Newsletter Number 38

30th November 2017

Shepherd us, O God, as we go forth today,

walk this journey with us,

shield us from all harm

and keep us close to you.

ABC Music Concert

It was wonderful to have our talented musicians from Year Three to Year Six perform at our Music Concert on Wednesday morning. The children performed pieces of music that they have been learning during their weekly music sessions. As a school, we are lucky to have a company such as ABC Music who are able to teach our children violin, flute, recorder, drums, guitar, percussion and vocals. It was wonderful to hear our children perform known pieces of music and to also hear their own compositions. Thank you to Catherine, Corey, James and Clare for their teaching and guidance of our children throughout the year. Our instrumental lessons will conclude next week and then recommence in 2018.

St Vincent de Paul Social Justice

Today, each family will receive a small card from our local St Vincent de Paul Conference asking for a small donation to Christmas hampers that will be delivered to families who require additional care in our local area. Specific donations have been asked for to ensure that each of the hampers are the same and contain food that will allow these families to enjoy Christmas together. Please send your donations to school with your child or children so they can be placed into large boxes ready for collection.

This year, in the school office, we will also have a “Giving Tree” covered in stars. Each of these stars will have the sex and age of a person to buy a gift written on it. We ask that you buy an appropriate gift, place the star on it and then place it under the tree. Wrapping paper is also one of the donations, as all gifts need to be unwrapped to ensure they are delivered to the appropriate person. We will be collecting goods for these hampers and gifts until the 18th of December. After this, all donations will be taken to the Gathering Space in the Church where they will be sorted and then delivered to families.

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St Benedict’s

Catholic

Primary School

Burwood

Catholic Education Week Art Show

Each year, Catholic Education Melbourne celebrates all of the wonderful things that occur in our school, which culminates with a St Patrick’s Mass on St Patrick’s Day at the Cathedral. Schools are also asked to nominate pieces of artwork to be showcased in an Art Exhibition during this week. Next year, we are proud to say that three of our children’s artwork will be part of this exhibition. Congratulations to Leo M (Year Two), Kate P (Year Two) and Mali T (Year One) whose art works have been chosen. Each of these pieces will be framed and on display throughout Catholic Education Week.

Closure Day for 2018

Last Friday, as a staff, our closure day focussed on identifying the strengths of our wonderful school and how we can further develop it in 2018. As a staff, we planned our large inquiry concepts that will direct our learning and teaching in 2018. Our concepts for 2018 are Harmony, Justice, Creativity and Perspectives. Each term, one of these concepts will be explored with the children in different ways depending on their age and interests, and will result in our children taking action to make a difference in our society. Whilst a number of skills that we teach link in under these concepts, other skills will also be taught explicitly throughout the year.

Emergency Evacuation

This year we have engaged Dynamiq, an Emergency Management Company, to oversee our emergency evacuations, lockdowns and emergency responses. Last Wednesday, all staff were trained how to respond to a variety of emergency situations and today we ran our first emergency drill for the year. The drill ran smoothly and staff from Dynamiq were on hand to give us feedback on how we could further improve our systems. New evacuation plans and summary charts are now on display around the school to ensure all members of our community are safe and that we comply with our registration requirements.

School Education Board

Our School Education Board is made up of representatives from our school community and provides advice to myself as principal and Father Dave as Parish Priest, to ensure that St Benedict’s is the best school that it can be. In accordance with our Charter, we have three representative positions open for nomination this year. The term for each of these positions is two years. If you are interested in nominating for the board, please email me with a brief outline of your nomination by Monday 11th December. Our Charter outlines the purpose of our Board as:

The St Benedict’s Parish Education Board (the PEB) advises and supports the Parish Priest and Principal in fulfilling their responsibility and exercising their authority on matters pertaining to the management and future direction of St Benedict’s School. The PEB does not constitute a board of directors. Therefore, members of the PEB are not required to fulfil the legal duties normally associated with the role of directors.

If you have any questions in relation to the nomination process, please feel free to contact me.

Working Bee

Our last Working Bee focussed on the interior of our school and has made it look amazing. Our next Working Bee will be held this Saturday, 2nd December, from 9am to 1pm and will focus on our grounds and gardens. If you are able to attend this session for some of the time, please email me so we can ensure that we have enough sausages on the BBQ for all of our workers.

Meredith Bennett Principal

***HOLIDAY VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED! ***We urgently require helpers that are free to assist with the care of our chickens over the summer holiday break.

Please contact school if you would like to be a volunteer.

Diary Dates TERM FOUR

December 1st SWPBS casual day Whole school

December 4th Follow the Star One/Two B, One/Two O, Prep/1F (9:05 -10:05am)

December 4th Follow the Star Three/Four G, Three/Four C (10:05 – 11:00 am)

December 5th Follow the Star Five/Six T & Five/Six SP (9:05 – 10:05)

December 7th & 8th Swimming program commences Prep to Year Six, 12:30 to 2:30pm

December 11 &12 Swimming program Prep to Year Six, 12:30 to 2:30pm

December 13th Swimming Carnival Year Three to Six only, 1:00 to 2:45pm

December 13th Burwood Aged Care Visit Year Three/Four C

December 14 & 15 Swimming program Prep to Year Six, 12:30 to 2:30pm

December 14th End of Year Mass 9:00am (whole school)

December 14th School Disco 6:30pm

December 18th Year Six Graduation 6:00pm Mass followed by Dinner

December 19th Last day of school 3:15pm finish

December 20th Staff finish

2018 DATES

January 29th Staff return

January 30th Students return Prep to Year Six Preps do not attend school on Wednesdays for the month of February. First full week of school commences Monday, 5th March

March 29th Term 1 finishes 3:15pm

March 30th – April 2nd

Easter

FRIDAY ASSEMBLY – held at 2.45pm alternate Fridays Week 8 1st December

Week 9 8th December Assembly Prep & Year six

Week 10 15th December

TUCKSHOP OPEN TOMORROW LAST TUCKSHOP FOR 2017!

Shift One

Kaz Palma, Sarah Wearne, Carolyn Peters

Shift Two

Kaz Palma, Mary Louis, Giannina Borgese, Kathryn Woolridge

Tuckshop bags will now be provided with lunch orders.

CHICKEN DUTY December 2nd & 3rd Zarro family December 9th & 10th Lyons family December 16th & 17th Thompson (V) family

Education in Faith First Sunday of Advent - Year B Gospel: Matthew 13:33-37

Gospel Reflection

Stay awake! With these words, Jesus cautions his disciples to be constantly vigilant and to be alert to the return of the Lord. It is a very fitting way to begin the season of Advent. Advent has traditionally been observed as a time of preparation and waiting. It culminates in the Christmas season and so the waiting and preparation is related to the celebration of the coming of Christ into the world. Perhaps the time of preparation this Advent is also a call to stay awake and stay alert in faith. One of the great challenges to faith today is the complacency that has taken hold of many in our society. When life is comfortable, the perceived need for faith appears to diminish. Many young people in our society cannot see the value of religious belief or religious practice. In a world of instant communication and instant ‘satisfaction’, the reflective and slow work of faith can seem too much effort for some people. The gospel call to stay awake in preparation for the coming of the Lord is a call to continue the work of bringing about the Kingdom of God. Over the last three weeks, the gospel passages from Matthew 25 were reminders about continuing to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom. This week, with the beginning of Advent, it is the gospel of Mark that also reminds us that we cannot take the Kingdom for granted and must remain vigilant in working to realise the Kingdom. This vigilance needs to be applied to nurturing our own faith life as well as making a difference in the lives of those around us and the needy in society. Rather than ‘Stay awake!’ maybe some of us need to be told, ‘Wake up!’ It is never too late to pay closer attention to faith and perhaps this Advent is an ideal time to do that. Have You Thought? - Beginning Advent The season of Advent begins this week and continues through the four Sundays of Advent and ends at Christmas Eve. The first week of Advent focuses on the return of the Lord and the following weeks focus more specifically on the anticipation of the birth of Jesus. Rather than simply commemorating an historical event, Advent is a time of preparing our hearts to ‘receive’ Jesus into the world each year. Advent is traditionally marked by the colour of violet – the same colour as used in Lent. In recent years, some parishes have moved to a more blue/mauve colour for Advent to try to distinguish it from the season of Lent. Living the Gospel – Stay Awake! By the time the Church begins to celebrate Advent as a period of preparation towards Christmas, the stores have been filling with Christmas paraphernalia for weeks. It starts out small with a few decorations and wrapping paper and eventually takes over every retail outlet. In the midst of this excess of Christmas consumerism, it is often difficult to draw attention to the season of Advent and the need to prepare spiritually for the celebration of Christmas. It is important to stay awake, as we are cautioned in this week’s gospel. Awake to what is happening around us in the world and awake to what is happening within us. Gospel Focus – The Doorkeeper The image of the doorkeeper from this week’s gospel is an interesting one. It is not unusual to hear references to people being ‘gatekeepers’ today in relation to projects or groups working together. The role of the gatekeeper, or the doorkeeper, is to maintain a watching brief – to be alert to dangers or distractions and to ensure that everyone who is important to the process is invited to participate. Today’s gospel reminds us that as believers we are to be the doorkeepers, or gatekeepers, of the Kingdom, watching for dangers and welcoming in all those who wish to enter. © Greg Sunter

Weekday Mass and Adoration

Week Day & Date Mass Adoration School Events

8 29/11/17 3/4 Adoration ABC Music Concert

9 6/12/17 P/1F

10 14/12/17 End of Year Mass Thursday December 14th, 9am (time TBC)

11 18/12/17 Graduation Mass Monday December 18th , 6pm followed by Graduation Dinner

Ms Mary Brooks Religious Education Leader

Learning and Teaching

Junior News What a busy few weeks it has been as we begin to bring our year to a close with Advent and Christmas! Congratulations to all students for their wonderful performance of Aladdin last week under the fantastic direction of Cathy Ellis. The children did a great job with their singing, dancing and acting as their characters and looked magnificent in their costumes - even with the heat! We also took the children to Burwood Aged Care on Tuesday to show our community some of the wonderful things that the children at St Ben’s have learnt in Performing Arts this year. We begin swimming next Thursday and from this time and with the interruptions that swimming brings to our regular program, we will be finishing regular parent helpers next Wednesday. Thank you to all our wonderful parent helpers from throughout the year, whether you attended as a ‘one off’ or on a weekly basis, your assistance in the classroom has been greatly appreciated. These partnerships allow the children to participate in tasks that may not always be possible without extra hands in the room! Having said that; during our swimming program, we will be running some ‘Junior School Rotations’ where all children will be working together to complete some Christmas themed activities each morning. We would love one or two helpers each morning during the week. If you are available through this time, please put your name on the list outside the library. At the moment, we are busily learning about Advent in Religion and exploring what Advent means to us. This began with Adoration sessions lead by Sister Majella where each class discussed ‘waiting’ and explored how we feel when we are waiting for something special. Next Monday, the Junior School will be going to ‘Follow the Star’ at Burwood Uniting Church from approximately 9:00 - 10:00am. Any parents with Working With Children Cards are more than welcome to come with us. If you would like to attend, please let your child’s teacher know by Friday. In Maths we are exploring place value, addition and subtraction. We are learning some new strategies as well as revisiting things we did earlier in the year. In Reading and Writing, all classes are completing a research task based on their learning about Australia. We enjoyed hearing about different states in the children’s News presentations in Week Six and we are now exploring each state and territory in Australia and finding key attractions in each capital city. Please remember that Library Borrowing is coming to a close, with children completing their final borrowing session for the year this week. There are some abandoned brain food containers in some classrooms. Could you please check to see if you are missing any! Thank you again for your ongoing support throughout the year. Ro, Mary and Jess

Learning and Teaching…cont’d

Problem Solving in Mathematics

There are three parts to learning Mathematics: skills, concepts, and problem solving.

It is fairly easy to understand why we teach the first two.

Skills are essentially the tools of Mathematics, such as learning how to add two numbers together to get a correct

answer.

Concepts are the ideas in Mathematics (such as the concept of a triangle) which we need to understand before we

can do Mathematics.

But Problem Solving is harder to explain. If you think of skills and concepts as what we need to know in

Mathematics, then problem-solving is the ability to apply Mathematics we know in different situations.

Problem solving is important because it requires us to combine skills and concepts in order to deal with specific

Mathematical situations—we call these problems.

Problems allow children to investigate concepts in new and varied situations.

Any problem worth solving takes time and effort – that’s why they’re called problems!

Problems are designed to develop and use higher order thinking.

Children can work to solve numerous differentiated problems to explore the same topic.

For example:

All about One Million! REFLECTION: What do you know about one million?

These people are having their heads

shaved for charity. Brown-haired people have about 100

000 hairs on their heads. About how many people do you think

would have to be shaved to collect 1

million hairs?

Here are some

benchmarks to help you

think about the number 1

million. 1 000 000 _ 1000

thousands $1 000 000 _ ten

thousand $100 bills 1 000 000 min is about 2

years. 1 000 000¢ _ $10 000

Can you think of any other

benchmarks you could

make up?

Use a calculator when it

helps. Have you lived one million

hours? If your answer is no, have

you lived one million

minutes? Explain your thinking.

Suppose you use a

calculator to count to

1 000 000. How many times will

you press the “equals”

key if you: a) Count by 1000s? b) Count by 10 000s? c) Count by 100 000s? Use a calculator to

check

How many $10 bills would it take to

make $1 million?

How many days would it

take you to spend $1 000

000, if each day you

spend: a) $100 000? b) $50

000? c) $10 000? d) $1000? e) $500? f)

$100?

Suppose you save $100 a

month. How many months would it

take until you could you save

One million Dollars?

Measure a straw to

the nearest

centimetre. Suppose 1 million

straws were laid end-

to-end. How far would they

stretch? How many

different

ways can

you find

out?

Learning and Teaching…cont’d

You are invited to our Digital Technology Mini Expo, showcasing some of this term’s

creations from the students in Years Three to Six. Monday December 4th

2:30 - 3:00pm

Maths/Drama room

Maryann Hamilton

SCHOOL WIDE POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT

Recently, all children have been working together to practise lining up in the mornings and throughout the day in the undercroft. As part of our School

Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS), the children have been earning points with the aim of reaching 100 points for a whole school reward. We are

excited to say that the children have reached their reward!

Congratulations to all children for trying so hard to be ready on time and listening to the speaker.

As our whole school reward, children are invited to wear casual clothes

tomorrow Friday, 1st December.

Congratulations again to all of our children for focusing so hard to achieve

this goal! Enjoy your casual clothes day.

Kind regards,

Jess Fielding, Grace Fuge, Tanya Petersen and Meredith Bennett (SWPBS Team)

School Community

2017 CHRISTMAS DISCO!

As another great school year comes to an end, it’s time to celebrate!

For those new to the school, the disco is a great family event enjoyed by all.

WHEN: Thursday 14th December, 6pm – 9pm in the School Hall

COST: $20 per family or $5 per person

Includes sausage sizzle for all, soft drinks & icy poles for the kids and a visit from Santa.

Please log onto CDF Pay to organise payment.

The sausage sizzle will start at 6pm. The disco will get going around 6.30pm.

Bring along a deck chair or picnic rug, BYO drinks/nibbles and make yourselves comfy in the school grounds.

As always, help will be required to cook the BBQ, supervise the children in the hall and clean up at the end of the

night. Any time you can offer to share the load makes it an enjoyable evening for all families.

Please note that this is a family function.

Children will need to be accompanied and supervised by their parents or guardians.

RSVPs are essential for catering purposes. Please RSVP via CDF and indicate number attending.

Please also return the below slip via bucket system indicating your preference for help with BBQ & Disco.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Christmas Disco Roster

Name:_____________________________________________

I can help with BBQ and serving at the following times (please circle)

5.30-6pm 6-6.30pm 6.30-7pm 7-7.30pm

I can supervise children in the hall

6.30-7pm 7-7.30pm 7.30-8pm 8-8.30pm 8.30-9pm

I can help with the clean up

9-9.30pm

***To assist with the clean up, please take your recyclables with you for disposal at home***

School Community…cont’d Extend Before and After School Care ANNOUNCEMENT We are delighted to announce the launch of a brand new and exciting platform for families. The Parent Portal will cease to operate at the conclusion of Term 4 Before and After School Care and will be replaced with a reliable, flexible, and user-friendly platform named LookedAfter. All families requiring bookings for the Summer Holiday Program and/or 2018 Before School Care and After School Care (existing and new families) must create a new account with LookedAfter. https://www.lookedafter.com/

PARENT PORTAL: extend.com.au

School Community…cont’d

Found – Denim vest. If anyone has lost a girl’s denim vest, please contact the office.