Principal's message

Catholic Education Week. 

This week we celebrate Catholic Education Week.   

The Jubilee Year is a sacred year of prayer and pilgrimage during which we are called to seek forgiveness and strengthen our relationships with God, with one another, and with all of creation. Pope Francis inaugurated the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope on Christmas Eve, (24 December 2024) when he opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica.  Pope Francis promulgated the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, calling us to be 'Pilgrims of Hope'.  

To support us to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, Bishop Shane has named five pilgrimage sites in the Sandhurst Diocese and invites us to embark on a journey of reconciliation and renewal to these holy places. These places will form part of our daily prayer this week,  focusing on the story of our diocese. 

To further embrace being Pilgrims of Hope, our children will participate in the St. Bernard's pilgrimage.  The children will be led by their teacher on a special journey to the holy places in our school yard.  Journeying to these places will help them to feel closer to God and to learn more about themselves, the world and our school.

Wednesday  Sandhurst Switches off 

Along with all Catholic schools in our diocese, St. Bernard's will turn off our lights and any other devices on Wednesday, this action is symbolic of our commitment to the preservation of God’s fragile creation.  It is also symbolic of our solidarity with those who are suffering due to climate change. We are working to reimagine our partnership with all of creation and to care for it more intentionally.

Mother's Day Celebrations

Details regarding our Mother's Day celebrations are located in the newsletter. 

On Thursday we have the Mother's day stall, 

On Friday we have the  Mother's Breakfast beginning at 8.00am followed by the Mother's Day mass at 9.00. 

We encourage parents to sit with their child for this mass.  The mass is the high point of our faith and a sacred time, we hope that Mother's will sit with their child to experience this very special time together. 

Safe on Social  

On the 21st May (date to be confirmed) at 6.30 pm parents are urged to join us in our school hall to listen to Anna form Safe on Social.  She will visit our school specifically to speak with our students from Grades three to 6 and to speak with parents in order to help support you to ensure your child's safety when using digital devices.  I can not recommend these sessions highly enough, any parent who has attended in the past knows that each year the new advances in the field are shared and spoken about.  I would think that every parent would want to hear the very latest from experts about the ways to protect your child from advances in technology that can be potentially harmful. Please make this session a priority to attend!!

Pupil Free Day

St. Bernard's staff will be engaging with other Catholic Schools on June18th for a day of Professional Learning.  Children will not be attending school on this day.

Eucharist and Confirmation

The process for the preparation and receiving of the sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation will be changing this year.  A detailed letter will be sent to our families involved in this at the start of next week.  

School Advisory Council

We are seeking two additional members from the parent community for the St. Bernard's School Advisory Council. 

In 2025 the Council will meet six times on a Wednesday evening. 

The meetings generally run for 1 hour and have a set agenda with a different key focus area for each meeting. The Advisory Council serves as a consultative and advisory group for the Principal, a means through which the Catholic Education Sandhurst Ltd Board receives information and feedback from the broader school community. 

It is also an active forum for parent and local community participation, providing support and advice primarily in strategic planning and school improvement. 

If this opportunity is of interest to you, you are welcome to contact Patricia Boak, Principal or Kristyn McAsey , Administration Leader by phone or email for more information. 

If you would like to nominate yourself (or someone else), please email principal@sbwangaratta.catholic.edu.au by Wednesday 14th May. 

Please include some brief information about yourself including skills and expertise and what your motivation is for nominating. Once the nomination period has closed, the Principal will work with a representative of Catholic Education Sandhurst in a discernment process and nominees will be advised of the outcome. 

Have a great week

Patricia Boak

Principal