Good afternoon all,

What a fantastic way to kick off the Father's Day weekend! We extend a heartfelt appreciation to all the father figures who attended the breakfast event, sharing this momentous occasion by engaging in play, indulging in meals, sharing laughter, and holding meaningful conversations with the children. Witnessing numerous men come together, forging connections and fostering camaraderie, was truly heart-warming. The Year One Red assembly masterfully conveyed the significance of our fathers and the immense gratitude we hold for their presence in our lives. Our deepest gratitude also goes to the dedicated staff members who willingly contributed their time to acknowledge and celebrate the parents within this remarkable community. Furthermore, a special acknowledgment is due to the exceptional volunteers who flawlessly managed the Father's Day stall – their meticulous planning ensured seamless execution. To all fatherly figures, may you experience an incredible weekend ahead, complete with pampering and well-deserved attention come Sunday! – Mrs King

Last Sunday, a group of our Year 6 students participated in the sacrament of Confirmation alongside other candidates from our parish community. Confirmation is the third sacrament of initiation and is a beautiful reflection of the faith, growth and community values we hold dear at St Bernadette’s.

Our students embarked on a meaningful journey in preparation for this special day, and their dedication and commitment were evident throughout the Confirmation Mass. The atmosphere was filled with a sense of reverence, gratitude, and unity, as we came together to support our young individuals taking this significant step in their faith journey. Seeing them confidently embrace this sacrament was a source of immense pride for all of us.

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Very Reverent Father Vincent Glyn EV, Fr Giovanni, the families, friends, staff and parish catechists who attended the Mass and gathered afterwards for refreshments in the parish hall to offer their love, encouragement, and blessings to our students. Your presence added to the significance of the event and exemplified the strong bonds that exist within our school and parish community. We look forward to witnessing the continued growth and achievements of our students as they navigate their educational and spiritual journeys. -Tracy Cosgrove

Finally, just a quick reminder to parents who stay back on the playground after school. It is a beautiful, community building feel out there and I have enjoyed watching new families make connections in our community. It is something that is fairly unique to our school and I would hate to have to stop it completely, so can I please ask that all parents supervise their children at all times, do not let them into classrooms or the library, do not allow them to come out the front unattended and please do not allow them to play with balls even if they are left out in the playground after lunch. If you could also ensure you are off the grounds by 3.30pm it would be awesome – I don’t enjoy being the bad guy on the microphone!

Have a great Fathers Day – make sure you look after and spoil all the significant men in your life!

Geordie

Finlay - My dad's takes me on trips to Maccas with my sister

Arthur - My daddy always throws the ball to me and I hit it straight away.

We love our dads!

The following students will be receiving a Merit Award at the assembly next week. Parents and family are welcome to attend:

Please watch out for the Upper and Junior colouring in competition that will be coming at the end of week 9. The theme for the upper years will be For our Elders and Celebrating Indonesia for the juniors. The colouring competition will be judged by the year 6 Ministry students and Ibu Kristy and Mrs Pearce. Please return all colouring in entries to Ibu Kristy.

This year our Ministry Captains will be asking families to paint a rock to build our very first multi-cultural Bernie's Rock Snake along the entry way of our school. A small painting station will be set up each morning in week 10, for families to paint their countries flag and their surname on the back. We will have rocks, paints and country flag images for you to use. We hope to see as many families add their rocks as possible.

The Creative Edge Problem Solving Challenge is an innovative educational interschool competition providing students with motivating challenges that develop both critical and creative thinking skills, while experimenting with original ways to communicate their challenge solution to an audience.

On Saturday 29th August, St Bernadette’s entered two teams who were required to work together on the challenge of their choosing for six weeks without assistance from anyone outside the team. The students were encouraged to explore possibilities and experiment with a range of ideas as they work towards their best possible solution. Collaboratively they had to write a script that met the criteria of their chosen challenges, make all costumes and props using recycled materials, and then pull it all together of the day in front of judges and an audience at Curtin University.

In addition to the six-week challenge, teams were given an "Impromptu Creativity Challenge" and although we had lots of practice sessions, there’s no way of knowing what scenario the team will have to solve on the day. We are sure that both our teams will have done an amazing job. The winning teams of the Regional Competition will go on to participate in the State Finals on September 16th.

Here are some comments from a couple of our dedicated participants,

I loved participating in creative edge because it was challenging, and it made me realise that our team could do anything we put our mind to. A BIG thank you to Mrs Murphy for not only giving up her free time to practice, but she also supported us the whole time and was always willing to help in whatever way she could. Thank you to our team as well, we did really well, and I think we worked really well during the six-week process. Well done to everyone!

By Carla H

I absolutely loved Creative Edge and enjoyed the whole 6wk process. Creative Edge was so fun as it was challenging, it made you think really deeply on an individual idea and showed you the great importance of teamwork. I want to deeply thanks Mrs Murphy for giving up her free time to let us practice and she always gave us tips and feedback on every practice. I'd also like to thank my team for being so dedicated and doing a great performance.

By Amelie N

The students in Year 1 & 2 have been working through the Friendology Skills Curriculum this term to learn how to be Friendship Ninjas! This week we learnt how to put a Friendship Fire out by practicing with our puppets. In Friendology, we learn that conflict is a normal part of friendship and relationships and that everything centres around trust and respect, as we work our way through the Friend-O-Cycle to get our friendships back to the Green Zone.

We also learnt the importance of body-language and finding a time to talk to the person to hear their side. The students displayed excellent listening skills and confidence when having difficult conversations.

For more tips to support your children with their friendships, please sign up for your free parent account here: https://urstrong.com/parents/

Parent Teacher Interviews - 5 September: Early close 12.00pm

Interschool Cross Country - Thursday 7 September

PP Blue Assembly - Friday 8 September

Term 3: Tuesday 18 July - Friday 22 September 2023

Term 4: Monday 9 October - Friday 8 December 2023

Please note that as this is a live calendar, dates and times may change occasionally.