Dear Parents/ Carers

Welcome back to school for Term 3. I hope that you all had an enjoyable break from school and that some of you got to do something fun with your families. We have certainly hit the ground running with Year 2 students enjoying an excursion to the Civic Theatre to watch ‘Charlotte’s Web’, Year 4/5/6 students off to camp; the first one for many of them and then our whole school meditation this morning. Next week, we have a number of students off to Mulkadee which is an Arts Showcase organised by Townsville Catholic Education. This year’s showcase will be through an adaptation of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at the end of next week.

In Week 3, we will be celebrating Catholic Education Week with the theme ‘ A Spirited Tomorrow’. A number of our students who completed their sacraments this year have been invited to participate in the Catholic Education Week Mass at the Cathedral on the Monday. Challenge Games is also on during this week where we will see quite a number of our students competing in some fun outdoor activities. 

On Friday 30 July, we will be celebrating our St Benedict’s feast Day as part of Catholic Education Week. We will have a whole school Mass in the morning from 9.00am, then some rotational activities in the middle sessions where students will engage in experiences that help them learn more about St Benedicts and our school values- Love, Learning, Stewardship and Community. In the afternoon session, we will be having our annual St Benny’s Got Talent. Children have already nominated to participate and Mr Christie and a selection of teachers will be conducting auditions to decide on the final performances. Benny’s Got Talent has become quite a sought after event to be part of but we only have 20 places. Parents are most welcome to come along for Mass at 9.00am or for Benny’s Got Talent at 2.00pm.

I hope everyone has had a chance to see the significant progress with our Building Project over the last couple of weeks. It is very exciting seeing the buildings take shape. It has already got us thinking about next phases- especially a senior play area which will be our priority next year. Have you checked out the narrated tour of our Library plan on Facebook yet?

Finally, I would like to say a very big ‘THANK YOU’ to our wonderful 4/5/6 staff who have given so much of their time and energy to ensure our 4/5/6 students could have a wonderful camp experience. We certainly couldn’t provide these opportunities without their generosity and enthusiasm. I hope all 456’s rest up well over the weekend.

Have a fabulous week

Cheers

Penny Collins

Welcome back to Term 3.  We’ve had a chance to look through the upcoming calendar with our staff this week, and there is plenty on throughout the term.  I urge all of you where possible to keep up to date with emails, newsletters, facebook, etc so that you are aware of what is happening at a whole school and classroom level.  Throughout the term we have Mulkadee, Catholic Education Week, Gala Sports Day, Feast Day, EIsteddfod and EcoFest to name a few!

I have attached here a schedule of which classes will be presenting assembly throughout the term.  ALL are welcome to attend these assemblies which begin each Friday morning from 8:45am in the Hall, lasting around half-an-hour.

Feast Day

Our St Benedict’s Feast Day is almost upon us, Friday July 30!  It is always a wonderful day in which we celebrate as a school community what truly makes us who we are.  I’d like to invite ALL members of our community to attend either our whole school Mass at 9:00am in the Hall, presided over by Fr Joseph or Fr Clement OR our ‘St Benny’s Got Talent’, again in the Hall from 2:00pm.  It’s been exciting to see some auditionees for St Benny’s Got Talent, with performers for Friday’s concert hopefully being confirmed by next Wednesday.  

Pax,

Nick

Supervision Before School - Student Safety

This week we have unfortunately had an incident in the hall before supervision has commenced at 8am in which students have been hurt, and parents who are present supervising their own children have had to intervene for safety reasons.  Please - DO NOT leave your children unsupervised at school before 8am.  Even in a short period of 2-3 minutes, there is a risk, and we have seen children hurt in this short timeframe.

We have OSHC services available to provide care and supervision of your children before school supervision at 8am.  NO CHILDREN should be at school unsupervised before 8am.

Please access this link here if you need additional information about OSHC.                            

PEACE

As you would be aware, we use our St Benny’s Way of PEACE, with each letter representing a different area of focus and associated behaviours we are seeking.

P: Persistence

Using manners every time - Please and Thankyou

E: Empathy

Saying Sorry

A: Accountable

Accountable for how you use equipment - be respectful at all time

C: Care for Community

Keeping our school litter free - this can include a litter a free lunchbox

E: Engaged

Give things a go, even if it's new or hard

You can also use PEACE at home and support the development of these skills.

Scholastic Book Club  catalogues will be distributed to all our students next week.   All purchases through Scholastic Book Club accrue reward points which helps the school stock up on resources for the classroom and library.  More books means more choice, which means your child gets to read and borrow the books they want to read. And that right book can ignite a passion for reading which can inspire a lifelong commitment to learning.

Ordering and payment for Book Club orders are to be completed online through LOOP, the online ordering and payment platform for parents. Please note our school may come up as GARBUTT - this is our delivery address which we cannot alter at this stage. 

 All orders for this issue will close on 

Friday 6th August.  PLEASE NOTE ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED VIA LOOP.  WE DO NOT ACCEPT CASH OR CHEQUES FOR BOOK CLUB PAYMENTS. If you have any queries please contact the School Office.