Limited places are available for families unable to attend our Year 7, 2023 Information Evening. Registration is essential. Please arrive at the College Office at 9.15am.

Wednesday 30/3/22 small group tour departing at 9.30am - register here

Thursday 31/3/22 small group tour departing at 9.30am - register here

Friday 1/4/22 small group tour departing at 9.30am - register here

Our Year 7 2023 Open Night on Wednesday 16 March was a wonderful celebration of our College Community. We had almost two hundred students volunteer to be involved in the evening either as tour guides or to support staff in presenting College learning and life. I would like to acknowledge the College staff for their support in making our open night such a success.

In speaking to prospective parents and students on the night they were so impressed with the welcome and expert information they received from staff as well as the maturity and friendliness that our students displayed.

Please contact our College Office on 4631 5300 to obtain an Enrolment package or information about our School Tours.

We were extremely impressed with the information evening and the effort made by both students and teachers was incredible and greatly appreciated.

Harmony Day is an opportunity for us to focus on inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background and united by a set of core Australian values. At St Benedict our week-long celebrations led by the Social Justice Committee included daily prayers in different languages, a mufti day where students could wear cultural clothes or jerseys, and BBQ breakfast and lunch. Money raised from the week will be donated to Project Compassion.

Thank you to all our students and staff for involving themselves in our celebrations .

Good and gracious God,

who loves and delights in all people,

we stand in awe before you,

knowing that the spark of life within each person

is the spark of your divine life.

Differences among cultures and races are

manifestations of your light.

May our hearts and minds be open to celebrate

similarities and differences among our sisters and brothers.

Please send your healing and reconciling Spirit in order to bind

the wounds created by racism and racial hatred,

and to promote understanding, justice, and love.

We place our hopes for racial harmony in our committed action

and in your living presence in our neighbour.

May all peoples live in peace!

Amen.

It is with much sadness that we shared the news last week that Andrea Blok who has taught Mathematics and has been a casual teacher at our College passed away this morning.

We feel blessed to have had Andrea as part of our school community. She was a supportive and caring friend, colleague, and an outstanding and dedicated teacher, whose passion for Mathematics is something that we will always remember. Andrea had devoted her professional life to teaching having been a Head Mathematics Teacher and also a Judge Marker for NESA before coming to work at St Benedict’s.

Her great faith and her positivity as she the faced many challenges brought about by her illness

inspired all of us. We open our hearts to the sadness as we ask for our God to give us strength in this very difficult time.

We place our friend and colleague Andrea in God’s hand as she passes to eternal life and extend our deepest sympathy to her family and friends.

May perpetual light shine upon Andrea and may she rest in peace.

Just a reminder that if a student is a household contact the student is required to self-isolate for 7 days and not attend school during that time. Please inform the College so that appropriate support is provided by your child’s STRIVE Coach and class teachers.

It is a worthwhile and positive experience to be involved with the SBCC P&F, working closely with the College Principal and Leadership team to enrich the learning opportunities of our students.

The work of our P&F helps to ensure that our students experience at St Benedict’s Catholic College is of the highest quality.

Expressions of interest are currently sought for the SBCC P&F Executive Team. If you would like to make a contribution to our college as a P&F Committee member please email your details to: pandf@sbccdow.catholic.edu.au.

Year 10's are not the oldest nor the youngest in the College but have the opportunity and possibilities of being leaders of faith, leaders of justice and hope, leaders of compassion and of love. Young men and women who lead with the love of, and for, others. The core scripture passage for the day was the Parable of THE GOOD SAMARITAN - how can we respond to our neighbours?

In Catholic Studies classes, students have been focusing on Catholic Social Teaching. Where they have had the opportunity to look at and discuss social justice issues, the principles of Catholic social teaching and gain a greater understanding of how our Catholic Church responds to various social concerns. We are also now in the season of Lent which sees the College focus on Caritas' Project Compassion - How can we demonstrate a love of neighbour

Year 10 had the great pleasure to listen to a woman who epitomises St Mary MacKillop's most famous saying "Never see a need without doing something about it". Rosemary Kariuki is the multicultural community liaison officer for the Parramatta Police. She specialises in helping migrants who are facing domestic violence, language barriers and financial distress.

Fleeing Kenya alone in 1999 to escape family abuse and tribal clashes, her early years in Australia were terribly lonely. Her experience helped Rosemary recognise that isolation is a huge issue for many migrant women. Many aren’t used to going out alone, have no transport and speak little or no English. So Rosemary devised ways to help women leave their house and meet women in similar circumstances.

In partnership with the African Women’s Group, she helped start the African Women’s Dinner Dance. Now in its 14th year, more than 400 women attend the annual event. She also started the African Village Market – a program to help migrants and refugees start their own businesses – which ran for four years.

Last year, Rosemary spoke after our FEAST DAY Mass. Rosemary’s warmth, courage and kindness inspire all who meet her. Her work was also the subject of the documentary ‘Rosemary’s Way’.

Rosemary resides in the Macarthur region and is a parishioner of St Mary MacKillop Catholic Parish at Oran Park. In 2021, Rosemary was named Australia's Local Hero of the Year.

Students also had the opportunity to work with and listen to David Gearin the Education Officer - Social Justice about social justice opportunities and brainstorm new initiatives they would like to be involved in too. Year 10 even presented their ideas to the main group.

I have included a few reflections from students:

Joseph

Both Rosemary and David provided extremely insightful looks into the theme of the day, with both of the speakers absolute genuine and enthusiastic personalities making their talks even better. Rosemary's enthusiasm and pure heart as well as her ability to connect with the cohort and express her fights for justice in the communities she has been engaged in and David’s activism based drive for social justice both gave refreshing and interesting insights into this topic, that I personally took on and was inspired by especially.

All in all a very interesting day.

Tahlia

Being spoken to by Rosemary was very insightful as we learnt about her past, the hardship and the efforts she went through to journey to Australia. It was also very inspiring and heartwarming learning about all the ways Rosemary's contributions and goal to maintain justice in society helped all the women, men and families she is in contact with.

The second session with David was also engaging and inspired me personally to think about ways we can implement social justice in society and our school.

Lara

I enjoyed the day and thought it went well. Rosemary and David are very different speakers, but both were very motivational. They talked about their own experiences and explained how we can demonstrate social justice. I appreciated how through their own inspiration, they were inspiring us.

I loved David’s Well Initiative. Named after the story where Jesus has an encounter with a woman at a well and her life is changed forever by Jesus' love for her.

The Well Initiative is a program David ran at his school which helped shy and marginalised kids gain confidence; where they interacted with people they typically wouldn't interact with. I loved when David explained that one Well Initiative was to make and distribute fresh juice at his school. He realised the best thing he could do for his students was let them take charge of this initiative, so they would be comfortable with what they wanted to do. It was a program run by students to help themselves and their peers. It gave them a sense of community, which doesn’t come easy for everyone.

Rosemary is easy to listen to. She is authentic and her enthusiasm drew me in. I really admire how Rosemary saw an issue and took action. She explained how she often witnessed migrants (herself included), suffering from isolation in their new country, so she found ways of connecting migrants to migrants of similar backgrounds.

She didn’t overthink what she was doing. She simply saw a need and was determined to help where she could. Even in very simple ways. For example, she knew dancing, food and dressing up made her fellow Africans happy. So she organised dinner dances to bring them together. Again, the message of community.

She has also assisted many women who are sadly suffering from domestic violence. She embodies the term of being an authentic witness.

Rosemary is a woman making a difference in the community and little by little, she is helping solve some of the biggest issues we have in Australia.

Therefore the main message I got from the day is that the students of St Benedict’s need to get involved in creating a sense of community. We are all part of something special and we should follow through with our actions and words. It’s just a matter of each of us trying a little harder.

St Benedict’s Catholic College students are invited to participate in the main ANZAC Day March and Community Service on Monday, 25 March 2022.

Students wishing to participate will assemble in Elizabeth Street between Mitchell and Elizabeth Streets from 10.00 am.

Drop off: Parents are to ensure that students are dropped off to a staff member at this location. You will see the College Banner.

Pick up: Parents are to collect students at the conclusion of the march from the Bicentennial Equestrian Park. From a staff member.

The March will commence at 10.30am, and students will move from Elizabeth Street, down Arygle Street, follow Cawdor Road to the Camden Bicentennial Equestrian Park, where they are to be met by their parents, for the commencement of the 2022 Camden Anzac Day Commemoration Service commencing at 11.15 am.

We ask students are to wear their full summer uniform.

If you are able to attend on the day it would be greatly appreciated! Please notify Mrs Logue if this is a possibility for your family.

(Week beginning Monday 21st March)

We are now in the third week of Lent with the Project Compassion story of Janice, a Wagilak woman and traditional dancer who tells her family’s stories through movements handed down over generations.

Like many remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Janice’s faces a range of challenges – low employment and education, financial hardship, poorer health and lower life expectancy.

With your help, Caritas Australia supports Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation, which operates a centre for traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and culture, providing employment and generating income for local communities.

Janice believes that Djilpin Arts’ work is essential to create opportunities for young people to stay on-country, to share intergenerational knowledge between elders and the younger generation - to promote healing, and to keep culture alive.

Watch a short film about Janice’s story here.

Please support Project Compassion: lent.caritas.org.au

The Social Justice team has been working hard behind the scenes to bring a number of events to our community to help raise money for Project Compassion. Strive coaches are still accepting donations to the Project Compassion boxes every day, Grace C and Tahlia E in Year 10 are busy organising an Easter Egg raffle taking place in Week 11 and the Easter Egg guessing competition will be available from Monday in the Library.

Mr Limbrey, Mr Wheeler and Year 12 have run Harmony Week at school. Harmony week is a chance for us to celebrate the cultural diversity we are so lucky to have at our college. It is also a great opportunity for us as a community to remember that everyone belongs. As part of this week, Year 12 have read prayers each day over the PA in a number of different languages. They also organised a BBQ breakfast, selling bacon and egg sandwiches and hash browns on Wednesday morning as well as a sausage sizzle at lunch with cultural dancing. A massive thank you to everyone involved in the organisation and running of this.

Today was the last day of our Harmony Week celebrations and so we did so in style with a mufti day. Students were asked to wear cultural dress, a jersey, orange or blue and yellow in exchange for a gold coin donation. The proceeds for this day will go to Caritas Australia who are supporting the people of Ukraine, thank you to Abbey O'D in Year 8 for this suggestion.

Throughout Week 10 and Week 11, Grace C, Tahlia E and Joseph C in Year 10 will be selling tickets for the Easter Egg raffle during Strive. Tickets are $1 each, 3 for $2 or 8 for $5. We are still accepting donations of Easter eggs for the raffle so please bring them to your Strive coach, the front office or to Mrs Castelli. We will also have an Easter Egg guessing competition taking place in the Library. Students and staff are encouraged to guess how many eggs are in the jar. The closest guess will win the whole jar! The winners of both these delicious chocolate competitions will be announced after our Easter liturgy on Friday Week 11. All proceeds will go to Project Compassion.

Thank you all so much for your support.

Mrs Sara-Jane Castelli

Social Justice Coordinator

Tuesday 29 March

• NSWCCC Touch TBC

Thursday 31 March

• Year 11 SLR Surfing Excursion - TBC

Fri 01 April

• Football B & G 13s, Yr 7-9/10 Pathway B/up

Mon 04 April

• Athletics Carnival

Tue 05 April

• MISA Boys Basketball
• MISA Girls Basketball Year 10/12 Team

Wed 06 April

• NSWCCC Swimming

Thu 07 April

• Year 7 Interim Report Release
• 12 Biology excursion to the Museum of Human Disease

Fri 08 April

• Last Day Term 1
• Easter Liturgy - 8:10am
• White Card Training - All Day

Mon 11 April - Sun 24 April

• School Holidays

Mon 25 April

• Anzac Day Public Holiday

Tue 26 April

• Staff Professional Development / Pupil free day

Wed 27 April

• Students return to school

During Weeks 7 and 8, Year 9 Design and Technology students took part in the Wool 4 School Competition. The brief was to design a sustainable outfit consisting of four pieces for a hero. Students could design this outfit for a hero in their life, a famous role model or comic hero, celebrity, sporting athlete etc.

Students completed research on Australian Merino Wool and completed a user profile on their hero and mood board for presentation.

Students used rendering tools to create a hand drawn technical sketch and also used illustrator to present their final design digitally.

The competition was lots of fun and great to see students' fashion illustration skills being presented for the competition in a few months time.

Ms Lorena Ghignone

TAS Teacher.

On Wednesday March 23, Mrs Kovacevic and I took 27 Year 11 and Year 12 students to visit the 2021 ARTEXPRESS exhibition in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to see exemplary artworks created by NSW HSC Visual Arts students. ARTEXPRESS is an exhibition that takes place every year within a number of venues, regional, metropolitan and virtually over several months. In order to be selected, students are pre-selected by the HSC markers and then are also chosen by a gallery curator.

This excursion allows students to see what others have created for their HSC which provides them with ideas for their own Body of Work (BOW) but to also see and understand the standard of work being produced. We had a lovely day as a group with the weather holding out for us so we could have morning tea and lunch in the park across the road from the gallery before heading back to school. Thank you for a wonderful day Year 11 and Year 12, we hope you left feeling excited and inspired for your own BOW.

Mrs Sara-Jane Castelli

Year 11 and 12 had the privilege of attending the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney to see the 2021 ARTEXPRESS exhibition. This was an insightful experience where we were able to witness first hand works from the gallery’s permanent collection as well as ARTEXPRESS. Students engaged with the pieces, we were able to take photos, interact with artist statements and be personally exposed to the quality of work and standards of the process of the Year 12 Body of Work (BOW). Being able to be physically present gave an intimate experience into the artworks displayed, allowing us to critically judge and analyse the artworks with our prior knowledge which left us feeling inspired for our own BOWs.

We thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the unique expression of other schools’ HSC art students. On behalf of the students attending we would like to extend our thanks to Mrs Castelli and Mrs Kovacevic for organising this excursion.

Last Thursday students from Year 11 Biology went on an excursion to Minnamurra Rainforest to undertake fieldwork to study the living and nonliving components of a rainforest ecosystem. The field study involved gathering data, using a variety of sampling techniques that the students had been studying in class. Students used scientific equipment to collect abiotic data, including soil temperature, humidity, wind speed, light intensity, pH levels and turbidity of the environment. Sampling was also undertaken along a transect line and from quadrats to determine the distribution and abundance of biotic features in the Rainforest ecosystem.

Throughout the day, students went for a rainforest walk in Budderoo National Park to observe the complex interactions, relationships, adaptations and human impacts that occur in the natural environment. Students also listened to a presentation from the experienced park rangers and had an opportunity to ask questions. The study allowed students to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the biodiversity in Rainforest ecosystems and the impact selective pressures have on populations within this environment. Overall it was a wonderful experience and a great learning opportunity.

Liana C and Mrs Bastias

Interested parents and carers are invited to join the St Benedict's Catholic College P & F Mother's Day Committee.

To register your interest please submit your details here:

SBCC P&F Mother's Day Committee