The Puffin Post

As October comes to an end, we want to take a moment to celebrate what a wonderful month it has been at St. Bernard’s!

It has been great to see our students settling into their routines, building friendships, and diving into the learning happening in our classrooms. We have been so impressed with the enthusiasm, curiosity, and effort our little Puffins bring to school each day. From exciting classroom activities to special events and opportunities to learn and grow, October has been a busy and rewarding month!

We are so proud of the progress our students are making and love seeing their confidence grow as they take on new challenges and discover new things. It has been a pleasure getting to know our students and being part of their learning journey.

As we look ahead to November, we want to remind our families that St. Bernard’s is always here for you. As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, we also encourage everyone to slow down when they can, spend quality time with family, and make space for the little things that bring you joy. Whether it’s enjoying a cozy evening together, getting outside for some fresh air, or making special memories, we hope this season brings plenty of opportunities to connect and recharge.

Thank you to our families and staff for helping make St. Bernard’s such a welcoming, caring, and supportive place to learn and grow. We are so happy to be part of the Puffin family and look forward to all the wonderful things still to come!

-Jill & Matt

During Fire Prevention Week, our students at St. Bernard’s had a wonderful opportunity to learn about fire safety and the important work of our local firefighters!

A huge thank you to our local firefighters for taking the time to visit and teach our students these important safety skills. The students had a great time checking out the fire truck, asking questions, and engaging with our firefighters. We truly appreciate their time and support in helping keep our school community safe!

Our Thanksgiving Assembly took place on Thursday, October 8th, and our Grade 1 classes did an amazing job! TheTurkey Tango was definitely a highlight and a big hit with everyone!

A special thank you to Ms. Thorne, our Grade 1 teachers, and all the staff who helped plan and organize this meaningful assembly. We truly appreciate the time, care, and effort that went into creating such a special experience for our students and school community. It was a wonderful way to celebrate Thanksgiving together!

Our Remembrance Assembly will take place on Monday, November 9th at 8:40 a.m.

We are excited to welcome two family members from each Grade 4 family to join us for this special celebration. Grade 4 students are being asked to wear a black shirt.

Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. for Grade 4 families only.

A special thank-you to Ms. Thorne, our Grade 4 teachers, and all the students who will be working hard to make this meaningful assembly possible! We know how much time, planning, practice, and teamwork go into preparing a school assembly, and we truly appreciate the effort and care everyone will put into making this a special experience for our school community.

Just a friendly reminder that there will be no school on Wednesday, November 11th, in observance of Remembrance Day.

Remembrance Day is a time to honour and remember the brave men and women who have served and sacrificed to protect our freedom and peace. It is also an opportunity to teach our students the importance of gratitude, courage, and remembering the sacrifices made by others. Lest we forget.

🏆 Way to Go, Puffins! Cross Country Champions! 🏆

We have some exciting news to celebrate! The NLAA (Newfoundland and Labrador Athletics Association) has officially confirmed that St. Bernard’s Grade 4 Boys’ Cross Country team are the 2026 overall champions! 🎉

Despite competing as a team in only two of the three races due to a scheduling conflict with hockey, our Grade 4 boys came out on top, winning both races convincingly! What an incredible accomplishment!

There were also some fantastic individual performances throughout the series. Russell O’Rielly earned one gold and two silver medals, Joel Winsor brought home two bronze medals, and Mylie Nash earned a bronze medal. We are so proud of all our runners!

Way to go, Puffins! You’ve made St. Bernard’s proud! 💙🐧

St. Bernard’s brought home some amazing bling from the Harvest Run in Carbonear on Wednesday October 21st! It was a beautiful day for a run, filled with so many smiles and incredible determination from our students. Our Grade 3 and 4 Puffins also had an outstanding showing at the Harvest Run bringing home an incredible 8 of the 12 possible medals! We were so proud of every runner who represented our school.

A huge congratulations to all our runners who earned medals!

Grade 3 Girls

• 🥈 Luna Melvin (Ms. Heff) – 2nd Place

• 🥉 Ciara Walsh (Ms. Dunne) – 3rd Place

Grade 3 Boys

• 🥇 Brayden Brinston (Ms. Heff) – 1st Place

• 🥈 Benson Luby (Ms. Bryant) – 2nd Place

• 🥉 Chase O’Brien/Walsh (Ms. Heff) – 3rd Place

Grade 4 Girls

• 🥉 MJ Conway (Ms. Hicks) – 3rd Place

Grade 4 Boys

• 🥇 Russell O’Rielly (Ms. Hicks) – 1st Place

• 🥈 Joel Windsor (Ms. Power/Thorne/Samms) – 2nd Place

We are so proud of all our Puffins for their hard work, perseverance, and school spirit. You represented St. Bernard’s beautifully! 💙 A special thank you to Mr. Samms and Mrs. Power for attending with the students.

A big thank you to all the families that contributed to the St. Kevin's Food bank. As smaller communities, helping out our neighbours is second nature to us. Every single item donated stays local and makes a direct impact in our region, and we truly appreciate your generosity in making this food drive a success.

Teachers will be participating in Professional Learning (PL) on Friday, November 20 for teachers to work on student progress reports.

There will be no school for students on November 20.

KinderStart registration is now closed. If you have a child turning 5 before December 31, 2026, and you still need to register your child, please contact the school for assistance by emailing matthewrowe@nlschools.ca or jillhann@nlschool.ca

For families who have already registered, please remember to submit your proof of address documents by Friday, November 13.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Here are our Kinderstart dates. We can't wait to meet our newest puffins!

• Friday, Jan. 15, 2027
• Friday, Feb. 19, 2027
• Friday, April 16, 2027
• Friday, May 14, 2027

*Make-up Session

Friday, May 28, 2027

More information regarding times will be shared with families at a later date.

School Lunch Association have moved to a new provincial ordering platform: Bon Appétit.

Bon Appétit is a user-friendly online platform designed to make ordering school meals simple and convenient for families.

• Families with children attending multiple schools operating in the provincial school food program can manage all lunch orders from a single account.

• Order from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

• View upcoming orders and past orders anytime.

Please see November meal option below and you can order school lunch for December here. 🍏🍕🍔🍞

Please note that we currently have students at St. Bernard’s School with anaphylactic (life-threatening) allergies to the following:

• Nuts – peanuts and all tree nuts
• Visible egg

🚫 These items should NOT be brought to school.

In accordance with district policy, soy butter and other products that closely resemble peanut butter are also prohibited.

For students with anaphylaxis or other life-threatening allergies, district and Department of Education policy requires that two epinephrine auto-injectors be available at all times. One should be carried by the student, and the other should be stored at the school.

Thank you for helping us keep all of our students safe!

On Friday, October 23, students and staff enjoyed a cozy day at school in their PJs for Janeway Jamarama Day! 💙 A huge thank-you to all the families who donated to support the Janeway Children’s Hospital. Thanks to your generosity, we have raised $451.45 between online donations and money that was collected at school! Way to go, Puffins, and thank you for helping us support such a wonderful cause! 🐧

On Thursday, October 29, our Grade 1 and 2 classes visited Alderwood Estates Retirement Home for some Halloween trick-or-treating! 🎃

At St. Bernard’s, we believe that learning, fun, and meaningful connections can happen across all generations. A huge thank-you to the wonderful residents of Alderwood Estates for welcoming our students and helping us continue this special annual tradition. We love seeing the smiles and sharing these special moments with our community! ❤️

The Grade 3 as part of their Social Studies curriculum are explore parts of NL. Please see attached photo from our amazing Grade 3 teachers!

Update: Please use the following address

St. Bernard's School

1 The Avenue

PO Box 70

Witless Bay, NL

A0A 4K0

A special thank you to La Manche Provincial Park for their generous $250 donation to St. Bernard’s School! We are incredibly grateful for your support. Every monetary donation makes a difference and helps us provide meaningful opportunities and experiences for our students. Thank you for thinking of our school community! ❤️

A special that you to Quality Home Care for the $100 donation for our breakfast program. Every dollar counts towards the program and the students at SBS love getting their breakfast each morning!

VOCM Cares has generously donated $350 to St. Bernard’s School through their School Inclusion Fund! A big thank you to VOCM Cares for supporting inclusion, participation, and equal access to opportunities for all our students. A special thank you to Mrs. Skanes for submitting the application!

A big thank you to the Knights of Columbus for their generous donation of $400 to support our school breakfast program! Thier kindness helps ensure our Puffins have access to a healthy breakfast and are ready to learn each day. We are so grateful for the continued support of our community partners!

A huge thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers for helping get our Breakfast Program up and running! The kids have been so happy to enjoy a delicious breakfast each morning. We truly appreciate all the time and care you put into making this program possible! If you are interested in volunteering or donating to our breakfast program please reach out to jillhann@nlschools.ca or matthewrowe@nlschools.ca.

If you would like to make a donation to the Kids Eat Smart Foundation (our breakfast program funding), please do so here. Under the Fund drop-down menu, please select St. Bernard’s (see attached photo).

Every dollar donated helps support our school’s breakfast program, and all donations are matched dollar for dollar! Thank you for helping ensure our students start their day with a healthy breakfast. 💙 We know our students love coming to get their breakfast in the mornings!

The 2026 Kids Eat Smart Radiothon in Newfoundland and Labrador takes place on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

Event Details

• Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2026
• Time: 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Location / Broadcast: Live from the Avalon Mall, broadcasting across the VOCM/Big Land Radio Network.
• Cause: Supporting Kids Eat Smart Breakfast Clubs across the province (where 1 in 3 children go to school hungry).

How to Donate

• Online: Visit the Kids Eat Smart Foundation Donation Page.
• Phone: Call 709-722-1996 during the event.
• Website: Kids Eat Smart Foundation Official Website

We were so excited to welcome Baby Isaac for our very first Roots of Empathy visit! Our Grade 2 students in Ms. Dunne’s class loved meeting their very own “Tiny Teacher” and are looking forward to watching him grow and reach new milestones throughout the year.

A big thank-you to Ms. Skanes for leading this wonderful program and to Ms. Pennell and Baby Isaac for being our Roots of Empathy family! We can’t wait for all the learning, smiles, and special moments ahead as our students continue to build empathy, kindness, and caring relationships. ❤️

Our Pre-K program is officially up and running at St. Bernard’s! The pre-K is ran by the Kilbride to Ferryland Family Resource Coalition. We are excited to welcome Winter and Lisa, along with the nine students currently enrolled in the program. Our Pre-K students and staff are an important part of our school community, and we love having them as part of our Puffin family!

If you have any specific questions or concerns regarding the Pre-K program or enrolment, please reach out directly to the Pre-K team at pre-k@kffrc.com.

Just a reminder that you can continue to drop off your recycling at the depot and have it credited toward St. Bernard’s School! Every bottle and can makes a difference, so please keep recycling and help us support our school at the same time. Every little bit adds up! Thank you so much for your continued support!

Our School Council had a virtual training session with Mrs. Patricia Emberley, Program Development Specialist for School Development and School Councils with the Department of Education.

We look forward to holding our first in-person meeting in November and continuing to work together to support our school community!

If you have a school concern, please reach out to our school council chair - Shavonne Whelan or school administration.

• Shavonne Whelan - Chair

• Sarah Flemming - Community Rep

• Gina Earle - Parent Rep

• Dawn O'Keefe - Parent Rep

• Jill Hann - Principal

• Matthew Rowe - Assistant Principal

• Cheryl Thorne - School Rep

Get ready, Puffins! Our Scholastic Book Fair is coming to St. Bernard’s from November 30 to December 4. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to discover new books, explore their favourite stories, and build a love of reading!

We are looking for volunteers to help make our Book Fair a success. If you are available to lend a hand, please contact Matt (matthewrowe@nlschools.ca). We appreciate any time you can give to support our school and our readers! ❤️📖

Students should be dressed appropriately for the weather. Students will continue to spend time outdoors during recess and other activities. As the weather continues to get colder, please ensure that students come to school dressed warmly each day. such as warm coats, hats, mittens, and appropriate footwear are important.

We also ask that all student clothing and personal belongings be clearly labelled with their names. Items such as hats, mittens, and sweaters can easily get misplaced or mixed up, and labels help us return lost items to their owners. Thank you for your continued support in keeping our Puffins warm and cozy!

A friendly reminder to families to check out our school webpage for important school information and updates!

You’ll find helpful resources such as the Monday Minders, important dates, attendance reporting line, school handbook, and much more. We encourage families to visit the website regularly to stay up to date on what’s happening at St. Bernard’s. This can all be found under the Parent Portal section on our school website.

If you have any questions, concerns, or issues regarding your child’s learning or school experience, please reach out to their classroom teacher first. Our teachers are happy to work with families to address concerns and support each student’s success. Thank you for your continued partnership and support!

Regular school attendance is important for your child’s learning, growth, and success. Each day provides valuable opportunities to learn new skills, build friendships, and participate in classroom activities. When students miss school, they can miss important lessons and experiences that are difficult to make up. We encourage families to make regular attendance a priority and to contact the school when their child is absent. Every day counts, and we love seeing our Puffins at school! 🐧