Welcome to the 2015 school year - lets hope it is a great one at your P&C. If your role has changed and you no longer wish to receive this ebulletin, please use the unsubscribe link at the end of this message (please don't 'junk' it as this produces problems for us!).

Please take a moment to forward this to any new parents who may be interested - they can subscribe using the link at the end of this email. New committee members are automatically subscribed, and you can also subscribe via our website.

For most P&Cs, it is nearly time for the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Check out our To Do list or this excellent infographic to help you prepare. Contact us with any questions.

We have updated our grants information page. Here are some currently open grants which may interest your P&C.

The Coles Junior Landcare Garden program is offering 250 grants of up to $1,000 to schools to help create gardens. Applications due March 27.

Healthy Canberra Grants are now available for projects tackling obesity and improving children’s health (including improving eating habits and physical activity levels) or targeting smoking and alcohol consumption. Espressions of interest are due by February 23. Shortlisted projects will then be invited to submit a detailed application. An information session about these grants will be held on February 10 from 4 - 5pm at the Hellenic Club in the City. (This will be followed by a session providing information on ACT Health initiatives for children and young people e.g. Fresh Tastes, Ride or Walk to School, Kids at Play and Healthy Food at Sport, from 5 - 6pm)

Health Promotion Innovation Fund provides three funding opportunities per year. The next cut-off date for applications is February 16. Find application details here.

Today the Minister for Education and Training, Joy Burch, launched a new publication, Progressing Parental Engagement, and handy fact sheets to help families and schools to better understand what parental engagement with schools is, why it matters, how it works and how it is best achieved. She is urging P&Cs to use this information to begin conversations about parental engagement and what it looks like in their schools.

The NDIS: Change, Challenge and Choice Conference will be held in March and will be the most comprehensive and practical conference on the NDIS in Canberra to date. Hear about the NDIS experiences of people with disabilities, carers, family members and disability service providers, and hear from NDIS experts. The registration costs ($80 for people with disability, their family members and carers) for a limited number of participants can be met by Council. Contact us to arrange this.

A National Training Complaints Hotline has been established for Vocational Education and Training (VET) students who have a compliant or difficulty. The Hotline -  13 38 73 or email – is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm nationally.

ACT schools can place advertisements for school canteen manager positions on the website of the Healthy Kids Association (for which Council pays membership for all P&Cs). The cost is $35. Contact Healthy Kids to arrange this.

This 5km run/walk on March 1 is a safe and supportive event for women and girls, and schools are encouraged to register. There is a $500 prize for both the primary and secondary school with the highest participation relative to their female student enrolment. Team members can include students, teachers, parents and other community members. Proceeds from the run will support OvCan, a local ovarian cancer awareness group. Details.