St Bernard’s College Newsletter
“Celebrating 75 Years of Achieving Excellence
by Learning and Doing” Edition 25
29 April 2016 From The Principal
One of the four touchstones that we aspire to be
faithful to as part of Edmund Rice Education Australia
is ‘justice and solidarity’. This touchstone calls us to
be committed to justice and peace and to stand in
solidarity with those at the margins.
Last week we commemorated ANZAC Day and on Thursday, 5 May the College will
celebrate Edmund Rice Day. Both are occasions where we are called to respond in
justice and solidarity.
The solemn and moving dawn services are focused on remembrance, gratitude and
reflection. The brief ceremony in the College last Friday with The Last Post, The Ode,
Rouse and a minute of silence had the same focus.
On Edmund Rice Day over 1400 St Bernard’s students will gather for Mass and then
walk 10km in solidarity with our African friends and brothers and hope to raise
awareness and substantial funds to support education at Br Beausang College in Embulbul, Kenya. This is an
important practical means of being faithful to the justice and solidarity touchstone.
ANZAC Day and Edmund Rice Day are completely different, and yet they have a common emphasis of challenging
us to be ‘other focused’. The resonance the ANZAC legend with this nation, is at least in part because young men
sacrificed themselves for their families and friends. Their lives lost and diminished on the slopes of ANZAC cove
and in the futility of a western front trench line, that in some areas was in exactly the same place in 1918 as it had
been in 1914; the most selfless act imaginable.
Edmund Rice Day asks us to be similarly “other centred”. To put the needs of others before our own. The scale is
vastly different but the undertaking is the same. We are asked to use our relative affluence as members of the
first world to save and improve the lives of the poor in the developing world. The accident of birth that sees us
living in affluent Australia rather than destitute Kenya, if we are genuinely committed to justice and solidarity,
obliges us to respond generously.
Being “other centred” is essentially about love. In Matthew’s gospel, (22:37-40), Jesus tells us of the two great
commandments, “love God and love others”. A plaque inside the Shrine of Remembrance in St Kilda Rd has the
words “Greater love hath no man” inscribed. They are taken from John’s Gospel verse’ Greater love hath no man
than to lay down his life for his friends”
On Armistice Day each 11 November, our other great day of remembrance, the sun shines through an aperture in
the ceiling of the Shrine and illuminate just one word on this plaque… “Love”. Love is the real message of ANZAC
day and it is the real challenge for this community on Edmund Rice Day.
St Bernard’s hospitality has been evident again this week. The College Board hosted parish primary school
principals and Parish Priests to a dinner, preceded by a tour of the College. On Wednesday Year 7 students invited
their Grandparents into the College for Mass and morning Tea. It was a wonderful occasion and many took the
opportunity to tour the College.
One of our major daytime functions of the year is the Ladies Auxiliary Luncheon. This will be held on Wednesday,
1 June commencing at 11.30am. It is always a great day and I look forward to welcoming many mothers,
grandmothers and friends of the College to the luncheon. Bookings can be made through ‘Trybooking’ via the link
on the SBC website.
God Bless
Tony Paatsch
Principal
St Bernard’s College Newsletter
“Celebrating 75 Years of Achieving Excellence
by Learning and Doing” From the Deputy Principal
Edmund Rice Day
"Were we to know the merit and value of only going from one street to
another to serve a neighbour for the love of God, we should prize it more than silver and gold.” Blessed
Edmund Rice.
Thursday, May 5 is one of the most important days on the St Bernard's College calendar. It is the celebration of
the feast day of Blessed Edmund Rice.
The format of the day is that we do not have any formal classes. We gather as a Catholic community for mass in
the morning where we acknowledge our founders, the Christian Brothers, as well as the great work that our
community engages in to support those who are marginalised.
Following mass, the boys take part in a 10km solidarity walk. They then return for activities and will be dismissed
at 2.00pm. Buses will be available at this time.
The focus of the day is Project Kenya. Your son has been asked to commit to raising donations for the community
of Embulbul in Kenya, a social justice priority for our community since 2006.
Below is an extract from the fortnightly newsletter from our friends in Kenya
We look forward to what should be a great day of celebration.
April, 2016 Children’s Camp:
Camps are a fun way of learning and interacting with children
and young people outside of the school set-up. The Child
Rights Program runs camps towards the end of the school term,
just after children have sat exams so that there is no
interference with their learning. We ran a children’s camp
between 7 April and 8 April, 2016 at the Edmund Rice Advocacy
Network office’s grounds. We have created a good working
relationship with schools in the Embulbul area and children
were sourced from the Brother Beausang Catholic Education
Centre, Everton Academies and PCEA Amani.
We also welcomed children who came of their own accord from the ACK and Elirama schools. Mobilisation was
done by our team of camp leaders who double up as volunteers. We welcomed at least fifty children, accompanied
by their child rights club patrons. It is also important to note that parents were required to consent to their
children’s participation in the camp.
The camp leaders, who are young people from the community, often play the role of “big brother or sister” and
mentor the children, who look up to them for guidance and support. The leaders involved the children in both
indoor and outdoor activities and taught them about their rights and responsibilities. The two days of activities
ranged from face-painting to football, and from hide-and-seek to fire-in-the-forest.
At the end of the two days, we were all educated, well fed, tired and very happy. We are looking forward to
hosting more camps this year with different groups of children.
Irene Anyango
Paul Shannon
Deputy Principal
St Bernard’s College Newsletter
“Celebrating 75 Years of Achieving Excellence
by Learning and Doing” Music News
Preparations are underway for the Semester 1 combined concert with St
Columba’s College. The program is shaping up to be an exciting showcase of the
outstanding student talent present at both Colleges! The concert will take place
on Thursday, 12 May at 7.30pm in the college auditorium. I encourage all
members of the college community to come along for an inspiring night of music!
A couple of Wednesdays ago I had the pleasure of attending the first rehearsal of the 2016 semester 1 Year 7
Honours band. These students have been learning an instrument for only a term or so, yet were producing a
confident and well-crafted sound! I look forward to witnessing their continuing progress in the lead-up to the
Semester 1 Year 7 concert, which will be held towards the end of this term.
On other concert matters, registrations are open for the Semester 1 Soiree. The Soiree is a great forum for those
students who are new to performing and would like to hone their performance skills as a soloist or member of a
band in a supportive, less formal environment. Links to all details concerning registering can be found on the
Music Weebly site. Alternatively, please email [email protected] or [email protected] for details!
Thank you again to all parents who have expressed interest in the Friends of Music program. A reminder that the
next Friends of Music meeting will be held in the music department on Tuesday, 10 May at 7:30pm.
Jack Stewart
Director of Music
ACC Cross Country and Maribyrnong 150
With City2Surf training already under way many of the cross country boys are getting itchy feet and are wondering
when training for cross country and this year’s charity run is to begin. Training for both events will begin on
Tuesday morning, 10 May. As with previous years training during Term 2 will be held from the College and those
attending should assemble in O’Brien Hall by 7.00 am and be stretched, warmed up and ready to run by 7.10am.
Training in Term 3 will move to Aberfeldie Park so the team can train with the girls from St Columba’s. A reminder
to those wishing to be part of the charity run that 75% attendance is required if you are to be eligible for the team.
I look forward to another successful season.
Gerard Brown
Coach
The Ladies Auxiliary
SBC Annual Ladies Lunch – Wednesday, 1 June 2016
Tickets are available for purchase at www.sbc.vic.edu.au and clicking on “PURCHASE TICKETS” under the
information on centre screen. This event is always a sell out so secure your seats as soon as possible.
Tickets are strictly only available until Monday, 23 May.
For more information regarding the event please contact Jenny Goring – [email protected]
Jenny Goring
President, The Ladies Auxiliary
St Bernard’s Parents and Friends
Parents and friends are gathering for their May meeting on the 11th at 7.30pm in the Peter Hogan Board Room.
All welcome.
Stefan Loukomitis,
President SBC Parents & Friends Association
St Bernard’s College Newsletter
“Celebrating 75 Years of Achieving Excellence
by Learning and Doing” Echoes from the Archives
Greening of the College
The most notable impressions which old boys of the 60s and early 70s have of the
West Essendon Campus is the transformation of what was a relatively bare,
windswept landscape to a shady, protected one full of large mature trees.
The greening of the College commenced in 1957. Brother R. A. Howard undertook the job of planting trees. He
wrote in 1971, “With the help of the boys, of course, I got in about eighty willow cuttings along the creek, all of
which perished. About three hundred trees were planted, gums, wattles and many deciduous trees.” A furphy
water cart was purchased and in the remaining months of the year, it was used to water the young trees. “The
slope above the oval seemed a little steep. At the worst spots I had a couple of boys with a rope around the
tractor engine to avoid tipping over. Some of the trees I know have survived. Some were stolen for Christmas
trees.”
(Restoration of the water cart occurred between October 2011 and June 2015 at the College and Furphy’s
Shepparton)
Maureen Kavanagh
Archivist
NAPLAN Testing Tuesday, 10 May to Thursday, 12 May 2016
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing will take place at St Bernard’s
College from Tuesday, 12 May to Thursday, 14 May 2016. NAPLAN assess student knowledge and skills in writing,
reading, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The results of the tests
provide information for students, parents, teachers and school leaders that can be used to improve student
achievement.
The skills being tested through NAPLAN have developed over time through the school curriculum. Prior to the
testing, students will have the opportunity to become familiar with format and layout of the tests through their
English and Mathematics lessons. This is to familiarise the students with the tests and to support them through
the testing process. Additional practise for the tests, past papers and answers can be accessed via the following
web link:
http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/naplan.html
As a parent or carer of a student participating in NAPLAN, you can best help your child before the tests by making
them feel comfortable about the nature and purpose of the tests. NAPLAN tests are not pass/fail tests. They are
part of a number of important tools used by teachers to measure student progress. You can re-assure your child
that the tests will contain questions similar to those that they have completed in their regular classroom learning
and assessment. You can also re-assure them that the assessments will give them an opportunity to show what
they have learned in class.
Pauline Thompson
Assistant Principal (Learning)
2008 Italian Class Reunion
On Thursday, 21 April, the Italian Class of 2008 organised a reunion with Prof. Spiller at Pizza Al Metro restaurant,
Carlton. 11 of the 16 boys were able to attend. Many events were recounted and lots of laughs were had by all!
It’s great that students can remember the good times at St. Bernard’s.
A big thank-you to the David Di Sipio & Adrian Crispo for organising the evening.
Bruno Spiller
Languages KLA
St Bernard’s College Newsletter
“Celebrating 75 Years of Achieving Excellence
by Learning and Doing” Cyber Safety Advisor from Cyber Safety
Solutions - Susan Mclean
Parents of Year 7 and Year 8 from St. Bernard’s College are
invited to attend a presentation by Susan McLean, a Cyber
safety advisor on Thursday, 12 May at St. Columba’s College Hall starting at 7.00pm. This
is a joint venture bringing together Year 7 and Year 8 parents from St. Bernard’s College
and St. Columba’s College to learn how parents can assist their children to stay safe online
and use technology responsibly.
Susan's website has a page on Cyber Safety for parents click on this link Cyber Safety for
Parents. In the evening Susan will cover the following topics: inappropriate content on line,
cyber bullying and harassment, exchange of inappropriate images and identity theft.
All parents who intend to attend must RSVP to their respective schools by Tuesday, 10 May. St. Bernard’s parents
can RSVP by sending an email to Pauline Zammit.
[email protected] no later than Tuesday, 12 May. Parents who have children in more than one college need
only rsvp to one of the colleges.
John Samanna
Student Wellbeing Coordinator
Edmund Rice Day and Photo Orders
Edmund Rice Day 2016
Edmund Rice Day 2016 will take place on Thursday, 5 May. The day will include Mass, walkathon and student
activities conducted by our Student Council. Students will be dismissed at 2.00 pm with normal bus services in
operation. ACC Sports (Football & Soccer) will go ahead as scheduled with adjusted start times to allow staff and
students to complete the walk-a-thon and head to their Football & Soccer matches. We look forward to another
great Edmund Rice Day celebration.
Arthur Reed Photo Orders 2016
Order forms for student photos have been passed on to your son via his Homeroom Teacher. If you would like to
order photos for 2016 please complete the order form and return, with your son on the day photos will be taken
or alternatively you can order online via the Arthur Reed Photos website. All enquiries regarding photos must be
directed to Arhur Reed Photos not via the College. Our photo day for Year 7-12 students will take place on
Monday, 9 May.
Craig Osborne
Director of Organisation