St Bernadette's Primary School Dundas Valley

This is my last piece for the St Bernadette’s Newsletter as I will be moving to Good Shepherd, Plumpton as Assistant Principal in 2023. Having worked in a small school, as I have previously, it will be a big change and I must admit that I am a little nervous. It will most definitely be a challenge but something that I am looking forward to. 

That is something I hope that we as teachers, and you as parents, encourage in our students - the challenge of change and the excitement of challenge. Change is really hard, especially for children. Children thrive on routine - they are at their best when they go to bed at the same time, go to school regularly and participate in regular after school activities - but they do need to know how to handle change. This week we farewell another cohort of Year 6 students who move off to the adventure of high school. We prepare them as much as we can with the practicalities of high school, but we also try and prepare them for all the other changes they will face, such as making friends, being on time for classes and being organised and independent.   We also need to encourage our children to embrace new challenges, even when they appear hard or scary. Challenging situations help us to grow and prepare for the next stage in our lives. 

I want to thank the whole St Bernadette’s community for my time here. It was a pleasure to work with our staff and families through the most challenging of times and see the way the school community rallied afterward to come back together and enjoy events together again. I know that every member of staff has each and every child’s best interests at heart and work so hard to see each one of them achieve their goals. I will always look back on my time at St Bernadette’s with happiness which is due to the wonderful community that exists here. Thank you and have a wonderful Christmas break filled with special times with family and friends. 

Have a wonderful week,

Jackie Willard

Assistant Principal

Just Man Dreaming

Joseph could not ignore Mary’s pregnancy, but he had an exceptional large-heartedness, so that he preserved a future for Mary even though she had apparently wronged him.

If he had gone to sleep in a frame of mind to avenge his honour, he would not have been ready to have the deepest levels of his consciousness stirred in the way God wanted. In the deep sleep of a just and good man, Joseph was enlightened as to the divine dimension of Mary’s pregnancy. The old cycle of human history, literally generation after generation, was being broken. Something utterly new had happened.

You and I are just as likely to receive an intuition as to God’s plan for us in the depths of sleep: who we really are, who we are destined to be, where we fit in to God’s plan for transforming the whole of creation. When we get these instructive moments in our sleep, what can we do when we wake up? We can do what Joseph did: get up and do what is needed to fulfil the message.

We could pause for a moment to thank Joseph for showing what dreams can be made of. Tonight might be the night!

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

Who do you know who is expecting a baby?

How are they preparing for the birth?

How are we preparing for the birth of Jesus?

On Wednesday we celebrated our Year 6 Liturgy. It was a perfect way to send our students off on the next part of their learning journey. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Miss Stephanie, Miss Carly and all of those involved in making this such a beautiful event. Thanks also to our amazing Year 5 families who provided such an awesome spread of goodies for the Year 6 students and families to enjoy.

Please notify our office as soon as possible, if you know that you may be leaving St Bernadette’s at the end of this year. As you know, you are required to give ten weeks notice if you are leaving. Please contact our office for a copy of a leaving form that must be completed.

We thank you for your ongoing support.

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. 

Families can apply for $150 in vouchers for each child who attends a primary, secondary school or home-schooling in NSW in 2023. Find out more about the Back to School NSW Vouchers.