At the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, we remember those people who have given their lives for the peace and freedom we enjoy today. On this day as a school we come together to silently reflect on the sacrifices made by our brave service men and women. 

Thank you to Mrs Fox for preparing the ceremony and to all who helped by reading, raising flags and praying. Well done to our wonderful students, including our Kindy-Set-Go students for their reverence.

First Eucharist Celebration

This Sunday is a special occasion for our students making their First Eucharist. There has been a last-minute change, and we will celebrate this occasion at the Cathedral with the children from the parish school of religion.

This is also our last community mass for the year, and everyone is warmly welcome to join us in celebrating with family and friends. The service will begin at 9.30 am, and morning tea will follow at Hayden Hall. If you are planning to come along and can bring a plate, that would be wonderful. I am really excited about Sunday and hope to see many of you there.

Eucharist means thanksgiving, and this sacrament is a part of initiation into the Catholic faith. I am the Bread of Life… “And the bread that I shall give is my own self for the life of the world.” Before he died, Jesus had a special farewell meal with his friends. He told stories that gave them new life by helping them understand and care more about themselves and others. He broke bread that gave them new life by sharing himself along with the bread. And he asked them to remember him in this way.

Please keep the candidates in your prayers as they make this step in their faith and receive the blessed host for the first time.

Blessings

Nikki Dwyer

Religious Education Coordinator

Christmas Carols – jingle, jingle, jingle!

St Bede’s will combine with the Cathedral Parish for a Carols by Candlelight event! Please save the date it is going to be a fantastic event.

When: Wednesday 7^th December at 5.30pm for a 6.00pm start

Where: Cr Weston and Loch Streets in Yarralumla

You are welcome to bring a blanket or chairs and a picnic to enjoy, or there will be a BBQ sausage sizzle and gelato available to purchase on the night, thanks to our P&F.

The P&F had their final meeting for 2022 on Tuesday evening with lots of exciting events coming up to finish the year.

We have postponed the school disco to the last day of school following the end of year mass on Thursday 15^th December. This will be a fun celebration for our kids and morning tea and lunch and entertainment will be provided by the P&F.

P&F will also be hosting an afternoon tea on Friday 9^th December at 2:30pm outside the kindergarten classroom to welcome the 2023 families to our community.  All St Bedes' families are welcome.

On Wednesday 7^th December the P&F will host the St Bede’s Community Christmas Carols at St Peter Chanel’s in Yarralumla. More information will be provided soon. Thank you to Mrs Dwyer for organising this with the parish.

A special mention to Sarah Crewdson (Matilda & Oscars Mum) for taking on the role of canteen manager this semester. With her helpers, Sarah has provided lunch to up to 150 kids each Friday. All food is home cooked with fresh produce from our friends at Red Hill Supa Express. Thank you Sare for feeding our kids such delicious food every week!

A special thank you to Zoe Hannah who has managed the uniform shop this year, it has been a big year with many new students and the lifting of restrictions.  Due to the increasing workload in the shop, Zoe will step down from the manager role at the end of the year and will be replaced by several volunteers who will form the boutique committee.

We need your help!
We are looking for volunteers to join the tuckshop and uniform shop teams. We need a few people who would be able to do an occasional shift in the tuckshop or boutique.

If you are interested in volunteering, scan the relevant QR code below to join the WhatsApp groups. It’s a great way to be involved in a small way and the kids really love seeing their parents around school! Any questions can be directed to myself or Fiona Torline.

  

The uniform shop will be open every Friday morning from 8:30am – 9:30am. If you place an order on QKR! These items will be delivered on a Friday directly to your child’s classroom.  Watch this space for an opening time before school recommences in 2023.

On behalf of the St Bede’s P&F, we wish you a safe and happy Christmas.                                       

Jen Maher

P  &F President

Throughout the holidays, contractors were busy transforming the Star Room and the current kindergarten classroom into 2 new kindergarten rooms for 2023. This is a terrific new addition to our school as it will allow the 2 classes to work together easily. 

These rooms have also hosted the Kindy-Set-Go Program for the 2023 kindergarten students. Our newest students have settled quickly into their new classrooms.

In the Christmas break all networking infrastructure will be upgraded. This includes switches, cables and Wireless Access Points. This remediation project is supported by Catholic Education and will allow our school to have faster internet.

We have also received 50 chromebooks that will be utilised by students in their learning. These devices will allow students to develop their typing speed and access web based platforms. This also forms a part of our technology review as we continue to review all elements of technology and how we use technology in the school.

Teachers will soon receive new laptops and monitors to assist in learning and preparation of tasks. This upgrade is timely and allow the school to reduce the number of devices, ensuring that we can fund a more sustainable structure.

Staffing is almost completed for 2023. We have recruited well and are excited to welcome our new staff who will be joining us at St Bede's.

At the conclusion of 2022 we will farewell Mrs Laura Burt. Laura has accepted a position at North Ainslie in 2023.  We congratulate Laura on her succcessful application.  Laura came to St Bede's at the start of Semester 2 and has been working with Year 3 students. We thank her for her commitment and contribution to Year 3 and commend her for the way that she transitioned in the middle of the year. This position has been advertised and the outcome will be shared in due course.