Welcome to the end of what has been another very busy week at St Benedict’s!  We started with our Prep Koalas leading us in assembly, with some wonderful dance moves to ‘I’m Gonna Let it Shine’.  Our Prep classes (along with all other classes as well) have really come such a long way when presenting assemblies this year!

We have had a very hot week, as I’m sure everyone is Townsville has!  Our students have done well to find shady spots during play times with some choosing to play in airconditioned comfort.  Our staff have remained extremely vigilant with the heat and students have done a great job in drinking plenty of water! We will continue to monitor the weather in the next week and ensure the safety and wellbeing of both staff and students is maintained by taking necessary precautions to avoid the heat where we can!    

Our final week is looking to be extremely busy, so I would like to outline below what’s happening next week and give you some added information about all of these events!

Monday - End of Year Liturgy / Year 6 Rite of Passage - 9:00am in the Hall

I invite ALL parents and friends to attend our End of Year Liturgy and Rite of Passage in the Hall on Monday morning.  Fr Dave will be here to lead us in prayer as we celebrate what has been a wonderful year at St Benedict’s. We will be recognising all of our inaugural families with a gift, as well as recognising and sending off our first senior students, Jack, Evie and Stephanie.   

Tuesday - Step up Orientation Day - 9:00 - 10:30am

During Step Up Day, students will be spending the morning with their teacher and class for 2019, doing activities in their new classroom.  We will also be welcoming the new Prep students for 2019, and hosting the parents of them and new families for morning tea in the hall.

Wednesday - ‘O Holy Night’ - Christmas Carols - 6:00 - 7:30pm in the Hall

All families and friends are invited to attend our Christmas Carols evening in the Hall on Wednesday night.  You are invited to BYO dinner, chairs, pillows, picnic rugs, etc to enjoy a night of community, celebrating the Spirit of Christmas together.  This is free dress for the students, however, they may choose to wear Christmas themed attire.

Parking on the evening -

We have organised some light towers to allow us to provide additional parking spaces. Parking will be available on Dalrymple Road along the fence line in front of the Kindy, access will be made available into the school grounds through a fence panel that will be removed for the evening. There will be an additional light tower in the school grounds to make it easier for families to walk through. The lower dirt area on the side of Bishop Putney Avenue will also have a light tower to help with parking. When parking please consider the needs of other families as well, thank you.

Friday - Last Day of School

A reminder that the Last Day of School on Friday finishes at 12:00pm.  At 11:30am all of the students will gather in the hall, where we will hand out final run club prizes and give any final messages.  The day will finish with a guard of honour in the Hall for our Year 6 students and departing students to walk down to finish off the year.  OSHC is available from 12:00 on that day, so if required, please remember to book for this.

It’s sure to be a very exciting week and we are all looking forward to closing our year off on a very positive note!

Have a great week, and God bless!

Nick

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the St Vinnies Christmas Appeal. On Thursday 6th December a representative from the Good Shephard Parish will collect our baskets filled with all the wonderful things that will make Christmas special for other families. If you still have items to be donated could you please ensure they are placed in the classroom baskets by Wednesday afternoon.

Olivia, Alannah and Ella participated in their dance concert over the weekend. Congratulations on showcasing your talents and hard work from throughout the year. 

Over the weekend Maddison completed in Australian biggest cheer event with over 1200 teams from Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland,New South Wales, Western Australia, ACT and 2 teams from China.  Maddison's team came 4th in their first event.

Our Tuck Shop will be closed on Friday 7th December. Enjoy the school holidays and see you back in 2019!

Support Contacts

There are several services available if you or your family require counselling support over the school holidays.

Immediate support can be accessed via phone or online, 24 hours a day:

• Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800
• Lifeline - 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au
• NQConnect - 1300 059 625 or nqconnect.com.au                                   
• eheadspace - www.eheadspace.org.au

If immediate support is not required however you would like to arrange support, contacts include:

• Local GP
• Family and Child Connect 13 32 64 or familychildconnect.org.au
• Connect to Wellbeing 1300 020 390 or www.connecttowellbeing.org.au