Year 8s

Year 8 Bentleigh East Campus

As the young men have embarked on the second year of secondary school, our focus in Year 8 has been on returning to routine. With two interrupted school years and lots of changes during this time, the process of returning to the school routine can be daunting for some. St Bede’s College has teamed up with The Resilience Project and our school diaries have been produced in partnership with The Resilience Project education program. The program supports mental health in the classroom, staffroom and family home. The three key pillars are Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness (GEM). 

The following infographic shows the spread of mental health and how it can affect and be part of everyone’s lives, from the great work on Hugh Van Cuylenburgh and The Resilience Project Team.

The Resilience Project, 2022 

It is through the development of practice in Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness that lead us to be more present and aware of our feelings and those around us. We look forward to the keys the students, staff and families will develop using the diaries and focusing on the GEM to develop good practices. 

As we continue into our busy term, we have already started March. I want to remind all students to immerse themselves in all aspects of school life, as we come to the end of Term 1 there are many co-curricular activities to get involved in. Some of the best experiences from high school, can be from these community activities. 

We understand the importance of communicating with staff. I’d like to take this time to advise you on who you should be reaching out to when requiring or relaying information. For pastoral/administrative matters your primary contact is your child’s homeroom teacher. For major pastoral matters you may contact myself or Justin Shepherd (Campus Student Coordinator).

For academic and co-curricular matters your primary contact is your child’s direct teacher. They are best equipped to provide you feedback on their progress. The best mode of communication is email, as many of our staff will be teaching throughout the day. However, you may leave a voice message on a teacher’s direct phone line.

Looking forward to a productive and positive year, to round off I thought I would share three things I am grateful for this week.

1. The Bentleigh East Swimming Carnival and seeing the students excel in the pool
2. The Production Auditions for the Full School Musical “Wizard of Oz” and students expressing excitement for getting back onstage.
3. The Weather still shining in March 

Rachel Urquhart

Year 8 Coordinator 

Bentleigh East Campus

Year 8 Mentone

It has been fantastic to welcome back all Year 8 students to the 2022 school year and to see such activity within the Year level. We have already experienced a number of activities within the House Athletics Carnival being a highlight to date. 

Other activities such as ACC Chess and Football are also underway with many students being involved in preparation for these events.

Homeroom groups are also in the process of electing Class Captains and we thank all of those students who put themselves forward to complete the selection process. We will be excited to finalise these in the very near future.

The return to classes has been well received by Year 8 students who are well engaged in their studies.

Homework Help Sessions have also now commenced on Wednesday afternoons and we encourage the students to make the most of this, and other opportunities, to start forming some beneficial study habits as the year progresses.

We all look forward to a fantastic year ahead!

Mr James Honan

Year 8 Coordinator 

Mentone Campus