Dear Parents and Carers

We have certainly hit Winter this week! The days and the mornings are now getting colder. As of last Tuesday, all students should now be wearing full winter uniform. Boys can choose to wear long grey pants or continue wearing grey shorts and girls have the choice between navy pants or a tunic. The girls’ winter tunic can be worn with long navy socks or navy tights. Winter uniform is to be worn until the October long weekend.

It has been a big week, with the announcement that I will be moving at the end of the year to lead St Mary's Primary School, Moruya. Thank you for your well wishes and support. St Bernard's is a beautiful school and has an amazing community and I have been certainly blessed to be Principal of St Bernard’s for the past 5 years. The Principals' role for St Bernard's will be advertised in the coming weeks. 

Assessment for Learning 

Jeni McCarthy and myself are participating in a course this year that focuses on the Assessment of Data. In a learning-centred school such as St Bernard’s, assessment is used to monitor student progress in all areas of the curriculum. Data from assessments is used by all teachers to inform classroom teaching and learning programs and provide individual student achievement levels, utilised in the setting of student learning goals and developing differentiated learning opportunities.

Students have just completed assessments in Reading and Maths as well as NAPLAN for Year 3 and Year 5. The My School Website can be accessed by all parents. This website provides parents a snapshot of our data over the years. The link to the website is as follows: https://www.myschool.edu.au/

Yesterday, Jessica Colleu-Terradas, Senior Officer Literacy Specialist, facilitated our staff meeting focusing on our data. Teachers worked with Jessica in analyising their own class reading comprehension and phonics data to inform their teaching and learning. Staff will be sharing data at Parent Teacher Interviews in Week 10.  

Semester One Reports/Parent Teacher Interviews
Over the next two weeks, teachers will be preparing Semester One reports for all students. I will be reading every student’s Semester One report, providing me with a clear understanding of each individual student’s academic achievement. Reports for Semester One will be available through Compass on Thursday 27 June. Meetings to discuss your child’s progress for most classes will be conducted in Week 10. I encourage all parents to book their preferred meeting times using the on-line booking system in Compass. If you are having difficulty making a booking, please contact the Front Office and we can make your booking for you. An email will be sent home tomorrow.

Preservice Teachers
We currently have two pre-service teachers from The Australian Catholic University, Canberra, in our school to complete their third-year placement and one student from Wollongong university who is completing their second-year placement.

• Miss Novella Suarez is in 4L with Mr Lowe.
• Mr Lachlan Babbage is in 3KT with Mrs Kenny and Mrs Tyler.
• Miss Olivia Maher in KB and KD with Mrs Brady and Mrs Davis.

The students are required to teach in a rural school. We are confident that Miss Suarez, Mr Babbage and Miss Maher will enjoy their experience at our school and will learn so much working alongside their mentors. 

Parent Evening: CLAIM THE DATE
This term we are hosting a Parent Information Evening as part of our Open School Community Council Meeting. Royal Far West will be facilitating the session, focusing on exploring ways we can support our children to understand and move through their big feelings.  

What is it about?

• How to explore your child’s feelings and how to have open and honest conversations with them about emotions.
• Strategies you can use to help them sit with and move through their big feelings.
• Suggestions of resources, books, supports and extra information.

We will also have a feedback box for any suggestions or feedback you may like to provide to the school for future planning. We value parent collaboration. 

Childcare will be available on the night, and we will provide pizza. If you plan on attending, can you please RSVP through the survey link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V7638GN by Friday 21 June.

Overnight Camps
Next term, our Year 4 and Year 5 students have overnight excursions planned. Year 5 are heading to Birrigai from Wednesday 31 July – Friday 1 August (T3 Week 2) and Year 4 will be going to Canberra on Tuesday 17 September – Wednesday 18 September (T3 Week 9). We will be completing a thorough risk assessment before we attend both camps. The opportunity to go away with peers and experience activities outside the classroom provides many valuable learning opportunities for students. Year 6 students will be going to Berry Recreational Camp Term 4 Week 4, Wednesday 6 November – Friday 8 November).

Lunchtime clubs
This term we have different activities happening at lunchtime to cater for students’ interests. Our lunch time activities include:

• Monday: Board Games in the iCentre with Mr Maynard/ SRC Meet with Mrs Nagel and Mr Whiteford
• Tuesday: Choir is led by Ms Nussdorfer & Mrs Smith
• Wednesday: Chess Club with Mrs Keough
• Thursday: MakerSpace/Coding Club in the iCentre with Mrs Holmes
• Friday: Mini Vinnies Meetings with Mrs Smith

Lunchtime clubs are great a way to build student engagement, social skills and inclusion for all students.

Compass - Absences via the Parent Portal
If your child is absent from school for a whole day or longer, please submit details of the absence via the Parent Portal in Compass. This should be completed within 7 days of the absence. Unexplained absences for your child will be displayed on your homepage when you log in to Parent Portal. If an unexplained absence appears that you believe to be incorrect, please send an email to the Front Office.

If a student is away for three days or more with no explanation, classroom teachers will follow up with parents to check in on the student. Please know that we are here to support and work in partnership with all families.

Blessings on the week ahead.

Warm regards

Johanna Wain
Principal

Enrichment Program- STEM and Science

On Tuesday, the second group of Year 6 students completed the STEM and Science enrichment program, facilitated by Carroll College teachers Mr Kenneally, Ms Ciuffetelli and Mr Hodges. The final lesson was an investigation using some forensic science techniques, using a pH indicator and required the students to collect evidence from a variety of liquids.

All lessons are designed to enrich the learning of our Year 6 students and provide an opportunity to visit the College environment.

The third group of students will commence the STEM and Science enrichment program with St Mary's Primary School peers at Carroll College next week. 

Wellbeing Day

Tomorrow the SRC and fellow Year 6 leaders will facilitate a Wellbeing Day with peer support group rotation activities. There are many benefits for mixed-aged grouping and we know that the students look forward to opportunities to gather in this way. The Year 6 students have planned a range of activities to encourage collaboration and fun for their group of students from Kindergarten to Year 5.

All students are invited to wear mufti clothing as part of the wellbeing day tomororw, wearing a favourite team jersey and a beanie. Gold coin donations will go towards fundraising for research into motor neurone disease.

Protective Behaviours Curriculum- Report

Over the next few weeks classes will learn about the final key message of the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum: report. This means that when children or young people have been in a situation that is unsafe, that they are taught to report what has happened to an adult. Even if a child has been able to make themselves safe, it is vital that they still report what has happened. Adults need to know about unsafe situations so that some action can be taken to help the child be safe again or ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Students involved in the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum will be encouraged to make a list of adult safety helpers. These are adults the children and young people nominate whom they can talk to when they are feeling unsafe or have experienced an unsafe situation or feel they are at risk of something that may cause them harm. This list will include a selection of adults who live in and outside the home.

Report also includes telling an adult about unsafe or inappropriate incidents which may occur when children or young people are online. This might occur when surfing the net or using social media sites like Facebook and can include cyberbullying, viewing or receiving inappropriate images or messages or communicating with unknown contacts.

It is important that the key safety messages of the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum: Recognise, React and Report are reinforced, both at school and home. I encourage you, wherever possible, to talk with your child about safety to help them stay safe now and in the future.

Wishing you all the best for the coming fortnight.

Karen Hadley

“ From little things big things grow”…

Story telling over the years has been a recognised way of spreading and sharing information, offering advice, problem solving and generally raising awareness of life around us in “our” time. The readings today are examples of these aspects of storytelling. Even though they were written and told long ago, if we take time to read and reflect, we should find some relevance to our lives in this, our world of today.

Stories give us as the reader and the audience the opportunity to become engaged and enter the story: perhaps giving us, with our different depths of understanding new insights- hearing the stories with new ears and perhaps new insight allowing transformation and not just supplying us with information.

All three readings today refer to life and growth. Whilst the reading from Ezekiel and Mark in the Gospel focus on the growth of plants and the natural environment, Paul in his letter to the Corinthians alludes to growth in us, our confidence and becoming aware that we “ do by faith and not by sight” suggesting to us that being seen as important in the eyes of those around us is not as important as living our faith, quietly going about doing what God asks of us.

In his Gospel, Mark has Jesus speaking to the people and disciples in parables or as we sometimes say stories within stories. He did this so the people understood His message as He was meeting them as their level.” He would not speak to them except in parables” Mark4:34.

Ezekiel, is determined to let us know that “the Lord” will take a small shoot, plant it and he then describes the growth and protection that it will provide. The final statement is also intriguing. It assures us that God is there to protect us.

The Gospel tells us about a man throwing a seed and leaving it to grow. The seed sprouts and grows whilst the man goes about other areas of his life, seemingly confident that the seed will grow with out any intervention on his part.But when he is aware that he needs to harvest he is ready to reap what has flourished.

Interestingly Jesus uses the mustard seed in the second parable. There were “some” in that world who regarded that seed as a weed and in no way worthy of attention.Jesus however, used the mustard seed to explain that although a very small and insignificant seed, it could grow large and also offer shelter and protection.

Paul reminds us that we must remember to stay true to our faith, pleasing God by our actions and be confident that we will be judged according to our deeds however small.

What images of growth do we glean from these readings from Ezekiel and Mark’s gospel? What could they be telling us?

God is always present and we need to appreciate that God works quietly and under the radar. We can be inspired by the growth of the small shoot, the seed thrown and the mustard seed. God’s kingdom can grow and expand if we trust and show our faith by doing even small deeds: remembering God feels comfortable working with small things. As we face our challenges and uncertainties and perhaps even feel as worthless as a “weed” sometimes, we do need to trust. God’s love for us grows with or without our nurturing it(Parable of the Sower) Veronica Lawson RSM suggest that we, through the parables could have a better understanding of how the Earth works to sustain us- who is the Sower? This challenges us on a number of levels relevant to “our” present world. Still, the one constant is God, His Kingdom and my part in its growth and health.

Bishop Robert Barron, a theologian from US says “ Don’t be afraid to do small things at the prompting of God- plant/sow the seed, make the move, take the risk.”

Ken and Carolyn Evenden

The Parish will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday 23 June at 9am at St Bernard’s Church, Archbishop Christopher Prowse presiding.

We are looking forward to celebrating this joyous and significant milestone in the children’s spiritual journey.

On Wednesday 12 June St Bernard’s and St Mary's Year 6 students gathered at Carroll College to participate in their Confirmation Sacramental Retreat Day. 

The Year 9 and 10 Youth Ministry Team facilitated the activities for the day. The students began the day with prayer and watched a video about the first millennial Saint Carlo Acutis. They learnt about his ministry to the disadvantaged and the poor extending kindness to all those he encountered during his lifetime. 

The children rotated through a range of activities that focused on the symbols and gifts of the Holy Spirit. These included: Banner Art, Hero Posters, Prayer Stones, Scripture, Games and Card Making. Afterwards, students enjoyed a hotdog lunch and an ice block. 

The day ended with Father Loi blessing the Confirmation candidates and closing with the final prayer. Everyone participated with great enthusiasm and a generous spirit, and a wonderful day was had by all. 

Confirmation Candidates will attend reconciliation at school next week in preparation for Confirmation on Sunday June 23 at 9am. Please keep these students in your prayers over the coming week. 

Mini Vinnies

The Vinnies Winter Appeal will launch in our school this week. We are seeking donations of new blankets and warm clothing such as beanies, scarves, socks, or gloves. The items can be dropped off at the front office for collection over the next two weeks. Students will participate in the Winter Appeal Mass on June 28 when donations will be presented to a representative from St Vincent De Paul. Students will participate in a Pyjama Day and make a gold coin donation which will go towards the Big Sleep Out. 

Representative Sport

Arthur S-D, Annie F and Beatrix F played in the MacKillop Football Championships in Goulburn on Friday 31 May. It was an incredibly wet day and the students played very well against students from across NSW. Congratulations on a fantastic day.

NSWCPS Cross Country

Last week Noah S, Astrid B, Lehan D, Beatrix F and Raph C travelled to Sydney to compete at the NSW Combined Primary School Cross Country. They ran exceptionally well with times 10 minutes and under for 2km. It is a wonderful achievement to be selected to run at such a prestigious competition and we are amazingly proud of these wonderful athletes. Their classmates were cheering them on watching the live telecast. Beatrix F was outstanding, leading her race for most of the way, and was presented with the gold medal for the 10 years girls 2km event. She will now run at the All Schools event in July and we wish her well in her preparation.

St Bernard’s Athletics Carnival 2024 Schedule of Events

Upcoming Sport Dates

Wednesday 19 June -  Year 5 and 6 Rugby Gala Day

Thursday 27 June - St Bernard’s Athletics Carnival

Sunday 30 June - MacKillop Rugby Championships

Thursday 4 July - Athletics Carnival Backup date

Have a wonderful week.

Angela Holmes

Term 2

Week 6 Class Awards

Presented: Friday 7 June 2024.

Congratulations to the following children who received a class award in Term 2, Week 6. It is great to see so many children working hard and receiving acknowledgment for their efforts.

Well done to all!