Dear Parents and Carers,

As we continue our Lenten journey the staff continue to seek ways to challenge the students to be aware of and support those less fortunate than themselves. Last Friday the students had a uniform free day and raised money for the communities affected by the recent floods. Also, on Monday students participated in Harmony Day activities in their classroom. Harmony Week occurs in March each year with the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The ongoing theme of Harmony Week is 'everyone belongs'. Harmony Week is a time of cultural respect for all and at St Bede’s we continue to remind the students that they can be the change the world needs to see.

Staff continue across all year groups to put in place the new Catholic Education initiative of Catalyst, which is based on the Science of Learning. This fortnight staff have continued to implement the daily review as part of High Impact Teaching Practices . The daily review allows students to transfer information from their short term memory to their long term memory. Information transferred to long term memory is much easier to recall and supports not only learning today but well into the future. I encourage you to visit https://catalyst.cg.catholic.edu.au/ and become more familiar with Catalyst, which is having a direct impact on your child’s learning.

Tomorrow the school will hold its first Working Bee. Thank you to the families that have already volunteered their time and energy. Beginning at 2pm until 5 pm, this is a St Bede’s Community Council event and we are looking for parents to help keep our school looking lovely. There is a wide range of jobs that need to be done – so no matter what your skill levels, we have something you can help with. Even a half hour of your time would be appreciated. There is still time to be involved, please contact the office if you are available help. The afternoon will conclude with a BBQ for those who are able to volunteer.

Yesterday, Years 6 and 3 participated in a Clean Up Australia Day, students cleaned the grounds of the school and the local area. The day was delayed from the 14th March, due to illness and floods.

A reminder that if students bring phones to school they need to be given handed in at the Front Office at the start of the day and collected at the end of the day.

This week, two of our students Ivy and Evie represented the Canberra-Goulburn Diocese at NSW Catholic primary Swimming in Sydney. We are extremely proud of their efforts and Ivy has written a report. Please see sports news for the full report and photo.

Hoping that you and your family have a relaxing weekend and the West Tigers can finally secure a win.

Mark Chifley
Assistant Principal