JASON’S JOURNAL – The Principal’s Message Our 2012 whole school production of Suessical Jnr provided students, staff and parents extra excitement, challenge and satisfaction this year, accepting the task of four performances over two nights to ensure many family members could enjoy the show. What a success! In reflecting on our 2012 school production, I think of the many benefits of undertaking a whole school production, summed up as commitment, care, creativity, confidence, and community:

A whole school production requires a great deal of commitment. As well as meeting the demands of classroom literacy and

numeracy programs, the children learnt lines and lyrics, as well as memorised choreography. Memory skills are important and are always used in the real world;

During rehearsals it was great to see children looking to one another to remember lines and choreography - after all, copying from others is one way that we all learn. As always, I was thrilled to see the interactions between Blackburn Lake PS children and their care for one

another. The children involved in Suessical Jnr realised that there were others depending on them, and that each child had duties that needed to be fulfilled;

Research indicates that learning music develops creativity and an appreciation of the arts. Students in classrooms have enjoyed exploring the imaginative literature of Dr Seuss – who said, “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do and that enables you to laugh at life's realities;”

For the children, being part of a production shows them that there are people who appreciate them. The build up in confidence was evident with each round of applause our performers received on Monday and Tuesday night. Public speaking can be a huge problem for someone too shy or someone who lacks confidence, and having a “speaking part” helped a number of children to move past their shyness and develop public speaking skills;

As well as thanking staff for their time over the two nights, my congratulations and heartfelt appreciation go to the many members of our school community who also invested their energy and enthusiasm into making

certain that Suessical Jnr was reflective of the high standard of the programs at Blackburn Lake Primary School. Without being able to acknowledge all the many people involved here in the Lakeside News, I’d like to express my gratitude to those listed in the production programme for their valued contributions. I do wish to congratulate the core production team of parents Jason & Georgie Parker (Directors) and Elise Stevens (Lead Vocal Support), as well as staff Kerryn Straughan (Producer) and Jo Myers (Creative Director). Congratulations!

No 26

23 August 2012

STUDENT ATTENDANCE You have heard me say “It’s not OK to be away” many times, as students are expected to attend school on all designated school days. Last year at Blackburn Lake Primary School our students missed, on average, 13.3 days of school for the year. Whilst this is slightly below the state average of 13.9 it is still of concern, as it indicates that some students had far more days away. There are only 201 school days per year and to be missing more than 13 days on average does not allow children to learn to their full potential. Every piece of evidence tells us that high absentee rates lead to long term learning difficulties and missing “just a little” may not seem much, however:

In Semester One this year we had 864 days of lateness to school. Even arriving late means that students miss the vital first moments in class when the learning objectives are being explained and discussed. A new initiative that I will run this term and outline at this week’s assembly will be Pancakes From The Principal. Remember - “It’s not great to be late!”

STUDENT SAFETY - TRAFFIC After 16 years as the Florence Street crossing supervisor, Dale Mann is retiring at the end of this term. On behalf of the many families who have found themselves waiting for the safe sound of the double whistle – signalling “safe to cross”, I thank Dale for her service to the community and wish her a relaxing retirement. (And if community members would like to contribute to a farewell gift to be presented to Dale on the final Assembly of term, please drop a sealed envelope into the Office). It is timely that I once again write to remind families to be careful when travelling to and from school – whether crossing the road, entering the school (please use the school gate and not the driveways) or waiting for pick up at the 2-minute zone. Last week a parent turned too quickly into our northern driveway and barely missed a student walking across the driveway. As such I request that this entrance is to be used for school business only. AEU PROTECTED STRIKE ACTION

As you know, the AEU has won the right to stop work on Wednesday 5th September 2012. It is anticipated that this strike action will be the largest in Victoria’s history and that many schools will be forced to close. At this stage, we still do not have final numbers of classes that will be in operation on the day. I will attempt to get the information to you all as soon as possible, but it may be wise to consider an alternative solution in the meantime. I hope to see you at our whole School Assembly tomorrow @ 3:00pm to acknowledge our ‘Students of the Week’. Regards, Jason Walker – Principal

walker.jason.r@edumail.vic.gov.au

He / She is

only

missing….

That

equals…. Which is…..

& over 13 yrs

of schooling

that’s...

10 mins per day 50 mins per wk Nearly 1.5 wks

per yr Nearly ½ year

20 mins per day 1hr 40 mins per

wk

Over 2.5 wks per

yr Nearly 1 yr

Half hr per day Half a day per wk 4 wks per yr Nearly 1½ yrs

1hr per day 1 day per wk 8 wks per yr Over 2½ yrs

‘STUDENTS OF THE WEEK’ We congratulate the following ‘Students of the Week’ – to be presented at Friday’s Assembly

TERM THREE DATES Friday 24 August Life Education Van

Tuesday 28 August 2:30 – 3:15pm ‘Launch Pad’ (2013 Prep Transition) (No. 2)

Wednesday 29 August 6:30 – 8:30pm Literacy and Numeracy Week Maths Night

Thursday 30 August morning Parents Association FATHERS DAY stall

Friday 31 August 9:00 – 11:00am

Parents Association Morning Tea / Information

Session in DJC

Wednesday 5 September All day

AEU Industrial Action (various classes affected)

Parents Association Meeting

Wednesday 5 September 7.30pm Parents Association Meeting - staffroom

Sunday 9 September PA ‘Sausage Sizzle’ @ Bunnings Nunawading

Thursday 20 September JSC - Cancer Council - ‘True Colours Footy Day’

Tuesday 18 September 2:30 – 3:15pm ‘Launch Pad’ (2013 Prep Transition) (No. 3)

Friday 21 September 2:00 – 2:30pm Assembly (Term 3 concludes - early dismissal)

OTHER IMPORTANT 2012 DATES

Monday 8 October 9:00am Term Four commences

Wed - Friday 10 – 12 Oct Camp Morton - Year 4

Wednesday 10 October 7.30pm Parents Association Meeting

Tuesday 6 November Melbourne Cup Holiday

Wednesday 14 November 7.30pm AGM Parents Association Meeting

Thursday 22 November JSC - Melbourne Zoo - ‘Endangered Animals’ Day

Friday 21 December 1:00 – 1:30pm Assembly (last day of 2012 - early dismissal)

Principal’s Award Ellie L – 2L Completing a ‘storyboard’ about ‘Horton Hears a Who’

Assist Principal Eliza C – 3J An exceptional PMI reflection on Seussical

Prep A Maddie G Her outstanding performance as the ‘Baby Kangaroo’ in the

Seussical!!

Prep B Adelaide A Lovely expression when Reading aloud – it’s always a pleasure to hear you Read!

Prep E Noah B An excellent singing and dancing performance at Seussical!

Prep K Lara P All her wonderful ‘compound words’ work – well done!

MAGICAL MUSIC MATTERS JAMES H MUSIC CAPTAIN’S QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

The longest running Broadway musical is ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ which started in 1986 and is still currently running with 10,000 performances to date.

Seussical opened on Broadway in 2000.

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!! Words can’t describe how proud I am of every single child in this school. I had many teary moments watching the kids excel and most importantly have fun. I am also so thrilled to be working within such an amazing school community. Watching parents and teachers working side by side to give our children an amazing experience that they will remember forever. I can still hear the teachers singing the songs as they sip their coffee in the staffroom or work in their rooms. I am also very excited that not only have the kids learnt many great performing art skills but they have

explored Seussical across the curriculum. Every day the students continued to develop their Literacy and

Numeracy skills by using the rich material within Seussical and other Dr Seuss Books. I take my hat off to the classroom teachers for making this such a rich learning experience. Thank you everyone for supporting this adventure and for proving yet again what an amazing school BLPS is!!

‘ACCORD Music Festival’ The BLPS Choirs have been invited to perform at the ‘ACCORD Music Festival’. The Australian Children’s Choir host the event and it provides the opportunity to showcase a number of Choirs and for the children to share their beautiful music with a large audience.

It is on Sunday 9th September at 3pm and is held at Tintern School in Ringwood East.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

1/2D Maddy B Always displaying respect to others

1R Nicole X Wonderful Writing about our school musical

1S Rachel W Being such a cooperative and enthusiastic performer during

Seussical the Musical – well done!

2D Molly G Writing a brilliant recount – well done!

2L

2M Kate M Using interesting adjective when writing a recount of her weekend – well done Kate!

3A Alana S A fantastic narrative about friendship – ‘Lucy’s Friend’ was a great read

3J Nathan r Great organisation of his group during our Thinking Skills session

on Seussical

3S Ellie G Her quick mastery of vertical multiplication – well done Ellie!!

4E Shani M Assisting teachers and supporting staff for Seussical practice

4K

4M Alex J Showing deep levels of thinking during a Circle Time on ‘Heros’ – truly inspiring stuff Alex!!!

5/6C Minnie H Continued outstanding Homework efforts!

5/6M All of 5/6M Their dedication and fantastic performance at Seussical – well done 5/6M!

5/6N

5/6S Dane T An outstanding job as Assistant Stage manager at Seussical

Performing Arts

Italian

Visual Arts

Phys Ed / Sport Evan S – 5/6N For his consistence effort to help set up for ‘Morning Movers’

State School Spectacular

“It’s All About the Love!” Saturday 8 September @ 11am & 5pm

Hisense Arena Melbourne Park

To purchase tickets visit www.ticketek.com.au/spectacular and end the code SPECTACULAR

Our group of 2012 State School Spectacular participants are hard at work learning and rehearsing the

choreography for this year’s performances. On Tuesday they had their final rehearsal at Boronia

College. Channel 7 Reporter David Brown was on hand to speak with the participants and film the action.

You can see David Brown’s segment will be broadcast during the 6.00pm News this Saturday 18 August

on Channel 7.

Thanks everyone, Jo Myers Music Coordinator myers.joanne.j@edumail.vic.gov.au

SUPER SPORTS REPORT

“MORNING MOVERS” Numbers have been a bit low – maybe the cold mornings!! Come along and get those bodies warmed up and ready for the day. INTERSCHOOL SPORT District Summer Sport - Tuesday 9 October We have a date!! Our Summer Sport Round-robin will be held on Tuesday 9 October. This is the first Tuesday in Term 4. More information to follow. District Athletics (track events) - Monday 17 September Will be held on Monday 17 September, at Box Hill Athletics Track, during the last week of this term. A catch-up day is booked for Wednesday, 19 – hopefully not needed!! Phil Lumsden Sport Coordinator lumsden.philip.a@edumail.vic.gov.au

PARENTS ASSOCIATION NEWS President: Andrea P Vice President: Lynne W Treasurer: Rebekah R Secretaries: Nicole R & Lisa C

So show your support for the PA and or drop us a line via the PA mailbox in the school Foyer or send us an email at blps.pa@gmail.com

FATHER’S DAY STALL

THURSDAY MORNING 30 AUGUST

Come along next Thursday morning to select a special gift for your Dad or Grandpa/Pa/Pop. Items will be priced from $1 to $10. Please bring your shopping bag so that we can get the treasures home safely.

A big thank you to the Helping Friends who have put their hands up to help run the stall on Thursday morning. It would be great if there were a few extra people available to help at anytime from 9am until about 11am (maybe a little later). Please contact Robyn on 0437 937 462 or Simone on 0422 624 630, if you are available for some or all of the time.

A little note to the few children who were accidently sold a “Dads” pen at the “Mother’s Day stall” earlier this year...we hope your Mum had a sense of humour, but please let us know if this happened to you when you come to the “Father’s Day stall” and we will have a little gift for you to give Mum on “Father’s Day” also!

Chocolate drive money due Monday Thank you to all those parents and children who have been madly selling chocolates for our Chocolate Drive. All money (notes preferred if possible) and any unsold chocolates need to be returned to the PA mailbox by Monday 27 August. Don’t forget to put your child’s name and grade on the envelope. We are looking forward to counting the proceeds, so we can see how much we’ve raised towards turfing the mini oval.

Join us for a Cuppa next Friday Our morning tea / information morning is being held next Friday morning. Feel free to drop by to say hello and have a chat to some PA members to learn more about the PA in an informal setting. When: From drop off until 11 am, next Friday 31 August Where: DJ Centre

We’d love to see you, along with any littlies you have in tow!

Where’s Canteen? There isn’t one at present! We need a new Coordinator, or a Canteen Coordinators Group (we now have three people who have expressed interest in being part of this group. Come on mums and dads, we only need a couple more or someone who’s willing to step up and take it on!). If you take on this role, or be part of a group, you will be in charge of the day(s) of operation, the menu, rosters etc. If you are interested, please contact Jason either in person or via email. A position description is in previous newsletters, or email Lisa at waz.lisa@bigpond.net.au

Help make a lazy $500 for the school Did you know the school is a member of several loyalty programs run by local businesses? These loyalty programs regularly contribute to the fundraising efforts of the PA and therefore, our school. The combined proceeds from sales at Bakers Delight (Brentford Square) and Aussie Farmers Direct alone is around $500 a year on average, all from you simply mentioning the school’s name (or quoting school code S11 to Aussie Farmers) when you make a purchase – easy! If you’d like to see what other loyalty programs are around, click here: http://www.blps.vic.edu.au/text/shopping_rewards_b92j.htm Bakers Delight from Brentford Square have presented another cheque to school for $17 being

Milo Fridays continue Did your kids enjoy a warm Milo last Friday? Milo will be available for the next two Fridays - 24 and 31 August. Cost: $1.00 When: Recess time Where: Bring your dollar to the canteen and swap it for a yummy warm cup of Milo

(Please note: the Milo will be made with full cream cow’s milk). Thank you to Rebekah, Miranda and Sharee for organising these mornings.

Next Meeting: 5 September Please diarise Wednesday 5 September as our next meeting date. We will have teleconference facilities available at future meetings, so if you’re home alone with the kids, but would like to join in or learn more about what we do and dial into our meeting, contact Lisa on 0409 773 849 / waz.lisa@bigpond.net.au

School Banking Wednesdays REWARD ITEMS NOT AVAILABLE ANYMORE: the watch, wallet and lunchbox are no longer available as stocks have run out.

If you have 10 tokens saved you can redeem them for the following reward items: • Money box - choose from 5 characters • Drink bottle • Handball • Book light • PEN POD - metal case holder with 2 blue ball pens and 3

highlighters

AUGUST 'SPENCIAL' REWARD OFFER What’s better than Spen? A free Spen! That’s right….when a student orders a Dollarmites moneybox in August they will receive the Spen moneybox free! Why not take this opportunity to build up their moneybox collection!

When: For orders placed between 1 August 2012 – 31 August 2012 (inclusive) What: When 10 tokens are used to order a Dollarmites moneybox (Pat, Addy, Pru or Cred) the child will receive the Spen moneybox free! Note: the free moneybox is not provided if the original reward order is or a Spen moneybox. How: Simply place an order for the Dollarmites moneybox (not Spen) in August and the Spen moneybox will be added to the order automatically.

Regards Vickie L - School Banking Coordinator � 0419 773335

COMMUNITY NOTICE BOARD Any advertisements in this newsletter are in no way endorsed by Blackburn Lake Primary School

URGENT HELP!! LOST SAMSUNG GALAXY SII PHONE in Bright Pink Hard

Case @ SessicalSessicalSessicalSessical - Tuesday 21 August @ 5.30pm Session

A SAMSUNG GALAXY SII PHONE (android) in BRIGHT PINK HARD CASE (chip on one of the top corners) was dropped towards the end of the Seussical show in the Kel Watson Theatre on Tuesday 21st August @ 5.30pm session near seats F10 and F11 and it may have slipped under the seats in E row.

It has a keypad lock on it. It is on silent mode and only “VIBRATING” We've tried ringing the phone but it’s switched to silent so it’s going straight to message

bank. If found please return it to Blackburn Lake Primary School’s Office or contact Scott L) � 0402 237 387 or Home: � 9877 2658 (answering machine)

Second Avenue Art School 18 Second Avenue Box Hill North

Everyone has a need for creative expression...Creativity is life in action, without it, there would be nothing new - ever.... Discover your creative abilities, start drawing and painting and learning, beginners are most welcome! Second Avenue is a studio run work space that holds classes and workshops for both children and adults in a warm, bright and comfortable environment. Our staff are qualified, experienced, knowledgeable, welcoming and talented. We have high staff–to–child ratios, with a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 16 children, so there is lots of professional help and personal attention. The adult classes run generally with a maximum of 8 with the same personal attention.

Children’s classes: Tuesday 4.30–6.00pm, Wednesday 4.30–6.00pm, Thursday 4.30–6.00pm,

Friday 4.30–6.00, Saturday 10.00–11.30am & 12.00–1.30pm Cost $185.00 includes all materials except an A3 journal which they will need to bring with them. Adult classes: Tuesday 12.00–2.00pm & 6.00-8.00pm, Wednesday 12.00–2.00pm & 6.30-8.30pm

Thursday 12.00–2.00pm, Friday 12.00–2.00pm Cost $250.00 Teenager’s classes: Thursday 6.30–8.30pm, Friday 6.30–8.30pm Cost $250.00 includes all materials except an A3 journal which they will need to bring with them The course runs for a duration of ten weeks, which run in conjunction with the school terms and covers many topics including techniques, styles and different and diverse ways of discovering your creative talent within. Just call � 9890 3440 to make your booking or for any enquiries. Art parties are our specialty and we welcome all who choose to celebrate with us, for more information please email: roecoco@bigpond.com for a flyer.

BLACKBURN LAKE

SANCTUARY Meet @ the Visitors Centre Central Rd Blackburn 3130

Sunday 9 September - 2pm – 4pm ‘Fighting Extinction’! Zoos Victoria volunteer talks about Conservation of ‘Endangered Species’!

Saturday 15 September - 10am – 12noon ‘Working Bee Amongst the Wildflowers’ Tools provided, BYO gloves

ALL WELCOME! For information: email:

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~blsac Or Education Officer � 9262 6211

Junior Naturalists Juniors Group of FNCV Inc

The group meets at 7.30 pm on the

last Friday of each month (except

Dec) at the rooms of the Field Naturalists Club of

Victoria Inc, 1 Gardenia St Blackburn 3130.

AUGUST EXCURSION – 25 August @ 10am ‘Planting with Helmeted Honey Eater’ AUGUST MEETING – Friday 31 August @ 7.30 ‘August Birthday Party – theme – Desert Life’

For further information & bookings contact:

Clare Ferguson � 8060 2474 or email: toclairef@gmail.com

New Hope Baptist Preschool’s BABY & CHILDREN’S MARKET

SATURDAY 10th NOV 9am – 1pm 50+ STALLS PRE-LOVED / NEW / HANDMADE

INDOOR EVENT New Stallholders Welcome SAUSAGE SIZZLE / CAFÉ / CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND!

@ New Hope Baptist Church 3 Springfield Rd Blackburn Nth Plenty of Parking – Prams Welcome!

ENTRY: $2 per adult / Children FREE Enquiries to: Stephanie at nhpsparents@foretaste.com.au

All proceeds go to New Hope Baptist Preschool