St Bede's Catholic College Newsletter 7 - 24 May 2024

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE – EMMA SOUTH

PRAYER

O Christ, our Morning Star, 
splendour of Light Eternal, 
shining with the glory of the rainbow, 
come and waken us 
from the greyness of our apathy, 
and renew in us your gift of hope.
Amen
St Bede … Pray for us. 

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 

This week is Catholic Schools Week, a time to celebrate the distinctive qualities of Catholic education and raising awareness of the many opportunities Catholic schools provide through faith-based education. The theme for Catholic Schools Week this year is 'Follow Me!', which draws on Jesus' simple yet profound invitation to walk with Him on a journey of discipleship. This invitation is not a mere call to walk alongside Jesus but a summons to be taught by Him and transformed by Him – just like it was for his Apostles and first disciples who left their fishing boats behind and followed Jesus. Click on the link below to hear Bishop Michael Kennedy talk more about Catholic Schools Week.

It's an invitation to us to “leave our boats behind” too; to step out of the familiar confines of our personal "boats," the routines and securities we cling to, and embrace a life marked by trust, faithfulness, and love. 

ST BEDE’S FEAST DAY 

On Thursday we celebrated St Bede’s Feast Day. With our college named after St Bede, this is an important day in our calendar. The program for the day included prayer, reflection, and fund-raising activities for the Holy Child Program, a school supporting students in Bethlehem. Please click here for a short summary of the story of St Bede which is also located on our College website. 

COFFEE AND A CHAT 

Friday saw us hosting Coffee and a Chat, an opportunity for parents and carers to join the Executive team and a handful of teachers for a barista-made coffee and some light pastries before the school day started. This chance for members of our community to mix and mingle was a positive experience for all and a great opportunity for us to continue to build strong connections.   

PARENT FORUM 

The Term 2 Parent Forum will be held next Tuesday 28 May.  The meeting will commence in the College Library at 6.00pm and will finish shortly after 7.00pm. To access the library, parents can walk up the main path to the right of the Benedict Building and head straight up the stairs where you can enter the library on the left. Staff will also be located outside the Office to help you if you need assistance locating the library. 

The Parent Forums are an important way of parents/carers engaging with the College. Our main educative item will be focused around building a positive behaviour matrix, aimed at collaborating to provide students with explicit guidelines to live the College Vision and Mission statement. Parent and carer input into this process is vital and we look forward to working with you on this.  

No registration is required to attend, so simply turn up if you would like to join us. 

UPCOMING EVENTS 2024

Assistant Principal Report – Amber Carter and Kelly Pearson

Catholic Schools Week: what does it mean to be a student at a Catholic school? 

Catholic Schools Week is an opportunity to reflect on the significance of Catholic education and more importantly, what it means to be a student in a Catholic school. Pope Francis has described the defining characteristics of Catholic schools as Christ centred organisations that provide an inclusive education to young people and their families that is steeped in excellence, allowing young people to reach their potential. How does this statement from Pope Francis look from the perspective of students though? Mrs Pearson and I took some time this week to chat with students about what it means to them to be part of St Bede’s Catholic College, and this is what they told us: 

• The retreat has been one of the best things this year. It wasn’t what I was expecting but I really enjoyed the experience.  
• I like being a part of St Bede’s because I know my teachers care for me and help me to be the best I can. 
• I like break times because I can hang out with my friends, the new playground is where we like to sit. 
• Being at St Bede’s means I can play sports I wouldn’t normally get to play. This is important to me because I love sport. 
• I’m not really into subjects like Science or Maths but I really like music and art so that’s the best part for me, I can do subjects that really interest me. 
• We went to the University and did some challenges which was heaps of fun. There were people in my group who I didn’t know and but because we had to work together now, I know people in the other year group. 

These insights from our students highlights to us that being a student in a Catholic school means they are invited to encounter Christ; they can develop their gifts and talents through the provision of an education that emulates excellence; learning outside the classroom is equally as important as the experiences offered to students such as sporting endeavours and representing the College, scientific pursuits offered through STEM initiatives such as the Build Me A Future program, and opportunities to perform at events such as Aspire, Chapel Jazz and DioSounds – Catholic schools are vibrant and exciting places to be a part of where everyone is welcome. 

As we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we also celebrate our students who are the core of the life of St Bede’s Catholic College. 

Tell Them From Me Survey 

It is a privilege to teach and lead in a Catholic school and we value the opportunity to receive feedback from our families. We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey which is now open. The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You can access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the link below.

Students and teachers will have the opportunity to complete the survey early week 5. The information provided through this survey will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St Bede’s Catholic College. 

Da Vinci Decathlon  

As part of the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Schools high potential and gifted learning program, Year 7 students were selected to participate in the da Vinci Decathlon State Championships at Knox Grammar School. We congratulate Dane Clarke and Joshua Elliott in being selected as part of this successful team.  

Along with congratulating our students we also extend our thanks to CSO Education Officer for Gifted and High Potential Education, Ms. Maree Karaka and our Gifted Education Mentor, Ms. Kim Dickson for organising and coordinating the event. 

Please find an excerpt of the report written by Maree Karaka outlining the outstanding achievements of the students.

This prestigious academic competition is designed to challenge and stimulate young minds. The representative Year 7 team comprised of two of our students as part of the team comprising of eight students from various schools within our Diocese. The team secured several impressive accolades at the regional event, including:

• 1st place in Mathematics
• 3rd place in English
• 2nd place in Code Breaking
• 3rd place in Engineering Challenge
• 2nd place in Ideation
• 2nd place in Cartography
• 1st place in Legacy

Furthermore, our Year 7 team emerged as the overall winners, claiming 1st place and earning the opportunity to represent our Virtual Academy and Diocese at the State Championships. This achievement reflects the hard work, commitment, and exceptional abilities of our students, as well as the dedication and support of our educators and schools.

We are immensely proud of our Year 7 team and their representation of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. They displayed excellence, sportsmanship, and a true passion for learning at the State Championships. 

Catholic Schools NSW High Potential Gifted Education Network Visit 

We were also delighted to host 16 delegates from across the state as part of the NSW High Potential Gifted Education Network on Wednesday 22 May. Again, thanks are extended to Ms. Maree Karaka and Ms. Kim Dickson in sharing our student’s work and school with this group of educators.   

Year 11 Reports and PTS Interviews 

Year 11 Mid-Course reports will be released on Friday 24 May with Parent, Teacher, Student Interviews to be held on Thursday 30 May. These reports and interviews are an opportunity for students to reassess their learning goals as they move into the second half of the Year 11 course. Conferences will be booked through Compass and students are expected to attend. Students are encouraged to think about the following questions as they receive their report and work with their teachers to set learning goals for growth: 

• What am I doing well? 
• How do I know? 
• What do I need to improve on? 
• What are my next steps to improvement? 
• Where do I go for help? 

We look forward to seeing Year 11 students and families at these interviews. 

Year 12 study sprints 

Each Tuesday morning Year 12 students have a short presentation focusing on an aspect of successful HSC learning and preparation. Through these sessions students will cover topics such as the value of working together to support each other in learning, where to find useful resources, looking after your wellbeing, learning gains achieved through regular and consistent attendance, ethical use of AI, strategies for study and the effort equation (work accomplished = time spent x intensity) are all topics included in the Study Sprints sessions. Last week the following sites were shared with students which have useful information for families as well as they support their child through the HSC.

Traffic Safety Plan 

We have become aware of increased congestion in the College car park especially during the afternoon. We encourage families to be familiar with the College Traffic Management Plan which is located on the website.

Unfortunately, there have been reported instances of members of our community expressing frustration towards teachers in the car park when they have been asked to move on. This behaviour is not in keeping with the Community Code of Conduct. For reference, please note the following excerpt from the Traffic Management Policy relating the picking up area in the car park: 

For the safety of the children, it is strongly recommended that parent’s drop-off and pick-up their children within the ‘drop off zone’ which is located within the College carpark. If the ‘drop off zone’ is full, then parents should choose to either lap the local street network to await the internal queue to clear, or park in a designated parking zone, to leave their cars and collect their children from the school site, via pedestrian travel.

Please do not walk or ride in the school driveway or across the entrance/exit to the carpark and within the carpark itself. Parents are to be aware that both sides of Heritage Drive are designated for public parking – queueing on public roads, parking zones, cycle lanes or across the public footpath for entry to the ‘drop off zone’ is not accepted.

Crossing at the front of the school 

Further to this, we will also remind students and families of the arrangements relating to the crossing at the front of the school. This crossing is classified as a ‘children’s crossing’ which are part-time crossings. They usually operate during school zone hours, and at other approved times and locations. 

When a children’s crossing is operating, it’s marked by red-orange flags at both sides. When you see the flags, you must slow down and stop before the white stripes or ‘Stop’ line to give way to pedestrians. You must remain at a complete stop until all pedestrians have left the crossing. As a secondary school, we are not eligible for a School Crossing Supervisor, however, the crossing at St Aloysius is a supervised crossing and students are encouraged to use this during busy periods of the morning and afternoon. 

If the flags are not displayed, it’s not operating as a children’s crossing. Students have been reminded of the importance of safely using this crossing by approaching with caution, looking both ways and waiting for traffic on both sides of the road to stop.  

Catholic Formation and Mission – Andrew Slater

Catholic Schools Week Launch 

On Friday 17 May, Clancy Oldfield, Wil Panton, Will Scanes, Aqua Smith, Mrs. South and I represented the College at the launch of Catholic Schools Week. The liturgy was held at Sacred Heart Cathedral, with Bishop Michael as the presider. Catholic musician and songwriter, Gen Bryant, led songs of worship and praise for student representatives from primary and secondary schools across the Diocese. 

Year 9 Reflection Day 

The Year 9 Reflection Day will be held at the College on Tuesday 28 May. Students may wear their sports uniform on this day. Students are asked to bring their recess and water with them. A BBQ lunch will be provided.   

Feast of St Marcellin Champagnat - Vinnies Winter Appeal 

The College will celebrate the feast of St Marcellin Champagnat on Thursday 6 June. This is a fundraiser for our Term 2 charity, Vinnie’s Winter Appeal. Students are invited to dress in blue and make a gold coin donation during Homeroom. The Winter Appeal is a long-running fundraiser, which aims to provide emergency accommodation, financial support, as well as material assistance to those in need during the winter months. Through supporting the Winter Appeal, Vinnies can uphold the dignity of many members of our community, through the essential support they provide. Without this help, many will sadly lack essentials this winter, such as food, warmth, accommodation and safety.  

LEARNING DOMAIN

Year 7 Leader of Wellbeing & Engagement – Lauren Power  

Year 7 have started Term 2 in an impressive way! 

A key focus for us has been on organisation, with our first Wellbeing Session being dedicated to students updating their planners and getting prepared for the busy term ahead. Please the attached Term 2 Calendar for further details about the remainder of the term.  

Please note that Weeks 5 and 6 are particularly busy for students with Assessments. If you have any questions or concerns in relation to Assessments, please contact your child’s class teacher at the first instance.  

Year 7 Reflection Day 

On Wednesday, 15 May 2024, Year 7 took part in their first Reflection Day. The day began with a formation session in Homerooms, followed by Mass celebrated with the parish community at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Morpeth. It was a beautiful Mass with students showing reverence and sharing their God-given gifts and talents to read and provide the liturgical music.

Following the Mass, students returned to the College to participate in small group activities with a focus on humanity being made in the image and likeness of God. A special thanks to our Ministry Coordinator - Mr Andrew Slater, Assistant Principal - Mrs Amber Carter and the Year 7 Homeroom Teachers for their amazing work throughout the day.  

If you have any concerns or questions about your child’s wellbeing, please do not hesitate to contact me at the College on 4088 8222 or via lauren.power@mn.catholic.edu.au     

Technical and Applied Studies – Dean Hile

Stage 6 Technologies SHAPE Excursion

Every year the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) stage SHAPE, an exhibition of last year’s HSC technology students who NESA senior markers have acknowledged as having developed a Major Project of significant quality or innovation.

In March and May this year, Stage 6 HSC and Preliminary Technologies classes from St Bede’s travelled to Walsh Bay, on Sydney Harbour, to attend SHAPE.

As a showcase of student work, SHAPE enables current HSC students to review Portfolio presentation methods, Project quality, innovation and diversity. Those who are studying Design & Technology or Industrial Technology – Multimedia were able to interact with the displays and gather important information to use in the preparation of their own work. Preliminary students were able to experience the scope of work a Major Project can involve.

The seminars provided information for students targeted to their current stage and point of study. For HSC students, the seminar explained the marking guidelines published by NESA and how they relate to the work the students present for final marking. Preliminary students gained insight into ‘idea development’ for Major Project selection. After each seminar, students were hosted by an industry professional to a Master Class in Design and Project development. In between the seminar and master class, students were able to ask questions of senior markers, browse the excellent range of displays or just take in the incredible views of Sydney Harbour.

Sport – Belinda Watts  

Diocesan Cross Country 

On Thursday 9 May, St Bede’s sent a strong contingent of students to the Diocesan Cross Country carnival held at Glenbawn Dam. Students were challenged with a traditional and tough cross-country course with several hills as well as mixed terrain including grass, gully’s, trail and single track. Our students performed exceptionally with our strongest ever results at the Diocesan carnival. 35 students represented the College with an amazing 16 students placing in the top 6 students in their respective age groups qualifying to compete at the state NSW CCC Carnival at the Sydney Equestrian Centre on the 5 June.  

Individually we had three Diocesan Age Champions: Lachlan Jones U/15 Boys, Lilly Sutton U/15 Girls & Coen Morgan U/17 Boys. We had a further three runners’ up: Zachary Thomson U/15 Boys completing the St Bede’s double, Braith Punton U/13 Boys and Brooklyn Darcy U/16 Boys.  

In addition to the opportunity to achieve further selection and representation at an individual level, students also competed in a team element. The first four students across the line in each age group contribute to a team point score. St Bede’s was able to enter four teams. Congratulations to our U/15 Girls who were Diocesan Team champions. With some fantastic individual results this year, we hope next year to send a larger squad and have a greater number of students representing the College in an attempt to have full teams across all age groups.

Congratulations to the following students who have qualified for the state carnival. They will compete at NSWCCC in Sydney on Wednesday 5 June at the Sydney Equestrian Centre. 

On Thursday, 6 May, our junior girls football team competed in the Diocesan gala day at Speers Point. Throughout the day, the girls played four different schools including St Joseph’s Aberdeen, St Pius, St Joseph’s Lochinvar and St Mary’s Gateshead. We kicked the day off with a 2-0 win over St Joseph’s Aberdeen with both goals being scored by superstar Lily Sutton. The girls continued playing competitively and with incredible sportsmanship for the rest of the day, with two narrow losses which could have gone either way. Well done to each girl who participated and gave it their all on the day. A special shout out to the coach's player of the match Addison Elbourne who played impressively in all four of our games, despite never playing before. 

Dio Soccer Junior Boys 

St Bede’s are the Junior Diocesan Football Champions!!! 
 
Yesterday, St Bede’s participated in the 7-10 Junior Diocesan Football Competition. We kicked off the day playing the first match against St Joseph’s Lochinvar. The match was a very strong arm-wrestle between both sides, with St Bede’s winning 1-0 after Lachlan Jones delivered a fantastic cross to Zach Thomson who cooly placed the ball into the bottom left corner.   

Game 2 saw us defeat St Paul’s Boorgaul 2-0. Liam Campbell received the ball just outside of the 18-yard box and struck the ball first time into the top right corner and then the team Captain, Theo Law, stepped up and made no mistake.  

Game 3 was a shortened match against St Catherine’s Singleton. The game was a bit shaky and both teams had some chances to score. However, Lachlan Winkleman pounced on a goalkeeping error to score and win the game 1-0 to put us in the Semi Finals.  

Our Semi-Final saw us take on a very strong St Mary’s Gateshead who had won their pool convincingly. Again, this was a well fought battle between both schools. The game finished 1-1, meaning St Bede’s could book their place in the Grand Final if they were to win on penalties. 

A fantastic finish from Theo Law and Leonard Hungerford saw St Bede’s up 2-1 in the shootout with Gateshead to shoot. Nicholas Hair pulled off a fantastic save to deny Gateshead from the spot. The remaining penalty takers all scored their penalties which meant St Bede’s were into their first ever Diocesan Gala Day Grand Final. 

After a long day of football, we played familiar faces St Joseph’s Lochinvar in the Grand Final. Both teams by this stage were extremely fatigued but both had an inexpressible desire to win. The score finished at 0-0 which meant that once again, St Bede’s were off to a penalty shootout to win the Junior Diocesan Gala Day. Congratulations to Theo Law, Leonard Hungerford, Koby Warland, Thomas Cornwall and Payton Wheeler who were all successful in their penalty kicks and see SBCC crowned the Junior Diocesan Football Gala Day Champions. 

A large on-field celebration occurred, and the boys then shook hands with the opposition. Spirits were high and Mr. Daltons stress levels were finally able to decrease. 

A massive congratulations to all players involved and a special shoutout to Graham Law for his assistance with supporting and developing our players. Congratulations to Players Player Nicholas Hair and Coaches Player Payton Wheeler on their monumental efforts all day, not missing a single minute of football. Off to Sydney we go!!!! 

U15’s Boys Basketball 

On Tuesday, 14 May, the St Bede's Under 16 Boys Basketball Team participated in BSNW School Competition, facing off against three teams: St Phillip’s Christian College, Kurri Kurri High School and Singleton High School. The team achieved a commendable result, winning two out of three games, which secured them a second-place finish in their pool. Advancing to the 3rd place playoff, the team faced All Saints Maitland, ultimately suffering a defeat. Despite this, their overall performance earned them a respectable 4th place finish in Division 2. Well done to the team for their impressive effort and sportsmanship! 

U15’s Girls Basketball 

On Wednesday 15 May, the U16s girls team represented St Bede’s at the BSNSW Basketball competition. The girls started the day off with a 40-0 victory against Singleton High school. The girls were against some tough competition for their second and third games where they were defeated before finishing off the day winning their play offs against St Paul’s Booragul. This victory meant the girls placed 5th overall in their division. This is an exceptional effort, and all players should be very proud of their participation and sportsmanship shown on the day. 

U13’s Rugby League 

On Thursday 16 May, St Bede's Under 13s Rugby League team participated in the Under 13s Country Cup, showcasing their skills and determination on the field. 

Their tournament began with a solid 16-0 victory against Swansea High School, displaying their strength and teamwork. Despite facing a tough opponent in St Mary's Gateshead, they fought hard but suffered a narrow 12-6 loss. In their final match against Kotara High School, the game ended in a 12-12 draw, highlighting the team's resilience and perseverance as they scored the equaliser right on the full-time siren. 

Overall, the team secured the 2nd position in their pool, a testament to their efforts and commitment throughout the competition. 

Congratulations to the St Bede's Under 13s Rugby League team for their performance, and we look forward to their future successes.

NSW All Schools Swimming Championships 

Congratulations Cobi Young (Year 12) who has been selected in the CCC team to compete at All Schools in the 200m Breastroke. We wish him all the best in Sydney on Thursday 30 May. 

Diocesan Soccer Team 

Congratulations to Theo Law (U16’s), Tatenda Goora (Opens) and Gabriel Borja (Opens) who have been selected in the Diocesan Soccer Teams. We wish them all the best at the NSWCCC Selection Trials this month. 

Diocesan Netball Team 

Congratulations to Ava White and Eve power for their selection in the Diocesan Netball Team.  

SERVICE & GOVERNANCE DOMAIN

School Fees – Kylie Murray   

Please be advised that 2024 School Fee Statements were emailed to the first listed fee payer's email address on Thursday 2 May.  

If you nominated any other payment frequency than annual, your payments should have commenced prior to Sunday 31 March 2024 and are now considered overdue. We will be contacting families in the coming weeks where payments have not commenced as per the nominated payment frequency. 

Those families that believe there may be an issue with their statement, please email: finance@chisholmsb.catholic.edu.au  

For any families experiencing genuine financial hardship, we encourage you to contact your School Finance Officer to discuss and develop a payment plan.  

Other News

Canteen

Canteen Roster

Volunteer Registration Link

School Student Travel

Hunter Academy of Sport Indigenous Identification Day 2024

Williamson International – Uniform Queries

All uniform queries are to be directed to Williamson International.

Williamson International Contact Details:

Phone: 1800 815 571
Email: greg@williamson.com.au
Online Uniform Orders: https://shop-williamson.com.au/