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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
Dear Parents and Carers
This week we have had a range of activities at school in addition to our usual classroom learning to engage and motivate learners. Some of these include the birth of chickens in Kindergarten, the Todd Woodbridge Cup at the Batemans Bay tennis courts, the Eucharistic Retreat Day at Carroll College and tomorrow we will have the Father's Day Breakfast, Assembly and stalls. We know that special events such as these can be very memorable for students and really contribute in a positive way to the whole educational development and experience for students at our school. We are fortunate that we have a wonderful team of teachers and support staff who make these activities possible.
Dhurga Play- And It Was Good
of the play is to retell the Dreaming story of Creation and the biblical story of Creation in English and Dhurga. Trish and her sister, Kerry Boyenga have been working on preparing the play translation. There are six parts to the play. The Creation Story, Adam and Eve and Noah's Ark will be portrayed by the students using acting, dance, visual arts and digital technology with Dreaming stories Biaami and Marmoo, Toonkoo and Nardhi and The Creation of the Diving Birds spoken in English and Dhurga. This is an exciting project for the students of Stage 3 to be a part of and we look forward to sharing this in Term 4 with our school community.Safer Online Gaming
If gaming is a past time that your children are involved in at home you might be interested in some information from the eSafety Commissioner about ways to make gaming a safe and enjoyable part of family life. Tips include how to:
- set up games so they are safe
- make friends in games
- report issues in games.
Use the settings on your child’s device and on the game to block unsuitable content and stop children buying things in the game. They should also make up a screen name to keep their real name private and use a password that is hard to guess.
Positive gaming experiences can be achieved by learning about the games your child likes by playing with them. It will also help you identify possible risks. You can also:
• talk to your children about who they are gaming with and what games they play.
• gaming can be very rewarding, try to find other ways for them to have positive
experiences.
• talk to your child if you are concerned about their gaming. You can also get help from a counsellor at Kids Helpline or Parents Helpline.
If you would like more information on this topic, view the video from the link below on the eSafety Commissioner website:
GOD HAS SPOKEN THROUGH THE PROPHETS
Today I’d like to concentrate on the reading from the prophet Jeremiah (20: 7-9)
Jeremiah was born c.625BC into a priestly Jewish family, He was a shy man and unlikely prophetic material. He was given the tough job by God to preach dire warnings to a succession of Jewish Kings and their court officials. He warned that the gradual descent into a decadent & corrupt way of life in the royal court and even among the Temple officials would bring destruction to Jerusalem and the deportation of the citizens to Babylon, the capital of Mesopotamia (present day Iraq).
The self-satisfied elite had no ear for his persistent calls for moral reform and scoffed at the possibility of Babylonian forces overcoming Israeli soldiers. Jeremiah insisted that they were deceiving themselves. They would be better off to compromise with the Babylonians, otherwise they would be punished by God for their sinful conduct. Jeremiah was labelled traitorous but sadly he lived to see the inevitable fall of Jerusalem and the cream of Jewish youth slaughtered. And the women and children taken into exile.
Jeremiah himself went into exile in Egypt from where he wrote a letter (Chapter 29) to the deported Jewish population in Babylon. In it he urged them to accept their fate, settle down, marry and dedicate themselves to a truly domestic life. They were to pray for Babylon because its welfare would determine their own. There was no room for resentment. And eventually their exile would not last forever.
How remarkable this advice must have seemed to the more bellicose Jewish leadership. Jeremiah offers a broader view of humanity. His optimism would be complemented by the next great prophet, Ezekiel, who envisaged a more mobile God than the hemmed in vision of previous generations. This God of the nations would not be restricted to the land of Israel. God was to be found wherever the heart turned to him in love.
The mention of love brings me back to the anguish in today’s reading from Jeremiah:
“You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced.”
Never has a prophet spoken such bold and daring language! Could we ever imagine ourselves using such language in our prayers? Even when we think God has not given us a fair deal? Would we be prepared to admit that we let it happen? Don’t be too hard on yourself. Jeremiah tried to escape his Tremendous Lover’s command. “I will forget the Lord and no longer speak his name” but the Lord’s message is a fire burning deep within him. He tries to hold it in but can no longer hold it back. That is the mystery of Divine Love and Love of the Divine.
At our Baptism we each became a Christian. We were anointed by the Holy Spirit. We became part of the Body of Christ, who was anointed Priest, Prophet and King.
We are all, by God’s grace, Prophets of the Lord.
Joe Quigley
Dear Parents and Carers,
Year 4 students from St Bernard’s and St Mary’s had a wonderful day at their Eucharist Formation Day at Carroll College. Thank you to Mrs Barling, Mrs Drewsen and Year 9 students who planned and delivered an engaging range of activities. It was lovely having Fr Loi spend time with the children at recess.
Eucharist Family Catch Up
The Family Catch Up Meeting which was to be held on Tuesday 5 September has been cancelled. In place of the meeting Fr Loi will be offering Mass at 5.00pm. Families are encouraged to attend.
Reconciliation before First Eucharist will take place at school on Wednesday 6 September between recess and lunch time.
Begin With The Heart
Congratulations to the following students who have received BWTH Awards this fortnight. We are very proud to acknowledge the positive values that these children have shared with others.
Logan H, Kayden G, Thomas B, Rhylan B, Daniel M, Lyla T, Korra T, Emerson B, Kyla S, Jasper G, Amelia B, Arsh K, Capri R, Chloe J-P, Lily S, Quinn S, Angus P, Ruby H, Nicholas E, Remi F, Abby S, Maddie C, William B, Archie P, Charlotte H, Anabel D, Ella A, Didier D, Sienna B, Seth L, Jayden E, Flynn A, Indi T, Jayden E, Annabelle W, Isla B, Jamian G, Matthew S and Maddison B.
Josephite Colloquium
I am currently attending a Josephite Colloquium at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney. I pray that my time here might rekindle my dreams, rejuvenate my heart and give new life to my journey. I am looking forward to attending morning mass in the chapel and visiting the Mary MacKillop Museum today.
Eggciting Times!
On Monday, Mrs McRae from Year 6 visited our classroom with a special gift that was found in her backyard. We made predictions about what would hatch out of the egg. Then we put the egg into water. The next day there were a few cracks, and we could see a little bit of what was inside. Today we could see that there was a little dinosaur hatching out of the egg!
Book Week
Last Friday, St Bernard’s celebrated Book Week. We dressed up inspired by the theme “Read, Grow, Inspire”. When we got back to the classroom, we wrote about who our character was and drew a picture of our costumes.
Maths
In Mathematics, we have been learning about double digit addition and subtraction using base ten blocks. This was a challenging task with multiple steps needed to find the answer. We all helped each other learn, did our best, and were able to do hard things because we worked together as a big team.
Dhurga
In Dhurga this week, Trish told Year 1 two different Dreamtime stories. Biami and Marmoo a Dreamtime story telling of Australia’s first bird which comes from the Darkinjung people. Manalo the Monster Cod comes from the people of the Murray River the Wirajuri, Yotti Yotti and Mutti Mutti.
Information Reports
Year One has slowly been creating an information report on their chosen dinosaur. We created each sentence using templates and research provided to us by our teachers. First, we drafted our information report. Now we are working on creating a PowerPoint presentation with Mrs Holmes and our teachers based on our information. We will also be writing published copies in our best handwriting to show you on our Storyline Day.
Health
In Health we have been learning about habits that keep our bodies healthy and hygienic. We came up with a list of things that we can do each day to keep our bodies healthy. This included brushing our teeth, having a shower or baths, washing our hands regularly, blowing our nose and wearing clean clothes.
Year 3 and 4 Todd Woodbridge Cup Tennis
Congratulations to our amazing tennis players from Year 3 and 4 who played in the Todd Woodbridge Cup tennis tournament yesterday. We had 10 teams of students, the most in the region. We are so proud of how much the students have developed their skills and teamwork during our sport lessons this term. Many students have enjoyed playing in their recess and lunch breaks as well. We had teams place first, second and third in their various divisions. Our winning team now progresses to the South Coast final in a few weeks. A wonderful achievement for all!
Thank you to our fantastic parents who gave so generously of their time to help the students keep score in their games. Your support made the students day even more enjoyable and the staff and I were extremely grateful.
Have a wonderful week.
Angela Holmes
Stellar Performing Arts
MONSTERS! Drama Workshop - Spring School Holidays
Get ready to get spooky with Stellar Performing Arts Academy's Spring school holiday workshop - 'MONSTERS'!
Designed for children aged 6-12, this workshop will transport your child into the magical world of drama, where they'll explore their creativity, develop their acting skills, and ignite their imagination.
Over two fun-filled days, your child will work with our experienced drama tutors to rehearse and prepare for a spectacular end-of-workshop performance. They'll learn new theatre techniques, build confidence and teamwork skills, and forge unforgettable memories with their fellow actors.
Our talented team is committed to nurturing your child's confidence and creativity, helping them reach their full potential. This is the perfect opportunity for kids to immerse themselves in the thrilling world of theatre, and showcase their talents on stage. Don't miss out on this stellar experience - sign up now at www.stellarperformingarts for our 'MONSTERS!' Spring school holiday drama workshop!
Holiday Workshop: MONSTERS!
Date: 5-6 October, 2023
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm (before and after care available)
Early Bird Price: $130 until 21 September, 2023
Full Price: $165
NSW Creative Kids Vouchers Accepted!
