Welcome to the Week 4 newsletter. We certainly have a very busy start to the year that saw us welcome our newest member of the community (who have settled beautifully. We have also held our opening school mass, blessed the new chapel, had our Ash Wednesday Liturgy, launched the 2024 sacramental program, held our opening school mass, held our annual photo day and held our Parent Teacher meet and greet evening. All the while the teachers were establishing classroom routines, building relationships and setting clear expectations for the year ahead. 

Focused Learning and Term 1 Events 

While it probably seemed a rather strange way to start a year, in that the days were certainly busy, we now have a period of settled focused class time to really establish the learning journey for this year.  In other words, now the real work begins. Quite deliberately, the calendar (as busy as it was these last 2 weeks) looks relatively clear now. 

Whole School Key Events between now and the end of Term that you may like to mark on your calendar are as follows: Details will always follow closer to the date and Individual class or sporting events are advised separately. 

Wellbeing for Life

I am going to refer the rest of your focus this week to the updates in Teaching and Curriculum Update and in Student Welfare Update as these encompass a significant school improvement project to be led by Kate Wilson this year. Thank you for taking the time to read this critical area for school improvement as it is launched this week and becomes an ongoing part of our newsletters.I spoke at the Parent Meet and Greet evening about the importance of wellbeing without which no real learning (the risk taking, the facing of challenges, the resilience to keep trying and to work tough) can take place. It is therefore critical that we hold strong in our commitment to wellbeing for all, wellbeing for life. I thank Kate for leading this project and the staff for rising to this focused challenge across the last 18 months and into 2024. Wellbeing should be and is core to our school culture. Pupil Free Day 2024

Pupil Free Days

A wonderful week of prayer and celebration!

Last week saw members of our school community celebrating several events including The Project Compassion Launch along with Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and then our Opening School Mass and the Blessing of our Chapel in its new location. 

On Tuesday 13^th of February Boston Rolfe and Hudson Moore accompanied me to the Project Compassion Launch at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Hamilton. This launch event saw people from our Parishes, schools, agencies, and community across the diocese come together. We enjoyed a special Liturgy with Bishop Michael Kennedy, Samoan dancing and lots of music and singing. We learnt about projects that Caritas are involved in and how last year Australian’s dug deep to help over 780 000 people across the world in need.

If you would like to learn more about Caritas and Project Compassion or to make a donation, please follow this link https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/

Then on Wednesday 14^th February our School gathered as a worshiping community to commemorate Ash Wednesday. I thank Mr Bailey and the students in 5 Black for working alongside Father Christian to present a moving and prayerful Liturgy. At this Liturgy the Ashes were blessed and each person assembled were blessed with a cross on their forehead and asked to “Love God and love others.”

On Thursday 15^th February we once again gathered to celebrate our Opening School Mass. At this Mass we were called to “Follow God” in all we do. Our School Leaders received their badges and a special blessing from Father Christian. Our Year 6 students made their commitment to lead our school and support our school community to the best of their ability. Following Mass we gathered around our new chapel location which is now the room opposite our school library bringing our Chapel into the very heart of our school. Mrs Mulhearn and Mrs Willson shared some history of the Chapel here at St Benedict’s and the why behind naming our chapel after St Mary of the Cross McKillop. Father Christian then prayed the Prayers of Blessing over the Chapel and the sprinkling of Holy Water.

Yours in faith, 

Miss Michelle Collins 

(Religious Education Co-ordinator) 

Wellbeing Baramoter

Avaible now in the ‘Special Report’ section in SchoolTV is the ‘Wellbeing Barometer’. The Wellbeing Barometer survey has become a crucial tool for schools, offering insights into youth mental health and wellbeing. By understanding community concerns and the nature of these issues, schools are better equipped to support families and foster meaningful conversations, thereby building stronger relationships. This survey is part of an ongoing, longitudinal study, with the results being instrumental in tailoring support for students and their families. Participation is strongly encouraged, as it provides a comprehensive view of students' experiences, challenges, and achievements over the past year.

Participating in this year's survey, will assist us at St. Benedict's in identifying areas of strength and concern, as well as pinpointing opportunities for early intervention. The survey aims to capture a comprehensive picture of young people's lives, allowing for a tailored approach to enhance mental and emotional wellbeing.

Link to our SchoolTV

SchoolTV

Raising confident and happy children in a modern world can be hard work! Often one of the biggest challenges can be sourcing relevant and reliable information that you can draw on to support their wellbeing.

As such, St. Benedict’s is excited to announce that we have recently added an award-winning resource to our school website. The resource, SchoolTV, includes evidenced-based information and practical strategies to build parent, carer and educator knowledge and confidence across a range of mental health and wellbeing topics.

The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle supported St. Benedict’s to add SchoolTV to our website in response to feedback received from parents and carers who said they are seeking greater support in understanding the challenges their children are experiencing, as well as practical strategies for ways they can assist them. 

SchoolTV features interviews with leading wellbeing experts and researchers from around the world, on topics including:

Mental Health (encompassing grief and loss, anxiety, trauma and depression).

Healthy Bodies (including mindfulness, body image, sleep, eating disorders, diet and nutrition, physical activity and exercise).

Cyber Safety (encompassing cyberbullying, digital reputation and managing screen time).

Positive Parenting (including friendship and belonging, blended families, resilience, positive parenting and understanding adolescence).

School Survival (encompassing school refusal, school transitions and exam jitters).

Diversity and Inclusion (including multiculturalism, neurodiversity, respectful relationships, gender diversity and supporting children with a disability).

These topics are presented in a variety of ways including videos, factsheets, podcasts and SchoolTV also includes recommendations for additional resources including books, apps and other websites.

We have mapped out our wellbeing focus topics across the year however, this remains flexible for the school to be alert to trends and perhaps focus on an emerging concern within the data.  

You will notice on our St. Benedict’s SchoolTV site that the focus topics above will appear as they are taught in class. At the moment, there are the resources for Friendship and Belonging available, plus some extra ‘special reports’ available.

From time to time, we may also promote key topics contained in SchoolTV for families either through Compass or our newsletter, when they coincide with student learning and/or matters arising in our school community.

Importantly, SchoolTV complements initiatives already underway in our school including our Student Wellbeing and Pastoral Care Policy and the “Wellbeing Together” Student Learning and Wellbeing Framework.

Our staff are familiar with SchoolTV, and as such, I am confident that this shared knowledge between staff and parents will assist us all in partnering together to better support children and young people’s learning, safety, mental health and wellbeing.

If you have any questions about SchoolTV, or the topics contained within the site, please get in touch with the staff listed on the site or, me directly.

Visit our SchoolTV site here:

chool Office 

Phone: 4958 1858

Email:admin@edgeworth.catholic.edu.au

Admin/ Finance Officer Suzi Di-Nardo Monday to Friday

Admin - Tiare Collins-Grayson Monday, Thursday Friday 

Great News
Our school hat delivery has arrived.

Thank you all for your patience.
We have plenty of sizes ranging from a 52cm to 61cm
You can purchase at our school office in person or over the phone. 
Price is $22 per hat

Health Care Card or Pensioner Card Holders

I am now processing all Health Care & Pension Card discount in readiness for our first statement of the year in the first week in March.
If you are a current holder of either card this provides a rebate of

 50% off your tuition fees, less any family discount applied.

Please complete the attached Health Care Card form and return to the Finance Office with a copy of your card.
Any existing fee concessions will need to be renewed each year for current information and current copy of card.
If you wish to discuss this further please email our office admin@edgeworth.catholic.edu.au

Library News

Library borrowing starts this week. Please ensure that your child brings their library borrowing bag to school. If your child does not have a library borrowing bag and you would like to purchase one from the school, they can be purchased at the office for a price of $15.00.

Ms Mateos

Teacher Librarian

Bus Safety Week

This week we are promoting Bus Safety Week at SBE. The students were shown a short bus safety clip at assembly this week and Miss Power has organsied a variety of activities to be done in the classrooms.

Below are some important bus safety messages:

Lights flash on buses to warn motorists that buses are picking up and dropping off children.

•You must slow down to 40km/h when overtaking or passing a bus displaying flashing lights, unless a lower speed limit applies.

•You can help keep children safe by:

Sticking to the speed limit and following the road rules in school zones

Slowing down to 40km/h when bus lights are flashing, unless a lower speed limit applies

Looking out for children crossing the road near bus stops, in school zones or along bus routes

Giving way to buses when they merge back into traffic.

Families have an important part to play in keeping children safe around roads.

•Never drop off or meet your child on the opposite side of the road to the bus stop or call them across the road. Always drop them off or meet them on the same side of the road as the bus stop.

•Remind your children to always wait until the bus has gone before choosing a safe place to cross the road

•Talk to your children about Stop! Look! Listen! Think! every time they cross the road:Stop one step back from the kerb

Look continuously both ways

Listen for the sounds of approaching traffic

Think whether it is safe to cross and keep checking until safely across.

•For more information visit:

Parents and Friends Meeting 

Canteen Reminders: 

Congratulations to the following students who were recognised for their efforts in Learning, Improvement and Kindness to Others last week.