19 September 2012 - St Bernard's College

St Bernard’s College Newsletter
“Achieving Excellence by Learning and Doing”
From the Campus Directors
Uniform
A reminder to all families that the summer uniform is to be worn from Wednesday November 7, the
day after Melbourne Cup day. Please refer to the following link if you require information about
the uniform: http://year7sbc.weebly.com/the-uniform.html
Beginning of Term Four
Term 4 begins for all students on Monday October 8. This is a Day 1 of our ten-day timetable cycle.
Health Alert
There has been once case of Slapped cheek disease and one case of shingles reported from the
junior school in the last week. Below are two links to websites that explain both of these infectious
diseases.
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/slapped_cheek_disease?open
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Shingles
Given that there are two pregnant staff members and a large number of women who volunteer in
the canteen each day, we are very thankful to the parents who reported this to the school. If your
son is ill and displays any of the symptoms of either diseases please notify the relevant year level
coordinator and ensure your son stays away from school during the early stages of the disease.
The Strand Campus Assembly
At our recent Strand Assembly the following boys were recognised for their service and contributions to the College:
Year 7 Awards: Academic: Patrick Kennedy Service: Liam Hart-Hobson Culture: Angus Catoggio Sport: Dylan Lombard
Year 8 Awards: Academic: Harrison Pound Service: Lucas Incantalupo Culture: Damian Hughes Sport: Alex Sykes
Year 9 Awards: Academic: Lewis Gauci Service: Daniel Beasley Culture: Kevin Mai Sport: James Lew
Things we can do to increase resilience in our boys (Source: Andrew Fuller):
1.Give up saying ‘I’m busy’ or ‘I’m not bad’ in response to the question ‘How are you?’ By saying this we teach our boys that
we don’t have time for them!
2.Have your son set BIG, HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOALS so that they can live a dream. You can’t get extraordinary outcomes from
ordinary actions! Rules for BHAG’s
•Anything is possible
•Nothing is easy
•When things get difficult, remember rule 1.
•When things are easy, remember rule 2.
3.“You must be the change you wish to see in the World” – Mahatma Gandhi
4.It is crucial that your son sees that you do morally compelling work!
5.Help your son differentiate between ‘Fair Weather Friends’ and ‘True Friends’.
6.Assist your son to avoid thoughts that ‘think us’. There are TWO that are particularly destructive;
•The Bravery Robber – “If I get this wrong it will be a disaster”
•The Contentment Robber – “Yes I did it well but I could have done it better”.
7.Sleep More! Ensure your son has an environment that allows him to sleep away from TV’s and computers, mobile phones and
other electronic devices.
8.Be a reciprocator and your son will be one too - "Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9 percent of everything you think, and of
everything you do, is for yourself--and there isn't one” - Wei Wu Wei
One of the greatest concerns in our society is that we are becoming more and more
PASSENGERS rather than PARTICIPANTS. E.g. Everest walkers walk past a dead body
on their trek to achieve their goal. Hundreds of people watch as a man is beaten by
a group of young men.
9.Provide your son with plenty of feedback. It doesn’t need to be evaluative. It can
be as simple as “I notice that you…”
10.Provide opportunities for your son to ritualise his anger. This may be in the form of
sporting activities.
11.Teach your son to understand that events are open to multiple interpretations. The
Johari window highlights the fact that there are rooms/windows of our personality
that we are not aware of and others are. Awareness of this window is crucial for
young adolescents.
!
Paul Shannon, Deputy Principal - Clairvaux
Damian McKee, Deputy Principal - The Strand