St Bernadette's Primary School Dundas Valley

Yesterday saw our Year 3 and Year 5 students begin the National Literacy and Numeracy Assessments (NAPLAN). We wish them all the best as they aim to show all that they know. We thank our teaching staff and families for supporting their preparation. We ask our families to further support our students by ensuring, especially over the next two weeks, that our children get a good night's rest and that we maintain a positive and calm approach to coming to school each day. We ask that you encourage your child to do their best and have a go, just as you would for any other day at school. Some students may feel nervous, so please remind them that these assessments are just one of the many ways that teachers get to know students and then assist them in their learning to move forward with confidence. Let us celebrate and acknowledge all of the little things that make our students successful, both academically and socially.

Have a wonderful week, 

Rebecca Boidin

Assistant Principal

By Dianne Bergant CSA

Humans see and judge by appearances, but God looks into the heart, and there finds the real person.  God’s standards are not superficial, as are so many of the standards of the world.  It is not age, beauty or physical strength that is important; it is not social position or religious role that is preferred.  God chooses whom God chooses.  God saw in David, the insignificant shepherd, the potential for being the chief shepherd of his people.  The man who was born blind became the one through whom others would see the mighty works of God.  Yet, neither young David nor the man in the gospel made the initial step; each simply responded with openness to God’s choice of him.

By what criteria do we judge others?  Do we consider some people too insignificant for greatness?  Are we overly concerned with status?  Do we categorise people according to the disease or physical limitation that they must endure?  Do we sometimes blame them for their disability?  Do our eyes perceive life in accord with the standards of a materialistic, body-orientated, pleasure-seeking society?  Or do we look into the other’s heart, as God does?

As with the other scrutiny Sundays, catechumens and long-standing members alike are exhorted to make a choice.  Jesus is the one who gives sight to blind eyes and religious insight to those open to receive it.  However, there is a price to pay.  Will it be the standards of the world, or the power of God in Jesus Christ?

A beginning point for discussion of this week's Gospel with children:

Can you remember a time when you were in the dark?

What was it like?

The blind man in today’s Gospel could not see until Jesus healed him.

What would it have been like for the blind man after he was healed?

What does it mean that Jesus is the ‘light of the world’?

How can we be the light of the world to others?

Catholic Schools Week is a special time in the year when we celebrate and give thanks for Catholic schools, especially our own school, St Bernadette’s.

It is a time to give thanks for the wonderful teaching and learning that takes place each and every day in every classroom.

It is a time to acknowledge the great gifts that each member of St Bernadette’s brings to our community.

In our prayer we acknowledged and gave thanks for all who work together in the service of Catholic education.

In our beautiful liturgy to celebrate Catholic Schools Week, the Gospel was proclaimed by spoken word and Auslan and all students from Kindergarten to Year 6 signed “True Colours”.

It was wonderful to welcome so many families to our liturgy and open classrooms.

Please be aware that 2023 School Fees Statements were issued and sent home to families. If you have not received your statement for any reason, please contact the office immediately. It would be appreciated if your payments are made in accordance with the due date (15/03/2023) listed on your statement. 

Should you wish to make an arrangement to suit your needs, or if you have any queries regarding your fees, please contact our Finance Officer Mrs Haddad. All conversations are strictly confidential. 

Thank you for your continuous support.

We hope everyone has been having a fun and positive week so far. We would like to acknowledge all the students that made it into the zone swimming carnival. We appreciate all the hard work and effort they have put into representing our school. We also have some exciting events coming up like the Easter raffle, St Patrick's feast day and Mission market place.

Last week was a very exciting occasion, Catholic Schools week. To celebrate we held a special liturgy. It is important to celebrate Catholic Schools week so we can honour the great work of Catholic Schools and the impact they have on students’ lives.

The students have been enjoying a lot of physical activity lately including, Motiv8 on Monday afternoons and dance fever on Thursdays.

Cross country is coming up soon so we encourage students participating to practise and train before then. 

We look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming events and we really hope you can make it, so you can experience the fun and exciting things we have to offer. 

Kind regards,

S.R.C

In the last newsletter we acknowledged some of our children who were to attend the Cumberland Zone Swimming Carnival. They all did a fantastic job of representing our school and competed well in all events. 

Congratulations to our Zone swimming team for 2023!

Jayden E

Ayden H

Jackson C

Samara C

Liam M

The following children were successfully selected to compete at the Diocesan Swimming carnival on Tuesday, 14th March. What a fantastic achievement!

Jayden E (50m Freestyle)

Ayden H (50m Freestyle, 50m Breaststroke)

Liam M (50m Backstroke)

They did very well to reach this very high level of competition and we are proud of them all.

The class presenting at our Week 9 assembly is Year 1.

When dropping your child off in the morning on Cox Crescent, please remember to stay in your car if it is after 8.30am. Parking in this area can cause safety issues with cars overtaking or cutting in line while others are trying to pull out. Also parking in a school zone can incur a hefty fine. 

If you wish to purchase any items from our school clothing pool, please email the school office via dundasvalley@parra.catholic.edu.au . If the items are available, they will be sent home with your child. We are no longer able to have uniforms paid for via QKR! app, as unfortunately refunds aren't able to be processed if your required uniforms aren't available.  Therefore all payments need to be processed via EFTPOS only in the school office.