berwick lodge primary school, newsletter, may 2012
DESCRIPTION
Berwick Lodge Primary School, Newsletter, May 2012TRANSCRIPT
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT NEWSLETTER N0.13 10TH MAY 2012
STUDENT MATERIALS
CHARGES (FEES) 2012
Many thanks to the many families
who have paid their 2012 Student
Materials Charge ($200.00 per
student). This charge is a
compulsory school council levy that
schools can charge parents.
Unfortunately, a significant number
of families are still to pay this charge.
I understand that some parents have
the view that state education is or
should be ‗free‘ and
choose not to pay
this charge.
Unfortunately, this is
a short sighted
approach that in an
overall sense doesn‘t benefit all
students including their own. We
have no way of making up the
shortfall except for cutting school
program budgets in other areas to
ensure that all students have their
basic learning materials. We do well
with what we have in the way of
finance, but we certainly are not a
‗rich‘ school that can afford to have
significant numbers of parents not
paying their child/ren‘s materials
charge. Please consider this carefully
– it does make a great difference to
our school in having all parents pay
this charge. Should you be
experiencing financial difficulties at
the moment, please contact me and
I am only too willing to arrange a
confidential meeting with you
discuss a suitable payment plan if
that would help.
100% MELBOURNE
Our school has been honoured to
have 6 school community members
participating in the 100% Melbourne
production at the Melbourne Town
Hall over 3 nights last weekend.
Jolene O‘Halloran, Noah
O‘Halloran, Fascaole Lokiru, Sean &
Shahara Weerakoon and I were cast
members for this unique
international concert. The concept
for such a production emanated
from Europe – Berlin was the
inaugural city for these productions
and Melbourne is in fact the fourth
city to participate. In essence 100
Melbournians who statistically
represent our city demographically
and who have a link of some kind
with two other members – creating
a chain effect, participate in an
entertaining 90 minute program that
reveals their views about a wide
range of social issues. In addition,
individual stories about the lives of
some of the cast are told, often
highly evocative in nature. We
practised in for 3 hours a night and
4 hours on the weekend in the
fortnight leading up to the concert.
It was a gruelling schedule, yet it was
a lot of fun and very much a
privilege to be involved.
Continued...
DIARY DATES Thursday 10th May St Margaret‘s Netball Competition
Friday 11th May Second Hand Uniform 3pm - 4pm
Wednesday 16th May PFA Meeting 9.30am Room 31
Friday 18th May 5/6 Interschool Winter Sport (home)
Wednesday 23rd May Fun Maths Activity Day
Thursday 24th May Prep basil Safety House
Tuesday 29th May Sprinter & Friends
Thursday 2nd August Australian Mathematics Competition
NOTICES DUE BACK Thursday 10th May 5/6 Non Participation Forms
Friday 11th May 5/6 Camp Forms
Monday 14th May Social Club Books
Friday 18th May Fun Maths Activity Day
Year 7 Transition Forms
Australian Maths Competition
Prep Basil Safety House
Thursday 24th May Sprinter & Friends
Wednesday 30th May Power of One
Friday 1st June Prep - 2 Swimming
Wednesday 6th June 5/6 Camp Balance
Thursday 7th June Somers Camp
SCHOOL AWARDS
Congratulations to the following students who received awards over the last week:
Justin PW
Kyra PM
Adam PW
Joshua PM
Chad PK
Rad PK
Jacob PK
Jack PS
Hayley PS
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT COMTINUED….. . FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q . Is it essential that I attend parent/teacher information meetings?
A. No, but I highly recommend that you do. I was discussing this with a parent the other day and they told me that
they didn‘t attend these meetings because everything was going well. They didn‘t see the need. I suggested that
there were other benefits – I recall from my own childhood that my parents always attended these meetings,
though I was doing well at school. The important point from my perspective as a child then was that mum and dad
were taking a very active interest in my education and when they relayed good news (mostly!) back to me after
chatting with my teachers, I was very chuffed.
QUOTABLE QUOTE
‘A sense of entitlement is a very personal thing – very personal indeed .’
HENRY GROSSEK
SUPERVISION BEFORE AND
AFTER SCHOOL Recently we have noticed that many
of our students are arriving at school very early and remaining in the school
grounds until late in the afternoon. Parents are reminded that the
yard is supervised by staff between 8:45 and 9:00am in the
morning and 3:30 and 3:45pm after school. Students in the
playground outside of these times are at risk. If it is necessary for children
to be at school either early or late, then parents should
consider enrolment in the OSHC Program or make other
arrangements.
Children are welcome to play on their
allocated playground when they arrive at school in the
morning, or if they are waiting to be picked up after school. They should
not be playing on the playgrounds of other levels unless their parents are
supervising them.
In the coming weeks we will be taking
note of students who regularly arrive at school early in the morning and
parents will be contacted to discuss and resolve this issue. If for any
reason your child has not been picked up by 3:45pm they will be directed to
the front office area and parents will be contacted. When parents arrive to
collect their children after 3:45pm we request that they come in to the admin area and inform our office staff
that they have arrived. These measures are not meant to cause any
inconvenience. They are for the safety and security of all of our
students.
CRE TRAINING There is always a need for volunteer
teachers and helpers for CRE classes in local primary schools. All
volunteers are required to undertake training to prepare them for their involvement in delivering the CRE
program. For interested parties a training session will be offered in the
Hampton Park area on Saturday 26th May. This session will be taken by
Robyn Renahan-Miles. If you are
interested please contact Robyn by email at
[email protected] or phone 0418357925. Robyn is also
happy to organise training at different times to suit volunteers.
MOTHERS’ DAY STALL
On behalf of the whole school community we extend a big thank you to our hard working PFA and their
helpers who ran a most successful Mothers‘ Day stall today for all of our
students. There were many very satisfied customers, and we do hope
that all of our Berwick Lodge mothers enjoy their gifts and have a wonderful
day on Sunday. Also to all of our BLPS staff members
who do such a great job balancing their role at school with their
important role as a mother at home….Happy Mothers‘ Day.
PARENTS VICTORIA ONLINE CONFERENCE
Parents of primary and secondary students are warmly invited to take
part in the sixth annual online conference to be
held by Parents Victoria. The
conference will be held non-stop on
the internet during Education Week
(Sunday 20th May to Saturday 26th May). No special
software is needed, other than an internet-connected computer and a browser. The online discussions will
be very easy to join in, and guidelines about how to participate will be
provided. Join in for all days, just some days, or even a few hours,
depending on your lifestyle and other commitments.
The conference will feature hosted ‗live‘ daily discussions on seven key
educational issues, with one issue – school payments/school funding –
open for discussion all week. Registration is free. The Parents
Victoria Online Conference 2012 website will be open from 6AM on
20th May at http://www.cybertext.net.au/pv/
STUDENT HEALTH
This week we have been notified of a case of chicken pox in 4K.
For your information the following advice about chicken pox has been
sourced from the Department of Health website:
Chickenpox generally presents
with a low-grade fever, malaise and a rash.
The lesions usually appear in
three to four crops. They are most numerous on the trunk
and less so on the face, scalp, limbs and mucous membranes of the mouth.
The infectious period is usually
for one to five days before the onset of the rash, continuing
until all the lesions are crusted.
The incubation period is from two to three weeks, although
this may be prolonged for immunosuppressed persons.
School exclusion differs according to case or contact status:
cases should be excluded until
full recovery or for at least five days after the first eruption
appears. Some remaining scabs are not a reason for continued exclusion
any child with an immune
deficiency or receiving chemotherapy should be
excluded for their own protection. Otherwise contacts
are not excluded.
INSIGHT EDUCATION CENTRE FOR THE BLIND AND VISION IMPAIRED
Insight is an independent school established to provide viable and
important educational placement option for Victorian students who are
blind and vision impaired. Insight Primary School is due to open in July
2012. They are seeking enrolment of blind and legally blind students who
may be struggling academically and/or socially in their current schools, or
who would benefit from intensive instruction and support in literacy and
numeracy, using alternate formats (Braille, large print, tactile) and using
assistive technologies to access
curriculum.
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT
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
CANTEEN IS ONLY OPEN
MONDAY,
THURSDAY &
FRIDAYS
SCHOOL BANKING The School Banking program includes an exciting Rewards Program designed to encourage children to get into the habit of making regular saving. Every time your child makes a deposit at school they receive a silver coloured Dollarmites token. The first token will be received upon the first deposit at school. Once your child has individually saved 10 tokens they can redeem them for an exclusive Dollarmites reward item. Students will have lots of fun saving their tokens for these cool rewards items. School Banking is also a great fundraiser for our school. The school receives $5 when children make their first deposit at school and a commission on every deposit made through the School Banking program. Taking part in School Banking is easy.
If your child has an existing Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account they can start banking straight away. They just need to bring their deposit in every week using their Dollarmites deposit wallet. If your child has misplaced their Dollarmites deposit book or deposit wallet, they can request a new one from either the local branch or contact the School Banking Co-ordinator.
If your child does not have a Youthsaver account, you can open one at any Commonwealth Bank branch, no forms to fill in! Alternatively, if you are an existing Commonwealth Bank customer with access to NetBank you can apply online. Another option is to download a paper-based application form from commbank.com.au/schoolbanking. Please note this option may take up to 2 weeks before a Dollarmites wallet and deposit book is sent to your home address to start banking at school.
Inquiries can be made by contacting Kay Berry-Smith via email at [email protected] or phone
0452449663.
COMMUNITY WORKER TRAINEE We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a community worker trainee who will
be completing his final work placement at our school. Francis Nimaya has been undertaking a community worker course at Chisholm Institute and will be placed at our school for three days a
week over the next three months. During this time Francis will work under the supervision of our staff with small groups and/or individual students and may contact families of students who he is
working with as part of his role. The focus of his work is the development of social skills and provision of support for students with social and emotional needs. If you have any queries regarding the work to be undertaken by Francis please contact Debbie Cusack.
LYNNE BRENNER & DEBBIE CUSACK
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT CONTINUED….
SCHOOL COUNCIL PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Welcome everyone to my School Council President‘s Report.
SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING
Our School Council May meeting was held on Monday night. Some of the items that were discussed and tabled at council
include:
Junior School Council Presentation. We had two members of our Junior School Council Team, Jackson 6N and Kayla 6P,
attend our School Council to present the JSC fundraising ideas for Term 2. It was great to hear their ideas for
raising money this term for our sponsored World Vision child.
National Buddy Day—1st June, 2012. This is a national community day being held supported by the Alannah & Madeline
Foundation‘s Better Buddies Framework and the NAB. To help support them with this day and promote and participate in
National Buddy Day, the AMF have appointed an Ambassador School in each state. It is wonderful to announce that Berwick
Lodge Primary School has been selected to be the Ambassador School in Victoria. We are going to
have lots planned in the lead up to and on National Buddy Day including the ―secret handshake‖.
Please keep watching the newsletter for further information.
Mandarin Chinese After School Classes. We currently have 15 students enrolled in this voluntary
program and everyone involved, staff, students and parents are very pleased with how the program has
begun. If you would like to enroll your child into this program for Term 3, please leave your details at
the office.
Annual audit of the playground equipment was conducted at the end of April. The verbal report at the time indicated
there were no urgent requirements and the written report will be forwarded in the next two weeks. Any recommendations
will be acted upon.
Endorsement of parent helpers for Grade 5/6 Camps in June.
WHAT DOES OUR SCHOOL COUNCIL DO?
As previously mentioned our school council consists of eight parent members including a PFA Co-optee and four DEECD
(staff) members including the principal. The team is listed in the directory below and I will again be profiling the team in
future newsletters.
A school council is a legally formed body that is the major governing body of the school. It plays an important role in school
accountability and improvement processes as well as endorsing key school planning, evaluation and reporting documents. It is
important to note that a school council does not manage the running of the school. The Principal and his team manage this
area of operations.
Some the of roles that school council participate in are:
Establish the broad direction and vision of the school
Develop, review and update school policies
Approve the annual budget and monitor expenditure
Maintain the school‘s grounds and facilities
Report annually to the school community and DEECD
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 [email protected].
Jodie Norton School Council President
SCHOOL COUNCIL DIRECTORY
President: Jodie Norton Principal: Henry Grossek
Vice-President: Michelle Sarjeant DEECD Members: Lynne Brenner
Minute Secretary: Lois Smethurst Sue Naismith
Correspondence Sec.: Prashad Sujenthiran
Parent Members: Craig Benedick PFA Co-Optee: Carly Baker
Carolyn Mehr
Karen Tsekouras
Heather Cross
Contact Details: Phone: 9707 1766 Fax: 9796 2198
Email: [email protected]
2013 YEAR 7 TRANSITION NEWS
All Year 6 students have now received their
Applications forms for Year 7.
Please read the information carefully before completing the application form.
All forms MUST BE RETURNED to your child’s class teacher
BY FRIDAY 18th MAY 2012.
If details are incorrect on the top part of the
application form please contact the school office to
update your information. Any queries can be directed to Mrs Sue Naismith, Rm 24 or by phone on
9707 1766.
Many local secondary schools hold
Information Evenings for prospective families at this time of the year.
All Grade 5 and 6 parents are strongly encouraged to attend these
information sessions to find out about their local secondary schools.
AUSTRALIAN MATHEMATICS
COMPETITION
The Australian Mathematics Competition Awards is a
competition open to any student in Grades 3 - 6.
Following our successes in past years, we are pleased to
announce that we will once again be
offering the opportunity for Grade
3 - 6 students to participate in this
competition. All students who
participate will receive a certificate
showing their level of achievement
and a detailed report of their
performance on each problem with
comparative statistics.
The competition will be undertaken at school on
Thursday 2nd August 2012. The cost for entering the
competition is $5.50 per student. If you are interested in
having your child/children participate in this
competition, please complete the reply slip below, include
the registration fees and return to your child‘s class
teacher by Friday 18th May 2012.
Should you have any further queries about the competition
please do not hesitate to
contact Mr. Paul Whitehead in Room 18.
Forms are available from the office.
Participation in the competition is NOT compulsory!
(Only children in Grade 3-6 are eligible to enrol).
Thank you to the 5/6 parents
who have been paying for the
Sovereign Hill Camp.
A reminder that the forms are due back by
tomorrow (Friday 11th May 2012).
The final camp payment is due by
Wednesday 6th June 2012.
Thank you
Jackie Pope
Event Coordinator
DEFINITION OF ORGANISATION:
Young children who are organised plan to do their best in attempting new tasks
and activities. They listen carefully to what their teachers and parents want them
to do. Children who are organised use their time carefully by getting their work
and chores done before they play. Organisation also means that children take
care of their things and put things away where they belong after they have
finished using them. They also try to be tidy and clean.
Parents & Friends Association
Mothers Day Stall The Mothers Day Stall on Wednesday was a great success due in large part to the wonderful parent helpers who gave up their time to assist on the day. Big thanks go out to all the wonderful Mums and Dad who were there manning the
stalls, your energy and enthusiasm was fantastic!! Equally big thanks go to all the volunteers who were not called upon this time. Once again we were overwhelmed with support and simply could not use
everyone. The helpers where randomly selected from each year level and we had great representation across all year levels. I endeavored to get in touch with everyone prior to the event, if you were
overlooked please accept my apologies and appreciation. Thanks also to the classroom teachers. We are aware these events can be disruptive and your support is invaluable!!
Any children who were absent on Wednesday will be given an opportunity to select their gifts when they return to school.
There are still a number of gifts available to purchase and these will be on sale at the Second Hand Uniform Shop in room 31 this Friday 11th May 2012 from 3-4pm. There is a wonderful selection to choose from and at only $3 per gift you can't go wrong :)
Second Had Uniform Shop Huge apologies for the mix up with the dates in the last newsletter. Clearly my proof reading skills are
very low at 11.30pm and I failed to pick up the mistake before the newsletter went out!! The uniform shop will be open this Friday 11th May in room 31 from 3-4pm (for sure this time)!! Don't forget
Mothers Day Gifts on sale, $3 per gift ;)
CALENDAR Dates Many of you have noticed that some of the dates for PFA events have been different to those published in
the 2012 School Calendar. The dates in the Calendar were published in good faith by the outgoing PFA of 2011. As the 2012 PFA is essentially made up of new members with different work and home
commitments, we have had to make some adjustments. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns, your feedback is very valuable and welcome.
Next Meeting is Wednesday 16th May 2012 in room 31 at 9.30am
Carly Baker PFA President
ph: 0417 126 138 or catch me outside room 7 (Prep M) most afternoons!!
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