Dear Parents and Carers

It was my pleasure to welcome many new families and pre-schoolers today to our Open Day. A huge thank you to all our St Bernard’s Staff who assisted in the organisation of the day, their commitment and dedication was much appreciated. Also a special thank you to our Year 6 and Kindergarten students. They were amazing in assisting throughout the morning. Our Year 6 students in particular showed excellent leadership and were very confident in speaking to our guests. Our Enrolment Period started this week and runs until Monday 29 May.

Carroll College welcomes all Year 6 families to their Year 7 Parent Information Evening this coming Monday 8 May 2023 at 5.30pm. Enrolments are now open for 2024. I know that Mrs Heffernan is looking forward to personally welcoming you to Carroll College.

This week we have celebrated Catholic Schools' Week and what it means to be part of our Catholic community. This aligns with the commencement of our Enrolment period, highlighting, the value of our Catholic School to prospective parents. Each year, Catholic schools observe the celebration through a variety of activities, emphasising the importance of Catholic education. This week our students have certainly enjoyed a variety of activities, demonstrating the impact we can have as educators in a Catholic school. 

Teaching and Learning
Our approach to teaching and learning focuses on curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment, what we teach, how we teach, and checking for understanding. Our approach is informed by the Science of Learning and the Science of Reading. This will be the focus at the parent workshop this afternoon led by Dr Lorraine Hammond.

Our teachers participate in extensive professional learning to ensure that they are well equipped with the knowledge they need to best implement these principles in the classroom. Tomorrow Dr Lorraine Hammond will be working specifically with Kindergarten to Year 2 teachers on best practice in teaching phonics. At St Bernard’s we use a program called “Let’s Decode”. This is an explicit program that teaches phonological awareness, critical to beginning reading. Students from Kindergarten to Year 2 are taught the correct letter sounds, names and blending. This is an evidence-based program to teach reading. All K-2 teachers have been trained in the program and understand the theory behind what and why we are teaching phonics.

The Science of Reading is a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically based research about reading, how students learn to read and implications for teaching a child to read. This research has been conducted over the last five decades across the world. The Science of Reading emphasises the importance of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. It is based on the understanding that reading is a complex cognitive process that involves the integration of multiple skills and abilities. St Bernard’s prides itself in developing and delivering an excellent curriculum. To continuously enhance our teaching approach and student engagement, our teachers are supported to learn new skills and access high-quality curriculum resources through structured professional learning.

Emergency Management Training
This week Jenny Smith and myself participated in an Emergency Management Workshop. We went through risk management, incident management, emergency management and business continuity. This term we will be working with Catholic Education and experts in further developing our Emergency Management Plan (EMP). The purpose of the plan will be to plan, prepare, respond, report and recover from emergencies. We will be performing some practice drills and talking the students about the purpose and the steps.

Mother’s Day

St Bernard’s would like to warmly invite all mothers, guardians, and grandmothers to attend school between 8.00am and 8.45am next Friday 12 May. We are inviting you to come in and visit classrooms with your child/ren and enjoy a pastry and a cuppa. Following the classroom visits, Year 3 will be leading us in a special assembly at 9.00am in the Hall. All families are welcome to join us. The Mother’s Day Stall will also occur on the Friday in the iCentre. This will be a lovely opportunity for your child/ren to purchase a gift. Parents will be able to purchase vouchers through QKR if you do not wish to send money into school. Gifts will range from $1 to $6.

We hope you can join us for this special celebration next Friday morning. I know your child/ren will love to share their classroom with you and send you off with something special, so you know how much you are appreciated!

Winter Uniform
We are now moving into the cooler months but I appreciate that we’re still experiencing some warm days. In these early few weeks of Term 2, please use your discretion as to whether you dress your children in the summer or winter uniform. We do ask however, that all students are in their full winter uniform by the June long weekend. At times we have noticed that students are wearing some different combinations of the summer/winter uniform; for example, girls wearing the summer dress with winter tights. This is not the uniform attire. If it’s cool enough for tights then the winter uniform should be worn. Thank you for your support in keeping our standard of uniform high. Staff are focusing on uniform expectations in all classrooms.

Blessings to you and your family.

Kind regards

Johanna Wain
Principal

DEALING WITH DIFFERENCES

The Christian Church in its early years, continued some customs of Judaism. In the synagogues (and in the Temple) there was a practice by which two collectors of alms went round the local market and private homes on the morning prior to the Sabbath. Their job was to collect food and/or money for the needy (E.g. Widows). Later in the afternoon the proceeds of their collection was distributed. 

In those early days there was a cleavage. There were the Palestinian Jews who spoke Hebrew/Aramaic. They prided themselves that there was no foreign admixture in their lives. There were also Jews from foreign countries who had come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) and became followers of the Way of Jesus Christ. Mainly they spoke only Greek and were called Hellenists. They were held in contempt by the spiritually snobbish Aramaic-speaking Jews. This contempt, alas, affected the distribution of money and food. 

 A complaint that the Hellenist widows were being  neglected was brought to the attention of the Apostles. Remember that the number of Christians was increasing rapidly. On the first day of Peter’s preaching three thousand people had been added to their ranks. And scores more were joining on a daily basis. The Apostles felt they ought not get themselves mixed up in a matter like this but rather the Hellenists should select from their ranks seven men (full of the Holy Spirit and of Wisdom) who would straighten out the situation. 

Eventually,  seven men were chosen and they were brought into the presence of the Apostles, who prayed over them and laid their hands on them. This action has been interpreted as the first ordination of deacons since they had been appointed to serve (diakonesai)) the community,  by ensuring the fair distribution of food and money. 

Subsequent references in Acts chapters 7 & 8 to two of these seven deacons, Stephen and Philip, show that they were capable of more than administrative tasks. Stephen became the first martyr.   Philip went on to spread the Good News in Samaria, where he famously converted Simon  the Magician. 

To a certain extent I see Pope Francis in his Synodal Way as trying to achieve solutions to problems that are inhibiting the growth and good name of the Catholic Church. These problems are more significant than the unfair distribution of food to widows. But who’s to say what damage may have been done to the Church if the Apostles had not come up with a solution? And how much poorer the Church would have been without the order of the Diaconate? 

Prayer for Pope Francis

Lord God, Source of Life and Truth,

Give to your shepherd, Pope Francis,

A spirit of Courage and Discernment.

May  he build your Church into a Sacrament

Of Unity, Love and Peace for the whole world.

This prayer I make in Jesus’ name. Amen.

                                                                        Joe Quigley                                                                                             

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Welcome to Catholic Schools’ Week! This special week gives parents, families, friends, and students the opportunity to celebrate all the fabulous learning opportunities that a Catholic School offers. 

On Monday 5 May we had the pleasure of hosting a combined Year 6 Leadership Day with St Mary’s Moruya. We began the day with Samuel S welcoming us to Country, and Isla B and Hunter C leading us in morning prayer. 

After prayer, students had the opportunity to listen to guest speakers Kathryn Wakelin and Kristian Gerathy who were past students at St Bernard’s school. 

Kathryn’s love of writing at school led her into a career in journalism where she worked for several well-known magazine publications. After the tragic death of her young son Levi to a rare form of brain cancer, Kathryn and her husband have dedicated their lives to raising funds for the Levi Project. The project has currently raised over 4 million dollars for research into childhood cancers and leukemia. Kathryn said that the opportunity to help other children like Levi has really given her a special purpose in life. Kathryn is currently enjoying teaching. 

Kristian’s love of the ocean (surfing & fishing) saw him study an Environmental Science degree. His love of science has taken him to many fabulous places around the world where he has been able to use his skills to protect and learn more about environmental species. Kristian is currently flown into areas where he is working to rehabilitate the land after gold mining has been completed. His passion for the outdoors was infectious, and he encouraged students to chase their dreams. 

After recess, students participated in a number Stem activities that involved teamwork, collaborative thinking and problem solving. The first activity involved students using lengths of string tied onto a rubber band to build a tower of six cups. It was lots of fun! 

The day ended with a liturgy based on the readings of the day from the Feast of St Joseph the Worker. During the liturgy students were introduced to a form of meditative reflection on scripture called Lectio Divina. 

A huge thank you to our wonderful Year 6 teachers, Mrs McRae and Mrs Coggan. Special days like this are only successful when you have a dedicated and enthusiastic team. They spent many hours preparing activities and organising brilliant guest speakers for the day.

A special note of thanks too to Mr McRae who cooked a tasty sausage sizzle for lunch. 

Confirmation Enrolment

A Family Evening for the sacrament of Confirmation will be held next Thursday 11 May.

The meeting will begin in St. Bernard’s church at 5.00pm and will conclude by 6.00pm.

More information can be found on Compass. 

Blessings on your weekend

Sharon Beashel REC

Dear Parents and Carers

Catholic Schools Week has been a fantastic celebration of what our school offers for students and their families. The wide range of events have focused on nurturing excellent leadership qualities with the Year 6 Leadership Day, play and collaboration at the Kindergarten Teddy Bear's Picnic held at our sister school, St Mary's Moruya, inclusion and fun at the Eurobodalla netball carnival with 15 teams of students participating from Years 3-6 and as always, a focus on curriculum at the parent information session presented by Lorraine Hammond this evening. Today we held our Open Day for prospective Kindergarten students and their families for 2024. There were many highlights and so much to share with new and existing families about what makes St Bernard's such a wonderful school. 

Child Safety Curriculum

As mentioned last term in the newsletter, each week this term students will be taking part in a Child Safety program with their class aimed to teach protective behaviours, an important component of the NSW Syllabus for health and personal development. Supported by Catholic Education, we are undertaking this important teaching with the intention of informing students and being proactive to equip students with the skills and knowledge to recognise actions they can take to keep themselves safe. Below is an outline of the content that is being covered in all classes this week.

Recognise

This week we are starting to implement the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum. The first key safety message of the curriculum is recognise. Recognise is about being aware of your environment.

Children, young people and adults can all learn to take notice of what is happening around them to help keep themselves safe. Everyone can use clues, such as the things we see, hear, smell or feel to help protect us from harm and keep ourselves safe. Clues can be simple things that warn us about a danger, e.g. hearing a fire alarm or seeing smoke, that prompt us to react. We can also use clues to prepare for potentially unsafe situations, e.g. if we are walking alone at night, then we try to use a well-lit route and avoid secluded lanes or parks.

When we recognise that there might be a safety problem we can take steps to move away or reduce the risk or develop strategies that can help keep us safe. For instance, if you are in a busy environment such as the Ekka or a local event where there are big crowds, you might consider what you and your child could do if you became separated. Strategies could include: going to a highly visible pre-determined meeting spot; writing your phone number on a card and placing it in your child’s pocket; identifying who your child could approach if they become lost, e.g. police, staff at a booth.

We will continue to keep you updated as the program is delivered each week through the newsletter.

Personal Learning Pathways Meetings

Next week PLP meetings will be held for Aboriginal students from Year 1-6, with Kindergarten students included from Semester 2. PLP meetings are a recommendation for all Aboriginal students. Goals are developed in partnership between parents, child, class teacher and the teachers for Aboriginal education. Together, we identify strategies to achieve the best results for each child at St Bernard’s. A very important part of the meeting is acknowledging and supporting students to develop their sense of identity as an Aboriginal person, working together to nurture culture in a way that is very meaningful to each child. We are very grateful that we have this opportunity to meet and collaborate together.

My Body My Life- Puberty and Personal Development Program

Next Wednesday students in Years 5 and 6 will take part in a Puberty and Personal Development program titled My Body My Life presented by the Archdiocesan Marriage Family and Relationships team.

The program involves parents in this important aspect of their children’s journey by providing online units for parents & children to work through together at home.

The online parent program is followed up by the visit from the Marriage Family & Relationships team, who work with the students in small groups to facilitate corporate ownership of this important knowledge and allow an opportunity to ask further questions and clarify concepts and information.

Professional Goal Setting

Teachers at St Bernard's are always seeking to improve their practice. As part of ongoing professional learning, teachers have recently been setting goals in discussion with members of the leadership team, identifying areas for their own development which are aligned to whole school improvement plans. This process involves taking on feedback from coaches, sharing ideas and learning from one another. We are committed to focusing on how explicit teaching and learning practices. On Friday this week, expert coach Lorraine Hammond will be working with teachers in classrooms, providing instruction and feedback to improve teaching. 

We hope many of you will be able to attend this evening's session facilitated by Lorraine for parents on how the brain learns and how children learn to read. This information is highly recommended for parents wanting to support their child at home or school.

I hope that everyone has an enjoyable end to the week.

Karen Hadley

Welcome to a snapshot of Year 3!

Year 3 have made a sensational start to Term 2. The teachers would like to commend the students for the enthusiastic, attentive and cooperative attitudes they bring to school each and every day.  

Students have continued to enthusiastically participate in our Literacy and Numeracy Daily Reviews. They have been committed to moving their learning from their short-term memory to long term memory. We have been expanding on our vocabulary, identifying syllables for a given word, listed common and proper nouns and consolidated our reading fluency. In Numeracy we have been developing automaticity for times tables, identifying the numerator and denominator for fractions as well converted units of measurement between metres, centimetres and millimetres.

Students have enjoyed opportunities to explore different artistic techniques during Visual Arts this term. They have completed some fantastic Artworks for ANZAC Day using paint and a silhouette to represent this important occasion. They are currently working on their Creation pieces focusing on the Book of Genesis. Students have experimented with line, colour and shapes as they completed their masterpieces using oil pastels.

Year 3 have not only excelled in the classroom. Students have been developing their netball skills. We have enjoyed learning about the different rules and strategies of this great game.  Many of the students enjoyed the sessions so much that they signed up for the Eurobodalla Schools Netball Cup. Please see photos from our netball training sessions. We may have some future Australian Diamonds on our hands.

MacKillop Netball and Rugby League Championships  

Congratulations to Isabella L, Molly W and Tyler M who will compete at the Mackillop Netball and Rugby League Championships in Canberra on Thursday and Friday. They will have training sessions with their team and then compete against the best athletes from Catholic schools across NSW for a position in the state team. It is a huge achievement to be selected to compete at the Championships and we are very proud of these three students. Travel safely and enjoy your experience. 

Southern Region Cross Country 

Congratulations to all our students on their amazing performance at our Cross Country. We presented the age champions and winning house trophy at our recent assembly. Congratulations to Lourdes on their terrific running. Lawson M and Ruby B accepted the trophy from Mrs Wain for their team with great pride. 

On Friday the following students will represent St Bernard’s at the Southern Region Cross Country:

Raph C, Xavier L, Levi T, Lucas V-D, Quinn S, George S-D, Toby S, Beatrix F, Eva C, Charlie M, Brooklen S, Annabelle T, Addison G, Ethan S, Harper B, Tomas C, Beau C, Reeve T, Arthur S-D, Molly M, Lilly G, Ava G, Holly L, Mia A, Tyler McD, Brennan C, Matthew S, Hunter C, Logan P, Annie F, Romy B, Indi T, Lawson M, Samuel S-D, Angus D, Jonah T, Rhys K, Connor K, Ruby B, Isabella L, Isla B, Lavina P, Keira A.

Congratulations to Raph C, Beatrix F, Annie F and Ruby B who were all Southern Region Champions. What outstanding running by these amazing athletes. The standard of competition was amazing, with barely two minutes between first and twentieth place. We are very proud of all our runners for completing this very challenging course.

St Bernard's now have thirteen students selected to compete at the Archdiocesan Cross Country in Canberra on Friday 19 May. What a fantastic achievement for these students. We wish them well in their training.

Raph C, Xavier L, Beatrix F, Brooklen S, Charlie M, Eva C, Harper B, Molly M, Tomas C, Annie F, Lawson M, Ruby B, Keira A, Isabella L.