INTRODUCTION TO MT CLAREMONT PLAYGROUP
Welcome to Mt Claremont Playgroup!
This document’s aim is to ensure new members and session leaders are well informed about playgroup to help make your time at playgroup more enjoyable and inclusive. Each new member is required to read this document well. Please ensure it is shared within your group.
· Committee meetings are held at the Playgroup venue every quarter (generally Tuesday nights 7.30, dates on the website under “what’s happening”) and all members are welcome. Decisions affecting playgroup and its members are discussed and made at these meetings. Hence, individuals input is important. At a minimum, the Session Leader (or a replacement member) and one more member from each session attends. Session Leaders will be advised of all Committee meetings and can determine who will attend with the members of their group.
It is a term of membership for each member to attend at least one meeting/year as well as the AGM.
It is also a requirement for each session to have someone on the Committee or in a Volunteer position
The Committee positions are: President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Co-ordinator, 3 y.o Kindy Co-ordinator.
Volunteer positions are: Purchasing Officer, Busy Bee and Stocktake Officer, Venue maintenance and Safety Officer and Events Co-ordinator.
We are a friendly committee (at the time of writing!) and welcome new volunteers. A bonus of being a committee member is that they are exempt from paying membership fee (but not insurance). Please contact the President (president @mountclaremontplaygroup.com) if you are interested in helping out (in any capacity). If you want to read more about these roles, please see the website (Tab: more/members info/filing).
· Currently 2 Busy Bees are held each year, one in conjunction with a stocktake. It is compulsory to attend at least one of these per year (not a big ask as some playgroups have one/month. Dates are on the website under “what’s happening”) Session Leaders are responsible for ensuring that their group is represented at a Busy Bee. There should be at least 2 members of each session present. This is required in order to make the Busy Bee a success. The Busy Bee’s can be quite fun (believe it or not!) and are an opportunity to chat kid free and meet people from other sessions.
It is a term of membership that each member attends at least one Busy Bee/year
· Session Leaders: Each session is required to nominate their own session leader (it is an idea to rotate this around every 6 months or so). The session leader is responsible for ensuring people know what is happening and who is attending what meetings/busybee. You can choose to have a more or less formal playgroup session. The session leader can create a roster for morning/afternoon tea, can organize craft or other activities etc
· Access to the venue is via key at the front door (facing the playground). You can collect the keys at the Mt Claremont Library, which is adjacent to the Playgroup Building. Any member of your session can collect the key but they have to sign it out and then sign it back in when it is returned to the library at the end of your session.
· There are two keys for the facility, one key that will access the Main Door and another that will open the Outdoor Toy Room, Indoor Playroom and Indoor Store Room. The reasoning behind this is that when the venue is hired out by the Nedlands Council (to a playgroup member or member of the public), the playgroup toys are not included with this hire. The playgroup has had problems in the past with misuse and disappearing toys/costumes (costumes now kept in store room). These toys are paid for by the playgroup. No funds from the hire of the venue go towards these toys. Hence this rule is important for all playgroup members to adhere to.
Please ensure that all doors are locked when leaving your session. It is especially important to check the outdoor toy room has been locked.
· Light and fan switches are located in the white timber box above the stove. Please remember to turn off all lights & fans when leaving the venue.
· There is a hot water switch in the kitchen that will heat the wall-mounted urn. You need to run the tap above the sink prior to turning on the urn (this will fill the urn and then overflow out the sink tap). The hot water will take some time to heat, so if you want to use this facility it’s a good idea to turn it on at the start of your session. Alternatively there is a kettle adjacent to sink that you can use for smaller requirements. This switch needs to be turned off when use finished.
· Craft items and some toys are stored in the Indoor Store Room. You are welcome to take anything out of this room for use within your session. Please ensure that all items are returned to their correct home at the completion of your session.
· We have sessions running from Monday to Saturday morning and it is very important that all members leave our playgroup in a clean and tidy manner. Please leave the playgroup in the fashion in which you would like to find it. Please wash all dishes, sweep/vacuum floors and put away all toys before leaving. Most cleaning equipment (including brooms and the vacuum cleaner) are stored in a cupboard to the right of the toilet entrance. There is a list of what clean up entails on the kitchen board as well as a cleanming roster (job that each session is allocated).
· At the completion of each session, you are required to take out their rubbish and place it in the large bins behind the gates to the rear of the Café (two of these – one recycled, one general waste- are our playgroups bin).
· Each new member is required to complete an enrolment form and pay annual fees ($100 per annum per family in 2012) and Playgroup WA membership/insurance (currently $30 per year). Session Leaders should help coordinate payment and provide receipts for all monies received. Payment & enrolment forms should be posted into the Lock Box in the Indoor Storeroom, there is a log book and receipt book stored next to this lock box. All monies should be paid by the end of Week 3 of each term.
· Most communication (between committee and members) is via email. We have set up a website in 2012 which we hope people will use as a main site for information about events etc. There are often brochures placed up at playgroup as well.
· We are happy to review all requests from members about purchasing new toys/ items. Please list any suggestions on our Requisition Sheet (posted on the notice board in the kitchen) as well as any consumable items that you note need replacing.
· Toilet Paper and other playgroup consumables are stored in cupboards in the wet area or toilet area. Key for the locked cupboards is on the set of keys. Spare ones are in the filing cabinet in the store room.
The Mount Claremont Playgroup Committee hopes that your time with us is a very happy one, full of friendship, fun, learning and growing!