In St Bernadette’s we are looking forward to celebrating Catholic Education Week. As a community of faith and learning we are hopeful that the week of reflection and focus on our Faith will bring great benefits to all.
The theme of Catholic Education Week is “Shining the Light of Faith”, picking up on the first encyclical of Pope Francis – The Light of Faith. In this teaching, the Pope speaks about what it means to believe, to have faith and he reminds us that faith should lead to action. Pope Francis reminds us that faith in Jesus as our Saviour enables us to think big, to do things that we would not be able to do if we did not believe. We know that to be true. It is only when we believe in something that we are able to put energy and commitment into it.
In St Bernadette’s the children are encouraged to live their Faith every day and to be proud of their Faith in all they do. Our day to day living should reflect our values of Love, Faith, Forgiveness, Self-Discipline and Integrity. Our classes have been reflecting on how they can put their faith into action. Through the study of Bible stories, the life of Jesus and people of great faith the children are able to recognise and discuss what it means to be faithful. These children’s reflections from assembly activities exemplify this –
“Abraham inspires me because he did as God asked him even when it meant sacrificing someone he loves. I can make a difference today if I put more faith in myself and others.”
“Isaiah inspires me because he helps me to be more ambitious about telling people about God. I can use this to convince more people to go to Mass.”
We are also very excited to have been included in the Pilot Year of the Pope Francis Faith Award for Primary 6. Every child in P6 has committed to work towards the award over the coming year through deeds in school, at home and in the Parish. I look forward to seeing the children grow in faith and shine the light of faith through this very prestigious award.
Pope Francis has stated that faith, hope and charity are the driving force of the Christian life. Our ongoing commitment to helping others is evident once again in the very generous donations we have made to charities over the past year –
Cancer research UK £207.05
St Andrew’s Hospice £717.32
Let the Children Live £150
SCIAF £290
McMillan Nurses £240
Mary’s Meals £200
Children in Need £162.75
Classrooms for Malawi £150
Our thanks go to all families and friends of St Bernadette’s who are so generous in their support of our charitable work.
Our preparations for the Sacraments are now well underway. The Sacraments are a very significant part of the child’s journey of faith. We ask for your continued prayers for our children at this special time in their lives.
This year we are also looking forward to working with our partnership school in Namulenga Malawi. We have made initial contact with Mr Lamack and Fr Alfred. We have committed to developing a partnership for the benefit of both schools and communities. Through this work we hope to share our knowledge, skills and resources. A variety of activities and projects have been planned which will all enable our staff and children to live their faith in very real and meaningful way.
We are very grateful for the support we receive from our parents, our PTA, our Parent Council, Fr Reilly and Our Lady’s High School. We appreciate their efforts and thank them for their continuing commitment to us as we grow in faith and love within our school community.
Fairtrade Fortnight – In recognition of Fairtrade Fortnight we are hosting a Coffee Morning on Friday 28th February at 10.45am. We will be selling raffle tickets throughout the week for a variety of prizes including a Fairtrade Hamper – 50p per ticket. We hope to have a big response to the raffle and a great turnout on Friday. All money raised will go towards the Malawi Partnership Project. This is our first fund raiser for this and we are hoping it will be a great success.
P4/3 will also be delivering their assembly at 1.15pm on Friday, come along and learn all about Canada. The children and their teachers have been working working very hard in preparing for the assembly.
P2/1 and P1 will be visiting the science centre this week to support their learning in science. Last week P1 went out to check on our fruit trees and bushes that we planted before Christmas. We were all pleased to see lots of buds and a few leaves appearing on the plants. Hopefully some sunshine this week will bring them on even further.
P6 are waiting excitedly for the delivery of the eggs and hatchery. Over the next two weeks the children will help to hatch the eggs and then look after the chicks as they grow. We will take lots of photographs to allow you to follow their progress. This project supports the children’s learning in science about living things.
