St Benedict's Primary School - Narrabundah eNewsletter

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 4! I hope everyone had a nice restful break and were able to rejuvenate batteries as we approach the end of the year. With the end of the year in mind, I would like to remind families that school finishes for 2024 on Monday 16 December, a highly unusual last day and one we have not seen in recent years.

Three new students started at St Benedict's this term. Welcome to Elia and Agam in Kindergarten and Otto in Year 1. We hope that you all enjoy your time in the wonderful St Benedict's community.

Last Saturday, I had the privilege to attend the Archdiocesan Assembly. More than 650 people gathered at hubs in Canberra, Narooma, Goulburn, Cooma, Young and online to celebrate the fruits of the Holy Spirit and explore new opportunities for evangelisation and synodality in the life and mission of the Church. It was a wonderful opportunity for people from different communities to come together and share their feelings and hopes for the future.

Swimming for students in Kinder, Year 1 & 2 began last Friday at Stellar Learn to Swim in Woden. The children were grouped quickly according to ability and a smooth transition from lesson to getting ready to return to school. From all accounts the children thoroughly enjoyed their lessons and the instructors were impressed with their listening skills.

We will celebrate All Saints Day with mass at 9:15am next Friday November 1 at St Benedict's Church. All are most welcome to attend. Unfortunately, there will be no morning tea afterwards as students are attending swimming lessons directly after mass concludes.

High Impact Teaching Practice Intensives

During the school holiday period, Laura Webb gave up precious family time to participate in the HITP in Action professional learning program. These days were led by Associate Professor Lorraine Hammond and Brooke Wardana, both experts in HITP from Western Australia. During these immersive sessions, Laura took her understanding and implementation of HITP to a deeper level through both information and coaching sessions. I thank Laura for her generous commitment of time to help our students and school in their HITP journey.

Tell Them from Me Survey - Results are in!

Last term, students (Years 4-6), teachers and the parent community were invited to participate in the annual Tell Them from Me (TTFM) survey. The TTFM surveys are designed to capture data about students' wellbeing and engagement at school, as well as a range of experiences and attitudes of the school community toward school practices and procedures.

Thank you to all families that took the time to complete this survey. This year we had almost half of our families respond, receiving responses from 48 families (48% of our school families). The data collected (voices of students, parents and teachers, provide valuable evidence for our school to use in identifying strengths and areas for improvement.

The data as a whole was extremely positive for St Benedict's Primary School. Below the main areas of strength and improvement, from each perspective, are summarised.

Parent Perspective

As shown below, our school scored well above the CECG region mean in all domains of the parent survey.

Particularly Strong Results

Areas for Improvement

Parents feel welcome.
I can easily talk to my child's teacher/s.
The teachers would inform me if my child were not making adequate progress in school subjects.
Teachers show an interest in my child's learning.
My child is encouraged to do his or her best work.
My child is clear about the rules for school behaviour.
My child feels safe at school.
School staff take an active role in making sure all students are included in school activities.
Teachers help students develop positive friendships.
My child is happy as a result of being connected to their school.
The school community supports and articulates the importance of the dignity of each person.
There is a strong sense of making Jesus known, loved and lived.

Continued emphasis on the inclusive nature of our school - further work to reduce occasions of students feeling excluded or socially and verbally bullied.

Other responses of note were:

76% of parents have spoken with their child's teacher about learning or behaviour 2 or more times this year.
The majority of respondents indicated their child/ren spend approximately 15-25 minutes a day on homework.
Most families believe the amount of homework provided is appropriate.

Student perspective

Particularly Strong Results

Areas for Improvement

Quality instruction
Positive teacher-student relations
Positive learning climate
Advocacy at school
My school helps me to make Jesus known, loved and lived

Learning in Religious Education is connected to daily life
Continued emphasis on the inclusive nature of our school - further work to reduce occasions of students feeling excluded or socially and verbally bullied.

Teacher perspective

Very Strong Results

Areas for Improvement

School leadership
Staff collaboration
High expectations and behaviour support for students
Monitoring student learning progress
Use of assessment to inform teaching and meet student learning needs
The school community supports and articulates the importance of the dignity of each person
There is a strong sense of making Jesus known, loved and lived in this community

Relevance of Religious Education lessons to daily life
Use of technology in student learning

As we plan for 2025, our school will utilise this data to target specific areas for school improvement in wellbeing, engagement and quality teaching and learning.

Thank you again for your collaboration and support of our school, by providing us with your valuable opinion about what we do well and areas for improvement.

I have had a lovely ten days so far at St Benedict's school getting to know staff, students and families. Thank you to all who have made me feel so welcome. I will look back on my short time here with special memories.

Kind regards,

Julie Douglas

Principal's Reminders

School Attendance - Every Day Counts and Every Minute Matters

The start of a new term is a great opportunity to revisit the importance of school attendance (and punctuality) for our students.

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child's education. Students learn new things at school every day and missing school can put them behind or make learning more difficult for them.

Every teaching minute matters at St Benedict's! Staff continue to refine their classroom routines and practices to maximise equity across the curriculum. They are continually looking to minimise distractions in the classroom and are working hard to deliver knowledge-rich curriculum materials using High Impact Teaching Practices to maximise learning for all students.

Coming late to school interrupts this careful balance. At St Benedict's PS, our day starts promptly at 8:55am. The first bell goes at 8:55am and by 9am, students should be settled in their classrooms, ready for learning. Arriving even a few minutes late can result in an unsettled start to the day for that student and can disrupt the rest of the class. As the table below shows, a few minutes each day can add up to be quite a significant period of missed learning over a week, a term, a year and their school life!

I know that getting children ready in the morning and out of the house, can be very challenging and I also understand that parents are doing their best to get children to school on time. Please know that we are here to help you. Please reach out to your child's classroom teacher if you need assistance with your child/ren's attendance.

From the Assistant Principal

Protecting your child's personal safety

Skills, concepts and strategies to promote personal safety for children and young people is of critical importance. Protective Behaviours knowledge and skills can empower children of all ages to deal with difficult, unsafe or abusive situations.

As parents, you can help your child develop skills to be able to talk to a safe, trusted adult about anything in their lives. We want children to speak up and speak out about their safety. We want them to talk to identified safe adults in their lives, whether they are at home, at school or in the community. We want children to build their confidence in sharing what is happening in their lives and to tell someone when they are worried or scared, as well as when good things happen. We need to teach our children to build respectful, healthy relationships across all ages. We know that sexual abuse happens across all ages, genders, races and cultures, and there are things we can all do to prevent abuse from happening. Children with disabilities are at greater risk.

Support is available in the community for education, prevention and support if an incident has happened to a child or young person. Preventing child abuse is a community responsibility and all adults have a part to play in acting protectively for children and young people and creating a safer community.

Please follow the link for a valuable resource aimed at parents, with lots of practical strategies to help educate your child in personal safety. You probably already use many of the strategies, and the booklet can be used as a check in to reassure yourself that you are on the right track in protecting your child's personal safety.

Protecting your kids personal safety

Spotlight on Religious Education

All Saints and All Souls Mass

Friday 1st November 9:15am

Next Friday, Year 3/4 will be assisting in leading our school Mass. This Mass will celebrate the saints in whose lives the Church as a whole have seen the grace of God powerfully at work. It will be a time for us to remember with thanksgiving loved ones who have passed from this life. In the lead up to our school Mass, all students will be given the opportunity to write the names of family members who have passed in a special whole school Prayer Intentions book that will be presented during the Mass.

Year 5 Journey with Jesus Retreat

Thursday 31st October

Next Thursday, Year 5 students will participate in the CSYMI (Catholic Schools Youth Ministry International) Journey with Jesus retreat. The retreat will be facilitated by Catholic Education Staff and Youth Ministers from CSYMI. The 'Journey with Jesus' retreat is a high impact student formation experience that delves into core concepts of the Catholic Faith and invites the students into a personal response. The retreat is based on the underlying Gospel message of love, salvation and forgiveness. It is a key component of the Religious Education Curriculum with explicit teaching that builds students' knowledge and understanding of; the action of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, ways in which faith is lived out, scripture texts that describe Jesus' relationship with God the Father and humanity and ways faith is celebrated. It also provides students with opportunities to develop their leadership skills through fun, engaging and creative learning experiences. These experiences help the students understand how they are invited to share their unique gifts in the school community and beyond. We look forward to our Year 5 students embracing this new and exciting ministry and leadership opportunity.

Catholic Mission School Socktober Event

Friday 15th November

On Friday Week 5 students will be asked to wear a pair of silly socks to school for a gold coin donation to raise money for the 2024 Catholic Mission focus. This year the focus is children in Mongolia, specially the 'Caring Centre'. The Caring Centre provides vulnerable children with a loving and safe environment where they can access education and ongoing support. Children who present at this centre are most often orphaned or abandoned or are victims of family violence. Your generous donations can make an incredible difference in raising critical funds for this centre. To find out more about Mongolia and the Caring Centre please visit https://www.socktober.org.au/mongolia

In the lead up to our school fundraiser students will engage in a range of prayer experiences that will encourage them to think about their role and responsibility to bear witness to mission.

Dates to Remember

Out and About at St Benny's

Thriving Minds: Empowered Futures 3/4 Workshops

Last Thursday, students in Year 3 & 4 participated in the first of two workshops, presented by Mental Illness Education ACT (MIEACT). In this first workshop students shared the book 'The Princess and the Fog' by Lloyd Jones and were guided to discuss different feelings and positive ways we can respond to them. Students also identified how they can seek help when they are experiencing uncomfortable emotions, such as the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. This is a free counselling service for young people aged 5-25 years.

The next workshop is tomorrow, Thursday 24 October. In this workshop, students will explore why it's important to understand the emotions of others and how we can best support the people around us.

The range if services provided by MEIACT, for both adults and children, can be found at

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