St Bede's Catholic College Newsletter 13 - 25th August 2023
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE – JOHN MURPHY
PRAYER
God of compassion,
we praise you for your servant, Mary MacKillop,
who gave her life to serve you
in the poor and oppressed.
As she is honoured in our world,
may we continue to learn to share her vision.
Help us to recognise, as she did,
that the poor of our time will hear the Gospel
in the way we serve them.
Be with us as we strive to follow her and
carry out our mission of service and care.
Amen
St Bede… Pray for us
STAFF NEWS
Congratulations to Mr Nicholas Marsh who has been appointed as a Leader of Wellbeing & Engagement (LOWE) at St Pius X High School Adamstown, commencing at the start of next year. Mr. Marsh has been an outstanding LOWE and teacher here at St Bede’s since he commenced in 2020. For the last three years he has guided our current Year 12 cohort through their senior schooling education. Mr Marsh will be missed, and we wish him all the best with his change of schools from the start of next year.
Congratulations to Ms. Lauren Power on her appointment as a permanent full-time Leader of Wellbeing & Engagement (LOWE). Ms. Power has been an Assistant LOWE for the last two years and is currently the Acting Year 9 LOWE position for this semester while Ms. Martin is on parental leave. Ms. Power has also had other successful school leadership experience at St Bede’s and other schools, including being an Acting Sports Coordinator and a Leader of Learning. Ms. Power is a highly respected and valued member of our staff and is doing excellent work in leading Year 9 in the absence of Ms. Martin who is on leave.
An announcement on the allocation of year groups for our 2024 LOWEs will be made later in the year.
Ms. Nina Ross, one of our highly valued art teachers who has been on leave since August last year, has decided that she will not be returning to St Bede’s. Ms. Ross is working at Reconciliation Australia, an independent not-for profit organisation, and lead body for reconciliation in Australia. As the Senior Officer leading Professional Learning and Curriculum for the Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education program, she promotes and facilitates reconciliation between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in schools and services nationally. Ms. Ross’ work also involves developing and facilitating professional learning for teachers and leaders and creating and reviewing educational resources. Having had such great success in this temporary position, Ms. Ross has been offered and accepted this position on a permanent basis.
Ms. Ross commenced in 2019 as our first Visual Arts teacher and from 2019 – 2022, she laid the platform for Visual Arts to be the thriving subject that it is today. Ms. Ross is also a talented Indigenous artist who generously painted and gave an amazing Indigenous artwork that is now proudly displayed in the Peregrine Trial extension which looks onto our Yarning Circle. We congratulate Ms. Ross on her appointment.
Congratulations to Ms. Taleise Pickavance, one of our Learning Support Assistants, who is one of two Aboriginal students to be chosen to represent the Australian Catholic University at the Indigenous Empowerment summit for Indigenous education in Cairns. We are enormously proud of our Indigenous community, and we wish Ms. Pickavance all the best at the summit.
PARENT FORUM
The Term 3 Parent Forum was held last Wednesday 16 August. Included in the agenda was a presentation from our Catholic Care Social Services Caseworker, Sophie King, who commenced at St Bede’s earlier in the year. Thank you to those parents/carers who attended. Our Term 4 Meeting will be held at 6.00pm on Wednesday 8 November in which all parents/carers are invited to attend.
Please refer to the meeting summary notes below.
COMMUNITY CONSULTATION
On Tuesday 15 August, we were delighted to host staff from Maitland City Council for an information session on the future Chisholm Community Centre. During this session, Council staff revealed their design plans for the Centre and discussed how they included community feedback in their design. The session also gave community members the opportunity to ask questions about the design process and the next steps in the project. The new centre will feature fully accessible amenities, including indoor and outdoor toilets, a large multipurpose space, a commercial kitchen, secure play area, an enclosed terrace, solar panels, and access to nearby existing parking. Construction is set to begin in 2024.
For more information about this project, please click on the link below.
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
Supporting positive school attendance is a shared responsibility - everyone has a role to play in promoting the regular attendance of students. All children should be at school on time each day and remain until the conclusion of lessons in the afternoon. This ensures a consistent routine for students which helps children feel secure, as well as allowing children to learn and grow. Days off school not only contribute to significant gaps and lost opportunities in learning, but it is also hard for children to establish, develop and maintain social connections.
We ask that you try to limit appointments through the school day where possible. Frequent lateness should also be avoided, as children need to get into a good routine each morning. If you are having difficulty getting your child to school on time, please talk to their Leader of Wellbeing & Engagement.
Please see below for some excellent resources to support students and parents.
GOING GREEN - 100% GREENPOWER
We are proud to announce that from July 2023 all Catholic Schools Office sites, including St Bede’s, are powered by GreenPower – 100% clean renewable energy. Run by the NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change, GreenPower is the only government accreditation program that guarantees electricity use is matched with power from renewable electricity sources.
The purchase of GreenPower guarantees the electricity is coming from renewable energy sources that meet strict environmental criteria. This ensures that the grid electricity we use has net-zero emissions.
The transition to GreenPower is just one of the actions Catholic Schools Maitland-Newcastle is undertaking as part of the Diocesan Sustainability Plan 2022-2025, to positively influence sustainability across our region. Another is to reduce electricity consumption across schools. New LED lighting is progressively being installed in all schools and at one primary school alone, there has been a 26% reduction in electricity.
With 58 schools, the impact of the lighting project is quite significant and combined with the installation of PV solar across all Catholic Diocese schools, further efficiencies will be gained. Reducing our demand on the grid is good for the environment but helps students too, with potential reduced operating cost savings being channelled to additional programs.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Date | Event |
Friday 22nd September | Term 3 Concludes |
Monday 9th October | Term 4 Commences |
Assistant Principal Report – Brett Donohoe and Emma South
Year 11 2023 Subject Consultation Interviews
Thanks very much to all the parents and carers who attended their personalised interview with a representative teacher. We trust you received valuable feedback on your child’s subjects and this process has further supported them in their finalised subjects and given them some insights into the expectations as they move into Stage 6. Changes that have been submitted to Emma South will be processed and students will receive these confirmed changes. Mrs. Simmons and Mrs. Hillier are creating an excellent transition program for these students which will go ahead later in the year. This program will provide these students with further guidance and understanding of Stage 6 expectations.
Child Protection Week
National Child Protection Week is a campaign held annually across Australia to raise awareness of child abuse prevention. This year’s campaign will be held between 3-9 September.
National Child Protection Week aims to engage, educate, and empower Australians to understand the complexity of child abuse and neglect, and work together to prevent it. The campaign does this through the sharing of events and resources to encourage communities to engage in conversations around children’s safety and wellbeing. This year, the theme is ‘Where we start matters’.
The Student Wellbeing Committee at St Bede’s will be facilitating a host of activities for our students over this week to raise greater awareness of their rights on safety and their own wellbeing.
Attendance – Leave Forms
Responding to Absences
Parents are asked to follow the following protocol:
Days Absent | Action Required |
1-2 days | inform the school office or use the Notes and Approvals tab through Compass. |
3-10 days | complete the form ‘Application for Leave Up to 10 days’ on the College website. |
10 days or more | complete the form ‘Application for Leave 10 Days or More’ on the College website. The principal of the school has the authority to either grant or deny the period of leave that is being requested. |
Leave forms are to be completed and submitted at least one week prior to the proposed leave date. Parents/carers who do not apply for the extended period of leave, inform the school after the leave or have undertaken the leave once it has been denied, will have the absence of their child recorded as unexplained.
If extended leave is granted, the record of school attendance will reflect this, and a Certificate of Leave will be provided.
Please click on the link below to access all 2023 Parent and Student Year Handbooks.
Catholic Formation and Mission – Andrew Slater
Mass for Year 12 Students and their Families
A Mass will be celebrated for the intentions of all Year 12 students in schools within the Chisholm Region (St Bede’s Catholic College, All Saints’ College and St Joseph’s College). All members of our College community are invited to attend and pray for our Year 12 students.
Where: St Joseph’s Catholic Church, East Maitland
When: 6pm, Sunday 17th September
Year 11 Retreat
A reminder that the Year 11 Retreat is being held from Monday to Wednesday of Week 9 (11th – 13th September). All students should be at school by 8:45am on Monday 11th, to allow for a prompt departure. Students are reminded that no aerosols are to be brought on Retreat due to site rules.
LEARNING DOMAIN
Year 8 Leader of Wellbeing & Engagement – Kelly Pearson
Year 8 have settled back into the routine of school commendably as Term 3 has begun. Things have certainly been extremely busy for our Year 8 cohort, and they work continue to work through their classwork and assessments. It has been wonderful to see our students developing independence as learners, and working collaboratively in learning spaces to help each other and foster their own learning.
Year 8 have also enthusiastically participated in soccer competitions held at lunchtime, and they are enjoying the additional space on the yard as the building program progresses.
In well-being lessons this term, Year 8 have been focusing on building leadership skills as valuable members of our College community and as a reflection of our core values. Year 8 have also explored the importance of, and ways to develop, boundaries for the well-being of themselves and others. Year 8 have participated in opportunities to be active with each other to develop their collaboration skills and enjoy some recreation time while strengthening relationships with one another. Students engaged with a lesson on the importance of positive self-talk and treating others in positive and affirming ways. This activity was particularly meaningful as students wrote affirmations to one another, and it was lovely to see the caring messages they shared with their peers.
If there are any issues related to uniform or organisation please contact your child’s Homeroom teacher, or Miss. Abby O’Connor on abby.oconnor1@mn.catholic.edu.au
If you have any concerns or questions about your child’s wellbeing, please don’t hesitate to contact me on 4088 8222 or at kelly.pearson@mn.catholic.edu.au
Waste Mascot Competition – Abby O’Connor
Last year, St Bede’s Catholic College promoted Maitland City Council’s Waste Character Competition. Students were asked to creatively promote positive waste and recovery messages to the community by drawing a waste mascot which would be used for local promotional material. Lucy Richardson (Year 8) and Sophie Meehan (Year 9) can now see their 'waste mascot’ on the sides of Maitland's garbage trucks!
- Sophie Meehan
Early last December, I entered an art competition for Maitland city council, the goal was to create a character that represented a positive waste mindset. The character I created; "Barry the Box Monster" represents. using the materials, you have. A few weeks later I had found out that I was runner up in the competition! The prize for this was a sizeable art pack and getting my design featured on a waste truck in the Maitland area. Finally, after months of waiting, my design was put onto a garbage truck! When my dad showed me the photo with my drawing on the truck, I felt starstruck. It was the most amazing feeling to achieve something as big as that and finally see the aftermath. I hope that the Maitland area enjoys my design!
- Lucy Richardson
I originally got the idea for turntable while at home, watching Stranger Things, with the Upside-down and the normal world. I used that inspiration for his design, and he ended up with one side clean and one side dirty. One side represents how we see our Earth now, and one side what Earth might become. Turntable got his name from the turntables for trains, and it represents the movement from one side to another, as in earth could be clean, then dirty, then clean again. I drew Turntable with the trees and smokestacks, showing what we want the earth to have, and what it may end up only having. Overall, I am proud of Turntable. I was overjoyed when I heard that I had won the Waste Mascot Competition, and when I heard I got to have my character on a truck. I got scared, as I didn't want people seeing that it was my work, but in the end, I'm still proud.
Sport – Belinda Watts
NSWCCC Netball Championships
On the 15th of August our 7/8 and 9/10 A Teams travelled to Penrith to play in the NSWCCC Netball Championships. The girls competed against all schools in the Hunter and Sydney region. Our 9/10 A Team were very competitive in their division, finishing the day with 2 wins and 3 very close losses. Congratulations to our 7/8 A Team who were undefeated in their age category and came away as Minor champions in their division. We hope to compete in the Major Division in 2024.
A big thank you to our student referees, Imogen Brownlee and Taneisha Twitchin who were outstanding on the day! We wish both teams all the best at the Regional Championships to be held on the 15th of September at Maitland Netball Courts.
Imogen Brownlee
Taneisha Twitchin
7/8 Team: Hayley Read, Emmison Mate, Gracie Martin, Ava White, Blair Vorenkamp, Milly Bridge, Claudia Feenan, Addison Elbourne, Zoe Hickey, Charlotte Palmer
9/10 Team: Keely Sutton, Gabby Younger, Janali Haynes, Eve Power, Emity Beeching, Ella Graham, Georgie Punch, Macey Streeter, Holly Clack and Mackenna Sutton.
Diocesan Athletics
On the 16 August, 62 students represented SBCC at the Diocesan Athletics Carnival at Hunter Sports Centre, Glendale. Our students were dominant on the day and as a result we have 14 students progressing to the NSW CCC Athletics carnival at Homebush, Sydney on 11 September.
A big congratulations to the following students who placed first or second in their track event, or first in their field event.
- Johan Bobby Samuel (800m, 400m)
- Phoenix Borja (200m, 100m, Long Jump)
- Imogen Brownlee (Shotput)
- Brooklyn Darcy (800m)
- Aloysia Edwards (High Jump)
- Zane Edwards (200m, 100m, hurdles)
- Max Ferris (Shotput)
- Shelby Griffis (200m, 100m, Javelin, Shot Put, Long Jump)
- Harry Lidbury (400m)
- Coen Morgan (1500m, 800m)
- Anita Olie (100m)
- Eve Power (High Jump)
- Lily Sutton (1500m, 800m, 400m, 200m)
- Zac Thomson (1500m, 800m)
- Lachlan Winkelman (3800m, 200m, 100m, 400m)
We also had many students place second in field events which unfortunately means they do not progress. A special mention to Isla Hiles, 2nd in Shot Put, Janali Haynes 2nd in Shot Put, Charlie Burey 2nd High Jump, Gabriel Borja 2nd Long Jump, Max Ferris 2nd Discus, Ethan Lieb 2nd Javelin, Nathan Rees 2nd High Jump and our Junior and Intermediate Boys relay teams for placing 1st and 2nd.
Australian Touch Championships
Harry Lidbury in Year 9 competed at the 2023 School Sport Australia (U15’s) Touch Football Championships in Darwin NT in Week 5 this Term. NSW won all their round games and drew with QLD to place them in the FINALS. Unfortunately, QLD won which placed NSW Silver medalists. This is an amazing achievement. Congratulations to Harry who was named ‘players player’ for the tournament and was outstanding by all accounts.
Upcoming Events: Term 3
Date | Event | Location |
Monday 28th August | Rugby Union 7’s Girls | Raymond Terrace |
Tuesday 29th August | Rugby Union 7’s Boys | Waratah Oval |
Monday 11th September | CCC Athletics Carnival | Homebush |
Wednesday 13th September | T20 Cricket | Maitland |
Friday 15th September | Regional Netball Finals | Maitland |
SERVICE & GOVERNANCE DOMAIN
School Fees – Kylie Murray
As year 12 students are departing this year all accounts must be finalised before the end of year events.
If you nominated paying school fees in full this was to be completed by the 30th of June and now considered overdue.
Regular payments towards your annual fees should have commenced by the 31st March with all fees to be finalised by the end of November.
For any families that have not commenced a payment plan or reached out for an appointment, you are currently outside of a payment term, and you are reminded that this is a requirement of enrolment. Please contact the Finance team immediately if you need any assistance in calculating a regular amount to get a payment plan in place or if you require a meeting with the Principal.
For any queries please don’t hesitate to contact the Finance team.
finance@chisholmsb.catholic.edu.au
Other News
Aspire Young Actors Program
Canteen Helpers Needed
Immunisations – NSW Health
School Student Travel May 2023
Volunteer Registration Link
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: