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St. Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Yardley, Birmingham We are delighted to have achieved the 'School of Sanctuary Award'! You can discover more about our journey towards the award by visiting stberns.co.uk/school-of-sanctuary St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School 1/10 Parent Pay Newsletter School opening hours Monday to Thursday 8.30am -3.15 pm Friday 8.30am- 2.00pm Total time 32.5 hours Pupil Absence Staff Email OPEN DAYS Monday 3rd November 5:00pm Monday 10th November 9:00am All Welcome

Our Mission At St. Bernadette's Catholic School you will find us caring, hardworking and co-operative. We follow the ways of Jesus using our talents and gifts to make our school special. We show respect to all and welcome you. Click play below Our Behaviour Expectations and Values Our Catholic ethos promotes positive relationships based on respect; pupils are helped to make moral choices about their behaviour and their contribution to the school community. Our behaviour expectations are based on Christian values. We expect children to be polite, co-operative and considerate of others. Staff are committed to creating a school environment where these qualities are seen to be important and are positively encouraged and reflected in their own conduct. Classroom behaviour is based on simple expectations and values that the children can understand and have confidence in and which relate to all aspects of school life. Below are the 8 positive behaviour statements that are displayed around the school and prominently in classrooms.

Parents Inofrmation - Diary dates, Term Dates, Uniform Guide, Bedtime Stories Newsletters School Attendance - A Very Important Message for all Parents & Carers Bedtime Stories Diary Dates CALENDAR FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR September 2024 -July 2025 Autumn Term 2024 Monday 2nd September 2024 To Friday 25th October 2024 Half Term Monday 4th November 2024 To Friday 20th December 2024 Spring Term 2025 Monday 6th January 2025 To Friday 14th February 2025 Half Term Tuesday 25th February 2025 To Friday 11th April 2025 Summer Term 20 25 Tuesday 29th April 2025 To Friday 23rd May 2025 Half Term Monday 2nd June 2025 To Friday 18th July 2025 INSET DAYS Monday 23rd September 2024 Friday 25th October 2024 Monday 24th February 2025 Tuesday 6th May 2025 Monday 21st July 2025 Bank Holiday Monday 5th May 2025 Please note that these dates may be subject to change CALENDAR FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR September 2025 -July 2026 Autumn Term 2025 Monday 1st September 2025 To Friday 24th October 2025 Half Term Monday 3rd November 2025 To Friday 19th December 2025 Spring Term 2026 Monday 5th January 2026 To Friday 13th February 2026 Half Term Monday 23rd February 2026 To Friday 27h March 2026 Summer Term 20 26 Monday 13th April 2026 To Friday 22nd May 2026 Half Term Monday 1st June 2026 To Friday 17th July 2026 INSET DAYS Monday 1st September 2025 Wednesday 3rd December 2025 Monday 5th January 2026 Friday 22nd May 2026 Monday 20th July 2026 Bank Holiday Monday 4th May 2025 Please note that these dates may be subject to change Parent Meetings Nursery Nursery Welcome Meeting 2024 Reception Reception Welcome Meeting 2023 Reception RWI Meeting 2022 Year 1 Year 1 Welcome Meeting 2023 Year 2 Year 2 Welcome Meeting 2023 SATs Meeting 2025 Year 3 Year 3 Welcome Meeting 2024 Year 4 Year 4 Welcome Meeting 2024 Year 4 Maths Week Resources Year 5 Year 5 Welcome Meeting 2024 Year 6 year 6 FGM / CSE Meeting Year 6 Welcome Meeting 2025 Year 6 Confirmation Meeting 2024 Year 6 SATs Meeting 2025g Podcasts Wishlist If you would like to donate a book to our school, the links below contain items from our Top 20 lists and Book of the Month recommendations. Each book will be stamped with the name of the person who has donated it and will be placed on our class bookshelves. Nursery Year 3 Reception Year 4 Year 1 Year 5 Year 2 Year 6 Wishlist

St Bernadette's School Council School Council Making a Difference St. Bernadette’s has an active school council in which 2 elected members from Years 1-6 meet and discuss views and ideas in our school, community and world. The Election Process Years 1-4: Children had to express to their teachers why they wanted to be in School Council and what qualities they could bring. Teachers discussed all candidates and voted for their Year bands councillors. Years 5-6: Children had time to write a speech on why they wanted to be a representative for their peers. They explained changes they wanted to make and ideas they had to continue to make our school a positive and welcoming environment. They then had to present this speech in front of their Year bands and teachers. The children were then asked to vote for 2 chosen candidates from their year bands using a ballot process. Each of the children were given a voting slip which they had to exchange for a ballot paper. The children then had to go to the voting booth and select their candidate by placing an ‘X’ in the box. What is our Vision? To have a school which is dynamic, a school that not only listens, but acts upon the views of its pupils. To further promote and express the voice of the child, not just within our school but within the City of Birmingham and with schools around the World. We hope to extend and share our ideas through further communications with other schools across the globe. What is our Aim? To raise people’s awareness that children have valid ideas. To be a voice for the children in our school. To make our school an even more friendly and pleasant place in which to learn. To make suggestions as to how our school could be improved further. To further improve our school environment. To raise money for charities.

Our Building Dining Hall Computing Suite Computing Suite Nursery Nursery Nursery Reception Main Entrance Reception KS1 Playground Pirate Dining Hall Reception StBerns Mosaic Dining Hall Rohan Garden Entrance KS2 Hall Entrance Mosaic Library IMG_8026 Year 2 Spring Entrance School StBerns IMG_8027_edited Year 1 IMG_8022 Year 1 Playground KS2 KS2 Playground Nursery Outdoor Play Dining Hall Year 2 School Library DSC07903 Entrances & Drop Off Points Exits & Collection Points Our School Library

Vocations Welcome from Fr Fretch Ballesteros I was born in the Phillipines in 1989 and was raised by my mother and Father with my brothers and sisters. At the age of 16 I joined the seminary after deciding I wanted to become a priest. Later I travelled to the UK and completed my theological studies at St Mary’s College Oscott. I was ordained a deacon on 29th September 2016 and was ordained a priest at Corpus Christi Church in Stechford. In January 2023 I became the Parish Priest of Holy Family Church in Small Heath and work closely with the two schools in the parish, Holy Family School and St Bernadette’s. As a Vocationist Father, I live in a community and took the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Our Founder was Father Justin Russolillo. On 20th September 1913, Justin was ordained a Priest. While kneeling before the Bishop for the ordination, he vowed to the Lord to found a religious Congregation to cultivate vocations to faith, priesthood and holiness. On 15th May 2022, Pope Francis canonised 10 new saints of the Catholic church during a Mass in St. Peter’s Square including Blessed Justin Russollilo. Sister Maura Halpin A Sister of Mercy When I joined the Sisters of Mercy in London 60 years ago I had no idea what ‘JOB’ I would be doing. I could have been working in the convent or parish, as a nurse or as a teacher because our Foundress, Venerable Catherine McAuley founded our Religious Order to give education, healthcare and support to the poorest families in Dublin in mid-19th Century. It was a shock to leave rural Ireland and find myself in a very busy city. Becoming a teacher was my second Vocation as being a Sister came firs t. I taught in a number of secondary schools throughout my teaching years. I was called away from teaching 30 years ago to do pastoral work within our Religious Order. This ministry took me to some countries that I would otherwise never have visited as some of our Sisters were working abroad. Now that I am ‘retired’ I feel so grateful to God for all the Blessings I have experienced. I have learned so much from saintly Sisters who are no longer with us. They were women of prayer and were totally committed to the people among whom they worked. Teaching colleagues too have inspired me and now I have time to reflect on how much the Church and society owe to all who work in education. Nowadays prayer has a special place in my day. It always was important but when I was busy I was often distracted in my prayer, always planning ahead. Now I value Mass daily and in particular I listen more attentively to the Word of God, to hear what God is saying to me each day, how much He cares for me and all his people. I hope this makes me a more compassionate and attentive Sister of Mercy when I meet people. I meet people in the local Care Homes and those who are housebound when I visit with Holy Communion because these people cannot come to Church. I am privileged to feel welcome when I visit our schools, especially St Bernadette’s & Holy Family where I join them at their Masses. I support them in their joys & sorrows with my prayer and occasionally do home visits if asked by the Head Teacher. Another ministry that is very special to me is support for the bereaved both in giving a listening ear and in helping them plan the funeral Masses and Services for their loved ones. This ministry sometimes reconnects me with former pupils in their time of grieving. Perhaps I could sum up my life as a religious Sister in the words ‘availability’ and ‘prayer’ and I am grateful to all who have supported me in my vocation over the past 60 years. If you would like support I can be contacted on the following email address: mhalpinrsm@hotmail.co.uk

Maths Policies Sequence of Work Bar Modelling KIRFs Mathematics is a life skill. It helps us to make sense of our world, providing a precise means of communication using numbers, symbols and shapes. It is a powerful, universal language used to explain, predict and represent events and tackle problems in everyday life. At St. Bernadette’s Catholic School, our aim is for the children to Learn to Love, Love to Learn and to develop an ability to solve problems, to reason and think logically, to work systematically and accurately and most importantly to be curious and resilient learners. New mathematical concepts are introduced using the ‘Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract’ (CPA) approach; enabling all children to experience hands-on learning when exploring new concepts. This allows all children to have clear models and images to aid their understanding. Time is devoted, daily, to teach and practise arithmetic and basic maths skills which ensures key mathematical facts and concepts are embedded and children can recall them accurately. Our mathematics curriculum is designed so that it is accessible and engaging for all pupils to maximise their full potential and make rich connections across other areas of the curriculum, preparing them for their future lives and careers. EYFS Calculation Policy Year 3 Calculation Policy Policies Mathematics Policy 24/25 Year 1 Calculation Policy Year 4 Calculation Policy Year 2 Calculation Policy Year 5 Calculation Policy Year 6 Calculation Policy Sequence of Work Sequence of Work at St. Bernadette’s Catholic School The National Curriculum lies at the heart of Mathematics at St. Bernadette’s. We use the National Curriculum and White Rose to base medium term planning on. The National Curriculum for Mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils: become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions. The KS1 and KS2 Curriculum specifies ten strands of mathematics, namely: Number - number and place value Number - addition and subtraction Number - multiplication and division Number - fractions (including decimals and percentages) Ratio and proportion Algebra Measurement Geometry – property of shape Geometry – position and direction Statistics The EYFS curriculum specifies two strands of mathematics: Number Numerical Patterns Here you will find our sequence of work for the academic year 2024-25. Reception EYFS/KS1 KIRFs Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Policies Sequence Bar Modelling Bar modelling is a key element when considering teaching for mastery. An amazing and powerful pictorial representation for revealing the structure and patterns within a maths problem, Bar Modelling promotes profound mathematical understanding and insight. The bar model method draws on the Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract Approach — an essential maths mastery concept. The process begins with pupils exploring problems via concrete objects. Pupils then progress to drawing pictorial diagrams, and then to abstract notations such as the +, -, x and ÷ symbols. Bar modelling is a versatile maths model strategy that can be used across a wide range of concepts and topics. It gives pupils a powerful and adaptable strategy for solving increasingly challenging problems that draws on the Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract approach. Below you will find more information on Bar Modelling for each mathematic concept. Addition & Subtraction Multiplication & Division Algebra Other Problems Fractions Ratio Bar KIRFs KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts) Y3 Spring 1 Y4 Spring 1 Y5 Spring 1 Y6 Spring 1 Y3 Spring 2 Y4 Spring 2 Y5 Spring 2 Y6 Spring 2 Y3 Summer 1 Y3 Summer 2 Y4 Summer 1 Y4 Summer 2 Y5 Summer 1 Y6 Summer 1 Y5 Summer 2

Home Learning School subscription services that are providing guidance and resources to support with school closures Seesaw - The main web site for all year groups to complete homework assignments. Accelerated Reader Students are able to access Accelerated Reader from home using their normal accounts. Spelling Shed Times Tables Rockstars Oxford Owl Maths and Science Topmarks Times Tables Rockstars A great bank of interactive games! www.topmarks.co.uk/ Try ‘Hit the Button ’ for your times tables or ‘Daily 10 ’ BeeBot App Free App for computing Explorify For Science Number Blocks Prodigy Maths Free App for maths Science Fun at Home New content every Wednesday LET’S GO LIVE with Maddie and Greg 30-minute sessions with Maddie and Greg exploring the natural world. Streamed every day at 11am. Dr. Chips Join Dr Chips every day at 10am for a daily dose of science, engineering and technology. Solar System Scope Check out Solar System Scope to visit the Earth and other planets, see where stars are now and speed up time to see where they will be in a month. Mindfulness and Keeping Active Go Noodle Smiling Mind BBC Supermovers Newsround Premier League Stars YouTube (More videos on their own website) Hundreds of ‘brainercise’, dancing, strength and mindfulness videos—as well as videos that are ‘just for fun’. Short audio sessions to help with mindfulness. Interactive videos to support with KS1 and KS1 Maths, Literacy and PSHE and PE learning. Great for times tables—as well as videos that are ‘just for fun’. Keeping children up to date with the world around them— creating opportunities to talk about the news with children. Videos and activities to support with Maths, Literacy, PSHE and PE. French KS2 French A compilation of short clips and memorable songs for beginners learning French. KS1 / KS2 French French Games Everton trio Morgan Schneiderlin, Kurt Zouma and Lucas Digne are on hand to help Ben Shires teach pupils all about French greetings Fun French games online for kids + adults to learn + practice beginner French vocabulary with audio Primary Languages This material has been developed to assist Primary teachers to develop and integrate an element of language teaching into their classroom.

Sisters of Mercy The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy was founded in 1831 in Dublin by Catherine McAuley, now Venerable Catherine. She worked as a carer for a Quaker couple called Mr & Mrs Callaghan. This gave her access to a bible and led to eighteen years of bible reading and this together with the example of her own father gave her a deep compassion for poor families, especially women and children in Dublin City. During her eighteen years as carer to the Callaghans she was free to share some of the household’s food with the poor of the area. On the death of Mr & Mrs Callaghan Catherine received a large legacy which would amount to more than a million pounds now. Now she had the opportunity to do something really special for the poor. She had a huge house built in Baggot Street, Dublin. Some women joined her and the house was used to give shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry, medical care to the sick and education to the children. Catherine was encouraged to become a religious Sister so she went for training and returned to the House of Mercy in Baggot Street on 12th December 1831. So began the Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy. Due to the great poverty in Ireland Convents sprang up in almost every town across the country because the Sisters were able to fulfil the great needs of the people and to fulfil the Gospel of Jesus -to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, cure the sick and educate the children. The first Convent of Mercy Catherine founded in England was in Bermondsey, London and the second, her last Foundation, was in Handsworth, Birmingham in August 1841. Catherine spent a month in Handsworth helping the Sisters to begin their ministry and Community life there. Not long after returning to Baggot St. Dublin she died at the age of 61. She had been a Sister for only ten years and in that short time had inspired many women to follow her example. The Sisters of Mercy spread across the world because the Mercy and Compassion they shared with people was so needed. They were women of prayer and practical action and so they fulfilled the command of Jesus to Love God and Neighbour. There is still a Community of Sisters in Bermondsey and in Handsworth five Sisters live in Community. Many of St. Bernadette’s Staff have experienced a Retreat Day in St. Mary’s Convent, Handsworth and have learned the history of that beautiful House. In Stechford there is a Community of two Sisters whose mission is the same as Catherine’s was back in Dublin in 1831. Of course we now have hospitals, schools and some support for the homeless. The needs have changed but the poor are still with us and always will be. So many are spiritually poor, poor in spirit. We feel called now to minister to all people through prayer and action, especially in compassion and Mercy. Although the number of Sisters is decreasing, we have a network of Lay Associates, people from our local parishes who love to hear the story of Venerable Catherine. They pray with the Sisters at their regular meetings and carry out the Works of Mercy in their own lives. Some of them have visited the original House in Dublin and have prayed to Mother Catherine at her grave there. Through them Mercy will live on for many years to come. There are over 20 Mercy Associates in the Stechford group and they are always ready to welcome new members.

Pupil Absence Name of Child(आवश्यक) Class(आवश्यक) Date of Absence(आवश्यक) Reason for Absence(आवश्यक) Name of Parent(आवश्यक) Email Address(आवश्यक) Contact Phone Number(आवश्यक) Submit Click the link below to see the local authority advice for parents School attendance, advice for parents.

Pupil Premium Pupil premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. Evidence shows that disadvantaged children generally face additional challenges in reaching their potential at school and often do not perform as well as other pupils. DFE Guidance Pupil Premium Policy 2024/25 Pupil Premium Strategies 2024-27

RE at St Bernadette's RE Curriculum As a Catholic Primary School, the basic religious ethos is to be found across the whole curriculum and not just within the Religious Education timetable. The whole aim of St Bernadette’s school is the Christian growth of the children, not simply their growth in their faith, but their growing awareness of the world as a maturing Christian. RE is a core subject and covers 10% of the curriculum. The Religious Education programme incorporates the Curriculum Directory for Catholic Schools (Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales). RE Policy 22/23 RE Curriculum: About Us Below are the units of work covered this academic year in the RE curriculum for each Year Band. Nursery Knowledge.pdf Reception Knowledge.pdf Y1 Knowledge.pdf Y2 Knowledge.pdf Y5 Knowledge.pdf Y3 Knowledge.pdf Y6 Knowledge.pdf Y4 Knowledge.pdf RE Curriculum: Text As a Catholic school, the RE curriculum predominantly focuses on Christianity and Catholicism. However, during our annual International Week, each Year Band explores another World Religion. During this time, children have the opportunity to visit different places of worship. Reception – Christianity Year 1 – Hinduism Year 2 – Buddhism Year 3 – Catholicism Year 4 – Sikhism Year 5 – Judaism Year 6 – Islam RE Curriculum: Text Assessment of RE The RE Curriculum covers four strands: Scripture, Sacraments, Liturgical and Living as Christians. Three different units are assessed annually in each year Band, with each academic year focusing on a different strand. in line with Diocesan guidelines. Samples of work are gathered throughout the year and moderated against the diocesan end of phase expectations. RE Curriculum: Our Mission