Term 1, Week 6 2025

What a big couple of weeks we have had as a school community! On Tuesday, we hosted the Project Compassion Launch for 2025. This is the 60th year of Project Compassion and, to make things even more special, the national campaign was founded here in our very own church, highlighting the significant connection our school and parish has with Caritas Australia. The launch began with a Liturgy in the church, led by Archbishop O’Regan and Father Joseph. They were supported by our Year 6 student leaders and student representatives from 5 other neighbouring Catholic schools. The Praise Squad also played an important role in the Liturgy, leading the celebration with several songs and receiving some glowing feedback at the conclusion of the Liturgy. A special thanks to Mrs Ali Turnbull for all the work she is putting in with our music program. Following the Liturgy, we hosted a Pancake Morning Tea in our courtyard for all those in attendance. We were fortunate to have a number of special guests present at the launch from the Catholic Archdiocesan Office, Caritas Australia, and Catholic Education, including our Executive Director Dr Neil McGoran. While the event caused some changes to our regular school day, it was a wonderful opportunity for us to show off our amazing school community. A massive thank you must go out to all the parent volunteers who assisted us with the morning tea – there is something truly special about St Bernadette’s! 

Following the event on Shrove Tuesday, Mr A and the Year 3A class did a fantastic job in leading our school in a Liturgy on Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of the season of Lent. This week, each family will receive a Project Compassion donation box as part of our commitment to the Caritas Australia initiative. We ask for families to donate what they can and bring the boxes back in the last week of term. Each class will also have a large donation box which can be added to over the coming weeks. Our donations go towards assisting people in Australia and in other countries which experience high levels of poverty and a lack of natural resources. We thank you for your ongoing support.

Next week our Year 3 and 5's will undertake NAPLAN testing. This will start on Wednesday 12th and run through until Friday. Catch up tests are permitted and can place the following week should the need arise. 

On the sporting front, we had 9 students from Years 4-6 attend the SAPSASA Swimming Carnival at Scotch College last week. While we had mixed results in the carnival, it gave our students a chance to compete against some of the best swimmers in our district and test themselves in a range of different swimming events. A special mention must go to Johan who won the 12-Year-Old Boys 50m Butterfly event. Coming up still in Term 1 is the Catholic Primary Schools Swimming Carnival on Wednesday April 2nd (Week 10) and the SAPSASA Athletics Carnival on Monday April 7th (Week 11). Athletics Trials for students in Years 4-6 will take place in Weeks 7 & 8. 

We are getting excited about our upcoming Harmony day on Friday 21st March! Please join us for this special day, it is sure to be fabulous with performances, a parade in National dress and a morning tea for parents and carers in the courtyard afterwards. See you all then!

God Bless,
Michelle, Matt and Ben

In the year 1 H class this term we have been exploring character strengths and how these can help people be successful and have a joyful life.

We identified the strengths we see in others and ourselves, exploring how these particular strengths help us in our daily lives. We learned that strengths sometimes have to be worked on and if we value particular strengths then there are things we can do to grow and maintain them.

Below are examples of strengths we want to grow in.

Science
In Science we have had a lot of fun exploring how we use our 5 senses to make observations.

We have been using our senses to observe the daily weather and had great fun participating  in ‘Banana Science’! Each student wasl given a piece of banana to take observation on and collate their data. We needed to answer How it felt? How it smelt? How it sounded? How it looked? and of course… How it tasted!

HASS
This term in HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences), 1M has been exploring the topic of Family. We looked at what makes a family, the different roles within families, and how families can be similar and different. Our lessons encouraged students to reflect on their own family structures and appreciate the diversity of families in our community.

Students engaged in activities such as creating a family tree, sharing stories and learning about family histories. They enjoyed discovering different traditions, comparing family experiences, and understanding how families can be unique yet share common values of love and care.

ART
Students in 1M created beautiful black glue heart artworks, incorporating the elements of Art while exploring the themes of kindness, friendship and St Valentine. They began by drawing a heart design on paper, then carefully traced over their lines with black glue to create a bold, raised outline. Once the glue dried, they used watercolours to bring their hearts to life, experimenting with warm and cool colours to express different emotions. Students discussed how warm colours, like red and yellow, can represent love and happiness, while cool colours, like blue and green, can symbolize calmness and trust—qualities that are important in friendships.