November is always the busiest time in our school community with Christmas and the end of the academic year fast approaching.

The HSC is finally over and all Year 12 look very relaxed and happy as they completed their last exams. We will be very sad to see this fine group of young people move on from our college community. They along with their parents and carers have made a significant contribution to St Benedict’s during their six years with us and I look forward to celebrating with them at the Formal next Wednesday 9 November and at Year 12 Barbeque on Thursday 15 December.

The final meeting for the Parents and Friends’ this year is next Tuesday 8 November commencing at 6:30pm in the College Library. At our meeting in Term 3 a proposal was put forward to review the current P&F structure. As a result of this discussion a draft survey to seek parent feedback will be tabled at this meeting and also Mr Brandon O’Donnell will attend to discuss St Benedict’s Mountain Bike Club Proposal

The P&F at St Benedict’s has in the eleven years since the establishment of the College, made a significant contribution to many areas of school life. The P&F has supported families in need, provided funding for key school resources and projects, provided input and discussion on uniform, and supported staff and students through the COVID pandemic.

I hope that you can attend this meeting. Please RSVP by 12:00pm Tuesday 8 November by registering here

Over the past two days I had the opportunity to join our Year 11 students on their Senior Retreat in the beautiful National Park. This retreat for all who attended, will be remembered always as an opportunity to spend time together as a group, and for the time to reflect on their relationships with others, their family and with God. The retreat theme “Listen with the Ear of Your Heart” is integral to the Benedictine Charism of our College. The Rule of St. Benedict begins with the word Listen and we are reminded that we can get so focused on trying to solve the problems at hand that we just don’t pause to hear God’s voice with the ear of our heart.

I would like to thank all the staff who gave up their time to lead groups and support our students so that they were able to have this unique and important time together. I would also like to thank Mrs Kimberley Logue for her leadership of this retreat and Mrs Tarnya Grana and Mr Anthony McAteer who played key roles in facilitating and organising this Retreat

Year 11 have been away on their Senior Retreat at Rathane and Deer Park in the beautiful Royal National Park. We have been blessed with outstanding weather, the location is amazing and Year 11 have been absolutely superb.

The theme of the retreat: Listen with the ear of your heart and is linked to Scripture 'Where your treasure is here lies your heart' (Mt 6:12)

Thank you to the staff who have attended and got involved in this Retreat. I had the privilege of leading the Retreat at Rathane and Mrs Grana at Deer Park.

Thank You to the following staff.

Rathane: Ms Castelli, Ms Franciscus, Ms Hatton, Mr O'Donnell and Mr Hayden.

Deer Park: Ms Novak, Ms Mora, Mr Agoo, Mr Kasunic, Mr Ripepi

Thank You also to Mr McAteer, his leadership and involvement across both sides of the retreat is truly appreciated.

More reflections and photos will appear in the next College Newsletter.

As we head into the busy period of Term 4 it is a good time to remind all parents and students of the important role the STRIVE Coach plays in the setting of achievable learning and wellbeing goals. The STRIVE Coach should be the first point of contact if there are any issues that you would like the College to be aware of.

It has been pleasing to see the level of engagement that students have shown throughout the early part of Term 4, and the support they have given Year 12 throughout the HSC Examinations. I would like to congratulate our Year 9 students for their active engagement in the YAM program that is currently being conducted at school.

Throughout the last two weeks staff have been challenging and confiscating students' phones when they are being used at school. I would like to remind all families that students should not be using their phones whilst at school and any communication that is required needs to be done through the front office.

Please be careful at student drop off and pick up times as there is currently heavy levels of traffic and congestion. Ensure you are adhering to signs and parking in appropriate bays.

On Friday November 4, St Benedict's Catholic College celebrated Positive Education Day. A day where students are encouraged to learn and talk about the importance of wellbeing.

Positive Education focuses on specific skills that assist students to strengthen their relationships, build positive emotions, enhance personal resilience, promote mindfulness and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

Our college uses the STRIVE models inspired by the PERMAH framework. Through teaching these valuable life skills, the College provides its students with an increased capacity to learn effectively, as well as offering them a strong foundation on which they can develop their character strengths.

We all possess 24 character strengths in different degrees and each individual has a unique character strength profile. Each character strength falls under one of these six broad virtue categories, which are universal across cultures and nations.

Thank you to all staff who continue to help students strive to do their best.

Please RSVP for the Term 4 P & F Meeting by 12:00pm Tuesday 8 November

Register here or click the image above

Good Morning,

I just wanted to say thank you all for giving me the opportunity to attend Parliament House last Thursday for the Civics and Citizenship Convention. I really enjoyed the day and learned a lot about Australian politics.

The day started with a meet and greet with thirty students from all over NSW attending. (Students from the other states attended online). The topic for the day was, “Should Australia have Compulsory Voting? "We listened to keynote speakers from Parliament House in Canberra, who spoke about the history of voting in Australia, the arguments for and against compulsory voting and voting arrangements in other countries. We then discussed the topic in working groups and reported back.

I got the opportunity to ask a question in the Q & A session and was asked by one of the Parliament House representatives to give one of the concluding statements. I was lucky enough to meet like-minded students, and we shared contact details to keep in touch. Overall it was a very interesting day hearing and discussing all the different political viewpoints. It made me realise even more than ever, how important it is to be informed.

Thank you all again,

Lara C

On Thursday, some of the Year 8 high performance class students and a few of the Social Justice members had the opportunity to visit the Civic Centre in Camden for the Mater Dei Performing Arts Showcase.

We were able to see the excellent talent from a variety of students ranging from K-12, and their involvement in the various dances and performances. Everyone really enjoyed the dances and different acts that the students performed for us. It was also great to see other students from different primary and high schools also come to the venue and engage in the production and support the Mater Dei students throughout their entire performing arts concert.

We greatly appreciate the opportunity we were given to visit the civic centre and be a part of the audience this week.

On Sunday 23 October 2022, 12 students from the Social Justice team, Mrs Wardley and Mrs Hempenstall volunteered their time to assist in the Mater Dei Country Fair. Like all schools Mater Dei has had to cancel many of its events and celebrations over the past two years. The Mater Dei Country Fair has long been a tradition in our region and so our 12 students ran various stalls from 9am to 12pm. Unfortunately, the weather did not hold off and it absolutely poured but that did not stop our wonderful students from being part of the team. At the end of their shift, they were absolutely soaked but they still had smiles on their faces.

Thank you to Olivia G, Natasha S, Lucinda G, Oscar C, Emily D, Fenet T, Awar D, Marielle L, Riya S, Jenna S, Maddison L and Maya M for your hard work and dedication.

My name is Karen Witherspoon and I am the Mater Dei P&F President.

I have 2 beautiful boys who are lucky enough to attend Mater Dei.

Last Sunday we held our annual Country Fair under very testing and trying conditions. The first fair since 2019 and the weather was against us.

The volunteers from St Benedict’s College were all amazing and represented themselves, their school and families in the most outstanding way.

Please pass on our sincere thanks to all of them as we would not have managed without them.

In particular their were 2 young ladies manning the student artwork stall and I would appreciate if it’s possible to get their names. They stayed all day until 3pm even though they were soaking wet and even volunteered to help with cleaning up and transporting things to the recycling bin. They did it all with a smile and were absolutely amazing. They went above and beyond.

Unfortunately I missed seeing them leave but would like to make a special mention of them.

Once again we thank you for supporting our small and very special school, students and their families.

You should be so proud of all the students who volunteers their time last Sunday.

Kind regards,

Karen

Year 8 HP ENGLISH have been experimenting with Blackout Poetry.

Blackout poems can be created using the pages of old books or even articles cut from yesterday's newspaper. Using the pages of an existing text, blackout poets isolate then piece together single words or short phrases from these texts to create lyrical masterpieces.

Have a look here at some of the poems that have been created!

Mrs Holland

This week 9FTE2 have created a delicious Jamaican inspired recipe:

Cinnamon Baked Bananas with Ice Cream!

Miss Singh

Earlier this term the College was very capably represented by the Senior Girls’ Basketball Team

at the annual Diocesan Basketball Championships.

Following a very early departure from the College we arrived at the Illawarra Basketball Centre, Beaton Park, hopeful of putting in a solid effort and remaining competitive over the course of our pool games. The twelve members of the team not only managed to compete but set in place the foundations for continued success over the coming years.

Whilst we lacked significant basketball playing experience the girls approached the day with an infectious enthusiasm and determined outlook. Any uncertainty was quickly dispelled in the opening stages of our first match against a very strong St Patrick’s College. The team realised they could play attractive and effective basketball. A equally impressive performance against the deserved eventual winners, Holy Spirit College a come from behind draw and a good win the team finished third In our pool and book a play-off appearance against John Therry Catholic College.

Another strong game saw the girls fall agonisingly short in an overtime thriller. Whilst we played some excellent basketball throughout the day the highlight of the day was being able to witness the tenacity and teamwork the girls displayed. Every squad member made significant contributions. It was also very pleasing to see the obvious synergy between the Year 10 and Year 11 members of the team.

Congratulations Girls.

Mr Limbrey

St Benedict’s students and staff have access to both a physical library and a digital library (Sora).

CEDoW has clear and consistent guidelines on text collections within our system of schools.

The St Benedict’s college library collection is balanced with print and digital resources that are diverse and informed by learning and teaching requirements. Resources purchased or made available by the college are carefully selected in consultation with college staff. College library text collections contain broad, general and specific selection criteria for education resources.

Library staff make decisions on age-appropriate resource suitability as texts are purchased by the college. This age-appropriateness is guided by author and publisher recommendations as well as bookshop and recommended website reviews. However, most importantly, library staff apply professional knowledge and experience to ensure resources are relevant and suitable, and that the collection as a whole is balanced. Junior students are sometimes unable to borrow texts in the library that are considered more suitable to older students at the College. However, a written permission note from the student’s parent or guardian giving consent to allow books catalogued as ‘suitable for Year 9+” may be submitted to the Library which will then be added to the student’s profile.

There are many fantastic opportunities available for students at our College. Unfortunately many of those experiences are not photographed due to student permission to publish forms not being submitted to the College Office.

If your student has been involved in a sporting team or extra curricular activity but their photo has not been published in the newsletter please complete the permission to publish form and lodge the form at the College Office.

The permission to publish form is available to download here

For more information, please see our Facebook event pages “St Clare’s Fair” -

https://fb.me/e/3wXnMamyt

Most of you would be aware that Busabout started communicating with and visiting schools in our region last term to collaborate on ways to increase the amount of students tapping on & off, on our buses.

The results we have seen from the schools we worked with so far has been astounding, this goes a long way especially when we have such a rapidly growing community.

We want to continue to be able provide school services so ensuring your students tap on & off gives us and Transport for NSW the accurate data to enable this.

Transport for NSW has kindly provided a new poster that can be used at your discretion (see below and attached) within your school or digitally.

We will be continuing to liaise with schools over the coming months, however in the meantime if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Kind Regards,

Lauren Lebedevas

Operations Administrator

Mon 7 Nov - Year 12 Sign Out, Year 11 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews 3-8pm

Tue 08 Nov - P&F Meeting at 6.30pm

Wed 09 Nov - Year 12 Formal

Fri 11 Nov - 25th Annual CDF Sports Awards

Wed 23 Nov - Yr 7 2023 Orientation evening - 6.30pm - Hall

Fri 25 Nov - Yr 7 2023 Orientation Day for Students

Tue 13 Dec -Year 10 Academic Awards, Last Day Year 10 and 11

Wed 14 Dec - Closing Mass and Yr 7-9 Academic Awards - Hall - 8:10am, Yr 7-9 Report Distribution via Compass at 2:45pm

Thu 15 Dec - HSC Results Released, Students Activities Day

Fri 16 Dec - Term 4 Ends for Students, Yrs 7-10 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews (all day)

Tue 20 Dec - Term 4 Ends (Staff)

End of Term 4

RANIER has advised that there may be significant delays with the college uniform. This delay is due to COVID lockdowns in China.

Orders placed for home delivery are despatched twice a week from the Uniform Shop. Orders placed for collection from college office will be available Mondays after 2:30pm, orders placed prior to 9am Monday will qualify.

TRADING HOURS DURING COLLEGE TERMS:

Monday 9am – 5pm

Tuesday 9am – 5pm

Wednesday 9am – 5pm

Thursday 9am – 5pm

Saturday 9am – 12pm

Collection from shop | Collection from College | Home Delivery

CONTACT:

Ranier Schoolwear Unit 5/6-8 Porrende Street Narellan 2567

Online purchasing and appointments visit: shop.ranier.com.au

Email: stbenedict@ranier.com.au

Phone: 02 4647 8942

Responses will be provided during opening hours

For more immediate assistance, Head Office details are

Online: ranier.com.au/contact

Email: custservice@ranier.com.au

Dear Parents and Carers,

Following a change to COVID-19 rules on Friday 14 October 2022, it is no longer mandatory for people who test positive to COVID-19 to self-isolate at home.

What this means for students and school staff

• If a student or staff member is unwell and has any COVID-19 symptoms, even the mildest of symptoms, they should stay home and test.

• Students and staff who are unwell with any cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms (whether they have tested positive or not) should not attend school until their symptoms are gone.

• To limit the possible spread of illness amongst the school community, students and staff displaying COVID-19 symptoms at school will continue to be sent home until their symptoms are gone (students and staff with persistent symptoms, e.g. hayfever, will continue to be able to attend with a letter from their medical practitioner).

Steps we can take to keep our school community safe

• The most important step we can all take is to stay home when we have cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms, and not return to school until the symptoms are gone.

• Please continue to notify the school if your child tests positive for COVID-19.

• We strongly encourage all students, staff and visitors to follow NSW Health guidance.

We will continue with the COVID-smart measures that have been in place over the last few terms. This includes a combination of encouraging vaccination, supporting mask-wearing (with masks still required in some settings), rapid antigen testing, ventilation, hygiene and enhanced cleaning. If you have any questions or concerns about this change or any other matter related to COVID-19, please contact the school by phone or email.

Sincerely

Kerrie Piatek

Principal