Dear Parents

We had a beautiful Mass last Thursday ably led by Year 4 as we celebrated the feast day of St Mary of the Cross. It was Father Trenton’s first Mass at St Bede’s and he commented afterwards on how reverent the students were, the inspiring responses during the homily and the wonderful singing. Today, we remember our Mother Mary at the feast day of the Assumption of our Blessed Lady. Year 3 have prepared this liturgy and we are sure that it will be a beautiful celebration. Thank you parents and family members who join us for these reverent occasions.

It is with great excitement I announce that Katie Horsburgh and her husband are expecting their second child at the beginning of next year. We are currently waiting with baited breath for the birth of Linda Wells’ twin grandchildren who are due this week. I will keep you updated on their arrival.

We have quite a few sporting events happening in the next few weeks. South Weston Athletics notes went home on Tuesday. Expressions of interest in participating in the Catholic Primary Schools' Netball Carnival in October as well as the ACT Netball Gala Day for students in Years 5/6 later in September were distributed earlier in the week. These are wonderful opportunities for the students to represent our school in a variety of sporting events.

Thank you to those families who are following the new driveway arrangements when dropping and collecting your child/children from ‘Before and After School Care’. We had a near miss last week with cars coming on to the black top when children were still waiting to be collected after netball training. The gate will now be closed both before and after school with staff only exiting their carpark when netball training is finished.

Thank you to all the families who completed the online school improvement survey. I was very impressed with how many families completed this valuable information. I will give a run-down of the results before the end of term. Each year, schools provide an opportunity for feedback through these surveys so we can consolidate initiatives and resources that are working well and identify areas that we could improve. Staff and students from Years 3 - 6 also completed the survey during this time.

There is some wonderful learning around our school at the moment. Kindergarten are making huge strides in their literacy and numeracy, Year One are preparing for their Italian Café Day next Monday and Year 2 are using descriptive words to enhance their writing. They are also learning what does/doesn’t mix well together in Science. Year 3 are having a wonderful time at dance classes using ribbons and sticks, Year 4 have made monsters as part of a homework task and Year 5/6 have been working on their Science proto-types for their lunar landing modules using water filled balloons. A consultant from CE has been visiting to spend time in each class showing new ideas in the digital technology space. We have teachers who are modelling for others while some staff have buddied up to develop effective teaching practices. St Bede’s is buzzing at the moment in so many ways.

As enrolments at other schools have closed and interviews have taken place, could you please let us know if your child is not returning in 2020 so that we can plan accordingly?

Last week we tried to find the owners to the large amount of lost property that has become quite overwhelming in the corridor over the last few weeks. Many of the clothing items have names of students who have left the school or don't have names at all. There were also many drink bottles and plastic containers that, due to health risks, were disposed of. Some of these I know were quite expensive and had been missing for quite some time.

We are getting closer to our annual P&F function for 2019. It is promising to be a wonderful night at a great venue so book your babysitter and purchase your tickets on Flexischools ASAP. The RSVP closes on the 30^th August!

It is meant to be 18 degrees on Sunday. Hopefully warmer weather is on its way!

Have a lovely weekend. Go the Wallabies!

Regards

Julie

 Our Year 3s at dance this week