St Bernadette's Primary School

Welcome back to a brand-new school year! I hope the holiday break provided you and your family with time to rest, to reconnect and to simply enjoy just being together, without the various routines and commitments of term time.

As we prepare to open our gates once again, our staff are genuinely looking forward to welcoming you and your children back to school. We fully appreciate that the beginning of a brand new year can bring a mix of excitement and nerves, for both children and parents. Please know that all the staff are ready and keen to support every child to experience a calm, smooth and happy transition. Classrooms are organised and we are focused on creating engaging and welcoming spaces where children can feel safe, known, and valued, from day one.

As you help your child prepare for the start of the year, you are encouraged to focus on the big picture and try not to sweat the small stuff - there is time to organise uniforms, library bags and the many little details that come with getting back to school. What matters most, is that children arrive feeling confident, settled and supported.

The essentials are a healthy lunch, a cold drink bottle, and a good night’s sleep. As we have discussed before, your calm confidence and positive messages about school will continue to make a powerful difference. Talking with your child about what they’re looking forward to, reassuring them that it’s okay to feel a little nervous, and reminding them that staff are here to help, can set them up well for a really positive start.

A few FYI’s from me before we start the year:

• Please just do your best with uniforms in the first two weeks. If you need a different sports top or shorts, please try to sort it by Week 3.
• School socks are being phased out to make things easier and cheaper for parents. More info below.
• Please ensure your children do not come to school with crazy haircuts (mohawks, lines cut in etc). School is not a fashion competition, and we ask parents to use common sense. More info on our website, however, if your child has had a haircut over the holidays that is not in line with our policy, please sort it out over the weekend.
• Year 3 - 6 parents, please look out for an email on Monday with a link to Swimming Carnival Preferences. Our trials are early so we will be trying to get the info as quickly as possible.
• Each year group has a Welcome Email home below with all the info you will need to start the term.
• If your personal details, circumstances etc have changed over the holidays, please let us know. It is really important that we have accurate details.

We sincerely value the partnership we share with you and look forward to working closely with all families throughout the year. Thank you for the trust you place in us each day and thank you for working hard to be the very best parent you can be!

Here’s to a year filled with quality learning, positive growth, and supportive and pastoral relationships.

Warm regards,

Geordie Thuijs

Principal

Welcome to the new school year!

Please find links to important parent information for each year group.

We look forward to seeing you all again next week!

To celebrate the start of the school year, we warmly invite all families to join us for a School Community Picnic. We will be providing a free sausage sizzle for families, please complete the form below so that we know numbers for catering purposes.

Bring a picnic rug, a packed dinner (if a sausage sizzle isn't your thing!) and your smiles as we come together to reconnect, meet new faces, and enjoy a relaxed afternoon together. Tim, our lovely coffee man will be here and an ice cream van too!

We can’t wait to see you there!

Please send a copy of your valid concession cards to admin@stbernadettes.wa.edu.au before next Friday. Please note if these are not received, we will be unable to apply any discounts to the school fees.

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.

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:

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.

Reminder about our Uniform Expectations

Year 2 - 6 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 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.

3 Year Old's - Year 6 School starts - Monday 2 February 2026

Kindy starts - Tuesday 3 February 2026

P&F Picnic on the Green - Friday 6 February 2026

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/

2026 TERM DATES:

Term 1: Mon 2 February – Thur 2 April

Term 2: Mon 20 April – Fri 3 July: Pupil Free Day 29 May 2026

Term 3: Tues 21 July – Fri 25 Sept: Pupil Free Days 3 & 4 September 2026

Term 4: Tues 13 Oct – Thurs 11 Dec

Please note that as this is a live calendar, dates and times may change occasionally.

Email: admin@stbernadettes.wa.edu.au
Website: https://stbernadettes.wa.edu.au
Location: 252 Grand Ocean Boulevard, Port Kennedy WA, Australia
Phone: (08) 9593 4066
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stbernadettescps/