Year 12's
Student Intentions for 2010
Driving in the College and Car Parks

HPV News

Ilford School's Photography Competition

Volleyball Gold!!

Malaysian Study Tour Scholarship

Intermediate Girls Netball Southern Zone Champions

Extreme Weather Conditions & Bushfire Preparedness

Bushfire Appeal

Ilford School's Photographic Competition

Congratulations to the following term 3 Merit Certificate winners in the Ilford School's Photographic Competition: Hannah Motyka for her photos "Trestle Bridge" and "Docklands"; Robyn Shepherd for her photo "Envy"; Zoe Ronchi for her photo "Sara"; Sandra Shoghi for her photo "Electricity Towers"; Rebecca Sanders for her photos "Wagon Wheel" and " Untitled"; Zhenya Belousova for her photo "I Remember When"; and Jaclyn Dobson for her photo "Untitled 3".
 

Year 12’s

The last day for Year 12 classes is Wednesday October 21st. I would like to extend the best wishes of our College to all these students and their families for the future and to thank them for their support of the College over the years. At our farewell assembly students were encouraged to make the most of these last weeks prior to the exams so that they do not have cause for regret when they are over. The Year 12’s are scheduled to have their farewell breakfast on Thursday morning (October 22nd) and left school after that. All students have been warned that under no circumstances are they to cause damage to the school’s property, throw things such as eggs or interfere with other students. This time of year has the potential for accidents, particularly with celebrations, drinking and driving. I encourage all parents to reinforce these messages with their son/daughter during the next week.

Student Intentions for 2010

We are now in full scale planning for 2010 and beyond. As part of this process, if parents are aware that their son/daughter won’t be attending the College next year, could a letter be sent to the relevant Home Group Teacher or Learning Team Leader advising them of this. This knowledge plays an important role in determining what subjects we can offer in 2010 and by extension our staffing levels.

Driving in the College and Car Parks

Could I please remind parents that the top car park is not to be used for the dropping off or collection of students. It is a staff car park and students riding their bikes to school access this entry to store their bikes during the day. When parents use the area, congestion increases significantly raising the possibility of accidents, particularly to students. There is an area just below where parents can pull into to drop their son or daughter off. I urge all parents who have been using the top car park to please use this area instead. Can I also request that parents observe the speed limits in place in the lower part of the school. With the number of students being picked up and dropped off, excess speed will only increase the possibility of accidents occurring.

HPV News

Eight of our students qualified for the State Final on October 17^th.  Great riding by Brad Venables, Sam Wilson, Zane Hunter, Lee Imrie, Beau Mason, Jack Livesay, Kyle Thompson and Mitch Lewis.

Congratulations to the team members who have just qualified: Dylan Thompson (U13 Men’s Racing), Rebekah Truman (U17 Women’s Novice) and Emily Hunt (U17 Women’s Racing).

We wish all 11 riders the very best and may the power of Cadel Evans be with all of you!  (Cadel has just won the World Champion jersey!)

Ilford School's Photography Competition

Congratulations to the following students for achieving Merit Certificates in the Term 2 Ilford School's Photographic Competition. Tara Gunn, Year 10, for "Untitled", Rebecca Sanders, Year 10, for "Timber, Rust and Pine Needles", Jaclyn Dobson, Year 12, for "Blinded by Curiosity", Tori Maggs, Year 12, for "Loneliness", Kristi Williams, Year 12, for "Arachnophobia".

Tara Gunn, "Untitled"	Kristi William, "Arachnophobia"	Jaclyn Dobson, "Blinded by Curiosity"
Rebecca Sanders, "Timber, Rust and Pine Needles"		Tori Maggs, "Loneliness"

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Volleyball Gold!!

Congratulations to the Year 8 U/15 Boys and Girls and Open Girls Volleyball teams who recently competed in the Victorian Schools Cup competition from August 7^th-9^th. The three- day tournament involves teams from all over the state.

After a long 3 days, the boys played off for the Bronze medal and played very well against a tough Hailebury team. The boys lost the bronze medal play off, but achieved their goal of winning a match and exceeded their expectations by playing off for Bronze. Congratulations boys on a fantastic result.

The U/15 girls did very well, winning GOLD in their division!!! Most of the games were won in hard fought sets, only dropping one game for the entire weekend. The girls played extremely well against a very tall Eltham side in the grand final, beating them easily in 2 sets. Well done girls on a tremendous effort!

The Open girls division played some very close matches over the duration of the tournament. They did well considering most of the teams they played against were in Year 12 and they had players from years 9 to 12 playing. They convincingly defeated Academy of Mary Immaculate in their final game and hopefully they will take this good form into the one day Victorian Schools Cup in September. Well done girls, keep training hard!

Thank you to all the parents and supporters who came along to cheer on the teams, it was wonderful to have your support.

U/15 Girls Anna Greenstreet (Coach)

Aisha Balakrishnan, Larissa Sandsom, Jazmin Valentine, Rebecca Binning, Amber Wareham, Grace Wilson, Madeline Williams, Kayla Forster

U/16 Boys Jonathon Rogers (Coach)

Nathan Workman,  Cameron Fogarty, Daniel Bijoux, Dylan Henry, Craig Chapman, Dylan Horsbough, Jake Lester, Nicholas Abeysekera, Luke Helbig, Blake Pearson, Kevin Stephens

Open Girls  Kristen Robinson (Coach)

Shannon Powell, Emma Mickle, Samantha Amos, Rebecca Haycroft, Rachel Douglas, Vickee Stephens, Hayley Taranto, Jaclyn Dobson, Jen Phillips, Stepfani Hompot, Victoria Collins.

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Stephen Wynton awarded Malaysian Study Tour Scholarship

Stephen Wynton, a Year 10 Indonesian student, has been awarded a place on the 2009 Indonesian Student Language Study Tour to Malaysia.  This program is for Victorian Government School students planning to study Indonesian in VCE and is almost fully funded by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD).

The study tour, in October 2009, provides in-country immersion experience in Kuala Lumpur and includes a home stay with an Indonesian family.  Stephen is to be congratulated on his excellent application and his commitment to his Indonesian
studies.

Well done Stephen!

Ms Lauren Kenny - Domain Leader – LOTE (Indonesian)
 

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Intermediate Girls Netball Southern Zone Champions
 

Congratulations to Brittany Jackson, Stephanie Delgado, Tayla Davison-Armao, Baelee Kireka-Mark, Jen Westmorland, Caitlyn O'Sughrue, Taylah Mackie, Jessica Treleani and Brittany Mashado for their outstanding performance at the Southern Zone Netball Championships on 29th July. No other team came close to them and they comfortably beat Brighton, Rosebud and Frankston Secondary Colleges to become the 2009 Southern Zone Champions.

I would particularly like to commend the girls not only on their netball skills but on their teamwork, sportsmanship and behaviour. Girls, you are a credit to Berwick Secondary College! Well done and the school will be looking forward to seeing what you can do next year!

Ms Flood - Netball Coach

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Extreme Weather Conditions & Bushfire Preparedness
 

There is no provision for the closure of schools during days of heavy rain or extreme heat. In days of extreme heat, outdoor activities such as Phys Ed classes may be rescheduled indoors, additional rooms will be opened during lunchtimes and classroom activities may be varied to assist students and staff to cope. Students will not be sent home early as we would need to make contact with well over 1000 families. The College will do all it can to make such days as safe and comfortable as possible for all concerned.
 

The recent bushfires throughout the state reinforce the very high risk of bushfire and it is important for students, parents and staff to be fully aware of the procedures should bushfires break out in the local area. The CFA has advised us that the school is not deemed to be in a high risk area therefore students should be safe at school in the event of fires in the surrounding areas. In an emergency students and staff will evacuate to the school stadium where there are adequate water and toilet facilities to cope with a prolonged stay. As it is possible that local roads may be blocked or obstructed in the event of bushfires, parents are encouraged to stay where they are until the fire front has passed. School buses travelling into higher risk surrounding areas will be held at the school if fires break out. School excursions and camps scheduled during high risk days will be assessed on a case by case basis. Student safety is the paramount factor in determining school management decisions in these cases.

Ross Bevege Principal
 

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Bushfire Appeal
 

Our students and staff have been quick to respond to this tragedy. Monetary donations have been collected through Home Groups, and a clothing appeal from the Learning Teams. In addition, all schools have been encouraged by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to hold a Casual Dress Day to raise funds for the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Tragedy. This was held on Friday 13th February. What else can we do? Students and family members may consider joining local community volunteer agencies such as the CFA, SES, St John’s Ambulance etc. as they are always on the lookout for new members. If there is a positive that can be taken from such tragedies, it is the response by so many in our communities to rally and support those who have been directly affected by such events. The desire and awareness to help and support others less fortunate than ourselves is exactly what we are trying to build in our Learning Teams through service learning projects.

Ross Bevege Principal