Dear Parents and Carers

How fantastic was it to finally be able to have a show after four years of not being able to do so. A very big congratulations to all our students for their fantastic writing and creative artwork. Our school display was awesome and many of our students either received a place or were highly commended. Also, of note, many of our students were also successful in other sections of the show-so well done everyone! A special thank you to Ms. Krys Wise for her creativity and organisation of our school display and Ms. Shaye Cooper for her assistance, and all the teachers for assisting their class with writing and art. Our parents did a fantastic job with the drinks and ice cream stall-such a great community event and fundraising initiative for our school. A special thank you to Kristi Morrison, Rachel Farley, Richard Bunn and Shaye Cooper who worked tirelessly all day and late into the evening. Well done everyone!

We can’t remind parents enough, of the importance of punctuality and regular school attendance of every student, every day! There is no safe number of days for missing school. If a student misses as little as four days each term they will have missed over a year of learning, by the end of their schooling.
Schools in the Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn work in partnership with parents/carers to encourage and support regular attendance of children and young people at school. Education in NSW and the ACT is compulsory for all children between the ages of six years and below the minimum school leaving age.

Arriving at school and class on time:

• ensures that students do not miss out on important learning activities scheduled early in the day;
• helps students learn the importance of punctuality and routine;
• gives students time to greet their friends before class; and
• reduces classroom disruption.

Lateness is recorded as a partial absence and must be explained by parents/carers. If a child is late for school by just 10 minutes per day, they will miss nearly 6 months of schooling over 13 years. If your child arrives at school after 9am, they must be signed in by a parent or guardian. If your child is experiencing challenges of attending school, we are here to help!

Just a reminder-if you have not checked in with the class teacher of your child this term and arranged a parent teacher, please email the class teacher and arrange a mutually agreeable time for an appointment. Educating children is a partnership between home and school. There is compelling evidence that parent engagement is associated with improvements in academic gains for all ages. This includes early literacy, school adjustment and student attendance, motivation, self-regulatory behaviour and social skills.

Next week is Sabbath week. This week is always welcomed by all our teachers, students, and parents as it is an opportunity to take a break from the routines of written homework and enjoy some much-valued family time. During this week there are no meetings with parents and teachers, so everyone gets a break as we gear up for Easter and the remainder of the term.

We received the news yesterday that we were successful in obtaining a $2000 grant from Dargules Mine to go towards the purchase of novels for Years 3 to 6! We are extremely grateful to Dargules for making this opportunity happen and for providing this support for our school.

Congratulations to all our swimmers on their success at the Northern Regions and Archdiocesan swimming carnivals. We have several swimmers heading to Sydney soon for the PSSA carnival. Well done everyone.

Class parent representative - Each year we request a parent from each class undertake the role of class parent representative. The role is not ardous but it involves organising a social activity for parents as well as being the contact person for the class should a need arise for support eg when a parent or family member is ill, organising a class fundraising for a school event.
If you would like to be a class contact, please email the front office at office.stbedesb@cg.catholic.edu.au

I am away at the Principals Retreat at Bowral this week and in my absence, the school is being capably managed by Ms. Amy Doszpot. Should you have any issues or concerns regarding your child/children please contact the front office and Amy will endeavour to assist you.

God Bless