Dear Parents and Carers,

Community

Community is very important to us at St Benedict’s. Visitors to our school often comment on the strong sense of community they felt when they visited and how welcomed and included that they felt during their visit. There are three distinct ways we express Community at St Benedict’s:

Welcoming

Our motto ‘All guests who enter shall be welcomed as Christ’ (words of St Benedict) points to the importance we place on accepting and loving new children and families when they begin their journey with us. Established students take new students under their wing in their own class and the buddy program. Teachers support and assist new teachers in learning how St Benedict’s ‘works’ and where to find what they need. Parent representatives contact new families and create opportunities to build connections and relationships with others.

Celebrating

We come together regularly to acknowledge who we are and what we value, especially in the way we celebrate Eucharist, gathering as a community to give thanks to God. During assemblies we acknowledge the achievements of our members and thank those who recently contributed to our ongoing work. Our Meet and Greet and Disco are two examples of times when families can relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Giving outwardly

What value does our community have if we cannot share and spread what we have with others? Through examples like our Giving Mass we create opportunities to give to others in need from the abundance we have. We look to participate in local community events and spread our joy. We build relationships with local community organisations. We celebrate important times such as Easter, St Benedict’s Day and First Friday Masses with our wider Parish.

We have a wonderful community that is always seeking the balance between welcoming in and giving beyond ourselves. Thank you to our parent community who lead by example by being continously continously giving of their time and resources. Thank you for your support for the work of myself, the staff and the students of the school and for being part of our collaborative journey.

Recharge, Reflect, Reset, Restart

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 have lots of opportunities to Recharge, Reflect, Reset and Restart! We look forward to having everyone return to us safe, happy and healthy next term.

God bless.

Rachel Smith

Principal

Athletics Carnival Postponed

Unfortunately the Athletics Carnival scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed due to the predicted heavy rain. The new date for the carnival is now Thursday 15^th July (Term 3 Week 1).

Tuckshop Open Tomorrow

The Tuckshop will be open tomorrow, with the full menu in operation.

COMPASS Parent Portal

Thank you to all those families who have already signed up for the COMPASS Parent Portal. I hope that you will find it to be a worthwhile communication tool with the school. If you are having trouble accessing the Parent Portal, please do not hesitate to contact the Front Office.

Whole School Performance – All Around The World

Due to COVID restrictions, we will be performing our whole school performance on three occasions over 2 days. Please save the date for the whole school performances; Tuesday 20^th July, 11.30am & 6pm, and Wednesday 21^st July, 6pm. More information will follow shortly. All students are participating in the performance and are busily practicing their class items.

Term Three Starting Date – Tuesday 13^th July

Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn has declared Monday 12^th July as a pupil free day for all Catholic schools in Canberra. Students will commence Term 3 on Tuesday 13^th July.

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 2022. 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.

Winter Woollies Day

Thank you to everyone for your generous donations on Winter Woollies Day. The Night Patrol Van is certainly well stocked! Students shared their learning about homelessness and human dignity and asked questions about the Night Patrol service. Each class loaded the van with their donations and then Fr Rem lead everyone in a special blessing.  The Homeless Bears even joined us in welcoming the van to our school holding signs of hope.

Families who would still like to donate to the Night Patrol might consider purchasing an incredible ‘Backpack Bed’- Backpack with storage that rolls out into an all-weather protected bed. These are an extremely ‘precious’ item that is handed out from the Night Patrol Van to those who are ‘sleeping rough’. For more information about this wonderful product that provides thousands of people with a dignified sleep across Australia please visit:

https://backpackbed.org/au/

Community Meals Program

The Community Meals freezer is one way we can assist families who are experiencing hardship. If you are able to cook a meal, please use disposable containers and label with ingredients and date. All meal donations can be brought to the Front Office. If your family requires temporary meal assistance, you can speak in confidence to any of our staff members.

St Benedict’s Feast Day Mass

This Friday 25th June we will be celebrating St Benedict’s Feast Day beginning with a whole school Mass at 10:00am. Students from different classes will be leading the Mass. Families are warmly invited to join us for this liturgical celebration. Parents and guests are invited to stay after Mass for morning tea with their children and staff in the Library.

I am worried my child might be bullying others

If your child is treating others badly, is dismissive of their feelings or targeting or intentionally excluding a particular child or group, they could be seen as someone who bullies. If they also socialise online there is a chance they may be bullying that person or group online too. 

Finding out your child is bullying others can be very painful but you can help them to change, with your guidance and positive engagement.  

Here are some strategies to try: 

• Talk to your child in a way they can relate to, about how it feels to be left out or teased. Use examples. Build empathy — what it might feel like to be the other person. 
• Encourage your child to be honest about their behaviour, take responsibility for it and apologise to those they have bullied.
• Talk about accepting differences and how to deal with people that annoy them. Give examples from your own life such as working with a difficult colleague.  
• Explain there will be consequences for them if they treat others badly — for example, if they are rude they need to apologise and lose access to something they enjoy. Remember to also praise any change for the good so they start afresh.  
• Identify activities that make your child feel good about themselves such as membership of a sports club or an art class, where they can be successful and have fun. 
• Praise your child’s strengths and any behaviour changes they try to make. 
• Practice treating others well at home and let them know when they are being kind. 
• Spend one-on-one time with your child such as watching a movie, playing sport together or cooking with them. 
• Talk to your child’s school about their academic achievement, learning style and abilities and whether they need additional support.  
• Work with the school on ways to develop your child’s social skills. 

The ‘Keep it Real Online’ campaign by the New Zealand government shows just how important it is not to overreact and instead focus on ways to positively engage with your child to change their behaviour. See the advertisement here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBhxVomEN7Y

My child has shared inappropriate images 
If your child has shared an intimate image of someone else without their permission:

• try to get the full story;
• explain why it is a problem;
• try to stop the image being further shared; and 
• help your child to repair any harm.

For more details see our guide to sending nudes and sexting for parents and carers. 

You can also get help and support from one of these counselling services:

Kids Helpline - 5 to 25 year olds. All issues. Confidential phone counselling available all day, every day. Online chat available 24/7, 365 days a year. Ph: 1800 55 1800

Headspace - 12 to 25 year olds. All issues. Phone counselling available all day, every day. Online chat available 9am to 1am EST daily. Ph: 1800 650 890

The above information is taken from the eSafety Commissioner website - https://www.esafety.gov.au/. This website contains a plethora of information, resources and support for parents to help navigate the difficult area of online safety with their children.

Important dates to note for this term are:

24 Jun       Athletics Carnival - Postponed to 15th July
25 Jun       St Benedict’s Feast Day Mass, 10.00am
                Ways of Being Award Assembly, 2.30pm
                Term 2 concludes
12 July      Pupil Free Day
13 July      Term 3 starts - Full winter uniform
15 July      Athletics Carnival New Date

Please see below all notes that have gone home this week:

Athletics Carnival - Change of Date 2
Change_of_date_2_Athletics_Carnival_2021.pdf

Parent Rep 1/2 Blue
Parent_rep_1_2_Blue_22_June.pdf

Choir - School Performance CostumeSchool_performance_costume_note_Choir.pdf

1/2 Blue - School Performance Costume
1_2_Blue_School_performance_costume_note.pdf

Year 5/6 Camp
Year_5.6_Camp_2021_Letter.pdf

Welcome to the Compass Parent Portal
Parent_Portal_Visual_Guide_230221.pdf

Extra curriculum music lessons are provided at the school by the following businesses.  If you are interest please contact them directly.

Happy Birthday to the following children who celebrate their special day this week: Michael R, Ava B, Tessa P and Mya R.

We would also like to celebrate these children whose birthdays fall in the holidays: Mia-Rose S, Edith Q, Katherine D, Elizabeth K and Geordie B.

Kinder:        Keisha L and Brock O

Year 1/2G:  Eva S and Matilda B

Year 3/4B:  Mitchell S, Kate S, Finn M and Antoni T

Year 3/4G:  Nicolas B

Year 5/6B:  Alec C and Alannah C

Year 5/6G:  Nobel S, Millie R, Isadora N, Sophia M and Mia N

Year 1/2G:  James B

Year 3/4B:  Mia F

Year 3/4G: Jack O

Year 5/6B:  Joshua L

Year 5/6G: Joanna D

The clothing pool will not be open this Thursday, however it will be open the first Tuesday in Term 3 between 2.50pm to 3.05pm. Unfortunately, the clothing pool will not be open Thursday 15th July after the Athletics Carnival.

The lost property box is now being emptied most afternoons during week 10. Any labelled items are returned to students while the rest is washed and returned to the clothing pool for repurchasing in term 3.

Tuck Day Tuesday and Thursdays are back.
The new menu is now up on Qkr! ready for your Tuesday and Thursdays orders.  All orders for recess and lunch must be placed before 9.10am on the day it is required. The Qkr! app also gives you the ability to order in advance for a particular Tuesday and/or Thursday.

St Benedict's Parish
Office Hours: Tuesday to Friday 9am to 12noon
Phone: 62957879
Email: narrabundah@cg.org.au
Web:  website: http://cg.org.au/narrabundah/Home.aspx

Parish Team:
Fr Rembert Fernando MGL
Fr Baiju Thomas MGL
Cathy Schneider (Parish Secretary)

Mass Times:
Saturday Vigil - 6pm
Sunday - 9am
            - 6pm Charismatic Mass
Youth Mass every 4th Sunday (6pm)

Baptisms: 11.00am, 2nd and 4th Sundays of the Month.

Vinnies CEO Sleepout for the Homeless
COVID has resulted in more homeless people in Canberra needing help but also greater difficulties in raising funds. For information or to sponsor Canberra local, Neville Tomkins, participating in his 10th Sleepout, on 17 June, go to https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/ceos/act-ceos/neville-tomkins-scouts-australia/.