Who are our kids at Berne?

The John Berne School, a mission of Marist Schools Australia, is a unique, independent secondary school, which caters for vulnerable students in Years 7 – 10. We specialise in up-skilling students who struggle to function effectively in mainstream school environments due to social, emotional or mental health issues.

Our students have challenging social, educational and academic needs.

We focus on building trusting relationships with our students and teach them to re-connect and re-engage as active members of society.

Berne works to a ratio of 1 teacher to a maximum of 6 students. We adapt our teaching strategies, methods and environments to cater for each student’s individual learning programs.

We empower students to become responsible for making changes in their lives. Our priority is to transition students either for a return to mainstream education, for entering trade training or toward employment options.

85% of our yr 10 graduates undertake full time earning and learning combination of activities. We are proud of our success.

Why an Immersion?

Our kids are not lucky kids. Most of them come to Berne having experienced much failure in their lives.

An Immersion experience means taking these students out of their normal environment where they feel comfortable, challenging them and confronting them with poverty and injustice. Asking our kids to walk with people less fortunate than themselves.

Our boys are eager to see how the East Timorese students live, how they find joy and fulfilment even within their poverty, how they strive for a better life through education. They are keen, too, to lend a hand with some local community projects. The Berne students will meet the young East Timorese. They will experience their struggle, their enthusiasm and the generosity of their families.

We hope our students will return with a new sense of awareness, gratitude and a real understanding of the tremendous opportunities they have in their own lives here in Australia. That they will better understand and appreciate the value of their education here at Berne and they will be ready to better engage in school and life.

Why we need your help?

Our problem is that we are a very small school with no P&F nor Alumni, so fundraising is one of our greatest challenges. The Immersion participants are doing their own fundraising but we need to supplement this with help from the wider community.

Where you come in…

We need $16,000 to send a group of Berne students on the Immersion Experience to Timor-Leste in October 2015.

We need your help to raise this money. By doing so, you will help give our students a unique opportunity for learning, growth and cultural immersion and help them to realise and appreciate that there is in fact hope for their future.

Your support will help us help our kids at Berne to turn their lives around.

Thank you,

Br Mark Paul fms

Principal

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