berwick lodge primary school, newsletter, may 2011
DESCRIPTION
Berwick Lodge Primary School, Newsletter, May 2011TRANSCRIPT
DIARY DATES
Friday 20th May Interschool Winter Sport (away
Maramba PS)
Monday 23rd May District Cross Country
Friday 27th May Interschool Winter Sport (away
Berwick PS)
Preps - Basil Safety House
Monday 6th-Wednesday 8th June 5/6 Camp1 (5T, 5C, 6K,
6N)
Wednesday 8th-Friday 10th June 5/6 Camp 2 (5H, 5W, 6P, 6N)
NEWSLETTER N0.14 19TH MAY 2011
NOTICES DUE BACK BY Friday 20th May 5/6 Camp Coolamatong Forms
District Cross Country
Tuesday 24th May Preps - Basil Safety House
Tuesday 24th May Interschool Winter Sport (away
Berwick PS)
Friday 27th May 5/6 Camp Coolamatong Final
Payment
Friday 3rd June Prep, Grade 1&2 Swimming
Program
BERWICK LODGE PRIMARY SCHOOL Phone: 9707 1766 Fax: 9796 2198
E-mail: [email protected]
Visit our Websites : http:// www.berwicklodgeps.vic.edu.au,
Camp Australia/Out of School Hours Care: 9769 8251
CANTEEN IS NOT OPEN ON TUESDAYS
EDUCATION WEEK OPEN NIGHT
What a wonderful night it was! Open Night is one of many special occasions
at our school that I really enjoy. It was great to see so many parents and
families visit Berwick Lodge and enjoy the hospitality of
their children and staff. One of the
more gratifying aspects of the night
for me is to see the delight and pride in
our children as they show their parents their work. I know our staff are also thrilled to have you
visit and chat with them as they all take great pride in their work and in the
achievements of their students. It would be remiss of me not to
acknowledge the wonderful work of our student leaders who acted as tour
guides for visitors. A number of parents have contacted us this morning
to express their gratitude and admiration for our student tour guides
last evening. Thank you to all for attending.
BER UPDATE
Our meeting yesterday with representatives of the DEECD BER Team and the project managers ended
on an impasse. Those in attendance were Julie Alliston, DEECD BER
Manager, Tony Scurrah Whitton, ARUP Representative, Andrew Wood,
Project Manager, APP, Sean Hamilton, Director, Hamilton Design (our
industry consultant), Jodie Norton, School Council President, Lynne
Brenner, Assistant Principal and me. Julie Alliston presented us with a cost
analysis summary for our project and invited questions from us. Over two
hours many questions were raised, some were answered to our
satisfaction, many were not. The clear impression we gained from Julie Alliston was
that the meeting was a
forum for the DEECD to
present a cost summary
budget for our project
and for her, Tony Scurrah Whitton and Andrew Wood to answer our
questions followed by discussion on our companion project. The fact that
we were not satisfied with the funds available for our companion project, in
our view, was ultimately irrelevant to their agenda. This we found to be most unsatisfactory in light of the
discussions that took place. The meeting ended with no agreement
between the parties on the funds available for our companion project.
Later today I am meeting with David Chandler, Deputy Chairman of the
Orgill BER Taskforce as he is seeking regular updates on the progress of our
project. Tony Scurrah Whitton (ARUP) will be in attendance at this
meeting.
Summary points from yesterday‟s meeting:
(1) The DEECD have offered us a total of $604,063 for our companion project on the basis
that our notional $2 million template building has actually cost
$2,451,119. This represents $451,119 over spending on the
budget – almost 25%! The sum of $604, 063 available for our
companion project is arrived at by deducting the total cost of our
template building from our notional allocation of $3 million,
remembering that we voluntarily downsized our template building
to a $2 million building
Continued….
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
SCHOOL AWARDS Congratulations to the following students who received awards over the last
week:
Kemea PW
Zubair PW
Molly PM
Aris PL
Zeke PM
Cooper PC
Judy PC Stevan PL
Jamison PW
because the larger building would
have meant that we would have lost our $70,000 junior playground
equipment with no recompense and the cost of fitting out the
larger building to a satisfactory standard would have been at a
prohibitive cost for our school (almost $200,000 of our money).
(2) We asked for a detailed breakdown of the summary costs, but were
denied this on the grounds of “commercial –in-confidence”
grounds, despite the fact that the former Minister for Education,
Bronwyn Pike, gave an undertaking in 2010 that all project details would be made public following
completion of the tendering process.
(3) The cost summary that we were given, in the view of Sean Hamilton,
is in the order of $300,000 above what he would expect. No
satisfactory explanation was given at the meeting to address this
concern. (4) We noted that the redirection
costs for the stormwater and sewage pipes, was quoted as being
$155,000. This represents $95,000 above the estimate of $60,000
provided to us by KLM Spatial in November 2009, when we challenged APP‟s contractor
estimate of the cost being in the order of $203,000. APP did not
draw on the advice of KLM Spatial in their tendering process, a point
of issue at yesterday‟s meeting considering that the consequence
has been that our project costs are
now $95,000 dearer just on that single item.
(5) Our template building, on the figures provided by the DEECD
yesterday makes it one of the most expensive of such template buildings
managed by APP. The DEECD provided the Australian
Government with a cost analysis per square metre for all standard
template buildings. Their figures state that the upper limit average
cost per square metre for the building we are receiving is $3,306,
making for an average total cost of $2,168,954. Our building however,
the DEECD argues,
is costing $3,888 per square metre at
a total cost of $2, 451,119. We
are certainly bemused by the fact
that our template building has proven to be one of the
most expensive to build. (6) Our unique project costs - one of
the main areas in which costs can vary for standard template buildings,
is a bone of contention for us. According to the documentation
we received yesterday, our costs (for such things as contamination, demolition, power and utility
upgrade, redirection of services) is $247,642. In comparing this with
the amount the DEECD have allocated in their submission to the
Parliamentary Inquiry, that being $175,300, there is a difference of
$72,342, which is a far cry from the $282,165 that our project is
claimed to cost more than the average cost for such a template as
quoted by the DEECD. This of
course does not take into account
our view that the DEECD refused to split the tender for our service
redirection or subsequently
did not have APP at least
make contact with KLM
Spatial to get the best deal
on this aspect – the cost being $95,000 or thereabouts to our final
balance.
We will bring our continuing concerns to the attention of David Chandler later today and I will keep you
informed.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS (FAQ’s) Q. What happens if a child leaves the school grounds during school hours
without permission? A. We regard this as very serious and
fortunately it does not happen often. Firstly we speak with any witnesses to
gain as much information as possible as to why the child left the school
grounds and where they may be heading. We send staff out to see if
they can spot the child and/or hopefully convince them to return.
This is all done very quickly as matter of urgent priority. We also call the
child‟s parents and the local police as well as the DEECD Emergency
Management Team.
QUOTABLE QUOTE ‘Bureaucracies and precedent-setting are
like oil and water .’
HENRY GROSSEK
ASS I STANT PR INCIPALS ’ REPORT
OPEN NIGHT
Thank you to all families who
attended our Open Night last
night. The positive feedback
received from families indicated
that everyone enjoyed the
opportunity to visit classrooms
and specialist areas and view the
results of our
students‟ efforts.
Thanks must
also go to our
hard working
staff for the
preparation of
displays and activities and their
attendance throughout the
evening. Our student leaders did
a magnificent job in showing
prospective families around the
school and supporting specialist
teachers in their programs.
Congratulations to all involved!
CARERS MAKE A
DIFFERENCE
„Life Without Barriers‟ is seeking
compassionate people willing to
share their home with children
and adults, who may have a
disability, that require their
support and care. Carers can be
single, living with a partner or have
their own children. They offer
excellent training, support and
financial reimbursement to assist
carers in enhancing a child or
adults quality of life. For more
information contact
telephone 5990 3200. You can
also visit their website at
www.lwb.org.au
‘STEP INTO PREP’
This week families will be receiving
a flyer about our Step Into Prep
evening that we
are running on
Wednesday 1st
June for families of
students
commencing
school in 2012.
This evening will incorporate a
guest speaker, Dot Deviny, who
will address the issue of how
parents can best support their
child‟s transition into primary
school. The prep classrooms will
be open so that families can see
the classroom environment and
our Prep Staff will also be present
to talk about the early days of
school and answer parent queries.
The evening will commence at
6:00pm and is an excellent
opportunity for families who have
not yet made their final decision
regarding school enrolment.
Existing families with preschool
children enrolling for 2012 are
also welcome to attend. So that
we can accommodate all
interested families we request that
bookings are made by calling the
school on 9707 1766.
WINTER CLOTHING
With the onset of the cooler
weather this
week we
thought it
timely to
remind all
families of the
need for
students to wear appropriate
clothing to school. Although the
children may be warm in the
comforts of their home, car and
classroom they need to be rugged
up when going outside to play. A
warm, cosy jumper or jacket and
named, weather proof coat are
strongly recommended at this
time of the year.
There is currently an
overabundance of lost property
and this raises two concerns.
Firstly, as most of the clothing
items are not clearly named, they
cannot be returned promptly to
their rightful owners. We
understand clothing is expensive
and it is difficult to distinguish
individual ownership of similar
items and so we are asking you to
please ensure all clothing is
clearly named. Secondly, we
are concerned with the large
number of lost items that are not
being collected and ask for your
assistance in checking
whether your
children are missing
items of clothing. Lost
property is located in
the corridor halfway
down the main
building and is accessible during
school hours.
LYNNE BRENNER &
DEBBIE CUSACK
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
EMA 1st INSTALLMENT ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR COLLECTION FROM THE
SCHOOL OFFICE BETWEEN 8:30AM - 4:00PM
ASS I STANT PR INCIPALS ’ REPORT
WHAT IS GETTING ALONG?
Things to Say to Encourage Getting Along Behaviour
When you catch the young person getting along, say:
“You get along well.”
“When you help others with their work, you learn
more yourself.”
“You are sensitive to others.”
“Sharing a book is a sign of being a friend.”
“You really worked well to solve the problem.”
“You made the new student feel welcome.”
“You work well in a group. You listen to what others
say.”
“You encourage others. You want the best for them.”
“Arthur has benefited from your help. You are a
helpful person.”
“Cooperation allows people to contribute equally to tasks. You cooperate well with each other.”
“Thanks, Jake, for waiting until she finished talking.”
“You seem to want to make your class a better place to live.”
“Members of this group must really respect each other.”
Dear Parents/Guardians,
This year all Grades 3 to 6 children will be participating in the Fantastic Fridays Program in Term 2. This program
will run on Friday afternoons (2:30pm to 3:30pm) starting from Week 2 and will run for approximately 8 weeks. It
is an elective program where students will be mixed with their peers to learn a variety of different subjects outside
the normal curriculum areas of Literacy and Numeracy. The elective programs on offer are:
Gymnastics
J-Rock
Lego
Cooking
Art / Craft Construction
Billycarts
County Fair
Fashion / Jewellery Making
Science and Technology
We have a number of teachers allocated to the various programs but are asking our school community for some
support. If you have any expertise in any of the following areas and would like to participate in the
program we would greatly appreciate your time and experience. These activities
require different materials and resources and we would greatly appreciate any
donations to support our Fantastic Fridays Program. These could include-
construction materials such as wood, screws, wheels, art supplies, foam cups etc.
Please see Traceye Rapinett for information or details about the program.
Despite the cold weather and being restricted to the
OSHC room or Gym we are still having fun at Camp
Australia OSHC. This week we are all having a go at
making things that work with wind.
We look forward to having even more fun this week,
with working with food.
M: Fruit & Veggie Stamping
T: Cooking Decoration
W: Freddy Five Food Groups
T: Bread Art
F: Fruit Faces
Star of the Week: Seth 2Z: For always being polite, caring and
for using his creativity to complete projects.
A friendly reminder that Curriculum Day is Tuesday
14th June 2011 is coming up and we have an Expression
of Interest Form, so please fill one in if you think you‟ll
need care for this day. The session will run from
6:45am - 6:30pm. However, we need a minimum of 20
children to run a program on this day and Expression of
Interest Forms need to returned NO LATER than 3rd
June 2011.
New Enrolments/Bookings &
Cancellations: All new enrolments/Bookings & Cancellations are
completed online at www.campaustralia.com.au
OSHC Hours: Before School Care 6:45am - 8:45am
After School Care 3:30pm - 6:30pm
Our direct line is 9769 8251 or you can call the Camp
Australia Admin on
1300 105 343
Thank you
Dorien and the OSHC Team
BLOSHC NEWS
PYJAMA DAY!
Recently Berwick Lodge
Primary School had our
netball rings vandalised.
These rings are an important
part of our school‟s sporting
equipment. Some students
have grouped together to
plan a fundraiser to help
cover the cost of
replacement rings. This will
be in the form of a Pyjama Day. All students are
welcome to come dressed in pyjamas. You can
even bring a pillow or your favourite teddy!
Pyjama Day will be held on Tuesday
the 24th May 2011.
Please bring a gold coin donation
on the day.
If you wear a nightie please
wear leggings or pants
underneath it and remember
to wear appropriate footwear
(e.g. NO THONGS OR
SANDLES).
Art Donations!
The Art room is looking for some donations.
If anyone has small yoghurt containers that are cleaned
and washed we would be grateful for donations!
Also cardboard rolls (such as cling
wrap, foil rolls)
would be
appreciated.
Thank you
Jo Zammit and Julie Mcleod
Visual Arts Teacher
FANTASTIC FRIDAYS Billy cart Making
Thank you so much to the Wilkinson (4R) and
Robertson (6P) families for their kind donations
of materials to our Billy Cart making projects.
More donations of timber and wheels would by
gratefully received by Mr. Whitehead in
Room 24.
If you have an hour to spare on
Fridays from 2:15pm - 3:30pm,
you assistance in helping the
children to make their billy
carts would be most welcome.
Parents & Friends Association
NEXT MEETING: Thursday 2nd June 2011 at 1.30pm in Room 16.
Everyone is welcome, including toddlers. The PFA welcomes anyone wanting to join the fun and help make
a difference.
2ND HAND UNIFORM SHOP: Our next 2nd hand uniform shop will be open in the school canteen on
Tuesday 28th June 2011 from 2.30pm until 3.15pm. We would like to thank all those families who have
donated as they have assisted other families in our community. There will be a table with $1.00 items. Get
in quick!!
News
PFA CAFÉ: Starting today, every Thursday afternoon, the PFA will be offering tea, coffee and milo for a
gold coin donation. If you arrive at school early to get that car park close by, or you want
to come and keep warm on our cold wintery days, we invite you to come along to Room
16 from 2.45pm We will also have the days papers to read and there will be toys to keep
the little ones amused. Currently, we are opening on Thursday afternoons only, however
we welcome feedback as to whether other days would be appreciated as well. We look
forward to seeing you there !
We would like to thank Impra Tea who has donated some speciality tea. You can contact them on their
website: www.impratea.com.au
ICY-POLES: A big thank you to Jason Miller and Aldi Eden Rise (located at Eden Rise
Shopping Centre, 1 O‟Shea Road, Berwick) who have donated a huge amount of icy poles
to us. To support our senior students, who had the fantastic idea of fundraising to fix our
netball rings, we will be handing out the icy-poles to all students on Pyjama Day, on
Tuesday 24th May 2011. If your child has any allergies or you do not wish for them to
receive an icy-pole, please see your class teacher.
FUNDRAISING ASSISTANCE: For our Clover Cottage evening and our Walkathon, we are looking
for some assistance with donations and prizes. Do you own or work for a company
that would be willing to donate a product or gift voucher? If you do we would love to
hear from you. Any company who donates will receive promotion for their business in
our newsletter. Please contact Sarah via our email below or leave your details at the
office.
Your PFA are always looking for new ideas and assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact us by email on
[email protected] or via the school office.
The PFA would like to thank you for your continued
support.
BUSINESS ADVERTISING
Advertisements published by the school are accepted in good faith and should not be regarded as an endorsement of any product or service.
Parents and members of the school community are advised to investigate any service or product to determine its suitability to meet their family's needs prior to accessing it.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Lotus Wellbeing Ladies Massage and
Beauty Therapy Studio
10 Jomary Court, Berwick
Massage Therapy 1 hour an affordable $45
Hygenic affordable waxing and junior prices available
too.
By appointment only call Suzanna 0400990100
see website www.lotus.id.au for details
COMMUNITY NEWS
NARRE WARREN-BERWICK BLUE LIGHT DISCO
BERWICK LEISURE CENTRE,
MANUKA ROAD, BERWICK
SATURDAY 4th June 2011
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