Principal's Update
Per Vias Rectas
Congratulations
To our students and staff on the positive start to the school year and the focus, energy and commitment that has been given to learning and contributing to the school community. In classrooms, school activities and in the yard one can see so many students and staff striving for personal excellence. These early weeks of the school year have already seen assemblies, swimming and football training, incursions and excursions, Masses, liturgies and retreats, the Year 7 Welcome Picnic and Year 7 Camps, the College Family Mass, production rehearsals, ACC sport, leadership activities and peer support training. Behind this strong start are three simple but powerful drivers of success: Persistence, Effort and Attitude. When students persist through challenge, apply consistent effort, and approach their learning with a positive and respectful attitude, they place themselves in the strongest position to achieve personal excellence.
To all students and House Captains for their enthusiastic involvement in the House Athletics Carnivals. Great to see the rivalry and competitive banter along with the many fine performances. For 2026, McCristal House has claimed the honours.
Our annual 1500m race in honour of Phil Hackett, former teacher and cross-country coach, is called the “Hackett Mile.” Congratulations to each of the Year Level Winners and to Eoin and Massimo who both tied at the fastest run time of 4.29! Attention now turns to the ACC Athletics Carnival to be held on March 17.
To our soccer stars, Conor H (Year 7) and Luka D (Year 11), who have each been selected for elite international experiences in training and competition, respectively.
Best wishes to our teams Valiant and Vitality who have made it to the 2026 STEM Racing National Finals against 40 teams from Australia and New Zealand competing here at St Bede’s College from 20-22 March. The prize: Australian National Champions and through to the 2026 World Finals in Singapore.
It was so nice to catch up with many of the newest members of our community at the Year 7 Welcome Picnic and later at the College Family Mass. I hope that it is the start of a successful, enjoyable and rewarding journey for all families!
I am certain that the boys are most grateful to the Parents & Friends Association for supplying each class with a football, soccer ball and basketball. It is great to see these flying around during each of the class breaks.
Communication Between Home and College
The College-home partnership promotes regular, respectful and open communication – a partnership centred on each student’s care, interests, and formation. Correspondence from families to staff and vice versa is crucial, as we all share the same hopes and aspirations for our students.
The increase in College-home communication in recent years is very much driven by statutory requirements for the safety and security of students, by the ease/convenience of digital platforms and by a desire from parents to be kept informed on school matters. Communication between us and your home, uses the platforms and tools outlined below.
College Website - Our website the central hub for sourcing important information and various College policies and other important College documents. It is also home to a variety of news, events, daily calendar and publications, videos, and a reference to our history, governance and the building of Beda Spirit.
The Parent Portal is of particular value to families, with its list of helpful resources and links. The College Synergetic Portal allows families to securely make payments and access past financial information.
Email - Email provides direct communication to families and may come from a variety of College sources. General communications will be directly sent to email addresses listed as contacts with students enrolled at the College. Please note that some staff work part-time and, in accordance with the “Right to Disconnect” legislation, staff may not read or respond to emails outside of designated work hours.
PAM (Parent Access Module) and SIMON - PAM and SIMON are two online platforms the College uses to share important information regarding Teaching and Learning.
PAM allows families to refer to current student assessment schedules and track progress for each Subject or Course. PAM can also be used to report student absences, book Parent Teacher Student Interviews, access student timetables, contact staff and more. I strongly encourage all families to familiarise themselves with the various functions available in PAM and to access the information which is regularly updated.
SIMON is our Learning Management System and allows staff and students to access select aspects of Learning and Teaching. Specific notifications are also sent through SIMON to students and families when assessments are marked and finalised. Similarly, pastoral, behavioural and academic messages are shared. All Academic Student Reports are delivered via SIMON and PAM, and current performance data within respective subjects will be available. This is an area of communication that is continually expanding.
When parental permission or digital signoff is required, an email is sent via SIMON and will also pop up in your PAM account. This may require the nominated family member to approve permissions and medical details for College activities, camps and excursions. This consent is completed through PAM.
Parent Information Evenings - Parent Information Evenings (in person and online) are another way in which the College-home partnership can be strengthened. They deliver essential information about course details, career pathways, student formation programs and Student Wellbeing initiatives.
Likewise, our Parent Teacher Student Interviews are scheduled at various times in the College calendar, with the first of these scheduled for March 11, 20 and 26. Specific details about these interviews, how they will be conducted, and the process for booking individual appointments are provided in the weeks leading up to the interview sessions. Once again, important and specific information about student progress is shared on such occasions.
St Bede’s College App - Our College App ties together all the above systems and links into one place for your convenience. Download the College App to your smartphone using the links below:
SIMON Everywhere App – The SIMON Everywhere App has now been released and provides a quicker and easier way to access your PAM account on your mobile device. It will send you a notification when you are required to respond to a permission request and provides quick shortcuts to the most accessed areas of PAM. To install, enter School Code: 598656
Social Media - These channels are a great way to stay up to date with what’s happening in daily student life at the College. You can connect with us on:
Our College is committed to effective, respectful, open and timely communication that leverages emerging platforms and trends, and we thank families for your continued support.
Lent
Having observed Ash Wednesday on 18 February, we are now well into the Lenten season and the Church’s preparation for Easter. During Lent, which runs until Holy Thursday, we focus on three pillars.
Firstly, prayer: Lent is a time to reflect more deeply about our lives and where we are headed.
Secondly, fasting: This is not just about giving something up, it can be about taking something up. It is during this time that we make some adjustment to our lives so that God can be more present.
Finally, almsgiving: Lent is a time to fundraise, in our case for Caritas, but also a time to build global awareness of humanitarian needs and the role that we can each play in advocating for a fairer and more just world. The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference recently released the first of two Social Justice statements, “The Cost of Our Living: Economic and Social Justice for the Common Good.”
It can be accessed at https://www.catholic.au: Social Justice Statements
A Project Compassion Lenten Prayer
God of all love,
We remember that on the night before you died
Your son, Jesus prayed
that his friends “may all be one.”
Yet we see so much division in the world.
War, conflict, violence and hatred
must all distress you.
Millions of people suffer
when they don’t have peace and respect.
They lack the necessities of life: food, water,
health, education and security.
We pray that we may all
Unite Against Poverty this Lent.
May our support for Project Compassion
be a sign to ourselves and others,
of our hope for a better world.
This Lent, we pray that our dedication
to prayer, fasting and almsgiving
will help restore your vision of justice and peace.
Guided by the Holy Spirit,
We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen
International Women’s Day
Globally this week we celebrate International Women’s Day. Our Parents & Friends Association has hosted another well-attended breakfast event. With the Winter Olympics having just concluded, it was fitting to welcome aerial skiier Jacqui Cooper as our guest speaker.
Jacqui represented Australia in aerial skiing for over 20 years. In a long and decorated career, Jacqui has competed in 139 World Cup Events, nine World Championships and has been selected to five Winter Olympic teams - the first Australian Woman in history (Summer or Winter Games) to have enjoyed this honour. And with a record five world titles, 39 World Cup medals, 24 World Cup wins and three major World Championship medals, Jacqui Cooper is indisputably the greatest aerial skier of all time. Her 20-year career marked by world records, extraordinary comebacks from horrendous injuries, and unwavering resilience is proof of what’s possible when you back yourself and dream beyond the limits.
Jacqui is perfectly placed to speak to us about resilience, mindset, the power of goalsetting, and setting the challenge of aiming higher and thinking bigger.
International Women’s Day is a celebration of respect, love and care towards women. It is wonderful that this special day has an important place in our own College and the wider community.
I am particularly proud that it forms an essential part of the curriculum and formation programs within St Bede’s College, and that teaching and talking about respectful relationships forms part of the holistic education of our students. Our boys are respectfully challenged to examine and fully appreciate the historical struggle of women to find equality, to be aware of the empowerment of women, to celebrate their many achievements and to develop a genuine and deep respect for all women. All have been encouraged to open some sincere, honest and developmentally appropriate discussions on this theme if such an opportunity arises.
Jacqui Cooper
Jacqui Cooper
St Bede’s College is first and foremost a Catholic School in the Lasallian tradition. As a College, we work together with families in the education and formation of young men who will engage in respectful relationships with women. We take on the challenge to “Balance the Scales” so that our graduates and those boys who are at school now, will stand up and speak up, and will promote and expect equality, dignity, and respect.
I take this opportunity to acknowledge all the women who work and volunteer in our College and thank them for the amazing and essential work they do in supporting, teaching, coaching, leading and advising our young men. I acknowledge, also, the mothers and female carers of our boys. Our College Community must be representative of our broader society in that our students must see women in positions of influence as well as care, in leadership as well as service, and in support of all our endeavours as educators in knowledge, values and faith.
Per Vias Rectas
Deb Frizza
Principal
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation, whose ancient wisdom nurtured these lands and waters for millennia.