Dear Parents and Carers

The majority of Parent and Teacher Introductory Meetings have now taken place. Thank you for taking the time to come into school to meet with your children's teachers. This is such an important way to build relationships and shared understandings of each child and learning goals at the start of a new school year. I hope that you found the experience of setting collaborative goals for your child to be a positive one. I know that teachers really value your insights. I encourage you to remain in contact with your children's teachers throughout the year or make a time to speak with Jo or myself if the need arises.

Spelling Mastery

This week students in Years 1-6 began Spelling Mastery lessons. Spelling Mastery provides structured lessons to effectively and efficiently teach the spelling skills students need to become proficient readers and writers. All students are working at their level following a placement test to ensure that each student can develop their spelling knowledge from their current level of understanding. Lessons are held at 8.45am for 20 minutes each Monday-Thursday. The Spelling Mastery program is an important component of the Explicit Direct Instruction that we offer at our school and we have noticed excellent results in student learning since implementing this for the first time in 2020.

Classroom Mastery Coaching

As Jo informed you in the first newsletter of the year, we have undertaken professional learning in Classroom Mastery along with the K-12 Pathway schools on the coast and increasingly, other schools in Australia. Today, Sara from Knowledge Society based in Perth, visited our school to provide instructional coaching for teachers. The focus on Classroom Mastery is developing excellent routines for classroom management. We know that students require an ordered and calm environment for learning. Sara provided feedback today to teachers to assist develop even better routines for entry and exit in the classroom and for movement around the school. She also met with some of our students to ask them what they notice in the school since our implementation of new routines this year and received very positive feedback. We feel priviledged to be undertaking this quality professional learning and know that it will benefit all learners in our school now and in the future.

NAPLAN

Each year the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students will participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

NAPLAN 2024 will take place from Wednesday 13 March to Monday 25 March.

NAPLAN is just one part of our school learning assessment program. The tests assess literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at school.

In preparation for NAPLAN, our school have been undertaking activities to help students become familiar with the format and functionality of the online tests. These activities are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not required nor recommended. The public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) is available to see the types of questions, tools and functions used in the NAPLAN tests.

Further information about NAPLAN is available on the NESA website (https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/naplan/parent-information).

Jeni McCarthy has been contacting families regarding required adjustments for individual students participating in NAPLAN assessments. Please contact Jeni if you would still like to discuss your child’s participation in these assessments.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact Jeni McCarthy or your child’s classroom teacher.

Class Excursions

There are a number of excursions taking place out of the school grounds over the next fortnight. Tomorrow the students of Year 6 are travelling to Canberra to visit the Museum of Australian Democracy as well as Parliament House. This will be a memorable experience for our Year 6 students I am sure, learning about how our country is governed. Year 4 will be walking to Corrigan's Beach on Monday as part of their environmental class learning facilitated by the ESC environmental officers. Students will learn about the habitat of little penguins on the Toll Gate Islands and Snapper Island. They will also have the opportunity to plant native plants. All permissions for excursions are through Compass.

Schools Clean Up Australia Day

Tomorrow, Friday 1 March most of our students will be participating in the Schools Clean Up Australia Day initiative along with other schools in the Eurobodalla Shire and Australia wide. Students will join together to clean around playground areas and classrooms and students in Years 5 will walk to the northern end of Casey's Beach as part of the clean up.

We hope that in taking part in Schools Clean Up Australia Day, students will develop a sense of responsibility to care for our natural environment and to see what can be achieved when everyone works together.

We ask that children bring a pair of gardening gloves to school on the day if possible.

eSafety Parent Webinar

The Council for Catholic School Parents will be offering an eSafety webinar this month. This event for parents and carers is called ‘Understanding parental controls to safeguard your child’ and is all about different types of parental controls and how to set them on smart devices and computers, in apps and on gaming platforms for your child’s safety. It’s suitable for parents and carers of primary school-aged students.

Date: 26 March 2024

Time: 7.30pm – 8pm

Please click the link to register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3100911298333648471

Catholic Schools Swimming Event

We wish our team of swimmers competing next Monday 4 March in Boorowa at the Archdiocesan Swimming event the very best of luck. We know that you will absolutely represent our school and yourselves to the highest level.

Next Friday Year 2 will lead us in an Assembly where class awards will also be presented. We hope that you can be there.

Jo will be attending the Catholic Leaders Day and Retreat next week on her return from leave. I will continue to act as Principal in her absence. Please reach out if you would like to be in contact about any matter.

Warm regards

Karen Hadley

CHEERFUL SERVICE

We Christians are not a glum lot. We are a post-Resurrection people. We believe life has purpose; that there is life after death; that Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

But if I were a non-Christian and could not see any joy or fun in our existence, I would be reluctant to join the Catholic church.

I’m not suggesting that we Christians must become like the orphan heroine, Pollyanna, in the children’s novel of the same name. Pollyanna became known as the “glad girl” for her determination to remain cheerful whatever happened to her. She melts the hearts of everyone she meets, no matter how sour and dour they are. The musical, Annie, was based on the novel.

As sometimes happens in literature, a positive can be turned into a negative. Pollyanna entered the US vernacular to describe “anyone who is unduly optimistic or who is able to remain happy through self-delusion.”

Our Catholic liturgy represents the drama of God’s interaction with his Creation -  the Life, Death & Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the subsequent work of the Holy Spirit.

In today’s reading from First Corinthians (1: 22-25) Paul tells his readers, realistically, what he is up against. No Pollyanna delusion here.

The Jewish elites, for which he was once an enforcer, demand signs, portents, miracles that show Paul has the backing of the God of Israel. The Greek sophisticates, on the other hand, look for the sublime, a wisdom that satisfies the intellect, even a mathematical equation that would explain life. Paul has only one answer and it is a paradox. He preaches Christ crucified as God’s foolish Wisdom and Christ’s weakness as revealing God’s ultimate power over Death.

In the Lenten liturgy we face up to the realities of Life. In the Collect prayer in today’s Mass we are reminded of the means we have to help us cope with life as it really is - Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving (donating money/goods to the poor).

Perhaps we can pause and ask ourselves: How’s my prayer life at the moment?  Am I practising any physical penances? Have I been putting money aside for Project Compassion? Or similar charity? Am I a cheerful giver?

Joe Quigley

“Small is the number of people who see with their eyes and think with their minds.” – Albert Einstein

Dear Parents and Carers,

Each year students in Year 5 are invited to join our St Bernard’s Mini Vinnies team. The aim of Mini Vinnies is to introduce children to social justice issues, to the St Vincent de Paul Society and to living faith through action. We have had an overwhelming number of students who have applied to join Mini Vinnies this year – thirty-five and counting! I enjoyed reading their individual applications which highlighted the skills they could add to the collective group.

Some of the roles the team will participate in will be:

Ø Breakfast Club

Ø Gardening and selling produce

Ø Fundraising – Caritas and St Vincent de Paul Winter and Christmas Appeals

Ø Community celebrations

Ø Lunchtime activities

A big thank you to members who assisted with Breakfast Club on Wednesday morning. I heard that you were amazing!

What does a Mini Vinnies group do?

Mini Vinnies is about doing good works in the community, but it is also about young people meeting to talk, to share ideas and concerns, to have fun and to support each other.

The actions of a Mini Vinnies team generally involve three components:

See

‘Seeing’ means becoming aware of some of the community’s social troubles and knowing that, whilst there are many beautiful things in this world, it can always be made a little better by good works. ‘Seeing’ is an opportunity for members of a Mini Vinnies group to develop empathy for those in need.

Think

‘Thinking’ is an opportunity for Mini Vinnies members to develop a real understanding of some of the world’s needs. ‘Thinking’ is an opportunity for Mini Vinnies members to share their thoughts, to engage in thoughtful discussion and to consider and form their relationships with their peers, those in need and Christ.

Do

‘Doing’ means supporting the Society in its good works in Australia and overseas. ‘Doing’ is an opportunity for children to do something about the issues they have seen, thought about, and discussed.

Charlotte F 5C

“I would like to be in Mini Vinnies because I think this would be a great way to be involved in the school as a leader. I can remember in kindergarten looking up to the students in Mini Vinnies. I would like to give up my time to help people less fortunate than us.”

Evie P 5M

“I will think hard to find good ideas, I will try to be helpful, I will attend as many events and meetings as I can, I will be positive, inspiring and try to encourage others.”

Levi O’S 5M

“I would like to help the school and the church community. I will try and help to make a difference in our community. I already attend church on most weekends, and I would like to have the chance to help.”

Christian F 5C

“I would like to be a role model to the younger students. I’ll do whatever it takes to help the community and I would like to be part of a team.”

Treasure Hunt Competition for Families

Catholic school families are invited to enter a treasure hunt competition being run by Catholic Schools Guide. The winner will receive $2000 worth of school fees, and runners up will receive Roblox vouchers. Details: catholicschoolsguide.com.au/competition

Reconciliation Formation Retreat

Year 3 will be attending their Reconciliation Retreat tomorrow, Friday 1 March. The bus will leave St Bernard’s for Carroll College Broulee at 9.15am.

Students are asked to provide their own morning tea but will be provided with lunch.

All students are asked to wear their Sport’s Uniform which includes their hat.

Thank you to everyone who has already approved their child’s permission on Compass.

Mrs Barling and her Year 9 Religious Education class have spent a lot of time preparing for the day. We are very appreciative of their leadership and organization of the retreat activities and games.

The bus will depart Carroll College by 2.00pm, allowing plenty of time for afternoon buses and pickup.

It Is Hard to Let Go – A thought ……

Sometimes we think we are right. We can be stubborn and refuse to forgive. We wait for the other person to give way, and the feud continues. Only when we find love and a change of heart can we move towards reconciliation.

Blessings on your weekend,

Sharon Beashel

Religious Education Coordinator

The Famous Fives

Sprinkles?

Year Five’s 2024 started off with a wonderful bonding session enjoying playing some American sports, watching some of the NFL Superbowl and enjoying the moment with a lunchtime hotdog and a Dr Pepper drink! Many of the students even went out of their comfort zone, took a risk and tried adding ‘sprinkles’ to their hotdog. For some it was even the first time having a hotdog!

Art Works

The creative vibes have been flowing in Year 5 as the students enjoy creating and making incredible works of Art. So far, they have made a pop art portrait, an All About Me poster, drawn a portrait of a horse, and completed a concertina art piece of Noah’s Ark. Their next task will be to recreate a page from the wonderful book ‘Big Rain.’ They sure do enjoy their Art time!

Loving Maths!

So far this Term, Year Five have focussed on using algorithms for division and multiplication, investigated the perimeter of regular and irregular shapes and have been practising basic skills in a Daily Review. There has been a large focus on learning the Times Tables and after Recess each day you might just catch their incredible singing voices wafting through the air as they sing the tables to the tunes of some very famous singers including Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake! Mathematics has taken on a new life with our 2023 Year Fives!

Sport, Sport and More Sport!

This Term, Year 5 are having a wonderful time homing in on their physical skills with a circuit of activities based around catching and throwing, skipping, and dribbling and shooting. One of the new activities they will be introduced to this week is Spike Ball. This sport is a lot of fun and uses their handball skills in such a different way! They have improved their skill over the sessions and it is amazing to watch them at play! As part of our Carnival preparations, Mrs Holmes has also been preparing the students for the annual school X-Country and on a Monday morning you can see the students out and about on the course! We can hardly wait for Carnival day!

War Horse

Michael Morpurgo’s novel War Horse is our Year Five ‘Book Study’ for the Term. The students are enjoying listening to this incredible text and delving into the world and the lives of Joey, a horse who is the main character, and Albert his farm boy owner as they go off to and participate in the First World War. It is a special story, sharing the hardships and reality of war, but with a strong emphasis on the themes of love, loyalty and friendship. The students are especially intrigued by the ‘history’ of the times and the First World War.

Yay, we have Buddies!

The new Kindergarten students have settled into their ‘big school’ life and this has meant that our Year Fives have met their buddies! Over the past two Fridays the Year 5 students have visited Kindergarten and spent time getting to meet and greet their buddies. They were also lucky enough to share a whole lunchtime with their buddies when the weather turned and we had to have inside play! Over the year we will spend a lot of time with our buddies, strengthening the bond by playing games together, attending events together, helping with some art and craft, reading together and so much more, making precious moments and memories that will last forever!

Mini Vinnies

After the Year 6 Assembly Mrs Beashel had a chat to Year Five about joining Mini Vinnies. The children who were interested attended a meeting one Thursday lunchtime and as a result 35 students from Year 5 have accepted the responsibility to volunteer for this very special and important group. Over the year we look forward to their involvement in Liturgies, toiling the garden, supporting the Wednesday breakfasts, providing activities and games for younger students to play and organising and running events to raise money for those in need in our community. Congratulations and thank you to each of the students who have put their hand up to be a part of Mini Vinnies in 2024. We look forward to celebrating your initiation ceremony with you.

Sport News Week 5

St Bernard’s Swimming Carnival

St Bernard’s Swimming presentation was held on Friday 16 February. Congratulations to MacKillop on winning the house points competition.

Age champion medallions were awarded to the best swimmers in each category:

Junior Champion- Beatrix F / Runner up - Lucy B

Junior Champion- Harlo P / Runner up - Raph C

11yr Champion- Mia A / Runner up - Indiana A

11yr Champion- Taj P / Runner up - Arthur S-D

Senior Champion- Annie F / Runner up - Isla B

Senior Champion- Oscar J / Runner up - Korban S

Congratulations a well-deserved reward for their fantastic swimming.

Southern Region Swimming Carnival

Many of our swimmers competed at the Southern Region Swimming Carnival at Narooma on the 19 February. They were outstanding ambassadors for our school and we were so proud of them. They swam so well and placed second in the school competition.

Arlo W, Arthur S-D, Beau C, Dante T, Ethan S, George S-D, Harlo P, Hudson A, Isaac R, Isla B, Jacob B, James P, Korban S, Lebron C, Lucas VD, Matthew S,

Nicholas E, Oscar J, Raph C, Taj P, Toby S, Zach C, Addison G, Annabelle T, Annie T

Astrid B, Beatrix F, Charlie M, Charlotte F, Eva H, Evie P, Indiana A, Lucy B, Mia A,

Mia B, Mila W, Ruby P, Winter W, Yana K.

MacKillop Tennis Championships

On Wednesday, we had six students competing at the MacKillop Tennis Championships. It was an amazing result that six of the eight players were all from our school. What a depth of talented players! Indiana A, Lucy B, Annie F, Beatrix F, Xavier L and Arthur S-D all played multiple sets against the best players from Catholic Schools all over NSW. Congratulations on playing so well. All the students commented that it was a great experience and that everyone should try tennis. Congratulations to Beatrix F who was selected to be the third ranked player in the NSW MacKillop team at the NSW State PSSA Championships in May on the Central Coast. Beatrix will play in the tournament over four days. We wish you well in your training.

Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival

On Monday I will be accompanying the following students to Boorowa to compete at the Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival for a place at the NSW Combined Primary School Championship in Sydney.

Annabelle T, Astrid B, Yana K, Ruby P, Arlo W, Hudson A, Jacob B, Lebron C, Raph C, George S-D, Harlo P, James P, Addison G, Lucy B, Beatrix F, Charlie M, Taj P, Mia A, Charlotte F, Arthur S-D, Annie F & Oscar J.

We are very proud of our students who are swimming and we wish them safe travels and best of luck.

Representative Sport

There are opportunities for students to develop their talents in a variety of sports by trying out for Canberra-Goulburn Representative teams. This pathway leads to further representation and training for our students.

Students can trial in AFL, cricket, touch football, tennis, basketball, netball, rugby league, rugby union, golf and soccer.

Nominations for 11yr old Rugby League, 12yr old Rugby League and Netball CLOSE SOON. If you would like your child to try out please click https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/nominations and register on the csnsw sport page.

Angela Holmes