Today we celebrated our first school assembly. Our assembly was hosted by our Year 6 Senior Leaders from the Year 6 Crocodiles. These students did a wonderful job in presenting and leading our school community in prayer, reflection and song. Thank you to Mrs Redgen and Mr Christie for their organisation. Thank you to the parents, carers and family members who attended and stayed for the open classrooms.

Townsville Catholic Education Leadership Team

At our assembly we also welcomed the members of the Townsville Catholic Education Leadership Team. The team included our Townville Catholic Education Executive Director, Ms Jacqui Frances, along with Ms Louise Vella-Cox, Mr John Nuttall and Mr Peter Stower.

https://www.tsv.catholic.edu.au/about/strategic-leadership-team/

Jacqui presented St Benedict’s with a certificate of validation from the 2022 school renewal process. The TCEO Leadership Team also had strategic conversations with myself, School Leadership Team, staff and parents around the focus of our ongoing school improvement processes. These school improvement directions will be discussed and communicated to parents throughout this school year.

St Benedict’s is fortunate and proud to be part of Townsville Catholic Education. Our school system supports our school community to provide the best learning environment for our students.

To find out more about Townsville Catholic Education, please visit their website:

https://www.tsv.catholic.edu.au/

School Board/Parents and Friends/Good Shepherd Pastoral Council

Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to attend my first Parents and Friends, School Board and Pastoral Council Meetings. These meetings are an important forum to support the improvement and growth of our school community.

The function of our parent groups are:

St Benedict’s Parents and Friends Association

Parents and Friends Associations (P&Fs) have been part of the Catholic school scene in Queensland for many decades, and all Catholic schools in the Diocese of Townsville have an active parent community. 

Every parent/carer with a child at St Benedict’s is automatically a member of our St Benedict’s  P&F association.

Through our P & F, St Benedict’s parents/carers can learn about what is going on in their school and on the education scene more broadly. They can support their school, its Principal and staff by planning and running social events and supporting opportunities for parents/carers to engage in their child’s learning.

Each school's parent group is the official representative body for parents/carers in communicating, as a body, with the principal, with Townsville Catholic Education Office, with all levels of government. This official status is recognised by the Bishop and by organisations into the broader community. Parent groups have carried out many school improvements over the years.

St Benedict’s School Board

Catholic School Boards, such as the St Benedict’s School Board, are advisory groups.  They act in a manner which is at home with the Catholic belief that the Holy Spirit lives in the Christian community and that all members have wisdom to contribute.  There is a strong spiritual dimension to a Catholic School Board's work. 

The existence of a Board can help create a sense of continuity in a school's life despite changes of principal and staff and the normal comings and goings of families in the school community.

In the reflective, respectful atmosphere of the monthly Board meeting, the principal can seek the Boards advice on matters of school policy and on "big picture" matters affecting the school's present life and its future.

The children of St Benedict’s

Parents and carers I want you to know that over my first five weeks as Principal, it has been my great pleasure and experience to get to know your wonderful children. The staff and I are in a privileged position to be able to teach, guide and be involved in the education and well being of the students in our care.

Welcome to the half way point of the term!  Year 6 Crocodiles presented assembly today, and it was our first assembly of the year!  They did a beautiful job of presenting on the theme of ‘Project Compassion’.  

Project Compassion is a Catholic Fundraising project, run through Caritas Australia, whose purpose is to support vulnerable people around the world.  The Crocodiles explained that the aim of the project is to raise money to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity, with the 2024 them being, “For all future Generations”.  As a school we have already raised some funds through gold coin donations during last weeks ‘Shrove Tuesday’ celebrations.  It is a great time to think and reflect on how lucky we are, and also what we might be able to do for those more vulnerable, both in our own communities and around the world.  Each class ha a ‘Project Compassion’ box, and students, if they are able, can donate small change into these boxes, with all proceeds going towards those in need.  Each year, Project Compassion puts out a video explaining some projects which they have been instrumental in carrying out.  The link below will take you to a clip which shows what some of these projects are and what the money raised go towards achieving.  A small amount certainly can make a big difference in the life of others!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pquSO1uw4Zs&t=44s 

Bishop Lenten Message

Each year, our Bishop, Tim Harris, gives a diocesan Lenten Message.  Please see the below fro Bishop Tim’s 2024 Lenten Message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUtw7VTgiGw 

DATE CLAIMER

Please note, there has been a slight change in the assembly timetable for this term to allow for Year 3 to participate in NAPLAN testing.  In Week 8, 4 Dragonflies will now be presenting.  3 Brolgas will present later in the year.  This will also effect these classes open classrooms - classroom teachers of these classes will provide further communication.

Pax,

Nick

From the Parish

Ryan Catholic College are looking for some "grandfriends" to spend some time with the year 9 students at the College.  Please see email below from Johanna Smith, APRE 6 - 12.  If you are interested, please contact the Parish Office and we will put you in touch with Johanna.  It is a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with our young people. 

We have spoken a couple of times about our Year 9 students meeting with some of our retired Parish members every fortnight on a Thursday. We would like to start that program up next Thursday 22 February. The dates of the program would be:

• 22 Feb
• 07 Mar
• 21 Mar
• 18 Apr
• 02 May
• 16 May
• 30 May
• 13 June

Over those weeks we will have 3 different groups of students. We would LOVE to have at least 6 grandfriends attend each fortnight to play boardgames, card games, have a chat.

NAPLAN

Today, our Year 3 and Year 5 students had a hands-on experience with a NAPLAN Practice Test. This exercise is designed to familiarise both students and new teachers with the actual testing setting. It offers our young learners the chance to engage with the platform, handle the login process, and understand the nature of the questions they will encounter. In essence, our learners experience a realistic run-through of what to expect in the coming weeks.

We are pleased to report that the practice test went smoothly, which is a positive indication of how our students may perform in the real examination. No data was collected for this practice test, we are supporting our students to be ‘Assessment Capable Learners’. 

That said, we are well aware that tests can be a source of stress for some students. If you've noticed any signs of undue stress or worry in your child related to NAPLAN or have any concerns or questions about the process, we encourage you to reach out to your child's teacher. Our ultimate goal is to ensure our students feel supported and confident as they prepare to undertake this assessment.

Parent/Teacher Interviews (Save the Date!)

Please save the date in your calendars for Parent/Teacher Interviews on Tuesday 19th March, and Wednesday 20th March (in the afternoon/evening). More information, including how to book an appointment time, will be sent via email next Friday. We do encourage all parents to have an interview in Term 1, to meet your child’s teacher if you haven’t already, and discuss your child’s progress. 

Open Classrooms

***Please note Year 3 Brolgas have been replaced with Year 4 Dragonflies in Week 8 due to NAPLAN. Year 3 Brolgas will be rostered on in Term 2.

Yours in Learning, 

Aleesha Rockemer 

APPL

North Queensland School Sport 10-12yr Basketball Team Nominations are out. If your students participated in competitive basketball and you are interested in nominating please see Miss Rowe for  a nomination form. 

All forms need to be returned to school signed and times verified by Wednesday 28th Feb

Thanks Stevie-lee Rowe

Sports Teacher