From the Principal

Principal - Ms Julie Di Noto

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the kindness and mercy You continually show us. Help me to reflect Your heart by treating others with compassion, patience, gentleness, and love.

Your Word says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). Help me not only to receive Your kindness but to extend it freely to everyone I meet.

Give me eyes to notice those who are hurting, a heart willing to help, and words that encourage rather than discourage. When I am tired, frustrated, or misunderstood, remind me to respond with grace.

Lord, make kindness a natural expression of Your presence in my life. May my actions point others toward You and show them something of Your love.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

St Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us.

Dear St Bernard’s Community,

Celebrating my very first St Bernard’s Day was a truly memorable experience! A heartfelt thank you to all the families who joined us for Mass and helped make the celebration so special. It was wonderful to see our Prep students lead us in singing the final hymn and share the beautiful message, “Let your light shine,” inspired by St Bernard’s example of service to others. Throughout the day, our students participated in a variety of activities, creating a joyful and meaningful celebration for all. We were also excited to host our inaugural ‘St Bernard’s Got Talent’ show, which showcased the wonderful talents of our students. Thanks to our BPC for organising a special treat lunch for students and to Don's Smallgoods for donating the hotdogs. We really appreciate their support. What a wonderful way to celebrate the spirit of St Bernard and the values of faith, service and community!

I am thrilled to share the fantastic news that our Walkathon fundraiser raised a phenomenal  $10,600.50! A huge thank you to our generous school community for your enthusiasm, hard work and support in making this achievement possible. We are now one quarter of the way towards reaching our goal of installing brand new playground equipment for our students. This is an exciting milestone, and we look forward to continuing our fundraising efforts throughout this year and into 2027. We will keep our fundraising thermometer updated below so our community can follow our progress towards reaching our goal.

A special congratulations to our top three fundraisers, who will be presented with their prizes at our next assembly on Friday 4th September: The highest fundraising class will also be announced.

🥇 First Prize: A $250 voucher and a hamper donated by Anthony Cianflone MP 

🥈 Second Prize: A $100 voucher and a Messina voucher (donated)

🥉 Third Prize: A $50 voucher and an AFL Max voucher (donated)

Thank you once again to everyone who participated, fundraised and supported this wonderful initiative. Also, thank you to our BPC members who organised and led this fundraiser. Every contribution brings us one step closer to creating an exciting new playground for our students!

Yesterday it was pleasing to see our staff and students transform into much loved book characters and celebrate the joy that stories and literature bring to our lives. Ms Bridget and I loved transforming into a caterpillar and butterfly inspired by the children’s classic ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar.’ At St Bernard’s we understand the importance of not only teaching children how to read, but supporting them to develop a genuine love of reading. Our goal is for reading to become a choice and a source of enjoyment. Focusing on books, authors and stories over the next fortnight provides a wonderful opportunity to nurture this love of literature and encourage our students to discover the joy, imagination and possibilities that come with reading.

I understand that pets are an important part of many families’ lives and that children enjoy seeing their furry friends at school. However, not all children feel comfortable around dogs. To ensure everyone feels safe, please keep dogs on a short, secure leash and under control at all times around the school grounds and entrances. Please also be mindful of children or adults who may be nervous around dogs and avoid allowing dogs to approach or jump on students or families. Thank you for your support with this. 

A reminder about our upcoming Father's Day celebration. Join us from 8am on Friday 4th September, outside the 5/6 Hub for a special Father's Day Paper Plane Challenge. Students and their dads or special male role models are invited to enjoy a delicious donut while working together to design and build the ultimate paper plane. At 8.50am Dads and special male role models are invited to join their children in the classroom for morning prayer. 

Currently, all Catholic schools are working through planning and budgeting activities for 2027 to ensure we are well placed to support our staff, students and school communities in the coming year. This includes looking at how we can accommodate the changes likely to flow from a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) with school staff. We recognise the significant financial pressures many households are facing, and we are making a conscious effort to ensure these costs are not passed on through significant fee increases. We will continue to keep our parent community informed throughout this process. As always, our focus remains on maintaining strong school communities and continuing to deliver a high-quality Catholic education for every student 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, our school closure planned for the first day of Term 4, Monday 5th October, has now been changed to Friday 30th October. Teachers will be participating in professional development on this day. Thank you for your understanding. 

Tonight we will be hosting our Grades 3-6 Student Learning in Action night show-casing data and statistics in grades 3/4 and angles in 5/6.  Families are welcome to join their children in the classroom from 5.30-6.30pm.

This Friday we will be hosting two additional ‘Mini Bernie’s Little Scholars Taste of School’ sessions for children aged 3, 4 or 5 years old and their parents. These sessions will showcase our new STEM Lab and engage young children with the curriculum area of Science.  Bookings are now open. 

Parents and carers are urged to uphold our Parent Code of Conduct by treating one another with courtesy and respect. If an issue or concern arises with another member of our school community, please do not approach or confront other parents, carers or students directly. Instead, speak with a member of staff so that concerns can be addressed calmly and appropriately. Additionally, parents who enrol their child at St Bernard’s agree to follow the terms and conditions regarding parent conduct. Below are excerpts from the Enrolment Form and the Parent/Carer Code of Conduct, which can also be found under “Policies” on our school website. These reminders outline the responsibilities all parents share as members of our school community. If concerns arise about any incident at school, they should always be raised with your child’s teacher or school leadership - never directly with a child or with another child’s parent. Thank you for helping us create a safe, respectful and inclusive environment where every child, family and staff member feels welcome.

Terms and Conditions of Enrolment:

8.6 The parents/guardians/carers agree to comply with any code of conduct for parents/guardians/ carers or other policy implemented by the school from time to time which sets out the school’s expectations of parents/guardians/carers who have a student enrolled at the school.

Parent Code of Conduct: Unacceptable conduct:

• approaching a child that is not your own with a view to disciplining that child for their behaviour. Such matters are only to be dealt with by school staff.

• approaching other school parents to resolve issues arising between students at school. Such matters should be referred to school staff.

Next week, a letter will be sent home inviting families to participate in Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS). MACSSIS is an annual process whereby schools listen to the thoughts and feelings that students, families and staff have about how their school can improve. Completing this survey will help inform the ongoing improvement of St Bernard’s Primary School. The survey opens on Monday 31st August and closes Friday 18th September. A pin is required to login which will be sent home next week. The survey link is www.orima.com.au/macsfamily 

Due to St Bernard’s Feast Day celebrations assembly was cancelled last week. Our next assembly will be held on Friday 4th September. Grades 1/2 will be presenting. 

A huge congratulations to two of our grade 5 students Luna and Isabel. Luna has been nominated for incredible youth acting in the upcoming young Australian film festival. She is also in another short film for the same film festival which will be playing on the IMAX screen. Isabel has won a national award in a cyclocross cycling competition, finishing first. Well done to both students. 

Our SRC will be organising a Footy Dress Up day on Thursday 17th September and will be selling zooper doopers. More information will be shared soon.  

Please find an updated MACS board-approved Student Bullying Prevention and Response Policy on our school website policies page. 

Have a wonderful fortnight. 

Warm regards

Julie Di Noto (Principal)