St Bede’s Primary School - Braidwood eNewsletter

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week lent starts to draw to a close with the beginning of Holy Week on Palm Sunday. Father Mick challenged Year 2 at mass this week to remember the focus of Easter is not only chocolate easter eggs but a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection and His continued example of how we can strive to be better and help others.

One of the greatest strengths of St Bede's is our parent community, which was evident across this week. On Monday afternoon Shaye Cooper lead a meeting to highlight to parents the benefits of the initiaLit program. On Tuesday Teddy V, Charlotte T, Edie W and Evie C represented the school at the Rotary Bungendore Public Speaking competition. All spoke very well and Edie and Evie were recognised with both being runners up in their divisions.

Wednesday night was a get together for Year 2 parents for a BBQ. Transferred to the club due to the weather, this was disappointing, as I was hoping to display my Tony Hawk like skateboarding skills with some drop-ins and ollies. A big thank you to Nicole and Daniell for organising the afternoon.

Tomorrow we have the working bee. Thank you to those parents that have offered to help, as always there are plenty of jobs to do, so if you have a spare half hour please call in. There will be a BBQ afterwards.

It is always great to share time with parents and listen to their concerns and as always if you have any concerns please contact the school and have a conversation.

Upcoming community events include next week's Easter Hat Parade.A fantastic way to celebrate the end of term. I was reminded by the lovely staff at the Vinnies store that they have great hats and materials that can be used for hats and where you can please reuse and recycle. St. Bede's has also been invited to be involved in this year's ANZAC main march. The times will be the same as last year with the dawn service at 06:00 and the Main March assembling at 10:30, March commencing at 10:45 and the Service at 11:00.

The Learning Journeys set down for next week have been moved until Week 2 next term till Wednesday May 3. They were moved from next week to ensure that next week the focus is on Holy Week and also give parents an opportunity to meet with their child's classroom teachers early in term 2.

This weekend we also sympathise with the Brisbane Bronco as they suffer their first defeat of the season.

Kind regards

Mark Chifley

Acting Principal

We are moving closer to Easter. Each week in the Gospel, at Mass, we heard about some very strong themes that guide us in this time of renewal. Lent means spring, so this time is a time to start fresh by reflecting, forgiving and thinking of others who are less fortunate than ourselves. It was amazing to see the children contribute to the coin line we made on Friday. It was a visible sign of our families giving to others and raised $173.80 for Project Compassion. Caritas Australia count on the generosity of kind, everyday people. The funds make a difference to the lives of vulnerable communities, globally. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

Next week is Holy Week which is a special time in our faith life. Holy Week tells a story of Jesus in the week leading up to Easter Sunday. It is a compelling story and the children are always very interested. On Wednesday at 10am, as a whole school, we will go on that journey. The children are asked to bring something to school that they can put on over the top of their uniform so they will be dressed like the people of Jesus' time. All attending are asked to also wear a piece of clothing from that time. Our journey will take us around the school grounds. Each class will present their part of the story. It is a reverent and quiet time for the children and staff as we go back in time.

We wish you all a happy Easter and may Jesus be a part of your Easter celebrations.

Cross Country

Thank you to the huge contingent of parents and grandparents who assisted and supported our students last Friday at the Cross Country carnival. The children had a fantastic day and showed some outstanding skill and determination to finish the races. The war cries were entertaining and very closely contested – bragging rights go to Gillamatong Yellow house for getting the points for the war cries. Congratulations and good luck to those students who will represent St Bede’s next term at the Northern Region carnival.

Athletics Championships

Congratulations to Pippa and Angus (Year 6) who recently competed at the ACT State Athletics championships in Canberra. Both students recorded multiples PB’s over the 2 days and placed well in their events, with Pippa finishing with a bronze medal in the 12 years long jump. Well done kids!

Footy Tipping

The St Bede’s footy tipping comp is heating up after 4 rounds, with a number of tipsters vying for top spot.

Here’s the leaderboard after 4 rounds:

Tim Thiso 21 points
Troy V 20 points
Mrs T 19 points

Dear Parents,

With our library "out of action" for now, I have begun some initiatives to try to get our students with books in their hands.

Each class has visited the Braidwood branch of the QPRC library and have been encouraged to borrow. The staff of the QPRC library have been extremely supportive and I thank them for their help. This initiative will continue in Term 2 and once I liase with the librarians I will list the Term 2 visiting dates in the first Term 2 Newsletter.

Every Tuesday at lunchtime, the students are invited to visit our St Bede's Pop up Library. It will be on the verandah outside the vacant classrooms until our building work commences. Our students are encouraged to borrow from a limited collection of our Library resources. Library bags are encouraged and books should be returned the following week. This initiative began this Tuesday, 28th March, will be open next Tuesday, 4th April and will recommence for Term 2 on Tuesday, 2nd May.

Thank you for your support,
Yours in reading,
Ann Monkhouse

The Compass Parent Portal is a secure online portal that lets parents access information about their child.

The Portal is accessible via the web and the Compass School manager App (via the the App store on your device)

What You Can Do?

Submit absent notes
Communicate directly with teachers (desktop only)
Access your child's reports
View and maintain attendance records
Update basic Contact information
Receive relevant messaging through the app or desktop

Please note that we have reissued parent log in details for all parents who have never signed into Compass - this was done today. If you have never logged into Compass previously, you should have an email in your inbox (please note that this email comes from Compass not the School) - please check your junk mail if you haven't recieved it.

Date	Event	Start Time	Location
25 April	ANZAC Day March	10:30 am	St Bede's Church
26 April	Term 2 starts for students
1 - 26 May	Catholic Schools Enrolment Period
3 May	Learning Journeys
6 May	Parish Women's Breakfast	8 am - 9:30 am	School Hall
11 May	Mothers Day Stall	TBA	School
12 May	Mothers Day Breakfast at School	TBA	School Grounds
14 May	Mother's Day
16 May	Open Day Tours - enrolling families	9:30 am - 11 am	School
25 May	Australia's Biggest Morning Tea	10 am	School Hall
26 May	St Bede's Feast Day	TBA	School

For canteen to run at St Bede's we need at least two parent helpers for each week on the roster. If we do not have two volunteers then we are unable to have canteen and it will be cancelled for that week. Please refer to the below roster.

If canteen is cancelled then your child will need to bring their own lunch, as per a non canteen day. Please note that if canteen is cancelled and your child has an order, parents/carers will be contacted to provide lunch.

Please note that Canteen has been changed to Monday fortnightly. Next Canteen will be next Monday 1 May, if we have voluteers.

Any parents that are interested in helping in canteen and have a couple of hours available on a Monday morning (Please see the roster for coming dates) please email the office.

If you have any questions about what is required to help on canteen please contact Brenda on 0438 275 032 or Trish on 0412 889507 or 02 48422027.

Please note that any parents volunteering for canteen must have a current Working With Children Check (WWCC). WWCC can be applied for through Service NSW (link) applying for a WWCC. Once you have recieved the clearance please send a copy of the email + your date of birth to the office as the clearances are checked.

Term 2 Canteen

1 May	Helpers Needed
8 May	No Canteen
15 May	Helpers Needed
22 May	No Canteen
29 May	Helpers Needed
5 June	No Canteen
12 June	Helpers Needed
19 June	No Canteen
26 June	Helpers Needed

Updated Canteen Pricelist - March 2023

Please note that we have updated the canteen menu and that there has been a price rise for Sausage rolls - they are now $3.00 each

The canteen is trialling Chicken Tenders - these will be for sale for a $1.50 each.

St Bede's Church- Easter Service times

Palm Sunday: 1 April at 6pm (Vigil)
Holy Thursday: 6 April at 7pm (Mass of the Lord’s Supper)
Good Friday: 7 April Stations of the Cross: 10am; Passion: 3pm.
Easter Vigil: 8 April at 6pm

Anzac Day Ecumenical Service

9.30am in St Bede’s Church followed by a cuppa and Anzac Biscuits. Please bring a small plate to share.

SAVE THE DATE

All women are welcome to come along to a Mother’s Day Breakfast on Saturday May 6th. Let’s get together to enjoy each other’s company and conclude with prayers of thanks and celebration for the mothering roles in our lives.

Just a reminder for Kinder parents:

Parents please note that St Bede's is a Nut Free school and as such the sharing of any food, lollies or confectionery is not encouraged, as we have several students that have severe reactions. Therefore Nutella, Peanut Butter and any other nut butters are strongly discouraged.

Birthdays: Parents/carers can provide Cupcakes to share with the class for birthdays. Please do not send in bags of lollies or confectionary to share.

PCYC is happy to announce that we are able to offer placement in our coming school holiday program (11th April to 21st April) at no cost to children 5 to 12 years, living in the Bungendore, Braidwood and regional surrounding areas.
We are also able to provide free return transport to PCYC Queanbeyan on our PCYC bus for those enrolled in the school holiday program. Transport will pick up and return to Bungendore and Braidwood.

Details will be advised once enrolment is received.
Enrolment should be made by completing our Regional Enrolment form (Click Here) or contacting PCYC on 51122050 or queanbeyan@pcycnsw.org.au and returning the enrolment form to queanbeyan@pcycnsw.org.au
Any inquiries should be made to Natalie or Brett at PCYC on the above number or email address.