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Dear Parents and Carers,
What a wonderful way to begin the week with our students back at school for face-to-face learning. I have been privileged to observe the genuine excitement and enthusiasm of students rejoicing in seeing their friends, their teachers and generally being back at school. We braced ourselves for tears and hesitation on Monday as the students returned to what felt like the beginning of a new academic school year. I can confidently say there was none. Students walked through the gates, sometimes without even a backward glance to Mum or Dad and headed straight to catch up with their friends. Thank you all for your continued support and the way you have helped your children transition from online learning, to remote learning and now back to face-to-face learning. Your numerous emails of support and gratitude for our staff and community have been wonderful to read and a true testament to the value you place in our school and staff. Whilst this year has provided us with many challenges, the fantastic St Benedict’s community has continued to work together with such vitality, energy, adaptability and determination. Thank you!
Rather than hear just from me about our recent experiences I thought I would hand it over to the kids……
Best thing about being at home was seeing my pets and family, but I was happy to come back to school, because I wanted to see my friends again. Hector 1/2Blue
I was excited on Monday, because I got to see my friends and got to learn. Alessandra 1/2Gold
I liked remote learning, because I could learn at my own pace, but I am really excited to be back at school, because the teachers are really great and it’s great to see everyone again, as I haven’t seen them in 2 months! Edi B 5/6Gold
I like being at school, because it is so fun! Catelin Kinder
I like being at school. At home when it was the end of the day I played Lego and something else. Reuben Kinder
I liked learning at home, because it was relaxing and you didn’t have to always rush in the morning and you could take your time and it was a really cool experience. Alec 3/4Gold
I liked being at home, because I learnt more about computers. I like being back at school, because it’s fun! Geordie 1/2Gold
It’s good that we are all back at school and stuff. It’s been a tough time, but we all got through it. Coronavirus isolation proved that we need to go outside more often and do different things like playing boardgames. Josh 5/6Blue
I hated learning at home. It was absolutely horrible, so I came back to school early and saw all my friends. I am happy again! Isadora 3/4Gold
I like being back at school, because it’s better. I get to see all my friends and I get to see my teacher and do lots of work with everyone. Sophia M 3/4Blue
I liked working at home, because I could work at my own pace and do things when I wanted. I liked working on my own and having alone time. I liked how I got to have recess and lunch when I wanted and eat when I was hungry. The day feels longer back at school! Oliver 5/6Gold
I had so much fun at home, but I was happy to come back to school. Now we are back at school I hope we are doing more work. I was happy to see more friends back too and I feel happy to be playing with some new people. Isla 1/2Blue
It was really fun being at home, because it was good to see my family and pets, and quite fun to see my Dad teardown the shed. I was very happy to come back to school, because it was good to see my friends again and good to play handball. It was good to see our teacher and finally start reading our book that we are reading. Fred 3/4Blue
I liked both being at home and being at school, but I got easily distracted at home and I zoomed with my friends, but now I am glad to be back at school as I am more focused in class and I can see my friends now. Edith 5/6Blue
I continue to keep your family and the wider community in my prayers.
God bless.
Rachel Smith
Principal
Enrolment period
Enrolment period continues until the 22nd May. This is the time to enrol children for high school, primary school and preschool. If you would like to enrol a sibling into Kinder next year please send an email to the Front Office or complete the online enrolment form https://cg.catholic.edu.au/parents/enrolment/ . At this stage there will be no Open days or Open evenings occurring in schools, but I do encourage you to make contact with your prospective schools via email.
Winter Uniform
Just a reminder that students should be wearing full winter uniform where possible. We understand that Savvy are still replenishing their stock and may not have all the required items. Please contact the Front Office should you need items from the second hand uniform shops. Please ensure your child's name is on their uniform and check that they are bring their uniform home and not accidently bring someone elses.
Late Arrivals
We ask that all students arriving at school after 9am be signed in at the Front Office by a parent or appropriate caregiver. Thank you for your support with this.
Water Bottles
Due to COVID 19 the school water bubblers are currently closed. Please ensure your child brings with them a water bottle each day with their name clearly marked on it.
St Vincent de Paul Night Patrol
During this challenging time our friends at St Vincent de Paul are trying their best to continue to provide services to the vulnerable in our community. However due to COVID-19 they have experienced a significant decline in vital winter clothing donations. St Vincent de Paul are still accepting donations and are following quarantine procedures to ensure that these items are safe for distribution. We understand that we had planned our annual St Benedict’s Winter Woollies Day for Term 3, but considering there is a current urgent need for donations we are encouraging all of our St Benedict’s families to do a clean out of their wardrobes to donate unwanted cleaned winter clothing. Of course donations of new clothing items are also welcomed. The Night Patrol Van is specifically seeking the following items in adult sizes:
- Jackets
- Gloves
- Sleeping bags
- Blankets
- Beanies
- Socks
- Scarves
These items should be donated directly to St Vincent de Paul Warehouse (32 Buckland St, Mitchell ACT) and on depositing these items you should let the volunteers know that you would like your donations to go specifically to the Night Patrol. Alternatively, you can make a financial donation online https://donate.vinnies.org.au/donation-hub
Thank you for your continued support.
Take Time to Breathe
As we begin to adjust to a new ‘normal’ it is important that we take the time to attend to our own wellbeing. Why not take the time to stop, reset and refocus with a daily 3 Minute Retreat? Loyola Press have free daily 3 Minute retreats that integrate beautiful images, music and scripture.
3 Minute Retreats (Parents and Carers)
https://www.loyolapress.com/3-minute-retreats-daily-online-prayer/
Teaching Empathy
How do we raise children who care? Empathy is one of the most difficult social skills to teach a child and at the same time, is the most important in helping them develop an authentic understanding of social exchanges. Often the term ‘empathy’ is confused with ‘sympathy’. The below clip is a useful tool to remind us of the difference between the two terms and the importance of understanding that purpose of empathy is to establish ‘connection’.
Brené Brown on Empathy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw
To engage in an empathic social exchange requires us to listen (not just wait for our turn to speak), reflect (deeper than the information that is presented to us) and respond (sincerely, not with token gestures). Below is an article that shares some practical ideas of how we can develop this vital social skill in our children.
Loyola Press: How Do We Raise Children Who Care?
A few important dates to note for this term are:
Enrolment Period - 4th - 22nd May 2020
24 May Feast Day, Mary Help Of Christians
25 May Sorry Day
27 May Simultaneous Story Time 11.00am
1 June Reconciliation Day - Public Holiday
2 June P& F Meeting 7.00pm
8 June Queen's Birthday - Public Holiday
9 June School Board Meeting 6.00pm
9 June Combined School Board and P&F Meeting 6.30pm
9 June P&F Meeting 7.00pm
27 June Semester 1 Reports sent home
2 July End of Term 2
20 July Commencement of Term 3
All Friday afternoon and morning assemblies will be cancelled until further notice.
Please remember to check the Schoolzine App (SZapp) for all the latest school information. You are able to register via either:
Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pidigi.schoolzine&hl=en_AU
Thank you to all the families that have asked about school fees. School Fees will be sent home this week as per the Catholic Education Director's request, fees will be due by Thursday 18th June.
Department of Veteran Affairs
This year has certainly been challenging for all Australians, and especially for schools, as they adapt to the changing teaching/learning situations. As students begin to physically return to schools, we invite you to take part in the 2020 Anzac Day Schools’ Awards.
First prize is $5000 for your school; state and territory winners receive $3000 each, with other prizes available as well.
The theme of the 2020 awards is The Second World War.
The Awards have changed this year to align with the 75th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War on 15 August. Entries for this year’s awards will need to focus on the Second World War and the effect on local Australian communities at the time.
In the past, our students have performed well in essay competitions e.g. the ANZAC Essay Competition in April this year and the Write4Fun competition last year.
Please encourage your child (Yrs. 3-6) to enter. Entries are to be proof-read and emailed to
linda.desalis@cg.catholic.edu.au by Wednesday 9th September 2020. More details (topic ideas and criteria) can be obtained from your child's teacher or from Mrs. de Salis.
Linda de Salis
Defence School Mentor
Happy birthday to the children who celebrate their special day this week: Aimee O and Joe R.
The school P&F meeting has been postponed until week 6 of this term. We hope to see as many new and familiar faces in our week 6 meeting as possible. W
e hope to move forward planning a number of small events for the remainder of the year.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our normal school clothing pool processes are not in place. If you need uniform, please email the school or contact Mrs McRae with a list of items required. We will endeavour to fill your order and reply to you as soon as possible.
Due to current circumstances all clothes in lost property will be emptied and clothing will be washed and returned to the clothing pool, all other items will be cleaned and donated to St Vincent de Paul.
PLEASE ENSURE YOUR CHILD/REN'S CLOTHING IS LABELLED WITH THEIR NAME.
St Benedict's Parish
Office Hours: Tuesday to Friday 9am to 12noon
Phone: 62957879
Email: narrabundah@cg.org.au
Web: www.cg.org.au/narrabundah
Parish Team:
Fr Dan Benedetti MGL
Fr Rembert Fernando MGL
Fr Baiju Thomas MGL
Monica Nulley-Valdes (Parish Secretary)
Dear St Benedict’s community,
St Benedict’s Live Stream Masses
Facebook Page: “St Benedict’s Church and Mission Centre Canberra”
Tues, Wed, Thurs 5:30pm
Sat 8am
Sun 10am
Daily Mass from the Archdiocese is available online at https://www.catholicvoice.org.au/mass-online/ .
If you would like to have email updates from St Benedict’s Parish, please contact narrabundah@cg.org.au . Be assured of our prayers for the whole St Benedict’s community at this time. Please keep safe and if anyone would like to contact Father Dan, he is available through the Parish or through the school.
St Benedict, pray for us.
God Bless
Fr Dan Benedetti MGL PP
Parish Priest
St Benedict's Catholic Community Narrabundah ACT
s normal.To keep our community safe from #COVID19, only use public transport if necessary or consider walking or riding to school for those shorter trips.
The safety of our drivers and our customers is our highest priority and in response to #COVID19 increased cleaning is taking place across all areas of public transport including at stops, stations and within the vehicles.
If you are required to use public transport to get to and from school, please be aware and remember the following:
- No cash accepted on buses - please use MyWay
- Top up (and register) your MyWay card
- Use the rear door to enter and exit on buses
- Be aware that light rail vehicles have auto doors opening at all stops
- Where possible maintain physical distancing
- No front seat access on buses
- Always practice good hygiene
For more: https://bit.ly/2Ws5mZs
Kind regards,
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This week is important to Marymead as it celebrates the vital role that families play in Australian society. National Families Week (15-21 May) is a time to make contact with your extended family and friends, and share in the enjoyment of family activities within the wider community. The theme this year is ‘Stronger Families, Stronger Communities’. Here at Marymead, we recognise that families come in all varieties and we are very proud to be able to provide family support services and therapeutic programs to assist those in need. This pandemic highlights the importance of the theme of National Families Week, and the role we all play by working together to support each other and provide care for those in the broader community. It a time to show kindness and help protect the health and wellbeing of everyone in the community. In acknowledgement of National Families Week, we’d like to tell you a little more about our Kids’ Companions, social support program and introduce one of our Coordinators, Di.
Marymead’s Kids’ Companions Program provides quality social support and group activities to children and young people who experience social isolation because of the impact of disability or mental illness within their family. On any given Friday night or Saturday morning, you will find Coordinator, Di driving around Canberra to collect/drop off individuals so they may attend our Kids’ Companions planned activities. ‘The bus is another group in itself with participants listening to music, interacting and telling jokes. They can be on the bus for up to an hour and a half.’ Di says. For many, transport can be a make or break. By having a functional, 12 seater bus, Marymead enables those who are socially isolated to participate and engage in greater community access. Participants are in most cases impacted by disability or mental illness which also includes being the sibling or child of an impacted individual. Participation allows for much needed respite across the family. Through participation in Kids’ Companion activities, children and young people have the opportunity to develop and build: Social skills with peers, friendships, resilience, leadership & peer mentoring skills plus health & wellbeing. Today is Tuesday and through-out May and June we are raising funds to replace our run-down, existing bus to allow for our program to successfully continue. We have achieved just over $20,000 of our desired $30,000. If you would like to support our Kids’ Companions program, please follow the link to our Tax Appeal donation page. COVID-19 did impact the delivery of this program due to social distancing restrictions, however we have enjoyed regular contact with families via phone. We have also been able to provide some activity packs and meals throughout this period. We look forward to commencing smaller, face-to-face group activities from next week. Kind regards, Camilla Rowland Camilla Rowland
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As the ACT Government has just announced that ACT Government Schools will go pupil free from Tuesday 24/03/2020 due to COVID-19, Bellchambers Music School hasfore made the decision not to provide piano lessons at Schools tomorrow in order to allow the classroom teachers optimum time to prepare their class without disruption from music lessons.
We have informed all affected families, and will be in touch with each of them again in the next few days to arrange for the children to have their piano lessons online with their usual teacher and at the same day and time if possible, and their postponed lesson from tomorrow made-up.
This is a time of unprecedented and fast-moving changes any many unknowns for the near future. We at Bellchambers Music School want to assure you that whatever happens, we will be here making music with your school families. Our teachers are committed to providing music lessons to your children.
Depending on the situation with the schools, we will be continuing to offer our school families lessons in Term 2 in the school if they are open, or through the online environment, if they are closed. As with all small businesses, both the admin staff and the teachers at Bellchambers Music School are deeply concerned about the future. We want to be there for you and hope that you will continue to support us as we make music with your students in these very difficult times and into the future.
Many thanks,
Bronwen and Rachel
Bellchambers Music School
62816270
www.bellchambersmusicschool.com.au
Just advising that the opening hours for Savvy Tuggeranong have changed to the following. The below changes to opening times will be taking effect
week commencing 20th May 2020.
Uniform will continue to be available online via https://www.savvyschoolwear.com.au/schoolwear/school and is the preferred method of purchase.
We are still encouraging families to purchase online but would also like to encourage families to call ahead to ensure the store is open and availability of uniform.
Savvy Tuggeranong current opening hours
Monday 11am to 4pm
Tuesday 11am to 4pm
Friday 11am to 4pm
Saturday 10am to 2pm
Sunday Closed
Thanking you and stay safe,
Justin Newcombe
ACT/NSW Account Manager
P: 0499 056 234
E: justinnewcombe@lowessavvy.com.au
Shop 37 Homeworld, Soward Way, Tuggeranong ACT 2900
