Recently we have had the Geelong city council at school at both pick up and drop off time and they have issued fines based on their observations. 

PICK UP/DROP OFF ZONE

For those who use the drop off/pickup zone or drive down Reynolds Road you would understand that more often than not it becomes very congested.

We have had the Geelong Council review the situation and there has been a LEFT TURN ONLY sign installed at the exit closest to the staff car park. Cars will not be able to turn right or drive straight ahead when exiting the drop off/pick up zone. You will need to go up to the Laura Avenue roundabout to turn back the other way.

We appreciate this is a change but it is very welcomed by the school and we hope it makes a significant difference to the flow of traffic.

Please do not double park on the right hand side of the drop off zone. This is a two way street for bus access and it is illegal to park or stop on the right hand side of the road. Children are not permitted to cross the road to enter a vehicle which is parked illegally. If you are unable to pull in to the left hand side of the curb please drive on and come around again.

STAFF CAR PARK

Another reminder that we consistently need to be communicating is for parents NOT to park in the staff car park at any time. This is clearly signed. We have staff coming and going at all times of the day and especially at pick up and drop off time we are trying to keep the movement to a minimum. Children should not be walking through the staff car park other than on the yellow crossing from the gate to the footpath.

CHURCH CAR PARK

Please ensure you are conscious of where your children are playing in this space and keep ball use under control. We keep children behind the yellow line until they are with their parent/s. It is important that you as parents are also reinforcing safety in this area and keeping in mind that cars have right of way.  Ideally we would like children walking on footpaths at all times.

ACCESSIBLE PARKING

We have some accessible parks around our school at gate 2 and also in the church car park. Please do not park in these parks unless you have a permit displayed. We do have families who require these parks and it can be difficult to collect children if access to these is not available.  We appreciate your respect and consideration for those who rely on these spaces."

BIKES
If your child rides their bike to school could you please have a conversation with them about bike safety and expectations in the school yard. We love seeing children being independent but ask that they be respectful of after school crowds particularly along the path to McDonalds Reserve and around the Church car park. We also do not allow any scooters or bikes to be ridden in the school yard.

PLAYGROUND
We welcome parents into our yard after school however ask that toddlers and all school children are not on the play equipment. We kindly ask this from a risk point of view in regards to accidents, supervision and children who should be waiting at gates for their parents to arrive.  

Farewell Fr Sang

Last Tuesday 29th October at 12 noon gathered together as a school community to celebrate a final mass, give thanks and to say ‘farewell’ to our beloved Father Sang. 

Students from each class presented Fr Sang with symbols that represented his talents, qualities and special memories of his time at St. Bernard’s parish and Clairvaux. With a sense of gratitude in our hearts we offered our appreciation for Fr. Sang’s many gifts of leadership, friendship and guidance, during his time here.

As he embarks on his new journey, we ask God’s future blessing on him. May we always remember with gratefulness the joy, wisdom and strength that Fr. Sang has brought to our families, and be inspired by his leadership to continue his great work.
We wish Fr Sang well in his new parish!
The following refection was written and read at Fr Sang’s Farewell mass by Michelle Owens (Yr 2&3 MML) in response to the Gospel reading 

 ‘You are the  light of the world’   Matthew 5:14-16

Today's Gospel reading reminds us to let our light shine, to not hide away our gifts and talents. Sometimes we hide the very things that make us special, so that we don't stand out.  Sometimes we hide because we make the mistake of thinking if what comes naturally is different to the people around us, then we must be wrong.  Sometimes we hide our wonderfully individual personalities because we have been teased or laughed at.
God doesn't want us to do that.  God wants us to be proud of our strengths, interests, hobbies and talents.  God wants us to share the gifts he blessed each of us with.
Sometimes this can be hard, but we (here at Clairvaux and St Bernard’s) have been lucky enough to have the example of Father Sang letting his light shine bright.  Sang, you could have stayed hidden by your siblings, you could have ignored your calling to priesthood after two of your brothers were ordained, you could have stayed in the comfortable familiarity of your own country.  But you didn't.  Instead you were brave.  You listened to God whispering in your heart and let your gifts shine.  You travelled to a new country, learnt a new language, and developed your craft of priesthood and touched the lives of so many people in different communities.
Our patron saint St Bernard lived and worked in Clairvaux, France.  Clairvaux means the "Valley of Light". Father Sang we have been so fortunate to have you here in our Parish and school, encouraging us to be more loving, more thoughtful, more prayerful, more ourselves.  By letting your light shine in your words, your spiritual leadership, your sense of fun and adventure you are encouraging all of us  around you to do the same.  You bring The Valley of Light to Clairvaux so we can all make it a little brighter one person at a time.  We hope we can continue your example in your absence.

Caricature illustrated by Lia Rizzi (art teacher)

Welcome Fr Tho Tran

Year 6 - Masses and Letters to Parishioners

As part of the Confirmation follow-up RE unit “Call to Action” - which encourages students to reach out to others, each Year 6 class will be attending a mass at St. Bernard’s chuch during November.  Following each of these masses, the Year 6 classes will be sharing morning tea with parishoners in the “Big Space’ and spending some time together playing board games. 

Parents and extended family members are also invited to attend.  This will be a great opportunity to meet our new parish priest  Father Tho Tran.

Mass times are as follows:

• Thursday 14th November   9.30 am       Yr 6 MM
• Thursday 21st November   9.30 am       Yr 6 CM
• Thursday 28th November  9.30 am        Yr 6 RM

In addition to these masses, the Year 6 students are also reaching out to elderly parishoners in St. Bernard’s parish, by writing letters and sending a ‘healing heart’ and prayer card.  We hope this brings them joy and a sense of belonging to our parish community.

The long wait is over and Clairvaux Carnivale is coming soon on Saturday 16 November. We’ve put the call out for a wide range of donations over the past few months, and the response has been phenomenal.
Our last requests to make this day a success:
a) Bake some cakes please
b) Donate a block of chocolate if you can (particularly if you missed the lolly drive)
c) Fill volunteer shifts because we still need more help!
Carnivale is a family fun day raising funds for Clairvaux’s playground updates. We have added new activities, and many are free to participate in. You can purchase your ride passes now via the Carnivale website to save $10 per pass with the early-bird discount: clairvauxcarnivale.com.au/ 
The event is the result of months of preparation by the Carnivale Committee, and we cannot wait to celebrate the special day with our community.
Volunteer at Carnivale
We are reliant on volunteers to run all of the wonderful activities. We urgently need every family to sign up for a shift or two please - you can pick your time slot and which stall you will help with. You will see the vacant spots when you log in, and the food stalls in particular need more volunteers.  
Signup here: signup.com/go/WgNb3k

Thank you very much to the families who have already volunteered. The lucky winner of the ride passes for signing up early is Belinda Symes.
High Tea and Bake Sale
Please bake your favourite cakes or sweet treats and drop them to the school hall on Friday 15 November between 8.45am-12pm, or 2.45pm-4.30pm.
Please refer to the letter that was sent home with more information about these cakes and the ingredients list. If you didn’t receive a printed letter with more information about the baking details, please contact us and we will get a copy to you.
The Great Clairvaux Bake Off
Do you love baking? We are running a fun competition with some prizes. There are three categories divided between preps to adults. Find out more details and register here: https://tinyurl.com/264wmfhe

Supporters of Carnivale
Please support and thank all the businesses that make Carnivale possible to run. Over 200 businesses are contributing to make this day a success.
An extra special thanks to the event sponsors who have given large discounts, donations and financial contributions to help cover the operating costs of the event.
Our 2024 sponsors are:
Major sponsor:

Buxton Real Estate

Gold sponsors: 
Surf Coast Signage
Sequence Digital
Ninedots Build Advocates
Kelly Sports and Kelly Club
Arthur Reed Photos
Silver sponsors:
Woolworths
Wizard Car Wash
Rainbow Wishes
Pet Stock 
Moving Containers
Fruition Recruitment
FINDEX
Emma Kelly - Art by Emma Maree
Curate + Gather
CabledIn Electrical Solutions
Bronze sponsors:
Wild Hearts Play Co
UC Services
The Skin Hub
The Mystery Rooms and Steam Train Education
Smoke Alarms Australia
Sailors' Rest
Pane Di Matteo
Motiv8sports
Miann & Co
Number Works'n Words Belmont
JJ's Track Squad
Geelong ATMs
Full Spectrum Solutions
Fitstop Geelong
Education Advantage
Edge Geelong
Eddy Elias
DVine Living
Coerver Coaching
build2grow
Buckleys Geelong
Barwon Water
Barwon Security
ASAP Property Care
Anytime Fitness Geelong Region

See you at Carnivale!

Get in touch
For general enquiries please email clairvauxcarnivale@gmail.com,
and for donation and distribution questions clairvauxcarnivaledonate@gmail.com

Carnivale links 
Website (where you can buy ride passes): clairvauxcarnivale.com.au
Facebook: facebook.com/ClairvauxCarnivale
Instagram: instagram.com/clairvauxcarnivale/