Principal's Notes
School Fees
During the school holidays the canteen and fascias around the school were painted. This painting included the painting of the brick wall in the canteen foyer, which has made a significant difference to the appearance of that area. The painting has been paid for by the Building Fund that families contribute to. The Building Fund is currently a voluntary contribution and tax deductible. This fund is managed directly by the CEO to be used to pay for the upkeep of our schools. Under the current arrangement, should St Benedict’s require a plumber to fix leaking toilets or an electrician to fix the heating or have a broken window fixed, we simply contact the CEO and they send the relevant tradesmen. The cost for this is paid by the CEO through the CCSBF money (i.e. the building fund). Some of the funds each year are also used to support schools in small projects that they cannot fully fund at school level. Should all our families elect not to pay this fund, then the CCSBF will no longer be viable and the CEO will no longer be able to provide these services. Should that occur, each school would have to introduce an additional levy to fund this specialised maintenance, and I fear this would be an expensive exercise for the school and the families and would not be tax deductible. I encourage our families to continue to support this initiative in order to maintain the condition of our school. Thank you for your efforts in this aspect of our partnership.
SZapp
Just a reminder that one of the many ways we communicate at St Benedict’s is through the Schoolzine SZapp messaging system. If you have not already downloaded this app it would be worth considering doing so.
Surveys
An annual satisfaction surveys of parents, students and staff is being conducted on behalf of all Catholic schools in the Diocese this term. The surveys are designed to gather feedback from parents, staff and students about their school and will be used to inform school improvement. Responses are confidential and individuals cannot be identified.
The surveys were launched via email last Friday 7th August and close on August 19th, 2020 using the email addresses supplied to the school. If you did not receive an email with a link to the survey on August 7th, you can access and complete the survey at the following link.
https://www.research.net/r/stbenedictsparent2020
10 minutes a day!
Did you know that adding 10 minutes a day to a child’s reading makes a big difference over the year! Just 10 minutes of reading each day increases exposure to so many more words and ideas (in fact as much as 600,000 more words in a year). Just think of the increase in general knowledge, vocabulary, fluency, spelling and ability to comprehend. Whether you spend 10 minutes reading to your child, reading with them, listening to them read or ensuring they read 10 minutes before bed, you are having an enormous impact on their growth and development.
Leaving St Benedict’s
If you anticipate that your child will leave St Benedict’s at the end of this year, could you please notify the Front Office where they a heading to. We need to begin planning for staffing and class configurations for 2021. Naturally Year 6 parents need not respond to this request.