School Disco

Thank you to Ros Baumann and Renee Nevelle for organising our School Disco last night. Thank you to all the amazing helpers who assisted with the cake stall, the bbq and with taking money at the entry. All assistance makes these events run smoothly. The students had a fabulous time with the early craziness of running around then joining in with the dancing. It is a great opportunity for them to let loose and boy, did they do that well!

National Science Week

Next week we celebrate National Science Week with the theme, ‘Glass, more than meets the Eye’. As has become our tradition, Mrs Rockemer, our Learning and Teaching Advisor, has set up an interactive display in the library for students to access next week. We are also very grateful for the input of a number of parents who have added ideas and provided some resources too. 

Pupil Free Day

Please note that we have a student free day on Friday 2 September which is a day used for Reflective Practice across our diocese. This day is used for staff to engage in opportunities to collaborate with other staff about planning for and assessing student progress. This year we are also using this day to expand our professional learning with Contemplative Spirituality by heading to Gumburu Environment Centre in Paluma for the Friday evening and Saturday. We look forward to sharing our experience with you.

Please have a lovely weekend.

Cheers

Penny

We are now exactly halfway through Term 3, and as always, there’s been plenty happening around St Benedict’s!  Our Year 3 Emus did a beautiful job of leading assembly this morning on the feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop - our first Australian saint!  Mary MacKillop started an order of nuns, the Josephite nuns, who traveled around Australia, opening schools in many rural settings so that all Australians may be able to access an education.  If you’ve ever wondered why there are so many St Joseph’s schools around Australia (there are at least 4 in our diocese alone!) this is more than likely why.  One of Mary MacKillop’s most well known sayings is, “Never see a need without doing something about it”.  Catholic Education in Australia today certainly wouldn’t be the same as it is now without her influence!

Interschool Athletics 

On Wednesday, we had 70 students representing St Benedict’s at the ‘C Schools’ Interschool Athletics Carnival at the Red Track - our first time competing in this division! I’ve heard some wonderful feedback from the day of how our students participated, which is great to hear.  We also had some wonderful individual, and team results which I thought I would share below.  Whether students are placed or not however, it’s great to hear so many students getting in and participating on a much bigger stage than what they might be used to.  A big thanks to Mr P and our teachers, Miss Garbutt, Mrs Cowie, Mr Cromb, Mrs Eisel and Mr Callum who assisted on the day, and our cheer squad of supportive parents, whose presence always enriches these days!

Pax,

Nick

MS Readathon

August is here!! Let's get reading!! 

The stats so far are:

• 19 students registered!
• $1757 out of the $1000 goal raised (WOW! We have nearly doubled our goal!)
• 100 Books read so far 

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

The Writing Project

As part of our School Improvement Plan, we have implemented a ‘Writing Project’ for 2022 and 2023. This project is in collaboration with Catholic Education Townsville and some other Catholic schools. This week, Rachael Hood and Amanda Banister (System Learning and Teaching Advisers), came to St Benedict’s to see what we are doing and offer any support. Rachael and Amanda spent time with myself, teachers, and students. I am very proud to say that all the students we saw and spoke to were motivated to write and were producing great work. The teachers we spoke to and observed created engaging lessons, were supportive with their classes, and, like always, were so positive and proactive to try new strategies within the project. I look forward to sharing the learnings from this project with the rest of our teachers during the next Pupil Free Day. 

You may have noticed already that Planning Days have started again this Term. Each Term, I work with teachers from every year level to plan for our students for the following term. We spend the day reviewing data, reflecting on practice, and planning next steps. These days are very worthwhile and are valuable time spent outside the classroom. 

Parent/Teacher Interviews 

We will be holding optional parent/teacher interviews on Wednesday 7th September from 3:30pm - 5:30pm, and Thursday 8th September from 3:30pm - 5:30pm in the Hall. If you would like to book an interview, you will be able to book a 10-minute time slot using the ‘Compass Parent Portal’ from next Friday the 19th August, around 2pm. In the meantime, please ensure you are able to access the Parent Portal and contact the office for any assistance. We look forward to discussing your child’ progress. 

Yours in Learning,

Aleesha Rockemer 

(Learning and Teaching Adviser)

P&F News

Seeking: Father’s Day raffle donations.  If you would like to donate or know a business that might be interested, please let either Renee Neville or Ros Baumann know.  Thank you.  Raffle ticket sales available from the link above.

CSPA 2022 Parent Survey on Student Wellbeing and Learning

Have your say on what matters regarding the wellbeing and learning of your child.

For example, has COVID or your partnership with the school affected your child’s wellbeing and learning?

If you are a parent or carer with a child in a Catholic school, CSPA would love to hear from you.

Click on the survey link and share your feedback to assist CSPA in reporting to the Federal Government and Catholic education.

Your feedback will remain anonymous.

Click here for CSPA Parent Survey

Carmel Nash OAM

Executive Director

Catholic School Parents Queensland

Level 2, Penola Place
143 Edward Street, Brisbane Qld 4000
GPO Box 2410 Brisbane Qld 4001
Ph:(07) 3905 9735  Mob: 0421 633 915

www.cspq.catholic.edu.au     

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Hello,

We warmly welcome teachers, support staff, parents and carers to attend our disability networking event Ready-Set-Connect being held in Townsville on Wednesday 17 August from 10:00am – 12:30pm.  

Ready-Set-Connect is an informative (and fun!) event based on a speed dating format.  It connects teachers, support coordinators, parents and carers of people living with disability with NDIS disability service providers.

National and local service providers will be sharing information about their services and products. The event will help you keep in touch and up to date with services in your local community. In the space of a little over two hours, you will build your connections and get to meet and know a variety of providers servicing your region.

It's FREE for Attendees! Come and join us.  Let us know you are coming by registering as an Attendee.

Here are the event details. Click on the link below to register as an Attendee for the event:

Hope to see you there.

Regards,

I am available Monday - Thursday. On Fridays contact info@onecommunity.net.au

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This email, including attached files, may contain confidential information and is intended only for the use of the individual and/or entity to which it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, disclosure, copying, use, or distribution of the information included in this email is prohibited. Please delete this email immediately and notify us by replying to this email. 

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)