Dear Parents and Friends,

I hope you enjoyed the long weekend; I know the students did! Congratulations to Beatrix F who came first on Tuesday at the Combined Primary Schools NSW Cross Country! Beatrix will now compete for a place in the National Championships next term. What a wonderful achievement, we are very proud of you.  

This Friday, 16 June, we have a whole School Mass planned at 9.15am. The Mass will be led by our Mini Vinnies team and will focus on supporting others in need. This year, Pope Francis, has named the theme as “walking together”. Pope Francis says that synodality is about “a discerning community becoming an acting community”. This certainly aligns with our St Bernard’s values and the way our Mini Vinnies team continue to work and plan to help those less fortunate. Last week I was touched to hear how a group of Year 2 students were planning their own fundraiser for the missions. This has then led to Year 2 running their own mini project this week across the grade. This is certainly an example of being called to action.

The Mass coincides with a Pyjama/Beanie-Day’ where students are encouraged to come dressed in pyjamas and offer a gold coin donation. All proceeds will go to the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. Donations of blankets are welcomed and can be left at the front office. Dave May from the St Vincent DePaul Society will be in attendance at the Mass to receive our donations. All families are invited to join us as we prayerfully reflect on our responsibility as a faith-filled community to respond to those in need. 

Teaching and Learning

St Bernard’s has a practical and evidence-based approach to teaching and learning, which ensures we provide the education that our students and families deserve. We are committed to continuously investing in the delivery of excellent teaching and learning experiences. We will do this by focusing on three key areas:

1. Improving the quality of curriculum resources available to teachers
2. Delivering high quality professional learning for all teachers
3. Implementing high quality assessment protocols

We offer a broad-based curriculum with emphasis given to the care and development of the child as an individual and a contributing member of a community. Students participate in all Key Learning Areas each week from Kindergarten to Year 6 - Religious Education, English, Mathematics, History, Geography, Science and Technology, Creative Arts and Personal Development/Health/Physical Education (PDHPE).

Extension Numeracy and learning options are available for individual students. Students are selected based on data to work in small groups to extend their thinking. The students are engaged in tasks that require them to use background knowledge and inquiry skills to investigate and solve real world problems. Over the past couple of weeks, classroom teachers have been performing some formal assessments with students to inform us on growth and to continue to inform our teaching and learning. It has been great to hear from teachers about the growth students are making across English and Mathematics. Spelling Mastery is certainly supporting student growth in spelling. I am hearing about students showing growth of more than two years since the beginning of the year. This is amazing! The teachers are very much looking forward to sharing your child’s progress at Parent Teacher Interviews in Week 10. Don’t forget to make a time.

Last week I wrote some information in the newsletter regarding changes to NAPLAN. ACARA (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority) is shifting to reporting Proficiency Standards replacing the previous Band Levels. This change requires communication to both parents and teachers as it has implications for reporting, support, and interpretations. Please find a flyer further down in the newsletter. 

St Bernard's School Rules

This week I have been speaking to the students about speaking respectfully and using respectful language. We are explicitly teaching students to use manners when interacting with each other and adults. Some of the things we have spoken about include:

• Saying please/thank you
• Greetings to adults. For example good morning
• Walking on the concrete
• Using respectful and appropriate language at all times
• Jokes – what is acceptable and what’s not

I ask that you please continue the conversation at home. At St Bernard’s we want to ensure that all students are displaying our St Bernard’s values and that we are creating a respectful culture.

Thank you for your support with ensuring your child is in the correct uniform. We have seen greater improvement in this area.

Blessings to you and your family.

Kind regards

Johanna Wain 
Principal