Reflection

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Dear Parents and Friends,

We have made it to the end of a busy, but rewarding school year!

Thank you to the Grade 6 families who were able to join us for the Graduation celebration in our hall on Monday night. It was wonderful for our Grade 6 students to be able to gather and celebrate the conclusion of seven years of primary school with their families and teachers.

Congratulations to Jack McCarthy for receiving the Brigidine Award and to the Banjo Harris winners - Phoebe Alexander, Kyle Tyers, Minnie Humphrey, Joh McLaughlin, Maddie Craven, Oscar Edwards and Baxter Penny.

The Library Award went to Darcy Pigram & Trinity Turnbull.

We wish our Grade Six graduates all the best as they continue into their secondary schooling. May they enjoy all the experiences that life offers them in the future!

Nativity Presentation

We were delighted to be able to perform the Nativity Story on Wednesday

We thank our Performing Arts teacher, Louise Gulliford, for all the preparation and planning that she has done with our students over the term. Everyone had a fabulous time presenting the nativity. Thank you to all who were able to join us.

Farewell to Grade 6 Families

At our recent graduation celebration, we bid farewell to many families who are leaving St. Bernard’s, as their youngest child heads to secondary school. We thank these families for their contributions to our school community during the time they were with us and hope they enjoy the next stage of their children’s educational journey.

Grade 6 Day Out

Our Grade Six students had a fabulous farewell celebration yesterday at the Supa Bowl and Aquatic Centre. This final day of celebration with their peers and teachers was a fun and memorable way to finish their primary school years.

Farewell to Staff:

We bid farewell to some staff members, who are moving onto new adventures:

Jenny Symes, our Deputy Principal has completed her time as Deputy Principal at St. Bernard’s. Jen began her teaching at St. Bernard’s in 1999. During that time she has held various roles and notably her role as Deputy since 2008.

During this time Jen has been a remarkable advocate for the children at St. Bernard’s, ensuring that the learning environment that we provided was the best it could be. She collaborated with myself on building projects that saw every part of our school updated, or newly built to ensure that the physical buildings and outdoor spaces were contemporary, welcoming and places where best practice could flourish.

Jen worked to ensure that the learning that happened in these spaces was led by professional staff who engaged in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to ensure that our delivery of learning was current, reflective of global trends and had the child at the centre of the learning that was consistent across grade levels.

Jen’s driving mantra in her vocation has always been what’s best for the children, and this has guided every decision made by Jen. Jen’s support in my role as Principal has been crucial, and has manifested in our school being the exceptional place that it is today.

We wish Jen all the best in her next adventure in life and wish to thank her family, husband Warren, and sons Jake and Tom who have been supportive of her over her years as Deputy Principal, particularly those times when school related issues took precedence over family time.

We also wish the following teachers well:

Lucia Alesiani, our Italian teacher, will work at Our Lady’s Primary next year, and support schools with relief teaching. We thank Lucia for her many years at St. Bernard’s supporting our Language program and wish her well for the future.

Danielle O’Grady, our Foundation teacher, will begin a new role at Cathedral College next year. We thank Danielle for the 18 months that she has been with us and wish Danielle all the best in her new school.

Louise Anthony, our Grade 5/6 teacher, will return to Wangaratta Primary School, after working at our school for 12 months. Louise had 12 months leave from Wangaratta Primary. We thank Louise for her time with our senior students and wish Louise all the best for her future in education!

We wish Elena Keir (our Science and Literacy Support teacher) and her husband, Brendan, all the best as they look forward to the arrival of their second child in the new year. We look forward to Elena’s return in the second semester of 2023.

Finally, we wish Jill Lewis, our Visual Arts teacher, an exciting year as she extends her teaching experience in Galen College’s Visual Arts Department, next year.

THANK YOU!!

As we come to the end of another year of learning at St. Bernard’s I would like to take this opportunity to thank our amazing staff for their enthusiasm, energy and support for the children in our care. I feel really blessed to be able to work with such a hard working and caring staff.

I thank all the parents in our school community for the time and energy you have put into supporting your child/children with their learning and for the support you extend to our school and to our staff.

Finally, I would like to thank Fr. Shibu and Fr. Nathan for their support of our school at our Liturgies and Masses in 2022! I wish all our families a Chirst filled Christmas and a safe Holiday time.

School will resume for our students in 2023 on Monday 30th January at 9am.

Our Foundation students will begin on the same day.

December
Thursday 15th	Last day of school for students
Friday 16th	Last day of school for staff


January

Friday 27th	Staff start back
Monday 30th	Student first day Term 1


March
Monday 13th	Labour Day Holiday

Important Dates...

Term 4

2023

Term 1