PRINCIPAL’S REPORT PARENT &FRIENDS ASSOCIATION (PFA)

Our PFA began in 1990 and ever since then has been the backbone of our fundraising initiatives and providing support to our school in many ways. In short our PFA is very important and very valuable. We never have too many members for all the plans the PFA would like to implement in any given year. Inevitably, the workload tends to fall on too few people. Annually in December – just two months away – our PFA office bearers’ election is held. It would be great if we could increase our membership of the PFA and have more parents volunteering for leadership positions on the PFA. Notionally, all parents are members of our PFA – there are no conditions of membership other than you have a child attending Berwick Lodge.

The only requirement is that parents complete a registration form and are entered on our PFA Membership Register. I have attached a copy of our PFA registration form, with my invitation for you to complete it and return the form to school. You will then be registered as a member of our PFA for the duration of your child/rens enrolment at our school. This does not obligate you to attend PFA meetings, become a member of the executive committee or participate in any PFA activities. It does ensure that our record keeping of membership and election protocols for our PFA are in order. An idea that we are considering, to make membership of our PFA even more attractive, is to provide registered PFA members with a PFA card that will attract possible discounts from suppliers of product with whom the PFA works.

BER BUILDING UPDATE Our new BER building should be formally handed over to us within the next few weeks. The major outstanding issue at the moment is compliance with Country Fire Authority (CFA) water pressure to our premises requirements. This is expected to be resolved shortly. David Chandler, Deputy Chairperson, Orgill BER Taskforce made his final inspection earlier this week and was thrilled with the standard of the building. He assured us that the building has been completed to a very high standard of workmanship. For this we are indebted to the diligence and determination of the Taskforce to ensure that the quality of the building was to a high standard.

NEWSLETTER N0.30 13TH OCTOBER 2011

CONTINUED…

DIARY DATES Friday 14th October 5/6 Interschool Summer Sport

Monday 17th October 5/6 Water Safety Program Information Evening

Tuesday 18th October Gr 5 & 6 Family Life Program

Gr 1 CSIRO Visit

Thursday 19th October Gr 2 CSIRO Visit

Friday 21st October 5/6 Interschool Summer Sport

Tuesday 25th October Gr 6 Family Life Program

Wednesday 26th October Singapore Supper Night 7pm

Saturday 5th November PFA Shopping Tour

NOTICES DUE BACK BY

Thursday 20th October Shopping Tour

CANTEEN IS CLOSED ON TUESDAYS

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT CONTINUED….. I understand that substantial additional funds were allocated to our project in order to fix all the defects identified by David Chandler. I must say that I agree with his assessment – we do have a building, notwithstanding the limitations of the design, and procurement model for the building, that is very good. Our next focus is on the refurbishment of our main building – we are in the planning stage for this $604,000 project which is scheduled to be completed by June 30 next year. We will be busy!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’s)

Q. When will we know what grade our child will be in next year and who their teacher will be? A. You will have the answers to this question by early December. I invite parents to put in writing to me in early November, requests for the grade placement of their child for the following year. This is part of the process that leads to the answer of the above question. Please don’t send me any requests at this stage – I will provide details for that in a fortnight.

QUOTABLE QUOTE

‘The power of rumours are a reminder that our minds crave titillation’.

Henry Grossek

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.

VICTORIA WALKS

Victoria Walks to School day will

take place this year on Wednesday

19th October 2011. We see this as

a great opportunity to encourage

our students and their families to

be physically active and

walk to school

whenever possible.

There are so many

benefits when your child walks to

school, including:

(1) Children who actively

commute to school have higher

levels of physical activity and

improved cardiovascular fitness

compared with children who do

not walk or cycle to school;

(2) Students feel awake, alert and

are more attentive in class after

some fresh air and physical activity

in the morning;

(3) More children walking to

school means fewer cars on the

road, making it safer for children

around the school; and

(4) Walking to school gives

families and neighbours the

opportunity to form new

relationships and ongoing informal

support within local communities.

LATE ARRIVAL TO

SCHOOL

We have become aware of an

increasing number of children

arriving after the commencement

of classes in the morning. We

have also noted that on many

occasions parents are dropping

their children off at school,

sometimes in the staff car park or

bus stop, and not accompanying

the children to class. This raises

concerns with regards to the

safety and security of our students.

There have been incidents where

students have arrived at the

classroom to find that the class

and the teacher were not there.

In this situation students can

become distressed and make poor

decisions about what to do. The

expectation of parents who are

dropping their children at school

after the bell, is that they will

accompany the child to the

classroom and ensure that the

teacher is aware of their arrival.

We thank you for your

understanding and support in the

process of keeping our students

safe.

PARENTING PROGRAM –

‘BOYS FOR BEGINNERS’

Are you baffled by your son?

Do you wonder why he

doesn’t listen to you?

Or how to deal with your

anger and his?!!

Why are sons so fascinated

with things that can cripple,

burn or blind them?

Come along to these

workshops and share your

frustrations, skills and maybe

get new ideas on parenting

boys in today’s world.

Anglicare Victoria has forwarded

us some information

about a series of

parenting workshops

entitled ‘Parents

Building Solutions –

Boys for Beginners.’

These workshops are

aimed at mums, dads and carers of

children 3 to 13 years. They will

be offered at Officer Primary

School (Tivendale Road, Officer)

on Thursday 20th and 27th October

2011 and Thursday 3rd and 10th

November 2011 from 1:00 -

3:00PM. Bookings for these free

workshops can be made by

contacting Helena on 5991 2225

or 0488550490.

STAFF NEWS

Tomorrow Jo Zammit will

commence Family Leave as she

prepares for the arrival of her

third child. We are sure Jo,

Marcus, Keenan and Ella are

looking forward to the new

addition to their family. We will

keep the school community

informed regarding the arrival of

the baby. For the remainder of

Term 4, Lia Whitelaw will be

taking on Jo’s component of the

Visual Arts Program.

Last Thursday Leonie Brown and

her partner Daniel

welcomed their

new son, Mason

Daniel (4.08 kg or

9 lb). Both Mason and Leonie are

well and we are looking forward

to seeing them soon.

SHOPPER INCENTIVE

PROGRAMS

Families are reminded that next

week is the last opportunity to

collect dockets from the Coles

Sports for Schools Program and

receipts for the Woolworths Earn

and Learn Program. Both of these

incentive programs close on

Tuesday 18th October 2011 but

we will continue to accept the

dockets and receipts until Friday

28th October. We thank all

families who have supported these

programs and will keep you

informed of the outcome of your

efforts.

ENROLMENTS AND

TRANSFERS

In the coming weeks we will

commence our planning for 2012

including our grade structure and

staffing and it is vital that we have

accurate enrolment information.

Staff have been asked to follow up

with families who have not yet

returned the form sent home last

term requesting confirmation of

enrolment for 2012. We would

also like to ensure that we have an

accurate indication of our Prep

enrolments. If

families have a child

eligible to attend

school next year and

have not yet

completed and returned

enrolment forms we request that

you do so as soon as possible.

LYNNE BRENNER AND

DEBBIE CUSACK

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT

Information Evening

Outdoor Education & Water Safety Program

A reminder to all parents of Grades 5 and 6 students that a Parent Information Evening

has been planned to outline this new and exciting initiative.

All parents are invited to meet in the OHSC building at 7.00pm next Monday 17th

October 2011 to hear first-hand the important information to be presented. A

representative from AquaSkills will be available to explain the program and answer any

questions parents may have.

We encourage all parents to attend.

Thank you

Paul Whitehead

Level 4 Coordinator

SCHOOL AWARDS

Congratulations to the following students who received awards

over the last week:

Stevan PW

Art News – Grade 5

Art Smocks!

Just a reminder that Grade 5

students will require art

smocks for their art lessons

this term as they will be

working with mosaics and

this can get very messy! An

old t-shirt would even be

great to protect

their clothing.

Thanks again,

Jo Zammit and

Julie McLeod

Visual Arts Teachers

Amber PL

Darcy PC

Ella PC

Zoe PC

Jayda PC

Emily PM

Dion PM

Scarlett PL

Zoha PL

Jamison PW

Parents & Friends Association NEXT MEETING: Thursday 13th October 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 25th October 2011 from 2.30pm until 3.15pm.

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.

SHOP TILL YOU DROP!

SHOPPING TOUR - Saturday 5th November 2011

Our shopping tour is coming up on Saturday 5th November 2011, please return your

forms and payment by Friday 20th October 2011. Places are limited so get in quickly.

We will be visiting lots of shops that include toys, kids clothes, Manchester and

kitchen wares just to name a few. Come and have a great day out with morning tea

and a 2 course lunch which is included in the price.

UPCOMING EVENTS

HALLOWEEN DISCO - Friday 28th October 2011: This Term we will be

having a Halloween Themed Disco in the Gym. Prizes will be awarded for the scariest

costume. Games will be played and lots of spooky fun to be enjoyed. Notices will be

sent home soon.

SUPERMARKET VOUCHERS: This is the last opportunity to collect and return your Coles

Sports Vouchers and Safeway Earn and Learn Points. Be sure to return all your vouchers/points

to the office by Monday 17th October 2011 so that vouchers/points can be tallied. Vouchers/

Points must be returned by this day or we will miss out, so be sure to check with your family,

friends and neighbours so that all vouchers/points can be returned to the school.

A huge thank you to everyone who has been collecting Vouchers and Points. This is a great way

for our School to receive fantastic resources for our children.

PAUL’S CAPS: Keep collecting the Paul’s Caps to raise money for our sponsor children Pheear

and Oshdi in Cambodia and Sri Lanka. It is expected that this promotion will continue into 2012.

CRYSTAL CLEANING

SERVICES P/L

For all your carpet/upholstery and

general cleaning needs

Special Offer 3 rooms/3 seats

Professionally steamed cleaned for $77.00

incl. GST Free deodorising Free stain

treating

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

BUSINESS ADVERTISING

COMMUNITY NEWS INTERNET SAFETY & YOUR CHILD/TEEN

This 3 week program will assist parents to better

negotiate their child/teens cyber use of the internet and

social networks, such as Facebook, mobile phones,

internet gaming etc.

Wednesday 19th October 2011 for 3 weeks

Time: 7:00 - 9:30pm

Cost: $20 (Cost includes workbook)

Balla Balla Community Centre

65 Berwick Cranbourne Road

Cranbourne East

DOGS VICTORIA

On Sunday 11th December 2011 at the State Dog

centre (KCC Park), Dogs Victoria are holding A

Big Day out for Dogs. This event is free to attend

so we hope that families will join us for this

fun-filled day. Dogs are welcome, but they need to

be on lead.

There will be face painting from 10:30am to 12:30pm so be

sure to get in early!

There will also be displays and demonstrations in canine

obedience, agility, retrieving, herding, lure racing and dog

showing.

At 1pm there will be a series of fun competitions, including

waggiest tail, in which any dog can compete. This is also free.

For anyone considering adding a dog to their family there will

be a huge variety of breeds to meet and great, and hopefully

find the one that best suits their ager and stage of life. There

will also be the very popular Canine Christmas Market with

lots of dog treats, accessories, leads, collar and services on

offer just in time for holiday shopping!

The State Dog Park (KCC Park) is located at 655 Western

Port Highway, Skye.

(Melways ref 128 J12).

Catering will be available at the venue.

Dogs Victoria can be contacted on 03 9788 2509

Website: media@dgsvictoria.rog.au

Email: www.dogsvictoria.coma.u

PALETTE & PAINTBRUSH

ART CLASSES

General Art Classes for Children on

Wednesdays 4:00pm - 5:30pm

Drawing

Pencils

Colour

Water Colours

Pastels

Perspective

Cartooning

Pen & Ink

Brentwood Park Neighborhood House

Bemersyde Drive, Berwick (Melways ref 111 C12)

Contact Neloofer Kreltszheim on 9703 1820

Thursday 8.15pm & Sunday 9.30am $10.00 per class

Contours Berwick 39 Enterprise Ave

Bring in this ad for your first class free!