NEWSLETTER N0.8 SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2012 At last Monday‟s AGM our Office Bearers for the next 12 months were elected: President: Jodie Norton Vice President: Michelle Sarjeant Minutes Secretary: Lois Smethurst Correspondence Secretary: Prasad Sujenthiran Thanks were extended to all members of our outgoing council – with both Lesley Lees and Michael Tabone retiring from council.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
(Mandarin) & Culture program for our students at our school in term 2. Council was very impressed with credentials of the Xin Shan School, which included a glowing reference from our Minister for Education, Martin Dixon and references from schools at which Xin Shan provides this educational service. It was noted that the cost of the tuition per child per term is certainly not expensive in comparison with other language programs, especially given that class sizes will be capped at 20 students. Currently, both Alkira and Kambrya Secondary Colleges offer Chinese (Mandarin) language programs as do several of the local private schools. With this in mind, and given the increasing importance of China in our region, in addition to our AFTER SCHOOL CHINESE school‟s involvement with the PROGRAM Commonwealth Government‟s School council considered a request Engage with Asia Program, school from the Xin Shan Chinese Language council unanimously approved this & Culture School Inc to commence request. a voluntary Chinese Language Attached are both an information
22ND MARCH 2012 brochure on this program and an Expression of Interest form for you to complete if interested in this valuable new curriculum initiative we are supporting. FIRE SERVICES UPGRADE Earlier this week we met with personnel from GHD, the company contracted to upgrade our fire services system. In effect what they will be doing over the next two months approximately, is that they will be digging a trench system, encircling our school and installing new water pipes and fire hydrants to ensure that in the event of a fire, there is high enough water pressure in our system to enable the fire brigade to effectively put out the fire. Continued…….
PRICIPAL’S REPORT CONTINUED….. This will be staged process, with GHD liaising closely with us and ensuring that everyone still has satisfactory and safe entry to and exit from the school. Signage and temporary barriers will be erected and maintained throughout this program. We will all certainly be inconvenienced while the work is being done, but we have no alternative. I will keep you updated. At this stage we expect work to commence during the school holidays. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q. If I get booked by City of Casey Bylaws Officers for alleged traffic offences in the vicinity of our school during school hours, what can I do? A. My suggestion is to pay them unless you believe you have a genuine grievance. In that situation it would be wise to take the matter up with the City of Casey. I am not really in a position to be of much help. Sometimes parents come to me asking for my help, but the truth of the matter is that it‟s not really my call. QUOTABLE QUOTE ‘We all like to be popular, but how often do we ask at what price?’
HENRY GROSSEK
FRIDAY 30TH MARCH 2012 - TERM 1 FINISHES AT 2.30PM MONDAY 16TH APRIL 2012 - TERM 2 COMMENCES DIARY DATES Friday 23rd March Tuesday 27th March Wednesday 28th March Thursday 29th March Friday 30th March Monday 16th April Friday 20th April
Grade 5/6 Bigbuzz Productions: Our Story Easter Disco Hot Dog Lunch District Trials Grade 2 Wilson Botanic Park Picnic Grade 1 Wilson Botanic Park Picnic Term 1 finishes 2:30pm Term 2 commences 5/6 Interschool Winter Sport
NOTICES DUE BACK Thursday 22nd March Friday 23rd March Monday 26th March Wednesday 28th March
Easter Disco District Trials Grade 1 & 2 Wilson Botanic Park Picnic 5/6 Interschool Winter Sport - Code of Conduct/Medical Form 5/6 Camp Sovereign Hill Deposit Miscellaneous group Photos
SCHOOL AWARDS
Congratulations to the following students who received awards over the last week:
Senilka PW
Aaron PW Abdul PK Chelsea PK
Michelle PS Jadyn PS Joshua S PM
Alice PM
Brody PM
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT STUDENT WELLBEING NEWS – LIFE EDUCATION VAN Last week in our newsletter we mentioned a forthcoming visit from the Life Education Mobile Classroom. However, due to upcoming building renovations we will have limited access to the staff carpark and are unable to accommodate the large mobile classroom. Consequently we have cancelled our Life Education visit for 2012 and will reschedule for next year.
CANTEEN SERVICE CHANGES We wish to advise families that as of the commencement of Term 2 our school canteen will operate three days per week. Canteen days will now be Monday, Thursday and Friday. This decision was made at School Council as a result of discussions with Jude Fina Foods (canteen operators) who have advised us of an overall reduction in daily takings to a level where it is no longer financially viable to operate the canteen four days per NATIONAL RIDE 2 SCHOOL week. In negotiating DAY with Jude Fina Foods as Tomorrow, Friday 23rd March 2012 to how the school could is National Ride 2 School Day. support them in Children are encouraged to ride or continuing to provide a scoot to school to recognise this canteen service for our national day and promote safe and students, consideration was given to healthy transport habits. Parents selecting the most popular days for are reminded that our younger lunch orders. School Council has students (under the also approved a modified canteen age of 9 years) have menu which will be sent home to all a limited families next week. understanding of We thank families for their support road safety and understanding of this change and behaviours and trust that you will continue to should be patronise the canteen to ensure that accompanied by an adult if they are this service continues. making their way to school „on wheels‟. Also all students „on MICHAEL GROSE wheels‟ are required by law to wear PARENTING TIPS helmets. Please note that all This week we have included another scooters and bikes must be secured „Insight‟ article from Michael Grose in the bike shed and will not be entitled „Making school drop-offs allowed to be stored in the hassle free‟. This flyer addresses the classrooms. concerns parents may have in achieving an easy separation from
their children on arrival at school. Michael offers some practical suggestions on how parents can deal with these issues. We encourage parents to read his advice and give it some consideration. Parents are reminded that they can access Michael‟s website at www.parentingideas.com.au SOMERS CAMP 2012 Yesterday students in Years 5 and 6 were given information regarding Somers School Camp which will run from the 17th to the 25th July 2012. Schools in our district are offered the opportunity to send students to this camp biannually. It is a excellent chance for our students to meet and mix with students from other local primary schools and participate in a range of activities including bush cooking, boating, surfing, drama, indoor rock climbing, ropes course and challenge swing. The camp also houses a variety of animals and birds and each day the children are involved in feeding and caring for these animals. Families who would like their children to have the opportunity to attend the 2012 Somers Camp should return the expression of interest form that was sent home by Monday 26th March 2012.
LYNNE BRENNER & DEBBIE CUSACK
Miscellaneous Group Photos Order envelopes were sent home last week for the miscellaneous group photos (e.g. school leaders, sport teams). These photos are on display in the office window of Grade 5C, room 20, adjacent to the front door of the Grade 5/6 building. All completed photo orders need to be returned to your class teacher no later than Wednesday 28th March 2012.
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
SCHOOL COUNCIL PRESIDENT’S REPORT Welcome everyone to my School Council President‟s Report. Our School Council Annual General Meeting and March Meeting was held on Monday 19th March 2012. School Council Team for 2012 President: Jodie Norton Vice-President: Michelle Sarjeant Minute Secretary: Lois Smethurst Correspondence Secretary: Prashad Sujenthiran Parents:
Craig Benedick Carolyn Mehr Karen Tsekouras Heather Cross Carly Baker (PFA)
DEECD:
Henry Grossek (Principal) Lynne Brenner Sue Naismith
The school council consists of eight parent members including a PFA Co-optee and four DEECD (staff) members including the principal. Over the next few weeks, we will introduce our team members further. School Council Meeting Some of the items that were discussed and tabled at council include: Approval of our 2011 Annual Report to the School Community. This report will be made available to all families via our school website. It will also be presented on the My Schools Website. We are very proud of the results we have achieved in 2011. Congratulations to all of our school community. Fire Services Upgrade – Henry has discussed this further in his Principal‟s Report. The successful launch of our Better Buddies Program on Tuesday 6th March 2012 with our purple day. We have had some great feedback from our staff and students. All our Prep students have been very excited to receive their “Buddy Bears”. The representatives from the Alannah and Madeline Foundation were very impressed with Berwick Lodge Primary School and the programs we have in place. Canteen Arrangements in Term 2 – Lynne & Debbie have discussed this further in their Assistant Principal‟s Report. The Department of Education Somers School Camp Program is being offered to our Grade 5 and 6 students this year. This is a ten day camp and heavily subsided by the DEECD. Expressions of interest forms were sent home yesterday with the Grade 5 and 6 students. If you have any further queries, please contact Debbie Cusack. An external auditor conducted a Conditions Assessment Audit in March. As part of the audit, a survey from the School Principal perspective highlighting the schools concern was also completed. We look forward to receiving our customized school asset management plan in due course. This plan will be used to prioritize maintenance works for the school. As always if you wish to discuss any issue, please feel free to contact me or any of the other members of the school council. I can be contacted via the school office or you can email me at norton.jodie.j@edumail.vic.gov.au. Jodie Norton School Council President
NATIONAL YOUNG LEADERS DAY th
On the Thursday 15 of March 2012 all of our Grade Six captains went to the Melbourne Convention Centre for National Young Leaders Day. We went there to listen to some amazing and inspiring people talk to us about leadership. People from AFL footy stars to the blind were there to inspire us. So here are some of the stories they told us about their life and being a leader. The first speaker was Mike Martin. He was the founder of National Young Leaders Day and he talked us through being a leader. Mike talked about the influence, we as leaders have. Many inspiring people such as Lady Gaga, Anna Bligh, Cosentino and other great people have influenced others. He talked and talked about influence and his main thought was to keep inspiring people and remember the influence you are putting onto other people. He always said to follow your dreams and influence your fellow class mates. The second person who spoke to us was Marita Cheng. She is the current Young Australian of the Year. She developed „robogals‟ which is where she tries to get girls to work in the engineering field. In fact that is why she was awarded the Australian of the Year award, for her efforts in encouraging young woman to take up a career in engineering. These are some of the main things she told us… You don‟t need to be special to be a leader Everyone can do something to help Inspire others No matter what people think of you, be yourself and be positive Good results make you and other people believe. Marita Cheng really inspired us because she told us all that anyone can be a leader, so it made us realise we can do anything if we believe in ourselves. The quote she left us with was “Anything your mind imagines man can do”. The third guest speaker was Joy Smithers. She is an actress and she is the founder of the Shades4Aids Foundation along with Hope for Cambodian Children. Joy Smithers had a very tough childhood as her mother and her two sisters had a very sick illness. She shared all of the stories that she had experienced through in her tough life. She also had a very special and sad story that she shared with us on the day. When she started her foundation, some of the staff that were over in Cambodia had a man that had walked for three days, to bring his son that was only a couple of months old in a plastic bag. The father needed help because the mother had died at childbirth. The staff were very sad to hear the news so they took the boy and kept the boy for a few days but then brought him to one of the orphanages in Cambodia. One of the midwives took him and loved him so much that she kept him. Four months later, the father had rang up and asked if he was okay. The staff were very pleased to inform him that he was. The next three days, he walked again and brought all of his four daughters. Joy Smithers was surprised but upset that he had gone through this trouble. This is how Shades4Aids was an inspiration to Cambodian families. Joy Smithers told us that she was also a plane announcer on Qantas Airlines. She was very talented as she was an actress. Her message was that if you have a dream, there is nothing that can stop that, keep on trying your best to achieve your dream. One of the very inspirational speakers that spoke to us was Lorin Nicholson. Unfortunately from a young age Lorin only had 10% eyesight and struggled to learn because he had to use a special magnified glass to work at school and he was always the last one finished. One day Lorin said to his friends at school he was going to ride to the beach. Now Lorin‟s house was about a three day bike ride away from the beach and his friend‟s responses were “you can‟t do that “,”even if you could see you wouldn‟t be able to do it” and so Lorin went home and spoke to his dad about his idea. His dad thought it was a great idea. H e thought it was such a great idea that he went with Lorin but except he drove the car while Lorin rode on his bicycle. Lorin set out the next day to the beach. After the first day Lorin and his dad set camp somewhere for the night. After 3 days of exhausting riding over steep hills and under the hot sun Lorin and his dad arrived at the beach. Lorin was so excited that he wanted to go home straight away so he could tell his mum what he achieved but his dad insisted he went for a swim after all the hard work he had done. So after a swim Lorin and his dad set off home. When they got home Lorin‟s family congratulated him and he felt very proud of himself. When he went back to school he told all his friends and they were amazed when they heard what he did, so amazed that one of his friends stood up in front of assembly and told everyone what Lorin did. The next thing you know everyone was standing and clapping at the big achievement Lorin made. So that just goes to prove that no matter who or what you are if you believe in yourself and don‟t listen to what others think you can accomplish anything as long as you be persistent and don‟t give up. You can go to his website blindguitarist.com or search „blindcourage‟ on YouTube to see this inspirational man. The last person that talked to us on the day was captain of North Melbourne football team, Andrew Swallow. Andrew came to talk to us and tell us his stories about what he used to do when he was in the army before he was a football captain. Andrew told us stories and things about his days in the army before he started to play football. About that, Andrew had always dreamed of being a football player ever since he was a little boy. He told us that to achieve your goals you need to work hard and stay on task. He also told us that just because you have achieved one dream doesn‟t mean you can‟t achieve others. Put a lot of effort into what you‟re trying to achieve. Dream big, lead by example, be persistent. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our day at national Young Leader‟s Day and would like to thank Mrs Naismith, Mrs Pope and Mrs Hunt for taking us on the day. By Lilli 6W, Shenelle 6N, Ashlea 6W and Hayley 6W
Hospital Day
Jairden and Kyle
Tuesday 20th March 2012 was Hospital Day and Grade 6K went to visit Prep W for a „Buddy Bandagingâ€&#x; competition. The grade 6 students bandaged up their Buddy in toilet paper and together they created a story of how they received their injuries. It was a lot of fun!
Bella and Coby
Parents & Friends Association Easter Raffle Big thanks to everyone who has returned raffle books and to all the families that have donated to the prize hampers. At this stage we have 8 wonderful prizes and the winners will be drawn at assembly on Monday 26th March 2012. Good luck to everyone who has a ticket!!! If you have not yet returned your book there is still time. If you have been unable to sell the tickets please return the book anyway, in the interest of fairness it would be great if we could account for each of the 455 books that were sent home. Please return all ticket stubs, unsold tickets and money raised by Friday 23rd March 2012.
Hot Dog Day Orders for Hot Dog Day are closed. From the amount of orders received it is obvious that this is a very popular event!! There were over 30 amazing parents who put their hands up to help on the day which is fantastic. As we can't fit 30 people in the kitchen we won't be able to use everyone but each offer of help is appreciated. If I have not been in touch with you please accept my thanks, days like this would not run without parent support. I know how much the kids love seeing mum or dad helping out around the school. Rest assured that there will be more opportunities coming up and a different group of parents will be called upon next time :)
Disco Once again there have been an overwhelming number of parents offer to come along and assist with supervision, numbers were particularly high for the junior event. We are still finalising numbers and will hopefully be in touch with everyone by Friday morning to confirm. Can't wait to get down and boogie in my bunny ears!! Don't forget there will be prizes for best costume and best dancer. The theme is Easter so get your creative thinking caps on, I can't wait to see what you all come up with (that includes you parent helpers)!!!
Important Dates Friday 23rd March 2012 Monday 26th March 2012 Tuesday 27th March 2012
- Last day to return raffle books - BLPS Easter Disco - Easter Raffle drawn at assembly - Hot Dog Day
Confidence means believing you can do it. It means not being afraid to make mistakes, to try something new, or to express an opinion
Berwick Lodge PS
OSHC phone: 9769 8251/ 0403050165 Coordinator: Dorien Erasmus
Early Finish Next week, Friday 30th March, school will finish at 2.30pm and the OSHC program will operate from 2.30pm – 6.30pm. Please ensure your child is booked in if you want to make use of our After School Care program on the last day of term. Holiday Club Highlights! Don’t miss out on our fantastic Vacation Program at Berwick Lodge PS from 2 nd April – 13th April (excluding Easter weekend - 6th and 9th April 2012). Below are a summary of the activities. Visit www.campaustralia.com.au to enrol. Monday, 2 April
Monday, 9 April
Tuesday, 3 April
Tuesday, 10 April
Wednesday, 4 April
Wednesday, 11 April
Thursday, 5 April Club Based: Eggstravaganza Friday, 6 April
Thursday, 12 April Club Based: The Butterfly Appeal Friday, 13 April
The vacation program will operate from 6.45am – 6.30pm. 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. Hours of operation Before school care: 6:45am – 8:45am
After school care:
3.30pm – 6.30pm
Star of the week: Damien M 4K: For following the OSHC rules and being a kind and polite person. WHAT’S ON NEXT WEEK Easter AFTER MONDAY TUESDAY SCHOOL Easter basket Easter bonnet CARE
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Envelope bunny
Bunny Mask
Bunny Bunting
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COMMUNITY ADVERTISING 2012 SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION St Michael‟s Catholic Church, Berwick, invites Catholic children currently in Year 6 or above to prepare for the sacrament of Confirmation. Preparation begins with a Parents Meeting on 24th April, either 1.30 pm or 7.30 pm at St. Michael‟s Stadium. Attendance to one of these meetings is compulsory if your child is to participate this year. For more information, please contact St Michael‟s Parish, Berwick, on 9707 1355 or email secrtary@stmichaelsparish.org.au
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