Last weekend we celebrated the Ascension of the Lord, assuring us that the risen Jesus who was taken up into heaven, is still very close to us.  We are called to recognise the signs of his presence in the goodness, love and forgiveness of  community.  The ascended Jesus is not an absent Jesus. 

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Week 5 and the middle of Term 2 already! As well as the term moving quickly, so too is winter!  There also seems to be more sickness around in the community, and unfortunately, a shortage of relief teachers. Can I please remind families to not bring students to school if they are displaying any cold or flu symptoms, or have been sick the night before. 

Catholic Education has had some limelight recently in the media, particularly around the future of St Bede's, due to the new funding tool and issues concerning future funding cuts from governments for Catholic Education.  Let me please assure our community that although our school's direct measure of income is high, we have substantial enrolments that continue to increase, thus securing our viability well into the future. 

Next week you will receive a link for our school survey. This survey will help us to identify what is working well and areas for improvement. Please note that  this is a new survey from a different company than the one Catholic Education has used in previous years.  The timing of this survey is also earlier-  we have in the past, sent this to parents in third term.  I encourage all of you to participate in this survey so we have a good representation of our whole community. Students in the upper grades will also complete their own survey in class, as will our staff.  The survey being sent next week will be open for your responses for around two weeks.  Detailed information about this will be included in the survey . As in past years, we will use this information, along with other data, to identify focus areas for our three year strategic plan, and our 2022 Annual Plan.  

We are still in Enrolment period until the end of May across all Catholic schools in our diocese. Can I please remind families that all enrolments are completed online through a link on our website, and that siblings need to be enrolled, even if they are currently in our ELC. 

Finally, I would like to thank all in our community who continually support our school and each other in varying ways.  This is particularly evident in the many roles people have committed to on both the School Board and the P and F. It was wonderful to see a great example of this last week with our athletics carnival at Woden Park.  The amount of parents who volunteered and supported our staff and students on this day was incredible!