Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been a great start to the school year,  a term filled with lots of exciting events and excellent participation and progress from our wonderful children.  The children are very special at St Bernadette school and the recent nativity performances highlighted that.  The children are confident, enthusiastic, and eager to perform well at school, so the first and most important thank you of the newsletter goes to the wonderful children in our community. 

Secondly, we would like to thank you as parents for the support and encouragement you give to the children.  Being a parent is far from easy and in this climate, it seems to be getting harder each day.  Please remind yourself in times of stress or anxiety that you are more than enough for your child.  Your love and security is the most important thing for them to have.  The children are a credit to you all and when we work in partnership together, the positive impact for the children is even greater. 

We would like to publicly thank the FABs team for all their hard work this term, especially for organising such a fantastic Christmas Fair! We raised over £2000 which will be used to buy sets of class books to be used in school. 

Finally, I would like to thank the school staff in its widest sense.  Mrs Sadek, our caretaker, the office staff, teaching assistants, MSA's, teachers and Governors, thank you for the commitment and care you show to each child on a daily basis. We are blessed to lead and lead with, individuals who are not only passionate about education but that also see the importance of the emotional well-being of the children in our care.  

SENCO Update

Mrs Mills our school SENCO will be sadly leaving us after Christmas due to personal circumstances, with her last day being Friday 12th January. We would like to thank Mrs Mills for her work whilst at St. Bernadette and wish her every success in her future.  Mrs. Alger who has previously covered Mrs. Mills role, whilst she was on maternity, will be returning to take on the role of SENCO. Initially, this will be in a part-time capacity, and we will be looking to increase this capacity from Easter onwards. There will be a thorough handover between staff to ensure as much consistency as possible.

Finally, Christmas is a special time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus and share His message of love, hope and peace with the world. This great and wonderful love calls us to love one another. At Christmas, we remember that Jesus was born in poverty, in a stable among the poorest people and in so doing, provides us with a reminder that we also must look for the face of Christ in the poor in our society. Therefore, amongst all our celebrations, let us also remember to look around us and be there to love and support those in need through poverty, ill health, bereavement, or any form of suffering they may be experiencing. Christmas does not take away from the realities of the world, but brings hope right into the middle of these realities. We are called to be that hope. 

From the bottom of our hearts, we wish each of you a very happy and Holy Christmas and a new year filled with love , laughter, health and happiness. 

Kind regards

Mrs Lavelle-Murphy & Mrs Reilly