Bonjour tout le monde

Welcome back to Term 4. I hope the break from the school routine gave everyone a chance to relax and recharge for the final term for the year.

I was very fortunate to spend three weeks overseas, 10 days on Pilgrimage in Italy with other Catholic Primary School Principals and 10 days in Spain. Highlights of the pilgrimage were the Papal audience (with 10,000 or so others), visiting the tomb of Pope Francis, celebrating Mass in the Grotto Cave at Santa Mont' Angelo where the Angel Gabriel is said to have appeared, visiting the Hermitage where St Francis of Assisi spent much of his time and of course having the opportunity to pass through the Holy Doors at the four major Basilicas in Rome, St Peter's, St Mary Major, St John's in Lateran and St Paul's Outside the Wall.

School Photos

School Photos are next Tuesday, 14th October. All students need to be wearing their Summer Uniform. Please see the specific Arthur Reed Photos page in the newsletter for more details.

There is a clash with Division Athletics and we have arranged the photo timetable around event times.

Class Groupings for 2026

In preparing for the 2026 school year, our teachers will soon begin the process of placing the children into class groupings. As you can appreciate, there are a number of considerations for classroom placement, including but not limited to the following:

• Gender balance

• Academic ability

• Social and Emotional learning needs

• Behavioural needs

• Separation of siblings / relatives

I ask you to trust the teachers’ judgement and professionalism in making a decision that is in each child’s best interest. However, if you have any relevant information regarding the placement of your child, please email me directly on principal@sbedesbn.catholic.edu.au to request a ‘Consideration for Placement of Student Form 2026’. This information will be taken into account when teachers are placing children in classes. The form needs to be submitted directly to me, not to the classroom teachers, by Friday 31st October. Any previous discussions with your child’s teacher/s, must be redirected to me via this form. No requests will be considered after this time.

Please note, requests for children to be placed together or with a specific teacher are not relevant factors and will not be considered. The students have the opportunity to request students they work with and teachers are aware of the children’s friendships. Social factors such as children not relating well together may be considered, but this reason must be submitted on the official form.

If you are not planning to return to St Bede's in 2026, please let me know as soon as possible.

Que Dieu bénisse

Kathryn

MACSEYE (MACS Early Years Education)