As our first term draws to a close, it's time to celebrate the first stage of our 2024 journey. From the first day filled with excitement to the challenges we faced, everyone at SBE has shown resilience, creativity, and a determination for learning. 

As we take a break from early morning alarms and busy school schedules (for little while, at least!), it's important to take this time to rest and recharge. Whether it's spending time with family, exploring new hobbies, or simply enjoying the beauty of the world around us, let's make the most of this well-deserved break before the winter sets in. 

Let's not forget that while rest is essential, so too, is preparation for the learning that lies ahead. As Dr. Seuss once said, "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." Our challenge is to use this time to reflect on our achievements, set new goals, and get ready to embark on the next chapter of our academic journey.

To the students: You've worked hard, shown kindness, and made us proud every step of the way. Take this time to celebrate your accomplishments and return refreshed and ready to tackle new challenges.

To the teachers and staff: Your dedication and passion have launched us to a great year of learning excellence and school improvement.  Thank you for your continued efforts in guidning oour studnets to be their best

And to the parents and guardians: Your unwavering support and encouragement have been invaluable. Thank you for entrusting us with the education and growth of your children.

Here's to a restful break, a rejuvenating recharge, and a readiness to take on the next three terms. Stay safe, stay curious, and keep shining bright! Live the challenge Jesus gave us when he said " I came that you might have life and and to live it to the full". It really is one of my favourite verses. It is both a challenge and a celebration of this life we have been gifted. 

Please find some important dates we have so far for the first half of Term 2. Calendars often get filled up between now and then but theese are the dates we have locked in already. As alwasy details of each event are provided as the date approaches, for now it is about saving the dat. In particular, please note the "Mother's and Important Women in our Lives" Breakfast and Liturgy on the 10th May, Catholic School Week on the 21st May, Athletics Carnival on the 31st May. Each of these are always great commmunity events. 

                              This Easter Season

We Celebrate One Solitary Life: 

Jesus our Lord and Saviour 

As I mentioned in last weeks newsletter the Easter Season continues until we celebrate Penecost Sunday which this year will be on Sunday 19th May. I would like to share with you this beautiful recount of Jesus' life that I came across when doing my Masters studies...

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. 

He never wrote a book. He never held an office.

He never owned a home. He never had a family. 

He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never travelled two hundred miles from the place where He was born.

He never did one of the things that contemporary society would consider a sign of greatness. 

He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing of this world, only the power of His divinity.

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him; another betrayed Him.

He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. 

He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.

While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth— His coat.

When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. 

Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today He is for many the centrepiece of the human race, the greatest source of guidance and divine inspiration. 

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that one solitary life—Jesus!

 Written by A. Francis

Yours in faith,

Miss Michelle Collins

(Religious Education Co-ordinator)

Mindfulness

We are now into our third cycle in our whole school wellbeing focus at SBE. Over this term, we have focussed on 'Respectful relationships', 'Friendship and belonging' and our third topic is 'Mindfulness'. These focus topics have been explicitly taught during my wellbeing days each Tuesday and by the end of this cycle I will have taught each class in the school 3 times. This initiative has proven to not only have given me a chance to be regularly present in each classroom, continue to build relationships with all students at SBE but also ensured a consistent and targeted focus on the wellbeing of all students in our school. 

Research has proven that mindfulness has endless benefits for children. This school taught activity is on the rise, and many experts are wanting it to be a compulsory component of the national curriculum. Not only does mindfulness calm a child’s mind, but it has also been proven to reduce disruptive and bullying behaviour in schools.

Mindfulness is a practice that helps us focus on the present moment and be more
aware of our thoughts, feelings and surroundings. It’s a tool that can help children and adolescents develop resilience, manage stress and anxiety, and improve their overall wellbeing. Mindfulness is not about having a clear or quiet mind, but rather it’s about paying attention to what is happening in the present moment, with an open and nonjudgemental attitude. By practicing mindfulness regularly, young people can learn to be more in touch with their thoughts, feelings and emotions and respond to them in a healthy and balanced way.

See below the link to the parents resources avaialble on our SBE schoolTV site:

Empower Day Games 

A great celebration today to finish our term as the grounds were filled with our very own "Wellbeing Superheroes" all unique but with 3 "super" powers:

1. Speaking with Honesty, Courage and Respect
2. Being Like Jesus in Love, Compassion and Responsibility 
3. Empowering themselves, Others and Action 

A great job to our Year 6 students who ran the tabloid activities. There is no doubt about it - everyone deserves to take the next two weeks off :-) Happy Holidays Everyone. 

Term 1 Cultural Activites

Colour and Smiles are abundant in Mrs Saperas' Cutrual Activies every second Wednesday. We can't wait to see what Term 2 brings. 

Admin/ Finance Officer Suzi Di-Nardo Monday to Friday

Admin - Tiare Collins-Grayson Monday, Thursday Friday

Wishing all our St Benedict's community a safe and restful holiday.

Kinder 2025 Enrolments

We are excepting enrolments for Kinder 2025. If you wish to secure a position for your child please complete the online application and contact our office. 

The interview process has commenced and the timeline for enrolments is as below.

Compass

By now families should have compass log in information, usernames and passowrds. It is important that you use this app as it is a critical part of our school communication.

• Our staff use this app to contact parents, upload school reports, mark rolls and much more.
• Parent are able to submit attendance notifictions on the app, check reports,  and review, pay and download fee statements.

Compass is also used for all our school events and permisssion must be done in order for your child to attend. The form below allows both parents to be listed as "joint" account holders and therefore allowing either parent to provide permission for an excursion/event. The default on COMPASS is that both parents can view the event BUT only the parent listed as fee payer can provide permission. Many parents elect to change this. If you wish this to happen, please complete the form.

School Fees

Billing Cycle and Payment Methods

School fees are billed annually in Term 1.

Payment method can be via direct debit with the CDF; BPay using the fee statement reference number; or credit card over the counter or via phone.

• Each fee payer can tailor frequency of payments to suit individual circumstances
• Direct debit payment frequency options can be established as weekly, fortnightly or monthly
• BPay can be at your discretion and can be set up as an automated payment

By now at least one payment should have been made to your fees account as per your fee agreement. 

All fees must be paid in full by 30 November.

Medical 

From time to time students may need to take medication at school.

Our office is able to administer medication but requires the completion of consent forms to do this. As we come into the flu season please contact our office if this applies to your child.

If your child requires medication administered daily please supply our office with medication in a blister pack. This is a requirement set by our Catholic School office to ensure the safety of medications and dosages. 

Second Hand Uniforms 

Our second hand uniform shop is overflowing with lots of school uniforms.

If you are in need of anything for winter please contact our office via phone or email with the items you are in need of and the sizes required. Cost is a gold coin donation which we collect to donate to Caritas. 

If we have the items available we can send them home with your child.

Diocesan Representatives

Congratulations to Archer Guihot (Boys Football) and Billy Johnson (U12s Boys Rugby League) who have been selected to represent our Diocese of Maitland/Newcastle in the upcoming Polding Winter Sports Trials, to be held at Tamworth next term. Both boys trialled successfully at the Diocesan Trials which were held in Week 9. An outstanding effort boys!

A huge congratulations to Kiani Miller who competed in the Polding Primary Catholic Schools Swimming Championships last week at Homebush, Sydney. Kiani finished 3^rd in her Heat of the Girls 10 Yrs. 50m Freestyle, placing her 12^th overall. She followed that up with a 2^nd in the Heat of the Girls 200m Jnr Individual Medley, placing her 6^th overall. Kiani recorded personal best times for both events. A wonderful effort!

Soccer Gala Days 

On Tuesday (Yrs. 3, 4 and 5) and Wednesday (Yr. 6) of this week, our students had the opportunity to participate in an inter-school Soccer Gala Day, run by Northern NSW Football, at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility. Boys and girls played small-sided games against other regional schools, emphasising fun and participation.  

Our children demonstrated some outstanding skills and excellent sportsmanship, while having lots of fun and scoring many goals. A huge thank you to Mr. John McGill for organising our school’s impressive participation in the two days. Many thanks also to our parent helpers who organised teams throughout the event. 

School Cross Country

Well done to all students who participated in the School Cross Country Trials last Monday at Cameron Park. Children tried their very best in running the 2km (8,9,10 Yrs.) and 3km (11,12 Yrs.) tracks. Many thanks to Ms Slade for organising the event.

A huge congratulations to the following students who qualified for the Diocesan Cross Country:

8/9 Year Girls: Chelsea Hunter, Eleanor Jewell, Amelia Gulabovski

8/9 Year Boys: Rhys Toohey, Cruz Mansley, Lincoln O’Brien

10 Year Girls: Isla Hopkins, Kiani Miller, Sophie Stewart

10 Year Boys: Isaac Rose, Henry Bailey, Connor Fitzhenry

11 Year Girls: Allira Weet, Lily Cassel-Denmeade

11 Year Boys: Archer Guihot, Axel Ferguson

12 Year Girls: Alexis Huntriss

12 Year Boys: Miller Burgess, Joel Heesen, Brady Leighton

The Diocesan Cross Country will be held on Wednesday 15th May 2024 at Maitland Park. More details and a Compass Event will be posted at the beginning of Term 2.

Congratulations to our final group of students to complete the Premier’s Reading Challenge in Term 1.

They are:

From 3 BLACK:   Gwendolen Eckford

From 3 RED:        Sameer Dean, Braxton Francis, Jack Gloury, Alexander Leigh, Haidyn Thomas, Dylan Tinawin

From 4 RED:        Aryan Biddut, Mila Manthey and Kiani Miller.

 Thirty-seven students have now completed the Challenge. Very well done.

 I look forward to receiving many more completed PRC sheets after the holidays.

Mrs Nicolaidis (PRC Co-Ordinator)

Congratulations to the following students who achieved their 50 Bennie milestone at the final assembly for Term 1. 

Special mention to Willow Moore who was nominated by 2 separate teachers for a Spirit of Jesus award in the last 2 weeks of term. Also to Harry Fry for his merit certificate from last week.

The school assists local organsiation to promtote their child related services, events and activities. The school is not directly linked to these events but we are happy to support the greater edgeworth and Cameron Park community. 

This edition is jam packed with

• Camping sites that won’t break the bank
• Fun school holiday programs
• Free Disc Golf
• Over 45 Autumn events
• Festivals, shows, fairs and so much more
• Local walks
• 9 prizes to be won!

 link to the magazine: Lake Mac Family Life Magazine | seasonal guide | Lake Mac Family Life