St Benedict's Catholic College

Parent and Carers - please ensure you have consented either way (yes or no) via 'Insights' in Compass. Student's image will appear blurred until consent has been provided. The consent has only been sent to the primary contact so if you can't see anything, please ask the second parent to login under their access to provide consent.

PLEASE NOTE: If consent is not provided by the end of this term, Friday 12 April your child/s photos will remain blurred. They will not feature in newsletters, Yearbooks, social media etc.

Click the below link to consent:

https://sbccdow-nsw.compass.education/Records/User.aspx?insId=11#insights

As this is our last newsletter for Term, I would like to thank each and every student for their hard work, dedication, and commitment throughout the first term of the academic year. Our students’ efforts have not gone unnoticed, not only in the classroom but also in their involvement in the life of our community especially during Harmony Week.

A special mention goes to our newest Year 7 students! Their smooth transition, enthusiasm, and eagerness to learn have been truly commendable. Year 7 have embraced the challenges of secondary school with a positive attitude and have quickly become valuable members of our school community. The Bake Sale organised by Year 7 for Project Compassion will be remembered by all. Well done!

I hope that you have a relaxing holiday break and I look forward to seeing each and every student’s success and achievements in the upcoming terms.

Please be reminded that Term 2 commences on Monday 29 April and full school winter uniform is to be worn.

Over the past two weeks I have commenced enrolment interviews for Year 7 2025. This has been a wonderful experience, meeting many new families as well as those who are already part of the St Benedict’s community. I have been so impressed by the Year 6 students that I have spoken with who are so excited and hopeful about joining our great school. If you have any questions about the enrolment process or enrolment interviews for Year 7 2025 please contact our Enrolment Officer, Michelle Gibbons, via enrolments_sbcc@dow.catholic.edu.au or call the office on 4631 5300.

Our parent-teacher meetings are of utmost importance in our student’s academic journey and St Benedict’s and parental involvement can significantly impact their success. At these meetings our teaching staff will provide information with parents and carers about their child's academic performance, strengths, and areas needing improvement as well as specific feedback on assignments, exams, and overall classroom performance. This provides parents and carers with a clearer understanding of where their child stands academically.

In addition, parent-teacher meetings with your child’s STRIVE Coach will provide an opportunity to discuss their overall well-being, and how to best support them throughout their secondary journey. We also know that when parents and carers are actively involved in their child's education, students tend to exhibit more accountability and responsibility for their academic performance. The knowledge that their parents are informed and interested can motivate students to take their studies more seriously and strive for success.

Our first parent teacher meetings for 2024 is for our Year 11 and Year 12 students in Week 3 of Term 2, on Wednesday 15 May 2024, via Zoom.

The HSC year for our students can be stressful due to the high expectations and workload. It is of vital importance that parents attend these meetings, so that you can identify any academic or emotional support that your child may need and also be aware of the specific support they may need in regards to effective study strategies, completing HSC projects or wellbeing support. Collaborative goal setting between parents, teachers, and students can help create a roadmap for achieving academic and personal success during the HSC year and beyond.

We look forward to meeting with you throughout the year.

Kind regards,

Mrs Kerrie Piatek

College Photo Day will be held on Wednesday 1 May. This is the first week back of school for Term 2.

Information has been sent to families via Compass in terms of ordering photos for your children. Students will be taken to the College Hall for photos and it will cause some disruption to the normal day routine.

Please note that only students wearing correct and appropriate College uniform will be permitted to have their photo taken. If students have a PDHPE practical lesson, they are to bring a change of clothes. Further, if students cannot have their photo taken on this day, there will be a ‘catch-up’ day scheduled. Students will be informed of the date when it is confirmed.

Major points related to photos:

GIRLS

• No make-up, false lashes, heavy eye liner, nail polish, or acrylic/gel nails

• One set of plain, small studs or sleepers (maximum diameter 1cm). No more than 1 earring in each ear. Earrings only to be worn in the lower ear lobe. No other visual body or facial piercings are allowed (including clear studs)

• Shoulder-length hair or longer needs to be fully tied back off the face and at the back of the head

• No decorative hair accessories eg: coloured clips, flowers, beads, etc are allowed

• College blazer to be worn

BOYS

• Hair styles should be moderate, with no extremes (this includes but is not limited to: fades, mullet styles, undercuts etc)

• Hair should NOT be below the collar or covering the ears, no undercuts or spiked styles, no very short crew cuts or head shaves. There should not be any noticeable change in length. Hair should not be long enough to be tied. Hair to be cut an a minimum length of a ‘No. 2’

• Boys faces should be clean shaven

• No ear, visual body or facial piercings are allowed (including clear studs)

• College blazer to be worn

Should you wish to purchase any photos please click on this link to order your photos.

Or visit: www.advancedlife.com.au

And enter the SBCC online order code: 8A9 6V4 L53

St Benedict’s works collaboratively with the Catholic Education Office Student Support team to address emerging attendance issues. We will be actively involved in supporting families to manage the attendance of their children so that it does not have a functional impact on their learning at school.

Having regular consistent attendance (>95%) will have a positive impact on how students engage in their academic learning at school as well as meeting the needs of their developing social and emotional well-being.

The Education Act (1990) NSW and the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) require Parents/Carers to ensure that children of compulsory school age attend school on each day that the school is open for instruction. As such, St Benedict's will be working with students and their families to help improve attendance so that it ultimately has a positive impact on student learning.

One issue highlighted by our 2023 school attendance data is that families may not be aware just how much time their child is missing from school.

You may be surprised by the statistics below:

Being absent from school 1 or 2 Days doesn’t seem like much, it is.

Just a little bit late for school doesn't seem like much, it is.

Regards,

Michael Turner

Year 7 Transition Reports will be available through Compass on Friday 12 April at 3.00 pm.

These reports have been designed to share with you a description of how your child has transitioned into learning at the College. Feedback has been provided on their application across STRIVE and in each of their Academic Subjects.

As a transition report, this document does not provide specific marks, grades or outcome statements listed against subjects. More detailed information on academic achievement will be provided in the comprehensive reports that will be issued at the end of each completed semester.

Kind regards,

Wendy Fawbert

On Sunday we celebrated that Jesus Christ is alive! Death could not keep him; fear could not overcome him. God has proved victorious!

And for all of us, Jesus’ resurrection means that no matter our experiences of pain, confusion, fear or death, God’s love and goodness is always greater. So we have something to hold on to in all the twists and turns of life’s journey: because of Jesus, we can hold on to hope.

I invite you to listen to Archbishop Peter Comensoli (Melbourne) Easter Message - The Dawning Light of Resurrection - https://youtu.be/7eoW1Hl_8t0

"Jesus' victory over death becomes our Victory for LIFE. Easter is meant to rock us and shake us so as to empower us"

I have also included below a copy of Bishop Brian Mascord's Easter Message for 2024.

“Christ is risen! Let us repeat it with words, but above all with the witness of our lives. The happy news of the Resurrection should shine on our faces, in our feelings and attitudes, in the way we treat others. We proclaim the Resurrection of Christ when his light illuminates the dark moments of our life and we can share that with others: when we know how to smile with those who smile and weep with those who weep; when we walk beside those who are sad and in danger of losing hope; when we recount our experience of faith with those who are searching for meaning and for happiness.”

(Pope Francis, Regina Caeli, 6 April 2015)

May Easter be a time of LIGHT and HOPE for you and your loved ones.

Jesus gives the means to transform our lives from darkness into LIGHT.

Bishop Brian Mascord, along with the Diocese of Wollongong joined in celebration of the blessing of the Chrism oils. This celebration of the Eucharist takes its name from one of the holy oils which was blessed or consecrated on the night. At this Liturgy—unique to the Cathedral of each Diocese—all of us gather to pray with the bishop and his collaborators, the priests of the Diocese, in thanksgiving and praise to God, and to pray for them as they renew their commitment to the service of God and his priestly people.

Our Year 12 Leaders - Grace, Joseph and Christopher along with Mrs Piatek and Mrs Logue attended this Mass.

Below are some photos that were captured from this Holy celebration.

My Year 10 Catholic Studies class had the opportunity to organise, create and present the Holy Week liturgy this year. Thank you to all the students who participated as actors, those who read and those who created the slides for this very special liturgy.

Michael Bruni took on the role of Jesus - he was reverent, in character and just sensational. Michael captured effectively the emotions of Holy Week for Jesus.

Thank you also to Mr Bulfon for his involvement and leadership with this liturgy too.

The Holy Week Liturgy looked at the key events for Jesus in His final weeks - Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday with the institution of the Eucharist and the Washing of the Disciples Feet and Good Friday - Jesus carrying his Cross and His death on the Cross.

Lara, Chloe, Natalie and Alyssa from Year 12 had the pleasure of attending a special Multi-faith Iftar Gathering at Unity Grammar on Wednesday. It was a heartwarming occasion where we came together to break bread, share stories, and celebrate the diversity of our community. This event was designed to promote understanding, respect, and friendship among people of different faiths and backgrounds.

The evening was filled with memorable moments, including experiencing the beautiful tradition of breaking fast together in Unity, engaging in meaningful interfaith dialogue with individuals from various faiths and cultural backgrounds, and enjoying the soothing recitation of verses from the Islamic Holy Book, the Quran. It was wonderful to see many of the students that are part of the Interfaith Encounter with our College in attendance on the night.

One of the highlights was undoubtedly the Iftar Feast, where we indulged in a delicious spread of traditional dishes from different cultures, embracing the richness of culinary diversity.

Additionally, we had the opportunity to embark on a guided tour of the Astrolab Building, gaining insights into the school's ethos and its commitment to fostering unity and understanding among all members of the community. Overall, it was an enriching and inspiring evening that exemplified the power of coming together in mutual respect and appreciation.

STUDENT REFLECTION - LARA CARIDI

On Wednesday night, I had the privilege of attending an Iftar dinner hosted by Unity Grammar in Austral. A number of schools were invited, where we came together to celebrate our diverse backgrounds and gain a deeper appreciation of our different cultures.

It was really lovely to see the girls I had met from previous Interfaith events—it felt like catching up with old friends. We chatted over dinner and bonded over the shared stress of the HSC! For me, attending the Iftar dinner emphasised how important inter-religious relationships are and gaining a deeper understanding of the Islamic Faith. It’s exciting more gatherings like this will be organised, where we can build friendships and break down barriers together.

Thank you Mrs. Logue for giving us this opportunity!

Kind regards,

Kimberley Logue

As mentioned in the last newsletter, the College is awarding Student of the Month awards in 2024 to a student in each STRIVE class. Congratulations to the following students who received their award for February:

Kind regards,

John Wheeler

• Monday 8 April - Year 10 Drama Incursion
• Wednesday 10 April - Certificate II in Hospitality Barista Course
• Monday 15 April - Optional excursion - Year 10 History Elective - Sydney Jewish Museum

Term 1 Holiday Break:

• Monday 15 April to Friday 26 April - HOLIDAYS
• Monday 29 April - Term 2 begins for staff and students - WINTER UNIFORM FOR ALL STUDENTS

On Friday 8 March, the Year 9 History Elective class had the opportunity to visit a modern archaeological site in The Rocks. The informative staff at The Big Dig taught us a lot, not only about the site itself but also about the processes of archaeological dig sites. We had the chance to learn about the site, investigate individual case studies of people who had lived in the area in the 19th century, and analyse artefacts. Afterwards, the class went on a self-guided tour through The Rocks, visiting local shops and museums, and locating information about influential people and places in the area. This enabled us to solidify what we had learnt at the site about how people lived in the past. Overall it was a fun and insightful day and was an engaging way to practically use the historical skills we have been developing in class.

Charissa Roberts (9 History Elective Student)

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Thank you so much to the St Benedict’s community for your continued support with Social Justice throughout this term. With your help, we have raised more money for Project Compassion, absolutely smashing our initial goal of $1000 by raising approximately $4800 and still counting for last donations coming in. This is a wonderful way to end our first term of 2024 knowing that we have made a difference to various communities Caritas works with.

A massive thank you to Mr Bulfon and the Norcia team for all of their planning and organising of the various events they ran to support the Social Justice team, including our week of celebrating Harmony Day and Cultural Day, it was amazing to see all staff and students, proudly celebrating the diverse cultures we have in our school community.

Thank you to everyone who donated to the Easter hampers and to those who bought tickets. Congratulations to the staff and students for winning an Easter hamper each. The team hopes you enjoyed your chocolate over the Easter long weekend!

Looking ahead into Term 2, the Social Justice team will be working closely with Dharawal from Weeks 1-5 and will kick start the fundraising for St Vincent de Paul. Then Hildegard will take over from Weeks 6-10. The team will also be collecting food items to donate to We Are Community again this year. There will be a number of initiatives for students to be involved in, so please keep an eye out for any notifications.

The Social Justice team wishes you all a safe and happy school holiday.

Mrs Sara-Jane Castelli

Social Justice Coordinator

Term 1 has been exciting and productive for the PDHPE faculty. In this newsletter article we would like to focus on what Year 7-10 students have been doing in class. We will focus on our elective and Year 11 and 12 in another edition.

Students have been studying the topic ‘Changes in My World’. This unit examines the emotional, social and mental changes that occur throughout adolescence, and explores the shifts that can occur in relationships, priorities and lifestyle. In class, we have been developing strategies to manage the changes and how to seek help. In practical lessons, students have been participating in challenge and initiative based games. Students are given the opportunity to take on leadership roles whilst learning to effectively manage complex situations through various practical lessons.

Students have been learning about health, safety, wellbeing and relationships in the unit titled ‘Teen Health’. Students explore many aspects of being a teen that can impact on their health such as changing roles and responsibilities, accessing health information, mental health and use of technology. Practically, students have been participating in planned and improvised dance activities.

Students have been exploring the concept of how we relate online and can differ in the way we relate to others in the physical world. We have been looking at what positive relationships should look, feel and sound like, in addition to exploring boundaries in relationships. Students will learn how to develop prosocial behaviours online. Practically, students apply inclusive and respectful interpersonal skills through challenge and initiative based games. Practical activities are designed to personally and collectively challenge the group and promote resilience, communication and trust.

Year 9 Child Studies Task

As part of the Year 9 Child Studies unit Preparing for Parenthood, students had to research, analyse and design a suitable environment for a new born baby. The process involved identifying essential items, considering an appropriate budget and providing a cost list. Students spent time in class designing and creating a model nursery for a newborn baby. Congratulations to our Year 9 Child Studies students, everyone worked well to produce a unique and detailed model nursery. Staff and students of our College visited the child studies classroom to view student work, provide feedback and vote on their top three favourite designs. Congratulations to Amani Halis, Ashley Golden and Evangeline Glavan who won people's choice on the day.

Year 10 will focus on recognising risky situations and ways to minimise harm while being a road user. Students have been exploring the issue of road safety, risk taking and personal safety. They will develop knowledge and skills to minimise risk. Practically, students are learning about the purpose and function of social dance. They will be focusing on participation rather than performance.

Brent is a living breathing example of being born into a vocation. He is a dynamic addition to our team who is ever ready to inspire minds and hearts. Brent’s boundless energy and enthusiasm is palpable, infecting students and colleagues alike with a renewed zest for learning and school. We are grateful for the vibrant spirit that Brent brings every day.

Our next member of faculty is one that is a quiet achiever. She works diligently behind the scenes in a calm and methodical manner. Her humility is matched only by her effectiveness, making her an invaluable asset to our team.

Students in Year 7 have begun developing their artistic gaze through the study of Picasso’s works and Cubist forms. This has required students to put their curious thinking caps on and draw out the hidden meanings behind Cubist works. Two examples students looked at were Pablo Picasso’s Dora Maar au Chat, 1941 and Seated Woman (Marie Therese), 1937.

By writing, analysing and explaining these artworks, using the elements of art and principles of design, student capability in writing has been reinforced (in preparation for assessment task 1). Students have been encouraged to experiment and build their ideas using skills in research and explaining their argument, through use of evidence.

Congratulations to all of our Stage 6 music students on their performance assessment. We are proud of all of you.

Year 11 has been experimenting through the practice of improvisation and playbuilding. They have been applying theatrical conventions from influential practitioners, Stanislavski and Laban, to their practices to devise their recent Group Performance assessment task.

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The 2024 NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge is in full swing. Many of our students have accepted the challenge to read 20 books before the challenge ends on Friday 23rd August 2024 and have found the challenge to be surprisingly easy as books read since September 2023 can be included together with books read for English study. If you are an avid reader, the Library encourages you to enter the challenge and can support you to select a variety of books to explore. At the completion of the challenge, the Library is providing a participation prize for all challengers. Here are some quick facts and for any further information, please just ask the Library staff.

LEARNPATH GUIDES

The Library would like to introduce you to an exciting guided resource known as LearnPath Guides located at the top of the Oliver Home Page (College Library Catalogue). This resource is continually growing and expanding to provide quality resources, links, videos and information especially curated for curriculum-based topics. Click on any of the tabs and explore the variety of resources available or type in the search bar for a particular topic.

Also located on the Oliver home page is information regarding new resources, Online referencing and upcoming events and promotions

Happy reading

The Library Team

Wool4School is an annual student design competition encouraging budding designers to use Merino wool for innovative thinking and creative design. First launched in Australia in 2012, Wool4School now involves over 100,000 students worldwide.

The Brief

ELEMENTS - Earth, water, fire and air.

Create a unique design made from wool, taking inspiration from the earth’s natural elements. From fashion design to architecture, visual arts, and beyond – there’s no limits to your area of design. Research the design properties of wool and investigate how these can be included in a design that embodies your interpretation of your chosen element of earth, water, fire or air.

Click on the below QR code for further information or visit: www.wool4school.com/

This will be the last article for Term 1 2024 from the Numeracy Department. To finish this term off, I just wanted to share with parents and families at home some of the great things we are doing here to incorporate Numeracy at St Benedict's Catholic College!

Challenge - Fit 18 chocolates in a NEW box that originally could only fit 16! They needed to draw, measure, design and laser cut! Some errors were found, but some successes were made!

Finding our mistakes and correcting them in Science!

Working on terminology in Mathematics!

HSC Reviews with various cohorts to discuss Numeracy and Graphicacy based questions.

Suzanne Seychell

Numeracy Instructional Coach

seychells01@dow.catholic.edu.au

On Tuesday 2 April our MISA teams were involved in Finals week for their respective competitions. A number of our teams were quite competitive throughout the term and only a few competition points prevented our teams from playing in the Grand Finals.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following staff members who gave up their time during the season to train and coach our MISA teams in Term 1. Ms Loudoun, Ms Hawkins, Ms Miller, Mr Agoo, Miss Lorking, Mr Morris, Mr Ripepi and Mr Limbrey. Also, to all staff members who filled in throughout Term 1 as cover.

Congratulations to Aleisha Robinson from Year 7 as she has been selected to play in a junior female Wanderers Soccer team over in England and France at the end of December 2024 through to mid January 2025.

Congratulations to Ted Collins. He came second in the 50m breaststroke and first in the 100m breaststroke! We couldn’t be more proud of Ted. We wish him luck as he is off to the Gold Coast for the 2024 Australian Age and MC Age Championships.

For all things related to the College BYODD program, please visit the College BYODD Site. Here you will find all information relating to the BYODD program including device requirements, Apple Care + and how to configure your device for use at the College.

For questions relating to BYODD, please contact the College or email:

https://sites.google.com/dow.catholic.edu.au/byoddsbcc/it-support

For the latest newsletter please click here.

On the 26 of May, we had a guest speaker come out to the school to discuss the American Summers GAP year camps for Years 11 and 12.

Students were very engaged in learning about this opportunity to spend 9 weeks working and living at one of over 700 American premier summer camps. They were shown the benefits of this paid experience and how the transference of their skills could assist in this job opportunity.

Further information can be found here: https://americansummers.com/

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St BENEDICTS's students are invited to participate in the main ANZAC Day March and Community Service on Thursday, 24 April 2024.

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

Drop off: Parents are asked to ensure that students are dropped off to a staff member (Mrs Logue) at this location.

Pick up: Parents are asked 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 Argyle Street, follow Cawdor Road to the Camden Bicentennial Equestrian Park, where they are to be met by their parents, for the commencement of the 2024 Camden Anzac Day Commemoration Service commencing at 11:15 am.

We ask students to wear their full summer uniform.

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

We have a number of lost property items that have no names on them. Please have a look at the below photos and if you see anything that is yours please come to the office to collect either before school, recess, lunch or after school.

If you see something that is your's please come to the office to collect.

Our Mother's Day Breakfast will be hosted by the P&F on Thursday 9 May from 7.30am - 8.10am.

To secure your spot, please click here to RSVP.

Come along these school holidays to see Camden Musical Society present Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Camden Civic Centre in April 2024.

One of our students is in the production, Ethan Azzopardi. Ethan is playing the role of Jerry the reporter, and will be in the youth ensemble as well.

To find out more or to book your tickets, please click here.

P & F Uniform Pool order form - click here

The P & F preloved Uniform Pool has reopened, please complete the order form and send to the P & F by email at: uniforms@sbccdow.catholic.edu.au

Our wonderful P&F volunteer Tracey will contact you.

Items can be paid for in cash ONLY and collected from the SBCC College Office.

Donations of items in good condition can be left at the College Office.

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