357 Old Northern Road, Castle Hill NSW 2154. Phone: 9634 2898 Fax: 9680 2282 School email: BernadetteCH@parra.catholic.edu.au

WEBSITE: http://www.stbernadetteschill.catholic.edu.au

No.35 Friday, 13th November, 2015

Dear Parents,

We only need to look to the scriptures for guidance on how to live our lives each and every day. While

today has been declared World Kindness Day in true fact our aim as Catholics is to strive to be kind

every day:

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

The value of declaring Days such as World Kindness Day is that it in doing so we are encouraged to

reflect on how we are going in our efforts to live out the scripture values. What are our responses to

each of these questions?

When have you been particularly kind to someone? When have you experienced exceptional kindness?

Are there ways you could be kind to the people in your life today?

Perhaps the list below will give you a reminder of the gifts of kindness that cost

nothing but mean everything to those in our lives:

8 Gifts of Kindness

1. The Gift of Listening… But you must really listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your

response. Just listening.

2. The Gift of Affection… Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and

handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

3. The Gift of Laughter… Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, "1 love to

laugh with you."

4. The Gift of a Written Note… A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and

may even change a life.

5. The Gift of a Compliment… A simple and sincere, "You look great in red," "You did a super job" or

"That was a wonderful meal" can make someone’s day.

6. The Gift of a Favour… Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

7. The Gift of Solitude… There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be

sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

8. The Gift of a Cheerful Disposition… The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to

someone, really it’s not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You.

Leanne Nettleton—Principal

St Bernadette’s School News 2

Remembrance Day On Wednesday we had a beautiful ceremony to commemorate Remembrance Day. We were very fortunate to have Monsignor John Boyle join us in prayer as we remembered those that fought to keep Australia safe and free. Thank you to Mr Visser and the School Leaders who helped lead the prayers and planted crosses in remembrance of those who had died. Congratulations to Oliver Singleton-Turner who solemnly played the Last Post and the reveille for us.

St Vincent de Paul Next week marks the start of our St Vincent de Paul Christmas hamper collection. St Bernadette’s has always been so generous with bringing in Christmas food items to be distributed to those who are less fortunate than us. We have recently been able to help those suffering in Jamaica and now we look to help those in our neighbourhood as they face a bleak Christmas without our help. We ask families to kindly donate items of food that are non-perishable and can be stored without refrigeration, eg. tinned fruit and vegetables, canned food, biscuits, pasta, Christmas puddings and Christmas treats etc. All donations

of food can be sent straight to classrooms all of next week before they are collected by St Vincent de Paul. Mrs Shane Robinson Religious Education Coordinator

WEEK 7

Mon, 16 Nov 8.30am Morning Assembly

9am Year 4 Parent Tour—Yr 5

Learning Space

2pm Sydney Kings—Year 4

7pm Year 4 Parent Information

Evening

Tues, 17 Nov 8-10am Uniform Shop

Student Banking

9am Year 4 Parent Tour—Yr 5

Learning Space

Wed, 18 Nov 8.45-10.15am Kindy 2016 Orientation

& Parent Workshop

3-4pm DanceFever After School

Club

7:45pm P&F AGM—Library

Thurs, 19 Nov 9am Year 4 Parent Tour - Yr 5

Learning Space

Coming Dates

Expression Of Interest

Uniform Shop Coordinator

The school is calling for Expressions of

Interest for the Uniform Shop

Coordinator. The position will be

responsible for managing, ordering and

selling the school uniforms to the St

Bernadette’s families and reporting to the

Parents & Friends Association and School

Principal. For further information please

contact the school office to obtain a

description of the various duties

associated with the role.

Early Years Assessments

This week and next our Kinder and

Year One teachers are

administering the Early Years

Assessment with their children.

These assessments are conducted as

a one to one interview and include

assessment of sight word vocabulary, letter/

sound knowledge and reading accuracy and

comprehension. While your child’s teacher is

conducting these interviews a relief teacher

will be teaching the class. All of these relief

teachers – Mrs Thorpe, Mrs Younis, Mrs

Beames, Mrs Tunchon, Mrs Lee and Mrs

Macey are very familiar with our learning

programmes and will follow these and the

day book for each class.

School Fees for 2016

Parents are advised that attached to this week’s e-news is the 2016

Diocesan School Fees schedule.

3

Celebrating Talents Congratulations to Anthony Foong in

3G who won gold and bronze at the

ASMA Taekwondo championships

recently.

Congratulations to Noelle Le in 4B who

achieved an A in her grade 2 piano

exam.

Social Skill: Being Polite and Courteous

Class Student of the Week Student of the Week

Social Skill Award

KB Alexander Beers Annabelle Farag Isabella Perete

KG Scarlett Sahyoun Campbell Sing Ella Zeaiter

KW Jet Jackson Audrey Sullivan Douglas Windress

1B Luke McDermott Lily Procter Joshua Zeaiter

1G Samantha Badenhorst Lucas Heyes Isla Guy

1W Bridget Clemente Antonio Wadih Natalie Samperi

2B Cassandra Losurdo Jean-Andre Meyer Isla Clark

2G Claudia Homsi Angus Northey Claudia Chambers

2W Mark Bradshaw Catherine Irwin Imogen Vines

3B Conrad Lopez Savannah Moubarak Ethan Zerafa

3G Natalia Barone Joseph Hadchiti Ryan McMahon

3W Noah Bailey Isabella Willard Byron Hill-Polito

4B Annalise Besters Hayden White Ella Lincoln

4G Yves Rahme Michelle Zeaiter Abby McCann

4W Kaden Govender Mischa Timbrell Ysabella Salalila

5B Marcus Bruzzano Clayton Coutinho Abbey Robinson

5G Mariah Lopez Christian Younis Aaron Keetels

5W Piper Laurie Saxon Orsini Oliver Silvester

6B Jacob Barone Larissa Carroll Sophie Noonan

6G Sophie McMahon Caitlin Zwaine Travis Exton

6W Mitchell White Daniella Zeaiter Amor Henrico

Congratulations to the following

PrinciPal’s awards:

Alex Caruana 6G Ryan Charker 6W

Jade Raslan 6B Conor Duggan 6G

Jacob Barone 6B Mackenzie Bullen 6G

Vanessa Yahko 6W Marshall Poynter 6G

Arijana Ripoll 6W Estelle Velasquez 6G

Peter Makhlouf 6W Kiera Walkerden 6G

Charlotte Joyce 6W Sebastian Bounassif 3B

Chelsea Freitas 6W Jack Miller 4B

Priscilla Leib 4B Georgia-Marie Wardan 4B

Shayan Pala 4B Daniella Jelwan 2B

Jessica Runac 6G Jaimee Azzi 3B

Oliver Singleton-Turner 6G Georgia Pratt 2G

11th November 1918. Over 61 000 brave men and women had risked their lives and made the supreme sacrifice to bring us the freedom, justice and peace we continue to enjoy in Australia today. We rejoice for the heroes of our world, the brave souls who have helped Australia remain a free, respectful and peaceful country. Ponder on this. Your covered in goose bumps and your back is scarred with wounds. Smoke rises as far as the eye can see and bangs and booms ring out and shrapnel flies from all around you. You want to stop and just flee to the safety of home, yet you remain strong, draw on your pride and keep going to fight for your country and your beliefs. Today, on the 11th day of the 11th month, many years on from that fateful event, we Australians, still free, re-member those who fought for our country in struggles and wars around the world. We remember those men and women who fought on the ground, in the air, and in and on the water. At St. Bernadette’s, we commemorated this special day beginning with our Remembrance Day Commemoration ceremony, where we looked back on how these men and women fought courageously for us with one minute’s silence and reflected on Monsignor John’s words which gave great insight into what it must have been like in the war. We responded in prayer and listened solemnly and respectfully to the Last Post and Reveille played by Oli-ver Singleton-Turner. After the whole school ceremony, the school captains presented a commemorative cross to each class for their class prayer space. At 11 am, the school leaders planted 62 crosses in the garden near the Office - each cross representing 1000 brave servicemen and women. Two extra crosses were planted in front of the Gallipoli Rose-mary bushes near our Lone Pine - and paused for a minute’s silence to honour their memory. We remembered The Ode

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them. Lest we forget.

By Conor Duggan and Holly Bounassif 2015 School Captains

4

Term 4

Staff Development &

Pupil Free Days:

Thurs 17 & Fri 18 Dec

(Week 11)

St. Bernadette’s Christmas Concert

Our concert is to be held on Monday 7th

December at 6.30 pm on the grass area. It will

be lead by special guest Peter Kearney. Peter

Kearney is a contemporary religious singer who

has toured Australia, Ireland, United States and

the United Kingdom to present workshops and

concerts.

Looking forward to seeing all our school

community enjoy a wonderful night.

Congratulations to Mrs Donnelly and Mrs Hurba on the

excellent performance of the St Bernadette’s Choir at

the Variety Club’s Celebration Sing Out held last Sunday

evening at the Sydney Town Hall.

In the concert the children joined with schools from

across Sydney to sing Walking in the Air, Take These

Wings, Oye, Jerusalem, Les Mis and O Come All Ye

Faithful. The audience really was treated to a wonderful

evening of singing.

I would like to thank both Mrs Donnelly and Mrs Hurba

for their many hours of dedication and organisation with

the St Bernadette’s Choir over many years. Both

teachers have done this in a voluntary capacity during

this time and we are extremely grateful for their

passion for music and performance that they have

brought to the choir experience for our children. Sadly

both Mrs Donnelly and Mrs Hurba will be retiring from

these positions at the end of the year. Once again we

thank them and wish them every happiness in their

retirement from their voluntary work with the St

Bernadette’s Choir.

Library Book Club Thank you for your support throughout the

year, we have been able to use the points for

school resources. The booklets for Book

Club were sent home this week. This will be

the last book club for the year. Orders

should be completed by the

Friday, 20th November.

Overdue Books

The overdue notices will be

sent home with the children

next week. If the book/books can't be found

don't panic. Sometimes children return the

books to the wrong place. Just let us know if

there is a difficulty and we'll do our best to fix

the problem. Thank you for your cooperation

with this matter.

Gaye Crammond and Karen Davis

5

St Bernadette’s School News 6

St Bernadette’s School News 7

Term 4 Dates 2015 Term 4

Awards Ceremony—Mon 30th November 8:45am Primary 10:30am Infants

Year 6 Disco—Fri 4th December

Christmas Concert—Mon 7th December (pm) Swimming Carnival—Wed 9th December (8yrs and over)

Thanksgiving Mass—Fri 11th December

Year 6 Graduation Mass—Mon 14th December

Year 6 Activities Day—Tue 15th December

Last day for students—Wed 16th December

Thurs 17th & Fri 18th December—Staff Development & Pupil Free Days

Term 1 Dates 2016

Term 1

Wed 27 Jan— (am) Staff Development Day & (pm) *MAIs

Thurs 28 Jan—Staff Development Day & *MAIs

Fri 29 Jan—Yrs 1 to 6 commence

Mon 1 Feb—Kindergarten 2016 commence

Fri 5 Feb—P&F Welcome BBQ 5.30pm onwards

Fri 8 April—Last day Term 1

* MAI (Maths Assessment Interviews)

CHANGES TO SCHOOL TRANSPORT SCHEME From Term 1 2016 students eligible for travel under the transport scheme will be issued with School Opal cards. Applications from Term 1 2016 will be done via a new online application process. Automatic renewal If your child has already been given a travel pass you will automatically receive a School Opal card in 2016. However, parents will need to apply if a student:

Is just starting school and has not had a pass before Is in a transition year (i.e. Year 2 to 3) If student’s personal details have changed

The responsibility for arranging School Opal cards lies with parents. Schools will no longer issue an application form as parents will go online from 2 November 2015, print it out and return it to the school. Apply at transportnsw.info/school-students

St Bernadette’s School News 8

Other Items of Interest

UNIFORM SHOP The Uniform Shop will be open EVERY Tuesday morning, (Term Time) between 8.00am and 10.00am. Payment can be made by: Cash, Cheque and EFTPOS.

TUCKSHOP ROSTER FOR: Week 7 Term 4

Parent helpers please arrive at 10.25am for recess

and 12.45pm for lunch

Monday Recess Paula Yacoub

Lunch Paula Yacoub

Tuesday Recess Rose Intal

Lunch Rose Intal

Wednesday Recess Lynley Walker

Lunch Gina Zeaiter

Thursday Recess

Lunch

Friday Recess Stacy Daly

Lunch Stacy Daly

Thank you for your help and support in the Tuckshop.

It is very much appreciated.

Did you move house, get a new mobile, change job/work number etc over the holidays? If so, please let us have your new details.

Child Protection

A reminder for parents who are required to ‘UPDATE’ their child protection and for ‘NEW’ parents to the school. It is a Diocesan requirement that parents who volunteer at school must complete the Child Protection Module ONLINE. This training is available online at: http://childprotection.parra.catholic.edu.au/training and MUST be completed every two years. This is the new link as of September 2014. All parents must have completed the above prior to helping in the classroom, on excursions, sport days, tuckshop, uniform shop or any help around the school.

Student Leave As part of the implementation of the newly

formulated National Standards, holidays taken by

students outside of school vacation periods will now

be included in Student Attendance Data as absences.

Parents are requested to complete an Application for

Extended Leave form for absences of 10 days or

more. This form is on our website: Parents/Notes

from School/Administration Forms/Application for

Extended Leave.

Please submit this form together with a copy of your

travel documentation at least three weeks prior to the

proposed leave date. This Application for Extended

Leave will then be responded to by

Mrs Nettleton. Thank you for your assistance.

Parents are reminded that one full term’s notice

must be given for leaving students otherwise a

term’s school fees will be charged.

LOST PROPERTY

Boy’s grey pencil case

Girl’s purple glasses

If you have lost these items, please contact the

school office.

Yr 1—End of Year Family Dinner RSL Castle Hill Courtyard Time: 6pm Date: 27th November RSVP: anitacatanese@hotmail.com

St Bernadette’s School News 9

P & F Assoc. AGM

Wednesday 18th November

7pm (Library)

All parents are invited to attend the P&F Association’s final meeting of the year.

An email was sent to all parents with a nomination form to join next year’s P&F Committee. Please return this note to the school office no later than Tuesday 17th

November.

Advance notice FOR 2016

SAVE THE DATE

St Bernadette’s School News 10

OLMC Parramatta Open Morning Tour

Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta warmly in-vites you to attend our Open Morning Tour on No-

vember 16, 2015 the last tour of the year.

Tour the College and discover why a Mercy Educa-

tion is treasured for life and enjoy a ‘comfortable cup

of tea’ with the College Leadership Team.

The College is now enrolling for 2017.

UNIFORM ROSTER FOR 2016

Voluntary help in our Uniform Shop assists us to offer a great service to our families. If you would like to

help in the Uniform Shop, please complete the form below and return it to the office by Wednesday, 4th

December. If you volunteer , you will be helping between 8am and 10am on a Tuesday morning.

You must also have completed the Child Protection Course online in the last 2 years.

This is a simple process and you can do this by logging on to: http://childprotection.parra.catholic.edu.au/training

or visit our website.

I, ……………………………………...……………(Name, please print)

Mobile Number ……………………...………...…

c/o Eldest child in Class: ………...…………….

am available *1st, *2nd, *3rd, *4th or *5th Tuesday in the

month.

(*please circle) in month/s: ……………

am available any Tuesday, please roster me as appropriate.

For any queries, please contact Therese Qasabian

Uniform Roster Co-ordinator on 9659 8171

Tuckshop Roster for 2016 The operation of our Tuckshop relies on the voluntary help of our parents. If you are interested in being a parent helper to serve

in the Tuckshop either at recess or lunchtime, please fill in the form below and return to the office by Wednesday, 4th

December. You must also have completed the Child Protection Course online in the last 2 years. This is a simple process

and you can do this by logging on to: http://childprotection.parra.catholic.edu.au/training or visit our website.

Please contact Stacy Daly on 0409 994 838 or email: stacyd@tpg.com.au

TUCKSHOP ROSTER FOR 2016

I, ………………………………(Name, please print) Mobile Number…………………………Email address: ……………………………

am currently on ………………………...…………. and will help on this day next year.

please nominate week and day of the month:(eg. third Monday)

am currently on …………………………...………. and would like to change to ………………………

am currently on …………………………….…….. but I am not available to help next year.

am not on the roster but would like to help next year on ……………………………….……………….

am able to help between 10.25 and 11am ‘recess’ duty ……………………………………

am able to help between 12.45 and 1.45pm ‘lunch’ duty ……………………………………………….

Eldest child’s name: ……………………………… Class: ……………………………...

If you would like to help out in the Uniform Shop or Tuckshop next year—please complete the

form(s) and return to the school office. Thank you.

11