Dear Parents and Carers

I hope all fathers and those who are father figures to our students enjoyed a wonderful morning last Friday celebrating Father’s Day. A huge thank you to the St Bernard’s Staff who prepared and cooked the breakfast for everyone. It was definitely a team effort.

Congratulations to Yana K of Year 3W who was a finalist in the Little Sellers Art competition at the BAS exhibition centre in Moruya. Ms McCarthy attended the awards ceremony to support Yana. There were many entries from students throughout the Eurobodalla Shire and the BAS walls were full of amazing art works by many talented people. 

Archdiocesan Public Speaking Competition

Next Monday 9 September, our school is hosting the Archdiocesan Public Speaking competition. We will be welcoming 24 students and their parents from Years 3-6 who were finalists from regional schools in our diocese. We are very fortunate to have Mrs Suzie McRae, Mrs Jan Day and Mrs Sharon Beashel act as adjudicators for the competition. 

We are very excited to have three students represent our school and the southern region- congratulations Johann D, Beatrix F and Annie F. We are very proud of you and wish you the very best!

Overnight Excursions

This term on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 September, Year 4 will be attending their overnight excursion to Canberra. The students will be visiting places such as the National Zoo and Aquarium, Australian Institute of Sport, Mount Stromlo Night Visit, Questacon and the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. 

In Week 4 of next term on the 6-8 November, Year 6 will be attending a two night camp to Berry Sport and Recreation Centre, taking part in a range of outdoor activities.

These are wonderful opportunities for our students to enrich their learning experiences.

Presentation of Learning

On Tuesday 24 September, from 9.30am-10.30am, all parents are invited to visit classrooms to 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 learning. Through the ’Storyline’ method, the students have been provided with scaffolds to think deeply, question and develop their own understandings based on important content. 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 zoo animals and investigate​ places​ where​ animals​ live​ and​ explore​ what​ zoo​ animals​ need​ to​ survive. ​ The​ unit​ focuses​ on​ how​ these​ needs​ are​ met​ by​ the​ people​ who​ work​ at​ the​ zoo.​ ​
• 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.

School Production- Moana Jnr Musical

The students have been busy preparing for our Moana the Musical Production in their Performing Arts lessons.  There are two performances scheduled:

• Thursday 31 October at 1.00pm
• Thursday 31 October at 5.30pm

All students will be involved in the musical. Each year group will be performing a different song. All students will be required to have a costume. A dress rehearsal will be held on Wednesday 30 October. Please be in contact with your child's class teacher if you are unsure of costume requirements. All costumes need to be brought to school at the beginning of Term 4.

Tickets for the musical will be available for purchase via Compasstix from Monday 16 September in Week 9. 

We hope that you can join us for the Science Expo tomorrow anytime between 9.00am-10.45am in our hall. The students of Year 5 and 6 are excited to share their learning. We thank Mrs Tyler for her fantastic organisation of this initiative!

We wish our Tournament of the Minds team who will be competing in Canberra at ANU on Saturday much success! The team have been preparing for many weeks supported by Mrs Keough and I am sure it will be a wonderful experience.

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Warm regards

Karen Hadley

Dear Parents and Carers

It has been a bustling fortnight here at St Bernard’s, filled with a range of wonderful school activities. We’ve had a heartwarming Father’s Day breakfast, where we celebrated the important men and significant figures in the lives of our students. Year One students also enjoyed their special liturgy celebrations, honouring fathers and other key people.

In addition to these events, our students have been actively participating in tennis competitions, and Year 3 had an engaging excursion to the Museum. Meanwhile, Year 4 is gearing up for their first overnight adventure in Canberra, a milestone moment for them.

We deeply appreciate the support and positive feedback from our parents and carers. Your involvement and encouragement play a crucial role in the success of these events.

Thank you for being such an integral part of our school community and for celebrating these special moments with us!

Tournament of the Minds: Best of Luck to Our Stellar Team!

As a school community, we are thrilled to extend our heartfelt best wishes to our dedicated Tournament of the Minds team and their phenomenal leader, Mrs Rebecca Keough. This talented group of students will be travelling to Canberra on Saturday to compete in their first Regional competition at the Australian National University.

Tournament of the Minds is an exceptional problem-solving program. The initiative aims to unlock the potential of students, by honing diverse skills such as enterprise, time management, and the ability to work collaboratively in a challenging and competitive setting.

Participants are tasked with solving complex, open-ended challenges from one of several disciplines: The Arts, STEM, Language Literature, and Social Sciences. This competition not only tests their problem-solving abilities but also showcases their skills and creativity in a dynamic and public forum.

We are incredibly proud of our team and eagerly anticipate their performance. Good luck to Jayden B, Didier D, Annie F, Ava G, Ava J, Rowan L & Reeve T as they showcase their remarkable talents and innovative thinking at this prestigious event. We have no doubt that they will represent our school with great enthusiasm and distinction!

Celebrating End-of-Season Sporting Success!

As we wrap up the winter sports season, many St Bernard’s students are gearing up for their final events. We’re excited to celebrate their achievements and would love to share their sporting successes with our school community on our Facebook page.

Proud parents, if your child has had an exciting moment in weekend sports, please send us the details! We are eager to highlight these accomplishments and celebrate their hard work.

To share your child’s success, please email any exciting sporting news and photos featuring St Bernard’s students to Jeni.McCarthy@cg.catholic.edu.au.

Note: To ensure privacy and comply with school policy, we can only share photos that include St Bernard’s students.

Thank you for helping us showcase our students’ achievements. Let’s celebrate their fantastic efforts together!

The Bluey Perspective: Exciting Upcoming Event

Next Wednesday, I have the exciting opportunity to attend a special event made possible by Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn, along with Catholic School Parents Archdiocese of Canberra. I will be joining families from schools across the Archdiocese for a unique discussion featuring Joe Brumm, the creator of the beloved children's show Bluey.

Joe Brumm will share his insights on the success of Bluey and offer his perspective on fostering and maintaining positive relationships with our children and their schools. He will also discuss the vital role parents play in their child’s learning and development.

I am looking forward to gaining valuable insights from this open conversation event and will be eager to share what I learn with you all. Stay tuned for more updates!

Next Friday the students of Year 5 will lead us in an Awards Assembly, sharing their learning with us. We hope to see many of you there.

Kind regards

Jeni McCarthy

OPEN THE DOOR OF YOUR HEART

Selfless love is real in spite of the horrors of war, and other brutal ways humans treat one another, love is possible. Unselfish people reside everywhere. They love unconditionally, dedicate themselves to alleviate suffering, are willing to ‘give their all’ to another, intent on being life givers, transforming the lives of others. They are not ‘do-gooders’ or ‘holier than thou people’. No, this love is born out of trials faced, purified by personal growth, recommitment and self giving that goes beyond required duty or obligation.

Each day we witness people who open the door of their hearts and love pours forth. Dorothy Day, Founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, was convinced that each act of love had a far reaching effect.

EPHPHATHA :‘BE OPEN!’

Jesus’ encounter with the deaf man with an impediment of speech in today’s Gospel [Mark 7: 31 – 37] visibly renews life. As Fiona Dyball states: ‘The story shows the compassionate power of God at work in surprisingly personal and tender encounters. People’s lives open up when they can give and receive, understand and be understood. The people, who brought their friend to Jesus to be healed, cared enough to do it!’ [‘In Her Voice’2023, pg54] They were open to walking with and alongside of the person who was struggling, seeking help and support. This is at the heart of compassion and advocacy.

In this Gospel faith, hope and love come together: the faith of the advocates seeking new life for their friend; the hope of the person who turns to Jesus in his need; and the unconditional love and sensitivity of Jesus while interacting with the man using physical touch in a context where mere words would have meant nothing to him given his impediments.

This week may we reflect on how open our heart is to suffering humanity around us? As Mary MacKillop encourages us to ‘Never see a need without doing something about it.’     

    Marie Weatherall                                                                                               

Dear Parents and Carers,

Giving alms has always been an important part of Lent. For many people, it means giving money to Catholic charities or some other good cause. But the concept of almsgiving goes much deeper. It is our response to the teachings of Jesus that encourage us to reach out to people in need—not just with our money—but with our time and our talents. Today we might call it ‘stewardship’.

Stewardship is an important part of our teaching and learning curriculum in Religious Education from K-6 (Brisbane Curriculum). Teaching of and for stewardship can be found in the Christian Life strand. 

In Kindergarten students learn about some Old Testament and New Testament stories that tell of a God of love, the creator of all, the goodness of God's creation, God's special relationship with all of creation and God's plan that people help each other to live safely and happily together, for the good of all. 

In Year 1 students explore the Christian teaching that all people are created in God's own image, with dignity and natural rights. They learn about living in accordance with God's plan for all creation: living safely and happily in community and in loving relationship with God, with a responsibility to care for all creation and using God's gift of freedom to make choices responsibly.

In Year 2 students learn about the sacredness of all creation, especially human life; the call to be co-creators and stewards of God's creation; and the responsibility to pursue peace and justice out of respect for human life and all creation.

In Year 3 students develop an understanding of Jesus' great commandment of love. This requires Christians to respect basic human rights and acknowledge responsibilities. Concern for the poor and disadvantaged is a key message in scripture.

In Year 4 students begin to appreciate the significance of community for Christians: of living in a loving relationship with God, others and all of creation. 

In Year 5 students develop their understanding of Christian charity and informed moral choice through an exploration of the experiences of individuals and communities, past and present.

In Year 6 students understand the significance of Jesus' New Law for the way believers live their faith, including an exploration of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

Spiritual works of mercy being: instructing, advising, challenging injustice, consoling, comforting, forgiving, bearing wrongs patiently and praying for the living and the dead. Corporal Works of Mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and imprisoned, clothing the naked and burying the dead.

Archdiocesan Assembly - “Come Holy Spirit”   

The 2024 Archdiocesan Assembly is a key gathering for the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn. The Assembly will focus on celebrating the Year of the Holy Spirit and explore new opportunities for evangelisation and synodality in the life and mission of our local Church going forward.

In many ways, the Archdiocese is walking on the same path as the first Apostles. It took time for the early Church to discern and declare: “It seemed good to us and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 15:28)

All are invited to join us on our pilgrim journey of discernment. The South Coast Hub for the Archdiocesan Assembly will be in Narooma on the 18-20 October.

There are three approaches to involvement in the Archdiocesan Assembly:

1. Invitation: To ensure representation from communities across the Archdiocese, a series of invitations will be made through the leaders of each Parish, school, community or organisation identified below. 
2. Nomination: In addition to those invited to attend, additional members of Parishes, schools, communities and organisations may be nominated or nominate themselves.  These nominations will be reviewed by the Archdiocesan Interim Discernment Group to ensure a balance of representation at the Archdiocesan Assembly.
3. Participation: All in the Archdiocese are able to participate through the online live stream of the Archdiocesan Assembly. This will also include an online portal for contributions discerned through the Conversation in the Spirit process incorporated into the Assembly program.

The representatives who will be invited into the Assembly will include, at least: 

• Representatives from each Parish;
• Representatives from each school;
• One representative from each university chaplaincy;
• Representatives from each community, ministry or movement;
• Representatives from each outreach, justice or service based organisation;
• Other nominees as discerned by the Archbishop and the Archdiocesan Pastoral Discernment Group.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUrjoL4cqj0

I would like to acknowledge the families who have committed to preparing their child/children for the sacrament of Eucharist this term. In the busyness of your lives, it is uplifting to see you place the nourishment of your child's sacramental journey as one of your priorities

Thank you to our staff who supported families at Commitment masses over the last two weeks. Your faith commitment is a gift to our community.

Our next Eucharist get together will be a “Pizza and Catch Up Meeting”, on Wednesday 11 September at 3.30 pm in the Parish Meeting Room. Please bring along your preparation book and any questions or comments that you might have.

Blessings on your weekend

Sharon Beashel

Religious Education Coordinator

Science Expo 2024!

Tomorrow, Friday 6 September, Year 5 and 6 students will be presenting their learning on a chosen focus area in the 2024 St Bernard’s Science Expo! Over the past 5 weeks our Stage 3 students have been researching an area of interest in Science and created posters, displays and models to communicate their understandings of their chosen topic to present to the Science Expo visitors. 

Each group has created a station to showcase their information and many of these stations include interactive displays, demonstrations, and models. 

The St Bernard’s Science Expo will be presented in the school hall from 9.00am and we warmly invite you to attend. Come along on a  journey for the senses and experience the wonders of scientific discovery through tactile models and hands-on activities!

Laura Tyler

St Bernard’s Science Teacher

Canberra Goulburn Athletics Championships

On Tuesday 27 August twenty nine of our students had the opportunity to compete at the Canberra Goulburn Athletics Championships.

Congratulations to the following students who were selected to compete:

Alyssa O, Sietta G, Hudson E, Lebron C, Ashton S, Indie F, Astrid B, Raph C, William O, Lehan D, Beatrix F, Charlie M, Aurelia S, Addison G, Lucas V, Noah S, Xavier L, Remi C, Lilly G, Georgina W, Storm R, Ollie L, Arthur S-D, Sion D, Annie F, Teagan W, Brennan C, Didier D, Korban S.

Congratulations to our students on their amazing commitment leading up to the event. Many students chose to train for different events during their recess and lunch times, and the students commitment to improving their technique and stamina was outstanding. Thank you to Mrs Brady who asssited us with training and developing our skills.

The students were outstanding athletes supporting each other and giving their all in every event. It did not matter what they came in their race, they congratulated other students and cheered on everyone, even our high school students. They are to be congratulated for competing against the best athletes from Catholic Schools across Southern NSW.

St Bernard’s achieved outstanding results across a variety of events. Lebron C was 8yr 100m Champion with Hudson E second, an amazing result in this age group, with both boys being selected to run at the NSW Combined Primary Schools Athletics Championships in Sydney on their first try. Beatrix F was 10yr 100m Champion and Charlie M second in this event. Remi C was 10yr Shot Put Champion with Lucas V second. Annie F was Champion in Senior Discus. Beatrix F was first in 10yr 200m and Charlie M third. Storm R was third in 11yr Long Jump. Teagan W was third in Senior Shot Put. Lucas V was third in 10yr 100m as well as third in 200m. Arthur S-D was third in 11yr High Jump and third in 11yr Long Jump.

Beatrix F was first in 1500m, 800m, Shot Put, Discus, High Jump and Long Jump.

Beatrix F broke four records at the Championships in 200m, 800m, Long Jump and High Jump, a phenomenal effort and she was fittingly awarded Junior Champion Athlete. Lucas V was runner up Junior Champion as well, his run to anchor the Boys relay team was outstanding.

Our Junior Girls relay team of Charlie M, Indie F, Aurelia S and Beatrix F (Astrid B) were Canberra Goulburn Champions.

Our Junior Boys relay team Raph C, Xavier L, Noah S and Lucas V (Will O) were third.

Our Senior Girls relay team Teagan W, Lilly G, Georgina W and Annie F were also third.

Finally the Senior Boys relay team Arthur S-D, Ollie L, Brennan C and Didier D (Sion D and Korban S) were second.

The first two placegetters in each event will now compete at the NSW Combined Primary Schools Athletics Championships in Sydney, we wish them well in their training.

An enormous thank you to the amazing parents and grandparents who supported the students, we would not have done as well without your encouragment and care at all the events.

Congratulations to all the students who have competed at weekend sporting events over the past few weeks. I love the students excitement over gala days and finals season. Fostering healthy attitudes to life is so important and it is wonderful to see so many of our students love of sport.

Angela Holmes

Term 3

Week 6 Class Awards

Presented: Friday 30 August 2024.

Congratulations to the following children who received a class award in Term 3, Week 6. It is great to see so many children working hard and receiving acknowledgment for their efforts.

Well done to all!