PRINCIPAL’S REPORT NEWSLETTER N0.11 26TH APRIL 2012

UPDATE ON OUR PREPS

I am thrilled to report to you

that our Prep

children have

settled in really

well this year.

We are now into

second term and

the feedback I

receive is very positive indeed. In

reporting this news to you, I do

emphasise that this is not a

surprise. For many years now

our Prep staff has done

outstandingly well in ensuring that the transition to school for

Prep children is successful. Parent

support is so important to the

success of children’s first year of

schooling, and we have this in

bucket loads. From my

perspective, it is very heart

warming to see so many smiling

and confident young faces at

every Monday morning assembly

– just one indicator of how well

the Prep children are doing.

WET DAY PROGRAM

No-one likes having a wet day

program, but of course there are

days when we have no choice but

to keep the children inside. Lately

we are having more of them. The

children are engaged in

supervised free time activities

whilst inside. We do try to allow

the children

even a short

time outside if at

all possible – just

to freshen up.

Sometimes this

is not possible

and your child may come home

having been indoors all day and

feeling a little frazzled. It’s worth

remembering.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

QUESTIONS

Q. What is the school doing

about the uneven concrete

paths?

A.The lifting sections of concrete

paths do cause us

headaches. In the

first instance we

paint such sections

with a bright

yellow paint strip

making them more visible. As our

budget permits we replace such

sections, grading the ground to ensure that the paths are again

level.

QUOTABLE QUOTE

‘If you really want to lead a happier

life, then view ‘happiness’ as a

transient state rather than as an

entitlement.’

HENRY GROSSEK

DIARY DATES Friday 27th April Gr 3 & 4 Melbourne Museum

Gr 1 & 2 Casey Safety Village

Friday 4th May Gr 1 & 2 Casey Safety Village

5/6 Interschool Winter Sport (away)

Wednesday 9th May Mother’s day Stall

Friday 11th May St Margaret’s Netball Competition

Wednesday 23rd May Fun Maths Activity Day

NOTICES DUE BACK Friday 20th April Cross Country Parent Helper Form

Tuesday 1st May 5/6 Interschool Winter Sport

Thursday 3rd May Mother’s day notice

Friday 4th May St Margaret's Netball Competition

Thursday 10th May 5/6 Non Participation Forms

Friday 11th May 5/6 Camp Forms

Monday 14th May Social Club Books

Friday 18th May Fun Maths Activity Day

Year 7 Transition Forms

Wednesday 6th June 5/6 Camp Balance

CANTEEN IS ONLY OPEN

MONDAY,

THURSDAY &

FRIDAYS

SCHOOL BANKING The School Banking program includes an exciting Rewards Program designed to encourage children to get into the habit of making regular saving. Every time your child makes a deposit at school they receive a silver coloured Dollarmites token. The first token will be received upon the first deposit at school. Once your child has individually saved 10 tokens they can redeem them for an exclusive Dollarmites reward item. Students will have lots of fun saving their tokens for these cool rewards items. School Banking is also a great fundraiser for our school. The school receives $5 when children make their first deposit at school and a commission on every deposit made through the School Bank-ing program. Taking part in School Banking is easy.

If your child has an existing Commonwealth Bank Youthsaver account they can start banking straight away. They just need to bring their deposit in every week using their Dollarmites deposit wallet. If your child has misplaced their Dollarmites deposit book or deposit wallet, they can request a new one from either the local branch or contact the School Banking Co-ordinator.

If your child does not have a Youthsaver account, you can open one at any Commonwealth Bank branch, no forms to fill in! Alternatively, if you are an existing Commonwealth Bank customer with access to NetBank you can apply online. Another option is to download a paper-based application form from commbank.com.au/schoolbanking. Please note this option may take up to 2 weeks before a Dollarmites wallet and deposit book is sent to your home address to start banking at school.

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

SIGN WRITER WANTED

As part of our upcoming

refurbishment we are looking for

a sign writer who would be able

to redesign

several signs

around the

school which

indicate the

location of

areas within the school grounds.

If there is a family in our school

community who would be

interested in assisting us with this

task, could they please contact the office and let us know.

ACMA PRESENTATION

Are you concerned about your

child’s use of social media and

online activities when

accessing technology such as

computers and mobile phones?

Would you like information to

support their online safety?

During this term we are offering

a series of workshops to address

these and other important issues

related to children’s computer

and phone

usage. These

workshops are

being

conducted by a

representative

from the

Australian Communications and

Media Authority and will take

place on Monday25th June.

Student workshops will be held

for Years 5 and 6 classes during

school time, the staff will

participate in a Staff Meeting PD

session and a parent workshop

will be conducted at 7:00pm.

We encourage all families to

mark this date in their diaries.

Further information will be sent

home closer to the date.

WOOLWORTHS EARN &

LEARN SHOPPING

INCENTIVE PROGRAM

Following on from the success

with our involvement with last

year’s Woolworths Earn and

Learn Program we have again registered to

participate in this

incentive. Last

year the school

received

materials to

support the Lego program in our

school. The Earn and Learn

Program will commence early

next month and families who

shop at Woolworths can collect

points from Wednesday 9th May.

This year the shoppers are

encouraged to collect stickers

which are then put onto a card

that is forwarded to the school

when completed. Further

information will be available via

the media and our school

newsletter.

WELLBEING

INFORMATION FOR

FAMILIES

This week we have included a

flyer with the newsletter. This

provides information about a

program called ‘Growing Great

Kids’. It is an opportunity for

parents and carers to discuss

experiences, ideas and strategies

to make parenting easier and fun.

The program operates on

consecutive Tuesdays for six

weeks, commencing May 1st.

There is no cost involved but

bookings are required. Please

see the flyer for contact details

and further information.

SOMERS CAMP FOR

YEARS 5 AND 6

STUDENTS We had an overwhelming

response from families expressing

an interest in their child attending

the 2012 Somers Camp.

Unfortunately we were not able

to offer a place to all interested

students and

consequently

undertook a ballot

process for

selection. All

children who

returned their

forms will have received

notification today regarding their

attendance or non attendance at

the camp. Should we have a

family decline a position that has

been offered we may be able to

accommodate some of the

students who have missed out on

a place. If this is the case families

will be notified at the earliest

opportunity.

LYNNE BRENNER & DEBBIE CUSACK

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT

2013 YEAR 7 TRANSITION NEWS

All Year 6 students have now received their Applications forms for Year 7.

Please read the information carefully before completing the application form.

All forms MUST BE RETURNED to your child’s class teacher

BY FRIDAY 18th MAY 2012.

If details are incorrect on the top part of the application form please contact the school office to

update your information. Any queries can be directed to Mrs Sue Naismith, Rm 24 or by phone

on 9707 1766.

Many local secondary schools hold Information Evenings for prospective families at this time of the year.

All Grade 5 and 6 parents are strongly encouraged to attend these information sessions to find out about their

local secondary schools.

Kambrya S.C is holding their Information Evening on Thursday 26th April 2012, 6.20pm - 7.30pm.

Timbarra S.C. is holding their information Evening on Wednesday 9th May 2012, 7.00pm - 8.00pm.

Fountain Gate S.C. is holding their information Evening on Tuesday 1st May 2012, from 7.00pm

Casey Safety Village Excursion

Grades 2FR and 2G went to Casey Safety Village. Here is what we learnt.

On Tuesday 24th April we went to Casey Safety Village. We learnt about the fire triangle. It has

heat, fuel and oxygen in it. By Charlize and Whitney 2FR

We went to Casey Safety Village. Our favourite part was when Kylie taught us if you get caught

in a fire you should stop, drop and roll and it will put out the fire because it takes the oxygen away.

By Olivia and Taylah 2FR

On Tuesday 24th April at 9.30 am we went to Casey Safety Village and it was raining. We couldn’t

ride the bikes because of the rain. We went inside and learnt about fire safety and crossing safety.

Our favourite part was when the fake fire came out. By Zac A and Joshua H 2FR

SCHOOL AWARDS

Congratulations to the following students who received awards over the

last week:

Matilda PW

Ben PS

Jacob PS

Matilda PM

Sebastian PM

Luke PW

3/4 SCIENCE ROTATIONS

THANK YOU TO

ALL 3 & 4

STUDENTS FOR

THEIR EFFORT AND

BEHAVIOUR DURING THE

3/4 SCIENCE

ROTATIONS

LAST TUESDAY

24TH APRIL

2012

BUSINESS ADVERTISING

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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

COMMUNITY ADVERTISING

COMMUNITY ADVERTISING

THEMES SECONDARY EDUCATION

MAGAZINE

This magazine provides parents with

Secondary Education options and Open Days

information.

These magazines are available from the school

office.

FOR SALE 6x4 Blue Felt Pool Table: comes with variety of Cues, Cue

Stand, x 1 Set of Balls, x 1 Set of Competition Balls. $700.00

Beech/Grey office desk: ‘Empire’ brand with round end 90cm

W x 290cm L $180.00

2 door cupboards: x3 beech 800 W x 410 D x 890mm H

$120.00

White Board: comes with or without stand 1500mm x

1200mm $50.00

All Enquires please call Kellie 0407 329 122

LOST A Berwick Lodge PS Buttoned sweater ,

with the name of Spike, if found could you

please return it to Mr Whitehead in Rm 18.