Thanks for visiting our website for an overview of what’s going on with the P&C. While we try to keep our site up to date, be sure to check details of events and activities in the school newsletter, class parent emails and in notes home.
The P&C is a voluntary organisation – so a big thank you to all those who give generously of their time and energy to keep it running. And, thank you too to the enthusiastic volunteers in the uniform shop, canteen … and at one-off events like City2Surf parking, fundraising events, parent information seminars, and the list goes on.
Our Mission
The P&C supports the school in providing a quality learning environment for our children. This includes running the uniform shop, canteen and OSHC, and raising funds to help buy much-needed resources for the school.
The P&C conducts meetings where families can find out more about what’s going on at the school and discuss any issues and concerns.
Executive
The P&C Executive are voluntary office bearers who give up their time to support the P&C Committee and the school. They are elected at the Annual General Meeting.
President: Robert Keldoulis president@bbpspandc.org.au
Secretary: Belinda Williams secretary@bbpspandc.org.au
Treasurer: Julian Lenthall treasurer@bbpspandc.org.au
Vice President (Events): Laura Shapiro events@bbpspandc.org.au
Vice President (Strategy): Jonathan Potts strategy@bbpspandc.org.au
Sustainability: Jon Owens sustainability@bbpspandc.org.au
Insurance
Through the NSW P&C Federation, BBPS P&C has insurance for its activities.
For more information about the scheme, go to https://www.pandc.org.au/insurance-information/
To investigate making a claim, go to https://www.pandc.org.au/insurance-forms/
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What’s with the fees? Isn’t a public school education free?
The money provided by the government covers basic staff costs and limited resources. This is not enough to give our children the education they get at BBPS.
There are two types of fees parents are asked to pay: curriculum fees and voluntary contributions.
Curriculum fees cover basic essential educational resources like textbooks, fees for online programs such as Mathletics. Curriculum costs are invoiced once a year in Term 1.
Voluntary contribution is a bit of a misnomer. The school is obliged by the Department of Education to label these fees as “voluntary”. However, the items they cover are not really optional, and the school has to receive these fees in order to meet its financial obligations. Voluntary contributions cover things like classroom resources (paper, pencils etc.), musical and creative arts equipment, sports and play equipment, etc. A request to pay these contributions also goes out once a year in Term 1.
It is important to understand that the school has to meet its financial obligations regardless of the number of parents paying these contributions. This means that it has to make up for the shortfall in unpaid fees and contributions from money already allocated to other vital programs. In the past, unpaid fees/contributions have accumulated into the tens of thousands of dollars – amounts which are impossible to cover without having to abandon or postpone other projects.
The school can make arrangements for families experiencing hardship, and the P&C supports these families by providing $1000 per term to the principal for such confidential hardship allocations.
My child has too much homework / I would like {…} classes – can you help me get that sorted?
The P&C has no involvement in educational or curriculum decisions. The best person to speak with about these and similar issues are your class teacher, followed by the Assistant Principal for your stage.
Do people get parking tickets around school drop off and pick up times? How do I best handle parking?
Parking around the school is metered, and yes, you will get booked around drop off and pick up times, just as you will at other times. If you are a local resident and have a beach parking permit, that’s your best option. If you loop all around to the left of the exit gates, you only need to cross the pedestrian lights and you’re at school.
On Warners Ave, the Kiss & Go zone is a dedicated area for parents dropping off and picking up older children without leaving their car. Parents may be fined by the Council Parking officers if they park and leave the car in this zone. You also still need to pull up next to the footpath – do not double-park! There are ongoing concerns about safety of pedestrians on Warners Street with the large number of cars driving through there.
Why do teachers park in the school grounds?
Teachers park in the school grounds because it is easy and convenient. All of our teachers work long and hard to ensure our children get the very best education possible. On site parking is one perk that we can offer the teachers in return for their dedication. If we didn’t provide parking to the teachers, most would have to walk a fair distance to get to school as the majority of parking nearby is limited to 2 hours or is time limited and requires purchasing a ticket.
We do recognise that it would be better for teachers to park somewhere else, but until we can come to an agreement with council, we have no other options and gladly provide the teachers with this benefit.
We are in discussion with Waverley Council to secure beach parking permits for all teachers. Hopefully we will come to agreement soon so that there is an alternate parking venue and we could remove cars from the school grounds.