Week 10, Term 3 2024
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
Oh! What a Night - Disco Success
I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Community Council members that coordinated our disco – Mrs Sally Veikkanen, Ms Cristal Tatterson, Mrs Olga Morabito and Mrs Mel Phillips. Your superb organisation, endless enthusiasm and dedication to our school community is amazing. I would also like to thank all the volunteers and staff that assisted on the evening to make the disco a great success. Without all the hard work of those involved, community events such as this are not possible.
Term Highlights
As we near the end of Week 10 of Term 3, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our staff who have continued to provide exceptional education and support to our students throughout the term. Their commitment to our school community is truly commendable, and we are grateful for their efforts in fostering a nurturing and inspiring learning environment for all.
Term 3 has again been a period filled with learning, growth and memorable experiences for our students. Highlights from this term include:
- Sacramental Program in First Eucharist for some of our students. Through this journey, these students were actively involved in initiating and deepening their catholic faith.
- Yr 5/6 excursion to St Clare’s College musical
- Grandparents Day events
- World of Maths incursion and families evening session
- St Joseph’s (Tasmania) visiting school band performance
- ‘Donuts with Dads’ and Father’s Day stall
- South Weston (zone) Track and Field carnival
- Book Week
- Science Week activities
- Global School Partners Day
- 'Runt' community movie event
- School disco
- Student discernment for Archdiocesan Assembly
- School masses and liturgies
Congratulations Miss Doyle!
We extend our warmest congratulations to Miss Madisson Doyle, one of our Year 1/2 teachers, who graduated on Monday from the University of Canberra with a Bachelor of Education. We are so grateful to Miss Doyle for her dedication, commitment and care for our students this year, all whilst completing the final elements of her degree. We are very proud of Miss Doyle and we wish her all the best as she commences this next chapter of her teaching career.
School Holidays
We all know the three Rs of school, but what about the four Rs of the holidays? My hope is that everyone in our community experiences a nourishing break over the holiday period and has opportunities to Recharge, Reflect, Reset and Restart! I look forward to seeing our students return refreshed and ready for the exciting challenges that lie ahead in Term 4.
Principal Leave
For Weeks 1-3 of Term 4, I will be on long service leave. During this time, we welcome Mrs Julie Douglas (previous Principal of St Bede's, Red Hill) to St Benedict's as Acting Principal. I appreciate Mrs Douglas making herself available to assist our school. Mrs Haines (Assistant Principal) and Nat Zarb (Religious Education Coordibator) will very capably support Mrs Douglas to ensure the smooth operation of our school and the support of our students. I know our school community will warmly welcome Mrs Douglas and help her feel at home.
Wishing you all a wonderful school holiday period!
Alana Quirk
Principal's Reminders
First Day of School next term
The first day back for St Benedict’s students will be Monday, 14 October. Please note that our school does not have a Pupil-Free Day on this day, as this only applies to government schools. We look forward to welcoming all our students back for an exciting Term 4!
Leaving St Benedict’s
If you anticipate that your child will leave St Benedict’s at the end of this year, could you please notify the Front Office. We need to begin planning for staffing and class configurations for 2025. Thank you to those who have let us know already, this is very much appreciated. Naturally Year 6 parents need not respond to this request.
School Uniform
At the start of Term 4 students will start wearing their summer uniform.
| Girls Summer Uniform | Boys Summer Uniform | Boys & Girls Sports Uniform |
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From the Assistant Principal
Keeping safe during the school holidays
School holidays are a time for children to take a break from their daily routines, and spend it with families and friends. There are also opportunities for older children (pre-teens) to start exploring their independence and freedoms.
By the pre-teen years, many children are starting to become increasingly independent wanting to do more things without their parents and/or carers around. Use the holidays as an opportunity to talk with and show your child how to be a safe pedestrian, rider and passenger. This upskilling will support them as their need for independence increases. This is also important learning for younger children, so they and their families and carers are aware of various factors in keeping safe, under supervision as well as independently when appropriate.
Talk to your children about safe places to play. Highlight the risks and challenges in different neighbourhoods and traffic environment differences when on holidays.
Consider independent activities your child might do in the holiday period and how you can help make it safer. For example:
Chalk drawings - can be lots of fun but ensure your child is not working across driveways or shared paths where they are at risk of not being seen by a driver or cyclist. Always have an adult or friend standing upright when drawing so they can be easily seen.
Playing with balls - talk with your child and their friends about stopping to look for vehicles/riders before chasing runaway balls. Encourage one of them to be a spotter to keep an eye out for vehicles/riders and to pause the play, get everyone to stand in a safe spot until it's OK to resume play. Check road safety risks of installed basketball or netball hoops such as not being seen by drivers entering or exiting driveway entrances, blind spots from street bends or corners and so on.
Changes in traffic - talk to your child that quiet roads don't mean they are always safe roads, they must be alert to vehicles/riders, eg cul-de-sacs.
Riding and walking to the shops or friend's house or having sleepovers - discuss how to be a safe and responsible pedestrian/rider/passenger. Highlight the potential places of risk when playing or travelling. Talk about what to do if they're feeling unsafe or there's an emergency.
Things to share with your children when they're out and about:
- they always tell you/an adult when and where they are going
- if feeling unsafe, tell someone and move to somewhere safer
- avoid playing near driveways and carparks as drivers may not see them
- check their bike's brakes, bell, reflectors and tyres are all working before going for a ride
- correctly wear a helmet when riding any device
- remove their headphones when near traffic so they can hear approaching vehicles
- stop, look, listen, think before they cross the road, and not just follow their friends
- wear bright clothing so drivers can see them, especially when it's twilight.
Enjoy the holidays - you deserve it!
Spotlight on Religious Education
St Benedict's Primary Meal Train
To support families in our school community who are going through a challenging time we have set up a 'Meal Train'.
Meal Train is an organised way for people to deliver home cooked meals (fresh and ready to eat, or prepped to be frozen) to others in need. It is a caring way to relieve the stress of planning and preparing meals while going through a major life event.
Meal Train is a platform that allows us to set a meal calendar to stagger meals across a week, organise a designated drop-off point and delivery time period, and inform volunteers of the size of the meal required (number of people) and the preferred meal type (ready to eat or ready for the freezer).
How it works:
Currently we are aware of some families that are in need of meals. We have set up 2 meal calendar links. The links to these meal calendars are below.
- Select a family (1 or 2).
- Read the family meal needs (number of people requiring a meal, dietary needs, preferred meal type (ready to eat or prepped to be frozen).
- Select a day on the calendar that you would like to deliver a meal and pop in a description.
- Once you have added in your meal details, Nat Zarb will be notified.
- Nat Zarb will let the Front Office know that a meal delivery is expected and the Front Office will then contact the family to arrange pick up via the Front Office.
- The designated meal drop-off spot is the Front Office.
Current Meal Trains:
Family 1 (fresh meals ready to eat)
Family 2 (meals to be frozen)
If your family is experiencing a major life event and requires the support of our school Meal Train, please contact the Front Office, your child's teacher or a member of the school Leadership Team. All requests for Meal Train support will remain confidential and no identifying information will be disclosed.
St Benedict's School Narrabundah Student Discernment for the Archdiocesan Assembly How can the Church help young people know Jesus?
During Week 9, students from across classes (Years 2-6) met to participate in prayerful discernment in preparation for the upcoming Archdiocesan Assembly. Students were asked to prayerfully discern the question 'How can the Church help young people know Jesus?' and then responded through a process of active listening and intentional sharing, referred to as 'Conversations in the Spirit'. Their contributions to this conversation were then prepared for submission to the assembly. We are incredibly proud of these young people and their valuable and insightful contributions to this very important question. We pray that the Holy Spirit continues to stir within our students so that they can be inspired and their voices heard on all matters related to young people and the Church.
Global School Partners Day
Thank you to everyone for your generous support of Global School Partners Day. Students had a wonderful day engaging in a school liturgy, pen pal letter writing, art activities inspired by African landscape and culture, and in prayer. During their class prayer, students made prayer cards for the students at Gesore Preparatory. These will be placed inside a special 'prayer box' that will be gifted to our partner school, along with Rosary beads and other religious items.
Mini Vinnies Hygiene Donation Station
Thank you to everyone who has made a donation of travel size toiletries to our Mini Vinnies Hygiene Donation throughout the term. We are still collecting these, so please continue to collect these over the school holidays. All toiletries can be donated to the Front Office and our Mini Vinnies will prepare them into toiletry bags that will be distributed from the St Vincent de Paul Night Patrol Van. This ongoing project has continued to support the Night Patrol Van for many years and is much appreciated by the Society.
Upcoming Year 5 Journeying with Jesus Retreat (Week 3, Term 4)
We are excited to announce that we will be launching the CSYMI (Catholic Schools Youth Ministry International) Junior program at St Benedict's in 2025. To prepare for this program our Year 5 students will be taking part in a special initial retreat experience in Term 4 (Week 3) in preparation for this significant leadership role, directly aligned with the Religious Education curriculum in 2025. The Journey with Jesus retreat is a faith-filled experience for students. The day is packed with games, activities, dramas, videos and talks that all explore the Gospel messages of God's love, salvation and forgiveness. More information about the retreat will be shared with Year 5 families early next term.
For more information about the CSYMI Junior Program, please visit https://csymi.com/studentministry
Dates to Remember
Out and About at St Benny's
Global School Partnership Day
Snow Sports - ACT School Cup - Millie R in action
Learning Showcase
Benny's News
Our Environmental Leaders have kicked off an exciting new fundraising activity!
We are collecting empty drink containers to deposit with the ACT Container Deposit Scheme (www.actcds.org.au) and will earn 10 cents for each one. This means we are helping to keep the ACT clean and protecting the environment while raising money for our school.
You can help by collecting cans and bottles with the 10c symbol over the holidays and bring them in to school. There is a designated recycling bin for students to put the 10c cans and bottles in.
We urge everyone to get involved and turn rubbish into a resource. Please join us in recycling your eligible drink containers. You'll not only be helping us raise much needed funds, you'll also be helping to reduce litter and landfill.
Happy Birthday
Ways of Being Awards
Community News
