Dear Parents and Carers

This week we are having Community Outreach Week at St Bede's. It is important that students acknowledge the pain and hardship that others are experiencing as part of Catholic social justice teachings. Students and staff are focusing on several significant events. The many gifts that St Patrick is recognised for, National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence on Friday and Harmony Day on Monday. We invite students and staff to wear plain clothes to support the flood victims in exchange for a gold coin donation, on Friday. The money will be sent to Red Cross. This is our final community fundraiser for this term. Next Wednesday, Kinder to Year 6 students will be particpating in Clean Up Australia. They will pick up rubbish around our school and surrounds under the supervision of their class teacher. Gloves will be provided. 

Yesterday, all teachers participated in twilight professional development at St Bede’s. Staff focused on initiatives to assist with building upon existing teaching practice to improve student engagement and results. Last year we implemented InitiaLit very successfully in the Infants and Soundwaves in Years 3 to 6 to assist with phonics and spelling. Teachers have also been participating in professional development on writing which we look forward to being implemented next term. This is all part of the focus from the Catalyst initiative from CE.

Students in Years 3 to 6 have been busy working on their speeches for the Rotary Public Speaking Competition. Following class speak offs, students will be selected to represent St Bede’s at Bungendore on April 5, with a maximum of three speakers for each section. Last year we had a very high standard of speakers and this year will be no different! Good luck and we look forward to hearing the speeches in the next few weeks.

Next Friday, March 25 we will be conducting our long overdue working bee from 2pm to 5pm, followed by a complimentary barbecue and refreshments. Usually, we have two working bees a year but unfortunately due to lockdown last year, we were only able to have one. A note was sent home on Monday to all families. If you can assist, please return the note to the front office by this Monday March 21. Many hands make light work!

We are keen to have our canteen up and running but we need parents to assist. We were hoping to have our first lunch day tomorrow but unfortunately, we didn’t get enough volunteers. If you would like to assist, please contact Bec Thistleton on 0438211071. To volunteer you must have a Working with Children Check. If we get plenty of volunteers, we will be able to have canteen each Friday!

Last week teachers conducted a five-minute meeting on Teams. This was very successful and a wonderful opportunity for teachers to introduce themselves and for parents to do the same. If you were unable to attend or missed your time, please contact your child’s teacher to arrange another time. If you have any concerns or require a longer appointment, please don’t hesitate to contact the class teacher and make a time to meet. Parent teacher meetings will be conducted in Week 5 of Term 2 prior to the distribution of Semester 1 reports.

We would like each class to have a Class Representative. The Class Representative could organise a social event e.g., weekend activity at the park or a get together once a term. A special thank you to the following parents who have volunteered-Kristi Morrison (Kinder) and Emily Krout-Ryan (Year 2) who will be in touch with the parents in these classes soon to organise a social event. We need Class Representatives for Years 1,3,4,5 and 6. If you would like to volunteer for this job, please contact or email the front office.

We are very fortunate to have Annabel Yagos working at St Bede’s each Thursday morning. Annabel is a Key Worker, Early Intervention Teacher and the Director of Braidwood Palerang Early Intervention. She has 8 years’ experience in education and allied health. Her qualifications include Primary Education, Early Childhood Education and Community Services. Annabel is currently studying Psychology and a Master of neuroscience. She has worked closely with occupational therapists, speech pathologists and the NDIS. Her role is to offer therapy informed support to children and the staff at St Bedes, to ensure every individuals learning style is catered for, this also includes supporting parents and carers. Annabel creates a unique service to support children who have diagnoses, experience anxiety, struggle with attention deficits, or simply require a little more help to kick goals. A message from Annabel… “It is a privilege to be a part of such an amazing school community as St Bede’s. I look forward to meeting more families over the coming terms and getting to know the extraordinary talents that are emerging in your children." For more information, please feel free to visit www.braidwoodpalerangei.com.au

God Bless

Marylou Gorham
Principal

Our School Counsellor, Madi is available each Thursday, during the school term, at the school. If you think your child would benefit from seeing Madi please complete the online referral form at https://catholiccare.force.com/housing/s/school-referral-form.

Any concerns or questions can be emailed to Madi Madelyn.burns@catholiccare.cg.org.au and you will hear back on Thursdays. Or alternatively contact the school office for your concerns to be passed on.

Canteen Information

Dear Parents, please note that the decision has made to cancel canteen for this week due to a lack of parent volunteers.
Canteen can only operate with the help of parents, we require at least two parent volunteers per week.

If you are able to spare a few hours on a Friday, please either contact the office on 48422413 or Beck on 0438 211 071
If you would like more information on what is involved please contact Bec.

Term 1 - Canteen Roster

Head Lice

Please check your child/rens hair for head lice.

Should you find head lice your child needs to stay away from school until their hair has been treated. Parents still need to monitor for eggs even after treatment. For more information please see the NSW Health Website

Book Club 

Book Club brochures went home Tuesday and are due back by Friday 25 March. Books make great presents and for every book that parents purchase the school receives points that go towards new books for the Library and classroom.

Bus information

If your child is catching a bus, other than their registered and approved Department of Transport bus run, for any reason, such as going to a friend’s place or a regular after school activity, parents must notify the school of the change, before 2:30pm, for every day that the change happens. The bus company also charges a fee of $3.00.

The school will then complete a white slip (change to departure slip) for your child. Your child will need to hand the white slip + $3:00 for the fare to the bus driver. If we are not notified or parents don't provide the $3:00, your child will be unable to take the bus.

PIN Forms

Parents are asked to complete and return all the following forms to the classroom teacher.

• ICT agreement - to allow your child access to ICT at school
• Departure agreement - How your child gets home in the afternoon
• Medical update - updated details on medical issues that your child might have - this is important in case of emergencies

School fees have been sent home, thank you to those families who have already paid their Term 1 fees.  These are due for payment before Monday 21 March 2022.

Parents who pay by regular instalments are asked to review their repayment amount to ensure that the repayment will cover the yearly fees. A copy of the fee schedule can be found here: