Dear Parents and Guardians

It was absolutely wonderful to be able to celebrate the first of our two Confirmations on Tuesday evening. It was a very special occasion for those who were in attendance.

Fr John made sure it was special for each candidate. The second of our Confirmation celebrations is tonight commencing at 6.00pm. I remind our community that anyone 16+ is required to show proof of being double vaccinated before entering the church. I look forward to seeing our candidates and their families tonight.

School Photos

You will have seen an email from Chris in the Office about a change to our Photo Day. This was made so that we are able to organise the swimming program and the many excursions throughout the school . We are attempting to fit a lot into the last few weeks of this term!! Thank you for your understanding.

Classes

Teachers are currently working on classes for next year. Many factors are taken into consideration when placing students in classes , e.g social, academic, class dynamics. Thank you to those parents who sent through educational requests. All requests are considered when placing students in classes. Please remember they are only requests. I am conscious of parents requesting friends for their child. If I followed through with one parent's request regarding friends then I would need to do this for all families. Students complete a sociogram and are guaranteed one of those friends. It might not be their "best friend" but it will be someone from their list who they work well with.

Rapid Antigen testing.

There have been many media reports about the introduction of Rapid Antigen Tests into primary schools after day 7. I attended a webinar on Monday night that discussed how this program will be implemented. It is important to note that the program is an "opt in" program. This means that both the school and parents are required to "opt in". I just want to reassure our community that St Bede's will be opting in if we were to receive another case. It is also interesting to note that The Rapid Antigen Tests are only allowed to be used if the child is exposed to COVID 19 at school, not if a child is exposed outside of school. Updates will be provided regularly. ( Please also see a complete letter further on in our newsletter)

Staff News

Kahli Schroder has informed me that she will be taking maternity leave at the end of first term next year. This is a very exciting time for Kahli and Lachlan and their immediate families. It will be the first grandchild on either side of the family.

The complete staffing will be in next weeks newsletter.

Parents & Friends Annual General Meeting

Our Parents and Friends AGM will be held tonight 18th November at 7.00pm online.

This meeting will be held via Microsoft teams and the link is as follows:

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

The Parents and Friends are always seeking volunteers. I ask that you seriously consider joining. I look forward to seeing many parents online tonight

Swimming

The swimming program will commence on Monday 29th of November.

The program will be conducted at Camberwell Grammar and we will have exclusive use of the pool.

The timetable is outlined below. I ask that you please ensure the caremonkey/operoo form is completed and the questionnaire about your child's swimming ability also.

Week 9 Monday to Thursday

9.10 am two Year 3/4 classes (50 kids) - Leave school at 8.45am

9.50 Two Year 2 classes (44 kids) - Leave school at 9.20am

10.30 Year 1 (19) and One 3/4 class (25) - Leave school at 10.00am

11.10 Preps (34) -Leave school at 10.40am

Year 5/6 will have a 2 hour swim lesson and water safety theory and practical session on Monday 6 December - from 9.15 to 11.15am

I thank Richard Price for coordinating the program and in particular ensuring we has exclusive use of the pool during our sessions.

Have a great week

Brian

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