At St. Bernadette's, our vision statement forms the absolute heartbeat of our school. It inspires our whole curriculum design, is the basis for policymaking and underpins our whole school culture and ethos; something which we are extremely proud of. We provide many opportunities to enhance and develop the Catholic Life of the school including:

Advent projects - St. Bernadette's Advent Projects have had phenomenal success over recent years. Historically, we have spread joy, peace and hope in our community and further. See our Advent Project page for details of this year's project. 

 

YMT Emmaus Residential (Year 4) - All year 4 children were given the opportunity to take part in their first residential trip to the Emmaus Youth Village. Over the course of the visit, the children worked in teams, led by members of the Youth Ministry Team,  taking part in different activities which developed their skills in teamwork, problem solving and co-operation. Creatively, children explored the parables of Jesus, using music, art and drama.  They participated in a carousel of workshops recognising Christ alive in the world, in creation and in the people around us. They explored the person they would like to be and planned ad led the closing ceremony.  They embraced challenges to spread the word of Jesus and created and performed beautiful Liturgical dances. 

                   

 

 

 

Together With Refugees - As part of a project with the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, the children of St. Bernadette's were given the opportunity to write messages of welcome, hope and solidarity to show support for other young people seeking sanctuary. The thoughtfulness and compassion shown when writing their messages was incredibly moving. The exhibition is on between 23rd November and 9th Feb 2025.

 

 

 

Supporting charities - Our pupils take a leading role in responding to the demands of Catholic Social Teaching and are pro-active in finding ways of responding, locally, nationally and globally. We are actively involved in supporting a range of charities including: CAFOD, MacMillan, Marie Curie, Children In Need, local Wallsend charity 'Walking With' and Daft as a Brush.  Through the Big Lent Walk, coffee mornings, school community donations and sponsored events, we raise vital funds for local, national and global charities. 

              

 

 

First Holy Communion- We work in partnership with Fr David, our parish priest, and a team of dedicated catechists to prepare our Year 4 pupils to celebrate and receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. The children journeyed together alongside Fr David, their families, friends, staff  and an amazing group of catechists who selflessly gave up their time to help prepare the children for the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Following beautiful services with friends and families, the children came together for a whole class mass and then returned to school for a special lunch and fun celebrations.

 

 

Faith In Action Award - Our year 6 children complete the CYMFed Faith in Action Award, which rewards young people's active service in helping to build the Kingdom of God on Earth. In taking part in this award, the children discover how faith shapes lives, thus acting as a stepping stone to the higher award levels (which may be undertaken at secondary  school).  The Faith in Action Award helps our children grow in understanding that faith is not just about beliefs but is deeply connected to how they live and serve others. This program empowers our year 6 children to become leaders and active contributors to the community, demonstrating the Christian call to love and serve.

 

 

Harvest Community Lunch - As part of our Harvest celebrations, we ask all children to donate a vegetable to go towards our community soup lunch. The whole school is then involved in preparing the vegetables, with which our wonderful kitchen staff create delicious soup, served with freshly baked bread, tea and cakes. Through this act of service, the children are able to gain an understanding of their place in our community as well as the impact they can have on others by working together.

                          

                                 

 

Food Bank Donations - In addition to our community soup lunch, as part of our Harvest celebrations in school, we ask families, if they are able, to make a food donation to a local food bank.

We are always completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our school community. This year, children were given the choice of where their donations should go; they chose 'Walking With', a local Wallsend charity we have worked with closely as a school for a number of years. 

      

 

Reception & Year 6 Buddies - Through our buddying system, pupils in Reception and Year 6 have a clear understanding that our school community is committed to following the teaching and example of Jesus. As the oldest children in school, Year 6 are given the opportunity to nurture, guide and support our youngest children, bringing with it an incredible sense of responsibility whilst modelling and teaching compassion, kindness and resilience. 

 

Waste Warriors - Inspired by Pope Francis's encyclical, Laudato Si', our Waste Warriors accepted the mission to reduce food waste in our school through the Eat Smart Project. Working together with our kitchen team and project BIND, they measure and audit our school waste and come up with solutions to reduce it. A huge undertaking, but an amazing way to act as stewards and care for our common home.

 

  

 

Operation Christmas Child - Operation Christmas Child is a hands-on way for St Bernadette’s to bless children in need across the world by filling shoe boxes with small toys, personal care items, school supplies, and fun gifts - for many, this is the only gift they receive at Christmas. We have taken part in this initiative for many years now and the children learn how they can make a difference to our brothers and sisters in the wider world. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to those who need it most at Christmas time. 

    

 

Hedges For Hope - In March, we were very lucky to collaborate with a wonderful charity called Hedges for Hope, who worked with our school Eco team to plan and lead two fabulous days of hedge-planting on our school site.  Every class had the opportunity to go to our wildlife garden and learn about the many benefits that hedges bring to our environment and each child was able to plant their own whip. We were supported again by our brilliant CommUNITY group who gave up their time for this fantastic initiative. 

The children embraced their personal responsibility to care for our Common Home, as requested by Pope Francis, in an attempt to tackle climate change and care for creation.

 

Aspirations Week - During our whole school 'Aspirations Week', the children were set the challenge of considering not WHAT they want to be, but WHO they have the power to be.  Every child in school was given opportunities to explore their skills and talents and we were very lucky to have over 20 visitors from our community come into school to speak to the children about how they have used their skills and talents in a professional capacity. All of our wonderful visitors engaged with the children to inspire them to go out into the world and do something awesome! Through this, pupils developed their sense of worth, and a deeper understanding of the notion that they are valued and cared for as unique persons, made in the image and likeness of God. 

 

Open The Book - Open The Book is a project which offers children an opportunity to take part in acting out and listening to the major stories of the Bible led by Mrs Gallagher who present the stories during our weekly celebration assembly. 

Open the Book is an enormous success and the children, as well as the adults, eagerly anticipate their weekly assembly. 

 

Serving Soup In The Parish - Our Year 6 Mini Vinnies went along to St Bernadette’s Church Hall to help out with the soup lunch. They had a wonderful time chatting to parishioners and worked hard taking soup orders, serving bread, cakes and scones. Parishioners commented on how lovely it was to chat to younger members of our community. 

 

 

 

Recycling Week - As stewards of God's world, we invited James, a Community Project Manager from Groundwork North East,  into our school to talk about the importance of recycling. James runs projects which bring about environmental improvements in community woodlands, parks and rivers which boosts biodiversity, protects wildlife and makes these areas havens for wildlife and people. We also welcomed Ferdinand the Fish (made out of recycled materials) as a visual reminder to us all about the damage plastic can have on sea life.