Dear Parents and Carers

Congratulations to Laila C who received an award last Friday for student of the month. This award is sponsored by My Agent and was awarded to Laila for being inclusive and demonstrating exceptional kindness and compassion towards others. Congratulations to Laila!  

This week our Year 4 students have been focusing on First Eucharist and participated in a Retreat with Fr Martins. To help us better understand the relevance of the Sacraments and the importance these have for our Catholic faith, I offer the following for your information.

What is a Sacrament?
A Sacrament is a special ritual that is highly symbolic and connected to our Christian faith. There are seven religious rituals or church ceremonies that Catholics call sacraments. The Latin word sacramentum means “a sign of the sacred”. The Catholic sacraments are ceremonies that point to what is sacred, significant and important for Christians.

The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church         
Baptism                Holy Orders                    
Reconciliation        Matrimony
Eucharist              Annointing of the sick
Confirmation

The Eucharist is often referred to as ‘Communion’. The word communion means to be ‘united with’. Catholics believe that in Holy Communion we are united in a special way with Jesus Christ. Each time we go to Mass we remember the first communion that Jesus gave His disciples. We continue to keep our Year 4 students in our prayers as they prepare to receive this Sacrament for the first time.

Staffing and Classes for 2022

The class structures for 2022 at St Bernard’s will be:

• 2 Kindergarten classes
• 2 x Year 1 Classes
• Stage One Class (Year 1 and Year 2)
• 2 x Year 2 classes
• 2 x Year 3 classes
• 2 x Year 4 classes
• 2 x Year 5 classes
• 2 x Year 6 classes

From year to year it is necessary to make decisions based on the approach for class structures. All schools receive a staffing allocation from Catholic Education and this is determined by overall school enrolment numbers. The NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum is arranged in Stages: Early Stage One (Kindergarten), Stage One (Year 1 and 2), Stage Two (Year 3 and 4) and Stage 3 (Year 5 and 6).Year 1 and Year 2 are taught and assessed against the same outcomes; with each stage being taught over two years. All teachers provide a flexible learning environment to cater for mixed abilities and interests. There are a range of academic abilities in all classes and teachers differentiate their teaching and learning. We have a dedicated team of teachers who are working together to ensure best pedagogy is occurring to improve student outcomes. Please be assured that all decisions are made in the best interest of the students.

Public Speaking

The Southern Region Public Speaking dates have been rescheduled to be held virtually on November 16 and 17, with the Archdiocesan Public Speaking competition set for November 25. We wish our school representatives all the very best as they prepare their speeches.

Have an enjoyable and relaxing weekend.

Johanna Wain
Principal