berwick lodge primary school, newsletter, march 2012
DESCRIPTION
Berwick Lodge Primary School, Newsletter, March 2012TRANSCRIPT
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT NEWSLETTER N0.7 15TH MARCH 2012
UPGRADE OF OUR PHONE SYSTEM
Earlier this year we upgraded our telephone system to a modern digital system with more lines and better recording and monitoring features. In all probability you may not noticed any changes – that’s because our staff, the operators, are very professional and maintain an excellent standard. From a management perspective, the new system provides us with greater flexibility and greatly improved data collection and interpretation capabilities.
ICONOCLAST PUSHES NEW SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
Professor John Hattie, one of the world’s most respected educational researchers was profiled in Monday’s The Age. Not only is Professor Hattie’s work highly valued, it is also controversial. Many of his research findings challenge many popular views on education. In short, his evidence-based work can be challenging to digest. Nonetheless, it is well worth taking seriously. I have taken the liberty of providing school council members with a copy of The Age piece on him. Two of his recent books (he has 14 published books on education), Visible Learning & Visible Teaching – emphasise the importance of teacher feedback to students but, more importantly, student feedback to
teachers about what they learnt. Professor Hattie is well worth checking out on Google.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS Q. Who decides what staff do on curriculum days? A. We do. Considerable thought is given to our curriculum day activities – with many DEECD and school-based priorities competing for time. In short, there are always far more professional development activities that we would like to do than time to do them.
QUOTABLE QUOTE ‘Charisma opens doors, but
can break hearts’
Henry Grossek
STUDENT WELLBEING
NEWS –
LIFE EDUCATION VAN As part of our unit on health/
drug education the Life Education
mobile classroom will be visiting
our school from Wednesday 2nd
May until Friday 11th May 2012.
Life Education has been visiting
schools for many years and is
always a highlight of the children’s
year and helps to facilitate the
development of life skills in
students to prevent and minimise the harm of drug misuse.
Lessons are always age
appropriate and the children will
be covering a wide range of
health and drug related topics
during these sessions ranging
from the human body and how it
works, healthy eating and
nutrition, medicines and drugs,
bullying, resilience and social
skills.
Healthy Harold,
the well loved
LIFE education
giraffe
mascot, is always
a much
anticipated
element of the
Life Education visit.
The Life Education sessions are
always fun, interactive and really
extend and develop the children’s
understanding of the topics
covered.
Further information about the
Life Education van visit will be
forwarded to families at the
beginning of next term.
STUDENT SAFETY This week we were alerted by a
member of our community
regarding a student being
approached by a person
unknown to the child. We feel
that it is a timely reminder of the
need for us to be alert and
prepare our students to deal with
this situation should it arise for
them.
We suggest that parents discuss
the importance of travelling to
and from the school via the most
direct route with other students/
adults. If the student has concerns the safe options
available to them include local
Safety Houses and community
services such as the local shop,
doctors surgery and
kindergarten. All students should
be encouraged to inform an adult
(parent, teacher, school crossing
supervisor) if they are feeling
unsafe or have noticed anything
unusual whilst travelling to and
from school.
We would also suggest that
children do not arrive at school
early, or remain in the school
grounds, outside of the
supervised times (8:45AM to
3:45PM). For their own safety
students who are in the school
grounds outside of these hours
should be enrolled in the OHSC
Program or under direct
supervision of their parent/
guardian.
EMERGENCY
CONTACT DETAILS Parents are reminded of the
importance of ensuring their
contact details held at the school
are current. This is vital in cases
of emergency where immediate
contact with the parents is
required. It is also advisable for
parents to check that the details
for alternative emergency
contacts are current. If details
have changed, the changes need
to be forwarded to the school
office in writing at the earliest
opportunity. A change of details
form is available on request from
the office.
Lynne Brenner & Debbie Cusack
ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT
DIARY DATES Tuesday 20th March Hospital Dress Up Day
Wednesday 21st March House Athletics Carnival
Friday 23rd March Grade 5/6 Bigbuzz Productions: Our Story
Easter Disco
Tuesday 27th March Hot Dog Lunch
NOTICES DUE BACK Monday 19th March Grade 5/6 Bigbuzz Productions: Our Story
House Athletics Carnival Parent Helper Form
Thursday 22nd March Easter Disco
Monday 26th March 5/6 Interschool Winter Sport - Code of Conduct/Medical Form
5/6 Camp Sovereign Hill Deposit
Year 7 2013 Transition News Parents of Grade 6
children are
invited to attend a
Parent Information
Evening at the
Berwick Secondary
College
Performing Arts Centre on
Tuesday 24th April 2012 at 7pm.
Information will be provided on the
Berwick Secondary College
programs, pathways, transition
process and the BSC school zone.
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
SCHOOL AWARDS
Congratulations to the following students who received awards over the last week:
Ben PK
Elizabeth PW
Aaron PW
Oliver PM
Maddylin PW
Ronan PW
Holly PK
Aleacia PM
Hayley PS
Jordan PS
Emelia PK
Judd PK
Alice PS Harrison PS
Rune PM
Jackson PM
Miscellaneous Group Photos
Order envelopes were sent home yesterday for the miscellaneous group photos (e.g. school leaders, sport teams) These photos are on display in the office window of Grade 5C, room 20, adjacent to the front door of the Grade 5/6 building. All completed photo orders need to be returned to your class teacher no later than Wednesday 28th March 2012.
Junior School Council
Hospital Day On Tuesday 20th March 2012 we will be
having a Hospital Day to raise money for the
Good Friday Appeal.
Children can come dressed
as a doctor, nurse or
patient (in their pyjamas).
If children dress up they
can donate a gold coin.
Grade 5/6 Camp Parent Helpers
If you're interested in being a parent helper on camp, please come and collect a form from me (in room 23) or ask your child to come and see me. These forms are due back by Wednesday 21st March 2012.
Thanks, Jackie Pope
BUSINESS ADVERTISING
The Parents & Friends Association Present:
The BLPS Easter Disco
Friday 23rd March 2012 Preps — Grade 2 4.30pm—6.00pm
Grade 3 — Grade 6 6.30pm—8.30pm
Prizes for best costume & best dancer
Only $2.00 entry! Payment forms are being sent home with the newsletter today, or are available at the office
Confidence means believing you can do it. It
means not being afraid to make mistakes, to try
something new, or to express an opinion
FOR SALE
Hewlett Packard Laptop
DV6-3031 First generation i7 processor
8GB Ram
640GB Hard Drive
1GB Graphics Card
15.6” Screen
DVD Drive
Windows 7 home premium pre loaded
Microsoft Office home & student
pre loaded
Current internet security till 2013
Genuine Harvey Norman warranty unit
2015
*BONUS - Internet security to last till 2014
Condition – As good as new original
stickers still on unit
Flexible on price of $798 or nearest offer.
Please contact Tara if
interested on
0411 824 199