Afternoon everyone and thanks for an AWESOME start to the year,

It has been obvious to see that parents have been having all the right conversations with their children as they have come back to school happy and ready to learn. I am really happy to report that our classrooms have been full of energy, organised, engaging and well-ventilated for our students. I have loved hearing the stories from students as I visited classes and through the drive-through each afternoon.

Next week our students will be starting the Edudance Program from PP to Year 6. This is an excellent dance program that I have also used as a teacher. It is high energy, inclusive and a lot of fun. The students will participate in classes all term and we look forward to welcoming you to school for their performances later in the term.

Next week we have the Ricky Grace (my childhood hero!) basketball clinics starting on Wednesday morning and there has been an amazing uptake of this opportunity. For those who have missed out this time, we will look into running the program again if they have room for us later in the year.

Through our feedback channels in the past year, I have been asked about the possibility of instrumental tuition happening onsite here at St Bernie’s. I love the idea of supporting parents in this way, however I will be looking into having this outside of school hours so that it does not impact the teaching and learning going on at school. I have a couple of contacts at the moment, but if there is anyone who knows of a local company who might be interested in using a space here, please let us know.

Thank you for your support ensuring your child/ren arrived back at school, happy healthy and looking good in their uniforms. The transition into black, white, or black and white sneakers seems to be working well, however, we have noticed that some students are wearing sneakers that include shades of grey. After lengthy discussions, the leadership team has decided that a small amount of grey is acceptable, however there is to be no colour at all on shoes, no matter how small. High Top shoes are not part of the uniform.

- No colour on shoes (Black and/or White only)

- Red or blue hair ties only

- Hair must be tied up if it sits below the collar or falls across the face

- No mullets, carvings or aggressive hairstyles

We understand that the start of the year can be a busy time for parents, however, as of week 3, if your child is not in the correct uniform, you will receive a note via SEQTA. We do ask that if you receive this communication, you rectify the situation or contact administration if there are any major issues. If the uniform cannot be rectified the following day, could you please contact the teacher, via administration, and explain the process.

Once again, we thank you for your support, it is greatly appreciated.

Earlier today I had a parent let me know that they had seen a number of our students crossing the road without the help of the attendants after school and one was almost clipped by a car. Can I please ask all parents to chat to their kids about the importance of being careful and obeying the road rules when riding, walking or scootering to school. We want everyone to stay safe!

Finally, to all those parents and students who gave me some crayfishing tips last year, a huge THANK YOU! I ended up using a couple of the spots and had plenty of crayfish to share with family and friends over Christmas and New Year! I promise I won’t give all your secrets away!

Enjoy the weekend everyone, another hot one tomorrow before some welcome relief on Sunday!

Geordie Thuijs

Over the next few weeks I would like to highlight new roles that some of our teachers have in the school so that parents see some of the amazing things that are going on here.

Last year Ethel Murphy WOWED our students with her hands-on and exciting Science Program, hands on experiments and amazing incursions. Ethel also took on the Enrichment Role, providing extension opportunities to some of our most capable students. One of our goals is to use the Enrichment Program to trial ideas, resources and technologies that may be rolled out in our classrooms for the benefit of all students. In line with this, I am very excited that we have the opportunity to ‘think outside the box’ this year and use some of Ethel’s time to work alongside staff, integrate learning areas and try new ideas to engage students in different learning opportunities around the school.

Ethel will also be spending the term looking into our Sustainability Program, how our garden, recycling and chicken programs run and how this can link through the physical environment of the school. Very exciting stuff and obviously stems from our Strategic Plan.

Thank you to all that attended our Smoking Ceremony and Welcome Mass. Father Francis blessed our new student leaders and their badges and we welcomed our new staff to the St Bernadette's community. Our students participated reverently in all aspects of Mass and due to a small technical glitch sang some of our hymns acapella.

• All students are required to attend school unless they are unwell.

• Staff, students and parents are not to attend schools if they are unwell (symptomatic) or test positive to COVID-19, until permitted under public health requirements.

• Parents are asked to seek medical advice if their child exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 and are encouraged to notify the school if they have undergone testing.

• Normal processes for advising the school of a child’s absence will apply for any parent who keeps their unwell child home. Please do this through the website or email the Admin Team. admin@stbernadettes.wa.edu.au

Thanks once again for your support. COVID will send us many curveballs this year, but working together will help reduce the impact to the health of our community and our student’s learning.

Please remember to walk across the crossing. Students should get off their bikes and scooters at the red line and wait for the guard to blow his whistle. When waiting please stand behind the red line.

Do not use your mobile phone while crossing the road, Police regulations are in place to prohibit this.

Please walk straight across the road and do not cut across the crossing bollard. Remember to look BOTH ways!

Steps to get started:

• Go to www.spriggyschools.com.au to register and download the app.
• Add a profile for each of your children, making sure you select SCHOOLNAME and your child’s class.
• Start placing lunch orders! You can place orders up to 4 weeks in advance.

If you have any questions, please contact Spriggy Schools via their website.

Please ensure that you register as detailed below as the old Quickcliq has been discontinued.

• Ricky Grace Basketball - Wednesday 7 February 7.45 - 8.30 am
• Sacramental Registrations Open - Saturday 12 February 2022

Term 2 Wednesday 27/04/2022 - Friday 01/07/2022

Term 3 Tuesday 19/07/2022 - Thursday 23/9/2022

Term 4 Monday 10/10/2022 - Friday 09/12/2022

Tuesday 07/6/2022

Monday 18/07/2022

Monday 15/8/2022

Monday 7/11/2022