**Unfortunatley due to technical difficulties with Schoolzine in the last week of Term 4, we were unable to publish the following letter from P&F President Mr Tim Smith.

P&F President

Well, we have made it to the end of the year and what a year it was. It is often easy for us as a school community to lose sight of the fact that our children’s time in this school is so short and that the contributions we all make today will affect the children of tomorrow. It is time to reflect upon the year and thank those who contributed so much to the school community.

Firstly, all the teachers and staff did an amazing job in the face of some enormous challenges. Their efforts to support the kids with their home learning and managing the changing COVID situation were incredible, and, despite the difficulties, everyone still maintained a smile. A big thank you to Rachel Smith and Alana Quirk for being valuable members of the P&F. Their insights into the tremendous work that all the staff put in throughout the year.

All members of the P&F were actively involved, and all made valuable contributions though out the year and I thank you all. A special thank you needs to go to Sonia Domitrak who throughout this year, not to mention the many years before, has worked tirelessly to guide and manage the all-important fund-raising efforts. I’d also like to thank the other members of the P&F for their valuable contributions - Sally Veikkanen, Erosha Bakmiwewa, Hannah Norgrove, Olga Morabito, Dave Noble and Andrew Jones.

It was a challenging year for the P&F with school events and fund raising put on hold many times. Let’s hope next year we can regain some of those important school community events.

I would like to encourage all parents to be involved in the P&F next year and support the school community. We all know life is very busy and everyone is different, but without an active school community the people who miss out the most are our kids. So please, if you can spare some time, I encourage you all to get involved in the P&F and/or show your support by attending events and participating in fundraising activities. St Benedict’s is a tremendous school largely because of the supportive staff and parent body. I encourage and welcome you to join us.

I’d like to finish by wishing farewell to all the Year 6 kids and their parents - all the best for the future.

Merry Christmas, enjoy the holidays and thank you for your support.

Tim Smith

P&F President.