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Keep up with what's happening @ Balmain Public School

https://www.instagram.com/balmainps/

IF YOU SEE A COLOURED CIRCLE AROUND OUR EMBLEM, DON'T FORGET TO TAP ON IT, FOR OUR LATEST STORY...you've got to get in quickly, as it disappears after 24 hours!

⬅️ SOME OF OUR STORIES ARE SAVED AS HIGHLIGHTS...

We all (should) have goals, regardless of age...

We are quickly coming up to our parent-teacher meetings, commencing on Monday 1 March, where your child's goals will be discussed as part of the meeting. It is imperative that we work together in supporting our students in achieving their learning goals.

As per the reminder SkoolBag notification yesterday, if you have yet to book in for a meeting, please click on the link below to book in a date/time:

https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/book/step1?z=3gYKf7

If you are experiencing difficulties with the link, please log on to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and use the code: vxkmr

In the meantime, please see below ?for our latest swimming champs, who have most likely achieved some of their goals...

Maria Lambos - Principal

‘Kiss & Drop’ will continue at both Gladstone Park and Eaton St gates from 8:30am. 

Staggered pick-up in the afternoon, from Gladstone Park gate only, will also occur:

• 2:40pm - Kindergarten
• 2:45pm & 2:50pm - Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) - 2 classes at each time slot
• 2:55pm - Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) & students catching buses
• 3:00pm - Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6)

Please maintain physical distancing at all times.

As per the current NSW Health and DoE guidelines, Students and staff with flu-like symptoms will need to provide a copy of a negative COVID-19 test result before being permitted to return to school.

Symptoms can include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore/scratchy throat
• Shortness of breath
• Loss of taste
• Loss of smell

Other reported symptoms can include:

• Fatigue
• Runny nose
• Muscle pain
• Joint pain
• Diarrhoea
• Nausea/vomiting
• Loss of appetite

Should your child present with any of the above symptoms, please arrange for a COVID-19 test. A 24-hour home pick-up COVID-19 test can be organised by going to the following link:

https://covidtestsydney.com.au/

Once you have received your negative COVID-19 test results, please send a copy to the school via email.

Go to www.flexischools.com.au to place your order

For any food/menu queries please feel free to contact us directly via email :

info@theschoolcanteen.com.au.

Alternatively, you can call Kirsty on 0416 786 603 and we will be happy to assist.

Kirsty and Jason Feliciotto – The School Canteen

This meeting will be held at Dick's Hotel, 89 Beattie St, Rozelle. We will also have zoom as an option.

Please see the attached AGM General Notice 2021, the AGM Minutes from 2020 and the P&C AGM Agenda for 2021 for more information.

At this meeting, we'll be voting in the Executive Team for the year. If you want to nominate for a spot or are keen to vote, then you need to be a member. Anyone can become a member - all you need to do is attend one meeting and make a 50 cent donation.

To ensure new parents have the best chance to get involved, we'll hold a short ‘regular’ P&C meeting just before the AGM. We'll then close that meeting and start the AGM. Attendees of that short meeting then qualify for voting as they have both attended a P&C meeting & paid their annual dues (50 cents) making them financial members.

The current Exec is planning to nominate for another year, but we'd love a new Vice President to help share the load. If you are interested, please let us know by emailing balmainpspc@gmail.com

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality. 

Marked annually on March 8th, International Women's Day (IWD) is one of the most important days of the year to:

• celebrate women's achievements
• raise awareness about women's equality
• lobby for accelerated gender parity
• fundraise for female-focused charities

#ChooseToChallenge

Hi all,

One of the most important things that we will discuss at next Wednesday’s P&C meeting will be the future of our school’s annual fundraiser the Balmain Fun Run (BFR).

For the last 11 years, an amazing group of parents have volunteered time and energy to organising this event, which raises around $40,000 to $50,000 a year for the school.

The event generally requires:

• two parents to jointly chair the committee - these parents act as event director and recruit and manage sponsors (can be a demanding task);
• a social media/digital contributor;
• a volunteer coordinator;
• a treasurer;
• a graphic designer; and
• a logistics/merchandise/other coordinator.

A few years ago, events organisers Mildren Events were hired to help reduce the burden on the organising committee (parent volunteers). The event also requires a significant number of parents volunteers for the day (stalls, rides, marshals etc).

The issue is that the departure of parents from the school has left the current BFR committee with just three members - a co-chair, graphic designer and treasurer - and the current volunteers are Year 6 parents, meaning they will not be around next year to take this on.

We raised this last year, however, the pandemic meant that most people were understandably not thinking about events.

But we are at a decision point now - unless new parents volunteer to join the committee this year, we will have to stop running this event, which will impact our fundraising for the school.

Since its inception, the BFR has grown in profile as a running event (2km for kids, 5km and 10km) on the Sydney amateur running calendar. The event has also steadily grown in participation and fund raising with 1500+ runners. The majority of funds are raised from sponsors and entry fees.

A popular post event village / fair is held after the race with a great community atmosphere. The event is now an institution of the local community calendar, largely thanks to that organising committee led by a few dedicated parent (and teacher) volunteers, with some parents contributing in excess of 400 hours of their time to organising this event annually.

The contributions of Doug Talbot, Paul and Natasha Foster and Trudy Crawford deserve special mention.

Starting it up again this year will require substantial effort, particularly given that the relationships with sponsors, including a naming sponsor, needs to be re-established.

If we don’t get enough parents joining the Committee, the P&C will be asked on Wednesday night to transfer the event to The Run Beyond Project, a former charity partner for the BFR. The committee has had some discussions with them and they have the capacity to source volunteers and run the event. While this option means the event would still be run in Balmain in some form, it also means that we will no longer be able to claim the BFR as the main fundraiser for our school.

Here’s the action that we need:

Parents to volunteer to join the BFR Committee for at least 2 years as:

• a co-chair (managing sponsorship);
• a social media/digital contributor;
• a volunteer coordinator; and
• a logistics/merchandise/other coordinator.

If you can help, please email balmainpspc@gmail.com by Wednesday 3 March.

If you have any questions or feedback, then please get in touch.

Thanks,

P&C Exec

Order uniform items here

For any size exchanges, please:

1. Email the uniform stall with the details of the exchange, at: balmainpsuniforms@gmail.com

2. Return the items to be exchanged to the school office, clearly marked with Student name, Class and EXCHANGE

3. Replacement items will be packed and re-delivered to your child's classroom

Orders will continue to be packed and delivered for collection each week, until we are able to reopen the stall.

Thank you!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Our uniform stall is a P&C initiative, run entirely by parent volunteers, to benefit our school community!

Ordering: Orders are being packed and delivered to classrooms weekly.

• Please include your child's name and class for delivery
• Secondhand items can be ordered through the online store
• There is no order pickup from the stall or the office, unless by prior arrangement
• Appointments can be made to visit the stall in order to try on items for size. Details can be found on the school website.

Orders can be placed online at the following link:

https://bps-uniform-stall.square.site

Stock levels: Due to COVID-related delays continuing to affect our suppliers, a small number of items are out of stock. We are receiving deliveries each week, and this stock is quickly being added online. Outstanding items are being packed and delivered to class as they are received. If a longer delay is anticipated for an item, we are moving quickly to source an alternative through a second supplier where possible, to minimise the impact on the school. If you cannot see an item you need, please email the stall volunteers to enquire: balmainpsuniforms@gmail.com

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you would like to volunteer to help at the stall, please email us!