Dear Parents and Families,

Lent

As we approach Easter we are reminded that the Resurrection isn't simply something we look forward to in the afterlife! The resurrection of Christ affects us right now, existentially and fundamentally. In John's account of the Gospel we are provided a picture of a very courageous Jesus, embracing his cross and carrying it alone. This example may be too difficult to achieve. We might choose to identify with the others who respond to God's will but not always in the best manner. We are called to strive to be like Jesus, and trust that what God asks of us, God will help us achieve. 

Good Friday is the most solemn day of the liturgical year. On this day, we stop at the foot of the Cross and keep watch as Jesus suffers and dies for us. Jesus’ sacrificial love for us can be difficult to understand and is part of the mystery of our faith. Jesus needed to die to be able to rise from the dead and it is in this very action that we are provided hope for the future. In rising from the dead, Jesus overcomes sin and death and in doing so removes all things that keep us from God. I wish every member of our community a happy and holy Easter.

Success

At our most recent Assembly, I spoke about Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of January, for education. I reminded students of the opportunities that a good education provides people. Pope Francis has spoken extensively about the importance of education in fostering human dignity and equality. He said, "Education is an act of love, it is like giving life." 

Success is defined as an accomplishment. I believe success is attainable by all students and in a wide variety of ways. It can mean high academic achievement, improved grades, improved application in class, achievement in public speaking or sport or setting a personal best in any realm of life. I know that success only comes through hard work. Hard work makes an achievement a true accomplishment and this carries deep meaning to the individual thus giving life to future possibilities.

We have had an extremely successful first term of learning where students have been able to achieve success in every lesson, in attendance, Walk for water, Vinnies Van, FIAT group, swimming and athletics carnivals, Religious Art Prize, public speaking, debating, MasterChef Awards, Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, Eco group, university programs and so much more. We are blessed to have such wonderful opportunities for our students to take part in and I encourage every student to become engaged in more opportunities for growth in Term 2. 

Careers Breakfast

On Wednesday this week we held our first Careers Breakfast for 2025. This involves former Bede Polding College returning to our school to share their experience in the transition from school into their career. Over 70 people attended this breakfast event to listen, learn and ask questions. I am extremely grateful to each of the former students for returning to our school and for sharing their own journey. Their advice was insightful and useful for all students at our school to hear. Some of their advice is contained here:

Thea Brailey Fire and Rescue Graduated 2019: 

“work hard because you never know where this will take you in the future” 

Jamie Cauchi, Department of Defence, Graduated 2018:

“I developed the skills I need to succeed at work right here at Bede” 

Ryan Clarke, Sargeant NSW Police, Graduated 2004:

“I had a strong desire to make a difference”

Rianna James, Senior Boating Officer Sydney Harbour, Graduated 2000:

“you can do anything” 

Aaron Larnach, RAN, Graduated 2000

“Maths, English and Science are so important, I’ve needed the skills in these subjects in every job I’ve ever done”

Chloe Price, Forensic Scientist NSW Police, Graduated 2010

“Have a backup plan just in case things don’t go to plan”

I look forward to seeing  every student at one of our career breakfasts later this year.

BPC Connect 

Our next Bede Polding Connect meeting will be on 13 May, Week 3 of Term 2, 6-7pm. 

In Term 1 we had over 25 parents and carers attend and we welcome all parents and carers to our next meeting. 

Why attend?

• We value the relationship we have with our parents.
• Meet the Principal, Assistant Principal and other members of staff.
• Have input into policy reviews
• Tours of new school areas
• Q and A with the Principal
• Hear from experts. In Term 1 Federal MP Mrs Susan Templeman attended and spoke about the new social media laws.
• Engage with the school as an authentic partner in your child’s education

Our guarantee: You will NOT be given a job to do!

Stage 2 and 3 Building Program Update

The next and largest part of the building program is coming along well. This area is going to provide us with more state-of-the-art flexible learning classrooms. These will be individual classrooms that provide true flexibility to for the teacher to create the ideal learning environment for their subject. We will also have a new canteen, new basketball courts, new changerooms, more covered areas for students in wet or hot conditions. We have a lot to be grateful for and to get excited about. Stay tuned for updates.

Upcoming Dates 

Stress can be a driver to greater things if managed the right way

Whilst the Year 12 half yearly assessment block is in full swing, students in Years 7 - 11 are also in the midst of a number of assessment tasks. They, too, are working diligently to demonstrate their very best achievement across their classes, and are also to be congratulated on their progress.

Please remind your children to ensure they exercise and look after themselves during the busy and stressful periods. These periods are intense, but they pass, and with good organisation and mindfulness about combining diligence with self-care, they can be navigated and used as opportunities to grow. Assessment is both about measuring progress (at a particular point in time) as well as understanding how to improve. It is important to talk to your children about how they are using the feedback they have received from all tasks they complete, whether they are formal or informal assessment.

Consequences

Consequences at school play a crucial role in shaping a young person's development and behavior. Out of curiosity, I overlaid a few points from Chat GPT with my own thoughts:t:

1. Learning Accountability: Consequences teach students that their actions have outcomes, helping them understand responsibility and accountability from a young age.
2. Behavioral Guidance: By enforcing consequences, schools establish boundaries and expectations, guiding students towards socially acceptable behavior. This assists to keep students and staff safe.
3. Preparation for Life: Understanding consequences prepares students for adulthood, where choices have real-world implications in work, relationships, and personal well-being.
4. Maintaining Order: Consequences help maintain a structured learning environment, ensuring that disruptions are minimized, and everyone can focus on learning.
   

Consequences are in most cases designed to be an inconvenience for a young person. As a teenager matures, they sometimes struggle to connect the act being addressed and the consequence. And because they are still thinking primarily about themselves (not unusual for a child or teenager), what connects with them most is how they perceive the consequence to impact on them personally. Missing out on an opportunity to otherwise socialise, connect with others via social media, attend an activity or simply relax is sometimes a huge inconvenience for a teenager. 

As a school, we realise that sometimes, a young person can be so caught up in their own world, and they don’t realise the inconvenience their behaviour and subsequent consequence can have on the rest of their family (for example, the time required to collect a student from an after school detention). The conversations a family has with their child about this inconvenience can be as powerful as the school based consequence.

The challenge we face on occasions is this, if for some reason a parent/carer refuses to support and allow the school to implement a consequence, we immediately say to the student that there is always a way to avoid receiving a consequence in life. This is setting a young person up to fail. 

As an adult, we can’t avoid consequences. And trying to avoid consequences (or always blaming others) builds weak individuals who do not have the skills, strength and resilience to survive life's obstacles. There are consequences for arriving late to work, for driving over the speed limit, for not checking the air pressure in your car tyres, for eating a poor diet or for being rude to others. There are also tragic events in life (such as the passing of someone close) that test one's character and ability to continue moving forward. By exposing young people to small doses of social and emotional challenges, we build their capacity to respond to life's bigger obstacles.

Overall, while consequences may sometimes seem strict, they ultimately contribute to a safe and supportive educational environment where students can thrive academically and personally.

Despite collecting an enormous amount of data at schools which helps us plan and develop structures to support students, it is impossible to develop a comprehensive list of all of the student behaviours that could warrant a suspension. In simple terms, if their behaviour is in conflict with our Catholic values and College Motto (Called to Bring Peace) and they jeopardise the physical, social, psychological and/or emotional safety of others, then a suspension should be expected.

However, some examples of behaviour that would result in suspension include:

• Disrespecting our Catholic values
• Swearing at a teacher or another student (directly or indirectly)
• Breaking the hands-off rules of the school (e.g. Punching, hitting, kicking, shouldering, shoving, etc)
• Truancy (partial or full day)
• Stealing
• Vandalism: Damaging school or community member (staff, students, etc) property
• Sexually explicit language
• Sexually explicit behaviour or actions
• Vaping/smoking (or possession of these items)
• Use of school resources inappropriately: e.g use of College devices or internet service provider to source inappropriate materials
• Failure to attend Thursday afternoon detention
• Repeated instances of classroom behaviour issues

Now of course, there are always ‘grey areas’ when it comes to the above examples. For example, a student may verbally antagonise (rude or inappropriate language) a student that results in a ‘hands-off’ incident resulting in both students being suspended. In other words, only one student has broken the ‘hands-off’ rules, but both students may be suspended. 

However, a student may not be suspended if they have been required to physically restrain or create space between them and another student for their safety and the safety of others. 

The key part of a suspension is the re-entry interview. This requires the student, a parent/carer and College leader to meet to plan the return to school. The school needs to be satisfied that the students return won’t jeopardise the safety of others. Questions to be asked could include:

• Is the community safe if this person returns?
• Does the student and staff have a plan to move on? 
• What does the school need to do to assist the student in their return?
• Can the school support by providing counselling services? Are external supports being explored?
• Does the consequence need to be extended? 
• A student's behaviour and/or actions can impact or reflect on 1100 students, 100 staff and potentially other community members. A key part of any re-entry plan is to ensure the school determines what support is required for any potential victims of the incident?

Parents, please be aware that we don’t take the allocation of a suspension lightly. If a suspension is allocated, we are seeking (and are desperate) for your support. During the suspension, the College may be required to spend additional time investigating the incident further, which may result in further information coming to light and subsequent consequences being withdrawn or extended. A suspension creates time and space for all parties. Unfortunately, the College rarely administers Internal Suspension, because we simply don’t have the resources to supervise one or two students whilst managing the teaching and learning of 1100 other students. I need to request the support of all families, that if a Suspension is given to your child, which is very rare at Bede Polding College (less than 20 suspensions in the past 6 months), please by all means ask questions of our teachers and College leaders, but please do not argue with or berate staff who are seeking your support.

Assistant Principal

St Patrick’s Day

On Monday, March 17th, our College celebrated St Patrick’s Day by encouraging students to wear a splash of green. We sold green ribbons and ‘St Patrick’s Day’ temporary tattoos to raise funds for Project Compassion. Special thanks to our Year 12 SRC students, (Seanna Saliba, Stephanie Attard, Melanie Casha), as well as Ms Samson, Ms Micallef and Ms Apap in helping us raise over $300.

Vinnies Van

On Sunday March 23rd, we had staff and students volunteer with Vinnies Van to serve food and drinks to the poor people in our community. Thank you to Ms Samson, Ms Apap, Mr Campbell and Mr Jansz as well as our Year 12 students, Stephanie Attard, Melanie Casha, Seanna Saliba, Grace Gruppetta and Sian Zahra.

Bligh Park Community Services

Every second Thursday, during lunch and sport time, we have approximately ten Year 10 students volunteer at Bligh Park Community Services Hall. They do a great job in helping to unload, sort, organise and pack donations that arrive as well as help clean the outside.

BPC Peacemakers Youth Group

On March 19th, we launched our first BPC Peacemakers Youth Group for 2025. 

Our lunchtime meeting focussed on how we could support Caritas’ Project Compassion Appeal during Lent. We played a quiz and reflected on the challenges that people in developing countries have in having to walk an average of 6 km each day to collect and return clean water to their homes. We then concluded by seeking volunteers for the Big Water Walk (see next item).

Thanks to Ms Apap, Ms D’Souza, Ms Saba and Ms Samson for coming along to support our BPC Peacemakers Youth Group.

BPC Big Water Walk

The theme for Caritas’ Project Compassion this year is to “Unite Against Poverty.” In particular, we are aiming to develop awareness, empathy and compassion towards those in developing countries who have to walk 30 mins each day to access clean water. 

One way we are doing this is by organising two BPC Big Water Walks. 

The first Big Water Walk occurred on Wednesday April 2nd where students from the BPC Peacemakers Youth Group volunteered to walk from one end of the college (near the temporary canteen) all the way to the other end of the school (oval) whilst carrying a container of water. We would like to thank our teachers who helped, Ms Samson, Ms Apap, Ms D’Souza, Ms Wearne, Ms Marshall, Mr Malone, Mr Round, Mr Fischer and Mr McNally. We would also like to thank our new Marketing and Communications Officer, Ms Peters for designing and organising our banner and race bibs. We would especially like to thank all of the students who participated in this initiative.

Our second BPC Big Water Walk will occur on Thursday April 10th after 3pm. This will involve Year 11-12 student volunteers as well as staff walking all the way to Windsor Bridge carrying containers of water. Advanced thanks to all the students and staff who have committed to joining this walk to stand in solidarity with all those around the world struggling to get access to clean water.

Caritas’ Project Compassion Update

We are pleased to announce that we are making good progress in meeting our goal of $3000 for Project Compassion this year.

So far we have raised through the following fundraisers:

• Shrove Tuesday (over $700)
• St Patrick’s Day (over $300)
• Zooper Doopers (over $400)
• Online donations ($220)

Please note that the funds raised through our school fundraisers is not yet reflected online on our College Project Compassion page: Bede Polding College - South Windsor • Project Compassion 2025. It will be updated before the end of the term.

If you are able and willing to donate, please click the link below or scan the QR code:

College link: 

https://fundraise.projectcompassion.org.au/o/bede-polding-college-south-windsor

Stations of the Cross

Every Friday during Lent, we have invited staff and students to pray the Stations of the Cross in the Our Lady Help of Christians Chapel. We have been blessed to have up to 20 participants join us, sacrificing part of their lunchtime to pray.

New Artwork in Our Lady Help of Christians Chapel

Towards the end of each year, our college invites students to enter into the Religious Art Prize Competition. The winner of 2024 was Rhiannan Moss for her Triptych of Mother Mary’s response to the Annunciation. This has now been installed in the Our Lady Help of Christians Chapel. Special thanks to Ms Rando for all of her work in organising this competition and to Mr Fischer for installing it into our chapel.

Encountering Jesus Parent Formation Flyers

CSPD’s Mission team has created a series of parent formation flyers that will support you by giving a summary of the content of the Learning Cycles (units of work) in the new curriculum, Encountering Jesus. It also has a section called, “Suggestions for you at home.” Here are the ones that relate to our implementation of Year 7 & Year 9 this term:

• Year 7 Stage 4 LC1 Are belonging and identity important.pdf

• Year 9 Stage 5 LC1 If a person believed that Jesus is the Son of God what impact could that have on their life.pdf

If you would like to see the resources for your own younger children at home, please see this folder: Parent Resources

New RE Curriculum Receives Praise from the Vatican!

Our new Encountering Jesus Religious Education Curriculum has recently received high praise from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization.

In a recent letter, Archbishop Rino Fisichella commended the curriculum for its rich integration of faith and life, its strong theological foundation, and its invitation to encounter Jesus through head, heart, and hands. He also affirmed the curriculum's capacity to support evangelisation through genuine dialogue with students, families, and parishes.

This recognition is not just an academic milestone, it affirms the important work happening every day in our schools to nurture meaningful, hope filled faith journeys.

Please see the full article linked here: https://catholicoutlook.org/latest-re-curriculum-receives-vatican-commendation

Good Friday Night Walk

Every year, Catholic Youth Parramatta (CYP) organises the Good Friday Night Walk for people over 16 years old. Our college has promoted this to our Year 11 and Year 12 students, and we have a number of staff who have volunteered to journey with them. We already have 15 students express their interest.

If you think your child would like to attend and has not yet filled out the Google Form, please remind them to fill in the following by the end of this weekend:

2025 Good Friday Night Walk Expression of Interest

For more information, please see https://parracatholic.org/events/gfnw/

Australian Catholic Youth Festival 

Every three years, the Australian Catholic Bishops organise the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) held in various locations. This year, ACYF will be held in Perth from November 30 – December 2. As a college, we have targeted Year 10 students and aim to bring along 10-14 students. For more information, see https://acyf.org.au/

If you have a child in Year 10 and would like them to go to ACYF, please fill in the following Google Form to express interest by April 10th: 2025 ACYF Expression of Interest

(This Google Form also contains additional information, specific to our CSPD context).

Student Wellbeing Links and Policies

BPC College Uniform & Presentation

CSPD Bullying of Students Prevention & Response 

CSPD Student Attendance Procedures

CSPD Student Use of Digital Devices & Online Services Policy

Students with disability and diagnoses

It is well-researched and evidenced that having young people of all abilities together in the same learning community helps with acceptance and recognition, and it helps develop a stronger sense of belonging for everyone. On recent occasions at school events with parent involvement, I’ve had parents approach me with their concerns or wonderings about their child, and whether there might be a need for involvement in our Inclusion program. My first response is always, “Tell me more” because I know that as first educators of your child, you know them better than anyone else. Schools, Leadership teams, Leaders of Learning and Wellbeing, and Classroom teachers can only respond to the information that is available to them. If you have concerns about your child’s learning in the classroom, if there are social and emotional concerns, or if there are safety or physical concerns - and even if these are new, or recently presenting/arising, please get in touch with the College. You can contact me directly, or another member of the College staff and express your concern or wondering, and we’ll be sure to follow up with fidelity.

This leads me to address the question of “What is fair?” at school. Students are typically aware of their student rights, and we see it as crucial that we teach them the concomitant student responsibilities. For example, students have a right to feel safe, the concomitant responsibility is that students have a responsibility to be safe, and as such there are consequences for a student who displays unsafe behaviour. The context of these practices is always considered, but while there is some uniformity to these rights and responsibilities, other times, especially in the classroom, it may appear that students are doing some things differently from others. 

Inclusion and equity

Doing things differently for a student may be necessary to prevent discrimination. Teachers must make adjustments for some students to enable them to participate on the same basis as their peers. For example, if a student has a learning disability in writing, then their teacher may facilitate them to type, or use talk-to-text rather than write during a lesson, as this is a reasonable adjustment to allow the student to participate on the same basis as their peers, who do not have this disability. In this way, treating students differently can be fair. This is not about learning differences or preferences - we all have those. This is about responding differently, when appropriate, for students with diagnosed or imputed disability, accepting differences, and recognising diversity. 

All students are unique and special, and we should enhance the uniqueness of each student. Ultimately, our society and quality of life improve if we’re fully inclusive. 

Latest news:

• Sydney North West Disability Expo - Wednesday 2nd April 4.30-8.30pm, see brochure

• Check this out: Yellow LadyBugs - a non-government organisation dedicated to the happiness, success, and celebration of girls with autism.

To add a note or approval, select one or more of the absences listed, then select the "Explain with Note/Approval" button. Parents have a modified list of the options that the school has when adding a Note/Approval. Please click on Compass Education Guide to our website for a guide.

• Compass Parent Portal
• Canvas Parent Portal 
• Canvas Parent Portal Registration Form
• QKR
  Qkr_Getting_Started_Guide_4_.pdf

  Qkr_Getting_Started_Guide_4 pdf 1.06 MB

  Please click here for a video refrence 

  If you are experiencing issues downloading the QKR App please click here  for the QKR website & login via a desktop / laptop.

  This is the screen you will see.

  

Please click on Opal card to Transport NSW