NEWSLETTER N0.31
20TH OCTOBER 2011
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
PARENT &FRIENDS ASSOCIATION (PFA) Thank you to those parents who sent back their PFA registration forms following last week’s newsletter. They can be returned at any time and do not obligate you in any way. With our PFA elections due in early December, may I remind you that it is a condition of election to an office bearer position and/or voting at these elections, that you are registered prior to the annual elections. SCHOOL SPECIALISATION PROGRAM Our state government has called for expressions of interest from Victorian government primary and secondary schools to apply for one-off Specialisation Grants worth
$100,000 each. Over the next two years the Victorian Government will provide $2.5 million for a total of 25 one-off grants to government schools to specialise in a field of their choice; such as languages, maths, science, robotics, multimedia, fashion, design or horticulture. These grants will be very difficult to obtain – 25 over two years with potentially 2000 plus government schools vying for them. Nevertheless, we will be submitting an application – drawing on our extensive radio broadcasting/audio e-learning/LEEP/multimedia/ international school partnerships programs under the banner of “Digital Broadcasting”. As well as applying for one of these grants, this enables us to sharpen our focus on what we are currently doing in the area of digital learning and move ahead in an area that is only going to become more and more important in
the future. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’s) Q. Will we again be having a qualified security officer attending our school disco next week? A.Yes – this has proven to be both popular and valuable in the past and we see no reason why we would not continue with the practice. QUOTABLE QUOTE ‘The difference between doing and achieving is a highwire balancing act from which the occasional fall is not a disaster.’
HENRY GROSSEK
DIARY DATES Friday 21st October Tuesday 25th October Wednesday 26th October Friday 28th October
5/6 Interschool Summer Sport Gr 6 Family Life Program Singapore Supper Night 7pm Halloween Disco 5/6 Interschool Summer Sport Saturday 5th November PFA Shopping Tour Wednesday 23rd November Prep Myuna Farm Excursion Monday 28th November Prep Polly/Pete’s Day Show
NOTICES DUE BACK BY Thursday 20th October Friday 21st October Thursday 27th October Thursday 10th November Friday 18th November Wednesday 30th November
Shopping Tour 5/6 Outdoor Education & Water Safety Program Halloween Disco Grade 6 Graduation Bear/Soccer Prep Myuna Farm Excursion Prep Polly/Pete’s Day Show
CANTEEN IS CLOSED ON TUESDAYS SCHOOL AWARDS
Congratulations to the following students who received awards over the last week: Dylan PL Chelsea PL
Jai PM Chloe PW
Cooper PC Phillip PC
Jordy PL Ashley PC
Joey PW
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 eSMART Our school has recently registered to take part in eSmart, a framework to manage cybersafety and wellbeing. eSmart will help teachers, students and the whole school community embrace the benefits of technology and reduce our exposure to cyberspace risks such as cyber bullying, identity theft and accessing or sending inappropriate images or content. Funded by the Victorian Government, eSmart is an initiative of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, a national charity committed to protecting children from violence. Our work towards achieving eSmart status will involve the whole school community – for example, we will be integrating cybersafety into our wellbeing policies, establishing clear procedures to deal with incidents, and delivering curriculum around the smart, safe and responsible use of technology. We are currently establishing an eSmart committee to be led by Debbie Cusack and Jodie Norton (School Council President). Debbie and Jodie will be attending their first briefing next week. We will regularly update you on our progress through our newsletter. More information is also available at www.esmart.org.au SHOPPER INCENTIVE PROGRAMS The Coles Sports for Schools and Woolworths Earn and Learn programs are now over. We will continue to
collect tokens and receipts to add to our tallies up until tomorrow (Friday 21st October). Thank you to all families who have again provided wonderful support to the school through the collection of these tokens and receipts. Thanks also to the PFA for their assistance with collection and collation. We look forward to reporting the results of these programs to our families.
VICTORIA WALKS TO SCHOOL AND NATIONAL NUDE FOOD DAY Yesterday our school celebrated both the Victoria Walks to School and National Nude Food Day with a whole school walk and lunch. The children paired up with their buddies to take a walk around the school environment (a great lead up to the PFA Walkathon fundraiser on Tuesday 8th November 2011). This was VACATION CARE followed by a buddy lunch. The PROGRAM children enjoyed their walk in the During Term 3 the YMCA notified sunshine and the opportunity to our School Council that as of the interact with their buddies. conclusion of the Term 3 holiday Congratulations to the following break they would children who won prizes in our cease to operate school’s Victoria Walks to School their vacation care Colouring Competition: Samudra service at Berwick PW, Meg 1C, Chloe 2F, Shenae Lodge Primary 3M, Katya 4S, Edward 5T and School. This Hannah 6N. decision followed a review of YMCA STUDENT HEALTH Victoria OSHC programs in the We have been made aware of a Casey Region and the intention to number of cases of chicken pox in centralise their school holiday the junior area of the school. The programs. As of the January 2012 exclusion requirements for school holidays the YMCA will chicken pox are that the child be operate their service for this area excluded until fully recovered or at Berwick Leisure Centre. for at least five days after the Our School Council are keen to eruption of spots maintain a school holiday service first appear. Other for our families and other families contacts do not in the area on our site. Therefore, need to be excluded we are liaising with Camp unless they suffer an Australia, our current OSHC immune deficiency. We have provider to establish a vacation included a flyer with this care program at Berwick Lodge. newsletter with additional We will keep families informed information for families. regarding our progress with these arrangements. At this stage we LYNNE BRENNER AND are quite confident that Camp DEBBIE CUSACK Australia will take up this opportunity.
Enrolments for 2012 are now being accepted! Enrolment forms are available from the school office. Original birth certificates and immunisation certificates need to be sighted by the office at the time of enrolment.
Dear Parents/Guardians, This year all Grades 3 to 6 children will be participating in the Fantastic Fridays Program in Term 4. This program will run on Friday afternoons (2:30pm to 3:30pm) starting from Week 3 and will run for approximately 6 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 Lego Cooking Art / Craft/Scrapbooking Woodwork Sport Photography Playing Musical Instruments 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 include-construction materials such as wood, screws, wheels, art supplies, foam cups etc. Please see Traceye Rapinett for information or details about the program.
1/2 CSIRO VISIT On Wednesday 19th October, Grade 2Z went to the CSIRO (Commonwealth, Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Incursion in the Afterschool Care Building with Sean. He was really nice. We got sorted into groups of three. We did three experiments which were: Experiment Number 1 with powder, a balloon and vinegar. Experiment Number 2 was with a heat pack where you had to crack a metal coin and it would explode in the heat pack. Experiment Number 3 where we had to put a tablet in two cups (hot and cold) and it would explode. After that, we had to go. Our favourite bit was the experiment with the heat pack. Written by Tayla and Georgie On Wednesday the 19th of October, after recess, Grade 2Z went to the Afterschool Care Building for the CSIRO Incursion. The person that hosted it was Sean. He taught us about Solids, Liquids and Gases and then placed us into groups of three. We got given numbers 1-3 and did three experiments. In the first experiment we had a balloon and a bottle. The bottle had vinegar and the balloon had bi-carb soda in it. When we tipped the bi-carb soda in the vinegar, the balloon blew up. The second experiment was with a heat pack full of water and a coin like thing that made it hot. We made it hot by clicking the coin then it felt like sand in the heat pack. Experiment three was a cup of hot and cold water and two tablets. We dropped one of the tablets in each cup and the hot water dissolved faster. Our favourite experiment was experiment one. Written by Lincoln and Zach On Wednesday 19th October, 2Z went to the Afterschool School Care Building for the CSIRO Incursion. CSIRO stands for Commonwealth, Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. In the Afterschool Care Building there was a guy called Sean. Our favourite part was when we got a heat pad and we had to break a coin inside it. When the coin was broken the heat pad would get very hot and very white. Written by Alannah and Jacinta Grade 2Z went to a CSIRO Incursion in the Afterschool Care Building with Sean. We learnt that CSIRO stands for Commonwealth, Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Sean told us that a liquid can change into a solid. When we did the third experiment, there were two cups, one was cold water and one was hot water. We had to drop a tablet in both and our group predicted the hot water would win and it did! This was our favourite experiment because it was cool when the tablets were racing. Written by Xander and Lachlan On Wednesday 19th October, Grade 2Z went to the Afterschool Care Building for the CSIRO Incursion with Sean. CSIRO stands for Commonwealth, Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. It was funny when Sean spilt the water trying to show us what a liquid looked like! When Sean did an experiment, he had a heat bag with a metal coin inside it. He cracked the coin and it exploded inside the heat bag! Written by Brodie and Luke
Phys Ed News Wow! Week 1 was an amazing week for Berwick Lodge sports teams and athletes. Firstly we had eight athletes chosen to represent our district at the Casey North divisional athletics trials. Congratulations must go to all students who participated, and special recognition goes to Stephanie K (5C) in discus and Jake M(5T) in long jump who both qualified to represent Casey North at the Regional athletics trials. Thanks to Maria Mitreski for her vital help on the day and good luck to Jake and Steph, the school community is behind you. Secondly, Berwick Lodge had three teams playing in the Hooptime regional finals. Tuesday 11th October 2011 the 5/6 girls team play extremely well all day and advance to the final, where they were beaten by a fired up Malvern team. It was a great effort from the girls to make it that far after qualifying with a wild card. A big thank you to Joanne Lotherington and Kim Caldow for all of their help with the team. On Thursday 13th October 2011 it was the grade 3/4 All-Star Boys and Girls competing in their regional finals. The girls battled hard all day despite being massively undersized in most games. Their determination was a sight to behold. A big thank you to Michelle Sorraghan and Suzanne Weiland for coaching and scoring the girls’ games. The boys had a very successful day and ended up going down by 1 point in a tight grand final. Fortunately, they were deservedly awarded the wild card to progress through to the state finals, held on Monday 28th November 2011 at Dandenong. Good Luck boys! Thank you to Kayla Foster for doing a great job coaching the boys and to Shaun Connel and Andrea Hellyer for their assistance on the day.
School Name
OSHC
Coordinator: Dorien Erasmus
Welcome to all the new faces – hope you already feel part of the BLOSHC family! We are looking forward to the warmer weather for outside play and lots of fun activities to keep our creative little minds busy. Parents, please remember to CANCEL your child if you know he/she will not be attending ASC. Save on Care You can save 50% or more on Before and After School Care fees with the non-means tested Child Care Rebate. Almost all families are eligible. And remember – permanent bookings are cheaper than casual bookings. To find out more call Customer Service Team on 1300 105 343 Monday to Friday. Visit our website to register www.campaustralia.com.au. Once registered you can make bookings and cancellations, view your statements and manage your details anytime of the day online. Before school care: 6:45am – 8:45am
After school care:
3.30pm – 6.30pm
Star of the week: Aishlene 5H: For being a super helper. Thank you, Aishlene! WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK Islands AFTER SCHOOL CARE
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Hawaii
Puerto Rico
Bali
Fiji
Madagascar
Parents & Friends Association NEXT MEETING: Thursday 3rd November 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 Christmas is only 2 months away!! This is the perfect opportunity to start, continue or finish this important shopping. We will be visiting a toy warehouse, manchester, homewares, adultand children’s clothing, sports clothing and foot wear. There will be a variety of presents available for everyone on your Christmas list. Morning tea and a 2 course lunch will be provided. Payment and forms are due back by Thursday 20th October 2011.
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. Payment and forms are due back on Thursday 27th October 2011. If parents can offer any assistance on the night, it would be greatly appreciated. Walk-A-Thon - Tuesday 8th November 2011: Get your walking shoes ready everyone!! We are having our annual Walk-A-Thon on Tuesday 8th November 2011. There will be two separate courses for the junior and the senior classes. Prizes will be awarded for the best fund raising class and individuals. Notices will be sent home next week. Money raised will go directly to the school. SUPERMARKET VOUCHERS: A huge thank you for everyone’s efforts in collecting the Coles and Safeway vouchers. There is only a short time left to return your dockets to school. This was a great opportunity for our school to obtain much needed sports equipment and classroom resources. Please have all your vouchers returned to school by Friday 21st October 2011.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Yarra Valley Railway’s
Halloween Ghost Train Friday 28th & Saturday 29th October 2011 Take the Ghost Train if you Dare Ghost Train Rides $25 or $22 conc./child Fri - 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm Sat - 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm. Children U12 at parent’s discretion. Not recommended for U5 yo
BBQ, Snacks, & hot & cold drinks available. See us on Facebook YVR Ghost Train For Bookings email : reservations@yvr.com.au Or Contact Dan O’Connor 0417 554 573
St Andrew’s Uniting Church 105 High St, Berwick, 3806 (Enter off the Service Road) Pre-loved
BOOK SALE Saturday 12th November 2011 8:30am - 1:30pm
BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS Lots of categories of pre-loved books Andy’s Café OPEN