Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome back to Term 3. I hope you have had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday, and the students are now ready for another busy term! During the last week of term, I had the pleasure of attending the Carroll College Variety Night. It was great to see so many of our families there supporting our students and Carroll College. Congratulations to our Year 2 students, as well as Year 6 students Erika S, Mishell F and John F. I certainly enjoyed seeing our students showcasing their talent on stage. The night was not only entertaining but also provided me with a clear snapshot of the possibilities that Carroll College provides in the area of music. Congratulations to Ann-Maree Nussdorfer and Jenny Smith for their hard work and dedication in teaching and leading our students in Choir.

WELCOME

It’s been our pleasure to welcome three new families to St Bernard’s this term. Sally S will begin in KB along with her sister, Sarah S in S1J. Thea E will also begin in KB. Ben D has begun in 4C. We look forward to you all being part of St Bernard’s.  

STAFFING UPDATE

We welcome back Jessica Guthrie who will be teaching Performing Arts for the remainder of the year. It will be lovely to have Ms Guthrie return. She met with Ms Nussdorfer last term and is looking forward to continuing the work of Ms Nussdorfer in producing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. We also welcome back Mrs Metcalf from long service leave. We wish Mrs Bellette all the very best as she embarks on Maternity Leave next week and we welcome Mrs Coggan to 6F. Mrs Coggan and Mrs Bellette have been working together this week to ensure a smooth transition for our students.

Mrs Hopman is taking Long Service Leave for the first two weeks of Term 3. We welcome Julie Davis who is relieving Mrs Hopman in the Classroom Support Assistant role.  

Mrs Holmes is on Long Service Leave from Monday 18 July – Wednesday 3 August. Ms Nussdorfer is relieving Mrs Holmes. Mrs Holmes did a thorough handover to Ms Nussdorfer last term. Ms Nussdorfer and Mrs Brady will be supporting the students at the Southern Region Athletics Carnival.    

FIRST EUCHARIST

First Eucharist will be celebrated this term with our Year 4 students. Please keep them in your prayers as they prepare for this significant step in their Sacramental journey. The Sacrament will be celebrated on Saturday 17 September at 5.00pm. All families are invited to join us at this special celebration. The Enrolment Evening for Parents will take place in Week 3, Wednesday 3 August.

DATA TO INFORM TEACHING AND LEARNING 

To inform our goal setting for School Improvement, it is important that we are committed to analysing our school data using a variety of sources. For example, NAPLAN data, PAT assessments, Dibels, Maths Pathway, Tell Them From Me Survey. Our formal assessment data is only one measure. Checking for Understanding is evident across all our classrooms. Rosenshine (2012) identified that the most effective way to check for understanding is questioning. “Checking for Understanding (often referred to as CFU), should occur throughout each phase of the teaching cycle, not just at the end of a lesson or unit of work. It involves the teacher continually verifying that students are learning what is being taught whilst it is being taught. This ongoing assessment allows teachers to make timely decisions about instruction and ensure that gaps and misconceptions are addressed prior to teaching new skills”.

I thought I would share with you some of our school data that is helping us to make school wide decisions:

• Significant growth in Spelling across all year levels

• In Mathematics we have seen growth in students’ PAT assessment, with movement of students working at benchmark to above.

• Reduction of students in the bottom two bands

• Increase in students reaching benchmark by the end of Kindergarten

The School Board and staff will be discussing data to develop our Strategic Plan for the next three years. 

GOODLUCK BEATRIX!

Tomorrow we wish Beatrix F all the best as she competes in Sydney for a position in the team that will compete at the National Cross Country. We will be cheering you on from St Bernard’s Beatrix! What an amazing achievement to reach this level of competition.

CONGRATULATIONS MRS KEOUGH! 

Mrs Rebecca Keough went to Sydney last week to receive an award at the HP Head Office in Rhodes. Beck was invited to present to educators from across NSW on digital pedagogies: using ICT and DT to enable students to be curators of learning, showcasing the use of DT and ICT in classroom and during remote learning periods. Congratulations to Mrs Keough on receiving the Award from ICTE NSW – ICTE Educators of NSW Digital Technologies Educator of the Year 2021 (inaugural recipient) for commitment to the support and development of educators through volunteering to lead professional learning, podcasting, sharing innovative practice, involvement in ACARA's DTiF (Digital Technologies in Focus) Project, and contribution to the Digital Technologies Curriculum on Cyber Safety for ACARA. In addition Beck has been recognised for her involvement in online communities to support educators nationally and globally. Mrs Keough has now been nominated for the Australian Digital Educator of the Year. What a wonderful achievement Mrs Keough, we are very fortunate to have you part of our St Bernard's Team! 

COVID UPDATE

Staff and students are required to follow NSW Health directions when they are deemed a household close contact and must notify the school to advise they are a household contact. It is strongly recommended that a household contact works or studies from home where it is practical to do so. A household contact must wear a face mask in any indoor setting that is not their own home, if they are aged 12 years and over. Where a student attends school they must undertake a COVID test prior to returning to school and then each day for 5 days and may only attend school if they have no symptoms.

Staff, students and visitors must not attend school if they are unwell and will be sent home if they have any symptoms of COVID-19. All staff, visitors and students should at all times, maintain appropriate hand and respiratory hygiene.

CLAIM THE DATE: ST BERNARD’S DAZZLING DUCK RACE

FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER @ 5.00pm at Corrigans Beach

Prizes to be won. A Sausage Sizzle and treats will be available or bring along a picnic dinner.

Keep an eye out for a QKR notification in the coming weeks so you can begin to purchase your ducks. The ducks will race at Corrigans Beach. The more ducks you purchase, the greater chance you have of winning! The cost of the ducks will be $10.

This is an opportunity to bring our St Bernard’s school community together and improve engagement between staff, students, parents and the wider community. If you would like to be part of the committee, please let me know or come along to our next P&F Meeting on Monday 1 August at 5.30pm.

As we begin Term 3, please don’t hesitate to come and see me if you have any questions or would like to discuss any concerns, my door is always open. A strong partnership between you and your child’s school is essential in education.

Blessings to you and your families.

Johanna Wain
Principal