Dear Parents and Carers,

Last night, our Community Council held our second meeting for this year. Sarah Meier from CE General Counsel and Governance, Risk and Policy Manager, was guest speaker. Sarah provided clarity about the new Charter for Canberra-Goulburn Diocese Community Councils and the role of the Community Council in CECG schools. Community Councils are advisory in nature and have no authority over the day-to-day operation or management of the school, they make decisions in relation to fundraising. During the meeting, the Council set the school fundraising focus for the next two years. As the current play equipment is mostly unsuitable for the Infants to use due to height restrictions, the decision was made to fundraise for the purchase of new play equipment for the Infants, which will provide St Bede’s with play equipment for both Primary and Infants students. As this will be a costly exercise, it will a two-year focus, which will hopefully be supplemented by community grants.
Congratulations to our Fundraising Committee on a fantastic result with fundraising at the Braidwood Show and Camp Draft. We are extremely grateful to Kristi Morrison as organiser and our wonderful parents, who volunteered their time to set up and assist. Our bulb fundraiser is going well and tickets in our Easter raffle are selling fast! If you have not yet purchased any bulbs there is still time. If you have sold your Easter raffle tickets and would like another book, please contact the front office. Alternatively, adults or students can purchase tickets at school as Kristi Morrison will be at school in the courtyard tomorrow, selling tickets before and after assembly.

Don’t forget our working bee is this Friday from 2pm to 5:30pm followed by a Barbecue and refreshments for all our helpers and families. Thank you to Richard Bunn for coordinating this. There are many jobs to be done before the onset of winter. This is always a great community event and we hope to see many of you there!

What a fantastic job our canteen volunteers do each fortnight for St Bede's! We would not have canteen without the support of our wonderful grandparents and parents who work tirelessly for our school. If you can spare some time to volunteer, please contact the front office. Our final day for canteen this term is Monday April 1.

Goodluck to our Year 3 to 6 students who are participating in the Rotary Public Speaking Competition next Tuesday at Bungendore. The children have worked very hard to write their speeeches and prepare for this event. What a wonderful opportunity for them to represent our school!

Next term, on Friday May 3 (week one) St Bede’s will be hosting the Northern Regions Cross Country Carnival at the Braidwood Showground. We will be requiring volunteers to assist with marshalling for events and for the canteen. If you can assist as an official, please contact Katie Tooth and if you are able to assist with the canteen, please contact Kristi Morrison.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a function to receive an award for a grant from Dargues Mine. This grant of $2000 has assisted us with the purchase of novels to support the new NSW English Syllabus and the literacy program that has been successfully implemented into Years 3-6 this year. We are extremely grateful to the Community Council who supplemented the grant at the end of 2023 from fundraising with an additional $6000 toward these resources.

God Bless