What a chilly week it has been getting back to school. It almost feels like I’m still back in Melbourne. Our NAIDOC celebrations this week have been a wonderful opportunity to immerse our students in a variety of activities exploring the culture of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.Thank you to Lizzy Christie for organising such inspiring experiences.

Next week we have a number of students heading off to Mulkadee which is an arts festival hosted by Townsville Catholic Education. Students from Years 4 -12 across our diocese get the opportunity to engage with specialist instructors in Drama, Dance, Choir, Instrumental Music- orchestral, guitar and strings and then perform for over a two thousand strong audience at Townsville Entertainment Centre. Primary students from years 4-6 can mostly participate in the choir but there are some opportunities depending on skill level for the other areas too. Mr Christie will be providing supervision and support for our students across the week. I am looking forward to the showcase on Friday night as it is always a very special event.

We also have Catholic Education Week coming up from 25 - 29 July which celebrates a theme of Communities of Faith, Love and Hope which is very appropriate given the current climate and challenges around the world. We will celebrate our Feast Day at the end of Catholic Education Week with mass in the morning, Feast Day activities in the middle session and Benny’s Got Talent in the afternoon session.

As we are continuing to have cool weather, I’d appreciate it if we could get on top of our school uniform expectations please. Students can wear navy blue or black track pants or tights under their shorts/ skorts/dresses (very economical consideration) and they can wear a long sleeve shirt under their school shirt with the school jacket or another navy blue or black jumper under the school jacket if more warmth than the school jacket is required. The school jacket is however a requirement under our uniform guidelines. I appreciate that these cost a little more but there are often second ones available or they can be sold off as second hand quite easily once students have outgrown them if affordability is an issue. School uniforms are important for building a sense of community and belonging.

Please have a lovely weekend.

Cheers

Penny

Welcome back to the start of Term 3!  It is sure to be another busy term, with lots of exciting events happening throughout the term!  With that in mind, it was wonderful to start our Friday today with a whole school meditation - this contemplative practice is a wonderful way of teaching our students to stop and to listen to their innermost thoughts, despite the frantic pace that the world around us often operates at.

FEAST DAY

On Friday July 29, we will be celebrating our St Benedict’s Feast Day (which is officially celebrated by the Church on July 11.  We put in annually in week 3 as we see this as a wonderful way of celebrating our school charism as a part of Catholic Education Week.  ALL parents and friends are invited to join us for both our whole school mass at 9:00am in the Hall, and also for St Benny’s Got Talent, also in the Hall!  We hope to see you there!

Assemblies Term 3

I shared the table below last term, but a reminder of classes on assembly and class showcase throughout all of Term 3.

Pax,

Nick

Welcome Back

It has been a cold and fresh start to term 3.  It seems the holidays have promoted lots of growth with the kids all seeming to be a little taller and with a few less teeth on their return.

Assemblies

We started off our term with a lovely whole school meditation this morning, which was reflective and contemplative - just as St Benedict taught us to be.  It was a lovely spiritual moment to reawaken our awareness of God in All of Life.

Next week our assembly will be led by 5/6 Dolphins.  Both 5/6 Dolphins and Year 1 Possums will have their open classrooms to invite parents/ carers in to see the work of the students after assembly.

Spiralling Negative Thoughts

Sometimes the positive return to school can wear off and the kids can begin to feel like everything is just too hard and get into a negative spiral.  It is important to remember that these feelings for kids come from a genuine place for them, so acknowledging them and listening to their concerns is important.  Equally important is providing the children with some skills to break out of their negative spiral. 

P&F News

Welcome to Term 3.  It's shaping up to be another great term with 3 great events on.

Coming up at the end of week 3 to celebrate Catholic Education Week will be a lovely Picnic by the Billabong afternoon.  Please bring along a picnic blanket and some BYO snacks for a fun afternoon of novelty events and community engagement.

Mark your calendar for these dates below.

Brighter Lives - Book Donations

Brighter Lives is asking for second hand book donations.  There is a box in the office where you can drop off preloved books.  Please consider donating if you can. 

(Link for more info)

MS Readathon

The MS Readathon challenges kids to read as much as they can in August and raises money for vital support services to families with multiple sclerosis. 

The stats so far are:

• 10 students registered!
• $251 out of the $1000 goal raised 
• 10 Books read so far (what a great head start for reading in August!) 

 CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR CHILD OR CHILDREN TO READ and then join our school!