Well we have made it through our first full week back with a few kids actually struggling to get back into the routine of school though most have done exceptionally well. All classes have enjoyed their visit to the Life Ed van, catching up with Healthy Harold and his messages about living a safe and healthy life.

Green Star 6

Over the holidays we were advised that St Benedict’s has earned enough points from Green Building Council Australia to achieve a 6 star rating. While we initially projected a goal for a five star rating we found that with 74 points, we were only one point off the 6 star requirement and our team were able to identify an area for additional points to bump us up. A 6 star rating is the highest you can achieve and is considered World Leading. Most of our points were accumulated in the areas of innovation (10 out of a possible 10 points), energy (20.2 out of a possible 22 points), emissions (scoring 4 out of a possible 5 points), management (13 out of a possible 14 points) and water 11 (out of a possible 12 points. Areas we missed points in included land use and ecology, transport and materials. Townsville Catholic Education is working with the Green star team to discern the best ways to showcase this achievement.We are the only school in Australia to achieve a 6 Star rating, with only one school having achieved the 5 star below us as well. We can be very proud of this achievement for our school.

Prep Open day

This morning we welcomed about 100 families who came to visit for our Prep Open Day. These families enjoyed tours conducted by our senior students who were fabulous hosts yet again. Our seniors showed these families around the school and gave some interesting commentary about how things at our school work and they explained some of the things we have yet to come. It is wonderful to see the excitement on parents faces about the prospect of their little ones starting school with us next year and it is very affirming to hear about the positive reputation we are building across the community.

Athletics Carnival Friday 10 May

Next week is our Athletics Carnival. We are sure to have an enjoyable day especially because Mr Christie and Mrs Rowe have put in so much work preparing the plan for day. We have extra shade tents for the kids and staff this year but would encourage families to bring their own or group together to share. Parents will be sitting up on the hill this year with the kids in the middle of the oval so you will all have a great view of the races. Our P&F have organised a sausage sizzle and a coffee van for your convenience. If any parents are available early in the morning from about 7.30am, we would appreciate some help with setting up tents etc. Let’s look forward to a fabulous day of athletics. Unfortunately I will not be there as I have a meeting at Catholic Education.

Cheers

Penny

We have reached the end of another busy week here at St Benny’s.  Year 3 Kookaburras lead us beautifully in assembly with a prayerful celebration about the resurrection of Jesus.  They also presented a wonderful class showcase, sharing information they have learnt about ‘Cyber Safety’ with the whole school.  I know I look forward to the class showcases every week, it is a great way to see what some of our students have been up to!

ASSEMBLIES

There will be no assembly next week as it is a public holiday, but we look forward to our first Prep assembly, with Prep Koalas presenting on Monday Week 4 at 8:45am.  Please see the table below for a list of which class is on Assembly each week for the rest of the term.

Sacramental Program

On Sunday, our final group of students took part in their First Holy Communion.  The Sacramental Program for this year is now complete and we would like to congratulate all of our students who participated in the Program this year.  If you are interested in your children participating in the Sacramental Program, information for 2020 will come out at the end of this year. It is open for primary aged students from Year 3 and above, and their presence would be greatly welcomed!

Staff on Retreat

This week we had three staff members, Miss Annette, Mrs Ore and Mrs Christie attend a spirituality retreat run by Townsville Catholic Education.  In was an Indigenous Spirituality retreat run in Winton, Western Queensland, where they had the opportunity to learn about and walk on sacred ground.  From all reports they had a wonderful time. It’s wonderful to be a part of the Diocese which offers opportunity for spiritual growth to its staff members!

Have a great week and God bless,

Nick

Year 1 Wallabies have been learning how food properties change when being heated and cooled and if those changes can be reversible. This week we have been exploring spaghetti and how it changes when being heated.  We discussed and wrote down in our science book the differences of cooked and uncooked spaghetti using our 5 senses. Then we created a spaghetti picture and observed how dried cooked spaghetti might look similar to uncooked spaghetti but has undergone an irreversible chemical change, due to the air allowing moisture to evaporate and making pasta hard again.

Curriculum Aimed at Increasing Student’s Emotion Regulation

The ability to regulate our emotions is something we work on continually throughout our lives. We often have events that test our capacity to ‘keep our cool’.  If we are able to recognize when we are less regulated, then we are able to do something about it and manage our emotions to maximize our mental well-being.

The Zones of Regulation

The Zones of Regulation is an emotion regulation program that teaches individuals to categorise the way they feel into four coloured zones. The person’s feelings determine what zone they are in at any particular time. Students then learn strategies to manage their feelings depending on the zone they are in.

The Red Zone is used to describe extremely heightened states of alertness and intense emotions.  A person may be elated or experiencing anger, rage, explosive behavior, devastation, or terror when in the Red Zone.

The Yellow Zone is also used to describe a heightened state of alertness and elevated emotions, however one has more control when they are in the Yellow Zone.  A person may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement, silliness, the wiggles, or nervousness when in the Yellow Zone.

The Green Zone is used to describe a calm state of alertness. A person may be described as happy, focused, content, or ready to learn when in the Green Zone.  This is the zone where optimal learning occurs.

The Blue Zone is used to describe low states of alertness and down feelings such as when one feels sad, tired, sick, or bored.

The Zones can be compared to traffic signs.  

When given a green light or in the Green Zone, one is “good to go”.  A yellow sign means be aware or take caution. This applies to the Yellow Zone.  A red light or stop sign means stop, and when one is the Red Zone this often is the case.  The Blue Zone can be compared to the rest area signs where one goes to rest or re-energize.  

All of the zones are natural to human experience, but the framework focuses on teaching students how to recognize and manage their Zone based on the environment and its demands and the people around them.  

For example, when playing on the playground or in an active/competitive game, students are often experiencing a heightened internal state such as silliness or excitement and are in the Yellow Zone, but it may not need to be managed.  However, if the environment is changed to the library where there are different expectations than the playground, students may still be in the Yellow Zone but have to manage it differently so their behavior meets the expectations of the library setting.

At St. Benedict’s we are committed to ensuring all students at our school have the opportunity to participate in this program. Classroom teachers have been trained and have been delivering the program to their classes each week.

For further information on the program, please speak to your child’s classroom teacher.