PRINCIPAL’S REPORT NEWSLETTER N0.1 2ND FEBRUARY 2012

Welcome – As always, holidays

pass too quickly – I hope that yours

was a happy an enjoyable one. I do

enjoy the first day

that our children

return – their

infectious enthusiasm

is very uplifting.

UPDATE ON EVENTS OVER

THE HOLIDAYS

STAFFING

Sarah Gardiner, one of our

integration aides will be on sick leave

for the first few weeks of the year.

We do wish her a speedy recovery.

FACILITIES

Annual Painting Program:

Programmed Maintenance has done

an outstanding job with our annual

‘painting refreshment’ program. With

the main school building due to

undergo a major refurbishment

during term 2, the repainting

program was restricted to our other

buildings with a special emphasis on

our portable buildings.

BER Building: fixed internal

furniture has been installed and the

building has now had split system air

conditioning units installed in the

four classrooms and library. Blinds

are due to be installed shortly. We

now have a 12 month period of time

during which we will be monitoring

building defects, all of which are

under warranty.

I must say that we are all thrilled that

this building has now been

completed and our year 4 classes

and library/Asian studies program

will be held there.

Vandalism: during the holidays a

portable classroom was broken into

and some minor damage to the

building was incurred. The Narre

Warren police are undertaking an

ongoing investigation into the break

in and are hopeful of a result.

Electrical Upgrade: the DEECD

commissioned a major electrical

upgrade of our school – this being

completed last week. This has been a

welcome upgrade which should

ensure that our level power supply

will be adequate in the foreseeable

future.

Grounds Maintenance: Bruce

Cusack, our maintenance officer

completed a range of minor buildings

and grounds enhancement projects

over the holidays, including the

removal of dead trees, mulching,

graffiti removal, etc.

New carpets for portables: four

portable classrooms have had their

carpets replaced with several more

on our waiting list.

New Classroom Furniture: new

tables and chairs have been

purchased for our grade 4 grades.

This is part of our ongoing

classroom furniture upgrade

program.

Continued...

DIARY DATES Monday 6th February 2012 Swimming Carnival Trials

Tuesday 13th February School Banking begins

BER Refurbishment Project: our planning team, comprised of Jodie Norton, Lynne Brenner and myself,

have been meeting with our project manager/architect, Genem Architects regularly since 27th December

2011, developing plans for our refurbishment of our main building. We are at the point of completing our

project design and obtaining approval from the DEECD after which the tender process will

commence. At this stage we anticipate that the works will commence in late March and be

completed by early July. We are very pleased with progress to date and are confident that we

will achieve a really worthwhile enhancement of our school facilities with this project. I will

provide you with regular updates in the coming weeks – including details of the project design,

temporary arrangements during the construction phase and precise timelines.

SCHOOL ASSEMBLY

Our first school assembly for this year will be held on Monday morning on our basketball courts. Our Prep

students will not be attending the first assembly as it may be a little daunting for them. They will attend in a

few weeks time when their teachers are confident that they are ‘ready’ to be a part of a large group of people

at a formal assembly. If you have the time to attend, we’d love to see you there at 9.00am.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’s)

Q. If the weather gets really hot are the children forced to go outside at lunch time?

No. On hot and also windy days we reduce time outside to 30 minutes, depending on the severity of

conditions, with children remaining in their air-conditioned classrooms for the balance of their lunch breaks.

QUOTABLE QUOTE

‘The warmest part of returning to school in February is not the weather, but the enthusiasm of the children ’

HENRY GROSSEK

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT C ONTINUED. . .

WELCOME TO 2012

Welcome back to all our families!

We hope that you enjoyed a

relaxing holiday break. We also

welcome our Prep 2012 students

and new students starting at

Berwick Lodge in

Years 1 to 6. The

children have all

been excited

about returning to

school and appear

to be settling in

very well. If you see any new faces

around the school please welcome

them to our school community.

STUDENT ACCIDENT

INSURANCE

ARRANGEMENTS

Parents and guardians are advised

that they are generally responsible

for paying the cost of medical

treatment for injured students,

including any transport costs. Most

medical costs will be refundable by

Medicare. If you are a member of

an ambulance or health insurance

fund, you may also be able to claim

transport or other expenses from

the fund.

The Department of Education and

Training does not hold accident

insurance for school students,

however, other insurance cover is

available.

The Department is aware of two

insurers, JUA Underwriting Agency

Pty Ltd and Willis Australia Ltd,

which provide accident insurance

policies for students. These policies

provide specific benefits for students

who are injured in accidents for a

reasonably low cost. Other insurers

may also do so.

It is recommended that families

consider Ambulance Membership as

ambulance costs are incurred for an

ambulance to attend, regardless of

whether transportation to hospital is

necessary.

CONTINUED……

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT

HOLIDAY PROJECTS

During the school holidays several

projects were undertaken around

our school as part of our ongoing

efforts to provide a safe, attractive

and well equipped learning

environment for our students. To

enhance the building and grounds all

external walls and windows have

been cleaned, the permanent

buildings have been serviced by the

painters, all carpets have been steam

cleaned, the hall floor has been

resurfaced, garden beds and

surrounding areas have been

trimmed and tidied up and a new

retaining wall has been built in the

courtyard garden. Parents may also

notice that the cypress trees on the

rear boundary of the oval have been

trimmed to enable staff to have a

clear view of this out of bounds area

and discourage after school use of

the area by local teenagers.

The portables at the end of the main

building have all been painted

internally and the first four

classrooms have also been

recarpeted. The BER building is

now ready for occupation. The four

classrooms have been outfitted with

new furniture and the Library has

been set up using the existing

Library

furniture and a

range of new

fittings. The

classrooms

are

operational and will house our Year

4 students and the Library should be

ready some time next week.

Plans for the refurbishment of the

administration area are well

underway and works on these

should commence by the end of

Term 1.

STUDENT REQUISITE

PAYMENTS

Thank you to the many families who

have already paid the compulsory

Essential Education Items and

Curriculum Requisites payment for

2012. The BPay option of payment

has proven to be very successful in

allowing parents to organise their

payment from home. Parents using

this method to pay school costs

need to be

mindful that the

payment takes

one to two

working days to

show up on our

banking records,

at which time the receipt will be

issued and sent home with your

eldest child.

Families are reminded that a

discount structure is in place with a

discount of $20 if paid before the

30th March 2012.

If you have any queries regarding

payments or would like to organise

a payment plan, please contact the

school office. It is expected that all

families will have made arrangements

for these payments by the end of

March.

CARPARKING

Parents are reminded that the car

parks provided at the Mansfield

Street Milkbar and the Berwick

Lodge Medical Centre are for

patrons of these facilities only and

are not available for the use of

parents picking up students from

our school. Likewise the car park at

the front of the school is intended

for staff usage. Limited parking is

available for people with disabilities

in the staff carpark (permits for this

can be requested from the office)

and the Cyril Molyneux Reserve car

park. It would be appreciated if our

community could be mindful of

leaving these spaces available for

those in need.

Parents may have also observed that

the drop off, pick up zone in Collins

Crescent is accessible. Drivers are

reminded that this is strictly for

dropping off and picking up students

and that cars should not be parked

in this area.

From time to time the City of Casey

Bylaws Officers and local police

patrol the roads around the school

perimeter and book offending

drivers.

LATECOMERS

We are introducing a new

procedure for students who arrive

late for school. Any student arriving

after 9:15am should be brought to

the office by their parent/guardian

and signed in through the late

comers book. Parents will then be

requested to deliver their child to

their classroom. This process is

being implemented to ensure the

safety of our students and we thank

parents for their support and

cooperation in this matter.

Students who arrive at school late,

without their parent, will be sent to

the office by their teacher to sign in

and contact will be made with their

parents to ensure that they are

aware that their child has arrived

late.

DADS ’N’LADS – BOYS

ADVENTURE WEEKEND

Need an excuse for a boys only

weekend? We have received the

following information regarding a

Dads ‘n’ Lads weekend at Phillip Island

Nature Park – the perfect bonding

session for big and little fellas.

What: Dads ‘n’ Lads Weekend

(boys aged 4+)

When: 11th – 12th February and 18

– 19th February

Where: Phillip Island Nature Parks,

Phillip Island

Cost: $165 all inclusive (dinner,

breakfast, activities for one adult and

one child)

$65 per extra child

Further details including bookings

can be found by contacting Jade

Cranton on 59512802 or email

jcranton@penguins.org.au

LYNNE BRENNER & DEBBIE CUSACK

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS’ REPORT continued...

Parents & Friends Association

PFA MEETINGS 2012

After taking into consideration feedback from last year, PFA meetings will now be held on

the second Wednesday of every month at 9.30am in Room 31. Please update your 2012

School Calendar to reflect the new time and come along to the meeting if you can. The

first meeting for the year will be Wednesday 8thth January 2012.

The Parents and Friends Association is open to everyone, every contribution is

appreciated. Children are most welcome at meetings so come along to see what it’s all about and find out

what sort of contribution you can make to the School through involvement with the PFA!!!

Thanks,

Carly Baker

PFA President

SCHOOL COUNCIL PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Hi everyone and welcome to the first School Council President’s Report of 2012.

WELCOME

It’s amazing how quickly six weeks of holidays can go. I hope everyone had an enjoyable break and spent some wonderful

time with their family and friends. I would like to welcome everyone back to Berwick Lodge for our 2012 year. I would

especially like to welcome our new students and their families to our school. I know you are going to have a great time

getting to know new friends and your teachers.

FACILITIES UPGRADE

Over the holiday period it has been a busy time at school as we have had many exciting upgrades including

painting in our portables, new carpet in portables, new landscaping and the fit out of our new Grade 4/

Library Building. It is wonderful to see the school looking bright and fresh for the new year.

REFURBISHMENT PROJECT

Also over the holiday period, the School Council Subcommittee for the Refurbishment Project met regularly. We have been

making great progress and our new plans look very exciting. We expect to commence construction in late March with

completion in July.

SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING

Our first School Council meeting for this year will be held on Monday 13th February. As always if you wish to

discuss any issue, please feel free to contact me directly. I can be contacted via the school or office or you can

email me at

norton.jodie.j@edumail.vic.gov.au.

Jodie Norton

SCHOOL COUNCIL DIRECTORY

President: Jodie Norton Principal: Henry Grossek

Vice-President: Michelle Sarjeant DEECD Members: Lynne Brenner

Minute Secretary: Lois Smethurst Sue Naismith

Correspondence Sec.: Michael Tabone

Parent Members: Prashad Sujenthiran PFA Co-Optee: Samantha Cline

Craig Benedick

Carolyn Mehr

Lesley Lees

Contact Details: Phone: 9707 1766 Fax: 9796 2198

Email: norton.jodie.j@edumail.vic.gov.au