Volume 25 Issue 41 Friday 20 December 2019

www.brentwoodparkps.vic.edu.au

term dates 2019 term 3 15 jul - 20 sep term 4 07 oct - 20 dec 2020 term 1 29 jan - 5 apr term 2 23 apr - 28 jun

jim bell, principal jenny reid, assistant principal jo-anne doran, assistant principal

DATES TO REMEMBER

A Special Thank You to our Parent Helpers! On Monday, we held our annual, Christmas themed, Parent Helpers Thank You Morning Tea.

The occasion afforded the staff at Brentwood Park the opportunity to officially extend their thanks for all the support parents have provided throughout the course of the year. Parents are an integral part of many of our programs and assist in a multitude of ways; assisting with reading, gen-eral assistance in the classrooms, attending excursions, attending camps, marshalling at sporting activities, fund-raising and school council to name a few! At Brentwood Park Primary School, we are committed to the partnership between school and home and recognise that the children are the beneficiaries of our combined efforts. A HUGE THANK YOU to all our parents for their sup-port over the course of another very productive year!!!

Y ear 6 Graduation 2019 On Thursday evening, 19 December, the Year

6 Graduation Dinner and Grad-uation Ceremony were conduct-ed at the Cardinia Cultural Cen-tre. Dressed in attire suited to the occasion, the students enjoyed a celebratory dinner with staff and took advantage of the opportunity to have individual, group and family photographs taken by pro-fessional photographer, Kathy Watson. Within the auditorium, the official part of the ceremony commenced for the parents with the viewing of a DVD which was compiled to provide all present with a snap-shot of Year 6 in 2019. It illustrated admirably, the pro-ductive and enjoyable year experienced by both students and teachers. A collage of photographs has captured the occasion for all to enjoy!

F undraising Christmas Raffle A HUGE THANK YOU is extended to Sandra Prvulj and Donna Foster who have, for many

years, headed up our fundraising efforts for the school. You are both amazing!! Their final event was the Christmas raffle which again was well supported by our community! Thank you to the additional parents who supported them in the “making up” of hampers containing our donated Christmas items!

THANK YOU: Belinda Muller, John and Suzanne Leveque, Nichole Campanaro, Kat Oram, Kaylene Baxter, Leonie Roberts, Jess Okirua, Lindey Penrose, Maggie Ma, Jessie Prvulj and Isabelle Muller

N ew Mobile Phone Policy The Victorian Government takes the safe and responsible

use of digital technologies, student safety and wellbeing, and the development of social skills and positive behaviour, very seriously. On this basis, the Hon. James Merlino MP, Minister for Education, announced that a new mobile phone policy would take effect from Term 1, 2020. Whilst the Victorian Government acknowledges that we live in a technology-rich world where mobile phones are an important communication tool, research has found that mobile phones can be disruptive in classrooms and open to misuse at school. The unregulated presence of mobile phones in classrooms can undermine students’ capacity to think, learn, remember, pay attention and regulate emotion. At recess and lunchtime, opportunities for students to communicate with each other face-to-face or be involved in physical activity are also valued, rather than students being focused on a mobile phone, particularly when they are using it to engage with social media. This new policy acknowledges that technology is increasingly affecting how students learn and communicate. Therefore, when a student has been given explicit permission to access and use such devices to enhance learning by the classroom teacher, mobile phones will be permitted for that specific purpose. For a small number of students with particular health and wellbeing needs, an exception to the policy may also be granted. As a school, we acknowledge that the misuse of mobile phones may be more prevalent in a secondary school setting, however, primary schools are not immune from their misuse. Our school council has ratified our Mobile Phone - Student Use Policy and we have included a copy of the policy in this week’s newsletter for reference!

S taff Farewell This year, we must say farewell to Toni Coelho who has undertaken duties in integration support

within classrooms over a total of fifteen years! We wish Toni well as she undertakes some well-deserved long service leave prior to committing to retirement in 2020.

S taff Welcome I’m pleased to inform our school community that we will be retaining all of our current staffing for

2020 and that next year, two new staff members will be joining us and two former staff members will be returning to Brentwood Park. We sincerely and officially welcome Mark Swift and Felicity Charrett as teaching staff members of Brentwood Park and welcome back Kenneth Mills, performing arts teacher, and Michelle Conroy, classroom teacher. Mark is an experienced classroom teacher who has had the bulk of his experience teaching in the United Kingdom and Felicity’s most recent experience has been with us when, at short notice, she took on the junior school performing arts role in Term 4 this year! Given the current enrolment and projected enrolment for 2020, a new administration staff member also joins us next year! A sincere welcome is extended to Barb Scott who will join us from her current administration/accounts receivable position at Alkira College! A full staffing list for 2020 is presented in this week’s newsletter for your reference.

S tudent Orientation for 2020 On Thursday, the children had the opportunity to go to next year’s classrooms with their 2020

teachers. This orientation assists in their transition and makes the first day of school next year that little bit smoother.

F inally … At the close of our twenty-fifth year, I

once again say a very sincere thank you. Thank you to all those parents who have supported the school’s programs and children’s learning in so many ways. Thank you to all the staff, both teaching and non teaching for all the “extra” you have done throughout the year. Farewell to the families who are moving on; our very best wishes go with you, and to those who remain, we look forward to our continued association. To all, I wish a safe and relaxing holiday!

Staffing at Brentwood Park

Principal Jim Bell Assistant Principals Jenny Reid Jo-Anne Doran

Business Manager Sue Moore [Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday]

Office Manager / Human Resources Maree Dale

Office Administration Mandy Scarlett

Office Administration / Accounts Receivable Barb Scott

Office Administration/First Aid Ros Cleversley

Year 6 JA Room 38 Judy Anderson Year 6 MK Room 39 Marina Kesegic Year 6 MB Room 7 Melissa Butcher Year 6 JL Room 9 Jessica Lee [Porziella] Year 6 MS Room 10 Mark Swift

Year 5 LM Room 8 Leanne Maslen Year 5 MC Room 23 Leah McCartney Year 5 EB Room 24 Ebony Bashford Year 5 BM Room 25 Beth McPhan Year 5 JG Room 26 Julia Groves

Year 4 SM Room 13 Shanitha Maharaj Year 4 EC Room 14 Emily Calabria Year 4 LM Room 15 Linda Moore Year 4 MC Room 16 Michelle Conroy Year 4 VA Room 37 Vicki Kromlidis / Angela Vetsicas

Year 3 DK Room 18 Donna Kelly Year 3 CH Room 11 Carolyn Hilton Year 3 MS Room 12 Marissa Shami Year 3 SA Room 21 Shelley-Anne Adams Year 3 MF Room 22 Melissa Forkgen

Year 2 CM Room 36 Catherine Murray Year 2 AK Room 35 Amy Kleinsmit Year 2 SD Room 34 Sibel Durak [Yurtbasi] Year 2 AD Room 33 Amy Dickson Year 2 RG Room 28 Rosemary Gloz / Gabrielle Douglas Year 2 CV Room 27 Cassie Van Zeyl Year 2 CP Room 17 Cathi Priest

Year 1 TN Room 19 Tam Nguyen Year 1 MK Room 20 Nicole Garrett Year 1 HG Room 29 Heather Ghazarian Year 1 KC Room 30 Kirsty Courtis Year 1 NC Room 31 Natasha Cooper Year 1 AB Room 32 Alyce Bagnall

Year 0 TL Room 1 Tania Lucas Year 0 JF Room 2 Jessica Fergusen Year 0 BC Room 3 Bronwyn Coombs Year 0 SM Room 4 Sharlene Marsche Year 0 JH Room 5 Jasmine Hill Year 0 LP Room 6 Lyn Pearse

Digital Technologies Lisa Hill Additional Assistance Trish Shaw, Danielle Ackland, Lyn Forsyth and Sally Morris Health and Physical Education Jim Narayan and Mel Dennis Visual Arts Jessica Murphy and Bree Stribbles Performing Arts Kenneth Mills and Felicity Charrett Chinese [Mandarin] Chunyan Zhang and Shuyue He

Integration Aides Sandra Hess, Jill Strafford, Jo Morris, Anthea Barry, Samantha Smith, Marlene Masciulli, Natalie Bourke and Belinda Smalley

Maintenance Daryl West

Multi Media Annette Wright and Josephine Tan

Technician Jill Phillips Damien Hawkins

School Chaplain Glenn Douglas

...2020...

Term 4 Week ending 20 December, 2019

0BC Nicole for your enthusiasm and energetic performance in our Foundation Christmas Concert. 0JF Alana for such fantastic growing and learning this year. 0JH Divyesh for working so hard to reach “red level” books!! Congratulations. 0LP Kayla for the AMAZING effort you made to learn our 3 Christmas Concert songs in just 4 days! You are a superstar! 0SM Ronin for being wonderful students at BPPS. Best wishes at your new schools. Ollie We will miss you. 0TL FTL for your fantastic concert performance. 1AB Lizzy for staying calm and asking for help when you need it! Well done! 1HG Altaf for his speedy ‘mental’ computation skills. Well done! 1KC Sana for always following instructions and her beautiful decorating this week! 1MK Lincoln for being an all round awesome student! 1NC 1NC for all your effort and enthusiasm during the concert. 1NG Ekain for the continued effort that you put into your reading! Super job! 1TN 1TN for performing their absolute best in the Christmas Concert. 2AD Aaliya for always being the first to help others in 2AD. 2AK Anish for such a positive start at your new Australian school! 2CM Smithika for all of the extra work you put into your writing! 2CV Jayden for creativity and amazing presentation in class. 2RG Chloe for improvement in her maths problem solving. Well done! 2SY Dhriti Congratulations for reaching 200 reading nights!! 3CH Jay for being a wonderful friend who loves to make everyone laugh, including me! 3DK Yun Yi for your kind, helpful and enthusiastic attitude. Keep smiling, YunYi!! 3MF Zoe for being such a positive and caring member of 3MF! 3MS Ruby for her wonderful academic achievements this year and being a superb member of 3MS! 3SA Decklan for being such a positive member of our class. Your smile brightens my day. 4BM 4BM for an absolutely amazing year together. I am so proud of you all! 4CP Nate for always helping in the classroom. 4EC Aanya for being a fantastic class helper this week. Well done!

Term 4 Week ending 20 December, 2019

4SM Mabel for being a beautiful friend to her buddy. Thank you, Mabel! You are AWESOME! 4VG Avani for being an enthusiastic helper and hard worker. Enjoy your new school. 5JG Manjot for always coming to school with a smile on your face and having a caring attitude towards others. 5LF Charlie Congratulations on being voted 2020 School Captain. Well done! Iliana Congratulations on being voted 2020 School Captain. Well done! 5LM Fatima for being a kind hearted student who enjoys making and seeing others happy! 5SI Dushan for making an excellent start at BPPS! We are very lucky to have you! 6JA 6JA thank you for a wonderful year. I wish you all success and happiness in the future, no matter where! 6JP Nidhi for her excellent manners, hard work and enthusiasm for learning. Well done! 6LM Dylan because he offered support to a friend in need. Well done! 6MB Leon for his wonderful approach to his learning in the classroom.

SPECIALIST CLASSES

LOTE. Chunyan FTL for doing paper-folding with excellence and happiness. LOTE. Daisy 1HG for your excellent engagement in learning the Chinese version of the ‘Merry Christmas’ song! P. Arts. Linda Yr 1s for your fantastic performances at the Grade 1 Christmas Concert! Prep for an outstanding Prep Christmas Concert! P. Arts. Larissa n/a P.E. Jim n/a P.E. Mel n/a V. Arts. Jessica 6JA Congratulations on the magnificent effort you put into your pillowcases. V. Arts. Bree 1AB for consistently working co-operatively and doing your best every week. D. Tech. Lisa n/a

P LEASE DIRECT MONEY FOR EXCURSIONS, ETC TO YOUR CLASSROOM TEACHER - NOT TO THE OFFICE.

Please hand money and permission slip in sealed envelopes to classroom teacher first thing in the morning. By following this process teachers are aware that your child will be attending the excursion and mark them off

their lists. Money is collected by office staff and processed each morning and a receipt given back to teachers along with permission slips. All money is tallied and banked daily – no money is left on the premises. If you wish to pay by credit card, a proforma is available from the office. This can be filled out with details and placed in a sealed envelope and handed to your classroom teacher

Please deliver cash in a sealed envelope with your child’s name and grade on the front by 9.30 a.m. If you have a number of children attending an excursion you can place all money and permission slips in the one envelope with children’s names and grades on the front and deliver to one of the children’s teachers. The office staff will be able to allocate money to the children’s particular items and distribute permission slips and receipts back to teachers. Enve-lopes are available at the office. If you have a large amount to be paid or need to process an EFTPOS transaction through a savings account you can make arrangements to pay at the office. We also have a new Qkr payment system on our Skoolbag app. If you download our Skoolbag app and Qkr payment app you can now pay for your child’s excursion on line.

All change will be delivered to the children in the afternoon. Re-imbursements will only be made under certain circumstances – they will be made by cheque (no cash transactions are made).

Notices are sent out with a final collection time – please adhere to this time. All money and permission slips are required to be sent back by this date – otherwise your child will not be able to attend. This enables us to confirm bookings and numbers with bus companies and organisations we are visiting. Also we need to send details to the De-partment of Education Emergency Management for all excursions, camps, etc. We also need to accommodate students who will not be attending.

We would appreciate it if parents could please follow these processes.