St Bernadette's Primary School

A Wonderful Start to the School Year

Despite a hot start, it has been a calm, organised, happy and positive beginning to the school year. Thank you for bringing your children to school refreshed, settled and ready to learn as it truly makes a difference to how smoothly the year begins for them, and for staff.

Our new Pre-Primary rooms are looking fantastic, and it has been wonderful to finally have all of our Pre-Primary and Kindy students together in one Early Years Block. The spaces are already buzzing with learning, connection and happy energy. I would particularly like to thank our AMAZING PP staff who all pitched in, came to school in their holidays and got the space ready to go. We are really lucky to have such a dedicated group of professionals here at St Bernie’s.

Class Notes went home last week in the newsletter, and these included all key information for parents. If you have missed it, please let the office know and we will update your details.

We’re excited to offer families the Four Ways Parenting Program — a free, practical program designed to support parents with everyday challenges at home. The sessions focus on building positive relationships, setting clear boundaries, and supporting children’s wellbeing and behaviour.
All parents and carers are warmly encouraged to attend. More details can be found further down in this Newsletter.

This year, following consultation with our School Advisory Council (SAC) and P&F, we have made the decision not to run a Parent Information Night. Over time, feedback has indicated that attending these meetings at the start of the year, particularly for families with multiple children, is very challenging. The weather is often hot, and parents are tired after a long day at work. Instead, we will be ensuring all important information is clearly communicated through Parent Notes, Seesaw and our regular Newsletter. In addition, Information Notes will be sent home at the start of each term to keep families well informed and up to date. We hope that this change will free families up to have a less busy start to the year!

The one exception to this is our Year 6 Camp Meeting which will go ahead next Tuesday at 4pm. This meeting is always well attended and an important tool for ensuring a smooth, safe, fun and organised camp.

Coming up soon:

Swimming Trials – next Thursday 12th Feb
St Bernadette’s Feast Day – next Friday 13th Feb, which will include an assembly, some in-school activities and fun tabloid sports!
Community Mass led by Year 3 & Sacramental Mass Registration - Saturday 14 February @ 6.00pm
Sacramental Mass Registration - Sunday 15 February @ 9.00am

We look forward to seeing some of you at the School Picnic on the Green tonight for a casual, relaxing get together.

Thank you again for your ongoing encouragement and support - we’re looking forward to another really great year together.

Regards

Geordie

Assembly Friday 13 February

The following students will be receiving Merit Awards at next week's Assembly, which starts at 8.50am in the undercover area. Family and friends are welcome to join us.

Mobile phones & smart watches

To support learning and wellbeing, all mobile phones and smart watches are to be kept in the school office during the school day. Students may collect them at the end of the day. Please have this conversation with your child and support us in keeping everyone safe and focused on learning.

Nut-Aware Reminder:

Please remember that we are a nut-aware school. Do not send foods containing nuts or nut products to school (especially peanut butter/nutella sandwiches). Thank you for helping keep everyone safe.

Updating contact details

Please check and update your contact details with the school office (phone, email, postal address, emergency contacts, and any medical information) to ensure we can reach you quickly.

Accurate contact information is essential for attendance, event notices, and emergencies. If there have been any changes, please email or come to the office.

A message from Mr Hilton

This is a reminder that St Bernadette’s CPS is an authorised used battery collection point. We are affiliated to a recycling group called Ecobatt. We have decided to go with Ecobatt because they have the latest technology.

The bin is monitored remotely for hazards such spontaneous combustion (fire). We have signed up to the ‘battery stewardship’ initiative so the collection service is free. The bin is in the undercover area at the front. We did very well last year with the number of used batteries we sent off to be recycled. Let us continue the good effort this year!

Batteries eligible for the scheme:

All alkaline batteries
Easily removable Lithium-ion batteries (single cells)
All button cell batteries
Power tool batteries
E-bike/e-scooter batteries less than 5kg
NiMH batteries
Mobile phones

Our first Sacramental commitment mass and Term 1 community sausage sizzle, will be held on Saturday14th February, 6pm and we'd love for everyone to please join us!

A Sausage sizzle generously sponsored by St Bernadette’s P&F and BBQ cooked by St Bernadette's Parish Men’s group will be available. Please RSVP via the QR code, for catering purposes.

Year 3, 4 & 6 2026 Students

Baptised Catholic children are invited to enrol to prepare for and receive the Sacraments as part of their on-going journey in faith and commitment to the Church. School sacramental years are:

Year 3 Sacrament of Reconciliation

Year 4 Sacrament of the Eucharist (First Holy Communion)

Year 6 Sacrament of Confirmation

Children are required to complete the Sacrament of Reconciliation before they can receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Please see all registration information and Sacramental Dates below:

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Sacramental Information 2026.pdf

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Uniform Update – School Socks

We would like to let families know about a small change to our school uniform. We will be moving away from branded school socks to plain white quarter crew socks as part of the uniform. These socks should be plain (no logos or patterns) and sit just above the ankle and can be purchased from any local retailer.

This change aims to simplify uniform requirements and reduce costs for families. Existing branded socks may continue to be worn until they need replacing. There is no expectation for families to replace socks immediately. We will transition to the new white socks during the year.

Thank you for your ongoing support in helping students present neatly and consistently in our school uniform.

Year 2 - 6 Piano, Guitar & Drum lessons 2026

Keyed Up Music is the largest music school providing music lessons for kids in Perth. With over 550 guitar students per week, the professional guitar teachers at Keyed Up know how to not only teach guitar competently to your child but also engage, inspire and create learning opportunities for them. Coupled with some basic practice discipline and good ol’ fashioned grit, there are simply no limits to your child’s musical potential! They too could be a Rock n’ Roll star of the 21st Century.

Guitar and Drum lessons are held at Bernie's after school on a Tuesday & Thursday. Please hop onto the Keyed Up Music website for more information - https://www.keyedupmusic.com.au/

Behaviour Tonics Parent Course at Bernie's

Behaviour Tonics offers child development courses, training and advice to parents, teachers, educators and professionals who work with families and carers.

Our focus is to help you to build self-regulation in children – and, in turn, improve child behaviour, social skills and relationships. Children need help from grown-ups to learn how to self-regulate their emotions; it is a skill they need to be taught, this is done through co-regulation. As they grow older and mature, this ability to self-regulate will see improvements in their behaviour… it’s a real work in progress.

By drawing on our extensive knowledge and experience, Behaviour Tonics can teach how to help a child manage their emotions, improve their behaviour – and be happier and to do better in life as a result.

Year 6 Camp Parent Information Session - Tuesday 10 February @ 4.00pm

Years 3 - 6 Swimming Trials at the Aqua Jetty - Thursday 12 February

St Bernadette's Day - Friday 13 February: please bring a plate to share for lunch

Community Mass led by Year 3 & Sacramental Mass Registration - Saturday 14 February @ 6.00pm

Sacramental Mass Registration - Sunday 15 February @ 9.00am

A reminder for our families

Our school canteen is only open on

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Orders can be placed online via the Spriggy App before 8.30am

or in person at the canteen.

In the Catholic tradition, our parish and school are closely connected.

The parish, led by Father Giovanni, provides spiritual leadership and is responsible for ensuring we nurture students’ faith alongside academic learning. The school supports the parish by helping children grow in Catholic values, preparing them for sacraments, and encouraging family participation in parish life.

It’s essentially a partnership — the parish is the faith community, and the school is one of its key ministries. For more information about our Parish, please click here:

https://portkennedy.perthcatholic.org.au/