Address: 357 Old Northern Road, Castle Hill NSW 2154 Phone: 9407 6600 Fax: 9680 2282 Email: BernadetteCH@parra.catholic.edu.au Website: http://www.stbernadetteschill.catholic.edu.au

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No. 35 Friday 10 November 2017

Dear Parents,

Last weekend our family celebrated the

wedding of our niece – the first of my parents

grand children to be married and so of

course a proud moment for us all; but most

especially her parents.

On such occasions we see the lives of our

children like a movie reel playing through

our minds – first steps, first words, preschool

days, off to school, then secondary school,

university … all culminating in this wonderful

day! We also reflect and appreciate the

support of our families who have nurtured,

challenged and supported us. Our minds are

taken to reflecting on the simple gift that

family members give to each other of loving

and blessing. We see the true work of God,

working through each individual family

member and through our relationships.

It is in our families that God teaches us how to

love and bless others. We who are made in

the image and likeness of Love are called to

become that Love in the world.

St Paul describes what love is and what love

is not (Cor 13:4-8)

What love is……..

Love is patient; love is kind

Love rejoices in the truth

There is no limit to love’s forbearance,

to its trust, its hope and

its power to endure.

Love never fails

What love is not………

Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs,

it is not snobbish.

Love is never rude, it is not self seeking.

Love is not prone to anger,

neither does it brood over injuries.

Love does not rejoice in what is wrong”

In other words love includes, blesses and

slowly, gently overcomes. Love first and

foremost is an attitude, a predisposition, an

inner movement for the good of the other.

Christian love is not built merely upon likes

and dislikes and romantic feelings.

Week 6 Dates

Mon 13 November

8.30am Assembly

Tue 14 November

8-10am Uniform Shop

8.45—10.15am Kindy

Orientation & Parent

Workshop

1.10pm Choir

Parra Dio Basketball

Trials

8pm P&F AGM

Wed 15 November

Student Banking

Waste Free Lunch Day

Parra Dio Softball Trials

Fri 17 November

1.40pm Whole School

Assembly

Coming Dates: Tues 21 November

8.45—10.15am Kindy 18

Final Orientation Day &

Parent Workshop

Thurs 23 November

Swimming Carnival

Wed 29 November

ST3 NRL Gala Day

Tues 5 December

9am Thanksgiving Mass

& Farewell to Mr Visser

Thurs 7 December

5.30pm Christmas on

the Grass Celebration

Tue 12 December

9am Primary Awards

11am Infants Awards

Thurs 14 December

7pm Yr 6 Graduation

Mass

Fri 15 December

Yr 6 Activities Day

Last day for students

Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy

Day or Armistice Day) is a memorial day

observed in Commonwealth countries since

the end of World War I to remember the

members of their armed forces who have

died in the line of duty.

On Monday we will

commemorate this event at

assembly and remember all

those who have died in wars,

with a special service of prayer,

reflection and silence.

O God, our ruler and guide,

In whose hands are the destines of this and

every nation,

We give you thanks for the freedoms we

enjoy in this land and for those who laid down

their lives to defend them: we pray that we

and all the people of Australia,

Gratefully remember their courage and their

sacrifice

may they have the grace to live in a spirit of

justice, of generosity, and of peace;

Amen

A huge Thank You to the St Bernadette’s

community, for your generous donations of

toothpaste and toothbrushes, for the

Philippines Oral Hygiene project.

Mrs Shane Robinson—REC

It is a call beyond feelings and moods. It is a

matter of relating out of the attitude that

recognizes that each of us is unique and

blessed.

In His life Jesus encountered each person

that He met as a gift of God and He rejoiced

in the unique goodness worth and value of

that person. This is the challenge for us.

Leanne Nettleton—Principal

St Bernadette’s School News 2

Kindergarten 2018 Orientation & Parent

Workshop 8.45—10.15am 2nd Session

It was lovely to welcome all of our new Kindergarten

families this week. The children had an exciting time

in their classrooms.

Parents are advised that entry this week (ONLY) will

be via our blue wall entry gate at the side of the office

due to renovations in the Church. The parent

workshop will take place in our library.

Our parent workshop focus next week will be on

Numeracy.

‘Christmas on the Grass’ Please join us for the St Bernadette’s

Christmas Concert on Thursday 7th

December, commencing at 5:30pm. Bring either a picnic blanket or low chair to watch

the children who will perform on the grass area. Each

grade will perform a part of the Christmas Story

through song and action. Hope you can join us for a

lovely community celebration. The P & F will be

providing a free Sausage Sizzle and will have soft

drinks on sale for $2 and water for $1.

An email was sent to parents today with costumes for

the children to wear on the night.

Attendance Our MINIMUM target for attendance is 90%.

This week we achieved

89.8%

While this is just below our MINIMUM target for

attendance – it is STILL TOO LOW.

Years 3 and Year 5 achieved over the 90% target – well

done! Year 4 achieved 96.1%! This is what it should be

for ALL grades. All other grades were below 90%.

Years 2 and 6 only managed just over 85%.

Illness and injury notwithstanding, do you encourage

your child to attend school on a regular and on time

basis? Or do you allow them to ‘have a day off’ from

time to time?

What does this say about the value you place on your

child’s education and their future?

We ask for your help in this area - time away from

school is time away from learning and that cannot

easily be caught up.

It is a parent’s responsibility to ensure your child

complies with attendance requirements – that is – that

they attend whenever instruction is provided.

Absences are noted on students’ reports and follow

them throughout their school life. Along with their

academic record, attendance is noted by schools when

students leave St Bernadette’s to attend other schools –

including high school.

Please ensure your child attends whenever the school

is open for learning.

Social Skills Weeks 5 & 6

Choosing our Words and Actions Wisely-

(Responsible Decision Making) Learning to make good decisions enables children to

develop independence and responsibility. A good

decision is one that is most likely to lead to a positive

outcome for everyone concerned. What we say and

what we do relates to the decisions that our students

make on a daily basis.

To make good decisions our children at St.

Bernadette’s learn to:

· Recognise when there is a choice for them to make

· Understand they are responsible for making the

decision

· Take other’s needs into consideration with what they

say and the actions they engage in

· Think of possible choices or solutions and decide what

is best

Steps for decision-making.

1. What do you have to decide about?

2. What choices do you have?

3. Weigh up the pros and cons of each option and

choose the best option.

4. Put your choice into action and then check how it

works out.

Helping children to take responsibility

Children will often focus on immediate wants without

considering the long-term consequences of their

decisions and actions. To learn to take responsibility

and make good decisions, children need to be shown

how to use the decision-making steps and be given the

opportunity to practice making decisions. Children do

not learn to make good decisions overnight.

Parents and carers can help children develop their

decision-making skills by:

· Keeping decision-making manageable by providing a

choice between two options that are realistic for the

age and ability of the child.

· Listen enthusiastically to children’s explanations and

encourage children to explain their choices as this

teaches them to develop their thinking processes and

think through their choices.

· Use questions to encourage children to make

judgements (eg ‘Do you think this will work?’, ‘Is that a

good idea?’)

· Involve children in family decision-making (eg.

planning holiday activities). This encourages children

to take others into consideration when making

decisions.

Mrs Kathy Watt

Student Council War on Waste initiative – Waste

Free Wednesdays.

Don’t forget – EVERY Wednesday pack a waste

free lunch.

St Bernadette’s School News 3

IMPORTANT NOTICE – WH&S

Site work

Work will commence on the Church/Hall air

conditioning unit from Monday 13th November. The

Marian Centre side of the school will be closed for

access until further notice/the worksite is deemed safe

for access. What does this mean for me and my child? A

few things:

For children: The tuckshop area and side entry gate will be closed.

School Entry and Exit will be via the Blue Wall.

Change to Morning Bus Routine Children who catch a bus in the morning and get off

outside the school on Old Northern Road will enter the

school grounds via the driveway beside the

Presbytery and then through the small gate near the

Hall. They then walk down to the handball courts and

then to their respective classrooms. Students were

advised of this change on Thursday.

For families:

Tuckshop Pickup/Side Entry Gate Please use the Blue Wall entry for access and child

pickup. Until further notice, the tuckshop pickup area

will be from the handball court.

For 2018 Kindergarten Transition

Programme On Tuesday14th November 2018 Kinder Transition

families will bring their children into school via the Blue

Wall and walk around to the small synthetic grass area.

The Parent Workshop will be held in the Library.

House Colour Captains We congratulate the following students who have been

selected as House Colour Captains for our 2017

Swimming Carnival on Thursday 23rd November.

They will receive their badges at our Morning

Assembly, next Monday 13th November at 8:30am.

Green House: Annalise Besters & Flynn Batty

Gold House: Georgia Hogan & Marcus Scotti

Red House: Raquel Sahyoun & Jesse Martin

Blue House: Darcey Sullivan & Bailey Thom

Band Tour Last Friday, the St Bernadette’s

Performance Band went on a Band

Tour. We played

our instruments with children

from Parramatta East Public

School and Springwood Public

school.

We played four amazing pieces

which were Dr Rockenstein,

Funkytown, Hawaii Five-0 and All

Star along with a few other

demonstration songs.

It was a great experience to play

with not only the St Bernadette's

Band but with two other wonderful

bands that produced stupendous

music. We had so

much fun on the band tour

representing St Bernadette’s and

it was a wonderful day for everyone. Playing a musical

instrument has many benefits and brings joy to you and

everyone around you.

We hope this encourages a lot of students who are

interested in music to connect with other musically minded

people to join St Bernadette's band next year.

On behalf of the St Bernadette’s Band we would like to

thank all the music teachers involved who helped to

organise this thrilling experience.

Written by Luciana Romanski and Georgia Hogan

R.I.P. †† Our prayerful sympathy is extended to the Rushton family Harry in 5W), following the

recent passing of his uncle. May he rest in

peace.

Gilroy Catholic College, Castle Hill Enrolment applications are now being accepted across

all Years for 2018 and for Year 7 2019. For information

regarding enrolments please contact the College office

during business hours Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm or

email the Registrar Mary McBain

mmcbain@parra.catholic.edu.au.

OLMC Parramatta Open Morning Tour Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta warmly invites

you to attend our Open Morning Tour on Wednesday,

November 15, 2017- the last tour of the year.

Tour the College and discover how a Mercy Education

empowers girls to expand beyond what they know they

can be and enjoy a ‘comfortable cup of tea’ with the

College Leadership Team.

Visit www.olmc.nsw.edu.au to reserve your place or

contact the Registrar 8838 1222 to discuss how your

daughter can become a Mercy Girl.

P&F Association Final Meeting & AGM Tuesday 14th November 7pm / 8pm – School Library

All parents are invited to attend the P&F

Association’s final meeting of the year at

7pm which will be followed by the AGM at

8pm.

An email for the Annual General Meeting

was sent to all families last week with a nomination form

to be part of next year’s P&F Committee. All forms are

to be returned by Monday 13th November.

Change of School for 2018 To estimate enrolments for 2018, it would be

appreciated if the school could be notified in writing of

any children who may be leaving St Bernadette’s at the

end of the year from grades other than Year 6.

A reminder to families that a term’s notice (10 school

weeks) in writing MUST be given to the principal before

the removal of a student or a full term’s fees will be

payable. The notice can be given any time during the

term for the next term and where appropriate notice has

been received, a pro-rata credit will be calculated.

Where a term’s notice has not been given to the

principal, the term’s school fees will be charged for your

child/children.

Staffing Our best wishes to Mrs Hourigan (2B teacher) who

underwent surgery today on her back. We wish her a

speedy recovery.

St Bernadette’s School News 4

Term Dates 2017 Term 4:

Mon 9 October to Friday 15 December (for students)

Mon 6 November—Staff Spirituality /Pupil Free Day

Fri 15 December—Last day for students

Mon 18 December—Staff Development & Pupil Free Day

Term 1 2018 Mon 29 Jan

Staff Dev Day / Pupil Free Day / *MAI Day

Tue 30 Jan

*MAI Day / Pupil Free Day

Wed 31 Jan

Yrs 1 to 6 commence

Thurs 1 Feb

Kindergarten 2018 students commence

*Maths Assessment Interview