Dear Parents and Carers,
It was a sad day for St Bernard’s last Friday when we officially farewelled Mrs Millie Guidi from her role as Kindy/Pre-Primary teacher. Millie is beginning her parental leave a little earlier than planned and she takes all our love and best wishes with her as she begins this new phase of her life journey. The Pre-Primary class presented Millie with flowers, balloons and a gift from the school at the Merit Assembly on Friday and we can’t wait to have a visit once the new bundle of joy arrives.
Kindy/Pre-Primary staffing and Staff update
We are very fortunate to have Mrs Annette Sawyer step into the role of Kindy/Pre-Primary teacher for the remainder of the year. Mrs Sawyer has a long connection with St Bernard’s over a number of years and we are thrilled to have her with us in this new role. Mrs Sawyer is of course, ably assisted in the K/PP class by Miss Sarah Wright in the role of Education Assistant. There are a few staffing changes underway at St Bernard’s and I hope to send an update home to families by the end of the term. Obviously, all parties have to be confirmed before I can announce anything, and I thank you all for your patience in the meantime.
Sacrament of First Holy Communion
The Sacrament of First Holy Communion was a lovely celebration held at St Bernard’s Church last Sunday. Congratulations to our sacramental candidates – Riyana Diallo, Charli Guidi and Jack Hornby – and to their families. Riyana, Charli and Jack did an amazing job and they were very well supported in their preparation by their teacher, Ms Melanie Thomas. My very big thanks to Mel for all her hard work in preparing all the students and for organising the Sacrament. This comes above and beyond Mel’s normal work as a classroom teacher and also follows her preparations for the Sacrament of Reconciliation which took place earlier this term.
Fr. Pierre officiated at the Sacrament, and he reminded everyone at Mass that receiving the Eucharist is about nourishing our spiritual selves, in the same way that eating good food nourishes our body.
After the service there was a lovely morning tea in the school staffroom which included the cutting of the amazing Communion cake, which was made by Riyana’s grandad, Michael. It was delicious!
Carnivals
I was very sorry to miss the Cross Country carnival a couple of weeks ago, but I was thrilled to hear of the amazing job our students did. Tackling something new and daunting, and striving to achieve better times through training and practice is a great example of Growth Mindset at work.
It’s a very busy time for carnivals at school at the moment with the Winter Carnival taking place in Katanning tomorrow and the Interschool Cross Country on Tuesday. Goodluck to all our competitors – I know that they will be competing with true St Bernard’s spirit.
New Look Office
Our school office has recently undergone a transformation, with a new desk, cupboard and chairs purchased. Hopefully the result is a more open welcoming environment for visitors to the office – it certainly is a bonus to be able to see the students over the desk as they come in!
My thanks to our wonderful office staff – Mrs Nadine Bilney and Mrs Jacinta Sibley. Not only did they re-design the whole office, source replacement furniture at a bargain price, but they are also the IKEA queens! I’m booking them next time I have anything to put together!
Reports
Semester One reports will be sent home with your children on Monday. These reports are a great way to take stock of your child’s learning so far this year. Please see these reports as a way to reinforce how far your child has come, as well as what they still need to strive to achieve. Each child’s learning journey is uniquely their own and I hope you are proud of everything that your child has achieved. As always, if you have any queries or concerns, please see your child’s class teacher as soon as possible.
Holidays
Finally, with the end of term almost upon us, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy holidays. We look forward to seeing everyone safely back with us for the start of term three on Tuesday 23rd July
God Bless and take care,
Mrs Sharon Marino
Principal
