Dear Parents,

It was great to see so many people visiting St Bede’s as prospective families for 2020 during our Open Week. Year 6 student leaders were very busy with tours and thoroughly enjoyed showing off our school to families. We have thirteen prospective Kindergarten enrolments so far which is encouraging. The official enrolment period concludes at the end of next week but we are open to tours at any time. Linda also needs sibling enrolments as soon as possible please.

We have finished National testing for another year. We were very proud of the students in both Years 3 and 5 in the lead up to these tests and their attitude to each test especially as there were some internet difficulties across the system. It is also the first occasion when the Year 3 students were exposed to a formal test situation which can be quite daunting. We have instilled into the children that these tests are important but only a snapshot of their education at St Bede’s. We try to keep the students calm during this time with as little fuss as possible. Results are due to be released during Term 3.

Unfortunately the weather wasn’t kind to us for the second Friday in a row with the running of our Walkathon. Despite a beautiful morning where the staff cooked breakfast for school families, the cloud cover quickly came over and we only made it as far as the base of Red Hill before the rain began. Despite this, the kids had fun and enjoyed an icy pole, fruit and a show bag on their arrival back at school. I would like to thank all the parents who volunteered to assist on the day or walk with the children. I would also like to especially mention Breen Fox who has worked tirelessly for about two months in gathering prizes and sponsorship for this great event. The prize draw assembly is in Week 6.

We celebrated St Bede’s Day yesterday and, as usual, it was wonderful to see families represented at Mass as we honoured St Bede, the scholar and historian. Year 2 organised the Mass and the students carried out their jobs wonderfully well. It was also lovely to have Fr Lotton with us to celebrate our feast day as he is a very busy man and can’t get up to see us as often as he would like. Traditionally, Year 6 students hold a mini fete during St Bede’s day as part of their charity fundraising effort.  The students worked hard to organise wonderful stalls and the rest of the school loved participating. Well done, everyone!

As we are now into our second term of the year, I would like to share with you our foci for 2019 –

• Inquiry learning – Religious Education and General Studies. This is a continuation of the work started last year with inquiry and giving students the opportunity to extend their thoughts and ideas.
• Quality teaching – lifting student outcomes in literacy and numeracy. This involves coaching and mentoring of staff to build student capacity.
• Review of assessment – data to inform and differentiate our teaching. With the introduction of new assessment systems by Catholic Education, we are using the data to plot student understanding.

We can already see some wonderful work being produced by students as they develop their own inquiry into topics of interest. Intensive reading sessions and inferential understanding is lifting reading levels across the school. Comprehensive data means every teacher knows exactly where students are in their learning and teaching can be modified accordingly. I look forward to sharing results with you in the future.

The construction of our sensory garden began this week which is very exciting. There is orange bunting around the area until its completion which is very close to the carpark path. Any inconvenience will be worth it and we look forward to it being completed shortly.  

May I just remind parents that if you are collecting your child/children during the day for appointments or to arrive late/ leave early, you must sign in and out at the front office so that we can account for absences in case of an emergency? It is also a legal requirement.

Year 4 is off to camp today and they are very excited. The weather forecast is meant to be promising. I would like to thank Mrs Ryan and Mr Mac for giving up valuable family time to accompany the students on this most important experience.  The children return tomorrow afternoon.

Have a lovely long weekend

Regards

Julie