Welcome to the Week 4 Newsletter. This week we are poised to launch a number of programs and initiatives that are essential parts of school life. I will unpack the National Week of Action against Bullying (August 12^th) which will lead into Child Protection Week (September 1) . I will also unpack the ongoing series of Gala days and the launch of a daily fitness program in our school to focus on and build awareness of the importance of an Active Lifestyle. Later in the newsletter, we will also update you on the Stage 3 Stem Fair that is scheduled for Week 9 and outline ways in which you can help. And not too far away will be our “Fathers and Special Men in our Lives” celebrations on Thursday August 29th with the school hosting breakfast from 7.30am and a celebration liturgy in the hall at 9am.

Sometimes in the middle of a something, we look forward to what is to come and back to what has been and we are not quite sure if we are nearer to the beginning or the end of it. Such is the feeling of the middle weeks of term, but we continue nonetheless to work for the vision of a community of lifelong learners, inside and outside the classroom, at SBE. Upcoming Dates are listed in the attachment below. 

Bullying No Way: National week of action

This year St Benedict's Primary School is participating in the Bullying No Way: National week of action, 12 to 16 August 2024.

Bullying No Way Week is a commitment being made by thousands of schools and supporters across the country. It provides an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to bullying prevention. It gives us an opportunity to connect with students, staff and school communities to implement workable solutions to prevent bullying.

The theme for this year's campaign is Everyone belongs. This theme highlights the importance of creating a sense of belonging and inclusion for students. We recognise bullying often thrives in environments where individuals feel marginalised or excluded, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that every student feels valued and respected.

“Positive school climates that value diversity and inclusion can foster a sense of belonging and provide a protective factor against negative peer relationships and reduce bullying.” (Australian Education Research Organisation 2023).

For more information about Bullying No Way Week and bullying prevention, visit the Bullying No Way website.

During the week we will be engaging students in meaningful discussions and activities aimed at promoting empathy, understanding, and respect for diversity. We encourage parents and carers to take this opportunity to have open and honest conversations with their children about the impact of bullying and what they can do if they need support. You can visit the Bullying No Way website for tips around how to have this discussion.

You can access the school’s Bullying Prevention Newsletter (Special Edition) here to learn more about our process for preventing and responding to bullying. This special edition newseltter is a culmination of a series of articles covered in 3 of last term's weekly newseltters but it is good to have in one space for parent reference

Active Lifestyle at SBE

 Gala Days and Whole School Carnivals 

This week, I want to take the time celebrate the numerous sporting opportunities that our students have participated in this year. These often come and go in the calendar and while occasionally they are celebrated by the whole school such as the Athletic and Swimming, they can also be a select few who participate. Behind the scenes of these opportunities, we have a team of sports minded staff who ensure that the legwork is done to make a great day for all those involved. Led by our Primary Coordinator, Wayne Bailey, the team of sport elves have enabled a great line up of sports for our students in 2024. Something that I feel is worth celebrating and for which I am very grateful to the team working so hard in this space. 

Specialised Sports 

This term we began our Specialised Sports Program with the Primarily Active Gymnastics Lessons already well underway. WE are working with the provider to discuss a way for parents to come in to watch these great lessons and the skills the students have acquired towards the end of the term. 

Daily Fitness and Brain Breaks 

Classes have always had brain breaks across any school day. These provide learners with an opportunity to get up and get active between focused learning sessions. This is an important breather to the mental intensity of focused and gets us moving regularly. 

Last week we began a whole "Daily Fitness" program for all grades from 9am - 9.10am on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. These short sharp focused kickstarts to the learning day are designed to build the fitness to get a little better every day. Spending a week at each of 7 stations, each grade will work through a series of targeted exercises on a 30 second action followed by 30 second rest routine for the 10-minute session.  The session is guided by classroom teachers for the first few weeks, but we also hope that the Year 6 Active Lifestyle (Sports) leaders will be able to take the lead while teachers supervise, and trouble shoot. 

The benefits of an active lifestyle and embedding sporting opportunities in our school goes beyond just the physical benefits to include the educational, emotional, social, mental and sometimes even spiritual wellbeing of all those involved. Thank you to the staff for their commitment, to the parents for your support and to the students themselves for braving the challenge to "Have a Go". We may not all be champions but don’t forget, every champion was once a beginner. 

School Disco

And finally, I am excited to announce on behalf of the Student Parliament that they have proposed and scheduled a Term 3 School disco scheduled for Thursday of Week 8, September 12^th. We will create a RSVP for the event in the coming weeks but for now, please see the details in the flyer below.  The theme of 1980s should prove a lot of fun – the music was amazing, even if the fashion was somewhat questionable ?.

Have a Great Week, 

Jules Mulhearn 

Religious Education in our School!

Year 3 celebrated a mass with Father Collins last week. The service was lovely and they welcomed our parishioners and one very proud Nanna. To the readers who did a great job sharing the Good News and the heartfelt prayers, well done!! Father Collins even joined 3B for a very quick lesson and he was definitely happy to be with them all. Thank you Father Collins.

First Eucharist

Year 3 students starting their First Eucharist preparation will begin their lessons this week. Our prayers are with you on your journey Hudson Bailey, Bianca Bassford, Noah Bertwistle, Blake Bird, Heidi Fenwick, Noah Giblin, Jack Gloury, Dylan Judge, Lincoln O’Brien, Emily Reynolds, Zebadiah Shadwell, Rhys Toohey, Dylan Tinawin and Noah You

Here is a reminder of this week's format.

• Lesson one (1 hour) at school commencing at 3.30pm - 45 minute lesson for students and 15 minutes specific information regarding the sacrament to be delivered to PARENTS. Students are to stay after school. Parents are asked to send along an afternoon snack. A parent representative is to attend at 4:15pm for an information session explaining the specific sacrament.
  Lessons at school: commence at 3:30pm

Religious Literacy

All Year 6 will sit the Diocesan RE Literacy test next Monday 19^th August.  The test will be online and is a standard test across the Dioceses. It will assess the students’ knowledge and understanding of the Stage 3 RE course. Please ensure all devices are charged ready for the test.

Enjoy your week,

Megan Hunt

(Acting REC)

Students and Anxiety

Anxiety is the feeling of worry or fear that something bad is going to happen. It’s also the physical reactions that go with the feeling, like ‘butterflies in the stomach’. And it’s behaviour like avoiding what’s causing the anxiety or wanting a lot of reassurance.

Anxiety, worry and fear are natural emotions. If you’re concerned about your child’s fears, worries or anxiety, it’s a good idea to seek professional help.

What could our children do if they knew in their hearts, they were brave enough? All children are capable of their very own versions of greatness. For too many though, anxiety will shut down their capacity to discover their potential - but it doesn’t have to be this way.

The webinar: Strengthening children against anxiety by child development expert and author Karen Young is being offered free to parents of the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese. Please see attached a flyer with further details about this free Webinar.

STAGE THREE STEM PROJECT

This week's update is a reminder of the  wonderful STEM project that Stage 3 is working on this term as part of our first-ever STEMQuest and STEM Fair. This term, our students are working on a range of projects aimed at addressing real-world challenges within our community using the Engineering Design Process. Over the next few weeks, they will be planning, designing, and creating prototypes to present at our STEM Fair in Week 9. The projects cover a wide variety of themes, from water conservation and smart waste management to mental wellbeing, cultural connections, and school improvement. Please take a moment to read the attached project summaries to get a full picture of just how amazing these projects are. The students have worked incredibly hard in their groups to develop these innovative solutions.

Calling All Experts for Our STEM Projects!

Our Year 5 and 6 students are hard at work on exciting STEM projects, and we’re looking for volunteers to share their expertise. If you have skills in areas like engineering, construction, product development, environmental science, mental health, or technology, we’d love your support!

Join us during Expert Week or connect with our students via Teams to help bring their innovative ideas to life. Your involvement can make a real difference!

For more details or to volunteer, please contact Amanda Lewis at amanda.lewis@mn.catholic.edu.au.

Thank you for your continued support!

 Ways You Can Support:

• Expertise: Connecting us with professionals who can mentor and upskill our students in specific areas.
• Resources: Providing materials to support project development.
• Guest Speaking: Offering to speak to our Stage 3 cohort about our community, environment, initiatives, education, and STEM.
• Mentoring: Meeting with our students, working with specific groups, and sharing in the learning journey in a meaningful way.

If you’re interested in volunteering your time, sharing your knowledge, or would like more information on how you can get involved, please feel free to contact me.

STEM Fair:

Stage 3 will showcase their projects at our STEM Fair in Week 9 (Date TBC). All classes will be invited to attend the fair and share in the incredible learning journey that is STEMQuest.

Please reach out if you have any questions or are interested in helping. The Stage 3 teachers are working extremely hard behind the scenes to make sure this project is a huge success.

Thank you again for your support. We can’t wait to share this project with you!

Amanda Lewis

Year 5 Class Teacher

Acting Pedagogical Mentor - STEM

2 BLACK

Already three weeks of Term 3 have passed, and we have been very busy learning. These highlights of our learning are proof that time flies when you’re having fun! 

Dressed in red, white and black we had fun celebrating St Benedict’s and Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop’s Feast Days. We enjoyed making some artwork of our patron Saints. Our class was also full of Chatterboxes! 

Every Thursday 3 classmates get their hands dirty tending to our school garden with Mrs Stewart. We were weeding!! Who doesn't love some freshly steamed broccoli for dinner? 

We celebrated our class liturgy Share His Love. Jesus taught us to “Love one another as I have loved you.” We are sure you’ll agree that our collaborative heart jigsaw looks amazing! Here is the link to our song Share His Love by Discover-Rie TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yklXXr_FZlA  

The finale for our first three weeks of Term 3 was Green and Gold Day as the 2024 Paris Olympics came to an end. We took a step back in time - 88 years to be exact - to the year 1936. Mrs Greaves’ Great Uncle, Clyde ‘George’ Lisbon Elias, represented Australia in the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the Men’s Rowing 8. We enjoyed walking through The Olympic Connections Exhibition, viewing Clyde’s Olympic Uniforms, photos and other artefacts from Berlin 1936. His 2-month long ship voyage from Sydney, Australia to Marseilles in France, was very different from the Carnival Cruises we enjoy today! 

The Premier’s Reading Challenge finishes this month. Students should hand in their completed reading logs as soon as possible.

Congratulations to the following 12 students who completed the Challenge over the last week:

From 2 RED:        Blake Atkins, Charlie Brock, Jonty Guihot, Nyah Marr, Finnley McCormick, Zoe Sharwood,

Dexter Thomas, Talia Walker

From 3 BLACK:   Blake Bird, Noah Giblin, Bianca Kafle

From 6 RED:        Josephine Gloury             

There are now more than 150 students who have finished the Challenge this year.

Well done.

Mrs Pam Nicolaidis

PRC Co-ordinator

Diocesan Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to our students who represented the Lakes Region at the Primary Diocesan Athletics Carnival last Wednesday at Glendale. Inspired by our amazing Olympic athletics, our children performed very well with many personal best efforts being achieved.

A special mention to Rupert Miller who has been selected to represent the Maitland/Newcastle Diocese in the Junior Boys Discus at the Polding Athletics Championships on September 13th at Glendale. A fantastic effort!!

Tennis Gala Day - Todd Woodbridge Cup

Good luck to our students who will compete in the Tennis NSW Todd Woodbridge Cup Gala Day this Friday 16th August at District Park Tennis Centre Broadmeadow.

The Todd Woodbridge Cup is a primary school team tennis competition for Stage 2 (years 3&4) and Stage 3 (years 5&6) students that uses modified equipment, numeric scoring, and mixed gender teams. This will be the second year St Benedict's have participated in this prestigious event.

Congratulations to the following students who acheived a Bennies milestone and Spirit of Jesus award this week.