Thank you to everyone who took the time to read such a long newsletter last week. I have had some wonderful feedback about some of the discussions we presented and I look forward to exploring these concepts further throughout the year. 

Year 5 / 6 Camp

Our students have participated in activities at an Adventure Camp this week called Action Challenge. It is located south of Mackay. They have camped in tents they had to erect and they have enjoyed many challenges including low ropes, flying fox, rafting and the Leap of Faith. For many students this is the first time they have been away from their families so that can be a challenge within itself. School camps are such a valuable experience for students where they can learn things about themselves they never realised and they can learn things about each other which can provide meaningful opportunities for bonding and relationship building. 

Science week

This week we have celebrated National Science week with the theme, ‘The Deep Blue’. Our Learning and Teaching Advisor, Aleesha Rockemer has coordinated with Louise Costanzo, our CSIRO Scientist in School to set up a fabulous Science Centre in the Year 5 & 6 classrooms while they were away. The students have had the opportunity to engage in activities that had them sorting animals that live in the ocean and animals that don’t. They have been able to identify the varying colours of the different depths of the ocean, they have observed what jellyfish look like and had an array or coral and shells to compare and analyse, even using some microscopes to identify very small details. The students learnt about SCUBA diving and had a fishing activity. We think that the success of this week’s activities will lead to us having a Science Centre every year for Science Week so the students can more deeply engage with the theme.

Book Week

Next week we celebrate Book Week so please keep sending in your photos for the 4B club as they have been quite entertaining but have certainly had all us thinking about reading. On Tuesday 25 August we are having our Annual Book Week Parade at 9.00am. The theme is ‘Curious Creatures, Wild Minds’ but we are really just happy for the children to participate in any costume they like. Please don’t go out of your way to spend lots of time or money on costumes as most children will want to change out of their costumes before first break anyway. We are all thoroughly looking forward to this event though as it is always quite the highlight.

Pupil Free Day

Please note that there is a Pupil Free Day scheduled for Friday September 4. Outside School Hours Care will be available. This is a date change from our usual October Pupil Free Day in Term 3 Week 3. This is the last Pupil Free Day for the year.

Parent Teacher interviews

We will be offering Parent teacher Interviews on Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 September. You will be provided information soon about how to book for interviews. 

Car park

Thank you for such a positive response about our request to not park in the Pick up/Drop off lane so early. We seemed to have moved about 10minutes later so there is still room for improvement. Friday’s are a particularly busy pick up day in that first 15 minutes but the pressure eases by 3.15pm

Please continue to be patient and make choices that work for our whole school community.

Please continue to make safe health choices over the coming weeks. Have a fabulous week. 

Cheers

Penny Collins

Principal

Welcome to the end of another week!

Thanks to the Year 1 Possums who shared their assembly with us this week.  Their assembly was about National Science Week and how we are all called to care for our environment.  This message of course resonates with our school value of Stewardship where we are called to care for the earth and all things on it.  At St Benedict’s, we don’t try and be “green” because it is trendy, we are called to care for our environment because we are ALL stewards of creation.  

I’ve already heard some wonderful stories from our Year 5/6 Campers this week.  Most impressive though were some of the things that the students have learnt about teamwork, building relationships and supporting one another.  These ideas prove why camps are so valuable for our students.  Camp enables these skills to be learnt in a practical way, and will no doubt stay with these students for the rest of their lives. 

There are plenty of upcoming events before the end of the term, including;

Book Week Parade next Tuesday

Opening and Blessing of Stage 2 Buildings in Week 8

Year 3/4 ‘Immersion Day’ and school sleepover 

Athletics Carnival on the last day of term.  

As always, I would encourage you to keep an eye on communication from your classroom teachers as well as on our social pages and newsletters to keep up to date with what is happening around school!

Pax

Nick

Contemplative Corner 

Over the next few weeks, I intend to give a range of different mantras and sayings  which you might like to use in your daily life.  The ideas are that these mantras and sayings are for you - read them, sit with them, take what you need out of them.  You might see something that you love and sticks out in your mind - it might become your theme for the week.  You may choose to pray with it or say it to yourself each morning before starting the day.  Enjoy.

“You did not choose me but I chose you” - John 15:16

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven” - John Milton

The Prep Bilbies had a fantastic time exploring the deep blue sea at the Science Week display. The students mentioned that some of their favourite activities were exploring the layers of the oceans, playing in the turtle hospital, using scuba goggles to look under the water as well as dressing up in life jackets and sailing in the boat.