Dear Parents and Carers

We had a number of students across Years 5 and 6 travelling to represent our Archdiocese at different sports and tomorrow we have students travelling to Canberra to represent our Southern Region in Cross Country. It is such a wonderful achievement for our students to reach this level and we are very proud of them. Last week, we had a great week celebrating Catholic Schools’ Week. The purpose of the week is to celebrate our Catholic schools, highlighting our catholic identity and our inclusiveness. We are very fortunate to have a strong K-12 Pathway for Catholic Education on the Coast. Throughout Catholic Schools’ Week, we joined together as a Catholic community for many events and purposes. The week started with St Mary’s and St Bernard’s Year 6 students joining together for the Year 6 Leadership Day. We continued our celebrations with Open Day and Mother’s Day. Our K-12 connection will continue with St Bernard’s hosting a Teddy Bear’s Picnic on Friday 24 May and on Wednesday 29 May will celebrate Reconciliation Week with our Combined Schools’ Mass at Carroll College. More details will follow in the coming weeks.

This weekend we are celebrating Pentecost Sunday at Church. Pentecost Sunday is about the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and other followers of Jesus. According to the biblical account in the book of Acts, this event occurred fifty days after Easter, as promised by Jesus before his ascension. The Holy Spirit empowered the apostles to preach the gospel and spread the message of Jesus Christ to people of different languages and cultures. Our Mini Vinnies team are an example of how the holy spirit is working in our community. They meet each week to discuss how they can provide support and outreach to those less fortunate.

Reading Instruction
St Bernard’s has adopted evidenced based instruction that is underpinned by The Simple View of Reading and Cognitive Science. This research-based approach informs the design of our instruction and classroom delivery. The Simple View of Reading and Literacy instruction compromises of explicit and systematic teaching word recognition, subject matter knowledge, vocabulary, sentence comprehension and language from written texts.

All schools are implementing evidence-based teaching practices, meaning every student in every classroom across St Bernard’s is provided with highly impactful lessons that improve learning outcomes. These teaching practices are relevant in all year groups and subjects, they are contextualised with relevant learning materials and complexity. We have a strong focus on literacy, providing intervention programs and shared literacy curriculum resources for all year levels.

Parents are encouraged to read with their child every night. Discuss with your child/ren what they learnt or enjoyed in the book. For younger children, ask them to read aloud at least four times per week. Help your child learn new words by using tricky and complex words, explaining what they mean and how they can use them.

The staff have been focusing on paired reading fluency and met last week to discuss strategies and what this looks like in the classroom.

What is fluency?
Fluency is the ability to read accurately, at a good pace, and with expression. It requires students to effortlessly combine a set of complex skills which is not often easy for all students and requires some dedicated practice.

Why teach fluency?
When students are able to read fluently, they can read with automaticity and accuracy which allows them to access the meaning of the text more easily. Many studies have highlighted the critical relationship between fluency and comprehension (e.g., Lai et. al, 2014; Kim & Wagner, 2015; Klauda & Guthrie, 2008). It is clear that students that are able to read with greater fluency can better understand what they read.

As accessing meaning from text is the ultimate goal of reading, working on fluency helps students with their comprehension.
https://fivefromfive.com.au/fluency/evidence-based-fluency-instruction/paired-partner-reading/

Claim the Date – PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT
St Bernard’s is hosting a Parent Information Evening on Building Resilience and Supporting children with anxiety. Royal Far West Educators will be leading the evening. It will take place on Tuesday 25 June, 5.30pm – 6.30pm, with childcare provided. Parents are encouraged to come along. 

Enrolment Reminder
We encourage families to complete all enrolment applications by the end of May. If you know of any families wishing to enrol for 2025, please encourage them to contact the Front Office and complete an enrolment form online. We have already received a number of applications. Please encourage those thinking of enrolling to contact the Front Office for a school tour. 

Student Safety in the Morning/Afternoon
Could all parents please take care when dropping their child/ren in the morning and picking up in the afternoon. There are designated bus zones that parents are not allowed to park in during the morning drop off and afternoon pick up. Regular patrols are being carried out by the police. We are currently working with the Eurobodalla Road Traffic Coordinator to create a 2-minute drop off zone just down from the Church. They think this will take approximately 3-4 months to put into place. I will keep you updated with information.

In the afternoon, parents are asked to pick up from the church car park at the top of the hill. Students are walked up the hill each afternoon and supervised until collected by a parent or carer. Parents are reminded that they must park and walk over to the top of the hill and onto the path. We are asking all parents to walk down the path into the covered area to collect their child/ren from the supervising teachers. In the event of rain, students are supervised in the Lean To until a parent/carer arrives. Thank you for your cooperation.

We wish all our St Bernard’s students who are competing in Canberra tomorrow for the Archdiocesan Cross Country Competition all the best. We will be cheering you on from school.

Next Tuesday, I will be travelling to Galong for a Principals’ meeting, known as Siloam. This is mandatory leadership training for Principals and is held each term. There is also input at these sessions for spiritual growth, that allows for reflection and prayer.  Mrs Hadley will be acting Principal in my absence.

Blessings on the week ahead.

Warm regards
Jo

Johanna Wain
Principal

Dear Parents and Carers

Last week was Catholic Schools' Week and we had an extremely successful range of events promoting all that is wonderful about our schools. I was fortunate to attend the Year 6 leadership day at St Mary's Primary School with our students last Monday. This was a fantastic day for our combined Year 6 Catholic pathway schools. The content of the day focused on the qualities of leadership and was an opportunity for the Year 6 students to consider their strengths and how they might reach their full potential in terms of their spiritual, emotional and intellectual growth.

Yesterday we had a number of students and family members join us for Walk to School Safely Day. It was a great way to start the day. Thank you to everyone who took part. 

Healthy Food at School

We encourage all students to start the day with breakfast and to eat healthy food during the breaks throughout the day. Breakfast Club held in the hall on Wednesday mornings, continues to be very popular with students. Later in this newsletter there is some information about the importance of healthy food choices at school for children. We are often impressed by the healthy lunch boxes the students bring to school and encourage everyone to join in by making these great choices for positive health outcomes and learning throughout the day.

Sorry Day Bridge Walk

National Sorry Day will take place on Sunday 26 May. This day marks the beginning of National Reconciliation Week and signifies the day that Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia in 2008 apologised to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on behalf of our nation, acknowledging the generational trauma caused by government policy of taking children away from their families.

The students of Year 5, along with Aboriginal students from Years 2-6 and members of the Student Representative Council will take part in the Batemans Bay Bridge Walk, joining with other school students and members of the community to acknowledge the significance of this day, walking in unity across the bridge. All parents and carers are invited to meet us there to join in the walk.

Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the Earth!

As a child in primary school I have vivid memories of Pentecost Sunday being celebrated as the birthday of the Church. Being a child, birthdays always meant cake, candles and presents/gifts.This particular birthday seemed not to have any of the “important” components. It took many years before I recognised that the candles(light) and the gifts were there after all.

After a difficult period of time for the followers of Jesus, they were doing what was asked of them: staying together away from the crowds, waiting for the promised helper. One can imagine their emotions, frightened and fearful of what may be about to happen to them and their world.

If we take a moment to step outside our immediate surroundings we could also encounter many people ( even ourselves) feeling afraid of what is happening today - conflicts in many parts of the world, fears regarding the cost of living and climate change.

What happened in that room where the disciples were gathered? A loud, heavy sound of wind was heard and every head was seen to have a flame/light dancing above it! The disciples suddenly demonstrated a new vitality and empowerment. They were able to address the crowds milling outside, and the crowds were able to understand the message even though they were from different areas, cultures and had different languages.

In today’s Gospel, John uses the word “Advocate” which should convey to us that we too have a helper and someone who is interested in supporting us. It also infers a relationship- some one who knows us and if not loves us, likes us! Who is this Advocate and how do we respond?

Pentecost Sunday is the ideal occasion to bring into focus the Spirit, the love and gifts of the Spirit all of which may have slipped from our minds. We may have become distracted by our own personal circumstances as well as world events.

Whilst we have been offered services and assistance from the Advocate it is up to us to accept them. Like the disciples, we too could be re-invigorated and have a new energy as we continue to understand our role in spreading the Good News. God breathes life into us through the Spirit, giving us courage and strength to be active witnesses in our community, showing tolerance, compassion, forgiveness, confidence and trust thereby exhibiting God’s love in action.

Fr Richard Rohr has the following to say about Pentecost “We need a new Pentecost or at least a revival of the Spirit of the first Pentecost when people from nations and cultures around the world came together in Jerusalem, ground zero, and were filled with God’s Holy Spirit, enabling them to understand one another despite differences in language, culture and race. And when the infilling of the Spirit hit a critical mass, it exploded outward sending people into every corner of the world to be bearers of the divine love and power of the Holy Spirit. May it happen again in us today.”

Will we accept and use the gifts of the Spirit this PENTECOST?

 Ken and Carolyn Evenden

Dear Parents and Carers,

This Sunday May 19, we celebrate Pentecost Sunday Year B in 2024 in the Church calendar. Pentecost is an important day in the Christian calendar. It celebrates when the Holy Spirit came to the apostles. On this day, the Holy Spirit let the disciples speak different languages. This helped them tell everyone about God. Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit as an Advocate who will teach the truth and help continue His work. Pentecost brings people from different places together, showing how the Spirit unites us. Living with the Spirit brings us qualities like love, joy, and peace. These ideas help us understand our part in the Church and how to live with others.

The sacrament of Confirmation continues, strengthens, confirms and celebrates the gifts of the Holy Spirit received in Baptism. The Gospels are a rich source for the continuation of the works of Jesus’ early ministry through the Holy Spirit.

At the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he promised his followers that he would send them the gift of the Holy Spirit who would help them to live as he had taught them and to pass on his message to all the nations. John 20:22 and Acts 2

In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the bishop/priest lays his hands on the baptised person and prays that the Holy Spirit will fill the person with spiritual gifts. Then, using holy oil, the bishop/priest makes a cross on the person’s forehead. It is usual for the person being confirmed to take on an extra name, that of a particular saint. The saint will be a source of inspiration by the way he/she lived life while on earth, and an intercessor in prayer to God.

The sacrament of Confirmation will be held this term. Year 6 teachers are integral in supporting students and families during this journey. There are several events during the preparation which include the Family Enrolment Evening, Commitment Mass, Family Catch Up Meeting and of course Confirmation Day.

We are lucky to have a new Parish Sacramental Coordinator (Roslynne Trompp) who will support us with the coordination of the sacrament.

We have 13 candidates who will be receiving the sacrament of Confirmation on June 23 at 9.00am At St Bernard’s Church.

Mia A, Maddison B, Isla B, Romy B, Brennan C, Jayden E, Annie F, Ava G-N, Lucy J-P, Storm R, Matthew S, Arthur S-D and Annabelle W.

Candidates’ photos will be displayed in the church during the children's preparation time. Students will write something about their understanding of the sacrament or their sacramental journey. They will also decorate a dove with their name and attach it to the altar banner which will hang behind the altar on Confirmation Day.

Key Dates:

Weekend Commitment Masses: Saturday 18 May - 5.00pm or Sunday 19 May - 9.00am.

Confirmation Retreat Carroll College: Wednesday 12 June. This is run by Year 10 CSYMA. All activities are organised and presented by the team.

Family Catch Up Meeting: Thursday 13 June 3.30pm-4.00pm. Time for candidates to hand in their preparation books and participate in a quick workshop around their learning.

Reconciliation before Confirmation: Week 7 and in the classroom space.

Confirmation Day: Sunday 23 June at 9.00am: Morning Tea to follow with photos and cutting of the cake.

Mother’s Day Liturgy 

Year 5 treated us to a beautiful Mother’s Day liturgy last Friday where we celebrated all female role models and carers. We listened to the Gospel and reflected on the deep love and devotion that Mary Our Mother demonstrated towards God and her own family throughout her life.  Thank you, Year 5, Mrs Coggan and Mr Maynard, for preparing such a special morning and assembly. 

Invitation to Morning Retreats- Secret Place, Secret Paths.

Morning 2 – Tuesday May 28- Relaxation and simple meditation. The mountain experience of prayer.

Morning 3 - Tuesday June 11- - Relaxation and simple meditation- The rural experience of prayer

Each session will go from 9.30am-12.00pm in St Bernard’s Church meeting room, 2 David Avenue, Batehaven. Cost is free. BYO shared & morning tea. Bookings essential one week before each retreat. Please ring Marie Weatherall on 0405 028 057 if you are interested in attending.

Minnie Vinnies

Mini Vinnies will begin preparations for the Vinnies Winter appeal this week. The children will start to organise our plan for our fundraising activities and Winter Appeal Mass in Week 9 June 28.

I look forward to working with our students this term and supporting them on their faith journey in Term 2. Please be in touch if I can support you in any way.

Blessings for you week ahead,

Jenny Smith

Acting Religious Education Coordinator.

This term, Year 2 is extremely busy with a variety of learning activities and events. In English, students have been learning to compose a variety of sentence types. We have delved deep into different types of sentences including, statement sentences, command sentences and question sentences.

We have currently been working on writing complex sentences in our Daily Review and Explicit Lessons. We are learning to add When or Where details at the start or end of our sentences. We are learning to use the single paragraph outline to structure our Personal Recounts about a holiday, birthday and Easter. In week 1, we completed a recount of our recent AFL skills day. We love writing in Year 2 and are excited to be working on Information Reports in the coming weeks. This term we will be exploring literature with a weather theme. We will be exploring  poetry, narrative and factual texts and the use of text structure and author devices.

Our Mathematical learning has been rich and diverse. Students are continuing with a combination of Daily Review and Explicit Lessons each day. Year 2 has particularly enjoyed learning how to write and solve addition and subtraction algorithms with 2 and 3 digit numbers with and without regrouping. Another highlight has been our focus on learning to count by two, five and ten as well as learning our 2, 5 and 10 times tables. Students should be very proud of their enthusiasm and engagement during Maths lessons.

In Religious Education, we have begun to recognise the sacredness of God and all creation to human life. Drawing on the students' own experiences, they have suggested ways to pursue peace and justice out of respect for human life and creation. Year 2 has explored the Old Testament story of Noah’s Ark, learning songs, the outline of the story and how Jesus made a promise to Noah using a rainbow. In addition to our Noah’s Ark story and learning students made a three dimensional ark that encompasses their understanding and creativity.

In Geography, students will explore the key geographical features of places.They are learning to observe, describe and record the weather using a range of technical vocabulary and symbols. In week 2 we learnt the expression “It’s Raining Cats and Dogs “ and read a factual text called, 'What Can Rain from the Sky?' We learnt that many strange things can rain from the sky and are part of unusual weather patterns and events. 

In our PE lessons with Mrs Holmes and class sport lessons we have been preparing for the Athletics Carnival in Week 10. Students have been working toward the trials for Long Jump, Discus, High Jump and Shot Put. We have also been practicing track work for 100m and novelty events.

In Creative Arts this term, students designed and made heartfelt artworks for Mother's Day. Throughout the term we will create a range of artworks based on the weather theme. In Term 1, we drew our self portraits based on what we think we will look like as adults in the future. We loved the elaborate hairstyles, moustaches and addition of jewellery and wild animals. These are proudly displayed in our Year 2 gallery. We hope you can drop in and view them.

Representative Sport

A huge congratulations to Raph C who is representing Australia at the UCI World BMX in the US this week. He works very hard on all aspects of sport and we hope he thoroughly enjoys the experience.

Last week Tyler M played at the Mackillop Rugby League Championships in Canberra against the best in Under 12’s from across NSW. He played very well in the centres with a few quick dashes to fullback, running down any chip kicks. His coach was very impressed with Tyler’s speed and ability to read the play. Congratulations on this great achievement. We hope you continue to enjoy your football.

NSWPSSA Tennis

This week Beatrix F is competing over four days at the NSW Tennis Championships on the Central Coast. Beatrix was very excited to be part of this prestigious competition and we hope she is enjoying this awesome experience.

MacKillop Soccer 

Congratulations to Arthur S-D on being selected to play at the MacKillop Soccer Championships in Goulburn on 31 May. We know you are extremely excited for this opportunity.

 Cross Country 

The cross country team were fantastic! Mr Ward and I were so impressed with their sportsmanship and kindness. They ran beautifully over a very tough course.

Congratulations to Annie F, Beatrix F, Raph C and Astrid B who were Southern Region Champions.

Lilly G, Brooklen S, Eva C, Lucas V-D, Noah S, Charlene M and Lehan D were also selected to compete this Friday at the Canberra Goulburn Cross Country Championships. They will compete against students from Catholic Schools across Southern NSW.

Upcoming Sport Dates

Friday 17 May - Canberra Goulburn Cross Country

Tuesday 28 May - Canberra - Goulburn Ruby Union Trials

Friday 31 May - Mackillop Soccer Championships

Wednesday 5 June - NSWCPS Cross Country 

Thursday 27 June - Athletics Carnival

Have a wonderful week.

Angela Holmes

Term 2

Week 2 Class Awards

Presented: Friday 10 May 2024.

Congratulations to the following children who received a class award in Term 2, Week 2. It is great to see so many children working hard and receiving acknowledgment for their efforts.

Well done to all!