During my time away in the last weeks of Term 2 it was distressing to hear about roads being cut off, evacuations, and homes and businesses underwater as once again Camden was impacted by floodwaters. I hope that you and your families and friends, were not affected directly by this latest disaster.

I would very much like to acknowledge and thank Michael Turner and the leadership team for their leadership and support which allowed me to have time away from the College last term.

During my leave I was able to meet up with a Catholic Mission representative in Darwin to investigate the possibility of offering students an immersion experience in our Top End. After the last few years of not being able to organise excursions and tours for school we are pleased to advise that the College would like to undertake an Immersion Tour to Northern Territory in 2023. We believe this immersion tour will foster cultural awareness, empathy and independence. I have attached a Flyer with this newsletter that provides further information about this immersion tour. Please contact Mr Peter Morris Year 10 Coordinator or myself if you require an expression of interest form or you need further information about this proposed tour.

As a community we keep our Year 12 students in our thoughts and prayers as they commence their HSC Trial Examinations next week. Our Year 12 students have been focused, not only finalising course content and study notes but some students have been completing major projects. In addition, our year 12 staff have been working hard to ensure their students are prepared by providing additional holiday workshops, lunchtime and after school classes and also Year 12 study nights .

Loving God we ask that our students feel your closeness during the HSC exam period.

Give them calm hearts and quiet confidence in the knowledge

that you hold them in the palm of your hand.

Bless them with keen understanding and retentive memory.

Give them the ability to grasp things correctly,

be exact in their explanations

and have the ability to express themselves clearly

Holy Spirit send them your gifts of wisdom and knowledge.

St Benedict’s Pray for Us

Amen

Welcome to Term 3. I hope all our students, staff and families had an opportunity to rest and enjoy time together. Week 1 and 2 has seen rain, cold mornings but also beautiful sunshine. Week 2 concluded with the wonderful social justice initiative “Bennies Bring a Blanket”.

Year 11 students participated in Session #3 of the Interfaith Encounter program with Amity College. Students visited places of worship - St Jerome’s Catholic Church, Punchbowl and Lakemba Mosque.

Student Reflections

Danielle C

On the 28th of July, St Benedict's Year 11 SOR 2 unit students met up with Amity College for the third session of Catholic Mission's Interfaith Dialogue Program. During our session we got the opportunity to visit both a Catholic Church and a Mosque. This experience allowed both schools to gain a deeper understanding and respect for each other's religion whilst also providing open dialogue for questions allowing for stories of personal faith and devotion to be shared. This experience highlighted that despite practising different religions there are more similarities between the two than previously thought. After visiting both schools' respective places of worship we came together to share a meal and engage in personal connections and forge friendships with people that we may have previously thought to be too different.

Blake S

Today was an eye-opening experience. It was great to be able to walk in the shoes of another religion and find just how similar things are between the different faiths. It was great to be able to connect with our Amity College peers to ask questions about the Lakemba mosque and the different aspects of the Islam; particularly the meaning of various scripture passages found on the walls of the Mosque. We also had the opportunity to visit St Jerome’s and share with Amity College our Catholic faith.

This interfaith experience was sealed with an amazing meal at the Jasmine Lebanese restaurant, where we were able to discuss and share with one another our own experience of faith. A truly great day for all involved!

Malcolm

It was a really good experience visiting the church and the mosque today. I felt like I got a lot out of going to the mosque especially as I was able to reaffirm all that we had learnt in class whilst also being able to see it all in person. The mosque itself inside was beautifully designed but also had meaning in everything which also just opened my mind up further. It was great meeting up with Amity College again and very insightful hearing their answers to any questions I might've had. It was good and reflective as well being able to answer any questions that they had and also getting the opportunity to have some really nice lunch together afterwards just topped it off.

Kathryn G

It was an insightful experience that allowed us all to clearly see how a Muslim adherent submits to Allah and will definitely help when completing our Preliminary and SOR exams. It also helped us consolidate our knowledge of Islam and add depth to our knowledge. The Imam at the mosque shared many good points in considering how a Muslim connects to Allah. He broke down the pillars of the Muslim faith and seeing different components of them outside of a textbook really helped us understand.

Earlier this week the St Benedict's Catholic College Community gathered to congratulate students from Years 7 to 10 receiving Academic Awards. It is a great achievement to receive an acknowledgement of your hard work , commitment and dedication. Well done to all students who received an award.

Our College theme for 2022 centres around Belong, Challenge, Engage.

This year we have placed an emphasis on how we are able to Belong, Challenge and Engage through our College Motto of “Be My Light”. This core theme will encourage and support students to ensure they are feeling a sense of belonging to the College, are appropriately challenged in all aspects of schooling and are engaged in their learning.

I encourage parents to take every opportunity to talk to their children about how they are participating in their learning and wellbeing goals. Particularly in relation to comments from their teachers during the recent parent, student, teacher meetings.

• Mobile phones are not allowed to be used during school hours. We have seen an increase in the use of phones, especially at recess and lunch. Any student who is found to be using their mobile phone will have it confiscated and the phone placed in the front office. Repeat offenders will need a parent to collect the phone.

• Sick Bay procedures. If a student is feeling unwell they should attend the sick bay and a first aid trained assistant will contact parents if required. Students are not to call their parents using their mobile phones during class time.

• Picton Buses. All students travelling to and from school using the Picton Busline service are reminded they must use their Opal Card to tap on and off. Tapping on and off enables the company to gather data to confirm the number of students who are using the service. Please note that a blitz will be occurring over coming weeks and students must use their Student Opal Card or pay for their travel.

Social Media Standards Noncompliance (Parents/Carers) Procedure

It was a fierce competition and it was a very difficult decision for our judges to decide on the winning entries.

Thank you to all of those who entered however we could only choose 3 winners.

Congratulations to the following students:

Thomas B, Rubie M and Charissa R

Caitie Oldfield
Aboriginal Education Assistant

Each year, St Benedict’s students participate in The Australian Geography Competition. The competition is a contest for Australian secondary school students, assessing their geographical knowledge and skills. This year, more than 600 schools across the country participated in the competition’s inaugural online version. St Benedict’s was proud to enter 63 students in the competition this year.

We would like to congratulate all students from St Benedict’s that participated, and recognise the following students from Years 9, 10 and 11 who achieved an outstanding result.

Year 9:

• Angus D (Credit)

• Samantha E (Distinction)

Year 10:

• Elliott H (Credit)

• Owen P (Distinction)

Year 11:

• Danielle C (Credit)

• Natasha S (Credit)

• Julian B (Distinction)

• Brad K (High Distinction)

Congratulations to these students for their incredible results.

In Week 9 of Term 2, our wonderful Year 7 students ventured down to Kangaroo Valley for the first ever Year 7 Camp in St Benedicts history. It was an amazing opportunity to see our students in a different environment and see them utilise other skills we do not normally get to see in a classroom environment.

Our students were split into different colour tribes and were allocated a camp leader. Each group got to experience High Ropes, Mountain Biking, The Giant Swing, Low Ropes, Team Challenges, Archery and Indigenous Bush knowledge.

The benefit of myself not being in an allocated group was that I got to walk around and observe our students completing a variety of activities and seeing them support their peers in situations which are not presented to them at school. I beamed with pride to see their happy faces, laughter and voices full of excitement when they faced their fears. Not to mention the great conversation our staff had with our students in an environment that sometimes school does not offer us.

Our students were also privileged to experience a Corroboree on Night 2 of the program. This involved a nocturnal festivity with songs and symbolic dances by which community First Nations people celebrate events of importance and passed this information on to our students.

I am extremely proud of our students as for most of them it was their first time away from home and or on school camp. I was also happy to see new found friendships blossoming and seeing our Year group coming closer together which is the true essence of a school camp.

Please view the amazing images we captured over the week as well as some thoughts from our Year 7 students.

On Tuesday 19th July our Year 12 Drama Class took part in the practical component of the Trial HSC. This involved both the students' Group Work but also their Individual Project. Congratulations to our Year 12 Drama Students.

In the same week on the Friday our Year 12 Music students completed their practical component of the trial. This was conducted in front of outside experienced markers given the students a replication of the HSC setup. Congratulations to our Year 12 Music Students.

Our year 7 Visual Arts students are preparing to make a steampunk mask and have been asked to bring in any items, cogs, old computer parts, old clock parts, bottle tops, can ring tabs, wires etc. This practical task will begin next week.

Year 8 Music will begin their FOLEY sound FX tasks over the next few weeks and must check that they can run the program Garage Band on their laptops. If there are any issues they must see IT for a password.

Year 10 Drama students are currently making character shadow puppets to be used to devise a shadow puppet performance.

At the start of Term 2 this year, Year 9 Design and Technology begun their first assessment task design project. Students had to answer the brief of designing and producing an ambient lantern for someone close to them. The lantern had to showcase their target markets interests.

As their teacher I am very pleased with the final solutions students have produced and the quality of their work.

Students learnt how to design on illustrator and prepare files for the laser cutter. They soldered a simple circuit and put together a timber base that had to be painted.

Term 3 will see Year 9 start a new project - a laptop bag with an e-textile emblem.

Well done Year 9, keep up the great work!

Ms Ghignone

Year 9 Design and Technology teacher

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is ending in 3 weeks. Some of our Students have completed the challenge whilst others are fearlessly reading. All our participating Challengers are to be congratulated on their fantastic effort. Our 2022 Challengers will all receive a super cool prize pack from the Library and our triumphant Challengers will be awarded a Certificate from the NSW Premier’s Office. For more information regarding the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge for next year, please see the Library staff.

The Library celebrated Naidoc Week with a fabulous cultural display and a colouring competition - winners announced.

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

Families of current Year 5 students are invited to complete an Expression of Interest for Enrolment for Year 7, 2024.

Expression of Interest is not a formal enrolment application, but an opportunity to be included in St Benedict's College information and enrolment timelines as they become available.

Click the image above or click here to register your family's details.

Mon 01 Aug - Trial HSC commences

Wed 03 Aug - Year 10 Forensic Science Incursion

Thu 04 Aug - 2023 Captains Interviews

Thu 04 Aug - Year 11 Fast Forward Day

Mon 08 Aug - Feast of St Mary MacKillop

Wed 10 Aug - Year 9 Incursion

Mon 15 Aug - Feast of the Assumption, Science Week

Tue 16 Aug - P&F Meeting - 6.30pm, NSWCCC Girls Netball Champs - Penrith

Fri 19 Aug - Science Week, Year 12 High Tea

Tue 23 Aug - Bishop’s Student Excellence Awards (2022 Cohort – Year 12)

Wed - Fri 24-26 Aug - Year 10 Outdoor Ed (Camp)

Thu 25 Aug - MISA Youth of the Year (MCCC)

Mon 29 Aug - Staff Development Day - Wellbeing / Pupil Free Day, Wellbeing Week

Wed 31 Aug - Colour Run

Thu 1 Sep - Blessing and Opening of Hall

Fri 02 Sep - LIVE Wollongong 2022

Mon 12 Sep - Preliminary Course Examinations Commence, NSWCCC Athletics - Homebush

Thurs/Fri 15 & 16 Sep - Year 9 Outdoor Ed (Camp)

Fri 16 Sept - Year 12 Mini Carnival Day & Pastoral Day Lunch

Tue 20 Sep - Year 12 Farewell Assembly

Wed 21 Sep - Year 12 Graduation Mass and Awards, Year 12 Reports released on Compass

Fri 23 Sep - Year 7 Vaccination Visit 2

End of Term 3

Mon 10 Oct - Term 4 Starts

Wed 12 Oct - HSC Examinations Commence

Tue 25 Oct - YML & Middle Leaders Induction Ceremony 8:10am

Fri 28 Oct - Year 7 History Incursion

Tue 01 Nov - Year 11 Report Release via Compass 2:45pm

Wed 02 Nov - Senior Retreat

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 9 Academic Awards - 8:50am - Hall, Year 10 Academic Awards - 12:50pm - Hall, 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 school 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 school office will be available Mondays after 2:30pm, orders placed prior to 9am Monday will qualify.

TRADING HOURS DURING SCHOOL 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