NEWSLETTER N0.30
13TH OCTOBER 2011
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT The only requirement is that parents complete a registration form and are entered on our PFA Membership Our PFA began in 1990 and ever since then has been the backbone of Register. I have attached a copy of our PFA registration form, with my our fundraising initiatives and invitation for you to complete it and providing support to our school in many ways. In short our PFA is very return the form to school. You will then be registered as a member of important and very valuable. We our PFA for the duration of your never have too many members for child/rens enrolment at our school. all the plans the PFA would like to This does not obligate you to attend implement in any given year. Inevitably, the workload tends to fall PFA meetings, become a member of the executive committee or on too few people. participate in any PFA activities. It Annually in December – just two does ensure that our record keeping months away – our PFA office bearers’ election is held. It would be of membership and election protocols for our PFA are in order. great if we could increase our An idea that we are considering, to membership of the PFA and have make membership of our PFA even more parents volunteering for more attractive, is to provide leadership positions on the PFA. Notionally, all parents are members registered PFA members with a PFA of our PFA – there are no conditions card that will attract possible of membership other than you have discounts from suppliers of product with whom the PFA works. a child attending Berwick Lodge.
PARENT &FRIENDS ASSOCIATION (PFA)
BER BUILDING UPDATE Our new BER building should be formally handed over to us within the next few weeks. The major outstanding issue at the moment is compliance with Country Fire Authority (CFA) water pressure to our premises requirements. This is expected to be resolved shortly. David Chandler, Deputy Chairperson, Orgill BER Taskforce made his final inspection earlier this week and was thrilled with the standard of the building. He assured us that the building has been completed to a very high standard of workmanship. For this we are indebted to the diligence and determination of the Taskforce to ensure that the quality of the building was to a high standard.
CONTINUED…
DIARY DATES Friday 14th October Monday 17th October Tuesday 18th October Thursday 19th October Friday 21st October Tuesday 25th October Wednesday 26th October Saturday 5th November
5/6 Interschool Summer Sport 5/6 Water Safety Program Information Evening Gr 5 & 6 Family Life Program Gr 1 CSIRO Visit Gr 2 CSIRO Visit 5/6 Interschool Summer Sport Gr 6 Family Life Program Singapore Supper Night 7pm PFA Shopping Tour
NOTICES DUE BACK BY Thursday 20th October
Shopping Tour
CANTEEN IS CLOSED ON TUESDAYS
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT CONTINUED….. I understand that substantial additional funds were allocated to our project in order to fix all the defects identified by David Chandler. I must say that I agree with his assessment – we do have a building, notwithstanding the limitations of the design, and procurement model for the building, that is very good. Our next focus is on the refurbishment of our main building – we are in the planning stage for this $604,000 project which is scheduled to be completed by June 30 next year. We will be busy!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’s) Q. When will we know what grade our child will be in next year and who their teacher will be? A. You will have the answers to this question by early December. I invite parents to put in writing to me in early November, requests for the grade placement of their child for the following year. This is part of the process that leads to the answer of the above question. Please don’t send me any requests at this stage – I will provide details for that in a fortnight.
QUOTABLE QUOTE
‘The power of rumours are a reminder that our minds crave titillation’.
Henry Grossek
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) 2012 and School Start Bonus (SSB) Applications for the 2012 Education Maintenance Allowance and School Start Bonus are now available from the school office. If you have a child under 16, and hold a valid Health Care Card, Pension Card or be a foster parent you may be eligible to receive the EMA. Your Health Care / Pension Card must be valid on the 1st February 2012. The 2012 allowance of $235 is split evenly between the parent and the school and is paid in two instalments, one in March and one in August. The School Start Bonus is provided to assist low-income families with the costs associated with their child starting Prep or Year 7. If you hold a valid Health Care Card, Pension Card or be a foster parent, and have a child starting Prep at Berwick Lodge in 2012 you may be eligible to receive this one-off $300 payment. Closing Date: Parents/Guardians with Prep children commencing in 2012 need to lodge a School Start Bonus form before Thursday 15th December 2011. Education Maintenance Allowance applications must be lodged at Berwick Lodge before 29th February 2012. Please see the school office for application forms or if you have any queries.
A S S I S TA N T P R I N C I PA L S ’ R E P O RT VICTORIA WALKS Victoria Walks to School day will take place this year on Wednesday 19th October 2011. We see this as a great opportunity to encourage our students and their families to be physically active and walk to school whenever possible. There are so many benefits when your child walks to school, including: (1) Children who actively commute to school have higher levels of physical activity and improved cardiovascular fitness compared with children who do not walk or cycle to school; (2) Students feel awake, alert and are more attentive in class after some fresh air and physical activity in the morning; (3) More children walking to school means fewer cars on the road, making it safer for children around the school; and (4) Walking to school gives families and neighbours the opportunity to form new relationships and ongoing informal support within local communities. LATE ARRIVAL TO SCHOOL We have become aware of an increasing number of children arriving after the commencement of classes in the morning. We have also noted that on many occasions parents are dropping their children off at school, sometimes in the staff car park or bus stop, and not accompanying the children to class. This raises concerns with regards to the safety and security of our students. There have been incidents where students have arrived at the classroom to find that the class and the teacher were not there. In this situation students can become distressed and make poor decisions about what to do. The expectation of parents who are dropping their children at school after the bell, is that they will
accompany the child to the classroom and ensure that the teacher is aware of their arrival. We thank you for your understanding and support in the process of keeping our students safe. PARENTING PROGRAM – ‘BOYS FOR BEGINNERS’ Are you baffled by your son? Do you wonder why he doesn’t listen to you? Or how to deal with your anger and his?!! Why are sons so fascinated with things that can cripple, burn or blind them? Come along to these workshops and share your frustrations, skills and maybe get new ideas on parenting boys in today’s world. Anglicare Victoria has forwarded us some information about a series of parenting workshops entitled ‘Parents Building Solutions – Boys for Beginners.’ These workshops are aimed at mums, dads and carers of children 3 to 13 years. They will be offered at Officer Primary School (Tivendale Road, Officer) on Thursday 20th and 27th October 2011 and Thursday 3rd and 10th November 2011 from 1:00 3:00PM. Bookings for these free workshops can be made by contacting Helena on 5991 2225 or 0488550490. STAFF NEWS Tomorrow Jo Zammit will commence Family Leave as she prepares for the arrival of her third child. We are sure Jo, Marcus, Keenan and Ella are looking forward to the new addition to their family. We will keep the school community informed regarding the arrival of the baby. For the remainder of Term 4, Lia Whitelaw will be
taking on Jo’s component of the Visual Arts Program. Last Thursday Leonie Brown and her partner Daniel welcomed their new son, Mason Daniel (4.08 kg or 9 lb). Both Mason and Leonie are well and we are looking forward to seeing them soon. SHOPPER INCENTIVE PROGRAMS Families are reminded that next week is the last opportunity to collect dockets from the Coles Sports for Schools Program and receipts for the Woolworths Earn and Learn Program. Both of these incentive programs close on Tuesday 18th October 2011 but we will continue to accept the dockets and receipts until Friday 28th October. We thank all families who have supported these programs and will keep you informed of the outcome of your efforts. ENROLMENTS AND TRANSFERS In the coming weeks we will commence our planning for 2012 including our grade structure and staffing and it is vital that we have accurate enrolment information. Staff have been asked to follow up with families who have not yet returned the form sent home last term requesting confirmation of enrolment for 2012. We would also like to ensure that we have an accurate indication of our Prep enrolments. If families have a child eligible to attend school next year and have not yet completed and returned enrolment forms we request that you do so as soon as possible.
LYNNE BRENNER AND DEBBIE CUSACK
Information Evening Outdoor Education & Water Safety Program A reminder to all parents of Grades 5 and 6 students that a Parent Information Evening has been planned to outline this new and exciting initiative. All parents are invited to meet in the OHSC building at 7.00pm next Monday 17th October 2011 to hear first-hand the important information to be presented. A representative from AquaSkills will be available to explain the program and answer any questions parents may have. We encourage all parents to attend. Thank you Paul Whitehead Level 4 Coordinator
SCHOOL AWARDS
Congratulations to the following students who received awards over the last week: Stevan PW Jamison PW Zoha PL Amber PL Scarlett PL
Jayda PC
Darcy PC Zoe PC Ella PC Emily PM Dion PM
Art News – Grade 5 Art Smocks! Just a reminder that Grade 5 students will require art smocks for their art lessons this term as they will be working with mosaics and this can get very messy! An old t-shirt would even be great to protect their clothing. Thanks again, Jo Zammit and Julie McLeod Visual Arts Teachers
Parents & Friends Association NEXT MEETING: Thursday 13th October 2011 at 1.30pm in Room 16. Everyone is welcome, including toddlers. 2ND HAND UNIFORM SHOP: Our next 2nd hand uniform shop will be open in the school canteen on Tuesday 25th October 2011 from 2.30pm until 3.15pm.
PFA CAFÉ: Is open on Thursday afternoon’s from 2.45pm in Room 16, next to the grade two portables. As the weather gets warmer we will be providing cold drinks, for a gold coin donation. So don’t wait outside your child’s classroom in the heat, come in and grab a cool drink. We will still have tea & coffee available so make sure you drop in for a chat.
SHOP TILL YOU DROP! SHOPPING TOUR - Saturday 5th November 2011 Our shopping tour is coming up on Saturday 5th November 2011, please return your forms and payment by Friday 20th October 2011. Places are limited so get in quickly. We will be visiting lots of shops that include toys, kids clothes, Manchester and kitchen wares just to name a few. Come and have a great day out with morning tea and a 2 course lunch which is included in the price.
UPCOMING EVENTS HALLOWEEN DISCO - Friday 28th October 2011: This Term we will be having a Halloween Themed Disco in the Gym. Prizes will be awarded for the scariest costume. Games will be played and lots of spooky fun to be enjoyed. Notices will be sent home soon. SUPERMARKET VOUCHERS: This is the last opportunity to collect and return your Coles Sports Vouchers and Safeway Earn and Learn Points. Be sure to return all your vouchers/points to the office by Monday 17th October 2011 so that vouchers/points can be tallied. Vouchers/ Points must be returned by this day or we will miss out, so be sure to check with your family, friends and neighbours so that all vouchers/points can be returned to the school. A huge thank you to everyone who has been collecting Vouchers and Points. This is a great way for our School to receive fantastic resources for our children. PAUL’S CAPS: Keep collecting the Paul’s Caps to raise money for our sponsor children Pheear and Oshdi in Cambodia and Sri Lanka. It is expected that this promotion will continue into 2012.
BUSINESS ADVERTISING CRYSTAL CLEANING SERVICES P/L For all your carpet/upholstery and general cleaning needs Special Offer 3 rooms/3 seats Professionally steamed cleaned for $77.00 incl. GST Free deodorising Free stain treating Other services: Vacate clean-up/ready for sale For bookings & enquiries contact Steve 0411 752 279
$1.00 from each booking goes back to BLPS. Plus $1.00 to Royal Children's Hospital
Thursday 8.15pm & Sunday 9.30am $10.00 per class Contours Berwick 39 Enterprise Ave Bring in this ad for your first class free!
COMMUNITY NEWS INTERNET SAFETY & YOUR CHILD/TEEN This 3 week program will assist parents to better negotiate their child/teens cyber use of the internet and social networks, such as Facebook, mobile phones, internet gaming etc. Wednesday 19th October 2011 for 3 weeks Time: 7:00 - 9:30pm Cost: $20 (Cost includes workbook) Balla Balla Community Centre 65 Berwick Cranbourne Road Cranbourne East
DOGS VICTORIA On Sunday 11th December 2011 at the State Dog centre (KCC Park), Dogs Victoria are holding A Big Day out for Dogs. This event is free to attend so we hope that families will join us for this fun-filled day. Dogs are welcome, but they need to be on lead. There will be face painting from 10:30am to 12:30pm so be sure to get in early!
PALETTE & PAINTBRUSH ART CLASSES General Art Classes for Children on Wednesdays 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Drawing Pencils Colour Water Colours Pastels Perspective Cartooning Pen & Ink Brentwood Park Neighborhood House Bemersyde Drive, Berwick (Melways ref 111 C12) Contact Neloofer Kreltszheim on 9703 1820
There will also be displays and demonstrations in canine obedience, agility, retrieving, herding, lure racing and dog showing. At 1pm there will be a series of fun competitions, including waggiest tail, in which any dog can compete. This is also free. For anyone considering adding a dog to their family there will be a huge variety of breeds to meet and great, and hopefully find the one that best suits their ager and stage of life. There will also be the very popular Canine Christmas Market with lots of dog treats, accessories, leads, collar and services on offer just in time for holiday shopping! The State Dog Park (KCC Park) is located at 655 Western Port Highway, Skye. (Melways ref 128 J12). Catering will be available at the venue. Dogs Victoria can be contacted on 03 9788 2509 Website: media@dgsvictoria.rog.au Email: www.dogsvictoria.coma.u