Dear Parents and Carers,

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. On Sunday we say thank you to all our beautiful mothers and grandmothers for bringing us into the world and all the care and love they give. We hope your day is a special day for you all. Tomorrow we will be hosting our Mother’s Day breakfast at school for our mums, grandmas and carer. Invitations have been sent home today with more details. Today we had our Mother’s Day stall at St Bede’s. A BIG thank you to Bec Thistleton for taking the time to organise the gifts and coordinating the stall. We know all our mums will love their special gifts.

Mrs Rebecca McPake has been away from school for several weeks as she has been unwell. We wish Rebecca a speedy recovery and we hope to see her back at school soon. We are extremely grateful to Cherie Kilburn for offering to take Year 1 until she returns. This will ensure that the learning of the students is not impacted and we are fortunate that Cherie knows the students very well.

Next week we have our annual NAPLAN testing at St Bede’s for all students in Years 3 and 5. Parents of students participating in the test are requested to ensure that the children arrive at school by 8:55am, have a water bottle, fruit for fruit break and their recess.
The schedule for the testing is as follows:

On Wednesday, a very informative session was presented on InitiaLit by the Infants' teachers. We are extremely grateful to Shaye Cooper, Lois White, Cherie Kilburn and Johanna Barling for the presentation. Our Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2 students commenced home reading this week and readers have been sent home. We cannot stress enough the importance of home reading for all our students to support the learning which occurs each day in literacy at school.

Catholic Schools month commenced last week. Each year during May we celebrate the wonderful work that is being done in our school and all CE schools with the commencement of the enrolment period for 2023. St Bede's Open day tours will be conducted on Monday May 16 from 9:30am to 11am. If you have a child or know someone who is turning 5 before July 31, 2023, please fill out the online application for enrolment form which is available on our school website. Interviews will be conducted later in term 2 and in the following terms.

Mark Chifley, Assistant Principal will be conducting an online survey over the next few weeks. We are currently reviewing our Homework Policy which has not been reviewed for several years. We value the input of all our parents and carers and encourage you all to participate in the survey. More information including the links to the survey will be provided in next week's newsletter.

The students are getting very excited about the Walkathon, which will be held on Friday May 27. We know our students have been busy seeking sponsors as they are coming into school and informing their class about how much money they have raised. Each week, the class who raises the most money will be given a special treat. We encourage all our families to get behind this great fundraiser and support our students. We have some great prizes which the Community Council have been busy organising.

God Bless and keep safe

Principal

NAPLAN 2022

Next week Years 3 and 5 will participate in NAPLAN. Students have been doing example tests in class to ensure students are familiar with the format of the tests before NAPLAN in preparation for next week.
It is important to remember that NAPLAN is not about passing or failing, but about assessing learning progress. The best approach for preparing your child for NAPLAN is to encourage your child to do the best they can on the day.
NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at St. Bede’s.

The timetable for next week is as follows.

Students will need ear phones for their iPad or computers. The school will have some spare.
Teachers will ensure that all laptops and I-Pads are charged at the end of each test.

Please contact your child’s classroom teacher or myself if you have any concerns.

NAPLAN Parent information

Mark Chifley
Assistant 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 canteen has been cancelled 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 Beck.

Term 2 - Canteen Roster