Dear Parents and Carers

I hope you have had an enjoyable week. I have been reflecting on the year and the many changes that our St Bernard’s community have had to adapt to. The students are very settled at school and I would like to personally thank our staff and parent community for their ongoing support. I appreciate that the restrictions this term have again put a hold on parents being present at school events. Our focus is on ensuring our school remains open and every teacher is available to teach classes. Catholic Education have directed schools to take several measures to make our school communities as COVID-safe as possible, limiting the opportunity for the spread of COVID. These measures are hopefully stopping COVID clusters developing in our school that could impact the students, staff and then also families as parents take time off work to look after their children and possibly more time if they then contract COVID themselves. We are working towards planning some extracurricular activities for Term 4. Please know that all safety measures that have been put in place are for the safety and wellbeing of our school community.

This week all Staff have been involved in updating their CPR and First Aid Qualifications. Kirrily Hillier lead the Staff through the steps on how to administer first aid in a variety of situations. Vital learning took place as well as a few laughs! Thank you to Kirrily for her time. Next term our Years 3-6 students will be involved in a First Aid Course lead by Bob Colville.

Our Literacy and Numeracy Blocks continue to be a focus across all classrooms at St Bernard’s. Students across the school are highly engaged in their learning. At St Bernard’s we support all students in their learning, catering for individual needs. This is achieved through many ways. You would notice as you move around the school we have a highly dedicated Classroom Support team. The team is led by Sharon Beashel and Jeni McCarthy. Michelle Burrows, Jade Delaney, Britney Spencer, Dawn Penberthy, Julie Davis, Tracey Talbot, Amanda Fitzgerald, Deb O’Brien, Kristy Freeman, Shani Briggs and Theresa Hopman are our Classroom Support Assistants. They support all students in the classroom through individual mentoring, group activities and targeted programs set by classroom teachers. As I am in and out of classrooms during the Literacy and Numeracy blocks, it is obvious that the students are engaged in their learning, asking questions, setting goals and seeking answers. Our Classroom Support Team are there to guide our students in their learning under the direction of the teachers. A special thank you must go to this amazing team of professionals for their commitment and dedication to supporting students in their learning.

The toilets and canteen are now officially open. They look amazing. Karen Cheeseman was overwhelmed with the number of orders yesterday. If there are any parents or grandparents who would like to come and assist in the canteen, your help would be most appreciated. I have included some photos below.  

Book Week
This week we have been celebrating ‘Book Week’. The theme this year is “Dreaming with eyes open.” A reminder that tomorrow, our students will have an opportunity to dress up with this year’s theme in mind, or as a character from a book. Students are welcome to get changed into mufti during the day if they feel more comfortable. We look forward to sharing the parade with you through Facebook. A special thank you to Mrs Hopman for her coordination and preparation and to Mrs McRae for organising story book reading lead by our Year 6 students.

2023 Enrolments
We are continuing to welcome enrolments for Kindergarten 2023 as well as all other years. Spaces are filling up. If you know of someone wishing to enrol at St Bernard’s, please ask them to contact Mrs Jennifer Ward at the Front Office ph.4472 4446  office.stbernards@cg.catholic.edu.au

Congratulations…

This term our Year 6 students participated in a small art competition with Batemans Bay First National. The project was to create and design a unique sold sticker for their sold properties. I am excited to announce that Taavi was the winner! Taavi won a K-Mart voucher and some cash for the school to purchase art supplies. Congratulations Taavi.

A special thank you to the dedicated staff of St Bernard’s who are committed to nurturing the students' learning each day.

Blessings to you and your family.

Kind regards

Johanna Wain
Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

We had such a wonderful day last Friday learning about and celebrating St Bernard. A big thank you to our Mini Vinnies team who set the mood for our special day with a beautiful morning liturgy. One of our Year 6 students said to me that it was the favourite part of his day.

During the middle session students learnt more about our school tradition and story. In the afternoon, the Club activities gave students a choice of activity. Our Year 5 students enjoyed spending time with their Kinder buddies.

Begin With the Heart Awards

Congratulations to the following students who have received BWTH Awards during Weeks 5 and 6. We love acknowledging those children who put into action our core values during their daily interactions with others. Well done:

Raph C, Archie P, James P, Natalie N, Holly L, Georgina W, Evie Po, Jace T, Finn H, Evie Pa, Sienna N, Holly B, Ava G, Christopher H, Kobi B, Rogan H, Lawson M, Bella L, Chloe J-P, Caprii R, Dylan M, Hunter C, Isla B, Mia S, Storm R, Tyler Mc, Jayden B, Sienna B, Flynn A, Avia M, Brooklen S, Stella F, Beatrix F, Imogen R, Jack C - Kindness, Sally S – Honesty, Amelia M – Respect, Mila W – Honesty, Tigerlily B – Kindness, Harrison L- Diligence, Lebron C – Honesty, Harlo W – Respect Mack P – Honesty and Arlo W – Kindness. 

Class Mass

Year 4 will be attending our Parish Mass on Friday 2 September at 9.00am. This will be a special occasion for Year 4 as they have been studying the Liturgy of the Eucharist during their Religious Education lessons. Mrs Keough shared samples of their learning with me yesterday afternoon.

I ask that you continue to pray for our First Eucharist candidates from Year 4 during their time of preparation. 

Wishing you a peace filled weekend with family and friends. 

Sharon Beashel

REC

Social Justice Sunday

‘Listen with the ear of the heart’ [Rule of St Benedict]

I had the privilege of knowing and being educated by Sr. Pauline Fitz Walter, a Good Samaritan Sister. In her later years of ministry, she was known as the ‘Street Angel of Sydney’ due to her untiring work among the mentally ill and poor, opening a number of hospitality houses to support and house them.

The starting point of this call was the chance meeting of the Australian poet Francis Webb, at the Mt St Benedict Novitiate, Pennant Hills. While on hospitality duties ‘a well dressed gentleman walked up the drive’. Sr. Pauline greeted him and asked which Sister he had come to see. He replied: ‘No Sister in particular, but do you think you can help me? I’ve come looking for peace.’ Sr. Pauline replied: ‘That is a great idea. Peace is what we are all looking for.’ He added: ‘I’ve just absconded from a Mental Hospital in Parramatta’.[‘Street Angel of Sydney’ by G. Chan, page p.47]

From this chance meeting Sr. Pauline began a journey with Francis Webb and others that took her into the institutional world of those suffering from mental illness. In his correspondence with Sr. Pauline, Francis wrote on Christmas Day, 1969: ‘I’ll never, never forget your charity. St Paul speaks of the unplumbed height and depth of Christ’s love; yours is a perfect image of it.’[Ibid p.55]

Be attentive, reflect, and be humble

Sr. Pauline’s response to this life situation, her hospitality, attentiveness and humble witness to Gospel values is reflected in today’s reading and Gospel [Luke: 14: 1, 7-14].

In Sirach [3:17-20, 28-29] God asks us to be ‘gentle in carrying out our business, to behave humbly, reflect on the parables and be attentive.’ Sr. Pauline would have been familiar with these words from the Rule of St Benedict which asked that ‘one listens with the ear of the heart.’ [Prologue]...to notice God’s call to situations right in front of us.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus notices at a meal he is invited to, how the guest picked places of honour. He challenges this ‘honour’ system embedded in first Century culture. To secure one’s place in this ‘social ranking’ system it was appropriate to invite friends, family and rich neighbours. Those attending would reciprocate with an invite to their place for a meal. Jesus calls into question this type of ‘caste system’, imagining instead hosts who chose to associate with people who are poor, crippled, lame and blind [14:13] as their new network.

The problem for hosts, however, as Jesus recognises, is that no honour is forth coming in return. His teaching rather is about the way we treat others, especially those among us unable to ‘pay us back’. Jesus is thinking not only about the poor but also about us. Those in need will not be able to repay us in anyway but they will enrich us in ways we cannot imagine. Like Sr. Pauline, we will be the most fortunate of people to have had the courage to invite those who most need it to ‘our table’ of love and compassion. Marie Weatherall

Dear Parents and Carers

Behaviour Management and Pastoral Care

Last week teachers met to discuss behaviour management and how we can best support the students at St Bernard's. We reviewed our policy for Behaviour Management and Pastoral Care and the procedures followed to ensure that they reflect best practice and keep the values of our school central to every decision made. The language that we use to communicate behaviour expectations with students is very clear and precise. We understand that going over behaviour expectations regularly as part of classroom learning is the most effective way to make this real and understood by students. Our core values of Honesty, Empathy, Appreciation, Responsibility and Tolerance provide a strong focus for us to explain how these values can be enacted. We plan to make the HEART words very prominent in our school as a visual reminder for everyone and will be creating posters to display in the school in the coming weeks. 

Piano tuition

We would like to offer the opportunity for private piano tuition at school. Jessica Farrell is a highly qualified music tutor, who returned to the area last year after teaching in schools in Melbourne. Jessica can provide lessons in our school each Monday in the Performing Arts room. If you would like your child to have private piano, recorder or flute tuition during school time, please see the flier later in this newsletter for Jessica's contact details.

Read Aloud

This week Mrs Wain has visited classrooms to read a selection of the Children's Book Council of Australia's short-listed books https://cbca.org.au/winners-2022.  We are very fortunate to have many of the 2022 short-listed books in our library, in fact, our library is full of award winning books! One of our aims this year has been to have every child in the school become regular borrowers of books from our library. Each week, classes visit the library with their teacher and are greeted by Mrs Hopman who accessions the books and assists students to find a book that  might interest them. If you know that your child might not be borrowing regularly, please encourage them to do so. A library bag does not need to be elaborate but can be as simple as a shopping bag. We would love for all students to make the most of our fabulous library!

A Glimpse of Year Five

Year Five have been working really hard this term on their Storyline theme “Life on the Diggings”. Our springboard activity was our excursion to “Birrigai”. Students experienced a number of activities including a prospectors walk, an 1850’s classroom scenario, tent pitching and campfires, gold field investigations and a “Life on the Diggings “ simulation. This was such an incredible educational adventure that is enabling students to make deeper connections to classroom learning.

After our amazing learning experiences at Birrigai we have begun the “Gold Game” where we take on the persona of a character from the Goldfields. Each day, the students exchange their gold at the assay office, depending on the price for the day. They purchase tools and licences with their money and complete journal entries about their day. Our Literacy focus for the last 5 weeks has been connected to our Storyline theme. We have been reading ”The Night they stormed Eureka” by Jackie French. During writing time, students began with recounting the “Birrigai” excursion. They are now developing a character profile and writing diary entries with a grammatical focus on descriptive language. This theme has carried on in their Visual Art, where they have used portrait drawing skills and a variety of mediums, to portray their character. We are also studying the works of Sidney Nolan and recreating one of his “Ned Kelly” paintings.

In Maths, students continue to show growth and understanding  with the Math Pathways Program, mastering their skills across the mathematical concepts. They are participating in independent learning, mini lessons with teachers, and fortnightly tests connected to their individual modules of work.

In Religion Year 5 have been exploring the Fruits of the Holy Spirit and how they are visible signs of God’s active love and work within and through believers as they live their Spirit filled lives. The students have also researched the works of both Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop and St Bernard as examples of people who visibly show God’s love in their actions and words. Students discussed how both are role models for their own lives. Mini Vinnies and Buddy time have become important opportunities to live out and share the Fruits of the Spirit. This week the students are working alongside their buddies to prepare and share the Father’s Day Assembly which they will present to the School next Friday the 2nd September. 

PE/Sport is always a favourite time for Year 5. Mrs Holmes has arranged tennis sessions for the next few weeks and Year 5 could not be more excited. They are enjoying having a hit and learning many skills and rules about the game from their instructor, Rob Frawley.

Canberra-Goulburn Athletics

Congratulations to

Beatrix F, Charlie M, Addison G, Lucas V, Lilly G, Mia A,.Arthur S-D, Annie F, Brennan C, Didier D, Chase W, Keira A, Ruby B, Hailey I, Molly W, Caprice F, Brodie M, Samuel S-D,Elyssa W, Ashton W, Samuel H, Jasper S.

who travelled to the Canberra-Goulburn Athletics on a very freezing Tuesday this week. They competed against students from across southern NSW and we are very proud of their efforts. As a school we ranked fourth out of all schools competing, which is outstanding for a country school. Special congratulations to Samuel S-D who was Runner up 11yr Champion Athlete. 

St Bernard’s now has Beatrix F, Charlie M, Chase W, Keira A, Molly W, Samuel S-D, Elyssa W and Jasper S competing at the Combined Primary School Athletics Championships in September in Sydney. We wish them every success.

Term 3

Week 5 Class Awards

Presented : Friday 19 August 2022.

Congratulations to the following children who received class award this week. It is great to see so many children working hard and receiving acknowledgment for their efforts. Well done to all!