Bernardo T E R M O N E 1 4 T H F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 Dear Parents, Guardians and Students, Reflection 14th 9:30am Beginning of School/Ash Wednesday Mass 14th 1:00pm students finish early 14th 1:30pm-8:00pm Family Partnership Meetings 16th 9:15am Year 6 Focus Group 19th PD Day staff (students do not attend school) 21st Testing day Foundation (no school for Foundation students) 28th Testing day Foundation (no school for Foundation students) Merciful God, Look upon us as we enter these forty days, bearing the mark of the ashes and bless our journey through the desert of Lent. May our fasting be hunger for justice; our alms, a making of peace; our prayer, the chant of humble and grateful hearts. All that we do and pray is in the name of Jesus, for in his cross you proclaim your love for ever and ever. Amen Today we celebrated our Beginning of the School Year and Ash Wednesday Mass. Many thanks to all who attended and participated. Special thanks to Miss Marnie, our Religious Education Leader for her preparation. Congratulations also to our School Captains Zoe Puglisi and Jonah Jabbour and our Vice Captains, Eva Elezovic and Cassander Branov, who received their badges. Student Leadership Program In consultation with students and staff, we have a new Student Leadership Program. We are in the process on informing students of the final application process for the Year 6 positions of Wellbeing Leaders, Sustainability Leaders, Music Leaders, Sports Leaders and Social Justice Leaders. Students from each grade, Years 3-6 will also be able to apply for Student Representative Council positions. This program will provide opportunities for student voice, the development of student leadership skills and encourages active participation in the decision making processes across the school. There will be more information about this program in coming weeks. Family Partnerships Meetings Today we have our family Partnerships Meetings. These meetings provide teachers with invaluable information to begin the year and we thank you for attending. As always, should you have any concerns throughout the year, please make an appointment with the teachers to discuss. Working together ensures learning success for our students. Follow us on Facebook St Bernard s Primary School East Coburg SCHOOL Principal: Joanne Doherty St Bernard s Primary School 36 Patterson Street East Coburg Vic 3058 Email: schooladmin@stbernardscoburg.catholic.edu.au Website: www.stbernardscoburg.catholic. edu.au Phone: 9384 8500 Fax: 9383 1721 PARISH Parish Priest: Fr Leo De Marzi St Bernard s Parish 60 Sheffield Street East Coburg Vic 3058 Phone: 9386 1214 Fax: 9386 1495 Masses Weekdays - Monday to Friday 9:30am Weekends - Saturday 8:30am 7:00pm (English) Sunday 9:00am (Italian) 10:30am (English) OSHC Director: Carmel Carpinteri St Bernard s OSHC 40 Patterson Street East Coburg Vic 3058 Phone: 9386 8498 Email: stbernardsoshc@optusnet.com.au
Year 6 Focus Group We are in the process of reviewing the end of year celebrations for our Year 6 students and we would like your input. We welcome past, present and future Year 6 parents to join us for a coffee and meeting to chat about this on Friday 16 th February 2018 at 9:15am in Bernie s Café. Please join us. PD Day Monday This Monday 19th February, is a professional development day for staff. Students do not attend school on this day. OSHC is available and bookings are essential. Uniform Our new uniform items are now being worn and look very smart. A reminder that the correct uniform is to be worn on the appropriate day. Jewellery is not permitted. Minimal religious items may be worn. Shoulder length hair must be tied back and only simple, blue or white hair ties and ribbons are to worn. Elaborate and fashionable accessories are not to be worn and nail polish is not permitted. School hats must be worn from September to the end of April for all outdoor activities and play. Bernie s Café Our Café, Bernie s, located upstairs above the LIT Centre and is open to all parents, friends and extended families to have a coffee or tea, or to get a takeaway coffee on your way to work. Bernie s opens at 8:45am until 9:45am each morning and is also open in the afternoons from 3:00pm. Feel free to come and grab a great coffee for only $2. Fees and Levies Levies and term one fees for 2018 are now due. These can be paid by cash, cheque or card at the office between the hours of 8:30am - 4:00pm or by using internet banking as follows: NAB Account No: 483924506 BSB: 083 347 Reference: Family name A reminder that a $100 discount applies to fees paid in full before the end of March. 2018 Fee: $1500 (per family) 1 st instalment $500 (term one) 2 nd instalment $500 (term two) 3 rd instalment $500 (term three) OR $1400 (per family) ($100 discount) if total paid by the end of March 2018 Levy: $435 (student) 1 student $435 2 students $870 3 students $1,305 Regards, Joanne Doherty Principal Bernardo 14th February 2018 2
Junior Inquiry This term, the junior level students are beginning a new Inquiry investigation about Sustainability. Our wish is to incorporate our Inquiry into our outside Discovery learning spaces. In order to do this, we require some friendly donations in the form of; 1.25 litre soft drink bottles (empty and clean) herbs and succulents pot plants (preferably terracotta and unglazed) old tyres cable reel wind chimes pebbles (as big as your palm) Our hope is to teach the children positive habits about how to reduce, reuse and recycle in their everyday life. If you wish to donate anything, please bring it to the Year 1/2 classrooms during drop off or pick up times. We really appreciate any help you can provide. LIT Centre Josephine Natoli Welcome back to the LIT Centre! Congratulations to the Foundation students who have borrowed for the first time using their new library bags. Well done to all the Year 1/2 students who have borrowed a junior fiction book as a desk book. These books will stay in their classroom and will be read each day. Next week, Year 1/2 students will be borrowing a book to take home. Years 3-6 students are back again choosing a Good Fit desk book, which will stay at school and will also be read each day. It would be wonderful to ask your child what they are reading at school and encourage them to choose a book of any kind to take home as well. If you have any questions about great books for children, or you feel like joining the amazing team of library assistants, let me know. Come and visit before or after school on a Monday or Tuesday, or send me a message. Happy Reading Parents and Friends Association Join the PFA in 2018 Dads, Mums, Grandparents and Carers are all welcome. Email stbernardspfa@gmail.com School Cookbook Final copies available at the School Office for $20. Notice Board Bernardo 14th February 2018 3
Parish News Fr Leo De Marzi LENTEN PRAYER CALENDAR Make this Lent a journey in prayer. A prayerful step each day is five weeks of growing closer to God and his church. First Sunday: At Mass today make a Lent commitment in your heart. Something simple but significant. Place a difficult decision in the hands of God. View a beautiful natural scene and praise God for the gift of creation. Ask forgiveness for a time you have hurt someone. Pray for the desire to pray. Fast today in a spirit of repentance. Reflect on God s presence in a child. Second Sunday: At Mass today pray the Creed with conviction. Pray for someone who grieves a deep loss. Pray one of the beautiful prayers from the church s tradition. Think of your ancestors in faith. Invite the Holy Spirit to heat an area of brokenness in your life. Take a prayer break instead of a coffee break. Abstain from alcohol, even if you re going out at night. Pray for a married couple. Third Sunday: At Mass today, reflect on the presence of Christ in the people around you. Gaze upon an icon, or a piece of Christian artwork which speak to you. Pray some powerful music that directs your thoughts to God. Pray with Mary, mother of Jesus. Pray a decade of the rosary. Pray for Christian unity within a particular marriage. Pray for those who have little food, while you have plain rice and water for dinner tonight. Pray for a single person. Fourth Sunday: Fifth Sunday: At Mass today, pray for openness to God s Word. Pray for the Pope. Sit with the Lord in silence in the presence of a single candle flame. Pray for a troubled part of the world that deeply concerns you. Wear a crucifix and finger it during the day as a reminder that Jesus is with you. Today, hum a hymn that is special to you. Pray for a priest or religious. Prepare to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Easter. Pray for a loved one who has died. Take a prayer tip from a prayerful person. Pray a mantra on your way to work/school. Read your favourite scripture passage. Replace your TV time with a more life-giving activity. Pray for the whole church. PASSION SUNDAY + HOLY WEEK BEGINS Take part in the Holy Week ceremonies in your parish/school. Prayerfully remember a person who bears a cross. Bernardo 14th February 2018 4
PROJECT COMPASSION - FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT - FEBRUARY 18 th 2018 In Nepal, a Caritas supported program has helped Janaki turn her life of poverty and disadvantage around. She is now running her own successful sewing business, training others and has become a role model in her community. Please donate to Project Compassion 2018 and help our most vulnerable neighbours in Nepal to build a just future for their families and their communities. PROJECT COMPASSION - WEEK 1: NEPAL - A JUST FUTURE STARTS WITH EMPOWERMENT Janaki is a young entrepreneur from Nepal, who has turned her life around. Growing up in a world of poverty and disadvantage, coupled with a forced marriage at the age of twelve, she was in a very vulnerable position. Even more so when her husband died just two years into their marriage. She s now running her own successful sewing business and has become an inspirational community leader. In 2015, Janaki joined a youth club formed by Caritas Australia partners, Caritas Nepal and the Ekata Foundation Surkhet, as part of the Children and Youth Empowerment Program (CTEP) which provides youth with job skills and income-generating projects. She took a loan from the youth club to purchase her first sewing machine. Two years on, Janaki has 11 sewing machines and is running her own business, teaching others and is considered a community role model. My confidence level has raised, Janaki says. I appreciate all those respected peoples of Australia who are supporting this wise cause. Through their help, women who experience domestic violence and who are financially vulnerable are getting new hope in their life. I thank them from bottom of my heart. Cultivate with love the seeds of goodness, beauty and truth that God sows in every new generation PRAYER: For our sisters and brothers around the world who are journeying out of the wilderness to a just future, that their desire to serve their community be an example for us to follow. REFLECTION - FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT All our readings today remind us of the faithfulness of God and God s desire that we participate and be in relationship with all creation. The second reading from the first letter of St. Peter highlights Jesus mission to lead us to God. In the Gospel story of the tempting of Jesus in the desert, a version of which is proclaimed every year on this first Sunday of Lent, we learn of Jesus stay in the wilderness. In biblical times the wilderness or the desert is often code for a time of searching, even challenge, if we think about the desert, we imagine a dangerous place, a lonely place where people get lost and confused. The wind blows and the whole landscape changes. It is also the place where our God who is ever faithful and always present speaks into our hearts in the silence and loneliness of our own desert experiences. The Caritas Australia Project Compassion story this week tells us of Janaki. Her story suggests that she too has experienced a time of wilderness in her life. She grew up in a world of poverty and disadvantage in Nepal and was forced to marry at an early age. Janaki made a number of choices that put her on the path to a better future. Janaki was committed to following her dream of having her own business. With the supportive relationships of Caritas Australia s partners, Caritas Nepal and Ekata Foundation Surkhet, Janaki gained the confidence and the skills that empowered her to support herself and her family. In the words of her mother Khima, due to her we are able to live a happy life. The Project Compassion theme is A Just Future. For Janaki and others in her community, a just future started with empowerment. Janaki s story reminds us of the words of Pope Francis when speaking to young people he said, let us not be satisfied with a mediocre life. Be amazed by what is true and beautiful, what is God. Bernardo 14th February 2018 5
Out of School Hours Care Bernardo 14th February 2018 6
2018 Calendar January Monday 29th Staff commence Tuesday 30th Students commence - Years 1-6 Wednesday 31st Students commence - Foundation February Tuesday 6th 5:00pm Welcome BBQ Wednesday 7th Foundation students no school (testing) Friday 9th (Admin) Wednesday 14th 9:30am Mass (Beginning of School Year/Ash Wednesday) Wednesday 14th 1:00pm Early finish for students Wednesday 14th 1:30pm Family Partnership Meetings -8:00pm (compulsory) Monday 19th Wednesday 21st PD Day staff no school for students Foundation students no school (testing) Friday 23rd (Year 5/6) Wednesday 28th March Foundation students - no school (testing) Friday 9th (Year 3/4) Monday 12th Labour Day Public Holiday (no school) Tuesday 13th School photos Friday 23rd (Year 1/2) Monday 26th Foundation 2019 enrolments open Monday 26th 9:15am Foundation 2019 school tour Wednesday 28th F 2019 Taste of School session 1 Wednesday 28th 1:00pm Students finish term one Thursday 29th PD Day staff (no school for students) Friday 30th Good Friday April 1st April Easter Sunday 2nd April Easter Monday Monday 16th Term two commences Monday 16th 9:15am Foundation 2019 school tour Wednesday 18th F 2019 Taste of School session 2 Wednesday 18th 9:30am Foundation 2019 information session Wednesday 18th 7:00pm Foundation 2019 information session Friday 20th 9:15am Foundation 2019 school tour Monday 23rd 9:15am Foundation 2019 school tour Wednesday 25th ANZAC Day Public Holiday (no school) Friday 27th 9:15am Foundation 2019 school tour Friday 27th Monday 30th 9:15am Foundation 2019 school tour May Friday 4th 9:15am Foundation 2019 school tour Monday 7th 9:15am Foundation 2019 school tour Thursday 10th Mother s Day Stall Friday 11th 9:15am Foundation 2019 school tour Friday 11th Enrolments close Friday 11th Friday 11th 8:45am Mother s Day Celebration Sunday 13th Mother s Day Tuesday 15th NAPLAN Wednesday 16th NAPLAN Thursday 17th NAPLAN Friday 18th PD Day (no school for students) Thursday 24th CD Cross Country Monday 28th Year 5/6 Camp Tuesday 29th Year 5/6 Camp Wednesday 30th Year 5/6 Camp Friday 25th June Friday 8th Monday 11th Queen s Birthday Public Holiday (no school) Tuesday 12th Year 3/4 Camp Wednesday 13th Year 3/4 Camp Monday 18th Reports go home Tuesday 19th 3:30pm Learning Conversations (compulsory) -6:00pm Friday 22nd 9:30am Feast of the Sacred Heart Mass Friday 22nd Tuesday 26th 4:00pm Report Feedback (optional) -8:00pm Friday 29th 1:00pm End of term two July Monday 16th Thursday 26th Friday 27th August Thursday 2nd Sunday 5th Sunday 5th Monday 6th Friday 10th Wednesday 15th Friday 17th Monday 20th Monday 20th Friday 25th Wednesday 29th Thursday 30th Friday 31st September Sunday 1st Thursday 6th Friday 7th Tuesday 11th Friday 21st October Monday 8th Friday 19th November Term three commences Grandparents Morning Year 1/2 Camp Dinner 10:30am Confirmation 2:30pm Confirmation PD Day (no school for students) 9:30am Feast of the Assumption Mass (Years 3-6) St Bernard s Day Mass/Celebration St Bernard s Feast Day PD Day staff (no school for students) Coburg District Athletics Father s Day Stall 8:45am Father s Day Celebration Father s Day Foundation Breakfast 3:30pm Learning Conversations (compulsory) -6:00pm 1:00pm End of term three Term four commences Friday 3rd Monday 5th PD Day (no school for students) Tuesday 6th Cup Day Public Holiday (no school) Wednesday 14th 9:15am Foundation 2019 Orientation 1/3 Friday 16th Wednesday 21st 9:15am Foundation 2018 Orientation 2/3 Friday 23rd 1:00pm Students finish early Friday 23rd 4:00pm Twilight Sports Wednesday 28th 9:15am Foundation 2018 Orientation 3/3 Friday 30th December Sunday 2nd Friday 7th Friday 7th Tuesday 11th Friday 14th Monday 17th Tuesday 18th Wednesday 19th 10:30am Family Advent Mass School Disco Reports go home 3:30pm Report Feedback (optional) -6:00pm 2018 Years 1-6 Orientation 6:00pm Carols 9:30am End of Year Mass 1:00pm Term four ends (students) Term four ends (staff) Bernardo 14th February 2018 7