GIVING

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. Matthew 5:13

As the school year progresses and Semester 1 comes to a close, we thank all those who give to our wonderful community. It is important to highlight the value of giving and its positive impact on both individuals and communities. 

There are many benefits to giving. Giving makes us feel happy, is good for health and is contagious. It also helps social connection and promotes cooperation. When you give, you’re more likely to get back. Work by sociologists Brent Simpson and Robb Willer, have suggested that when you give to others, your generosity is likely to be rewarded by others. These exchanges promote a sense of trust and cooperation that strengthens our ties to others. What’s more, when we give to others, we don’t only make them feel closer to us; we also feel closer to them. 

At St Bede’s we encourage all within our community to give. In many ways, St Bede’s is a community of givers. Much of our connection to each other is because of how we give to others. I would like to thank our teachers for giving their time and expertise in facilitating Parent Teacher Conferences and preparing student reports. I know that our parents also value our teachers giving and connecting in this way. 

St Bede’s is fortunate to have the very best teachers. They continually give to our students and families in so many ways. Their dedication to student learning and their diligence in preparing lessons, conducting assessments and tracking learning is not taken for granted. Perhaps what is more important is what our teachers give of themselves in connecting with our students through connection and relationships.

Our students are also wonderful examples of givers. Our Year 5 and Year 6 students continue to give to our community. Our Year 5 students have been giving their time and support to our kindergarten students by meeting for “Buddy” time regularly. Our Year 6 leaders continue to give and contribute to our community through their leadership and being role models to others. They also provided our students with the opportunity to share in the Natural Disaster Expo. This would have to be the highest quality collection of projects that I have ever seen! 

The scripture verse above encourages us as christians to be people who give. Christians are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The purpose of both salt and light is to GIVE. We are encouraged to use our gifts to give to others. Salt gives taste, light gives vision. The existence of salt and light is not for their own sake, but for the good of those who experience them. 

Let us continue to be a community of givers. Let us continue to be both the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Regards

Andrew

Parents are reminded that Monday 17 July is a Pupil Free Day. We look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday 18 July.

During the holiday period there will be a number of projects happening at St Bede's. We look forward to the following:

1. New carpet and pinboard being installed in the library.

2. Continued work on the K-2 Courtyard/vegetable garden.

3. Network remediation project (network switches and cabling).

4. Additional support spaces/breakout spaces.

5. New photocopiers being installed.

6. New class sets of iPads being prepared.

Student reports for Semester 1 will be accessible from 3.30pm today. It is terrific to see the progress that our students have made this year. 

Thank you to our teachers for their work in completing the reports. Please contact your child's teacher if you have any questions in relation to the report.

The Science of Reading – How the Brain Learns to Read

Our first parent workshop to support reading at home was a huge success! Thank you to those families who took time out of their busy week to have a conversation and gain some insight into how we use the Science of Reading at St Bede’s. Here is a small part of what we discussed last night.

The Science of Reading (SoR) is a body of research from education, linguistics, cognitive psychology, special education, and neuroscience. It is an evidence-based approach that looks at the essential cognitive processes for competent reading. At St Bede’s, we use the SoR to inform all instructional decisions regarding the teaching and learning of reading.

Dr Carolyn Strom (2022), explains that skilled readers are made, not born. Reading is a skill that must be explicitly taught like learning to swim or play a musical instrument. This is because our brains are not wired for reading and when children are learning to read, their brains are forming new neural pathways. Dr Carolyn Strom’s website is a treasure trove of easy-to-read information about how our brains learn to read. She also has excellent images to help understand the complex cognitive processes that are happening.

Here is the link to her website: https://carolynstrom.com/

You can also watch her webinar explaining how the brain learns to read and learn practical ways to support your child’s reading at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ozikJR3oY8

Haley Stonham

Curriculum Coordinator