NEWSLETTER N0 32 16TH OCTOBER 2014 CANTEEN OPEN DAYS MONDAY, THURSDAY & FRIDAY ONLY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT REMOVAL OF PORTABLES At last – this week, the DEECD have removed our surplus portable buildings. Their removal has certainly opened up the view to our community garden and the grounds beyond. We have kept the covered way and are calling for ideas on how we can best landscape the area left vacant by the removal of the portable. One suggestion mooted has been that we should commission a mural painting on the OSHC building wall facing the community garden with a garden theme to it. Let us know your ideas on how we can best beautify that entire area. Baker and PFA President, Kim A’Vard and our 4 school captains also participated. In the weeks leading up to our review day, all staff were involved in the process of analysing a wide range of school performance data for the past 4 years and preparing our school self-evaluation, this forming the basis for the review day discussions. It was a very profitable day, demanding and thorough and the conclusions drawn from the day will be drawn into a draft report by our reviewer for council to consider. Following this exercise we will then prepare our Strategic Plan for the next 4 years – all to be completed by the end of the year. I will keep you informed of progress and the details in the coming SCHOOL REVIEW weeks. At this point, I can say that the overall findings on Earlier this week our school review was completed, with review day were very, very positive for our school and our reviewer being Graeme Seamer, a former DEECD in saying so, we have identified a number of Regional Officer and school principal. As the DEECD improvement areas that will form the basis of our next now requires school review panels to include peer Strategic Plan. reviewers, those we selected were Loretta Hamilton, Principal, Courtenay Gardens P.S. and Nick Karanzoulis, Continued…. Principal, Beaconsfield Upper P.S. On the day, a total of 8 teaching staff, our School Council President, Carly PRINCIPAL’S REPORT CONTINUED... USE OF CYRIL MOLYNEUX CAR PARK Please be mindful of other drivers when using this car park. I know it can get congested around drop-off and pick-up times and time is at a premium for us all but it is important that we drive carefully and do not block the car park to the extent that drivers cannot get in or out. Thank you for your co-operation. ECHOES FROM THE PAST Back in the mid-1990s there were plans to build a large mobile phone tower in the Cyril Molyneux parklands. We got wind of the plan via leak by a local council member who had concerns over the potential health hazards of having large mobile phone towers being located near schools. It took us the best part of a year of national campaigning to have the plans shelved and in so doing influenced the City of Casey with respect to their policy on the locations of mobile phone towers in this city. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) Q. How can I be of help to our school? A. Lots of ways – effectively it’s your choice. Let us know that you are keen to help and your are s of interest and/ or expertise and we will most gratefully tap into your generosity QUOTABLE QUOTE ‘The difference between friends and acquaintances is a large mathematical number’ HENRY GROSSEK DIARY DATES Monday 20th October Tuesday 21st October Friday 24th October Wednesday 29th October Thursday 30th October Friday 31st October Monday 3rd November Tuesday 4th November Monday 17th November Wednesday 19th November 5/6 Hooptime Regional Finals Monash Children’s Hospital Visit Parenting Tools Singapore Student Trip Information Night PFA Games Night Kanga Cricket Competition 3/4 Hooptime Regional Finals Prep Healthy Breakfast PFA Halloween Disco Report Writing Day (No students required at school) OSHC - CLOSED Melbourne Cup Public Holiday 3/4 Wheel Talk School Awareness Prep Myuna Farm NOTICES DUE BACK Friday 24th October Monday 27th October Thursday 30th October Wednesday 12th November 3/4 & Coaches Hooptime Finals Kanga Cricket Competition Prep Healthy Breakfast Scholastic Books PFA Halloween Disco Prep Myuna Farm 3/4 Wheel Talk School Awareness SINGAPORE TRIP INFORMATION EVENING We would like to remind families of our current Year 4 and 5 students that they are invited to attend an Information Evening next Tuesday to learn more about our planned 2015 Singapore Visit. The Information session will now be held in our Staffroom on Tuesday 21st October, 2014 at 7:00pm. Expressions of interest forms will be distributed on the evening. If you would like to attend this session we request that you return the forms to your child’s classroom teacher. We look forward to sharing our ideas and experiences with you and will also have students who participated in our second trip last year and their parents available to answer any questions. If families are unable to attend, but would like further information or to express an interest in their child being considered for inclusion in the Singapore trip, they should contact Debbie Cusack. they also learnt things about themselves. The focus of learning to trust one self and others was an important part of the day. Students participated in horse riding, archery, team-building activities, craft and science activities. CLASSROOM BLOGS Families may be aware that each of our grades and specialists regularly update their blogs to reflect some of the activities and learning that takes place within their program. These blogs can be accessed through the school website at www.berwicklodgeps.vic.edu.au. We encourage families to regularly check the updates and make comments in response to the content of the blog. The blogs also offer an excellent opportunity for members of the extended family, such as grandparents, to keep in touch with what is happening at our school. ‘PARENTING TOOLS’ PRESENTATION Beverley Kuster, a local Psychotherapist and Counsellor with over 20 years’ experience, will be conducting a parent workshop EXTRA CURRICULA at Berwick Lodge next week. This ACTIVITIES – MILL VALLEY workshop will look at parenting RANCH styles, children’s personalities and Earlier this week Debbie Cusack matching parenting styles to the and Sue Naismith accompanied 16 personality. Parents will have the of our Year 5 and 6 students to a opportunity to ask questions and ‘Day Away Camp’ at Mill Valley gain valuable information and tips Ranch in Tynong. from Beverley. The day was run When: Monday 20th October 2014 by a local Where: BER Building community Time: 6.45pm for a 7.00pm start support group, C.H.I.P.S. LATE ARRIVAL TO SCHOOL (Christian Helpers We have become aware of an in Primary Schools) and led by increasing number of children Captain Eric, who won the Casey arriving after the commencement Citizen of the Year Award in 2005. of classes in the morning. It is The day was very successful with important that students arrive all children reporting they had ready to commence their school enjoyed the day and reporting that day at 9:00am, as late arrival is disruptive to class routines and children’s learning. The first 15 minutes in the classroom each morning are very important for they set the scene for the day. Also, chronic lateness provides a bad example for others as punctuality is an important life skill for everyone. We have also noted that on several 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. COMMUNITY GARDEN As the weather starts to warm up, this is the ideal time to be planting vegetables. It would be appreciated if any of our families could donate a packet of vegetable seeds or seedlings so that all grades can plant in their grade boxes. We thank you for your ongoing support of the Community Garden. DEBBIE CUSACK & SANDRA McCRUM Parent Patch Parenting Tools By now you should have received an invitation to attend a parenting workshop on Monday 20th October 2014. Beverley Kuster, a Psychotherapist and Counsellor with over 20 years’ experience, will present this workshop. After meeting with Beverley and consulting the findings from the survey undertaken earlier in the year, one area that parents felt they would like information and strategies on was dealing with challenging behaviours. Challenging behaviours from our children occur at various stages no matter how well behaved they are. It could result from them getting older and testing the boundaries, asserting themselves, social issues and even our parenting styles. Ask yourself this, what is my parenting style? I personally know mine is ‘firm but fair’. My children have boundaries and I am certainly realising that they need to be moved for various reasons as my children get older. I believe all children need boundaries, no questions asked. Setting boundaries is the number one strategy parents need to use. If started at an early age and the appropriate consequences are put into place, children will thrive. They learn how far they can go, they learn respect for those around them as well as for authority and they learn there are consequences for breaking those boundaries set. There will be a time when our children could rebel even though they have had boundaries and a consistent parenting approach has been in place. However, that behaviour could be a result of outside influences and that is when you hope you are able to talk to your child or seek help. But have you thought whether your parenting style impacts your child’s behaviour and the way they interact with you? For example, I have one child who is a negotiator. I could work as a chief negotiator with the United Nations with the experience I have in negotiating! In this workshop, Beverley will give you a quick personality test to complete which will determine your child’s personality and then give you some different strategies to use based on their personality. There are times when negotiating with your child can be a positive experience. They have input in both the choices they have and the consequences of those choices and it promotes a dialogue between yourself and your child. You can explain to them your feelings and why you might not like certain choices they want to make. Communication is key with our children and any chance to keep the lines of communication open should always be taken. Have you made consequences on the run only to have them back fire? They don’t work and in particular if they cannot or will not be carried through, the result may be that your child has seen that there has been no consequence for their actions and will more than likely do it again. Beverley will provide each family that attends an information pack on parenting strategies and also a free counselling session at her Narre Warren office for you to use at convenient time. Beverley will also bring various books that you can look through and you will have the opportunity to ask her questions. If you return the RSVP slip there is also a space for you to write down any questions or topics you may like answered and they will be passed onto Beverley prior to the evening. These will be answered anonymously by Beverley throughout her workshop. A speaker such as Beverley with her experience is very difficult to find without a fee attached. Beverley has kindly offered to speak to our parent community free of charge. I invite each and every one of you to attend and I am sure you will walk away with some strategies on dealing with your cherubs! Personally, I am looking forward to the personality test and walking out feeling empowered. If you would like to attend but cannot, please return the RSVP slip and state that on the form and any questions you have. I will organise with Beverley any relevant information that may be of use to you and leave it at the front office. I look forward to seeing you there on Monday 20th October 2014 at 6.45pm for a 7.00pm start. Fiona Froelich Caitlyn 4T Charlize 4R Omar 4T Emily 3M Josh 4T Ethan 3K Aysha 3K Marco 3K Roqiyah 3SR On Friday 10th October 2014 the Grade 3’s and 4’s did a Hockey Clinic. Some boys and girls were selected to do an extra class in the afternoon. First we did a game of stop and go. What you were meant to do is, when they say go, you run with your hockey stick and the ball has to stay on the stick at all times. When they say stop, you stop and the ball has to stop with you. Next, we played Great Wall of China. The coached stood on a line and we had to dodge passed without the ball being hit out of court. If your ball was hit out, you joined the ‘wall’. This was a fantastic game because it was competitive. After that we played, Hocktapus. It was similar to Octopus but with hockey. We had to avoid the coaches knocking the ball out of the court. If your ball went out you had to become the seaweed. In the afternoon, we were challenged by the coaches and participated in similar games. The whole class thoroughly enjoyed it. We loved it so much. By Lachlan and Ryan 3M After clearing out our portable classrooms we have a range of student tables, computer tables, chairs and locker trolleys that we are willing to give away to families or community groups who may be able to utilise them. If you are interested in any of these furniture items, please contact the school’s office. Please be advised that Camp Australia will not be operating their program on Report Writing Day which is Monday 3rd November 2014. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause On Monday 13th October 2014 some of the Grade 5 and 6 students were lucky enough to visit Mill Valley Ranch as part of the Chips Day Camp program. The camp was in Tynong North and it took 45 minutes to get there by bus. We were all very excited when we arrived at the camp. When we got there we were taken on a tour of the camp grounds and looked at many of the buildings. Some of the buildings dated back to the 1800s. After our look around the camp we started on some of the activities. Two of the activities we participated in were horse riding and archery. We all really loved these activities. One of the other activities the girls did was juggling scarves! Meanwhile the boys did sand painting! Throughout the day we also listened to Captain Eric as he talked to us about trust and believing in ourselves. He told us jokes and showed us magic tricks too. During the day, we participated in some team building activities and Captain Eric was amazed at how well we all worked together! The camp staff happily provided us with freshly prepared and cooked food throughout the day too. Our morning tea AKA snack was a little cupcake along with a biscuit, not to mention a slinky apple or a banana. For lunch we had some delicious sausages in bread and a cup of cordial. Just before we left we had a little biscuit followed by an orange or apple juice. Just before we left we were all presented with a show bag which included a horse puppet and a handmade scarf or beanie. These had been made by some caring people who like to help others. We all wore our scarves and beanies with pride on the way home. As one last trick before we left camp, Captain Eric put mentos into a Pepsi bottle and showed us that most of the liquid exploded out. Although this camp was just for one day we packed heaps into the day and we all had a fabulous time. Overall we had fantastic fun at the camp and on behalf of the students who were lucky enough to attend we say “Thank you to the CHIPS team, Mrs Cusack and Mrs Naismith for the opportunity!” Report by Joel and Kyle 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 for students when they are ill and we cannot contact parents BUSINESS ADVERTISING COMMUNITY ADVERTISING