Welcome to the Week 4 Newsletter, 

Welcome to the Week 4 Newsletter. Before going too much further into the Newsletter, I am aware that some parents found glitches when opening the newsletter last week. I have spoken to tech support at schoolzine and while they did not find a consistent error across the board (nor was the error reported for all parents), they did mention that switching browsers can often rectify a problem if it occurs. We hope that the problem does not occur again but if it does, can I please ask parents to try and open it in an alternate browser to see if the same occurs. Even a different device such as a laptop instead of a phone.
If all else fails , please know that we are able to download the newsletter as a PDF and send it to you. It will just mean that you may not get to see the wonderful photos or view the attachment links that you can do when viewing online. Just let us know how you go.

Opening School Liturgy

I have just settled down after the beautiful Opening School Liturgy in the School Hall this morning and want to share some of the focus and reflections that were part of this important Liturgy. 

Rise Up!

The challenge or theme that we have set the students this year is to Rise Up, using the scripture reference of Jesus walking on Water as the source. Many listeners think this story is just about Jesus walking on water but it is also about Peter, who rose up, stepped out of the boat, his comfort zone, and step by step started working towards his goal. Admittedly, he lost confidence and began to sink but in calling out for help from Jesus, he was able to be guided to achieve his goal. As the children and staff set goals this year, the image of us stepping out of the boat gives us confidence to do so. The knowledge that help will be there to guide us if we ask for it, gives us strength to continue going, despite the rocky challenges along the way. With courage and strength, we walk in hope and determination toward our goals. If this is not what a school is about, I am not sure what is? 

During the coming year, we invite students to take life on and challenge themselves to live it fully. To Rise up and not be afraid. To try not to doubt themselves but if they do, call out for help from those who love and care for them. To be encouraging to others. To be optimistic, be positive, and be uplifting of others.

You'll never know, if you don’t give it a go. As the quote goes: Don't quit, for you're not a failure, until you fail to try.

Creating Community 

Another aspect of this morning’s Liturgy was the tradition of building community that is embedded into the launch of each school year. We have a community bowl in which a wonderful variety of pebbles and rocks reside. Each larger rock represents every class cohort that has become part of SBE over the years and these rocks stay in the bowl long after the Year 6 has moved to high school. At the start of the year, our newest members of the school (staff and students) each place a small pebble into the bowl as they join the SBE community.

These small pebbles remain in the bowl for the year and toward the end of the year, the smaller pebbles are replaced by one larger rock/stone that will then represent that cohort throughout their years and long after they journey on. I love the imagery of the different colours, shapes and sizes of each one of the pebbles and stones. Every one of us is unique but together in community we are part of something bigger. And together in community we can be stronger than we would be as one small pebble. The Community bowl is on display in our front foyer to remind us every day of what we are doing here at St Benedict’s Edgeworth. 

Student Leadership

Student leadership is a key component of community as much as it is an integral part of student wellbeing. By providing students with their own voice and autonomy in creating the school they wish to be part of, we are building leaders of tomorrow that look for the best outcome for not only themselves but for others. How can we do this, solve this or make this better? will become key questions of the student conversations during the year with the common amendment of adding the word "together" onto each of the questions. 

Each of our student leaders were presented their badge today and the whole of your Year 6 cohort undertook the Leadership pledge. In accepting their badges and their roles, the students were asked some key commitments that underpin the importance of leadership, remembering leadership is ALWAYS more than just the badge. The parents and staff joined them by offereing their commitment to guide and support the student leaders  in their roles. 

Congratulations to all the students for their participation in today's Opening School Liturgy and especially to our student leadership team. It was a great liturgy to start the year, full of symbolism, messages and motivation for the year ahead. As always with the Opening School Litrugy, the year ahead of us was officially launched. So let us begin!!!!

All are welcome to join the Parish SChool Mass this Sunday 19th February, 9am at the Holy Cross Church Glendale. Our newly inducted student leaders will be presented tot he Parih Faith Community. We'd love to see you there. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine, officially known as Saint Valentine of Rome, is a third-century Roman saint widely celebrated on February 14 and commonly associated with "courtly love."

Although not much of St. Valentine's life is reliably known, and whether or not the stories involve two different saints by the same name is also not officially decided, it is highly agreed that St. Valentine was martyred and then buried on the Via Flaminia to the north of Rome.

In 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar, because so little is known about him. However, the church still recognizes him as a saint, listing him in the February 14 spot of Roman Martyrolgy.

The legends attributed to the mysterious saint are as inconsistent as the actual identification of the man.

One common story about St. Valentine is that in one point of his life, as the former Bishop of Terni, Narnia and Amelia, he was on house arrest with Judge Asterius. While discussing religion and faith with the Judge, Valentine pledged the validity of Jesus. The judge immediately put Valentine and his faith to the test.

St. Valentine was presented with the judge's blind daughter and told to restore her sight. If he succeeded, the judge vowed to do anything for Valentine. Placing his hands onto her eyes, Valentine restored the child's vision.

St. Valentine was later arrested again for continuing to try to convert people to

Christianity. The story tells that St. Valentine was imprisoned for marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Both acts were considered serious crimes. Claudius sentenced Valentine to death unless he renounced his faith, which Valentine refused to do so he was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269. This then became St Valentine’s Feast Day.

The romantic nature of Valentine's Day may have derived during the Middle Ages, when it was believed that birds paired couples in mid-February. Although the exact origin of the holiday is not widely agreed upon, it is widely recognized as a day for love, devotion, and romance.

Whoever he was, Valentine did really exist, because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to St. Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honour of his martyrdom.

St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses and his feast day is celebrated on February 14.

Yours in faith, 

Miss Michelle Collins 

(Religious Education Co-ordinator) 

A love for Reading 

At St. Benedict’s, we want all our students to fall in love with reading! A love for reading can be hugely valuable for children, including increased general knowledge, a positive impact on academic achievement, enhanced reading ability and language growth.

Reading helps grow their vocabulary and their understanding about the world. The closeness of snuggling up with a favourite book leads to an increase in self-confidence and imagination, and helps children gain a wealth of knowledge from the books you share, or they read. And it only takes 15 minutes a day of reading together to nurture this growth.

Instilling a love of reading early gives a child a head start on expanding their vocabulary and building independence and self-confidence. It helps children learn to make sense not only of the world around them but also people, building social-emotional skills and of course, imagination. Children who value books are more motivated to read on their own and will likely continue to hold that value for the rest of their lives.

Reading exposes us to other styles, other voices, other forms, and other genres of writing. Importantly, it exposes us to writing that’s better than our own and helps us to improve. Reading—the good and the bad—inspires us.

Here are some tips to help instil a love of reading with your child:

• Read aloud (and make it exciting)

Reading aloud fosters a love of books in children, and helps children get hooked on books as they associate reading with pleasure. Our favourite family books to read aloud are the ‘Bad Guys’ series. We all choose a character and have to read using the accent we think that character would have. My children always insist on my husband being the ‘piranha’ as he uses an awesome South American accent. They are now 10 and 12 years old, but every time a new ‘Bad Guys’ is released, we go straight to the shops and buy it! We hope the movie coming out On March 31^st can live up to our high expectations…and accents ?

• Ensure access to books

Children who have easy access to engaging texts do more reading.

• Create a space for reading

It is important to establish a comfortable space and conducive atmosphere for reading as well as set aside time for leisure reading. Research shows that children are more likely to read happily and for a longer time when they are in a reading environment. This could be as simple as a corner in a room which could be decorated as the reading space, a small bean bag or a lap desk in their room. Reading lights you can attach to your books are also another great idea!

• Let children choose books

The freedom to select books leads to a positive attitude towards reading, better engagement with the book, and a more enjoyable reading experience. Additionally, children should be allowed to read whatever materials they find interesting, be it comics, magazines, or poetry.

• Talk about books

Having discussions about books is another way to spark children’s interest in reading and in books. However, these should centre on books that might appeal to the child rather than on the books you as an adult find engaging. Children who may not be interested in reading will have subjects and topics that they are excited about, such as sports, movies or animals. Discussing books on a topic or subject that the child finds exciting will likely whet their appetite for that book.

When children find reading fun and enjoyable, they are likely to repeatedly spend time with books, become engaged readers, and gain the benefits of reading.

Kate Wilson  

Swimming

Yesterday, St Benedict’s had the pleasure of hosting the Lakes Region Swimming Carnival at Lambton Pool. Congratulations to all involved in organising a smooth-running, successful event. A special mention to our Year 6 helpers, Lucas Kelly, Eli Guihot, Natalie Fenwick, Matthew Cahill, Piper Fitzhenry, Connor Howell, Finnan Esler and Kayla Williams for their hard work throughout the day.

Congratulations to all our students who competed at the carnival and a particular thankyou to the staff team at SBE who planned, organsied and ran the day so smoothly for all 10 Lakes Region schools. A proud day all round for St Bennies. 

Last year, our Year 3 and 4 classrooms received new furniture in line with contemporary pedagogy and learning in today's world. Over the break, the remaining classrooms also received new furniture in a shared investment from the school and CSO funds. We are very excited to witness the impact a change of furniture can have on the style, engagement and focus levels of learning in the classroom. Over the next few weeks, we will attempt to share some snapshots of moments in the rooms that paint a picture of what learning might look like and sound like in today's classrooms. We hope to hold an open morning sometime later in the term once the classes have settled into their learning. In the meantime, we hope the weekly snapshots keep you updated. 

Congratulations to the following students whoe received awards at yesterday's Weekly Awards Assembly. Great Learning to start the year!