Welcome to the Week 8 Newsletter. It is that time of term again where we are working strong. We are an age from the start of term and the upcoming holidays can just be seen popping its head over the horizon, close enough to tempt but far enough to be out of reach. While it can be a frustrating phase of any term, it is also the phase where we are at our most resilient. Well done to all SBE students (and staff) who continue to face challenges every day, who get back up to try again and who turn stumbles into victories. Week 8 is for you. The holidays are not too far away.   

Empowering Community 

This week's PBL focus is about Empowering community by Respecting everyone’s Opinions. We looked at the famous cartoon of the number 9 (or 6) viewed from two different angles with both viewers believing they were right. we all agreed that neither was wrong. It was a good example of how different perspectives can result in different opinions and only by respecting and valuing each can we empower all community. the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

My challenge to the students at that point was to extent our "perspective" of the SBE community to our neighbours. It is here we sometimes forget who is sharing our fence line and how we may impact them. What may seem harmless play for students can be viewed as something else by our neighbours attempting to enjoy the sunshine in their own backyards. Recently we have been speaking with neighbours who have continued to have items thrown over their fence, from toys to twigs and occasionally sizeable rocks. The challenge to the students was to view these incidents from our neighbour’s point of view and to ask ourselves if we are respecting and empowering our community in this situation which of course, we all realised we weren’t. Students were asked to be mindful of other people’s perspectives and told of the clear expectation that nothing of this sort should be thrown on the playground in the first place and certainly not near our neighbours’ fences. Teachers are monitoring the situation and we do sense a certain understanding and take up of this challenge from the students to fix this, which we so easily can. I mention it here for parents’ reference if your child mentions it.

Breakfast Program 

This morning, and again tomorrow morning, we held our first trial of what we hope becomes a regular service here at SBE. Led by Ashleigh Garven, the staff have discussed a growing consideration for a breakfast program here at SBE.  We all know the research into breakfast being the most important meal of the day but we also know that mornings can be very busy and some children do not wake up particularly hungry. Further, we know children can often look for "second breakfasts" before 9am especially if their first one is as early as 6.30am ( it is a long time till lunch for a growing body) . What we are finding is that sometimes in the rushed, busy-ness of life, breakfast is sometimes skipped, or a sugar based "to go" alternative is opted for. Either way, we know this is not the best long- term solution.

Knowing all this, our school recently expressed an interest in a Breakfast in Schools program supported by Woolworths (Food Diversity Program) and received a delivery of fresh bread rolls and fruit yesterday as a lovely surprise for us to trial how this might work. hence the short notice trial that began this morning. Too much lovely fresh food to waste.

Breakfast will be served out of the Canteen for this trial but we are considering a different venue to do this as we don’t want to block the Canteen Handball court that is proving quite popular int he mornings. We hope to have some stage 3 students to consider volunteering a helping hand as a way to show service leadership and to empower community.
With a delivery each Tuesday, the Breakfast program will run for at least Wednesdays and Thursday as well as Friday if we have leftovers. We can't really hold the food till Monday as it begins to lose its freshness. Breakfast will be a simple bread roll with options of butter, vegemite or jam. There may be sandwiches other weeks and this will depend on the delivery we receive from Woolworths.

This invitation is for any student who wishes to try a "second" breakfast, those who find they are suddenly hungry despite not being so at home and those who may not have had time to eat due to an unexpected sleep in.
We will fine tune the details of the actual Breakfast program for Term 3 as we trial it these next few weeks and launch in full between now and the end of term. It is so great to be part of this program. With gratitude for the support of the local Woolworths organisation and the initiative of Ash Garven and different staff members who will undertake the serving of the program, we look forward to supporting our fast growing bodies here at SBE so their minds are ready for their best learning.

Aspire - Sold Out 

The 50 tickets our school have purchased for the Aspire event have now been sold and we thank students and their parents for their support of this annual event. If you missed out and wish to be added to a waiting list (should a child who has paid but ends up being away at that time) we would happily work our way through that list to ensure no tickets goes unclaimed, For now the event is closed so you will need to email admin to do this. 

Have a Great Week, 

Jules Mulhearn

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR

CONFIRMATION

On Wednesday Night the 12th of June fifteen students from St. Benedict's Primary School joined twelve other students from school within the Sugarloaf Parish to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation.  It was a beautiful ceremony officated by Bishop Michael Kennedy and co-celebrated with Father Christian our Parish Priest.

Please join me in congratulating the following students and their families: 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, Adam Tinawin, Dylan Tinawin and Noah You. I also thank the Sugarloaf Parish Sacramental Team and the staff here at St Benedict's for the time and effort they have given to support these students as they prepare for and receive their sacraments. 

The next step for these students is preparing for their final Sacrament of Initation into the Catholic Church that being First Holy Communion which commences early in Term 3. I ask that you continue to keep these children and their families in your prayers. 

Jesus' Teaching Style: The Parables.

At Mass this weekend I was reminded of the wonderful example of the teaching style of Jesus His use of the Parables. It even tells us that ‘he would not speak to them except in parables’. Jesus used parables almost exclusively in the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke to share his message. He used imagery that was familiar to his audience for example parables about the everyday life of a rural community: seeds, planting, growing, harvesting. Jesus did this to connect with those gathered to listen to Him. 

The reading of the mustard seed is one such parable. On the surface the parable is about the kingdom of God starting from very small, humble beginnings and growing into something great. Jesus' parable about the mustard seed describes a tiny seed

that grows into a great shrub ‘so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade’. This then got me pondering the following question: What other image could you use to describe the kingdom of God?

Finally, as we know plants need to be fed, watered, weeded and nurtured to ensure their proper growth. However, the kingdom of God works in our lives in a similar way – if we feed and nurture it, the kingdom will produce a great harvest. Even if we don’t pay it attention, the kingdom is present and acting in our world. 

Yours in faith

Miss Michelle Collins

(Religious Education Co-Ordinator)

Getting the most from the Written Reports 

KLA Focus Areas

We invite parents to take the time to read the report in detail, especially the Focus Areas set out into tables that effectively unpacks the exact learning in each KLA on which a grade is being awarded. As the new syllabus is now mandatory in all schools in NSW, the English and Mathematics focus areas have been updated to reflect the exact learning within each classroom using this syllabus.

Parents may note the difference in the focus areas as student's learning progresses from Kindergarten to Year 6. Similarly, the other KLAs also have specific focus areas but I have just added the KLAs of English and Maths below. The point is that the focus areas are key builders to your understanding of what your child is learning and how well they are achieving in that area. By using these focus areas, we can be more specific to the exact content or skill set we are reporting to, especially in the subject areas of English and Maths that are so broad. However, the principle applies to all KLAs. 

Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten) Focus Areas - English And Maths 

Stage 1 Focus Areas Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) - English And Maths 

Stage 2 and 3 Focus Areas (Years 3 - 6) - English And Maths 

5 Point Assessment Scale 

The important aspect of these focus areas that are unpacked across each KLA is the 5-point assessment scale that teachers then provide parents about their child's achievement in that focus area (Please note this is a 3-point scale for Kindergarten). 

This 5-point scale is critical for parents to then apply to the report so they can gain clarity on where their child is at. It is not, and never has been, a grade like we might be used to from watching American TV and movies nor that which we may have had applied when were at school. For that reason, we no longer use letter grades (as it added some confusion) but instead use the following terms to place a child on that scale. The descriptor for each term is provided as well. Reading between the lines of all these, the key thing to guide you is the fact the SOUND means they have been successful in all the grade level learning they have engaged with in that focus area in this Semester. SOUND is a good place to start to understand where your child is placed. If you read the additional clarification of thorough and extensive, you can see this level of the scale involves the application of the skills to new situations, whether that be all or some situations (extensive and thorough respectively). 

The all important Tick 

This leads us to the all-important, and sometimes overlooked, tick.

When cross matching the KLA focus Area with a 5 point Assessment scale, it makes sense to place these in a table/ matrix that allows teachers to indicate the point of learning for each child. The potential to assume that it is just a tick is very real. But it is the tick that is all important. Using various points of assessment across the semester, the teacher collates, considers, and often wrestles with just where to place that tick. To us as teachers it is our chance to communicate directly with parents as to where your child is at, especially when placed against the syllabus content they are expected to cover.

Next week we will discuss the use of the comment boxes and insight goals to offer more specific feedback to the exact nature of your child’s strengths and challenges. However this does not disregard these ticks as critical in providing parent insight to their child’s achievements according to their expected learning. 

I cannot attest enough to the level of understanding about your child as a learner, the assessment data that is used to inform it and the professional discussions across grade teachers that is evident in “just that tick”. We invite parents to consider the tick and what it is communicating in the fullness of its intent and meaning when unpacking the reports to be published in Week 10.

In the meantime, I will take opportunity in next week’s newsletter to discuss the other half of the report for parents to consider – the Comments boxes, the Insight Goals and the Learning Dispositions. 

There is something empowering about a sense of purpose that derives from a deepening understanding of compassion for those doing it tough. It is something that can only be felt in the act of doing. The act of giving is a wonderful way to gift and receive a sense of wellbeing that comes from doing what is right. 

Our students in the Mini Vinnie group have shown real leadership in preparing for our Winter Appeal in Week 10. The Mini Vinnies group (led by our Service Leaders) have once again committed to the St Vincent De Paul's Winter Appeal and the local Oz Harvest group in their work to ensure no one goes hungry, cold or without shelter this winter. As a result we have an exciting and proactive day planned for the final day of term, Thursday July 4th (Friday 5th will be a pupil free day).

Admin/ Finance Officer Suzi Di-Nardo Monday to Friday

Admin - Tiare Collins-Grayson Monday, Thursday Friday

Kinder 2025 Enrolments have now closed.

As per the enrolment timeline, intial letters of enrolment were sent to parent on the 14th June. Acceptance of these offers need to be accepted by the 1st July and secured with your enrolment deposit.

School Fees

Upcoming Sports Events - Next Term

Specialist Sports  Term 3 - Gymnastics 

We have booked specialist coaching (Primarily Active) in Gymnastics for our Monday and Tuesday sport days from Week 2 next term. Primarily Active instructors are accredited coaches who are passionate, enthusiastic and knowledgeable in the area of gymnastics. Programs have been developed for each stage (early 1, 1,2 & 3). Lessons are differentiated to suit a range of skill and ability levels. There is a large range of equipment helping to maximise student participation and engagement. We look forward to continuing our association with Primarily Active next term.

Other Gala Days Term 3 

We have also registered our school (stage 2 and 3) for two additional Gala days next term including a modified Tennis Gala Day and a Touch Football Gala Day. We look forward to keeping active throughout Term 3 - often our coldest term so keeping active should keep us warm. More details to follow. 

Congratulations to the following students who were recognised for their efforts in Learning, Improvement and Kindness to Others last week (with a few studnet receiving their PBL awards as cathc up from last week)