NEWSLETTER N0.35
17TH NOVEMBER 2011
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT TEACHING STAFF ROLES 2012 Currently we have one teaching position yet to fill – Karise Dell has, earlier this week secured a teaching position at Wesley College, Junior Campus, Elsternwick and will be leaving us at the end of this year. I expect to have a replacement teacher appointed by the end of this week. Consequently, you will note that we have one Grade 4 with the teacher, ‘to be confirmed’ in the schedule below. Karise has been an excellent teacher at our school and on behalf of everyone I thank her for her contribution and wish her all the best in her new direction. As our enrolment numbers for next year will drop from 685 to 650 we will be operating two less classes and have made changes to several of our specialist programs. In particular, our LOTE program will operate differently in that Sarah Vine, our librarian, will be providing an integrated library/ Asian studies program across the school. Sarah has been studying LOTE
(Indonesian) and will incorporate this in her program. Eki Daely, our LOTE (Indonesian) instructor will not be taking senior classes for LOTE (Indonesian) next year as a consequence. Eki has provided this program to our senior classes for the past two years on a one day a week basis. We do thank her for her contribution to our school. Sharyn King returns from Family Leave, and will be taking a Prep grade next year – it is great to have Sharyn back who, prior to taking family leave actually commenced her career as a graduate teacher at Berwick Lodge in the late 1990‟s. In some really good news, Trish Luke has informed me that she will be returning next year following successful treatment this year for her serious medical condition. Trish has worked at our school for many years and we are thrilled to have her back in 2012, resuming in a Grade 2. We will be having one shared grade next year – a Grade 2 with Fiona
Froelich and Jodie Radings sharing the teaching duties. Both Fiona and Jodie are highly experienced and very capable teachers. You may note that David Ryan and Vanessa Stevens have been assigned Additional Assistance teaching roles for term 1 next year. David has indicated to me that he will be retiring shortly thereafter and because of this I have decided that it would be best not to assign David to a grade for one term only. Vanessa has confirmed with that she will be taking Family Leave as from the beginning of term 2 and similar to David, I have not allocated her a classroom teaching role for term 1. We have not as yet allocated grades to specific classrooms because we are in the process of finalising our refurbishment arrangements for our main building – this refurbishment taking place during terms1 and 2 next year. I expect that we have room allocations completed within the next two weeks. CONTINUED…..
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT C ONTINUED….. TEACHING ROLES
Grade 5:
PRINCIPAL: Henry Grossek ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS: Lynne Brenner Debbie Cusack LEADING TEACHERS: Area 1 Coordinator (P-2) Area 2 Coordinator (3-4) Area 3 Coordinator (5-6) ICT Coordinator
Bernadette Kelly Traceye Rapinett Paul Whitehead Lois Smethurst
TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES: Prep: Angela Maskery Sharyn King Katherine Woskoboenko Grade 1:
Grade 2:
Grade 3:
Grade 4:
Rochelle Jinks Alvina Lim Helen Chisholm Bernadette Kelly
Michele Tan Dianne Cascianelli Lucy Harding
Grade 6:
Robert Kelly Sue Naismith Jackie Pope Paul Whitehead NON GRADED / SPECIALISTS: ICT: Lois Smethurst Performing Arts: Tahnee Planner Library / Asian Studies: Sarah Vine (0.8) Visual Arts: Julie McLeod (0.5) / Heather Mathews (0.5) Physical Education: Nick Pryor Additional Assistance: Rose Scavo (0.6) David Ryan (Term 1) Vanessa Stevens (Term 1)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S Q. Will Timbarra P-9 College be changed into a P-12 College in the future? Sharon Chandler A.To the best of my knowledge the DEECD have no Trish Luke plans to do this. You can always contact Southern Nadine Giaccotto Fiona Froelich (0.6) / Jodie Radings (0.4) B.Metropolitan Region (DEECD) for clarification of C.latest government policy on such matters. Sandra McCrum QUOTABLE QUOTE Kylee Ziino The scary thing about Christmas is not how quickly it seems Lianne Morgan be coming around, but that Santa Claus is the only one who doesn’t seem to be aging!’ Traceye Rapinett Michael Young Gloria Knight To be confirmed HENRY GROSSEK
DIARY DATES Friday 18th November Tuesday 22nd November Wednesday 23rd November Monday 28th November Tuesday 29th November Thursday 1st December Tuesday 6th December
5/6 Interschool Summer Sport 3/4 Joffas Toonschool Prep Myuna Farm Excursion Senior Outdoor & Water Safety Program Prep Polly/Pete‟s Day Show Second-hand Uniform Shop 2:30pm PFA Annual General Meeting 1:30pm 5/6 End of Year Excursion
NOTICES DUE BACK BY Friday 18th November Monday 21st November Tuesday 22nd November Tuesday 29th November Wednesday 30th November
Prep Myuna Farm Excursion Senior Outdoor & Water Safety Program Berwick Lodge Walkathon PFA Nomination Forms Prep Polly/Pete‟s Day Show 5/6 End of Year Excursion
A S S I S TA N T P R I N C I PA L S ’ R E P O RT PFA WALKATHON On Tuesday the school community enjoyed perfect weather conditions for the PFA Walkathon. Staff and students had a great start to their day walking the circuit together. Thank you to all families for sending their children along for the day well prepared for the event and to those who came along to support the students and assist the PFA. A special thank you to Joe, from Mick‟s Fruit World at the Dandenong Market (0413 669 554, for donating the oranges. The children and staff appreciated a refreshing treat at the conclusion of the event. Families are reminded to collect and return sponsorship money to the school by Tuesday 22nd November 2011. We will keep families informed regarding the results of the fundraiser.
CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION – INTEGRATION AIDE/ TEACHER AIDE We have received information about this short course that will be offered at Monash University (Berwick) during February and March 2012. This course is designed for people wishing to work with students with additional learning needs in primary, secondary and specialist schools. Further details can be accessed at www.edu.monash.edu/ shortcourses or by collecting a flyer from our school office.
France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Japan, Scandinavia and the USA 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. For further information visit the website at www.scce.com.au , email to scceaust@scce.com.au or call toll free on 1800 500 501.
CRE CHRISTMAS PRESENTATION The CRE program will culminate in their annual Christmas Presentations to be held on ROAD SAFETY AROUND Tuesday 29th and Wednesday SCHOOLS 30th November 2011. Families of This week some parents have children who attend the CRE raised concerns regarding driver Program are invited to come behaviour in the vicinity of our along and watch the Christmas school, particularly celebration performance. The around the drop off programs involving and pick up zone in Preps (When Jesus Collins Crescent. was Born), Year 1 TRANSITION We are regularly in (The Greatest Next Tuesday we commence contact with the Present) and Year our Prep Transition bylaws officer at the City of 2 (You Are Special) Program for the Casey who randomly patrols the will take place on students enrolled roads around the school. For Tuesday 29th November 2011 for 2012. Week parent information today we between 2:15 and 3:30PM in the One of the program have included a flyer provided to school gymnasium. The Years 3 consists of a child focused tour us by the City of Casey with and 4 performance (The Legend of the school including a visit to reminders about traffic safety of the Three Christmas Trees) the current prep classrooms. around schools. This flyer has will take place on Wednesday The children will be in transition been included with the 30th November between 2:15 groups that have been put newsletter. Please take some and 3:30PM in the school together based on their kinder time to read and discuss this gymnasium. groupings. They will remain in with your children. these groups for Weeks Two and Three to experience TAKE HOME A BIG LYNNE BRENNER activities in the Art Room, Music BROTHER OR BIG SISTER AND Room, Gymnasium and ICT Southern Cross Cultural Centre. In Week Four the Exchange is seeking volunteer DEBBIE CUSACK children will be placed in their host families to host international 2012 class groups for an exchange students arriving in Orientation Session in their 2012 February 2012 for a stay of one classroom. or two semesters. The international students from
My Visit to the Shrine of Remembrance 11/11/11 was a special day for me because I went to the Shrine of Remembrance to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony. I went there because my poster for the Remembrance Day Poster Competition was highly commended and I was invited to attend the ceremony. When my dad and I got there, we saw the parade of the armed forces. I was surprised to see them marching in an orderly manner. After the parade, some very important people spoke about the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for this country. After having some snacks, we went around to look at all the displays. I even got to pat a horse. Inside the visitor centre, a section had replicas of all the medals. There were about 4000 medals in all. We bought a souvenir of “Simpson and Duffy”. Later we joined the poster competition presentation. The winner and their school and highly commended schools were there. I got a bag full of books as my prize. After the presentation we had a private tour around the Shrine with one of the war veterans. We went into a place called the Crypt which had a statue of a father and son. The father was from WW1 and the son was from WW2. The guide told us that there was a bronze casket which stores all the war records and that it would only be opened 100 years after when it was sealed. The lady then took us to a place where a beam of light will fall on a gravestone representing all the unmarked graves overseas. “Greater Love Hath No Man” is the wording written on top of that stone. After the tour we went to the balcony and saw the views of the city. The Shrine has many gardens marking the milestones of the wars and lots of poppies were there. The “Eternal Light” first lit by Queen Elizabeth after WW2 is still kept burning and this is amazing. When we left for home, I felt really proud to have attended this ceremony and I feel that I should serve Australia one day. Kaaviyan Pathmasiri 3M
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 1 st 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.
THINGS TO SAY TO COMMUNICATE “I CAN DO IT”
SCHOOL AWARDS
Congratulations to the following students who received awards over the last week: Jamison PW Riley PC
Stevan PL Saritha PM Ethan PL
Aysha PC
“You think „I can‟, you can! You think „I can‟t‟, you can‟t! “You seem very positive.” “Your body language tells me that you expect to do well.” “You don‟t expect to fail. You project optimism.” “Your optimistic approach helps everyone stay confident.” “I can tell your thoughts aren‟t being helpful to you. What kind of optimistic thinking will help you be more confident?” “I‟m amazed at how you don‟t say „I can‟t‟ so much these days. Your attitude is great!” SCHOOL BANKING
Zachary PM Ryan PW
Last day of School banking will be on Tuesday 6th December 2011. We will resume next year. Thank you to all the students that have participated in the school banking for 2011.
Parents & Friends Association NEXT MEETING: Thursday 1st December 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 29th November 2011 from 2.30pm until 3.15pm.
AGM AGM - Thursday 1st December 2011 at 1.30pm: The Parents and Friends Association will be holding their Annual General Meeting at which Office Bearers for 2012 will be elected. Vacancies exist for all executive positions:
President Vice President Secretary Treasurer It is a condition of election to an office bearer position, and/or voting of these elections, that you register prior to the annual elections being conducted. Registration and Nomination forms are available from the school office. 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.
WALK-A-THON WALK-A-THON: Tally up your completed laps and collect all your very generous donations by Tuesday22nd November 2011. The PFA wish to extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped out for the Walk-a-Thon on Tuesday. It was a great success and all assistance was greatly appreciated. These events are organised to raise funds for our children and to have so much support from our school community is amazing. Thank You!!!!
BILLY G’S COOKIE DOUGH: You will have received your order form for the very famous and yummy Billy G Cookie drive (same as last year). You can thaw and re-freeze this cookie dough several times. These are the easiest biscuits you will ever make!! The kids can be involved, there is no mess, no mixing, barely any dishes!! Scoop and Bake!! There are also Christmas cakes available and lots of great incentive prizes to be won.
Upcoming events DRIVE IN MOVIE NIGHT: In December we will be having another fun filled Drive In Movie Night at Akoonah Park. This is a great opportunity for advertising for your business. If you work for, or own a business, and would like to advertise on the night please email us at blps.pfa@hotmail.com
BUSINESS ADVERTISING
Robert Day Sales Consultant Dandenong Hyundai 179 Princes Highway, Dandenong 3175 Telephone: (03) 8791 3199 Fax: (03) 9791 6302 Mobile: 0423 699 279 Email: robertday@danhyun.com.au Web: www.dandenonghyundai.com.au