Welcome to the Week 8 Newsletter. 

This week,  I want to discuss two upcoming events that we have scheduled to end our term and the important learning that underpins these events. These projects once underway often rely on the momentum in the classroom to continue learning up to the point where we are ready to share this with the rest of our SBE community. In unpacking the projects below, I want to acknowledge the role of Michelle Collins (REC) and Megan Hunt (Acting REC) for their leadership in CST Mascot Project as well as the teachers in each grade working on promoting each of the CST Mascots, set for Week 10. Similarly, I want to acknowledge and thank the work of Amanda Lewis in her leadership and the Stage 3 teaching team who have risen to the challenge of the inaugural STEM Fair, set for Week 9.  

Catholic Social Teachings - Class Mascot Project

Two weeks ago, I outlined the origins and intent of Catholic Scoial Teachings. A short snippet is below. CST are core to our Catholic Identity and Mission. This week, I am unpacking two key challenges the Catholic Social Teachings presents us in schools.   

Challenge 1:

The first challenge of Catholic Social Teachings is the emergence of them over different periods of history and in response to the different pressures and realities of that time. As a result, the number and wording of Catholic Social Teachings is varied and a simple google search will result in a significant variety of CSTs, all of which are relevant in some way. So, which ones do we use and how many? 

Our school has nominated the following Catholic Social Teachings as part of our project. We aim to reference and articulate these across all areas of learning and as part of different initiatives we undertake in response the challenges of our world. As luck would have it, we have 7 Catholic Social Teachings which aligns beautifully to the 7 grades we have in our school and hence the Class Mascot Project. 

Challenge 2:

The second challenge in embedding Catholic School Teachings into school culture is how we can make the above concepts accessible and usable to students. If we want students to reference them, connect with them and use the challenges within them to act for a better world, then our challenge is to make them relevant and easy to do so. This has evolved into our Class CST Mascot Project which we will launch on Friday 27th September. Next week, we will introduce . you to 7 mascots (one for each CST) that each grade will champion as 'their mascot" and their Catholic Social Teaching.

A hint of who our new friends are and the class to which each belongs can be found in the attached picture. I share it now because students can wear "out of uniform" on the launch day 27th September and the colour of their Mascot's name is the colour they are challenged to wear as part of that launch. We will meet each of our friends in more detail in next week's newsletter. 

Stage 3 STEM Fair

We are delighted to invite parents, friends, and members of the community to join us for St Benedict’s STEM Fair, where our Year 5 and 6 students will be proudly showcasing their outstanding STEM projects.

Over Terms 2 and 3, our Stage 3 students have worked diligently, utilising the engineering design process to develop and produce innovative solutions to real-world challenges. From water conservation and school improvements to cultural connections and smart waste management, you will have the opportunity to witness their creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills firsthand.

Feel free to attend one or both sessions, and invite family and friends to share in this special event. Red classes will have the opportunity to attend the STEM Fair on Thursday, and black classes on Friday.

We warmly welcome you to come along and support our young innovators, celebrating their dedication and achievements.

We look forward to welcoming you to our STEM Fair!

For further information, please contact Amanda Lewis via email: amanda.lewis@mn.catholic.edu.au or call the school office Ph: 02 49581858

First Eucharist

The sacrament of Holy Communion completes the Christian initiation process. In this sacrament, we commemorate Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, especially recalling the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus shared with his disciples. During this meal, Jesus instituted the Eucharist, allowing us to remember him in a unique way. When we receive Communion, we believe we welcome Jesus into our very beings, uniting with him and with each other. As a community, we become ‘the body of Christ’.

Since the Eucharist symbolises our unity as a community, First Holy Communion is celebrated after completing both Confirmation and Reconciliation, typically in Year 3 or when children are at least eight years old. First Holy Communion marks the culmination of a person’s journey into full communion with the Catholic Church and represents the pinnacle of our faith.

The students of St Benedict’s have been preparing to receive their First Eucharist for the past month. We think of these students and pray for them as they prepare for their final Sacrament of Initiation.

‘Lord Jesus, Bless the children coming forward to receive Holy Communion for the first time. May this day be an initial step into a life-long love of the Eucharist. Give them a hunger for this sacred food so that they turn to You for comfort, guidance, and wisdom as they grow into full discipleship.’

Further to Mrs Mulhearn's information regarding R U OK? Day in last weeks newsletter. I would like to add that this Thursday 12th September is R U Ok? Day and I would like to share with you some further information and resources that might assist you and your family start these important conversations about mental health and wellbeing. 

Our SchoolTV Channel now hosts a number of links to articles, clips and information that can support families facing concerns around Mental Health.

https://edgeworth.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-r-u-ok-day

I would also like to share with you this poster around conversation starters not only for R U OK? Day but for every day. 

God Bless

Miss Michelle Collins

(Acting Assistant Principal)

PEDAGOGICAL MENTOR UPDATE

ESSENTIAL ASSESSMENT TOOL

At St Benedict’s Primary School, we utilise Essential Assessment for Numeracy Assessment. This term’s Pedagogical Mentor role has been filled with Mr Luke Moore and Mrs Mikhala Jeans to unpack the Essential Assessment Literacy component, preparing for the 2025 full rollout of Essential Assessment. Mr Moore and Mrs Jeans will be leading Professional Learning Teams during Term 4 to upskill all teachers on this platform. 

Essential Assessment is a leading provider of NSW Syllabus Numeracy and Literacy assessment and curriculum, that delivers a whole school approach to summative and formative assessment for Australian schools. 

This online assessment platform allows teachers to accurately assess our students

against the Australian Curriculum with standardised common grade assessments, assessments created from the NSW Department of Education Units of Work, as well as individualised assessment and learning resources.  

Students’ results are automatically and instantly compiled, advising the teacher of each students’ current achievement level and their current understandings and misunderstandings from each content area. This allows targeted teaching for any misconceptions students may have. 

The assessment data will allow St Benedict’s Primary School to accurately report on your child’s academic level and growth. This will also provide our school with improved data tracking on students’ growth and achievement as they progress through each year level. 

Mrs Mikhala Jeans and Mr Luke Moore

(Pedagogical Mentors)

It’s so much fun in Year One Black!

We always have a great time learning together in 1 Black, but this term we have been especially lucky to have two teachers almost every day, with both Mrs Coleman and Mr Searle!

Daily fitness is the best way to get our bodies and brains ready for learning! We have loved beginning Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this way. We also love to sneak lots of movement breaks and quick dances into our day.

Throughout Term 3 in Science with Mr Searle, we have been learning about weather and what the sky can tell us. Every day, our “Weather Women and Weather Men” were tasked to go out and collect weather information to report back to class. We collected this data every day on our class Weather Chart. The term started off very cold, but gradually we saw more and more sunny days, and we discovered there was some more interesting data we could collect. As the days increased in temperature, the number of jackets left in lost property also increased! We also learnt that we can use lots of our Mathematics skills in science.

In Maths, we have been working very hard in our collaborative groups and using our flexible mathematical thinking to solve difficult questions. Mrs Coleman and Mr Searle try very hard to trick us, but we are very clever mathematicians and work together to share our ideas to solve the problems! We especially love finding, making and describing patterns, and showing all of the ways we can group objects and numbers.

In Religion, our Year 1 theme is Belonging. We love belonging to St Benedict’s community, and our 1 Black class. These are some words we thought describe what it ‘looks like, feels like and sounds like’ to ‘belong’ to 1 Black: Kind, friendship, calm, happy, laughing, talking, sharing, learning, counting, joyful, working together, lovely reading, noisy, quiet, singing, praying, safe.  We have been learning all about how special it is to be part of God’s family. We loved sharing our Assumption prayer at assembly, and our Kindness Liturgy with our families in the Chapel.

Mr Searle taught a really fun Wellbeing lesson and we all joined “The Happiness Club”. We decided as a class, a really nice way to spread joy and happiness would be to leave messages and bright coloured pictures around the school for all of St Benedict’s community to enjoy!

Here are some photos of our learning in Term 3.

Mrs Kareena Coleman and Mr Aaron Searle

Lakes Region Netball Gala Day

Congratulations to our 94 Primary students who participated in the Lakes Region Gala Day last Thursday at Charlestown. Each of our 10 teams played 5 games against other Regional schools, with an emphasis on fun and participation. Impressive skills were on display, particularly from our boys and girls who had never played netball before.

A big thank you to our referees from St Pauls Booragul and our parent helpers who supported and coached our teams. A fun day was had by all!

Heads or Tails?

It was great to see St Benedict's represented at the SCG last Saturday before the big AFL semi-final between the Sydney Swans and Greater Western Sydney. Ruby Castles (Year 6) was selected to toss the coin before the match, watched live by 40 000 spectators and 2 000 000 viewers on TV. Ruby's father, through his connection with Coles Healthy Kicks Program, was asked if his daughter would do the honour of flipping the coin.

Ruby, a keen Swans supporter, was a little disappointed when GSW won the toss but had the last laugh when the Swans won a thrilling game kicking the winning goal in the last seconds! Well done Ruby!

Library News

Sami Bayly is a local author and illustrator who will be visiting our school on the 25th of September. Our students will be engaging in workshops with her on the day of her visit. If you would like to pre-order a personalised signed copy of her books, please follow the instructions below. Sami Bayly will bring the signed books on the day of her visit to give to the students who ordered them.

Kind regards,

Ms Mateos

The Premier’s Reading Challenge for 2024 is now finished.

This is the final list of students who have completed the Challenge this year.

From 3 RED:             Hudson Bailey, Spencer Kinnaird, Elka Rolfe

From 4 BLACK:        Isla Hopkins

From 5 BLACK:        Aavanika Kadariya                                  

From 5 RED:             Oliver Britton, Elijah Hughes, Daryl Makanyire, Fariz Thaha,Keeva Wallace-Taylor

From 6 RED:             Hudson Moore.

Special congratulations to 2 Black and 3 Red – every student in each of these classes completed the Challenge.

In total 176 students in Years 2 to 6 have completed the Challenge.

As well as this our Kindergarten and Year 1 children have also completed the Challenge as their teachers have been reading books from the Premier’s Reading Challenge list to them throughout the year. Thank you to those teachers for all your support.

Well done.

Mrs Nicolaidis (PRC Co-Ordinator)

School 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

School Fees

Special Note for year 6 parents regarding fees.

As this will be the last year for year 6 students at St Benedict's fees need to be finalised & paid in full prior to November 30th 2024. Any families that are experiencing hardship or require assistance with extinguishing their debt please contact our school office. Payment of school fees must be addressed to avoid being negatively impacted on their enrolment proceeding at another Catholic school. Principal's will be notified where no fees clearance is applicable. 

An SMS was sent out to all families regarding this.

As we enter term 3 it is expected that families are well on their way to extinguishing their fees for 2024. If your intention was to make your payment weekly or fortnightluy please ensure this is happening as it can be hard to catchup once behind.

School fee

Payments were expected to have commenced by 31 March if you have not made a payment as yet this is now overdue.

School Fees are to be finalised by 30 November 2024, please contact the school office if assistance is required to work out a best payment method or frequency to accomplish this requirement.

Payments can be made via B/pay, Direct debt, EFTPOS,  over the counter at our school or over the phone. These payment can be set up through your internet banking to be paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly.  

We ask that all Fee Payers closely review your current account, paying particular attention to:

• Only one charge for DFSBL (Building Levy) across all schools; and
• Check sibling discount has been applied at ALL schools (if applicable).

Diocesan Pastoral Contribution- This charge of $300 is a voluntary fee. Parents can decline or accept via Compass Parent Portal.

If you have not received your statement please check your Junk mail and contact our office. 

Parents and Friends update 

The P&F are running the canteen at the Disco on Thursday night. Please see the attached menu

*Correct money would be appreciated. 

Canteen update 

Thank you to the volunteers assisting Haley over the next fortnight. 

Monday 9th September-

Tuesday 10th September- Closed 

Wednesday 11th September- H. Sanderson 

Thursday 12th September -  Volunteer needed 

Friday 13th September- R.Atkins

Monday 16th September- Volunteer needed 

Tuesday 17th September- Closed

Wednesday 18th September- C. Schumacher

Thursday 19th September- Volunteer needed 

Friday 20th September-L.Shakespeare 

The Canteen’s regular open days are Monday, Wednesday Thursdays and Fridays. If you have any spare time from 9am – 12pm on these days and are interested in volunteering in the Canteen please let the office and our Canteen Supervisor Haley Fenwick know. It can also be a one off occasion or a couple of times a year.

If you are available to help in the canteen in term 4 please reach out to Haley.

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