From the Principal's Desk
Gratitude is the pillar of the Thanksgiving and Advent seasons.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord,
we spend time prayerfully reflecting on the abundance of blessings
St Bernard’s community has received in 2025 through Jesus Christ.
We thank Him for the gifts He has given us.
With deepest gratitude we also thank you for the
Blessings, service and support you have given to St Bernard’s community
and for sharing them abundantly.
You are greatly appreciated!
Lord Bless all in St Bernard’s community, AMEN!
Dear St Bernard’s Community,
It has been a big week for our little school. Due to our outstanding NAPLAN results along with the Age Newspaper publication last week, our school has become famous! We were not only featured in the newspaper but also on social media pages @melbournecatholicschools and @anthonycianflonemp. St Bernard’s was listed as ‘one of the state’s top-performing schools in the city’s north.’ This is an AMAZING achievement. Well done and congratulations to everyone in St Bernard’s school community who made this possible. I would like to acknowledge St Bernard’s previous principal Ms Joanne Doherty and Teaching and Learning Leader Mr Iain Reed, and the entire leadership team and staff (past and present), for all their hard work and commitment to improve student outcomes. Congratulations St Bernard’s! We are a little school with BIG results! If you have a subscription to The Age, you can view the full article here Victoria’s star NAPLAN primary and secondary schools revealed.
The Year 6 students enjoyed a wonderful day at ‘Funfields’ last week. There were many exhausted students upon arrival back to school! Some ride highlights were the waterslides, lazy river and wave pool. Congratulations to the students for representing St Bernard’s with pride and for their team work and spirit ensuring all students had a fun filled day! I am looking forward to celebrating our Graduation Mass and ceremony this Thursday evening from 5pm. A reminder that Year 6 students are expected to wear full school uniform.
This year we have introduced a few additional processes as part of the appointment of school captains. Last week I thoroughly enjoyed listening to 12 potential candidates who presented a speech to Grades 3-6 students about why they would make an exceptional school captain. Students and staff then had an opportunity to vote. Based on student and teacher votes 8 students were shortlisted for an interview with me. Despite the students feeling a little nervous, they were successfully able to share their leadership vision for St Bernard’s with me. They all should be commended for the way they approached the interview, with great enthusiasm and maturity.
It was an extremely difficult decision selecting only 4 school captains. I am thrilled to announce our 2026 school captains.
Congratulations to Adrian, Amira, Francesca and Rose.
Other student leadership roles appointed are:
Sports : Greta and Rafael
Faith and Action : Ariana and Joseph
Sustainability : Aimee and Hugo
This Friday we will have a Thanksgiving Afternoon Tea Thank You Afternoon Tea Invitation Please RSVP your attendance to schooladmin@stbernardscoburg.catholic.edu.au Following the afternoon tea we will have our final assembly for the year, hosted by our fabulous Foundation students. Families are also invited to St Bernard’s end of year Thanksgiving Mass on Tuesday December at 9.30am, wehre we will present our new school captains with their badges.. St Bernard's Thanksgiving Mass Invitation to Parents
I am pleased to announce our Leadership Staff for 2026. Classroom Teacher Year Level allocations, Specialist and Learning Support roles will be shared this Friday on Audiri.
Leadership Team
Deputy Principal(s) - Ms Bridget and Ms Lesa B
RE Leader - Ms Lesa
Learning and Teaching Leader and Literacy Leader - Ms Bridget
Learning Diversity Leader - Ms Franca
Maths Leader and Wellbeing Leader - Mr Nick
Digital Technologies Leader - Ms Lisa G
I am also excited to inform you that we will be introducing Art as a specialist subject in 2026. We will also be introducing STEM in Semester 2, which will alternate with Digital Technologies.
I would like to congratulate Ms Megan on her new appointment in 2026 at St Monica's Moonee Ponds. Megan has been a valued member of staff at St Bernard's for over 20 years. I would like to thank Megan for her contribution to St Bernard’s and wish her every success in the future! The community will farewell Megan at our end of year mass next week.
The weather is looking good for our Carols event next Monday 15 December from 5.30pm. A reminder that you are welcome to bring along a picnic as we celebrate the Christmas season together. Thankyou for your assistance in ensuring that this is a child friendly event, by not bringing any alcohol. This year the BPC have organised a food truck which will be providing coffees, frappes, slushies, ice cream and choc tops. Some of the profit will be donated to the school. The BPC will also be selling popcorn and lolly bags.
On Monday 15th December, students are invited to dress up in ‘Christmas Themed’ Casual Clothes to celebrate the season. See this invitation for more details. Our last day of school will be on Tuesday 16 December finishing at 1pm. Just before the bell, students and families will form a guard of honour for our Year 6 students farewelling St Bernard’s for the last time.
A reminder that we are asking for an expression of interest from families of Year 4–6 students who would like to be considered for the District Swimming Carnival to be held in February 2026. Please see Expression of Interest Guidelines and criteria for selection
Two new policies have been added to our website - Curriculum, Assessment and
Reporting Policy for MACS Schools – 2025 and Curriculum, Assessment and
Reporting Overview for Parents and Carers – 2025. These can be both viewed on our website under the Policies tab.
As this is the final newsletter for the year I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for making me feel so welcome at St Bernard’s this term. It has been a heart warming experience getting to know the students, teachers and parents. I feel extremely blessed to have joined this wonderful school community and thank St Bernard’s staff for their incredible efforts in facing new challenges, for their professionalism, hard work and dedication to ensuring the very best for our students. I would like to express my thanks to Father Leo who has been a valuable support for not only me, but all the staff and students. I wish you all a joyful Christmas. I hope you have a safe holiday break and I look forward to seeing the children at the ‘Getting to Know You' chats on Wednesday 28 January, booking details on learning page.
Wishing you all a blessed second week of Advent.
Julie Di Noto
Principal
Reminders
The school office will be closed from Tuesday 16th December at 1pm and return on Tuesday 27th January 2026.
If you need to be in contact please email schooladmin@stbernardscoburg.catholic.edu.au, this email will be checked periodically during the holidays.
Term Dates for next year on the School Calendar
2026 Commencement Dates
Wednesday 28 January : Foundation students commence 9:00am - 1:00pm and Years 1-6 Getting to Know You Chats
Thursday 29 January : Years 1-6 Students commence