PRINCIPAL’S REPORT NEWSLETTER N0.35 17TH NOVEMBER 2011

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…..

TEACHING ROLES

PRINCIPAL: Henry Grossek

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS: Lynne Brenner

Debbie Cusack

LEADING TEACHERS:

Area 1 Coordinator (P-2) Bernadette Kelly

Area 2 Coordinator (3-4) Traceye Rapinett

Area 3 Coordinator (5-6) Paul Whitehead

ICT Coordinator Lois Smethurst

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES:

Prep: Angela Maskery

Sharyn King

Katherine Woskoboenko

Grade 1: Rochelle Jinks

Alvina Lim

Helen Chisholm

Bernadette Kelly

Grade 2: Sharon Chandler

Trish Luke

Nadine Giaccotto

Fiona Froelich (0.6) / Jodie Radings (0.4)

Grade 3: Sandra McCrum

Kylee Ziino

Lianne Morgan

Grade 4: Traceye Rapinett

Michael Young

Gloria Knight

To be confirmed

Grade 5: 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?

A.To the best of my knowledge the DEECD have no

plans to do this. You can always contact Southern

B.Metropolitan Region (DEECD) for clarification of

C.latest government policy on such matters.

QUOTABLE QUOTE

The scary thing about Christmas is not how quickly it seems

be coming around, but that Santa Claus is the only one who

doesn’t seem to be aging!’

HENRY GROSSEK

PRINCIPAL’ S REPORT CONTINUED…..

DIARY DATES Friday 18th November 5/6 Interschool Summer Sport

Tuesday 22nd November 3/4 Joffas Toonschool

Wednesday 23rd November Prep Myuna Farm Excursion

Senior Outdoor & Water Safety Program

Monday 28th November Prep Polly/Pete‟s Day Show

Tuesday 29th November Second-hand Uniform Shop 2:30pm

Thursday 1st December PFA Annual General Meeting 1:30pm

Tuesday 6th December 5/6 End of Year Excursion

NOTICES DUE BACK BY Friday 18th November Prep Myuna Farm Excursion

Monday 21st November Senior Outdoor & Water Safety Program

Tuesday 22nd November Berwick Lodge Walkathon

Tuesday 29th November PFA Nomination Forms

Wednesday 30th November Prep Polly/Pete‟s Day Show

5/6 End of Year Excursion

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.

TRANSITION

Next Tuesday we commence

our Prep Transition

Program for the

students enrolled

for 2012. Week

One of the program

consists of a child focused tour

of the school including a visit to

the current prep classrooms.

The children will be in transition

groups that have been put

together based on their kinder

groupings. They will remain in

these groups for Weeks Two

and Three to experience

activities in the Art Room, Music

Room, Gymnasium and ICT

Centre. In Week Four the

children will be placed in their

2012 class groups for an

Orientation Session in their 2012

classroom.

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.

ROAD SAFETY AROUND

SCHOOLS

This week some parents have

raised concerns regarding driver

behaviour in the vicinity of our

school, particularly

around the drop off

and pick up zone in

Collins Crescent.

We are regularly in

contact with the

bylaws officer at the City of

Casey who randomly patrols the

roads around the school. For

parent information today we

have included a flyer provided to

us by the City of Casey with

reminders about traffic safety

around schools. This flyer has

been included with the

newsletter. Please take some

time to read and discuss this

with your children.

TAKE HOME A BIG

BROTHER OR BIG SISTER

Southern Cross Cultural

Exchange is seeking volunteer

host families to host international

exchange students arriving in

February 2012 for a stay of one

or two semesters. The

international students from

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

Tuesday 29th and Wednesday

30th November 2011. Families of

children who attend the CRE

Program are invited to come

along and watch the Christmas

celebration performance. The

programs involving

Preps (When Jesus

was Born), Year 1

(The Greatest

Present) and Year

2 (You Are Special)

will take place on

Tuesday 29th November 2011

between 2:15 and 3:30PM in the

school gymnasium. The Years 3

and 4 performance (The Legend

of the Three Christmas Trees)

will take place on Wednesday

30th November between 2:15

and 3:30PM in the school

gymnasium.

LYNNE BRENNER AND

DEBBIE CUSACK

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT

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.

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 com-

mended 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

SCHOOL AWARDS

Congratulations to the following students who received awards over

the last week:

Riley PC

Saritha PM

Aysha PC

Ryan PW

Zachary PM

Stevan PL

Jamison PW

Ethan PL

THINGS TO SAY TO

COMMUNICATE

“I CAN DO IT”

“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 opti-

mism.”

“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 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

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

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