St Bernadette's Primary School

NEWSLETTER | TERM 3 | WEEK 10 I 20 September 2024

Good afternoon everyone,

As we conclude another busy term and prepare for the holidays, let’s take a moment to pause and reflect on the many blessings we've received. As I reflect on the past week, I’m reminded of how important it is to take time for reflection, which allows us to grow in faith and kindness. The end of term offers a special opportunity to look back with gratitude, recognising the abundant goodness of God that touches every part of our lives.

Throughout Term 3, our students have shown tremendous growth, hard work and teamwork. This last week has been packed with exciting events and engaging activities celebrating Science and Maths Week. Our students took part in hands-on experiments, problem-solving challenges, and fun incursions that sparked their curiosity and critical thinking. It was wonderful to see their enthusiasm and growing passion for these important subjects.

Our Term 3 mission has been dedicated to the charitable works of St Bernadette’s Parish. A huge thank you for the generosity of our staff and families for your support during Crazy Sock Day showcasing the wonderful generosity and spirit of our community. Funds raised will support our parish in various local projects aimed at helping those in need and strengthening our community.

Other events this week have included a whole school mass on Wednesday led by Year 1, our Year 3 students’ excursion to Brown's Dairy, where they learned about farming and agriculture and our Parent-Teacher Interviews, providing a valuable opportunity to discuss each student’s progress in all areas and celebrate their achievements this term. When parents and teachers work together, we create a powerful support system that fosters a positive learning environment and encourages each child to reach their full potential. Open communication, shared goals, and mutual respect between home and school help to ensure that our children receive consistent messages and support both academically and emotionally. By maintaining a strong partnership, we ensure that our children are supported holistically and are prepared to thrive both in school and beyond.

This week also resulted in our incredible Creative Edge Year 6 team winning the state championship in Society and Environment – for the third year in a row! This is an outstanding achievement. Our Year 5 students also made us proud with their fantastic performance in the Literature and Communication discipline. A big congratulations to all involved and thank you to Mrs Murphy for her guidance and support to our students throughout the competition.

Looking ahead into next term, a reminder that Catholic Day (PUPIL FREE DAY) falls on the first Monday back, before we dive into the first day of Term 4 on Tuesday 8th October. I would like to express a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated staff, our wonderful P&F, and all our supportive families for making this term such a success. Have a blessed and restful break with your family, and I look forward to seeing you all in the new term, ready to continue our journey of learning.

Tracy Cosgrove

Please see below some of the comments from students who attended the State Finals of Creative Edge Problem solving Challenge where our Year 6 team won the Society and Environment Award. This is the 3rd year in a row that our school has won this prestigious award after competing against many West Australian high performing schools. Even to get to the state finals is a huge achievement in itself, so both teams should feel very proud of themselves!

WE GOT THROUGH TO THE STATE-FINALS AND WE WON!!!!!. We were so excited that on the 14th of September both teams got to take part in the State-finals where, yet again, we got to compete against the best of the best! From the Creative Edge experience, all the participants learnt vital skills that are needed in life’s adventures. On top of walking away with a huge 1st place trophy for the 3rd year in a row, our team walked away with new knowledge about teamwork and collaboration that will stay with us our whole lives!

We would also like to thank Mrs Murphy who was incredibly supportive by guiding us to reach our fullest potential throughout this stimulating program over the past 9 weeks. We would also like thank the school and all our teachers for encouraging us and letting us expand our knowledge, and practice lots. We also like to thank Mrs Boyatzis, the creator of the Creative Edge program for ‘using her imagination and ‘making her dreams come to life’, (this was a quote from the Yr6 team’s script). Lastly, we would like to thank both teams for not giving up even when times got hard on this learning journey.

Abby and Amelie Yr 6

Creative Edge is an amazing way to develop your problem-solving skills and it has helped me try new things while working collaboratively with my teammates. It was such an honour to be in the State Finals with my team! - Saarth Yr 5

I have loved every single second of this program, from the first moment of the 6 Week challenge to finding out that we made it through to the State Finals! - Dylan Yr 5

I feel like Creative Edge has been a great opportunity for me to develop my social and problem-solving skills. We all have different talents and skills, but we worked very hard together get this far! - Koby Yr 5

Disabled parking spots

Please be considerate to those in our community who hold an ACROD permit and do not park in the Disabled Parking bays in front of the school or the church.

These bays are used by people who need this facility and find it very difficult when they are unable to park there.

Culture Club

The Mission Captains, Pippa and Alicia are excited to be bringing back Culture Club again in Term 4. All students are invited to come along. We will be starting on Wednesday, week 2 in the Indonesian room. We are jet setting off to France for our session, bonjour!!

Fun Facts / Cultural Craft / Story Telling

Online absentee forms

Please do not use our online absentee forms to send messages to teachers, this is for attendance notifications only. Should you wish to contact a teacher, please email admin@stbernadettes.wa.edu.au.

Winners!

Congratulations to Raphael, Bailey, Jack, Jacob, Caleb, Hurley,

Raylan, Patrick and Ricky who won their Under 12 Grand

Final 29 - 20 during the week.

Great effort boys, well done!

Basketball Program Years 2 - 6

We are so excited to have Ricky Grace Basketball back at Bernie's in Term 4!

Classes will run on Wednesday mornings, 7.45 - 8.35am. This is a very popular program and spaces are limited. Please register your child as per below as soon as possible to secure a spot: www.gracebasketball.com.au