Congratulations to our Confirmation Candidates! Last week we celebrated the much anticipated Confirmation of our Year 5/6 students. A big thank you to Mrs Katie Horsburgh for preparing the children so beautifully and supporting them on their faith journey. Fr Tony Percy was the celebrant on the night and he was assisted by Fr Andrew Lotton.

News!

A new priest will be stepping into the role as Cathedral Administrator and so we welcome Fr Trenton van Reesch who arrives later this week.

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal  - YOU CAN DO IT!!

As a part of the winter appeal this year, we are going to ask for canned soup to be donated to the school. In the front foyer you will see our pyramid grow as we dig deep for those in our community who are less fortunate. If you can donate some cans of soup we would be very grateful. More news about this to come from Lucy our Social Justice Leader.

Winter School Holidays Tennis Clinic at Red Hill Tennis Club, 8 - 12 July, Mon - Thurs, 8.00am -1.00pm (half day) or 8.00am - 5.30pm (full day). All standards - Kindergarten - 17 years, full stroke development – first timers will be serving over-arm by end of clinic! Enrolment forms at the Front Office or phone Matt McDonald, Professionally Qualified Level 2 Tennis Coach, on 0412 565 137.

IMPORTANT - If your child is interested in any representative sport, ACT School Sport requires that ALL nominations be lodged by parents.  Trial information, etc is on their website and the link is School Sport ACT

Have a lovely weekend   

Julie Douglas

Sports Co-ordinator

julie.douglas@cg.catholic.edu.au

St Bede's is hosting the quarter finals of Rostrum on Tuesday, 25 June at 6.30pm.

We wish Joey in Year 5/6 the best of luck as he proudly represents St Bede’s. Congratulations also to Lucy who, as runner up, will chair the event.

As a result of her fundraising effort for the Walkathon, 'Principal Mila' has approved a  uniform free day TOMORROW for a gold coin donation. 

All proceeds will go towards the purchase of a Nintendo Switch for the Paediatric Ward of the Canberra Hospital.  Her little brother recently had to go to hospital and was playing his Nintendo Switch while his injuries were being attended to.  He remained so calm while receiving treatment, the doctors said they wished they had a Nintendo Switch for other sick kids to keep them calm and not be scared.

The uniform shop is run by the St Bede’s P&F. Opening hours are Friday mornings 8.40 – 9.40am for enquiries and comparing sizes.  Also you may like to have a look through the quality second hand uniforms kindly donated by St Bede’s families available for a small cost with proceeds going directly to the St Bede’s P&F. 

Please come and see us if you have any questions relating to the uniform or your child’s order. Outside normal opening time, order forms and payments may be placed in the secure mailbox slot in the Boutique door which is cleared regularly. Please do not place uniform orders through the school office or via teaching staff as it can cause confusion for the Boutique volunteers and delay orders.

Orders are normally filled every Friday and sent home with your eldest child. This may differ slightly during busy periods, usually seasonal uniform changes at the end of Terms 1 and 3.  

How to order

Order forms are available from the front foyer and may also be downloaded from the school website. Online ordering is available via the Flexischools website www.flexischools.com.au using your credit card.

Top-up orders may be placed in the secure slot in the Boutique door at any time. Your order may be filled while you wait on Friday mornings if the boutique is not busy otherwise it will be sent home with your child that afternoon.

Payment 

Please note the credit card payment option only applies to online purchases through Flexischools which is the preferred method of payment. Payment (cheques should be payable to St Bede’s P&F) should accompany your order. 

Thank you

Boutique Volunteers

uniform.stbedes@cg.catholic.edu.au

P&F MOVIE FUNDRAISER

SUNDAY, 23 JUNE MANUKA EVENT CINEMAS 3PM

Join Woody, Buzz and all the old favourites as they embark on an adventure with their new friend Forky. This is a movie the whole family will love.
Ticket price includes a bag of goodies to enjoy during the movie.

Tickets are available through Flexischools $18 each

and must be purchased by this Sunday, 16 June.

Children must be accompanied by a supervising adult.

OPEN CLASSROOMS next Tuesday, 10 September

Talking to your children in the classroom about their schoolwork is a wonderful sharing opportunity.  It is not just about looking at what is displayed on the walls but also a time to celebrate achievements and growth and acknowledge any areas for development from the students’ viewpoint.  This may involve talking about a range of different formats used in the classroom.  Please come along to your child’s classroom and spend some time listening as your child guides you through their learning. Times are 8.40 – 9.10am or 3.20 – 4.00pm.

(Excluding current Year 6 students)

If your child is leaving St Bede’s at the end of this year, would you please notify Julie or Breen as a matter of courtesy.  This includes those who have applied for a place at Marist College, St Edmund’s College and CGS.  Although we hate to see any of our families departing, our planning for 2021 will soon be under way so it's important we have this information as soon as possible.

by Martine Oglethorpe

Surveys have consistently shown that children have been exposed to rising amounts of screen time in recent years, as well as parents struggling to manage the moods and time demands of children and young people.

As kids spend increasing amounts of time tethered to a digital device, it makes sense that the time they are online, is time well spent. As parents we’re often concerned about the connections children and young people are making and the subsequent impact on their wellbeing. We’re often concerned about the content they’re consuming, and how helpful, relevant and safe it is for them. Rightfully, there’s concern that the time spent online, scrolling, searching and swiping, may well be time better spent on other pursuits.

Obviously, these digital devices won’t be going anywhere fast. So, we need to look at how we remain in control of our screen use, and ensure the time we’re investing online is adding something helpful, positive and meaningful to our lives.

Here are a few tips to help you be more intentional with your scrolling. Being mindful of how time spent on devices, is certainly not just reserved for young people.

Encourage creation not just consumption

Here’s a simple question. Are you more of a consumer or creator when you’re online? When you spend your online time in creative mode such as making things, creating own videos, editing photos, writing blogs, coding a video game or composing a song you are getting something tangible in return for the time spent on a screen. You are achieving and creating something, rather than simply consuming the content made by others, which is generally far more satisfying as a user.

Look at who you are following

Consider the real purpose of the people on your feeds.  Are you following celebrities you can never relate to, companies you would never buy from, or people who bring you down rather than teach or inspire you? Ideally, you’ll follow people and companies that you can connect with and add positively to your life.

So what about your child? If they have a passion for something, help them find suitable people to follow. For instance, if they love space, search for NASA and related accounts. If they love photography, help them find great photographers sharing their work online. When they’re following people that teach, inspire and ignite their passions, they’re less likely to spend valuable time with energy zappers.

Do a digital declutter

We all have so many apps on our devices and many are just clutter that we used once and no longer visit or don’t add anything constructive to our day. Maybe you could try deleting all the apps on your phone and only put those back that you need to make your day easier, or that offer you something positive. This forces us to look at the real benefits, or not, of the apps and thus the time we are spending online. Could there be better games for your kids to play? Are there better videos for them to watch than the ones that the YouTube algorithm believes they want to see?

Role model good practises

Most kids learn much more from what they see and experience, rather than from what they are told. As a parent be sure to be intentional with your screen time.  Do you:

• Follow people that support you, challenge you in helpful ways or inspire and lift you up?
• Interact in positive ways?
• Give people your attention rather than scroll whilst others are talking to you?
• Put your digital devices away in order to fit all the other important things into your day?

Setting your kids up with good online habits will help make these practises the norm. If you don’t want your children falling prey to the harmful and unhelpful experiences online, you need to be sure that they are focusing on positive and helpful screentime pursuits.

Be intentional with your scrolling, and you’ll ensure you’re getting a much greater return on your online investment.