St Bernadette's Primary School Dundas Valley

Newsletter 2021 Term 1 Week 10

FROM THE PRINCIPAL...

Dear families of St Bernadette's,

Wow! We made it to the end of Term 1. 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Easter! May you and your families enjoy a well deserved break. For many of us, this is the first opportunity to celebrate as an extended family. So enjoy each other’s company while you celebrate this joyous time, as we remember Jesus died so that we may live. 

As we prepare for Term 2 you may have received a letter regarding the adjustments to the after school routine. We will open the back gate after 3.05pm each afternoon. The teacher rostered onto this duty will escort any children whose parents have nominated this as their pick up point down to the gate for dismissal. Parents are welcome to enter via the front gate from 2.55pm and wait under the undercroft where the pick up duty teacher will supervise dismissal in this area. Drive Through will continue as normal. The gate currently being used for pick up will no longer be opened in the afternoon and is no longer a dismissal point. 

Assemblies will begin from Friday of Week 2 in the Hall from 2.30pm.

Our Parent Committee will meet early in Term 2 to begin to prepare for events such as Mother’s Day Stall etc. The date and time for this meeting will be advertised via skoolbag.

We will return to school on Tuesday April 20th to begin Term 2. 

Love and light,

Mrs Lisa Gerrard

(on behalf of all of the staff and students)

Attendance Rate: 86.4%  - To unpack this a little more, this means that 86.4%  of our students have an attendance rate of 90% -100%. 

FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL...

The holidays have arrived!

While many parents think this is a relaxing time away from morning rushed routines, some parents become more stressed as they plan so many activities, their lives become busier than school term time. While it might seem hard to stay at home with children who seem to need to be entertained every minute of the day, some downtime, or 'mooch' time is really beneficial for children. 'Mooching', that is, lying around, reading, drawing and just generally relaxing is a wonderful opportunity for your children to get a little bored and develop their creativity and resourcefulness. Another opportunity for this holiday time is to take time to connect with your children by playing their role-play games, puzzles or board games. Children will value attention from their parents more than they value a day out at a play centre or a movie. This type of attention also develops their speaking and listening skills and board games or puzzles develop fine motor, counting or reading skills. Getting out in the sunshine by taking a bush walk or playing imaginary games in the park is another great opportunity to connect with your children.

So these holidays, consider less outings and more conversations, less online gaming and more board games. The holidays should be relaxing for parents as well!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy and Holy Easter, where the joy of the Risen Christ blesses you in every way. 

Mrs Willard

Assistant Principal

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION...

Sunday 04 Apr 2021

REFLECTION by Fr Michael Tate

Dawn has Broken – The Son is Risen

Women go to the tomb as dawn is breaking. The Power of Darkness which had Jesus unjustly sentenced, cruelly tortured and buried in the pitch blackness of the tomb, is conquered by the Son-Rise of all sun rises flooding our world and the whole of human history with Divine Light and Energy.

This is the heart of our faith as Catholic Christians, which we celebrate with bon-fire (good fire) in darkness at the Easter Vigil. From that earthly element we light the Easter candle and the Exsultet is sung: ‘Be glad, let earth be glad as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King.’

The resurrection itself is nowhere described in the gospels, but we do have appearances of the Risen Lord Jesus. The first appearance was to a woman, Mary of Magdala. A title given to her by the early church was ‘Apostle to the Apostles’ because she was the bearer of the message which the male disciples initially did not believe. But eventually they too believed that Death had been done to death because the Son had risen.

Christ’s body was transfigured by the energy of Divine Love and we can, by grace, participate in that resurrection life of Our Lord. A glorious destiny awaits us, as indeed it awaits the whole cosmos as it is to be transformed by that resurrection life recreating the whole of creation.

We could take a moment to pray that we, along with all that matters, are graced with the life-giving energy of the Risen Son and that we may join Mary of Magdala in spreading the Good News of Christ’s victory over death. Alleluia!

Term 1 Class Mass, Reconciliation & Altar Server Roster

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Altar Servers' Roster March 27 - July 18, 2021

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SCHOOL NEWS...

TERM 1 - Dates for your diary

Important Term Dates 

Week 10

1/4 - Holy Thursday 

1/4 - Easter Hat Parade 

1/4 - DanceFever 

1/4 - Last day of Term 

TERM 2 

20/4 - School resumes for students 

Staff Development Day

Monday 19th April will be a Staff Development Day and no children will be at school. 

Students will commence Term 2 on Tuesday 20th April 2021.

As a Community of Learners

This week we have come together as a school in prayer, to remember the events of Holy Week. 

Kindergarten and Year 1 presented a Palm Sunday Reflection, with Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem. Year 2 guided us through The Last Supper and Year 4 gave a dramatic representation of The Agony in the Garden. Finally, Year 3, Year 5 and Year 6 led us in remembering the solemn events of good Friday - The Trial of Jesus, The Crucifixion and The Burial of Jesus.

Although our liturgies this week have culminated in Jesus’ death, we know that this is not the end. We look forward to our celebration of new life and new hope in the Resurrection, when we return to school next term.

We wish all of our families a safe, happy and holy Easter.

Kindy and Year 1 - Palm Sunday Liturgy

Year 2 - The Last Supper and Year 4 - The Agony in the Garden

Year 3 - Condemnation of Jesus

Year 5 - The Crucifixion of Jesus

Year 6 - The Burial of Jesus

Gentle Reminders

Father Christopher has sent us a gentle reminder this week. He has asked that we remember NOT to queue across the Parish House’s driveway before or after school as it makes it impossible for them to enter or exit. They are often called out into the community for various reasons and may be needed quickly. Thanks to those who already make the effort not to block their one and only exit point. 

Enrolling now for 2022

We have begun the enrolment process for 2022. Many families have submitted completed enrolment forms, had their interview and are in the process of securing a place in Kindy. Please don't leave your enrolment forms until the last minute as you could miss out on a place.

Street Library

We are pleased to announce that our street library is open! It is located on the front gates of our school on Cox Crescent. Over the holidays why not take your children for a walk, take a book or give a book and share the joy of reading from our Street Library. 

Street Libraries are a chance to share your pre-loved books and spread the joy of reading in our neighbourhood. 

So why not take a book, give a book or share a book.

Public speaking opportunity

As mentioned in our last newsletter, we would like to have a public speaking opportunity for Years 2 - 6 next term. This is an extracurricular activity for those children who feel confident in speaking before an audience.

The children who wish to participate will speak prior to 21st May before their peers. Then on Friday 21st May parents will be invited to see the finalists perform their speeches.

Date: Friday 21st May

Time: 2pm - 3pm 

Venue: Hall

Topic: Free choice

Criteria: Eye contact, gestures, voice projection, cohesion of speech.

Each class has a marking guide in place so this is one that they are familiar with. This ensures that the marking criteria is age appropriate.

Reminders will be sent out early next term via Skoolbag.

 

Attendance

A reminder that classes commence at 8:55am.

To help your child have a positive start to the school day it is important that they are at school on time.

Being at school a little before 8:55am allows them to have time to calm themselves and be confident in knowing they are prepared and ready to learn. It also gives them time to say hello to their friends and classmates and burn off some extra energy.

Being late to school can create an anxious situation for some children.

If your child is late, they must come to the school office to be signed in by their parent or carer. They cannot be dropped late and left to run through the school gate unaccompanied. 

Thank you

Sincere thanks to all of our families for their support and understanding as we transition out of Covid restrictions. I know both teachers and students will enjoy this well deserved break. Stay safe and well.

Principal's Morning Tea

Our first Principal’s Morning Tea was held this week. 

This term the award is an Encouragement Award. The following students were invited to attend:

Kindergarten - Kayla B & Ethan L

Year 1 - Nicky L & Cameron B

Year 2 - Tevita O & Noah A

Year 3 - Lachlan B & Jasmine I

Year 4 - Jun L & Azra D

Year 5 - Anthony D & Gabrielle V

Year 6 - Jada N & Sereno C

PBS4L

The final token count for Term 1 is below. Congratulations to Francis who have been our second winning house for Term 1. They will receive their recognition of free time at the start of Term 2. 


BernadetteFrancisClareMacKillop
38703833 


Happy Birthday

22/3 - Yvonne C

24/3 - Nicky L

25/3 - Samara C

28/3 - Anthony D



Children's Corner

Year 3

This term year 3 have been developing their drama skills through literacy and have explored the picture book 'Noah Dreary'. Here are some photos of the children exploring different ways to move and to isolate parts of their body.

COMMUNITY NEWS...

Community Health Advice

St Bernadettes Primary School

St Bernadette's Primary, Dundas Valley is a community focused, Catholic parish school catering for boys and girls from Kindergarten to Year 6. The school strives to build a Christ-centred community where faith is integrated with daily life. We provide learning and teaching experiences which enable the children to deepen their faith understandings, investigate, solve problems and explore their learning. We recognise the importance of creating a learning environment that provides opportunities to develop 21st century learning. Technology is integrated into the learning at St Bernadette’s in all Key Learning Areas.