357 Old Northern Road, Castle Hill. Phone: 9634 2898 Fax: 9680 2282 School email: BernadetteCH@parra.catholic.edu.au

WEBSITE: http://www.stbernadetteschill.catholic.edu.au

St Bernadettes School

No.8 Friday, 23 March, 2012

Dear Parents,

How can we be present to each other today?

We all need to be reminded regularly that we

matter to others and we need to remind others

that they are important to us. Gestures such as

a loving hug from a parent or perhaps a smile

from a friend or even a stranger, gives us a

special warm feeling. Such gestures remind us

that we are special to others. Being present to

others when they are talking to us, sharing

some news or just saying hello is another

powerful way that we demonstrate to others

that we care about them.

With the pace of life today it is very easy to

forget both. We have even gone so far as a

society to coin terms such as multi tasking to

give ourselves permission to not be fully

present to others both in the context of family

and work. Everyone needs to be valued, to be

noticed and to be loved. How can we be present

to our families, friends and colleagues today?

Being present to others may not look the same

for everyone. It may be stopping when we say

hello and having a brief chat, or asking about a

friends family or new job or it could be a

heartfelt hug, doing a favour for someone,

helping around the house or yard, giving an

unexpected gift to a friend, being a good

listener, or reaching out to those who will never

personally know us but who are in need.

In his gospel, John challenges us

Let us love, not in word or speech but in truth and action.

Leanne Nettleton Principal

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Katherine Sing

Sophie Burnett

Ravin Fernando

Lachlan Fraietta

Lachlan Baguley

Ella Barone

Benjamin Berkeley

Stephanie Calabrese

Lauren Calabria

Olivia Carrozzi

Benjamin Cavallo

Kyle Chapman

Abbie Coleiro

Samuel Comerford

Aidan Conlin

Conor Daly

Justin De Souza

Ewan Stennett

Marco Varacalli

James Weppner

Christian West

Callum Willard

Danielle Wilson

Adrian Yu

Christian Zerafa

Lukas Battisti

Brendan Brown

Gianfranco Favaro

Jacob Minassian

Rachel Steenson

Lydia Burnett

Michaila Fraietta

Jessica Skudder

Benjamin Skudder

Matthew Mirabello

Andrew Mizzi

Lucio Molina

Kieran Murray

Kyle O'Connor

Sarah O'Sullivan

Elizabeth Parington

Samantha Parsons

Antony Radman

Nicola Rakuljic

Joshua Ramos

Aidan Robinson

Owen Ryan

Daniya Sammour

Jaxon Schillaci

Amelia Sing

Nicole Sroba

Isabella Dodd

Aaron Gabriel

Luis Gamez

Elizabeth Gauci

Nicholas George

Christopher Ho

Paige Iwatani

Marcus Jamison

Jack Kelly

Frank Leuzzi

Alannah Lichaa

Luke Lichaa

Billie Lloyd-James

Sabrina Losurdo

Dylan Martin

Emily Matthews

Ebony Miller

Aloha 1 week to go -

Saturday March 31st - 7.30pm.

We have had a fantastic response already with 8 tables booked. Come along for a night full of fun and laughter. You do not have to dress up. All welcome - Parents, Grandparents, Friends... we welcome everyone. There are a couple of tables still looking for some party-goers so if you do not have enough for a table please let us know and we will line you up - obviously with the super intelligent table. Tickets $15. There are games/raffles/choc wheel and on the night so bring some money along to participate. BYO nibbles and drinks (to share at your table). PRIZES!!!!! Class to sell the most tickets will win an ice-cream for each child in the class. Prize also goes to the best dressed table. Aloha P & F Association

Congratulation to the following children who will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation on

Tuesday or Wednesday evening next week:

Mathematical Language Many of the problems students experience in mathematics are due to language. Consider for example the code - switching that must go on in a mathematics lesson. The teacher introduces a lesson on volume and the student thinks isnt that a control on the TV? Consider how many of the words we use in mathematics that have a different meaning in the real world or how many words have more than one meaning. The word more is a good example of a word that can imply either addition or subtraction depending on the way that it is used. If I said Gemma had 4 pencils and then she was given 3 more. How many pencils does she now have? you would expect to add 4 and 3. The word more may also involve subtraction as is the case in the following example: If Gemma has 8 pencils and I have 5 pencils, how many more pencils does Gemma have? If that was enough to confuse the children, consider the specialised mathematical vocabulary that we use. If you do not realise that sum means to add and product means to multiply then any word problem that includes these terms will cause difficulties. The word sum is also often used to describe written algorithms. Ways that teachers help the students unpack the language in mathematics lessons:

At the beginning of a topic, teachers assist children to brainstorm all the words that they associate with the topic. This is an excellent assessment technique as it helps the teacher to find out what children know, what they do not know and what misconceptions they might have.

Throughout their lessons, teachers model and record the correct use of mathematical language. In the classrooms you will see this language displayed for the children to refer to as they work.

Explain the origin of words by getting children, for instance, to consider prefixes such as deca. Where is it used? In words like decade, decagon. If students know the prefix deca means ten and the suffix gon comes from the Greek gonia or angle, corner, then they may be able to work out that a decagon has ten corners.

Mon, 26 March Feast of the Annunciation

NSWCPS swim trials Homebush

1.10pm Choir

Dance Fever Challenge

Homebush

Tues, 27 March Dance Fever

Reconciliation Ceremonies

Wed, 28 March Reconciliation Ceremonies

Thurs, 29 March Cross Country Day CANCELLED

Fri, 30 March 8.30am Assembly

St Bernadettes Celebration Day

WEEK 9

Coming Dates

Celebrating Talents

Congratulations to Dylan Martin

(4W) and Charlotte Bourke (3W)

who were presented with the

winner's trophy from the Castle

Hill Knights Baseball Club for being

the Under 10/3 Premiers.

Mothers Day Celebrations

Please note this date in your diary:

Mothers Day Mass:

Thursday 10 May at

9.15am

Enrolments for Kindergarten 2013Enrolments for Kindergarten 2013Enrolments for Kindergarten 2013Enrolments for Kindergarten 2013

collect your enrolment pack at the

school office from Monday 23 AprilMonday 23 AprilMonday 23 AprilMonday 23 April.

Open Day Open Day Open Day Open Day Tuesday 1st May Tuesday 1st May Tuesday 1st May Tuesday 1st May

(see poster on Page 6 for further details).

Term 2

Staff Development &

Pupil Free Day:

Monday 28 May

(Week 6)

Only 12 days left - SELL, SELL, SELL

Thank you to everyone who has already sent in their money. We still have over 200 boxes out there to be sold.

Please remember to send in your money by Thursday for our

raffle draw on Friday morning at assembly.

Still more boxes available if you would like to sell more.

Congratulations to this weeks winners:

Abbie McConnell 5B Samuel Cali 1W

Thanks again for all your support with this fundraiser.

Clare Parker - P & F Assoc.

As you know, the school uses parents email

addressed more and more now for

newsletters, Grade information and many

other things.

It is therefore very important that all

information is kept up to date. If you have

changed your email address or are not

receiving school newsletters, could you

please inform me immediately.

Please email your details to:

dcrake@parra.catholic.edu.au and your

details will be updated.

Thank you.

Dawn CrakeSchool Office

St Bernadettes School News 4

Other Items of InterestOther Items of InterestOther Items of InterestOther Items of Interest CANTEEN RCANTEEN RCANTEEN RCANTEEN ROSTEROSTEROSTEROSTER FFFFOROROROR: W: W: W: WEEKEEKEEKEEK 9 T9 T9 T9 TERMERMERMERM 1111

Parent helpers please arrive at 10.25am for recess

and 12.45pm for lunch.

Monday (recess) - (lunch) - Tuesday (recess) - Jenny Tole (lunch) - Jenny Tole, Lisa Francis Wednesday (recess) - Nicole Willoughby (lunch) - Thursday (recess) - (lunch) - Vicki Radman

Friday (recess) - (lunch) - Thank you for giving your time.

Good Gu