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Dear Parents and Friends,
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…! I hope the excitement has started in your homes as we prepare for the festive season, and all that it brings. As Christians, it’s a timely reminder that we consider those families in need. During our final week of term, on Wednesday 13 December at 1.30pm in St Bernard's Church, we will gather in prayer for our Nativity and Christmas celebration. Kindergarten will be leading us in prayer, so we look forward to welcoming many families.
We enter the period of Advent this weekend. Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas and signifies the coming of Jesus into the world. Advent means 'Coming' in Latin. Christians use these four weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas.
Year 6 Graduation Mass, Awards and Morning Tea
We are currently in preparation for our Year 6 Mass and Awards ceremony. This significant celebration will take place next Thursday 7 December at 9.15am in the Church. This is a whole school event involving Kindergarten to Year 6 students, staff, families, parish members and special guests. It is a time of reflection for our Year 6 students as they remember their primary years at St Bernard’s. We also give thanks for the many blessings on the year, and recognise the achievements of our senior students as they move into their secondary education. The Recognition Awards for Year 6 will follow Mass in the Church. Morning tea will then occur outside the Church with the Year 6 students and their families. Please join us for this special occasion. All families are warmly welcome.
Staffing 2024
Next year’s staffing details will be emailed to families in the coming days. Staffing is a complex process. I believe our plans for the new year are very exciting. We are delighted to welcome several new members to our St Bernard’s community. Each individual brings a wealth of experience, passion, and expertise that aligns with our commitment to providing an enriching learning environment. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Sara McCluskey, Kate Manwaring and Joshua Whiteford.
We bid farewell to Mrs Hynes, Mrs Metcalf and Mrs McRae this year, who are moving on to new adventures. We express our sincere gratitude for their dedication and hard work. Their contributions have left a lasting impact on our school community, and we wish them every success in their future endeavours.
I look forward with great anticipation to the opportunities our learning environment will offer students at St Bernard’s next year.
St Bernard’s Rewards Program
Our St Bernard’s Reward Program continues to be a focus at St Bernard’s. Our reward point system is designed to motivate and encourage positive behaviour and encourage students to try their best. Students are being acknowledged for their hard work, improvement, and positive contributions to our school community. Our system places a strong emphasis on positive behaviour, contributing to a more positive and respectful school environment. We believe that acknowledging and reinforcing positive conduct is fundamental to our students' overall development. The point system is transparent, with clear criteria for earning points. All parents have the opportunity to track their child's progress and achievements within Compass.
As of the end of Week 7:
- 78% of the school have achieved a positive reward
- 15% of students are up to their second reward
We are excited about the positive impact this initiative will have on our school community and look forward to working together to create a supportive and encouraging environment for our students.
Swimming Program
We are thrilled to share the success story of our school swimming program, a journey marked by enthusiasm, skill development, and a commitment to water safety. Our swimming program is inclusive, catering to students of varying abilities. We provide additional support and adapted lessons to ensure that every student can participate and progress at their own pace. The success of our swimming program is reflected in the achievements of our students, both in and out of the pool. We have witnessed improved water confidence, and a growing passion for aquatic activities among our students. The staff have commented to teachers on the beautiful manners and excellent behaviour our students have shown. A special thank you to Mrs Angela Holmes for her passion and organisation of the swimming program. She do an incredible job!
School Board and P&F Christmas Parties
Our dedicated parent bodies have been celebrating in style with Christmas parties being held at the Catalina Golf Club and Kohlis. I sincerely thank our wonderful parents who contribute in so many ways to making St Bernard’s great!
Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT (CCSP) has published its latest newsletter.
The Parent Talk newsletter provides parents and carers with information about developments in education, wellbeing, CCSP advocacy work and other relevant news and events. We request you share the newsletter link with families. Link: https://www.ccsp.catholic.edu.au/parenttalk?nid=32
Blessings on the week ahead.
Kind regards
Johanna Wain
Principal
Dear Parents and Carers
The end of the school year is approaching and with that comes practices for final school events and completion of various programs. Routines this week have changed with the swimming program running for each class throughout the school at various times, which has meant a change to recess and lunch times for the students. Everyone has managed this very well and there have been many positive swimming stories coming from the pool.
The weather this week has brought some very welcome rain but has also meant we have needed to respond to some extreme conditions, especially with the storm at pick up time yesterday afternoon. Thank you to everyone who was in the school yesterday and ensured that the students remained safe as the thunder struck.
We will certainly enjoy the sun when it comes out in the few next days.
Enrichment Opportunities
In 2024 we will have a team of students from Year 5 and 6 represent our school in the da Vinci Decathalon and the Tournament of the Minds competitions. The students who have been selected for these competitions will meet weekly with Mrs Keough to train for the events, requiring creative thinking, problem solving and collaboration as a team. The theme for the regional level of competition next year in the da Vinci Decathalon is Technology and Innovation. There are 10 disciplines which the team will need to cover, including engineering, mathematics, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy. We know that this will be a wonderful opportunity for our team of students.
Tapstars Water Show
Next Tuesday 5 December at 10.00am, Kindergarten to Year 2 will be watching the Tapstars Saves Water show in our hall. The performance combines singing, scientific demonstrations, puppetry and audience participation to teach a message about water conservation in a fun and engaging way. We thank the Eurobodalla Shire Council for offering this educational event for our students.
On Friday, Student Reports for Semester Two will be made available to you via Compass. The report will indicate your child's level of academic achievement towards outcomes taught this semester, their level of engagement with learning as well as further school involvement.
Students in Kindergarten have grades described as:
- Meeting Expectations
- Working Towards Expectations
- Experiencing Difficulty
The common grading scale is used in Years 1-6, describing performance from levels A-E. The grade scale is as follows:
A The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.extensive achievement of outcomes.
B The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations.
C The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills.
D The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills.
E The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills.
Student engagment with learning focuses on areas such as:
- contribution to class discussions
- applying understanding to new situations
- adopting a range of strategies to think and learn
- takes responsibility for and manages own behaviour
We hope that you find the information in the student report to be a clear indication of learning achievement this semester. Parent Teacher Interviews will take place next Monday and Tuesday. It is strongly recommended that you arrange a meeting time with your child's class teacher through Compass.
End of Year Events
Next week is a very important one for us at St Bernard's as we hold the SRC Student leadership speeches on Monday morning in the hall, the Graduation Mass and Year 6 Awards on Thursday morning in the church and on Friday the Candle Ceremony in the church, where we will announce the new student leadership team from our current Year 5. I have had the pleasure of reading the SRC and House Captain nomination applications from the Year 5 students and I know that we have excellent candidates for 2024 who are very keen to take on the role of representing our students.
We hope that you might be able to join us for some of these important events next week.
Have a lovely weekend
Warm regards
Karen
NOW’S THE TIME TO BE ALERT
The Irish have a saying: God must have really loved Time. He made so much of it. Not quite a scientific approach to the concept of Time but it might be closer to the concept of Eternity.
Years and millennia do not add up to make Eternity. Eternity is an all-at-once reality, a fullness of life, where before and after have no meaning.When our mortal existence ends, our lives as the persons we are, are not finished.They are changed.We are launched as it were, into an ocean which has no beginning and no end; with a depth and a height and a breadth beyond our imagining.
The Church in her Liturgy has an orderly approach to Time. Hence we have Sundays in Ordinary Time. It has devised a Liturgy that fits the seasons of the year and meshes them with the main Jewish feasts. For example, at the Jewish Passover which remembers the night when the angel of death passed over the Israelites as they prepared to flee Egypt under the leadership of Moses, we celebrate Easter, when Jesus passed over from death to life.
Looking back in time at the ups and downs of Israel as a nation we see the prophets trying to raise morale by preaching that God would raise another leader like Moses. David came close but, alas, there followed more bad kings than good ones. Then came the tragedy that was the Exile in Babylon (587 - 538 BC) after which the idea of a powerful military Messiah dominated Jewish dreams. It was the strength of Persia, under Emperor Cyrus, that freed the exiles from their Babylonian captivity.
Jesus the Nazarene was not the sort of Messiah Jews were waiting for. Even a major prophet like Isaiah prayed that God would demonstrate might.
“Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down - at your Presence the mountains would melt.” (Isaiah 64: 1)
Instead, our Truine God planned for the Son to come down six centuries later. No hurry. No fuss. In early spring in a place called Nazareth, over which the Herodian royal family held sway under Roman suzerainty, a you girl betrothed by not yet married, called Mary, would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
A divine messenger said this about Mary’s son: ”He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.” (Luke 32: 12)
Eight months later the heavily pregnant Mary, with her husband Joseph, were planning a trip to Bethlehem by order of a Roman Emperor mightier than Cyrus. Augustus was his name. Bethlehem is the city where the Davidic royal dynasty began. No one in the whole world was aware God was about to burst from Perfect Bliss into the hurly burly of human existence. Nor could anyone predict what a Good News story of Love and Sacrifice would unfold.
This Advent let us listen attentively to that story and make it part of our daily lives.
Joe Quigley
Dear Parents and Carers,
The children have had such a lovely time at the pool this week. It has been wonderful seeing them make such progress in their water confidence and skills leading up to the summer season. My thanks to Mrs Holmes for her excellent organisation of this event and the teachers who have supported from the pool deck or jumped into the pool to support individual swimmers. The instructors at the pool have been amazing in their dedication to the program. Thank you so much everyone.
A special season of the church begins on the weekend. It is called Advent. Advent provides us with the opportunity to slow down, to reflect, to take the time to prepare our hearts for Jesus once again. It is time to think about how we may truly receive Jesus, God-with-us (Emmanuel) this Christmas. Advent is a wonderful time for us all to live the gifts of waiting, patience, anticipation, and hope.
The liturgical colour for Advent is purple. The colour purple is the colour of kings and queens and reminds us of the importance of Jesus’ birth.
We will use The Advent Wreath during our preparation time at school. The Advent Wreath is a circle of greenery that symbolises God’s never-ending love for us. Each week as we light a candle the light grows stronger; we grow stronger too in our reverence for and commitment to Christ. The growing light helps us recognise Christ not only in the historical event we celebrate at Christmas, but in our daily lives and in the hope, we carry as we prepare to welcome Jesus into our hearts.
The First Purple Candle is called the ‘Hope Candle’ or ‘The Prophets Candle’. It reminds us of the prophets, especially Isaiah who reminded the people to always live in hope for the coming of Jesus. I have attached a link to an Andrew Chinn song that you might play as you light your Hope Candle at home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A43QdNMBK14
Christmas Giving Tree
Each year during Advent, we have an appeal to support families in our community through the St Vincent de Paul Society. Mr Norris who visited Mini Vinnies last week and spoke at mass on Sunday, has requested donations which will support the purchase of Kmart Gift vouchers for children this Christmas.
If you would like to donate towards this appeal, you can purchase a Giving Envelope from our school Christmas Tree for amounts of $5.00, $10.00, and $20.00.
Donations can be made via Qkr. You will find this option under Other School Payments - Giving Tree Vouchers.
Graduation Mass and Candle Ceremony
Parents and friends are invited to attend two very special events next week.
Our first event will be Year 6 Graduation Mass and Prize Giving on Thursday 7 December at 9.15am. The Candle Ceremony will be held the following day Friday 8 December at 1.45pm. Both events will be held in St. Bernard’s church. We are looking forward to having you with us for these key events.
Stay Awake
Jesus said, ‘Stay awake and be alert, because you have no idea when the Son of Man will come. Think of the man who leaves his servants in charge while he travels abroad. He warns them to watch for his return, whenever that might be, so he doesn’t find them sleeping when he returns unexpectedly. So, to all you I say, stay awake and keep yourselves ready!
Mark 13:33-37
Loving God, as we prepare for the birth of your son Jesus, help us to share your love with others. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen
Blessings on your weekend
Sharon Beashel
Religious Education Coordinator
English
This term, Year 4 has been exploring the structure of an explanatory text. We have been investigating the Northern Lights.The students have completed a close read and they have taken notes about this natural phenomenon. We have explored vocabulary like phenomenon, Aurora Borealis, particles and atmosphere. We are currently constructing an explanation about what makes this sensational light show occur in the South Pole. We have also been practicing our handwriting in the hope of earning our pen licence!
Mathematics
The students have been very busy participating in the Mathematics Daily Review. We have been reviewing learning about multiplication facts, division facts, fractions, using a bar model to solve a problem, converting grams to kilograms, and multiplication of 2 by 2 digits. Our most recent learning has centred on fractions as part of a whole, data and coordinates on a map.
First Aid
We have been very fortunate this term to have learnt some basic first aid skills. Students learnt about the acronym DRABCD during an emergency and the importance of remembering COWS to help assess a patient. The hands on component of this session allowed the students to practice working with an unconscious patient. We are thankful to Bob Colville for coming in to share his expertise with our learners.
Religious Education
We have been learning about the life of people who lived in the first century, Palestine. Students have explored the jobs, roles and clothing of the people who lived in this time. We have been thinking like historians by reading passages from The Bible and making inferences about the kinds of lives people lived back when Jesus was around. Check out our little peg dolls!
Visual Arts
As a focus for the term, we have been learning about the art of Andy Warhol, with a specific focus on creating our own print of an endangered animal. We have each selected an animal from the WWF list of endangered animals to sketch. We have been working to give specific feedback to improve our sketches and this week we will begin our printing process with our bespoke block prints.
Swimming Program
It has been a very exciting week here in Year 4 because our swimming lessons have been happening at the Bay Pavilions. The students have been excellent, with many students demonstrating fantastic growth with their skills in the water. We are very grateful to Mrs Holmes for all of her hard work in organising this for all of our students.
Brain Breaks
To ensure that we are at our best, we use brain breaks to help us to reset between learning. These breaks provide an opportunity for students to interact with peers, to stimulate the brain or to calm the mind and body. During some sessions we need to wake up and we will participate in an activity that requires movement, whilst on other occasions we need a quiet and tranquil activity to allow us to centre and refocus.
The Trolleys
We were thrilled to be invited to attend The Bay Theatre Players recently to watch the production of The Trolleys. This production featured ex-students Erica Shalders and Taavi Wright, which created a real buzz about the students. This play was about children who lived in a post-apocalyptic world without adults. It explored resilience and relationships in a very tough world.
Representative Sport 2024
Congratulations to Korban S who played at the Canberra Goulburn Touch Football on Friday. He had a fantastic time winning all his games and playing seemlessly with students from all around the region. Korban said he definitely recommends going to the Rep sports days, it was an awesome experience. We are so proud of your outstanding acheivement Korban.
