Our school assemblies are a wonderful opportunity for our whole school community to come together and celebrate what is important at St Benedict’s. Over the past three assemblies, the school has reflected on the P, E and A of the ‘way of peace’. Today Year 5 Turtles spoke to the A in Peace, Accountability.

The Way of Peace

At St Benedict’s, we are employing a ‘way of being’ which enables us to be the best members of our community that we can.  This way of being is a ‘Way of Peace’ - Peace being an acronym for Persistent, Empathetic, Accountable, Care for Community, Engaged

This has been taken, not simply because we like the idea of being peaceful, but because PEACE formed the basis of the teachings of St Benedict.  The Benedictine motto is quite simply the word ‘PAX’ - which in latin means peace.

The idea behind this ‘Way of Peace’ is to give a language around how we speak to students around behaviour (positive and negative) in ensuring we are being Persistence, Empathetic, Accountable, Care for Community and Engaged.  It would be expected that EVERY class discusses PEACE and what this looks like for them in their context in the classroom, playground and other areas of the school.

International Women’s Day

At today’s assembly Year 5 Turtles also reflected on International Women’s Day and the women in their lives that have made a huge impact. The students spoke of the love and support they receive from their mothers, grandmothers and other female family members.

Today let us all reflect on the incredible impact that women have on our lives, mothers, grandmothers, teachers, staff and members of our community.

Additional Student Free Day

Townsville Catholic Education Office has approved an additional professional development day in 2024.  The date will be Friday 26th April, 2024 and will be a pupil free day. This day follows on from the ANZAC day public holiday on Thursday 25th April.

The reason for granting this additional professional development day is to provide the time and opportunity for all teachers to prepare for the implementation of V9.0 of the Australian Curriculum at the commencement of 2025. This planning day will focus on supporting teachers to have a deep understanding of the changes to content and assessment from the current Australian Curriculum to the newly revised curriculum. 

There is much planning already occurring in all schools to ensure all teachers are well placed to provide rich learning experiences for their students.

Interschool Swimming Carnival Team

Congratulations to all members of our St Benedict’s Interschool Swimming Team. Mrs Rowe presented the team at our school assembly today. We are all very proud of their efforts and for the incredible way they represented the school.

The team took home the trophy for ‘Most Improved School’. Well done everyone.

I can’t believe we’ve now reached the end of Week 7.  Our last 2 assemblies have been on the season of Lent, which we are currently in the middle of.  Last week, Year 4 Grasshoppers presented the message of always being outwards looking and being ready to serve others. Today, the Year 5 Turtles presented on how, like Jesus, we can look beyond outward appearances and choose to help all, no matter who they are.  We’ve had wonderful attendance at assemblies this term, so a big thank you to all those families and carers who have been able to attend, and stay for Open Classrooms.  Your attendance greatly enriches our school!   

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM

We have a number of students in our school who are currently participating in our Parishes Sacramental Program.  Recently these students have undergone the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We congratulate them on receiving this sacrament.  They are now preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation and First Holy Communion, which will take place at the beginning of next term.

CLASS MASSES

Did you know, each fortnight at St Benedict’s 2 classes participate in a class Mass led by one of our Parish Priests, Fr Joseph or Fr Joe.  This is a wonderful opportunity for students to see up close what goes on during a mass, which forms a very important part of celebrating our Catholic Faith.  Our priests do a wonderful job of talking to the students about what is going on, and our students are invited to participate through responses, songs and some readings as well.    

Finally, I would like to acknowledge International Women's Day.  I am blessed working in education to work with a number of inspirational women, who make a difference to the lives of the students in front of them everyday.  I am also blessed with a wonderful mother, wife and two daughters of my own, who all inspire me in their own ways.  

Pax,

Nick

P&F News

We are very pleased to be bringing you two great events in the next few weeks.  There is an info session on Tuesday evening for NAPLAN.  This will be a great opportunity for parents, especially in Years 3 & 5 to listen, learn and ask questions.  Please RSVP online through the official St Benedict’s Catholic School FB page event or join us online on the night.

We also have a great disco planned for the last week of term 1.  We will have two locations operating at the same time.  This is to provide a space for P-2 in the Hall and 3-6 in the new block.  We will have a sausage sizzle operating in the middle near the Library.

The disco’s are operating at the same time to allow families with students in multiple year levels the chance to participate.  They will run from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.

Entry is $5 for a single student family and $10 for multiple student families.

PARENT SUPERVISED EVENT - Volunteers on the night for Entry table / money taking, BBQ cooking and serving will be appreciated.  Any time you could spare would be appreciated.

We are also posting our Save the Date for the annual Mother’s Day Wine and Cheese.

There will also be a Mother’s Day stall of sorts, with silk flowers available for purchase, along with our tradition of hand made gifts from the students.  More information to come next term.

RACQ Streets Ahead Visit

The RACQ Community and Education Team will be delivering the RACQ Streets Ahead road safety lessons to Prep to Year 2 students next Monday 18th – Wednesday 20th March.

If you would like to reinforce and extend your child’s learning of pedestrian, passenger and riding safety, you can access Resource Packs with different age-appropriate activities in each.  In addition to these packs, there are also four educational videos demonstrating the strategies taught for Prep – Year Two students.  These resources will assist you to continue teaching road safety, implementing the strategies your children will learn, and applying them to your everyday lives.

https://www.racq.com.au/streetsahead

NAPLAN

As our bright Year 3 and Year 5 stars prepare to shine in the NAPLAN assessments this Wednesday to Friday, we want to extend our heartfelt wishes for success and confidence to every student. Remember, parents, the most powerful way you can support your children during this time is by fostering a reassuring environment. Ensuring they have a consistent bedtime routine for a good night's sleep and starting their day with a nutritious breakfast can tremendously impact their focus and performance (not only for NAPLAN of course, but every day of school). 

It's important to remember that NAPLAN is just one piece of assessment and it does not define the full spectrum of each child's unique talents and abilities. Every student shines in their own way and has their own individual strengths. Whether it be in creative arts, sports, leadership, or empathy towards others—every child has a special gift to offer. As parents and educators, our role is to support and nurture these varying talents, ensuring our children know they are valued for who they are, not just their test scores. 

This is our testing time. After this period we will be going back to regular teaching and learning. 

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Just a friendly reminder that our upcoming Parent/Teacher meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, March 19th, and Wednesday, March 20th. You should have received an email with details on how to book a meeting time via the Compass App. If you're encountering any issues booking your slot, don't hesitate to reach out to the front office for assistance.

Yours in Learning, 

Aleesha Rockemer 

APPL