New Year Greetings

To all members and welcome to those who have just joined. A special hello to all the parents and carers with young babies that have just started coming to our playgroup. It’s great to see such a diverse range of children attending.

There is an outline of the basic principles and operating procedures of the Playgroup Association and Francis St. in particular included in the Newsletter. It is also available here. [More on Playgroup Association Principles]. If any one has questions about how the group functions please feel free to ask anybody at a session or contact a member of the organising committee.

Membership renewal

Playgroup Association membership fees are now due. Included with the newsletter was a playgroup membership renewal form. Please disregard it if you have already renewed or joined. The odd amount of $18.80 is to allow for GST. [More on Membership & Fees] [print out a renewal form]

Events

The big event of the New Year was the removal of the Coral tree beside the sandpit. This had to be done after several large branches snapped off and dropped on the sandpit during a Friday session.

Waverley Council decided the tree was a risk and removed it. This disrupted a Tuesday playtime as there was an urgent need to get the job done. The council has since noted that Friday and Tuesday are not the best times for any maintenance work to be done in the area.

The tree will be replaced by an advanced specimen of a native that is not prone to dropping branches. Unfortunately this does mean that the sandpit will be unshaded for a time. The Coral tree was the only one of its kind around the play area so there should be no other risk of further branches dropping.

The Fig trees are at the moment only dropping leaves - sticky ones. This is caused by a cyclic infestation of leaf scale or Fig Physilid and is occurring in many council parks and gardens.

Finances

Waverley Council has generously paid us two years of rent rebates which means the group’s finances are a lot healthier. An increase in membership has also added to funds and this will help to offset the increase in rent and the yet unknown effect of the forthcoming GST. Rent of $400 for the year 2000 has been paid to the Guides Association.

Toy Hire

Suzie Forell is the new playgroup Toy Hire Coordinator. In conjunction with the Guides Association's hire of the hall the toys are available for hire for $20.00 a session plus a deposit of $40.00. [More on Toy Hire]

Cleaning

The playgroup hires a cleaner to maintain the kitchen, toilet and toyroom but there is also a need to regularly clean the toys, especially the baby’s box, soft toys and dolls. If possible could each member take home one or more items for cleaning? Just note in the daybook the toy taken so we can keep track of it.

Purchases

Recent purchases include two doll strollers (this brings the total to three and has cut down conflicts relating to this item considerably); a crawl tunnel; a plastic rocker; jungle animals and four balls. Yet to come are more paint smocks, plastic cars, a tea set and some wooden trolleys.

The electric jug expired this week so a hot water urn has been bought to replace it. The repair or replacement of the water heater system is still being negotiated.

Locks

The door to the toyroom was forced one weekend but the deadbolt held despite having three screws wrenched out. We plan to have a locksmith service all the locks as soon as possible. When locking up at the end of a session please ensure all doors are locked and bolted.

A Web Site

The process of making a website for the playgroup is underway! It will mirror information printed in the newsletter, keep an index of past newletters and include some added extra's as well such as a photo gallery. Any submissions or additional ideas are most welcome. Email dylan & linda or pass things on to Linda or Kate at the playgroup.