As the school year draws to a close, Council would like to take the opportunity to thank each and every wonderful P&C volunteer. Only through the tireless work of volunteers do P&Cs add such richness to our public schools.

If you don't expect to return to the P&C next year and no longer wish to receive these bulletins, please use the 'unsubscribe' link at the very bottom of this email. See also the item below about handing on your post to the next volunteer.

We would still love to hear how your year was as a P&C volunteer -  please fill out our survey today! It closes on December 8. 

If you're not continuing in your P&C role next year, now is the time to make sure you are able to hand the role onto the next person in the best way possible.  See our Information Sheet on handing over. We even have ready-to-go handover note templates for Secretaries and Presidents (Treasurers' coming soon!).

If your P&C holds its AGM in Term 1 (that's most P&Cs), it's now  time to start preparing your accounts for the auditor so that the audited financial statements can be presented at the AGM.
To help, we've compiled some resources and a checklist of items to gather for the auditor.

One of the new ACT Government's election promises was to improve school road safety by funding supervisors for school crossings at 20 ACT primary schools, based on need.

While Transport Canberra will be looking at various information to determine the schools in most need, if your P&C believes that your school needs a school crossing supervisor, we encourage you to write a letter to Ben McHugh at Transport Canberra to make your case (please also copy in Council so we can make representations on your behalf). Letters should be sent as soon as possible, and only primary schools will be considered.  It may be useful to gather evidence to include, such as the number of cars and pedestrians over the crossing before and after school. If you'd like assistance or to see and example, please contact the office.

Our friends at  ACSSO have created a comprehensive tool to help schools reflect on how well they create a welcoming environment for parents. The FACES Welcome Review also provides templates for developing strategies to improve, so that schools and parents can work more effectively together.

 
Grants from the Australian Government of between $1,000 and $5,000 are now available to P&Cs to support their volunteers. The grant money can be used to purchase small equipment and items which benefit volunteers or to fund volunteer petrol costs or training. Details and applications are online and due by December 20. Check out Council's tips on applying for grants.