Principal Update
Hats Off to Our Teachers!
Next Friday, 31st October, we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day with the joyful theme: “Hats Off to Teachers!” It’s a wonderful opportunity to pause and reflect on the incredible work our teachers do each and every day.
At St Benedict’s, we are truly blessed to have a team of professional and compassionate educators who go above and beyond to nurture the hearts and minds of our students. Their commitment to excellence in teaching, their care for each child, and their embodiment of our Catholic values make our school a place of genuine learning and love. It is a pleasure to come to work with them every day and witness their dedication to our students. It is very true that at St Benedict’s “we all own all the faces” – all our staff feel a responsibility and care for all the students in our school.
Whether it’s in the classroom, on the playground, or behind the scenes, our teachers wear many hats — mentor, guide, cheerleader, and role model. This week, we tip our hats to them in gratitude and admiration.
The children have been working on a little ‘surprise’ for the teachers and I invite all families to join us in celebrating our teachers — perhaps with a kind word, a note of thanks, or a prayer of appreciation. Let’s make sure they know just how valued they are.
Hats off to our teachers — you are a blessing to our community!
Take care and God Bless,
Danielle Reed
Principal
PLAYGROUND UPDATE
Hundreds of square meters of concrete has been poured and our new playground is taking shape. We can see where the basketball court will be and there are beautiful bluestone steppers near the new sandpit and pathways meandering where gardens will soon be situated. We are looking forward to a grand opening, and keeping our fingers crossed that the weather is kind and we are on the playground before the end of the year.
PUPIL FREE DAY
A reminder that Monday 3rd November (Week 4) is a pupil free day. There is no school for children on this day. Our staff will be engaged in professional development on this day. St Nick’s OOSH will be in operation on site for any families wishing to use the service.
NEW BUS ROUTE
The new 6204 bus to Cameron Park South is up and running, and the children seem to have adapted to it well. Mr Searle and I caught the bus with the children for the first few days last week and I commend them on their manners and problem solving if they were worried about stops or where to get off the bus. I think they are all quite confident with the bus now and the driver, James, is very helpful. Thanks to Mr Searle for giving up his time to assist with the bus trips.
FACE MEETING
Our FACE (Family and Community Engagement) meeting for this term will be held on Monday 17th November, Week 6, immediately after the morning assembly.
Our agenda will include:
- Student goal setting, assessment and reporting - how goal setting with students is used by staff to inform student reports
- A discussion on how we can better include and support our Culturally and Linguistically Diverse families to ensure they are part of our growing community
- Fundraising goals and ideas for 2026
- Principal's report
- Questions with notice for executive staff
Questions with notice are due via email by Monday of Week 5 - 10th November, please.
It is hoped that with so much notice we will have lots of parents/grandparents/carers able to attend our FACE meeting. We look forward to seeing you!
STEP UP AFTERNOON
Children will have the opportunity to ‘step up’ to their new classes on Wednesday 10th December – week 9 – from 12pm. We have invited students in years 1- 6 who will be new to the school next year, and hope they can come along and make some new friends in preparation for their transition to our school.
2026 STAFFING
We are still finalising our staffing for 2026 and when it is completed, we will advise a staff list.