Key Dates for Parent Engagement  

• Monday 26th -Thursday 29th August - NAIDOC Week 
• Monday 2nd - Thursday 5th September - RACQ Streets Ahead Sessions Years 3-6
• Friday 30th August (PUPIL FREE DAY) Please organise care for your child/ren
• All Parents Invited - Tuesday 10th September - Eisteddfod Year 6, Year 4, Year 1 (Times TBA) 
• All Parents Invited - Wednesday 11th September - Eisteddfod Year 5, Year 3 (Times TBA) 
• All Parents Invited - Thursday 12th September - Eisteddfod Year 2, Prep (Times TBA) 
• All Parents Invited - Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th September - Parent/Teacher Interviews 
• Friday 13th September - U10 Rugby League Blackhawks Challenge

• Week / Date	Assembly	Open Classrooms
  Week 8 - 30/08	PUPIL FREE
  Week 9 - 06/09	PB	PB, 6T
  Week 10 - 13/09	2K	2K, 6C, 5T,

Thank you to everyone who supported and coordinated our wonderful Book Week Parade. It was incredible to see the efforts that parents and carers went to prepare their children for this fun school day. The amount of parents and family members who attended the parade was extraordinary. Thank you to our classroom teachers and staff for coordinating the students and entering the spirit with their year level theme costumes.

The Children’s Book Council of Australia promotes Book Week each year. The link to their website contains information about Book Week and the winners of the children’s book awards for 2024.

https://cbca.org.au/cbca-book-week-resources/

Book Week is a great reminder of the importance of books, reading and literacy in the lives of children.

Australian Catholic University research into benefits of reading to your child

New research has found that how parents read to their children improves children’s memory and learning outcomes.

The findings come during Book Week  (18-24 August) from Australian Catholic University’s Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education researcher Dr Ameneh Shahaeian.

“Kids love to hear stories. There is a magic in stories. We all remember hearing them as children, and we loved them,” she said.

“By examining the different ways that parents tell stories, the research has identified the key elements of the reading which are most beneficial for children’s cognitive development.

“Cognitive benefits include improved: memory; learning outcomes; and self-control.

“The reading recommendations are that parents should: tune in to their children; make the stories interesting; go beyond the text and tell rich stories that are logical, imaginative, and meaningful.

“Always remember, the best books for your children are the ones they like the most!” \

“Reading to very young children can have long-lasting benefits for their later school success, not only in literacy but also in mathematics. So, if there is only one thing you have time to do with your children, it should be reading to and with them.”

https://www.impact.acu.edu.au/community/six-tips-how-to-read-to-kids-for-best-results

Inter-school cricket teams

Congratulations to our inter-school cricket teams who on Friday showed competitiveness, talent and sportsmanship beyond what was expected!
We are now the 2024 Blast Cricket Mixed Champions and achieved 2nd place in the boy’s competition by only one point. Thank you to Miss Rowe for training and coaching our teams and for parents and carers who supported our students on the day.

Diocesan Education Council

Also on Friday, (after the Book Parade), we had the pleasure of welcoming members of the Diocesan Education Council to St Benedict’s. The role of the Diocesan Education Council (DEC) is to assist the Bishop in formulating the Townsville Diocesan Catholic Education vision and identity. Our Executive Director, Jacqui Frances, is a member of the DEC.

As part of their visit, the DEC met with staff, members of the school leadership team and school board members. This was a great opportunity to reflect on the formation years of St Benedict’s as well as discussing plans for the future of this great school.

Reminder that staff supervision commences at 8:00am

A reminder to all parents and carers that children are not permitted to arrive at school until 8:00am. At this time supervision commences in the school hall, at the parent drop off zone and the school library and school oval (for run club). A member of the school leadership team will announce from 8:00am when the library and run club is open and supervised by staff.

Thank you to all parents and carers for their cooperation with regards to supervision at the start of each school day.

'God in all of life'

Patrick Dempsey

pdempsey2@stbenedicts.catholic.edu.au

Welcome to the end of Week 7 (or the start of Week 8).

Our most recent assembly saw the Year 5 Jellyfish present to the school of the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, which traditionally has carried with it great value to Catholics.  The Jellyfish reflected on how Mary’s life was filled with faith, lote, and to devotion to God, and that her Assumption reminds us of the special place she holds in our hearts and in heaven.  

St Benedict’s NAIDOC Celebrations

Week 8 will see St Benedict’s undergo our NAIDOC Celebrations.  NAIDOC Week itself has already passed, but as a school, we will be celebrating NAIDOC Week in Week 8, with this year's theme being, “Keep the Fire Burning!”  At school this week, each Year Level will be taking part in a workshop for our local, ‘Big Eye Theatre’, which, led by Aunty Ros, has been set up to support and promote First Nation Artists.  They will be engaging students in storytelling and dance.  Mrs Christie, our First Nations Teacher, will also be engaging our students in an art workshop throughout the week. Keep an eye out around the school for where this might end up! 

2024 Eisteddfod

Each class at St Benedict’s this year will be participating in the 2024 Townsville Eisteddfod.  Classes have been learning and will present a poem at the Townsville Eisteddfod on the Civic Theatre Stage.  This will be taking place in the last week of Term 3.  The schedule for when classes are performing has been included below, with a separate Compass Event being sent out to parents this week.    

All Performances at the Townsville Civic Theatre

Please note that there is an entry fee to attend any Eisteddfod Session

Pax,

Nick 

God Bless

Fr Joseph Reddy,  Fr Joe,  Fr Jun & Kathy

Ministerial Region of the Good Shepherd

43 Morindo Drive,  Kirwan  Qld  4817.  PO Box 203, Thuringowa Central  Qld  4817

Ph: (07)4723 9844  

P & F News

Father’s Day

We wish all fathers and father figures a wonderful celebration this coming weekend.  This year, due to a range of challenges we have not been able to arrange a community gathering to celebrate the significant role fathers play in the lives of our children.  We aim to have future celebrations up and running in 2025.

Term 4 Meeting - Save the Date

Please save Tuesday 8th October at 6.30pm as the date for the Term 4 P&F Meeting.  A zoom link will come out next term.

Last chance to book a Parent/Teacher Interview

We are holding optional Parent-Teacher Interviews on Tuesday 3rd September and Wednesday 4th 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 this Friday 30th August.  Please ensure that you have booked a session by this date.
• We look forward to discussing your child's progress.

RACQ Streets Ahead Visit

The RACQ Community and Education Team will be delivering the RACQ Streets Ahead road safety lessons to Year 3 to Year 6 students next Monday 2nd – Thursday 5th September. Prep - Year 2 students had their visit earlier this year! 

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. 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

Science Week

We are thrilled to report that Science Week was a roaring success! The science centre within our library engaged students as they were able to interact with a wide range of learning experiences and activities, all based around the Science Week theme "Species Survival: More than Just Sustainability" 

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. By providing these hands-on experiences, we aim 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! A BIG thank you to the families who helped contribute in any way! 

The leadership team have begun planning for the 2025 school year!  As a part of this planning, today we will be sending out a Compass Event to families to indicate if they are planning on remaining at St Benedict's for the 2025 school year.  This particularly assists with planning when considering teacher allocations and budgets for 2025.  Your assistance in responding to this event by Monday 9th September, is greatly appreciated.

Here are some instructions on the process as it is a 2 step process and some people have not completed it correctly.