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Dear Parents and Carers,
It is already Week 2! After the school holidays, students quickly settled back into class routines and learning and were excited to be back with friends. This term we welcome Charlotte and Jack (Year 1/2) and their family. In the coming weeks we will also welcome a few other families with children across year levels.
Events
It has been a busy start to the term. We held a beautiful ANZAC Day liturgy last week and it was wonderful to see parents and friends here to commemorate this special event with us. Everyone had a great time at the Athletics Carnival on Monday. We were lucky with the weather and it was great to see the excitement on the children’s faces, their encouragement for each other and great sportsmanship. This Friday we celebrate mothers, grandmothers and special friends with our breakfast from 8:00am, Mother’s Day Mass at 10am and our Mother’s Day stall. All students are asked to bring along $5 to purchase a gift from the stall.
Enrolment Time
The 2025 Enrolment period has officially begun and will run through until the 31st May 2024. We have held a few Open Days to date and have one further Open Day next Monday 13th May from 9:30am – 11:00am and 4:00pm - 6:00pm. Information on enrolling can be found on our website. I encourage all our families to share your experiences of our school with friends and prospective families as our largest contributor to enrolments continues to be by word of mouth recommendation.
School Grounds - Improvements
During the holidays we continued to have had some work undertaken in and around the school. We have replanted and mulched some gardens, there has been painting occurring in the Office area, stage walls and some doors in the courtyard. Other minor works are also underway, such as repairs to brick walls and gardens and a patch of carpark asphalt. We hope you are noticing a difference in the appearance of our school. I thank the Community Council for their donation of plants and money towards labour required for our garden improvements.
Some exciting news - We have recently been advised that our Building Grant Application is progressing! Later this month we will receive a visit from the BGA Committee to look around our school and discuss our building application.
Term Ahead
This term, we have a lot to look forward to. Our dedicated team of teachers and staff have been working diligently to create engaging and interactive lessons, ensuring that every child receives an excellent education. We will continue to focus on providing a high quality curriculum that caters to the individual needs and interests of our students. Near the end of this term, Semester 1 Reports will be provided and Parent Teacher interviews will be held.
Community Council
As shared earlier this year in communication with families, our school has moved to a Community Council model (in line with changes made across all Catholic Education Canberra-Goulburn schools). We were blessed to have so much interest shown from parents in joining our new Community Council in Executive roles. I am excited to announce the parent Executive Members of our new Community Council:
Chair: Sally Veikkanen
Treasurer: Michael Wrathall
Secretary: Julie Kennett
Fundraising: Cristal Tatterson and Donna Fitzgerald-Verrant
Community Engagement and Promotion: Melanie Phillips and Sherice Kazzi
Master Plan: Kathryn Brett
These Executive Members will also be supported by a number of parents keen to participate in Working Groups across the areas.
We greatly appreciate support from our parent community! Your amazing efforts help to make our school the wonderful place it is.
Next Tuesday 14th May at 6pm, we will hold our first Community Council meeting in the school library. All parents in our school community are welcome to attend and be involved.
Communication
Communication is essential in maintaining a strong partnership between the school and parents. I encourage you to stay connected with us through regular communication channels such as our Compass Portal, school website, newsletters, and Face Book platform. These forms of communication will provide updates on school events, important dates, and other relevant information.
This term holds many opportunities for our students. I am excited about the high quality teaching and learning occurring and the events that we have planned. Working in partnership with families, may we continue to encourage a love for learning and respect and kindness to all.
God bless,
Alana
Cross Country Ribbons
Tomorrow at our 2:30pm Assembly, we will be presenting the place ribbons for the school Cross Country Carnival. Parents are welcome to attend.
Mother's Day Breakfast
Tomorrow morning we will be celebrating all mothers, grandmothers and special friends with a special breakfast. We would love you to come along and enjoy a coffee/tea and pastry.
At school we learn about Australian First Nations Peoples histories and cultures, guided by the Australian Curriculum. Continued focus with cross-curriculum priority provides opportunities for all students to deepen their knowledge of Australia by learning about the world’s oldest continuous living cultures.
At St Benedict's we take opportunities to engage with Australian First Nations Peoples’ knowledges, experiences, values and perspectives. Through the Australian Curriculum, students learn that contemporary First Nations Australian communities are strong, resilient, rich and diverse. We use and encourage respectful and culturally responsive language to strengthen relationships and learn about the history and cultural diversity of First Nations Australians.
Catholic Education celebrates NAIDOC week each year. The Theme for NAIDOC Week in 2024 is: Keep the fire burning! Blak Loud and Proud!
Although NAIDOC week is some months away, there is an art competition that students are encouraged to enter. The winner will have their art made into an Acrylic Block and be featured on the NAIDOC Mass booklets. For more details about this great opportunity for students, please see the link below. Please contact Karen Haines or Linda De Salis with any queries.
Welcome Sisters!
This term we welcome the Sisters of the Missionaries of God’s Love into our Year 3-6 classrooms. The Sisters are very excited to be involved in the classroom learning in Religious Education as well as in prayer and the Sacraments. We feel very blessed to have them join our school community.
Mini Vinnies
Mini Vinnies are preparing for our annual St Vincent de Paul Winter Woollies appeal. Please start collecting adult size winter coats, jumpers, socks, sleeping bags, blankets, waterproof jackets, beanies, gloves and scarves. Please store these donations at home for now. More information to be shared in the coming weeks.
A Blessing for our Mother’s
Lord, thank you for the gift of our mothers.
Thank you for their love and care for us,
for their sacrifices for us, and for all they do for us.
We ask that you bless them abundantly.
May You continue to bless them all of their days
and bless and guide them in all their endeavours.
May You grant them strength of mind and body,
peace of heart and mind,
and a faith that is strong and unyielding.
Please help them to grow in strength of body, mind, and spirit,
and to grow in wisdom and grace as the years go by.
May you protect and watch over them always and keep them safe from harm.
May they grow more in love with You each day that passes
and may they enter Your eternal Kingdom when their time on earth is complete.
Amen.
ANZAC DAY LITURGY
CROSS COUNTRY
Numeracy Enrichment
Today our Year 5/6 Numeracy Enrichment students participated in their first 'Maths Games Junior' contest, facilitated by the Australasian Problem-Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO) organisation. This challenge consists of four different contest papers spaced over the next few months, with each paper focusing on two distinct problem-solving strategies. This first paper focused on 'finding a pattern' and 'building a table' to solve problems grounded in real-world applications.
Students have been working hard practicing these strategies in their enrichment sessions late last term and are to be congratulated for their wonderful efforts today in completing their first contest challenge.
'Maths Games Junior Contest 2' will be held on Wednesday 12 June.
Mrs Anne White
Numeracy Enrichment / Classroom Teacher
