St Bernadette's Primary School

NEWSLETTER | TERM 4 | WEEK 7 I 22 November 2024

Good afternoon, and all the best for a relaxing weekend ahead!

While these last few ‘action-packed’ weeks of school are an incredibly busy time for us all, as I make my way through classrooms, the magic of Christmas, especially as seen through the eyes of a child, is an incredibly special experience to be part of.

As I sit here after reading through all the teacher comments in your child’s Semester 2 reports and prepare to reflect on our many achievements in speeches I am yet to write, for the Annual Community Meeting and Graduation, I cannot feel more proud of what we have all achieved together.

Being a principal is an incredibly big and hard job in so many respects, but it is also a humbling and a very special privilege to be able to walk closely beside students, staff and families. Together we are building a community we can all enjoy and be proud of. Thank you, Mums and Dads, for loving your kids, for wanting the very best for them and for working cooperatively with us along the way.

In other news, feedback from parents after the 2025 Kindy Orientation and morning tea was extremely positive – thank you to staff for preparing this important opportunity and to families for your attendance. The 3-Year-Old and Kindy Performances were also held this week, which, as predicted, showcased incredible talent and ‘off the chart’ cuteness!

Learning about money and how it works in the real world is an important life skill. Year 5’s are currently involved in participating in financial literacy workshops that explore concepts including, managing money, setting goals and engaging with financial products and services

A number of Year 6 students attended the Mother Teresa Highschool Orientation today and many will be off to Kolbe in Week 9. These orientation days are important and signal a time of change and transition for our senior students. While the promise of high school is exciting, each year, students typically share their small worries and concerns with us about leaving the safety net of primary school, for high school. Our messages very much reflect a ‘you’re ready; it’s normal to feel a little nervous’; you have everything you need to succeed’ type of response. Our kids really need us, as significant adults in their lives, to promote a resilient attitude, while at the same time showing care, understanding and practical support. We have every confidence that all our Year 6 students will go on to bigger and even better things in 2025 and beyond!

Prayer is an amazing buffer against life’s many challenges. I look forward to seeing as many families as can make it to the Community Mass this Saturday, 23rd November at 6pm, followed by a sausage sizzle, kindly organised by the P&F and the Parish Men’s Group.

We are in the throes of final preparations for the annual school Christmas Concert next Tuesday the 26th of November, 4pm -7pm. Looking forward to seeing you all there to support our very talented and excited children!

The P&F and School Advisory Council will deliver their final reports at the Annual Community Meeting next Wednesday, 27th November, 5 -6 pm, all welcome!

You may have read in recent newsletters that we are currently seeking School Advisory Council. While I fully appreciate that most parents are time poor, and feel that the job might be too much, I also know that some of the busiest people make very good leaders. We need quality people first, and then the other part of the job (meetings, rallying parents etc) can be worked out together.

So, please have a good think this weekend. If you think you have the very best interests of our school at heart, if you like to work cooperatively with leaders and staff, if you enjoy working with other parents to achieve a shared goal ... then WE NEED YOU!

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School Advisory Council Nomination form 2025.pdf

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If you would like to nominate, please complete the form and return to the Admin office before 9.00am, Monday 25 November 2024.

All the very best everyone.

Geordie

In very exciting news, the SAC and I are extremely excited to report that we have now engaged a builder, Rivett Construction, and hope to have our first site meeting in the coming month.

As promised in the last newsletter, I have attached the design concept above.

The works include:

the new fence that has been started around the school and parish, including electric gates.
a new Kindy Block of 2 classrooms.
a refurb of the current Kindy Rooms to welcome our PP students.
a new playground that extends south all the way to past the library and uses the natural undulation to create interest and different play areas.
New drive-through, front driveway, pothole fixes and remarking of the entire parish carpark.
Marking of 2 lanes around the exterior of the carpark to support the drive-through and entry to the carpark.
New footpaths at the entry from the east and west of the school.

Obviously, when the works start there will be some disruption to how we enter and exit, however, we will provide more detail when we can and I am really excited to see the finished product!

BALI NEWS

It is with great delight that when I visit Bali, I am lucky enough to pop in and say hello to our Balinese Sister School. Last holidays, I popped in to drop off some pen pal letters from our Year 6 students, stationary and books.

In these pictures, the students are enjoying reading our Pen Pal letters and loving their new Australian stationary.

Our Balinese friends are always so humbled by my friendly visits, support and kind donations.

Family visits can also be arranged (during non-holiday times of course). So if you’d ever like to see our Balinese sister school, it is approximately 45mins north, west of Denpasar. Please contact our administration team or speak with Ibu Kristy to make arrangements.

Terima kasih,

Ibu Kristy

Hi St Bernadette Community,

It is now that time of year where we are inviting children to participate in our Christmas Eve Mass and be a part of the nativity play. All children are invited, please join us at our St Bernadette’s Church, Thursday 28 November for the first rehearsal and deciding parts (if more the one child nominates for a part, we will draw names out of a hat). If your child wants to participate but can’t make it to our first rehearsal, please send me a text.

Rehearsal Dates 5.00 - 6.00pm (if unable to attend every rehearsal due to prior commitments still very welcomed).

Thursday 28th November
Thursday 5th December
Thursday 12th December
Thursday 19th December
Monday 23rd December
Tuesday 24th - Arrive at 5.20 pm.

Thank you,

Jodie Babb

M: 0418 792 199

P&F Positions 2025: BERNIES NEEDS YOU!

We have 2 vacant P&F Executive Positions for 2025. These positions are President (Chair) and Secretary. Please complete the form and return to the Admin office before Monday 25 November 2024.

If you would like any information on these positions, please email us at pnf.sbcps@gmail.com.

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P&F Nomination Form 2025.pdf

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Pixie Post is back! Week 7 & 8

Children write out their cards at home and place the student/teachers name on the front and the class that they are in.

They bring them to school and, rather than you having students running around in your rooms at the beginning of the day handing out cards, they post them into the postbox that will be outside of the library.

The pixies then sort the post and deliver to the classrooms.

Please can ALL library books be returned before Friday in Week 9. We have attached a picture of our school barcode, if you need a visual helper to check books at home.

Interschool Shirts

Please double check your cupboards and wash baskets for interschool shirts, we are missing quite a few. Please drop them into the office as soon as possible.

Change of Contact Details

If you have recently had any changes to your contact details, telephone numbers, emails or physical address details, please ensure you notify the office. It is imperative that we have up to date and correct details.

Piano Recitals

Michael R, 1 Blue, Anaya S, 1 Blue & Lylah R, 3 Red all completed their performances beautifully in their end of year piano concert at the weekend. Congratulations to you all!

T Ball Carnival Success

St Bernadette’s were well represented at the Natasha Bakranich All Girls Teeball Carnvial where 299 girls participated.

Renae S, Lilly S and Imogen S proudly represented their club Rockingham Raptors in a tough competition with Lilly S being awarded U11s MVP of the tournament. Sarah P, Jaime P and Peyton D also took out the U13s championship for the second consecutive year.

An amazing effort, congratulations girls!