St Benedict s Primary School

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1 St Benedict s Primary School Narrabundah NEWSLETTER NO NOVEMBER 2015 StBenedicts2604 So here are a few facts from the 2015 Soccer Carnival: Dear Parents and Carers, Thank you to: Emma McAuliffe Michelle Laughton-Bath Samantha Losanno Nadia Mulino Liz Scott Dean Dalla Pozza Michael Sander Margie Thomas Karen Costello Tracy Kraljevic Thank you to the parents and friends of the school who have volunteered to help organise the Catholic Schools Soccer Carnival on Sunday April 3 rd, It s a great team but we will need a few more people. It was suggested at last night s Soccer Carnival Meeting that I provide a picture of what the carnival entails to help understand why it s important for us all to work together to make the most of this excellent fundraising opportunity. 25 Catholic primary schools sent teams. 103 teams participated. Approximately 1200 Years 3 to 6 students were on teams. Approximately 5000 people attended. 15 fields were allocated for round robin games every 30 minutes from 8.30am until 3.30pm. Fields were equipped and set up on the grounds of the University of Canberra as it is now the only grounds large enough to host the event. Registration opened early in Term 1 and it took eight weeks to organise teams, draws, food vouchers, etc. At the field, organised by the school, were various: o food stands o drink providers o novelty stalls, e.g. cakes o entertainment and coaching options o first aid, water, toilets facilities (which all had to be brought in). 37 different businesses sponsored the event with cash or goods valued anywhere between $100 to more than $3000. The host school made a profit of $30,000. We are an amazing community who has successfully organised Spring Fairs for a number of years. Our Spring Fair would have ordinarily been held during 2016 and we will host the annual Soccer Carnival instead. We have this opportunity once every twenty-five years to host this event and raise a large amount of funds drawn from outside our community and if we can be so successful in organising a Spring Fair then

2 we can also organise what is essentially a Spring Fair with some rounds of soccer games attached! The funds raised from this event will support students and the school for years to come. Students from Kindergarten through to Year 6 will benefit and so this event requires support from the entire school. I know that we all have different capacities to assist the school. If there is one main event that you can get behind and help organise then let this be the one. We want to share the planning, share the work and share the pride in our achievements. If you want to make this the one event you are going to involve yourself heavily in then please let me know (Matthew.Garton@cg.catholic.edu.au) and we will help you find the best way you can make this a success. I have dedicated my column to this because it is big, it is important to our community to do well and it is definitely something we can make happen together. I look forward to sharing the wonderful sense of achievement with you at the end as well as seeing the rewards go back into to creating outstanding opportunities for our students. Matthew Garton Principal MRS CASEY ABSENT Tomorrow, 26 th November Mrs Casey will be absent for training purposes. Please be aware of this in regards to finalising fees and any other needs. DIRECT DEBIT CANCEL/ALTER/SUSPEND FORMS If you wish to change any details of your Direct Debit for 2015, the forms to process these alterations are available from the Front Office. These forms need to be returned to the Front Office for processing by Friday, 4 December. KINDER Angus C., Santino E., Ciru N. YEAR 1 Clelia C-M., Emily St., Ayla H., Juach G.G. YEAR 2 Johny M., Shyla M., Teresa D.P YEAR 3/4 Joshua S., Nandan T., Toby Q., Mason T., Braydan J D., Lara H., Sophie B. YEAR 5/6 Matthew C., Dakota K., Olivia L., Olivia K. HOUSE POINTS The points for Week 6, Term 4 were Arakoola on 2430, Murramai on 1750 and Tangara on CONGRATULATIONS to our winners: Arakoola on 2430! Well done to YEAR 3/4TL who earned the most housepints for last week. TERM 4 SCHOOL FEES ARE NOW OVERDUE FOR PAYMENT, PLEASE PAY IMMEDIATELY Happy Birthday to the following children who will celebrate their special day this week: Michala O.(25 th ), Lucia M.,(26 th ), James H.(1 st )

3 CATHOLIC COMMUNITY LIFE CONTRIBUTION TO SHARED MEAL AT GOWRIE COURT If you can provide some food please ring: Helen French or Lyn Cringle Thank you MOUNTAINVIEW HEALING LITURGY Our Reflections on our visit to Mountain View Today myself and my classmates of 5/6 went to Mountain View. We walked up the hill and when we got there we went into a room where we had a chat and sat while the residents came in. Father Matt lead us through Mass. In part of the Mass we went and mingled with residents and put our hands on their shoulder as they were blessed. I had a lovely chat with three people but many students talked to more. Afterwards we gave out our calendars to the residents. I was very happy seeing them open them. We had a request to sing Be Gods. We did it with actions as they watched. Then we enjoyed a biscuit and drink and got a chocolate. We then walked down the hill to St Benedict s. I enjoyed the visit and talking to the residents of Mountain View. Georgina T. I thought going to Mountain View was a great experience, meeting all the residents and then sharing their stories. Meeting them was the best, it felt like they were really happy to be meeting us. I liked when they started asking you questions back and they were really trying to get to know you, while you were trying to get to know them. My favourite part was when they smiled at you, it really felt like they were excited to meet us as we were excited to meet them. When we were sining the song I could see some of them trying to do the actions, they looked like they were having heaps of fun. Michala O. It was wonderful. Year 5 and 6 paid a visit to the Mountain View residents last Thursday. It was amazing being able to see all of the wonderful residents. I loved meeting my elders they had a lot of information. We had a small Mass for the old and sick, we went around getting to know them, their children and grandchildren. We sang them a song, then handed out some presents, the lovely people had made us a special lunch. We said our goodbyes to them and they handed out Santa chocolates. Some people were really old, one woman was 106. Overall the experience was absolutely wonderful. Casey V.D. Year 5/6 visited Mountain View Retirement Village. We walked from school to the village. We had a little chat walking up to the village, just a casual class walking up a steep hill. If you have weak hamstrings I do not recommend this. Once we reached the village we waited for 5 minutes when we were expected. We walked in, got a friendly greeting by the staff and carried on to the room. We sat down in front of the elderly people, we waited for some more to arrive, then the Mass started. We got up to go talk to the residents. I went to a lady called Madeleine. We talked about sport and planes, my two hobbies. I went to a couple other people. Then we sat back down. The Mass continued. Once the Mass had ended we had a snack and we strolled out the door. Our trip back was hot. We all had a wonderful hour. Will C. CHRISTMAS HAMPERS Each year St Benedict s School community generously supports our local St Vincent de Paul chapter with donations of food for Christmas hampers to brighten someone s Christmas. Our Mini Vinnies group would like to

4 make the following suggestions of items for the hampers: tinned ham Christmas crackers dried fruits chocolate biscuits tinned pineapple chocolates Christmas pudding cordial Christmas shortbread softdrink bottles Christmas cake gingerbread This is by no means an exhaustive list but may help with some ideas of what we are looking for to make Christmas special for people in our local community who have less than we do. It makes it particularly meaningful if children are allowed to be a part of the decision making and purchasing of these items. Please send in all donations to your child s classroom where boxes are ready and waiting to receive your generous gifts. Please do not send donations to the Front Office as there is no space there for these. All Christmas hamper items will be presented to St Vincent de Paul at our Giving Mass on Friday, 4 December. ADVENT LITURGIES Advent is a special time of preparation for Christians around the world. We prepare ourselves for the coming again of Christ the Messiah as a helpless baby. This paradox continues to confound and inspire us. Advent (and the beginning of the new Church year) begins this year on Sunday 29 November. Students in Years Three and Four will lead us in Advent prayer over the next four weeks. Prayer will take place before Friday Assembly in weeks This will mean we will gather for Friday Assembly at 2:15 in Weeks 7, 8 & 9 and from 2:00pm in Week 10 to accommodate the farewells as well as prayer and usual assembly items. We invite all families to join us for this special time of prayer as we journey towards Christmas. THANKSGIVING MORNING TEA Excursion supervision, inclass literacy and numeracy helpers, Netball & Soccer carnivals, Meet n Greet, desk cleaning the list of things that could not be done without parent (and grandparent / aunty / uncle) support is endless. Our annual Thanksgiving Morning Tea will be after the Giving Mass on Friday 4 th December. All families are invited to enjoy morning tea provided by the staff as our small way of saying thank you for your ongoing support and help throughout the year. St Benedict s is the wonderful community that it is because of the way in which people all pitch in and help out and enjoy being together, working for the good of all our children. REFLECTION CORNER Patriotic Catholic or Catholic Patriot? Dorothy Day was a twentieth-century Catholic hero. During the Great Depression in the United States, she founded the Catholic Worker movement to help poor people and those living on the margins, and to challenge the nation to adopt laws that also reflected Catholic values. She opposed war as a solution to world problems. She also fought for laws that protected workers. She went to jail several times for non-violently protesting policies that she thought violated the Gospel. Dorothy loved her nation. But Jesus was her king. Like him, she testified to the truth even when it put her in conflict with her country and a majority of its citizens. We re called to be like her. Jesus tells Pilate in this week s Gospel that he has no earthly kingdom. Jesus wasn t a politician, but he hoped to reshape society government and religion to reflect God s Kingdom. That s the work we carry on as his followers. For disciples the cross always rises above the flag. We re called to be Catholic patriots, people whose faith shapes our patriotism; not patriotic Catholics, people who place national policies above Gospel values. Patriotism for Christians means using our political system to shape a more compassionate, peaceful nation being a seed of Jesus Kingdom. That might cause conflict with other people at times. And it might cause us like Dorothy Day to protest when the politicians seem to be deaf. Our nation separates church and State. That means the State can t tell you what religion to follow. It doesn t mean that Christian values should be separated from our political life. Christ

5 calls us as disciples to trace each of our political opinions back to the Gospel. How does the Gospel challenge our national policies on poverty? On health care? On war and peace? On criminal justice? On environmental issues? On abortion? Here s a question to ask when we make decisions about whether to support a politician s proposal: If Jesus was our king, would he enact this? What government policy would you want to see changed because of your faith in Christ the King? What can do you to help change it? The Action Response Make the kingdom real for someone this week. Bring comfort to the afflicted, food to the hungry, joy to the sorrowing, good news to the poor. Give someone else a reason to believe that Christ is the king you serve. GPBS News WHAT'S ON: Earlier this week some of our children and friends came together to make emu callers. This activity allowed them to spend quality time together, participate in a cultural activity and make an artefact that they could use to tell their stories. Maria Robinson Year 2 Classroom Teacher St. Benedict's Primary School Directorate website at : education/starting school/financial assistance for families LIBRARY BOOKS All library books must be returned to school by next Wednesday, 2 December. So the annual stocktake can take place. FRIDAY, 27 NOVEMBER CANTEEN NEWS MONDAY, 30 NOVEMBER SPECIAL CHRISTMAS TUCKDAY A Sally Cotsell, Maryanne Fletcher Sally Cotsell special Christmas Tuckday will be held on Friday, 11 December. The Tuckday order needs to be returned to school by Monday, 7 December attached to a paper bag, with money enclosed ACT SECONDARY BURSARY SCHEME The ACT Government s Secondary Bursary Scheme provides financial assistance to lowincome families with students in Years 7 to 10 attending an ACT public, Independent or Catholic systemic school or are home schooled. To be eligible, applicants must have a current Centrelink card or Healthcare card with means tested payment codes. The ACT Secondary Bursary Scheme is an annual payment of $750 per applicant. To ensure eligible applicants receive payment for the start of the 2016 school year applications must be lodged with the ACT Education & Training Directorate by 30 NOVEMBER, Application forms can be obtained from the Front Office or online on the

6 Dear Friends, As you know, the Catholic Education Commission (CEC) of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn takes direction from Archbishop Christopher in setting policy for the operation of Catholic schools of the Archdiocese. This work is undertaken in partnership with the Archbishop s Office for Evangelisation, Congregational schools, the Australian Catholic University and in response to the legislative responsibilities of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments. Acknowledging the many gifted individuals across our Archdiocese, I am writing to invite membership of the CEC, commencing in The Catholic Education website has an information section on the CEC at: I would ask that you include the following notice in your parish bulletins THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION COMMISSION To assist Archbishop Christopher in furthering the mission and ministry of Catholic schools of the Archdiocese, you are invited to forward an expression of interest in one of the following CEC positions for 2016, noting that the Commission meets of an eight times per year (this may change): Chair, Catholic Education Commission. Experience and expertise in the chairing of meetings and an understanding of the Mission of Catholic Education are essential. Member, with experience and expertise in the financial area Member, with experience and expertise in the legal area. A one page CV including a reference from your Parish Priest is to be sent to: Archbishop Christopher Prowse Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn archbishop@cg.org.au Closing Date: 4 December 2015 For further enquiries please contact Cathy Moffitt on

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