Berwick Lodge Primary School, Newsletter, June 2012
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Transcript of Berwick Lodge Primary School, Newsletter, June 2012
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT NEWSLETTER N0.16 31ST MAY 2012
BETTER BUDDY DAY
Wow – what a great feature in
Tuesday‟s Herald Sun on page 52.
As you would know, Berwick Lodge
P.S. has
developed a
close
partnership with
the Alannah &
Madeline
Foundation – thanks are due to
Jodie Norton, our School Council
President and Debbie Cusack, one
of our Assistant Principals, for the
leadership they have shown in
building this partnership. Students at
our school are the Better Buddy
Student Ambassadors for Victoria –
quite an honour. Ben, year 6, and
Jackson, Prep, were featured in the
full page colour poster on page 52 in
Tuesday‟s Herald Sun. Grant, year 4,
is also an ambassador, though he
missed out on the photo. June is
National Buddy Day with students
all over Australia engaging in the
Better Buddy Handshake – a
symbolic gesture of friendliness,
respect, valuing difference, including
others and responsibility.
10th ANNIVERSARY OF
KAMBRYA COLLEGE
Last Friday I had the pleasure of
attending the 10th Anniversary
celebrations of Kambrya College as
a guest of Michael Muscat, College
Principal. I was very
impressed with the
progress Kambrya
College has made in
just 10 years –
having experienced
firsthand both the excitement and
challenges that face school
communities when starting from
scratch. They have much of which
they can be proud. As is the case
whenever I visit local secondary
schools, I was thrilled to catch up
with some of our former students,
speak with them and see how well
they are growing up. Principals
never tire of seeing their students
doing well. Michael Muscat is forging
strong links with schools in China
and we have agreed to meet in
Term 3 to discuss ways in which our
two schools can together capitalise
on our respective international
educational links and interest in
Asian Studies and LOTE.
Continued….
FRIDAY 8TH JUNE 2012
CURRICULUM DAY
NO STUDENTS REQUIRED TO ATTEND SCHOOL
DIARY DATES
Friday 1st June 5/6 Interschool Winter Sport (away)
Monday 4th June Berwick Secondary College Transition Program
Wednesday 6th June Power of One
Casey North Divisional Cross Country
Wednesday 13th June 5/6 Lightning Premiership
Thursday 14th June Prep Fire Safe Kids
Monday 18th -Wednesday 20thJune 5/6 Sovereign Hill Camp 5C, 6P, & 6W
Wednesday 20th - Friday 22nd June 5/6 Sovereign Hill Camp 5D, 5T, 6K, & 6N
Thursday 2nd August Australian Mathematics Competition
NOTICES DUE BACK
Friday 1st June Prep - 2 Swimming
Power of One
Tuesday 5th June Casey North Divisional Cross Country
Wednesday 6th June 5/6 Camp Balance
Thursday 7th June Somers Camp
3/4 Camp Rumbug Deposit
Friday 15th June Chocolates/ Money
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT COMTINUED….. . THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
We have survived our first week in our temporary administration facilities and there have been no big dramas -
we‟ll keep our fingers crossed! Thank you everyone for your support and patience in these somewhat difficult
times and thank you to those parents who have given us valuable feedback on areas that we could improve. Our
PA system remains our bogey at the moment – we have contracted a specialist technician to see what can be done
on a temporary basis.
He will be here on our Curriculum Day, Friday 8th June when the children will be away as he will need to
undertake quite a bit of testing of the system. Hopefully this will give us some respite from the inconsistencies in
the volume and quality of sound until the system is relocated and replaced in the school holidays.
UPDATE ON CHANGES TO THE EDUCATION MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE (EMA)
In last week‟s newsletter I explained the changes our state government is making to the EMA funding model for
schools and the impact this would have on our school. I also mentioned that Sue Peddleson, Principal, Gleneagles
S.C. and Vicki Walters, Principal, Fountain Gate S.C. were coordinating a campaign among local government
schools in protest at the cuts. You may have noticed in last weekend‟s Sunday Age, a feature article and editorial
that were very critical of these changes. This week Sue Peddleson has arranged for the Berwick News to cover this
story and I understand that in this week‟s edition the story is being profiled on page 1, complete with photos of 5
local principals in support of the campaign – Sue Peddleson, John Hurley, Jenny Scott, Kathy Sharp and me. In
addition, I have written an opinion piece on the issue, titled, „EMA funding cuts don’t add up’ which the Berwick
News is publishing. This issue is one which concerns us all very much and if you have an opinion on it, Cameron
Houston at The Sunday Age would welcome your feedback. His email address is [email protected]
ENJOY
This is my last newsletter report this term as I will be on leave for the last four weeks of term. I am looking
forward to my overseas trip, and as I won‟t get the chance before the end of term – do enjoy the forthcoming
break and I look forward to seeing many of you at our first assembly next term.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. Is our refurbishment project still on schedule to start on or about the Queen’s Birthday
weekend?
A. Yes!
QUOTABLE QUOTE
‘It’s quite ironic that of all the things we are best at finding – scapegoats invariably head the list’
HENRY GROSSEK
A REMINDER TO
FAMILIES THAT
FRIDAY 8TH JUNE IS A
REPORT WRITING DAY
AND STUDENTS ARE
NOT REQUIRED AT
SCHOOL.
NATIONAL BUDDY DAY
Tomorrow all students will
celebrate National Buddy Day. Our
school has been nominated as the
Victorian Ambassador School for
the Alannah and Madeline
Foundation Better Buddy Program.
In recognition of this day a „secret
handshake‟ has been created for the
children to share with their buddies
and was the focus of a poster, in the
Herald Sun on
Tuesday of this
week, featuring
two of our student
buddies sharing
the handshake.
To celebrate the
day we are asking our children to
wear purple and participate in a
range of buddy activities which will
include the sharing of the secret
handshake. We will also have some
special visitors from the Alannah and
Madeline Foundation and possibly
some media attention.
‘STEP INTO PREP’
Plans are well underway for our
Step Into Prep information evening
to be held on Wednesday 13th June
at 7:00PM. If you are aware of any
families with preschool children who
may like to attend this
evening, please encourage
them to contact the school
to register their interest.
Our existing families are
also reminded that we are
now accepting Prep
enrolments for 2013.
Enrolment forms may be
collected from the school office. If
you would like enrolment forms
sent home with a current student
please
contact the office.
PLAYGROUND CONDITIONS
With recent wet weather grassed
areas of the
playground have
become quite muddy
and at times we have
had numerous
students returning to class in a very
muddy state. We regularly remind
the students to be mindful of where
they are playing, and there are
occasions when we make the
decision to ban access to grassed
areas. Could you please reiterate
with your children the need to show
some common sense when playing
outdoors in Winter.
MICHAEL GROSE – INSIGHTS
This week we have included an
Insight Article from Michael Grose
entitled „Kids shine with tough love
parenting‟. This topic has been in
the news this week and we hope
that families will read and give
consideration to some of the ideas
within.
LYNNE BRENNER & DEBBIE CUSACK
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT
Thank you to the 5/6 parents who have been paying for
the Sovereign Hill Camp.
The final camp payment is due by
Wednesday 6th June 2012.
Thank you
Jackie Pope
Event Coordinator
SCHOOL AWARDS
Congratulations to the following students who
received awards over the last week:
Matilda PW
Brianna PW
Isabella PM
Luke PW
Jordan PS
Thomas PW
Tyler PS
Max PM
Emelia PK Abdul PK
If you were unable to attend the Grade 3/4 Camp Information Evening last Wednesday night and you would like to be a parent helper, please collect an expression of interest form from the office. These forms are due back along with the Camp deposit payment by Thursday 7th June 2012. 3/4 Team
Teacher Strike
Parents will be notified next Tuesday regarding
the impact of the teacher strike that will be held
on Thursday 7th June 2012
Static Electricity On the Friday 25th May 2012, Grades
6W and 6K conducted experiments on
static electricity.
Aim: To see how static electricity
works.
Materials: Balloon, carpet (If needed),
head of long hair.
Predictions: I think that the balloon will
attract the hair after being rubbed on
your head.
Experiment: 1. Blow up the balloon to a medium size.
2. Rub the balloon on your head (or
carpet).
3. Raise the balloon slowly away from
your head, keeping it close to your head.
4. Observe.
Result: The balloon attracted the hair
because of the positive and negative
charges.
By Cooper 6W
Process of Change In Grade 6N last week students experimented with
white vinegar, bicarbonate soda and raisins to observe
and record the process of change. The students
successfully made raisins dance up and down in their
containers without touching the raisins! They can also
explain why this happens in scientific terms!!
Jack and Matt M (6N)
exploring the process
of change.
Jade and Shenelle (6N)
preparing to make
raisins dance!
Science Hits the Senior School
In recognition of Education Week last week the children in grades 5 and 6 focussed
on developing their knowledge around a science theme. The children thoroughly
enjoyed their experiences and have shared some of them with you here. It was such a
success that we are looking forward to the following sessions that these ones have
kick-started. Stay tuned!
Making Oobleck "On the Monday 28th May Grade 5D make
Oobleck. I thought it was really fun. We were split
into groups and I was with Alex and Meryn. When
we were making the goo,
Miss D put too much
food colouring in it. The
colouring stuck to our
hands and made them
green even though I had
washed my hands. When
I picked up a handful of
the Oobleck, it felt rubbery and gooey at the same
time. When I started to squeeze the Oobleck, it
went hard like a rock. But when I stopped squeezing
the Oobleck, it turned watery and gooey. The
Oobleck behaves like a solid and a liquid at the same
time."
By Amy 5D
Static Electricity As part of Education Week, 6K and 6W investigated
protons and electrons and static electricity. Amongst
many other things, the students of 6K and 6W
discovered that when you rub a balloon on your head/
hair, the contact between your hair and the balloon
allows electrons to be transferred. This is known as
the triboelectric effect. Coby, a student from 6K said,
“I really enjoyed the activity. It was fun and I learnt
lots of new things…”
Mark from the same class
commented, “It was fun
and fantastic! I would
really like to do these
activities again.” Reece
and Matt from 6K
echoed the same thing
and Ebony humorously
concluded with, “It was a
„hair-raising‟ experience!
It was both very exciting
and funny!”
Mr Kelly
In this photo, Callum and
Liam from 6K demonstrate
the triboelectric effect.
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
Changing Flowers
Aim- The aim is to find out what would happen to a white flower if you put food dye in the water it is in.
Hypothesis- My prediction was that the flower would change colour.
Equipment/Materials White flowers
Water
Cups
Food colouring
Method
1. Fill each cup with water.
2. Add 5 drops of food colouring to each cup of water.
3. Place a flower in each cup of water.
4. Leave the flowers overnight.
Observation- After leaving the flower overnight I went to see the flowers and they had turned green. Wow!
Conclusion- At the end of the experiment my prediction was right. The flower had changed colour, this is
because the flower needs water so the flower drank the water with the food colouring and then the flower
changed colour!
By Kayla Weber
Oobleck
On the Friday 25th May, 5C
made Oobleck for Education
week and it made a real
mess but we all enjoyed it
happily. We all got into
groups and made Oobleck.
When we started mixing it felt revolting. It was
very smelly too. When we
picked it up and squeezed it
the Oobleck became hard but
we let go, it trickled down
our hands. We also got to
pick a colour, which were
red, blue, green and yellow.
We all thought it was fun but in the end there was
a lot of mess!
By Tharushi 5C
On Wednesday 23rd May 5T had a Science Day! On the
day we participated in lots of interesting experiments.
One of the experiments was Oobleck. Oobleck is a
green goo that is a replicate of quicksand. We put a nail
in the Oobleck and it sunk straight to the bottom like
quicksand. Then we played around with the Oobleck and
afterwards our hands turned green. I had a lot of fun
playing around with Oobleck and I hope we can do it
again! Science is fun and is a very interesting topic to
learn. I hope we can learn more Science in the future!
Brodie 5T
On Wednesday 23rd of May we had a Science Day. We
did lots of cool stuff like making Oobleck, making
quicksand and Chocolate Crackles. Oobleck is very fun
to make. The instructions are easy to follow. When I
hold the Oobleck it turned from a solid to a liquid. We
learnt that Oobleck is a unique substance which is both a
solid and a liquid. After that we made Chocolate
Crackles, it was fun. We did this in small groups. We
used copha which was a solid, we melted it and it became
a liquid and then when we mixed it with the rice bubbles,
it turned into a solid when it hardened. Then we got to
eat and it was DELICIOUS and chocolaty. Science is very
fun and cool. I love to do science with all of 5T!
Suvi 5T
Teach Your Child the Following Types if Thinking (Self-Talk)
Setting Goals: It is good to do my best work.
Planning my Time: It is good not to waste time. It is good to be on time for
things.
Listening Carefully: It is important to listen to my parent and teacher extra
carefully when he/she is explaining something important.
Take Care of Things: „I need to put things in their proper places. I need to
clean up and be neat.‟
BUSINESS ADVERTISING
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Other services: Vacate clean-up/ready
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For bookings & enquiries contact Steve 0411 752 279
$1.00 from each booking goes back to BLPS.
COMMUNITY ADVERTISING
HOST A FAMILY Thousands of volunteer families have enjoyed hosting a
visiting teenager from another country. Many of them come
back every year and host again. By opening their home and
hearts, to an international exchange student, families can also:
Make a life long link to a family in another country
Learn about another culture
Share the beauty of Australia and our culture
Gain a new family member
Contribute to International goodwill
Develop a friendship that will last for many years Our students bring with them their own spending money,
health insurance and a wonderful attitude and desire to learn
about their new host country. The whole family….and
relatives and friends….will grow and learn as they all get to
know their new „son‟ or „daughter‟ from another land.
All students have at least basic levels of English, would attend
a school in your local area and live the life of a local. Our
group of students cover a wide variety of interests and
hobbies. If you would like to provide your students, parents
or language/music teachers with further information on our
inbound students you can also download some student
profiles in PDF Format. This is just a small sample of all the
students who will be arriving. Our staff members will be
happy to discuss which student might be best suited to a
family. Hosting an exchange student can be a truly rewarding
experience. It allows a family to experience a foreign culture
first hand, be exposed to a new language and pass on a bit of
our own culture. They might even make a friend for life!
Student Exchange Australia New
Zealand is a not-for-profit secondary
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registered with education & regulatory
authorities in each State and Territory.
You can find out more about our
organisation by visiting
www.studentexchange.org.au.
Q: What do Britney Spears, Guy Sebastian and Chris-
tina Aguilera have in common?
A: They all started out singing in their local choir.
Free Trial Rehearsal
Berwick Youth Choir
5-11 year olds 4.30-6.00pm, 12-20 year olds 5.30-7.30pm
Valid for any Wednesday in Term 2, 2012
Why join the Berwick Youth Choir?
It provides a fun and educational environment for kids
aged 6 to 20
It has a strong musical training program
Affordability and great value for money
Many performance opportunities
The Berwick Youth Choir rehearses in the beautiful, historic
arts hub of The Old Cheese Factory in Berwick on
Wednesdays from 4.30pm.
For more information contact the Manager, Fiona
Seers on 0408 515 699 or
NARRE WARREN-BERWICK BLUE LIGHT
DISCO
BERWICK LEISURE CENTRE,
MANUKA ROAD, BERWICK
SATURDAY 2nd June 2012
For Students in years 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8
only
Times 6:00pm to 10:00pm
COST: $10.00
Any enquires to Narre Warren
Police Station 9705 3111