PRINCIPAL’S REPORT NEWSLETTER N0.8 22ND MARCH 2012

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.

AFTER SCHOOL CHINESE

PROGRAM

School council considered a request

from the Xin Shan Chinese Language

& Culture School Inc to commence

a voluntary Chinese Language

(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

school‟s involvement with the

Commonwealth Government‟s

Engage with Asia Program, school

council unanimously approved this

request.

Attached are both an information

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…….

DIARY DATES Friday 23rd March Grade 5/6 Bigbuzz Productions: Our Story

Easter Disco

Tuesday 27th March Hot Dog Lunch

District Trials

Wednesday 28th March Grade 2 Wilson Botanic Park Picnic

Thursday 29th March Grade 1 Wilson Botanic Park Picnic

Friday 30th March Term 1 finishes 2:30pm

Monday 16th April Term 2 commences

Friday 20th April 5/6 Interschool Winter Sport

NOTICES DUE BACK Thursday 22nd March Easter Disco

Friday 23rd March District Trials

Grade 1 & 2 Wilson Botanic Park Picnic

Monday 26th March 5/6 Interschool Winter Sport - Code of Conduct/Medical Form

5/6 Camp Sovereign Hill Deposit

Wednesday 28th March Miscellaneous group Photos

SCHOOL AWARDS

Congratulations to the following students who received awards over the last week:

Senilka PW

Brody PM

Aaron PW

Alice PM

Joshua S PM

Michelle PS

Jadyn PS

Chelsea PK

Abdul PK

FRIDAY 30TH MARCH 2012 - TERM 1 FINISHES AT 2.30PM

MONDAY 16TH APRIL 2012 - TERM 2 COMMENCES

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

PRICIPAL’S REPORT CONTINUED…..

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

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.

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.

NATIONAL RIDE 2 SCHOOL

DAY

Tomorrow, Friday 23rd March 2012

is National Ride 2 School Day.

Children are encouraged to ride or

scoot to school to recognise this

national day and promote safe and

healthy transport habits. Parents

are reminded that our younger

students (under the

age of 9 years) have

a limited

understanding of

road safety

behaviours and

should be

accompanied by an adult if they are

making their way to school „on

wheels‟. Also all students „on

wheels‟ are required by law to wear

helmets. Please note that all

scooters and bikes must be secured

in the bike shed and will not be

allowed to be stored in the

classrooms.

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

week. In negotiating

with Jude Fina Foods as

to how the school could

support them in

continuing to provide a

canteen service for our

students, consideration was given to

selecting the most popular days for

lunch orders. School Council has

also approved a modified canteen

menu which will be sent home to all

families next week.

We thank families for their support

and understanding of this change and

trust that you will continue to

patronise the canteen to ensure that

this service continues.

MICHAEL GROSE

PARENTING TIPS

This week we have included another

„Insight‟ article from Michael Grose

entitled „Making school drop-offs

hassle free‟. This flyer addresses the

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

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT

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

On the Thursday 15th 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. He

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

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 - Last day to return raffle books

- BLPS Easter Disco

Monday 26th March 2012 - Easter Raffle drawn at assembly

Tuesday 27th March 2012 - 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

Hospital Day

Tuesday 20th March 2012 was Hospital Day and Grade 6K

went to visit Prep W for a „Buddy Bandaging‟ 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! Jairden and Kyle Bella and Coby

Berwick Lodge PS OSHC phone: 9769 8251/ 0403050165 Coordinator: Dorien Erasmus

Early Finish Next week, Friday 30

th 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 – 13

th April (excluding Easter

weekend - 6th and 9

th April 2012). Below are a summary of the activities. Visit www.campaustralia.com.au to enrol.

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

Monday, 2 April Monday, 9 April

Tuesday, 3 April Tuesday, 10 April

Wednesday, 4 April Wednesday, 11 April

Thursday, 5 April Club Based: Eggstravaganza

Thursday, 12 April Club Based: The Butterfly Appeal

Friday, 6 April Friday, 13 April

AFTER SCHOOL CARE

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

Easter basket Easter bonnet Envelope bunny Bunny Mask Bunny Bunting

COMMUNITY ADVERTISING

Timbarra Auskick

Sunday clinic conducted at Kalora Park,

Fox Rd Narre Warren North

10:00am to 11:30am

Register and pay online at www.aflauskick.com.au before

30th March 2012 to be eligible for free footy tickets

Pack pickup day is 15th April 2012 @ Kalora

Park from 10 to 11:30am.

Clinic starts 22nd April 2012

LOST GRADE 6 WINDCHEATER

Grade 6 windcheater lost, Size 12 with CB initials on

label. Please return to Chelsea 6W or call

Belle 0425 757 928.

SIGN WRITER WANTED

If you know anyone who does sign writing,

could you please contact the Berwick Lodge

Primary School office on 9707 1766 for more

details

BUSINESS 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

PERSONAL TRAINING

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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

In2Shape Fitness Brings you

Monday 7:00pm

Maramba Primary School, Narre Warren

Plus

Outdoor Group Exercise Classes

Thursday 7:00pm

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COMMUNITY ADVERTISING NARRE WARREN-BERWICK BLUE LIGHT DISCO

BERWICK LEISURE CENTRE,

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SATURDAY 31st March 2012

(NO APRIL DISCO)

For Students in years 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8 only

Times 6:00pm to 10:00pm

COST: $10.00

NO PASS OUTS

Any enquires to Narre Warren

Police Station 9705 3111

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