Dear Parents and Carers 

It’s hard to believe that we are now approaching the end of Week 7 and that we are about to launch into Spring. Hopefully the weather will continue to warm up. I know many of our students are participating in sporting finals as their seasons come to an end. I wish all our students all the best in their various competitions and look forward to hearing about their results at school.

We have a number of students heading off to Sydney in Week 10 to compete at the Mackillop Athletics Carnival in Sydney and our Year 3 and 4 tennis team won on Tuesday and will proceed to the next level. I would like to especially thank Mrs Angela Holmes. Mrs Holmes goes above and beyond to support our students to participate and compete in a variety of sports. Over the last couple of weeks Mrs Holmes has been supporting students in additional practices with athletics and tennis. Each term students are also provided and taught a variety of sporting skills through their Physical Education lessons. The students are often telling me that sport is their favourite subject.

Last Friday, Fr Loi and I attended the Archdiocesan Clergy, REC and Principal Day in Canberra. The day focused on evangelisation, encounter, discipleship and mission. As Catholic school educators our role is to be witnesses to our faith, providing opportunities for our students to encounter and develop a relationship with Jesus. Many of our Year 4 students are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Eucharist for the first time in a couple of weeks. I ask that you please keep these students in your prayers.  

Presentation of Learning

On Tuesday 19 September, from 9.30am - 10.30am, all parents are invited to visit classrooms to come and see what your child/ren have been learning over the term. Each class launched a Storyline Unit to engage the students in their History/Geography. Through the ’storyline’ method, the students have been provided scaffolds to think deeply, question and develop their own ideas. Over the term the following grades have been focusing on the topics below:

• Kindergarten have been immersing themselves into life on a farm. They will learn to recognise that farms are integral to meeting our needs. As part of their lessons they will identify a range of foods and group them according to their sources eg vegetable, meat, dairy, fruit. Kindergarten are also investigating the Country/Places important to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
• Year 1 and Year 2 students have been exploring the idea of museums and their historical importance that show change in life overtime. Students have been busy creating a class museum and have taken on the role of a palaeontologist presenting research about a dinosaur.
• Year 3 have been researching changes within Batemans Bay and creating an historical timeline reflecting these changes.
• Year 4 have been learning about the history of Australia from the time of the first European settlement, exploring why Europeans settled in Australia. The Storyline has taken them on a journey of what this time was like from the perspective of Australia’s First People, convicts, soldiers, officials, and their families.
• Year 5 have been focusing on the gold rush and some rich exploration into Australia’s history. Their characters have been based on life in the goldfields.
• Year 6 have created a ‘My Migration Story’. Students develop their understanding of migration and its impact on the development of Australia as a nation. They research the Australian government policies of migration in the 20th century and how this contributed to changes in the Australian population. Year 6 are studying the stories of people who migrated to Australia and the reasons they migrated.

I hope you can join us in this wonderful celebration of learning. I know your child/ren are very excited and proud to be sharing their work with you.

St Bernard’s Reward System

Positive behaviour is celebrated and recognised at St Bernard’s through feedback by staff, emails to parents and with certificates at award assemblies. We have a reward system that now operates through Compass. Students are rewarded for consistently doing the right thing through an individual point system visible in Compass. Parents and students can see the number of points they have accrued and for what reason. It was wonderful to see that we have some students who have just reached 200 points! The next steps are:

• Students will receive a form where they will be asked to choose their preferred award.
• This will then be provided to Mrs Hopman who will provide the students with the reward the next day.

Rewards include:

• Ice creams will be in the canteen. (Mon - Fri)
• Hot Chips (Wed - Fri) 
• Additional Play (Week 5 and Week 10)

Father's Day Breakfast 

Our annual Father’s Day Breakfast will be held tomorrow morning, Friday 1 September from 7.30am to 8.30am in the Lean-To, followed by a Father’s Day Assembly hosted by Year 6. All students are welcome to invite their dads, grandfathers, uncle or special friend to the breakfast to celebrate Father’s Day. The breakfast will be prepared by the Staff at St Bernard’s. There is no cost involved. The best place to park to minimise congestion and provide a safe environment is the church carpark. During the day the students will also have the opportunity to visit the Father’s Day Stall where they can purchase something special. Thank you to our P & F for organising a variety of gifts for the students to purchase. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Blessings to you and your family and wishing all fathers and father figures a Happy Father's Day. 

Kind regards

Johanna Wain
Principal