Welcome to the Week 6 Newsletter. What a great promise of spring and the upcoming summer we are experiencing this week. Even though we are privy to it dropping back to the mid -teens and some chilly winds next week, I can't help noticing a spring in our community's collective step this week.

I want to reiterate the COMPASS notice that i posted last Saturday that indicated that we are now in the transition period for uniform expectations that means parents now have discretion to select the appropriate uniform (winter or summer) for the anticipated weather each day- Sports Days remain the same. What I will say is that we are in what my Nanna called onion weather (long before Shrek pointed it out) in that students will likely be wearing and then removing their jackets - more so than they do in the winter and earlier and earlier each day. The best of intentions of placing them near where they are playing to collect later do not always mean it happens.  Please ensure the names are clearly written on all removable items (or onion layers) so they can be returned to owner. 

Catholic Social Teachings (CST) Project 

Throughout this year, the staff have been readying themselves and workign towards out School Improvement Goal #1 Faith in Action.  This goal unpacks the use of Catholic Social Teachings as a guide to live out Fatih through action (Mission and Justice). 

Catholic Social Teaching (CST) has a rich history rooted in the Church’s response to social, economic, and political issues over the centuries. They are derived from the Christian Scriptures, particularly the teachings of Jesus and the Acts of the Apostles. Themes of justice, care for the poor, and the dignity of every person are prevalent throughout the  Bible. 

The modern form of CST began to take shape in response to the social upheavals of the Industrial Revolution. Rapid industrialisation led to widespread poverty, poor working conditions, and social inequality, prompting the Church to address these issues more formally. Since its beginnings, CST has continued to evolve, most recently addressing contemporary issues such as environmental stewardship, economic globalization, and the rights of migrants. Our last three Popes, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis have all contributed to the CSR, each bringing their unique perspectives and concerns. Most of all, they challenge 

Catholic Social Teaching seeks to apply the Gospel Values to the changing social realities of our times. It calls on Catholics to engage with the world in a way that promotes justice, peace, and the dignity of every person. Our challenge in this project is how to bring the CST into the everyday lives of the SBE community.

Over the next three weeks and leading to our laucnh day at the end of term (details to follow), I wil be unpacking the different CST we will use as part of the project and how we are going to embed them as guidelines to the everyday. Stay tuned!

Upcoming Dates 

Looking forward to Thursday's breakfast and Liturgy to celebrate Fathers and special men in our lives. 

The students are also getting very excited for our disco in Week 8. While we will be hosting this event as well (so no tickets need to be purchased) we will be releasing a link for famileis to indicate their RSVP for this event early in Week 7. 

Other dates are also within this PDF which I have shared before. 

Jules Mulhearn 

Father's Day

Each year we celebrate Father’s Day, it is a special occasion dedicated to honouring the vital role that fathers play within families. It’s a day to express our love, gratitude, and appreciation for their unwavering support and protection.

The relationship between Christ (the Son) and God the Father is often displayed to us and the importance is something we can reflect on. Jesus often acknowledged his Father, highlighting their unity and shared purpose. Jesus consistently followed his Father’s vision, portraying their morals and actions. While we celebrate Father’s Day and honour our fathers, we also reflect on the gratitude Jesus expressed to His Heavenly Father and the example Jesus set. 

"The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him." (Proverbs 23:24) Fathers take great pride in seeing their children grow in perception and righteousness. This verse highlights the delight that comes from Fathers watching the successes and development of their children.

Father’s Day serves as a heartfelt tribute to the tireless dedication, initiatives, and invaluable contributions of all fathers and father-like figures. It symbolises the deep bonds of kinship, affection, guidance, and patience that exist between fathers and their families.

Happiness Challenge

I wanted to check in and see how you as a family were going with the "Happiness Challenge" I sent out to families in last weeks newsletter. I am hoping that you are finding some time to get involved in this challenge (although I hope it is bringing more fun and happiness to your family rather than challenges).

In case you have missed it I have included it in this newsletter:

We invite you to send in a photo of your family participating in one of your "Happiness Challenges". Please include the challenge number the photo is referring to. I will then publish these in this section of the newsletter in the coming weeks.

God Bless,

Michelle Collins

(Acting Assistant Principal)

YEAR 1 PHONICS SCREENER CHECK

Last week our Year 1 students worked with their classroom teachers to complete the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. This is a short assessment that provides teachers with an overview of a student's progress in phonics.

Phonics is a method of teaching children to read. Phonics work by breaking words down into their individual sounds. There are 44 different sounds in the English language. Learning to read with phonics is therefore a bit like learning a code. Once students “crack” this code they are their way to reading.

The information gained from completing these screeners helps teachers make decisions during the teaching and learning cycle. This also assists in making decisions around any support or interventions that might assist your child learn to read. During the check they are asked to read real words and non-words for example choll, quob and barp. By including non-words in the test sample students need to rely on their decoding skills and not on their stored memory of words.

Finally the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check assesses the phonic knowledge and skills a student has learnt, to blend sounds together to read a word.

1 Red

During story writing lessons 1 Red have been reading the book “The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch”. As part of reading this book they have been learning about writing a Narrative text type using some of the vocabulary from the book. The challenging words they have learnt from the book to use in their writing include scrumptious, devour and ingenious. They have also been learning what a lighthouse is and what they were used for. 1 Red also created their own fantastic Lighthouses.

1 Red has also been busy in the learning area of Religion they have been learning about Baptism and have created models to show their learning about this. 1 Red has also had their class liturgy about loving one another like God loves us. They learnt that loving one another as God loves us is one of the most important Ten Commandments and they learnt about how our school encompasses this Commandment.

Primarily Active Gymnastics

This term, St Benedict's have been participating in an 8-week teacher delivered gymnastics program provided by Primarily Active Sports. Children are having lots of fun and learning new skills, using the range of gymnastics equipment and apparatus provided by Primarily Active. Lessons will continue up to Week 9 of term 3.

Boys Football State Titles

Best of luck to Archer Guihot (Year 5) who will represent Polding at the NSW Primary Boys Football Titles at Tamworth this week. Archer will compete against the very best Football talent throughout NSW, as teams representing all areas of the state compete in a round robin tournament. Go Archer!!! 

Library_News_St_Benedicts_Book_Week_Parade_1_.pdf

Library_News_St_Benedicts_Book_Week_Parade_1 pdf 632.71 KB

The Premier’s Reading Challenge for 2024 finishes on Friday, 6 September.

Students who have not yet handed their completed reading logs into the Library need to do so this week.

So far 163 students in Years 2 to 6 have completed the Challenge.

The following students completed the Challenge over the last two weeks:

From 3 BLACK:            Max Fry

From 3 RED:                Henry Johnson                                                      

From 4 BLACK:            Sophie Atkins, Chevy Byrnes-Steere, Alexis Chambers, Scarlett Hunter, Sophie Stewart, Aubree Weet

From 4 RED:                Taj Bennett, Ella Hall, Logan Leighton, Bailey O’Malley, Sophie Williams, Oliver Wright

From 5 BLACK:            Oliver Cruickshank, Payton Kinnaird, Maddison Mansley, Reeva Tamang

Congratulations.

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

Upcoming Event - School Disco

As announced this week, we will be hosting a studnet disco in Week 8 of term. We will be opening RSVPs for this in Week 6. But for now the flyer is below. 

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. 

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. 

Compass

An important reminder to please check your child's compass account regularly. With lots of events and fun things happening please keep an eye out. It is important that you use this app as it is a critical part of our school communication.

• Our staff use this app to contact parents, upload school reports, mark rolls and much more.
• Parent are able to submit attendance notifictions on the app, check reports,  and review, pay and download fee statements.

Compass is also used for all our school events and permisssion must be done in order for your child to attend. 

Canteen update

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