Council Communicator: March 12, 2014

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March 12, 2014

Information and training sessions

Council will be running the following training sessions to help P&Cs. There are more details on our website.

Effective P&C workshop

Thursday March 20, 6:30pm, Headley Beare Centre for Teaching & Learning, 51 Fremantle Drv, Stirling.
Repeated: Saturday March 22, 2pm, Sports House, 100 Maitland St, Hackett.
This workshop is designed to help P&C members get to grips with their role and ways to improve the way their assoiation works. New school parents, new P&C members and existing P&C officers should find this program of great benefit.

Treasurers' Workshop

Thursday March 27, 7pm, Headley Beare Centre for Teaching & Learning, 51 Fremantle Drv, Stirling.
This is a great opportunity for new and current P&C Treasurers to ask questions about any aspect of their role and tasks.

Insurance workshop

Thursday April 3, 7pm, Headley Beare Centre for Teaching & Learning, 51 Fremantle Drv, Stirling.
This workshop provides an overview of insurance packages available for P&Cs and how to complete the paperwork. We recommend all Treasurers and Presidents attend.

Please contact us if you wish to attend any of these sessions.

New delegate? Old?

If you are a new Council delegate; welcome!
Please come along to our next meeting to find out more about your role and what Council does. It is on Wednesday March 25 from 6:45 to 9:30pm at the Headley Beare Centre for Teaching & Learning, 51 Fremantle Drive, Stirling. See the agenda. We will have new delegate information packs available for you to collect.

If you are an out-going delegate and no longer wish to receive this fortnightly bulletin, please use the unsubscribe link at the end of this email.

Help for your canteen

Council has been working hard on a number of projects to help your school canteen.

Flexischools: save time in the canteen, increase sales, and get great financial data to help your food business with our on-line ordering system. Council is paying the setup fee ($350 per school) until June 30.
NSWBuy: you will soon be able to save on products and services by getting government prices! Procedures for P&Cs to access this scheme are being prepared and will be advised shortly.
Healthy Kids Association membership: Council has payed the membership fee so that ALL ACT school Canteens are members of this organisation who provide help, support, advice, recipes and monthly newsletter.
Nutrition Australia offer assessments of the nutritional status of all your menu items. Council has funded additional reviews so all schools can benefit.

Find out more here.

Celebrating school communities

Council is coordinating a week of celebrating the important relationship between schools and their communities of parents and carers, from May 17 to 24.We are asking all P&Cs to stage an event of some sort during this week, so make sure your school is part of it! It is a great chance to get more parents through the doors and interacting in a positive way with the school and staff. Read our article for more on why this is important, and lots of great ideas for a fun event at your school.

Gifted and talented education

The ACT Education and Training Directorate has a new policy covering the education of gifted and talented students. The policy requires that each school will have a dedicated gifted and talented liaison officer and outlines a number of in-school options for ensuring gifted students reach their potential. Council has input into the policy during its development, and also assisted with the creation of online information sheets for parents (available soon).

National Day of Action against Bullying

Australia's key anti bullying event, the 2014 National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence will be held on Friday, 21 March. Register your school today!

My School and NAPLAN data

Council encourages parents to read school NAPLAN results, released on the My School website last week, with caution. This YouTube video explains some of the features of the 2014 My Schools website.

Dyslexia information session

Dyslexia Speld ACT are running a session for parents on March 28, examining which programs and resources are most effective for children with specific learning difficulties. The cost is $30.

iPads for kids struggling with literacy

The ACT Education directorate is running a free parent workshop to explore the ways iPads can support children who are struggling with reading, writing and being organised with school work. It is on Tuesday 8th April, at the Centre for Teaching and Learning, 51 Fremantle Drive, Stirling from 4 to 5.30pm. RSVP to julie.ireland@act.gov.au.

Autism information session

A free one day workshop for parents and carers of students on the autism spectrum, providing the tools to form a beneficial partnership with their child’s school. Details and bookings from the Positive Partnerships website.

Connect and Participate Expo

Being connected with community groups and clubs is good for our wellbeing, so head out to the inaugural Connect and Participate Expo on Saturday 29th March at the Old Bus Depot Markets in Kingston from 11am to 4pm. It is free and you can experience a huge array of Canberra’s diverse, vibrant and inclusive groups and clubs.

There will be live performances, workshops, children’s entertainment, information stalls, prizes and raffles; and of course the wonderful Kingston Market food stalls will be there!

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