Berwick Lodge Primary School, Newsletter, May 2011

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BERWICK LODGE PRIMARY SCHOOL Phone: 9707 1766 Fax: 9796 2198 E-mail: berwick.lodge.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au Visit our Websites : http:// www.berwicklodgeps.vic.edu.au, Camp Australia/Out of School Hours Care: 9769 8251

26TH MAY 2011

NEWSLETTER N0.15 DIARY DATES

NOTICES DUE BACK BY Friday 27th May

Friday 27th May Friday 3rd June Monday 6th-Wednesday 8th June Wednesday 8th-Friday 10th June

Interschool Winter Sport (away Berwick PS) Monday 30th May Preps - Basil Safety House Friday 3rd June Interschool Winter Sport (home Beaconhills College) 5/6 Camp1 (5T, 5C, 6K, 6N) 5/6 Camp 2 (5H, 5W, 6P, 6N)

5/6 Camp Coolamatong Final Payment Social Club Books Prep, Grade 1&2 Swimming Program

CANTEEN IS NOT OPEN ON TUESDAYS

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT ISSUES WITH LOCAL TEENAGERS In recent weeks we have had some problems with a small group of local teenagers. They began by meeting after school hours and on weekends at the back of our school near the Cyprus trees and setting up a small campfire type of arrangement. Unfortunately things didn‟t end there and the situation has progressed to the point where we have been in regular contact with the local police who have now spoken with these teenagers on a number of occasions and last weekend evicted several of them from our premises. At the time they had been skylarking on the gymnasium roof. We have also spoken with them a number of times, advising them not to loiter in the vicinity of our school grounds, especially during school hours. At times they have been reasonable while at other times some of them have been loud and abusive. I understand that parents have been intimidated by some of them on several occasions as they hang around our precinct. This is quite unacceptable. The local police have the names and addresses of some of these children and I visited the Narre Warren Police Complex this week to air my

concerns personally to them. I have been assured that our local police are taking the matter seriously. My advice to parents who are having problems with these teenagers is to ring - 000 immediately and reinforce the message that we have had enough and are seeking some urgent action on their part. I do advise you also not to get yourself into an argument with any of them as that will not solve anything, but possibly make matters worse. To the best of my knowledge these teenagers have not physically harmed anyone nor threatened to do so as yet. However, their presence and general behaviour is worrying. People do ask me to take action and I appreciate this. However, there are limitations to what I can do, especially since much of what concerns us is happening out of school hours and near our school grounds. We have been in touch with the family of one of the boys, have spoken with those concerned and referred the matter on to our police. Maybe some of you have contact with the families of some of these children and can offer some wise counsel as friends of the family or make contact with our police whenever you come across their poor behaviour. Reporting them to us is welcome also – we will report them to the police, but I think it will help if members of our local community do likewise.

In bringing this matter to your attention, I don‟t wish to alarm you or overstate the problem. These children are more of a nuisance at the moment than anything else. Nipping the matter in the bud with your help and the support of our local police is my current aim.

USEFUL INFORMATION FOR PARENTS The Department of Education & Early Childhood development (DEECD) has valuable information for parents, for example, “Helping your child to count”, and “Parent Control – how much is too much?” There are regular email newsletters for which parents can subscribe or access online at: http://www.education.vic.gov.au? aboutschool/participation/ parentupdate/editions.htm From time to time I will publish articles with my report as I understand not everyone has ready access to the internet. Continued…..


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’s) Q. What should I say or do if I am confronted by an abusive child? A.This follows on from the above. The short answer is what not to do – that is to lose your cool and say or do something that inflames the situation or puts you in an awkward situation. Don‟t grab or threaten the child or children in question. Unfair as that may seem to you at the time, and sometimes you may feel very justified in giving the child a tongue-lashing or even more, you simply make things difficult for yourself if you do so. Reason with them as best you can at the time and report the matter to us if they are students at our school. We will support you in the matter. If the problem arises well after school hours, then still report the matter to us at a later date and you might consider reporting it to the police and their parents if you know them and feel confident enough to do so. QUOTABLE QUOTE „The burden of parenting rests lighter on the minds of those who never forget that they were once children themselves.‟

HENRY GROSSEK

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT STUDENT HEALTH We have been made aware that there has been a case of the infection „Slapped Cheek‟ in the Prep area. This is a mild illness that occurs mainly in younger children and can be characterised by a bright red flush on the face and a rash on the body. As the infection is most contagious prior to the onset of the rash it is not necessary for children with the rash to be excluded from school, unless they are feeling uncomfortable or unwell.

PYJAMA DAY Congratulations to our Year Six students, Michaela, Jemma and Chloe H who organised our Pyjama Day fundraiser this week. The girls were inspired to run this event following the recent Casey Student Leaders‟ Reception where the guest speaker, a current Year 12 student, explained how she had made a difference through her participation in a project involving the creation of a new playground at her Primary School. The girls came up with the idea of fundraising to help purchase new basketball rings following recent vandalism which destroyed our current rings. They submitted a proposal for their idea to the The most effective means of Principal Class and undertook all minimising the spread of infection the arrangements is to practice high standards of from the hygiene. Groups at higher risk advertising and than the general community are promoting through pregnant women and people who to the collection have immunity suppressing and counting of the illnesses. money. Through their efforts they An information sheet from the raised $681.90. Victorian Government Health The girls are to be Information website has been congratulated on their initiative included in the newsletter for your and the fabulous job they did. Well information. done! The class teachers will reinforce positive hygiene practices with the PREP ENROLMENTS FOR 2012 children to minimise risks of Thank you to our families with infection.

Prep students for 2012 who have contacted the office for enrolment forms. At this stage our Prep enrolment numbers are growing daily. For our planning purposes it is beneficial for us to know our projected prep enrolment well in advance. We also need to be aware of students with special needs who may require submissions for extra support at school. Families with queries regarding this matter are encouraged to make contact with us to discuss the options available to provide support. For your information we are sending the program for our „Step into Prep‟ evening home with this newsletter. If you would like to attend this evening, please contact the office to register your interest.

LYNNE BRENNER & DEBBIE CUSACK


SCHOOL AWARDS Congratulations to the following students who received awards over the last week: Ajay PM

Ashley PC Chloe PL

Jayda PC Connor PM

Anakin PW

Malindu PL

Erin PW

WHAT IS GETTING ALONG? Each Types of Thinking That Develop Getting Along  

Provide the young person with many learning opportunities for understanding the idea that all people are complex and made up of many characteristics - some good, some not so good, some that you share, some that you do not share. Discuss with the young person the idea that, while it is quite normal to dislike aspects of another person‟s qualities, culture, or behaviour, it is wrong to think badly of them. Being tolerant means accepting all people with their differences rather than judging them by their differences. Encourage the young person, when he/she encounters some quality in a person he/she does not like, to learn more about the person. Discuss how the young person is likely to find something good about the person. Spend time discussing with the young person the idea that it does not make sense to evaluate the overall worth or value of another person based on those aspects of their behaviour or differences that the young person dislikes. To do this, you can use a “fruit Bowl” analogy. Ask the young person to imagine a bowl of fruit - apples, oranges, peaches, pears, mangoes - some of which are perfectly ripe and some that either too green or overly ripe. Suppose this fruit was placed in a bowl but you did not know what was in the bowl, nor could you see inside. Suppose you were asked to pick out a piece of fruit, and you picked out a beautiful, ripe peach. If someone then asked you to rate the overall quality of the bowl of fruit based on the peach, what would you say (e.g. “Great bowl of fruit”)? Suppose you picked out another piece of fruit and it was an over-ripe banana. If you were then asked, “How would you now rate the overall value of the bowl of fruit?” what would you say (e.g. “Mixed value.”)? The point to make is that just as it doesn't sense to rate the overall value of the bowl of fruit as totally good or bad on individual pieces of fruit, so, too, does it not make sense to ever evaluate the overall value of a person based on their behaviour (good or bad) or their differences.

EMA 1st INSTALLMENT ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR COLLECTION FROM THE SCHOOL OFFICE BETWEEN 8:30AM - 4:00PM

HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER? Please ensure you let the school office know if you have changed address or updated mobile phones with new numbers. This information alleviates stressful situations on students when they are ill and we cannot contact parents


Dear Parents/Guardians, This year all Grades 3 to 6 children will be participating in the Fantastic Fridays Program in Term 2. This program will run on Friday afternoons (2:30pm to 3:30pm) starting from Week 2 and will run for approximately 8 weeks. It is an elective program where students will be mixed with their peers to learn a variety of different subjects outside the normal curriculum areas of Literacy and Numeracy. The elective programs on offer are:

Gymnastics J-Rock Lego Cooking Art / Craft Construction Billycarts County Fair Fashion / Jewellery Making Science and Technology We have a number of teachers allocated to the various programs but are asking our school community for some support. If you have any expertise in any of the following areas and would like to participate in the program we would greatly appreciate your time and experience. These activities require different materials and resources and we would greatly appreciate any donations to support our Fantastic Fridays Program. These could includeconstruction materials such as wood, screws, wheels, art supplies, foam cups etc. Please see Traceye Rapinett for information or details about the program.

Sport News

Pyjama Day

Congratulations to the following students who have qualified for the Casey North Division cross country trials:

On Tuesday 24th May 2011 Berwick Lodge Primary School had a pyjama day and it was a very successful day. We raised a total of $681.90 which was fantastic. The cost of the Netball rings are less than what we raised, so we have decided with the remainder of the money we will put towards our World Vision Sponsors.

10 year old girls: Monique 4L 11 year old boys: Matthew V 5H, Tom N 6N 11 year old girls: Lilli A 5H, Jemma I 5C 12/13 year old boys: Marko S 6K, Kyle N 6P These students had to finish in the top ten of their district trials that were held on Monday 23rd May 2011. What has been a busy term gets even busier with upcoming visits by „Life. Be In It‟ and the „Jump Rope for Heart‟ fundraiser taking part in June. The Preps are busy practising their jumping skills. Stay tuned for more details. Finally, I‟d like to congratulate, Jemma, Chloe and Michaela from 6N for their wonderful efforts in raising money through pyjama day. This has paid for new netball rings to replace the ones that were damaged through vandalism. Great initiative girls!

Nick Pryor P.E. Cordinator

Congratulations to PL who raised the most money, 1J came second and 3D was third. Thank you for everyone that participated in wearing their pyjamas on the day. Michaela 6N, Chloe 6N and Jemma 6N


Parents & Friends Association NEXT MEETING: Thursday 2nd June 2011 at 1.30pm in Room 16. Everyone is welcome, including toddlers. The PFA welcomes anyone wanting to join the fun and help make a difference our school. 2ND HAND UNIFORM SHOP: Our next 2nd hand uniform shop will be open in the school canteen on Tuesday 28th June 2011 from 2.30pm until 3.15pm. There will be a table with $1.00 items, so get in quick!! We would like to thank all those families who have donated uniforms as they have assisted other families in our community.

Current events This week we asked for all chocolates to be returned. Thank you for all who sold the chocolates. Anyone who sold a full box will still get a prize. We are looking for help with our fundraising. Do you own or work for a company that would be willing to donate a product or gift voucher for our Clover Cottage Evening, or prizes for our Walk-a-thon which is later in the year. For your time and effort we are able to promote your business in our Newsletter. Any products or services would be greatly appreciated. If you would like more information please email us on blps.pfa@hotmail.com or leave your details at the office and I will happily call you to discuss it further.

Upcoming Events This week we sent out a form for Family Portraits. Please try and get these forms back as soon as possible. There are samples of the photos that will be taken in Room 16. The sitting fee is $15 and you get a framed 10” x 13” family portrait. Also if you have family or friends outside of the school community who would like to have their portraits done, we can accommodate them, as long as both families have their photos taken on the same day. BOTH of you will receive an additional 8” x 10” for your enjoyment as long as a photography package is purchased. Photos will be taken on Saturday 18th June 2011 and Sunday 19th June 2011.

News Remember every Thursday afternoon, the PFA will be offering tea, coffee or hot milo in Room 16, from 2.45pm. You can either drink in the room with us, or take it away, all for a gold coin donation. So if you arrive to school early to get a car park and want to keep warm, we invite you to come along to our PFA Cafe and have a drink. There are papers to read and toys for the younger kids to play with. Everyone is WELCOME. Currently we are open on Thursday afternoons only, however we welcome feedback as to whether other days would be appreciated as well. We have been given Avon catalogues and other small business catalogues for everyone's enjoyment. If you would like to leave something in Room 16 for everyone to look at, please come and talk to us. WE are always looking for ideas and help, so if you want to comment but are unable to contact us, you can email the PFA on blps.pfa@hotmail.com or via the school office. The PFA would like to thank you for your continued support.


BLOSHC NEWS We look forward to having fun at Day is Tuesday 14th June 2011 and Camp Australia next week, when we we have an Expression of Interest take a cruise on a pirate ship. Ahoy! Form, so fill one in if you think youâ€&#x;ll need care for this day. The session would run form 6:45am - 6:30pm. This Week: However, we need minimum of 20 children to run a program on the M: Pirate Hat day. These forms need to be filled T: Pirate Ship out no later than Friday 3rd June W: Pirate Castle 2011. T: Pirate Jewellery F: Treasure Hunt

Star of the Week: Subhashini 4DR: For being a great helper in the Arts and Crafts area. A friendly reminder that Curriculum

OSHC Hours: Before School Care 6:45am - 8:45am After School Care 3:30pm - 6:30pm Our direct line is 9769 8251 or you can call the Camp Australia Admin on 1300 105 343

New Enrolments/Bookings Thank you Dorien and the OSHC & Cancellations: All new enrolments/Bookings & Cancellations are completed online at www.campaustralia.com.au

Team

COMMUNITY NEWS TAKE HOME A BIG BROTHER OR BIG SISTER Give your children the wonderful opportunity to have an international big brother or big sister by hosting one of our exceptional international students arriving in Australia in July for their 5 or 10 month programs. Our international students from France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain, Japan and the Scandinavian countries will live as a local, attend a local secondary school, arrive with their own spending money and comprehensive insurance cover – all arranged by Southern Cross Cultural Exchange. Visit us at www.scce.com.au, email scceaust@scce.com.au or call us toll free on 1800 500 501, request our little booklets of international student profiles, and capture the spirit of family and friendship!

NARRE WARREN-BERWICK BLUE LIGHT DISCO BERWICK LEISURE CENTRE, MANUKA ROAD, BERWICK SATURDAY 4th June 2011

For Students in years 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8 only Times 6:00pm to 10:00pm COST: $10.00 Any enquires to Narre Warren Police Station 9705 3111 Advertisements published by the school are accepted in good faith and should not be regarded as an endorsement of any product or service. Parents and members of the school community are advised to investigate any service or product to determine its suitability to meet their family's needs prior to accessing it.


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