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Dear Parents and Carers,
Last Sunday – Mrs Franks, Keeva (Yr 6), Adam (Yr 6), Dylan (Yr 4) and Seraya (Yr 2) and myself joined hundreds of others for the Diocesan launch of the Jubilee Year of Hope, which included a walk from Foreshore Park to the Sacred Heart Cathedral, a Mass and a festival in the Cathedral grounds. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the Cathedral was full to overflowing for the Mass which was presided by Bishop Michael. There was lots of yummy free food at the festival. Thank you to Mrs Franks and the children for representing our school community.
Last Wednesday, we celebrated our Ash Wednesday liturgy. We thank Fr Christian for presiding and the parents and grandparents who were able to attend.
Lent is a special time in the Catholic calendar, offering us the opportunity to prepare our hearts and minds for Easter. It is a season of reflection, prayer, fasting, and giving, modeled after Jesus' 40 days in the desert. Lent encourages us to grow closer to God and to live out our faith in meaningful ways. For children and families, it can be a time to reflect on the blessings in our lives and to practice gratitude. It reminds us to focus on helping others, whether through acts of kindness, supporting those in need, or simply being more understanding and patient with one another. Lent teaches us that small sacrifices, like giving up a favorite treat or taking time away from screens to pray or spend with family, can bring us closer to God and to each other.
Even for young students, Lent is a wonderful time to think about how we can live more like Jesus in our daily lives, by showing love and compassion to those around us. To learn more about the meaning of Lent and how we can embrace its lessons in our lives, watch this short and engaging video, "Lent in under 3 Minutes," available here Lent in 3 Minutes (NEW!)
May this season of Lent bring blessings, growth, and joy to you and your family as we journey together towards Easter. Let us continue to pray, give, and grow in faith as a community.
Take care and God Bless,
Dani Reed
CONGRATULATIONS MRS CABAN – Tegan and Marcus were married last Saturday. What a beautiful bride! Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Caban, may your days ahead be filled with happiness.
We asked Mrs Caban for a photo we could share and she sent the following message and picture:
"Our day was absolutely incredible. Everying was so beautiful and we were very lucky to have Mrs Jeans be our celebrant"
Enrolment Information Evening - Will be held Monday 10th March at 5pm in the hall. If you have a sibling enrolment, please complete an application ASAP, as places are filling fast!
Staffing Change – We thank Miss Emily Epis for teaching in our library this term while we recruited a new teacher/librarian for the remainder of the year. Emily has secured a position at St Patrick’s Cessnock for Terms 2 – 4, and we congratulate her on her appointment.
Our new teacher librarian, beginning in Term 2, is Mrs Sabrah Clarke. Mrs Clarke is a highly experienced teacher librarian who will bring a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to igniting a passion for books and research in our children. I am sure you will join me in welcoming Sabrah to our school.
NAPLAN – Naplan testing begins this Wednesday for students in Years 3 & 5. Parents have been sent home information regarding the tests. The ACARA (Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority) website has a parent information page that can be found here: NAP - For parents and carers.
NAPLAN testing can be an important milestone for primary school students, offering an opportunity to understand their progress in literacy and numeracy. As parents, preparing your child for NAPLAN involves fostering a calm and supportive environment. Encourage them to approach the tests with confidence by framing it as just another way to show what they know. Ensure your child is well-rested in the days leading up to the tests, eats a healthy breakfast on testing days, and has all the necessary supplies ready.
If your child feels anxious, acknowledge their feelings without judgment. You might say, “I understand you feel worried, and that’s okay. Everyone feels a little nervous sometimes.” Reassure them that it's normal to feel this way and that you are proud of them no matter the result. Encourage deep breathing or visualization techniques, where they imagine themselves calmly completing the test.
Finally, remind your child that NAPLAN doesn’t define them. Their parents and class teachers know them best, and teachers are constantly assessing their students to adjust tasks to their level. This is just one piece of the puzzle in their educational journal. NAPLAN doesn’t measure their creativity, kindness, artistic or sporting ability or any of the other many things that make them unique and loveable. But their parents, family and teachers know all these things about them.
CROSS COUNTRY Our school Cross Country event will be held this Tuesday at Pasterfield Sports Complex. Children in Years 2 – 6 will leave school at 9am to walk to the event, which will commence at 9.30am. If the rain continues, a decision will be made on Monday and parents notified via Compass if we are moving to our alternate date.
P&F Meeting: Our P&F meeting will be held on Monday 24th March at 6pm. This will be the Annual General Meeting and the agenda will include transition to the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) model. We need enough people present to vote on this decision, so please come along if you can. “Questions with notice to the principal” should be emailed to the school by Thursday 20th March, please.
Pupil Free Days – Term 2 Week 4: Friday 23rd May – Staff will be attending a Formation Day for the Religious Education syllabus.
Term 3 Week 1: Monday 21st July (First day of Term) – Staff will be attending a professional development day focused on the new curriculum rollout.
OOSH services have been notified about these dates.
Harmony Day
YEAR 6
It has been a busy and fun start to 2025 for Year 6. The Year 6 students have demonstrated remarkable thinking and perseverance in Mathematics this term. With a focus on developing their problem-solving skills, they tackled challenging concepts like whole number, addition and subtraction with enthusiasm. Their collaborative efforts during group activities and their ability to think critically in solving real-world math problems have been truly commendable. These hardworking students are setting a great example of how determination can lead to success.
Additionally, the beginning of student parliament this year has been a positive experience. It has provided Year 6 students with a platform to voice their opinions, propose ideas, and collaborate on initiatives that align with the HSIE curriculum. By addressing topics such as community involvement they are learning the value of leadership, active citizenship, and working towards common goals. The student parliament has not only enhanced their understanding of social and cultural studies but also empowered them to make a meaningful difference within their school community.
Last week students in Year 4 created sundials as part of our Science topic Sunny Days. We have been learning about the earth, sun and moon, and how day turns into night. We used paper plates and a pencil to make our sundials. The important part was choosing a sunny day to make sure the pencil would cast a shadow. We observed the shadow every hour and marked it on our sundial.
“We learned that the Earth moves from East to West and this makes the shadow move around the paper plate” – Prisha.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. And, we here at St. Benedict’s gathered together as a whole school community to participate in this very special event. I would like to thank the students of 4 Black and their teachers Miss Power and Mrs Jeans for preparing and presenting our Ash Wednesday Liturgy.
After our Liturgy students particpated and grade appropriate activities to build their understanding of this very special day in the Catholic Churches year. Thank you to Mrs Greaves and 2 Black for these great photos of your Ash Wednesday Activity.
The key theme of this season is repentance, and it is a time to say sorry for all those things that have spoiled our lives, hurt others and broken our relationship with God. Only through repentance can friendship with God be restored and Christians be ready for the mystery and miracle of Easter.
Some of the palms from the previous year are carefully burned to create ash. During the ceremony, people are signed with an ash cross on their foreheads as a sign that they truly want to repent. In Baptism, Christians are signed with a 'water' cross on their foreheads. That marks a new beginning in Christ. The cross of ashes on the forehead marks a decision to say sorry for what has been done wrong and to get ready to make a fresh start with Jesus again.
Here is a prayer for Ash Wednesday based on references and allusions to dust and to ashes found in the Bible.
Lord God,
Although we are no more than dust and ashes,
We know that you love us
And that you offer:
To lift us up from the dust
And sit us on thrones;
To give us beauty instead of ashes
And clothe our weakness with honour;
To offer us a future that is beyond imagining,
In which this dust will praise you.
And this is all because Jesus died for us
In the place of dust and ashes at Golgotha.
Lord God, we thank you.
Amen.
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Students from St. Benedict's have commenced their Sacramental Preparation. We ask that you keep these students in your prayers as they prepare for their sacraments over the coming terms.
Project Compassion
Project Compassion Money Boxes have arrived in classes and are now taking pride of place on class sacred spaces. If you have any loose coins at home please send them in with your child so they can "deposit" them into their class Money Box.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a training of our mind to be fully engaged with whatever we do and not forgetting it. It can be applied to any activity we participate in through daily life. These skills teach children not only how to recognise their thoughts, emotions and actions, but also how to react in positive ways. When students become overwhelmed or anxious at school, we encourage them to take some time out to practice mindfulness. This usually is either to go to the “calm corner” to take some deep breaths, play with some sensory toys like squishy stress balls or read a book. It could also be to take a deliberate mindfulness walk. This is a tool that encourages the student to take notice of what they can see (birds, flowers, leaves floating around) what they hear (people talking, birds, music) what they can smell (the trees, canteen food) which takes their mind off whatever is effecting them , so that they calm themselves enough to go back to class more able to focus. It isn’t about just rushing to get back to the classroom as stressed as before they left. When we practice mindfulness, we are in control of our concentration and are able to block any distractions that interfere with the present. It is used to assist us in becoming more focused and more aware of our present surroundings and thoughts in our mind that may be causing us discomfort, pain or distraction.
Some other ways we practice mindfulness at St Benedict’s is through meditation or listening to calming music in class after lunch or recess. Providing “Calm Club” at recess on Mondays and Wednesdays where Mrs. March facilitates things like guided meditations, body scans mindfulness colouring or tapping exercises. Mr. Hassett is running a wellbeing program where he visits every class and teachers the students about various subjects like mindfulness and healthy friendships. Mindfulness is one of the components of wellbeing, and wellbeing for all students is something that we are passionate about at St Benedict’s.
What a busy start to the term we have had at St Benedict’s. The students have kicked off with a packed schedule of competitions and team selections. Soccer, swimming, water polo and softball have kept our students very busy. The term promises to continue to be an exciting one full of lots of school spirit.
Soccer trials in our region are always very competitive. Archer Guihot, Connor Fitzhenry, Axel Ferguson, Willow Garven, Allira Weet and Audrey Stanton all attended the Regional soccer trials at Lake Macquarie football facility. Congratulations to Archer and Axel who made it through to the Diocesan trials next week.
The Diocesan Swimming Carnival was at the Forum last week and Scarlett Hunter and Kiani Miller represented St Benedict’s. Both girls competed beautifully and congratulations to Kiani who finished second in the backstroke to move on to Sydney and represent Polding.
We announced and recognised our school swimming champions during the week and our champion house Bradman! Congratulations everyone!
Junior swimming champions – Nate Toohey and Scarlett Hunter
Under 11 swimming champions – Rupert Miller and Kiani Miller
Senior swimming champions - Lexi Schumacher and Bailey Smith
A special mention to two of our students and who are excelling at sports on the weekend. Well done to Bailey Smith who made the Hunter Hurricanes B water polo team and Zavier Thompson who made the under 12’s Hunter Coast representative baseball team. Congratulations to the boys, all your hard work and training has paid off.
Thank you and enjoy the week,
Megan Hunt
(Acting) Primary 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
Fees for 2025 have now been processed and statements have been emailed to families. If you have not receieved your statement please check your junk mail or contact our office.
Families are encouraged to start making payments now. Setting up a weekly, fortnightly or monthly b/pay payment or payments via compass will help you stay on top of fees and ensure that they are finalised by the due date of 30th November.
For families that have applied for a Health Care card discounts this is being processed and will now reflect on your statement.
Fee Assistance
Our school will assist those families who are experiencing financial hardship. Families are encouraged to contact the Finance Officer by email susanna.di-nardo@mn.catholic.edu.au or telephone 49581858 as soon as possible for a confidential discussion.
Your previous arrangements with our school will be taken into consideration however, each year we require the attached concession form completed in full for our Principal to review prior to any concession processed.
Please email this completed form back to as soon as possible.
Monday 10th March at 5.00pm
In our school hall.
If you have a sibling you wish to enrol for 2026 please logde your application now via the online enrolment portal and notify our school office.
Places are limited and our numbers are filling up quickly.
Easter Raffle for 2025
|
KB |
Stella McNamara & Angus Eckford |
|
KR |
Hallie Bass & Hunter Marks |
|
1B |
Ava Donovan & Kaleb Jones |
|
1R |
Riley Judge & Archer Storey |
|
2B |
Mackenzie Hall & Bonnie Novoselski |
|
2R |
Thea Doherty & Mason Smith |
|
3B |
Everlee Grainger & Blake Skardon |
|
3R |
Evie Vas & Ella Goodwin |
|
4B |
Blake Bird & Bianca Bassford |
|
4R |
Elyse Hall & Alex John Bibin |
|
5B |
Finn Ryan & Sophie Williams |
|
5R |
Lewis McIlroy & Lyla Bashford |
|
6B |
Leo Gosper & Hope Fenwick |
|
6R |
Elijah Hughes & Kamorly-Kevin Slade |
