St Benedict's Catholic School Shaw eNewsletter

Science Week

Our students have well and truly engaged in some interesting aspects of science this week through our interactive Science Centre exploring this year’s theme- ‘Innovation: Powering future industries’. Check out our Learning and Teaching Advisor, Aleesha Rockemer’s article further along to see exactly what our students explored and why. We are so blessed to have such enthusiastic investment in this each year by all of our staff and students but especially by Mrs Rockemer who plans it and puts it together. We love showing our students how important Science is to developing so many everyday things but also demonstrating the impact scientists can have on our world.

National Day of Action Against Bullying

Today our school has acknowledged this year’s theme-’Growing Connections’ by talking at assembly about the importance of caring for our community in our words and actions and our students are also writing messages about how they will take a stand against bullying that will be used to create a paper chain around our school showing how our growing connections provide a safe space for children to share their needs and concerns. This year’s theme supports research findings that strong school community connections and social skills are protective factors in the prevention of bullying and help enable positive, help-seeking behaviours in students. Our key message for our community is that we all need to be taking action against bullying everyday.

Book Week

Next week we celebrate book week and all the pleasure we can get from reading. Throughout the week, Mrs Whalley and Mrs Bowater will have a number of activities happening in the library and within class lessons. One of highlights for the year is our annual Book Week Parade which will be on Friday 25 August at 8.50am. This year we are going to use our pathway around the library for our parade with all students seated on the classroom side of the pathway and parents on the inside of the path. Everyone will have a great view this way and we can have a couple of classes starting at the same time from different sides of the school so the wait time between groups is not too long. It will be lots of fun and room for everybody.

We encourage all students to wear a costume on the day for the parade. This costume can be a character from a book or a movie. Students are welcome to stay in their costume for the day if it is comfortable enough but school shoes are required to be worn after the Book Week Parade. Please provide a school uniform if your child’s costume will be uncomfortable to learn or play in for the rest of the school day.

As we are still experiencing this glorious cool weather we are seeing a number of students getting sick and some of them for prolonged periods of time. Please do your best to keep students home when unwell so we can all try to avoid the spread of illness.

Please have a fabulous week.

Cheers

Penny

The weeks continue to tick on by, and it’s the end of Week 6. Our Year 4 Grasshoppers lead us in assembly today on the theme of ‘National Day of Action Against Bullying’. Within their prayer, they reminded us that we don’t all have to think the same, like the same things or make the same choices BUT that we can all be accepting and respectful of other ways of doing things. They prayed that we might continue to learn to be kind and generous in words and deeds, to support one another, and be empathetic towards one another in the understanding that we are all God’s children.

Assembly Schedule Update

Please be aware that we have had to update the assembly/class showcase schedule for the remainder of this term. This is due to Book Week Parade and Pupil Free Days. This has meant that some of the classes that were scheduled (Prep Wombats and 1 Bandicoots for assembly and 2 Magpies and 5 Jellyfish for showcase) will now be moved to next term. We appreciate your understanding, with Term 4’s scheduled due out at the end of the term.

Week	Class	Showcase
6	4G	4G & 1P
7	Book Week Parade	No Showcase
8	Pupil Free Day	No Showcase
9	PB	4D & PB
10	EcoFest	NA

Pax,

Nick

Parish_term3wk6.pdf

Parent/Teacher Interviews

We are holding optional Parent-Teacher Interviews on Tuesday 5th September and Wednesday 6th September. The interviews will be held in the Hall from 3.30pm till 5.30pm each day.

Please feel welcome to use the ‘Compass Parent Portal’ to book a 10-minute time slot to attend an interview.
If you are using your phone to make your interview booking, please check that you are using the latest version of the Compass App to ensure you have all the features that have recently been added.
If you are experiencing difficulty booking your interview, please call the office and they will assist you.
The booking system will close at midday on Friday 1st September. Please ensure that you have booked a session by this date.
We look forward to discussing your child's progress.

Science Week

We are thrilled to report that we have just concluded an extraordinary Science Week! We created an engaging science center within our library where students were able to interact with a wide range of learning experiences and activities, all based around the Science Week theme "Innovation: Powering Future Industries."

While at the Science Center, our students had the opportunity to observe, question, and reflect on the fascinating world of science and other STEM activities. Some of the activities included sorting objects to determine if they were magnetic or not, exploring specimens through microscopes, investigating the wonders of static electricity with balloons, challenging themselves to create the longest paper chain using only one piece of paper, and even blowing up their own fingerprints using ink on a balloon!

By providing these hands-on experiences, we aimed to ignite our students' curiosity and passion for science. It was inspiring to see their enthusiasm, creativity, and critical thinking skills on full display as they immersed themselves in these captivating activities.

Science Week sparks a deeper appreciation for the wonders of the world and nurtures our students' natural curiosity, critical thinking, and other higher order thinking skills. Best of all, the students had lots of fun while they were learning! Hold on tight as we move into Book Week next week!

Yours in Learning,

Aleesha Rockemer

Learning and Teaching Adviser

National Day of Action Against Bullying

In this edition of SchoolTV - BULLYING

Bullying is an ongoing or repeated misuse of power in relationships, with the intention to cause deliberate psychological harm. Bullying behaviours can be verbal, physical or social. It can happen in person or online, via various digital platforms and devices and it can be obvious or hidden. Bullying in any form or for any reason can have immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders.

Despite the efforts made to reduce bullying behaviours, the research tells us that one in four students still report being bullied every few weeks. However, not all negative behaviour should be considered bullying. The key difference is that bullying does not stop on its own. It’s important young people learn how to identify behaviours that are rude, behaviours that are mean, and behaviours that are related to bullying.

Often the reasons for bullying can be complex. Some young people do it to get approval from others, some do it to regain control, whilst others may do it because it makes them feel safe. Supporting young people as they work through their emotions will help them unpack the motivation and reason behind the behaviour.

In this edition of SchoolTV, caregivers can better understand why some young people engage in bullying behaviours and what to do to support a child experiencing it.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Bullying edition of SchoolTV
https://stbenedicts.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/bullying

Yours in Support

Rhylie Mathiesen

Pastoral Care Coordinator

Parent/Teacher Interviews

We will be holding optional parent/teacher interviews on Tuesday 5th September from 3:30pm - 5:30pm, and Wednesday 6th 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 today Friday the 18th August, around 3pm. 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.