St Bede's Catholic College Newsletter 8 - 7 June 2024

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE – EMMA SOUTH

PRAYER  

God of Faith, 
May Your Holy Spirit  
who inspired our patron St Marcellin Champagnat,  
give us a heart full of hope to encourage others  
in seeking meaningful relationships with all people.  
May we find the strength to build communities of faith  
that are sacred and where people can find meaning  
for their lives through you,  
just like Mary, the mother of God. 
We ask this through Jesus Christ, the source of all faith. 
Amen. 
St Marcellin Champagnat … Pray for us
St Bede … Pray for us. 

At St Bede's, we believe our students and staff thrive when they can embrace courage, knowledge, faith, and community. These pillars have been with us since foundation and have recently more deeply explored as part of the development of our new College Mission and Vision Statement. In this newsletter, I explore some of the ways we embrace the pillars each day.  

Courage 

Courageous Students: 

Students across Years 7 to 12 have been courageous in facing the challenges presented to them so far this term. We have had individuals and teams who have achieved significant success in the sporting arena, others who have attempted and flourished in their approach to new learning tasks that push them beyond their own perceived capacity, and we have young performers who are preparing to brave the audience at the Civic Theatre when they take to the stage at Dio Sounds next Friday. Our young people often surprise themselves, and sometimes even us, when they take courageous steps in a new direction – we encourage them to do this as it is through taking these steps that we reach our potential.  

Knowledge 

Professional Learning at St Bede’s: 

We strive to continually learn so that we can provide our students with the best possible learning and wellbeing outcomes. This week all teaching staff engaged in a Twilight PLM where we learnt how to use a range of literacy strategies and worked in faculty groups to develop resources, all aimed at supporting our students to improve their writing. Next week, more than twenty-five of our staff have volunteered to stay back after their workday to take part in Living Works - Safe Talk. This three-and-a-half-hour NESA accredited workshop focuses on Suicide Alertness, where participants will learn to identify a young person having thoughts of suicide, ask the question directly and safely, and then refer these individuals to further safety and support. Living Works Safe TALK also addresses common community perceptions and myths around suicide that prevent us from acting and allows practice asking and referring a young person to further help. 

This teacher training, whether focused on learning or wellbeing, keeps our students and their needs at the centre of what we do.  

Faith 

Living our faith formally and informally: 

Our students live out their faith through both formal and informal structures. In Religion classes they are provided a foundation in Catholic beliefs, history, and scripture. They often explore the application of faith to real-world issues through the lens of Catholic social teachings. Participation in school masses, liturgies, and quiet reflection spaces allows students to connect with their faith on a spiritual level. Through their actions in the learning spaces and the yard areas, our students are encouraged to reflect faith in how they treat each other, all our staff and the incredible facilities with which we are blessed. We treat each other with dignity and kindness and ensure that we look after each other and our school as stewards of the planet.  

Community 

Parent Engagement: 

We invite parents and carers to be active participants in our college community and one way we do this is through our Parent Forums. These events, held once a term, are a wonderful opportunity for parents and carers to connect with the College Executive team. Through sharing of updates from the Parent Representatives to Educative Items focused on what is happening in our learning spaces, we appreciate all who take the time to join us.  

Please find the summary of our Term 2 Parent Forum.

Keeping our students safe – mandatory reporting 

School teachers are often on the front lines of identifying child abuse and neglect. Mandatory reporting laws equip them with the critical responsibility to speak up if a child's safety appears at risk.  

Mandatory reporting can be a difficult but essential duty. Teachers are not expected to investigate – their role is to report concerns and allow trained professionals to intervene. By fulfilling this responsibility, teachers play a vital role in ensuring the well-being of their students. 

At St Bede’s, we work alongside The Office of Safeguarding to ensure we meet all Mandatory Reporting expectations, doing all within our power to keep our students safe. The Office of Safeguarding have provided a range of resources for High School students and their parents and carer. We encourage all in our community to access these resources when needed.  

TTFM – Tell Them from Me - Surveys 

All families will have received a link to complete the TTFM survey which, as mentioned in the last newsletter, provides the opportunity for parents and carers to contribute to the continuous improvement of our school in all areas. 

Thank you to all families who have already taken up this opportunity and we encourage every family to be involved in this school improvement process. 

UPCOMING EVENTS 2024

Assistant Principal Report – Amber Carter and Kelly Pearson

We welcome our College community to the mid-point of the term, it has been a busy few weeks with a number of exciting experiences and events, and we continue to be impressed by the enthusiasm with which our students are embracing the building of community through school spirit.  

We thank our families for engaging with the Tell Them From Me Survey. This feedback is highly important to the College as this will provide us with your insights and experience as members of our community, which we can use for planning for future directions. Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey independently and thoughtfully, we appreciate the feedback. 

The survey is voluntary, however we encourage you to participate, to give you the opportunity to contribute directly into our school improvement initiatives. The survey takes approximately 20 minutes to complete and must be completed in one sitting. 

You will be provided with a unique username and code and can access the survey at the link.

St Marcellin Champagnat feast day was celebrated this week with lots of blue and smiling faces! Our feast days are an important and affirming expression of our Catholic identity, and gold coin donations supported the Vinnie’s Winter Appeal. We thank our students for bringing their enthusiasm and generosity to this very important day.  

In uniform matters, we thank those students who continue to wear the College uniform with pride, and in accordance with the policy. We are still needing to challenge some fairly consistent issues with hair, jewellery, and wearing sport uniform on non-sport or prac days. We ask that parents review the policy and work collaboratively with the College to maintain our high standards.  

In recent weeks we have unfortunately seen some disappointing lack of care for our facilities, with litter being left behind. It is preferable that our students understand the responsibility they have to commit to careful stewardship of our beautiful school. We will be challenging students to make a more consistent commitment to meeting this expectation.   

Respectful behaviour among our student community is an expectation, and we ask that all students demonstrate respect towards their peers, staff, and themselves individually. While the majority of our young people consistently show respect and kindness to others, there have been some examples of poor decision making in this area. Staff will continue to encourage positive interpersonal interactions, and provide guidance in pro-social behaviour choices, and we encourage families to discuss positive conflict resolution approaches at home.  

Attendance 

Regular attendance at school is essential for your child to achieve their educational best and increase their career and life options. The College is proactive in working in partnership with families to encourage and support students' regular attendance. When your child attends school every day, learning becomes easier and your child will build and maintain connection with their peers and teachers. Along with regular attendance, 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.
• Reduces classroom disruption

Lateness is recorded as a partial absence and must be explained by parents.Families are encouraged to travel during school holidays. If travel during school term is necessary, an Application for Extended Leave may need to be completed. Absences relating to travel will be marked as leave on the roll and therefore contribute to your child’s total absences for the year.

If families have any concerns regarding their child's attendance, they are encouraged to reach out to the relevant Leader of Wellbeing and Engagement or Assistant Principals.

Catholic Formation and Mission – Andrew Slater

Lord Mayor’s Student Leadership Forum 

On Friday 7 June, our Year 12 Student Leadership Team participated in the Newcastle Lord Mayor’s Student Leadership Forum. The Forum was established in 2013, in conjunction with the Annual Lord Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, to enable student leaders to interact with the Lord Mayor and other significant leaders from the community. This year, the Leaders heard from Nuatali Nelmes (Lord Mayor of Newcastle), Wynette Horne (founder of the Waratah Girls Choir) and Paul Lambess (director of Winarch Capital). The Forum provided the Student Leaders with an invaluable opportunity to deepen their understanding of leadership, both within and beyond the College. 

Feast of St Marcellin Champagnat 

Students dressed in blue on Thursday 6 June to celebrate the Feast of St Marcellin Champagnat. All money raised was donated to Vinnie’s Winter Appeal. Fundraising for Vinnies Winter Appeal will continue at the Athletics carnival, with a sausage sizzle. Sausage sandwiches will be $2, and can be pre-ordered via Qkr. 

LEARNING DOMAIN

Year 8 Leader of Wellbeing & Engagement – Rebecca Dawber  

Year 8 have had another wonderful and busy first half of Term 2, with so many participating in all parts of school life, which at the moment involves many of our talented Music students in Year 8 are preparing for DioSounds. Year 8 students have continued to represent the College with pride in rugby league, touch football, soccer, dance, swimming and cross country. Well done to all students for stepping up and showcasing your talents in the various arenas.

In Visual Arts, students have completed their self-portraits with such high quality. I love visiting the calm and creative art classes and look forward to see the development of their next projects, painting their houses after the style of Howard Arkley. In languages, students have been very busy preparing for their next assessment, a speaking task where they are piecing together their vocabulary into conversations. On Wednesday, students sat the religious literacy examination, an on-line exam, that students in all the Maitland Newcastle Diocese school sit and are marked externally.  

Students in Year 8 got on board with our wonderful St Bede’s Day fundraiser for the Holy Child Program with contributing to and working in their stall, with the assistance of their Homeroom teachers. Year 8 Students ran stores selling pizza, lolly bags, putt-putt competitions. It was a fun day where we truly celebrated our Community Pillar. 

In our Wellbeing sessions, we have had some time to address some of different boy and girl issues that have been developing. Due to some ongoing issues involving breaking the College hands-off Policy, particularly amongst year 7 and 8 boys, under the direction of the Male Homeroom teachers, boys went through some of the various reasons why we have such a policy. These include: 

• School is an unsafe place – too many people/not enough space. 
• Research shows that as you develop, the need for rough play decreases and most don’t like to as much in the teenage years. 
• Most boys who are engaging in rough play in their teenage years, engage in rough play as a way to demonstrate dominance and authority, hence things tend to get out of hand and dangerous.  
• There tends to be a big difference in sizes and strength with boys developing at different rates, so someone usually gets hurt.  
• Some people don’t understand that others are “mucking around” and things get out of hand or people get offended. 

Our girls focused on developing the “sisterhood” and discussed ways to build each other up, rather than tear down.  We addressed the common theme of social media and its negative impact on our young people and relationships. Most of the Wellbeing concerns that I am currently addressing with our year 8 girls are directly related to Social Media. Many students are the victims of online bulling, posting cryptic messages that many believe are directed at them, leaving people out of group chats, sending around screenshots of private photos and impersonating others online.  

I encourage parents to have open discussions about social media with their children and do regular checks on their child’s phone. Encourage blocking people who are causing them distress and ensure that they have quality downtime away from their device will help them with their wellbeing.  

Lastly, I would like to congratulate the following students for their Gotcha Award they recently received. Homeroom teachers nominate these students for being seen to help out, act responsibly and do their best in all they do.

Wel done!

Aboriginal Education – Karen Chapman

Each year, Australia celebrates National Reconciliation Week from May 27 to the June 3. It is a week-long observance for all Australians, a time to recognise and commemorate Australia’s shared history, culture and achievements. It is a time to reflect and continue building momentum towards reconciliation in our schools and workplaces. Each year, Reconciliation Australia selects a different theme, this year’s theme is ‘Now More Than Ever’. 

The week also marks several important events - National Sorry Day on May 26, the Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum on May 27 and Mabo Day on June 3.  

St Bede’s commemorated with whole school activities held across the week, including daily homeroom activities. During each Year Assembly on Friday May 31, leaders from our Social Justice Committee presented a heartfelt speech to students. 

Each homeroom then wrote a statement, committing to taking action within our school and community.

Performing Arts @ St Bede’s – Michelle Burgess

Peripatetic Music Programme 2024 

The St Bede’s Peripatetic Programme provides students with the option to take part in private instrumental tuition. If you are interested in learning an instrument, please see Mr. Thornton, Mrs. Burgess, Mr. Warren or Mr. Dalton for further information.  

St Bede’s offers the following opportunities for private instrumental tuition: 

• Teasha Jackson – Vocals
• Brett Naylor – Guitar
• Deidre Ditton – piano, musicianship
• Alex Brollo – bass and drums

If you require a tutor for any other instrument not listed above, please contact Mrs. Burgess.  

Once a time has been confirmed with your selected teacher, a contract must be completed and signed by parents/carers and returned to Student Services before tuition can commence.  

Chapel Jazz – Morpeth  

On May 19 the St Bede’s Stage Band performed at the annual Chapel Jazz festival in Morpeth. Our students were the last ensemble to perform and certainly entertained the crowd on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  

I was lovely to see so many parents, carers, family and friends from our community there to support our young musicians. Thank you for being there! 

The Stage Band consists of:  

• Horns: Thomas Bendeich, Lexie Burgess, Mr. Russell Thornton, Caitlin Woodyatt and Mrs. Michelle Burgess
• Guitar:Mathew Winkleman and Jack Swan 
• Bass: Elijah Antcliff
• Keys: Tiffany Gillard, Ivana Sony and Aleena Saunder
• Drums: Jackson Nardelli
• Vocals: Tamara Redcliffe, Maahi Ram, Blake Greive, Isabelle Olsen, Ava La Breton and Harriet Price. 

St Bede’s Feast Day – buskers!  

Thank you to amazing students who set up and supported one another during the busking event for the St Bede’s Feast Day. I was extremely impressed that many students signed up to perform for this community event. Looking forward to next year.  

Year 7 Music 

Lately our Year music students have been preparing for this second learning task which consists of studying, rehearsing and performing 3 different works from contemporary Australian musicians.  

Mr. Thornton, Mr. Warren, Mr. Dalton and myself are so impressed with the effort and persistence these students have shown over the last term. All feedback can been read by parents on Compass at the end of week 7. 

Sport – Belinda Watts  

Hunter NSW Oztag Championships 

On Thursday June 30 St Bede’s Catholic College entered six teams into the Oztag Championships held at Tomaree Sports Complex, Nelson Bay. This is the first time that we have competed in this sport and all the teams should be proud of their efforts. The day was enjoyed by all, and students demonstrated excellent sportsmanship and teamwork on the day.

CCC Football 

Congratulations to Janali Haynes who has been selected in the Opens Girls NSWCCC Football Team and competed at the NSW All School Football Trials in Sydney.  

CCC Rugby League Team 

Congratulations to Charlie Burey who has been selected for the 15’s NSWCCC Rugby League Team to compete at the Australian Rugby League Championships at Port Macquarie in Week 10. This is a phenomenal achievement, and we wish him all the best. 

Bill Turner Cup Girls 

Congratulations to our girls under 15’s football team who have won our last two rounds of the Bill Turner Cup. Our first game was against St Catherines Singleton which saw us come away with a 3-0 win. Our second game was against Maitland High School where we won 3-1. All the girls involved are to be commended for their sportsmanship, and it was fantastic to see each and every one of them give their all out on the field. The team now progresses to the area final, which will be played in the coming weeks.  

14’s Boys Futsal Northern NSW Futsal Schools Championships 

Congratulations to our under 14’s Boys Futsal Teams who finished 1^st and 2^nd at the Northern NSW Schools Futsal Championships. Both teams will now progress through to the State Finals on Monday 24^ June.  

16’s Boys Futsal Northern NSW Futsal Schools Championships 

Congratulations to our Under 16’s boys who went through the entire day undefeated, claiming 1^st place at the Northern NSW Schools Futsal Championship. The boys will now progress through to the State Finals in June. 

Open’s Futsal Northern NSW Futsal Schools Championships 

Congratulations to our Under 19’s boys who went through the entire day undefeated, claiming 1^st place at the Northern NSW Schools Futsal Championship. The boys are to be commended for the way they carried themselves. The next event will see them competing at the State Finals in June.  

Girl’s Futsal Northern NSW Futsal Schools Championships 

On Thursday May 23, our very own St Bede’s U14 and U16 girls' futsal teams showcased their incredible talent and determination at the Northern NSW School Futsal Championship. Facing tough opposition, the girls embraced each challenge with grit and unwavering spirit, delivering outstanding performances throughout the day. 

Both teams emerged undefeated in their pool games, earning their spots in the finals through sheer perseverance and teamwork. Although they narrowly missed out on victory in some thrilling end-to-end matches, their journey doesn't end here. By reaching the finals, both teams have secured their places in the State Finals, set to take place at the end of June. 

We are immensely proud of our girls, not only for their skills on the court but also for their exemplary sportsmanship and the honor with which they represented St Bede’s. Their achievements are a testament to their hard work, dedication, and the power of a united team spirit. 

A special shoutout goes to Lily Sutton, who, despite an injury, contributed greatly as the team's photographer for the day. Lily's support and enthusiasm embody the true essence of teamwork and community spirit. 

Congratulations, girls! 

U15’s Boys Rugby League 

On Thursday 23 May, St Bede's Under 15s Rugby League team participated in the Under 15s Country Cup, showcasing their skills and determination on the field. 

Their tournament began with a nail-biting 16-10 loss against St Pius Adamstown, displaying their strength and teamwork. Despite facing a tough opponent in Callaghan College Wallsend, they fought hard but suffered a 30-6 loss. Overall, the team showed significant improvements from their tournaments last year, a testament to their efforts and commitment throughout the competition. 

Congratulations to the St Bede's Under 15s Rugby League team for their performance, and we look forward to their future successes. 

Upcoming Events: 

A reminder that St Bede’s Catholic College is a member of the NSWCCC. Updated information and a detailed list of all individual and team pathway events/carnivals can be found with the below link.

SERVICE & GOVERNANCE DOMAIN

School Fees – Kylie Murray   

Please be advised that School Fee Statements have been emailed this week to the first listed fee payer's email address.  

For families that have nominated to pay school fees in a lump sum, this payment is required prior to the end of June. For those families that are making regular payments towards fees, this commitment is appreciated.  

If you have a Centrelink issued HCC, and have not supplied a copy for 2024, please complete this link and attach a copy of your card front and back. 

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/