As a parent or carer, you are an important part of our school community. We offer a range of services to support you and your family.
Counselling for families
The school counsellor can assist when families undergo a trauma or big change. Contact us to make an appointment. For information in community languages, see school counselling service.
Outside of the education system, free telephone counselling services are available to support families who may be going through a difficult time.
- Lifeline – 24-hour telephone counselling service. 13 11 14.
- Mensline Australia – 24-hour telephone counselling service for men. 1300 789 978.
- Parent line – 24-hour advice and information service. 1300 1300 52.
Interpreting and translations
We will help you communicate with our school. If you’d like an interpreter for a school meeting, let us know and we will arrange one, if available.
If you don’t speak or understand English well and want to contact us, call TIS National on 131 450 and ask for an interpreter in your language. The operator will call the school and get an interpreter to help. This service is free.
For more information, listen in your language.
Visit the department’s translated documents section for important information that’s relevant for your child’s education in many languages.
Parents and Citizens’ Association (P&C)
Our Parents and Citizens’ Association (P&C) is made up of parents and carers, teachers and community members. The P&C meets regularly to contribute to decision-making, developing policies and management plans as well as fundraising.
Next P&C meeting
Monday 14 October 2019
7.30pm to 9.00pm
in the 5/6 classroom
All welcome.
All parents and friends are very welcome to join meetings. These are held on the second Monday night of each month at 7:30 pm. This is the time for you to come along and expressyour ideas and opinions, and help raise funds to support your children’s education.
The Annual General Meeting is held in March each year.
The P & C take out basic insurance covering all students during the school year.
P&C Committee 2019
President Tim Seymour
Vice Presidents Pat Byrnes, Paul Towner
Treasurer Nicole Eather
Secretary Bronwyn Wade
Fundraising Coordinator Michelle Smith
Canteen Coordinators Joan Guest, Ashleigh Bishop
Bonfire 2019 Wrap up
Discussion at Monday evenings P&C meeting reached a remarkably predictable conclusion; like the 39 that have gone before, our 40th Bonfire has been a tremendous success on a whole lot of levels.
From a financial standpoint it has once again been a great way for all families to come together on that one annual occasion to raise a significant sum of money to provide resources that benefit all our kids. Even with a few bills still outstanding and our donation to drought relief yet to be deducted, funds raised are likely to be in excess of $12,000!!!
And to think, this all began 40 years ago with a few families sitting around an incinerator after a working bee to clean up dropped timber around the schoolyard!! So says the source I spoke to (a former student of Rous Public) who was there at the bonfire this year speaking to former Principal Neville Pollard. Accurate history or urban myth? Or is there really any difference?
A bonfire, sausage sizzle and someone letting off a few firecrackers. This format may have changed slightly (not sure there would have been many café latte’s served up in 1979) but in essence it’s the same. And an essential ingredient in this recipe for success is community support. I don’t think we can underestimate how fortunate we are to be part of, and enjoy the support of such a generous community.
Our list of thank yous and acknowledgements is extensive and varied. It ranges from community groups who lit and supervised the bonfire, staffed the gate and sold chips, to Storm Troopers and alpacas who posed for photographs to gain donations. It includes butchers and bakers and raw cake makers as well as a host of local businesses who donated generously to a range of stalls. One of our school bus drivers is so impressed with our Bonfire night that he continues to volunteer four hours of his time driving his tractor for the tractor ride (and talks about how much he enjoys it!)
And I can’t speak highly enough of the Rous Public teachers and staff. Their dedication is truly exceptional. Without the magnificent leadership of our tireless Principal Mrs Houghton, our Bonfire wouldn’t be the success it is. She and the other teachers and ancillary staff deserve special recognition. The contribution they make goes well beyond their job description.
If you are in any doubt about this please consider their workload for the first few weeks of this term. After working each day attending to the educational, emotional and social needs of our kids (as well providing counsel to so many of us as parents/carers) they have given up countless hours of their own time setting up, working at, and then packing up Bonfire. They have followed this up by organising sporting events including soccer and athletics. And then if that wasn’t enough, even as I write a number of teachers (including our Principal) are looking after our Year 4, 5 and 6 students on excursion to Fraser Island!!!!
They are amazing people, and we are more fortunate then we might sometimes appreciate to have them teach (and nurture) our kids.
So to all of us, regardless of whether you co-ordinated a stall, approached local businesses for donations, sorted the roster, fronted up and did your shift, set up beforehand, packed up afterwards, acted as trouble-shooter or money collector on the night, looked after the kids so your partner could do a double shift, or any of the multitude of other jobs I may have omitted to mention, know that you have contributed to our success.
Sincerely
Pat Byrnes (P&C Vice President, on behalf of the 2019 Rous Public School P&C)