class needs new readers at $10 a book, 30 levels 30 books $9000 per new classroom.
- The computers in each classroom, the leases and maintenance
- Teaching resources paying for extra days to have resources on site to help our children. ESL, reading support
- Teacher allowances, money to allow the teachers to buy the extras they need for their classrooms stickers, prize boxes, games etc.
- Library books
Before this role I volunteered as the P&C treasurer. The executive committee decided to be more fiscally responsible and use only surplus funds for new activities. Money is kept aside for the next year’s school payment, in case anything went bad in the current year. This then frees up the excess funds to purchase things for the children now. $33K for the playground; $5k for new library furniture (subject to the P&C vote); interactive white boards in every classroom (and library); air-conditioning of the buildings.
The P&C work with local council to apply for the many grants council operates. One such grant was the building we are in now. It took the P&C many years to achieve this OOSH facility. A new grant application has been put in for the cricket nets for nearly $30k. Fingers crossed for this one to be approved by council.
The P&C are aware of the costs on families and has put in place realistic fund raising goals to ensure events are reasonably priced, fun, entertaining for the entire family, safe and in the best interest of the school and broader community. Two examples of this are the:
· Fathers day breakfast. Previously a fund raising event, now a free event, to encourage dads, grandfathers and any positive male role model in your family to attend. Children love to see parents at school and this allows dads to come along and have fun.
· Movie night is a new event for 2010. The P&C have rented all the necessary equipment to host a movie night on Saturday May 1. A G rated film will be shown on the oval. Tickets will be available at a discount online, to show off and test our new web site that will launch later this month. $20 per family of 2 adults and up to 4 children. Less than $3.50 a person for a fun night in your children’s school, having a picnic under the stars with their friends and a chance for you to meet other parents.
The P&C new web site was kindly donated by Ben Sanders from Beck&Call, a year 1 and Kindy dad. This was incredibly generous and a wonderful addition to the P&C tools set. I know not everyone can afford to do this or has the skill set, however any bit of help is appreciated. Money is the easy option however someone’s time to help out on band, uniform shop, at the lepton, on trivia night is just as valuable and even so more valuable. The more hands the less work for everyone and it is very satisfying to look back and see what you have achieved. If you can spare time please see anyone on the Executive. If you can donate a skill, electrician, builder, gardener, painter, artist, cake maker, someone to run errands, approach suppliers for donations, knows MYOB or quick books or general handy person anything is really appreciated. Every little bit helps.
Trivia night is in need of some helpers, as will Halloween night. Both of these 2 events are the reason for the P&C financial strength. Karola Brent and Luke Torrevillas - thank you for all that you have done! To the new leaders, Robina Bonwick & Jeff Tually (acting) thank you for your help.
The P&C is hosting 2 meetings a term to encourage and allow more partents to participate. The meetings are interactive and a chance for you to contribute, share and help. All meeting detaisl and more are on the P&C website. The P&C is open to anyone who would like to take on a role, participate, contribute or just have a say. The P&C needs, like any organization, to succession plan as every role is only for 3 years. I hope this has given you an insight into the P&C and for you to see the passion and commitment we have to make LCWPS a great school for all our children.
