Week of November 15, 2020 |
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Monday, November 16th - #iGiveCatholic Advanced Giving Begins. See below for details!
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Wednesday, November 18th - Sign up deadline for the Virtual Cooking Night with Mise En Place! See below!
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Thursday, November 19th - Tag Day - Sports Theme! (Wear your favorite team shirt!) $2
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Friday, November 20th - Last day to bring in canned goods for Little Sisters.
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Saturday, November 21st - Comet PALZ Virtual Cooking Night with Chef Wansleben of Mise en Place
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November 24th - House Day (Wear Your House Shirt)
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November 25-27 - Thanksgiving Break
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Planning Ahead? Always check out our school calendar on the website HERE!
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Need a past newsletter? Check out our archives on the website HERE!
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Middle School - you are on the Week 1 Schedule this week (Days 1-5). Not sure? Check ParentsWeb on our website! (Once in ParentsWeb, go to Student - Schedules to see your child's class schedule.)
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COVID restrictions did not stop us from holding our virtual Grandparent's Day and welcoming almost 100 guests via Zoom! We had grandparents joining us from California, Montana, England, Slovenia, and Slovakia to name a few! This was the first time some of our grandparents were able to participate in our special day thanks to Zoom - which was an unexpected blessing during these unusual times! As we've done for a number of years, the theme of the event was patriotism and honoring our veterans. Grandparents were able to hear a few thoughts from Father John David, take a live virtual tour of the school (with only some minor technology glitches), and watch the amazing presentations prepared by our students and teachers. Links to the student videos are available in this newsletter for everyone to enjoy, along with our new Virtual Tour we shared with parents last week. We are so grateful for the positive impact our grandparents have on their grandchildren. Grandparents, you truly witness the Gospel message to all of us.
This Monday kicks off the annual #iGiveCatholic campaign that culminates on Giving Tuesday (December 1). Last year, our community hit it out of the park with 98% giving by our families and the highest total giving in the state of Virginia! This year, we have an amazing challenge. Thanks to a $100,000 matching grant from The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, your gift can be matched, dollar for dollar! Our goal is 100% participation and $100,000. All funds from #igivecatholic go to our Centennial Fund and will be used to pay for the new heating and air conditioning system installed in our school this past summer (just in time to provide us with better air circulation for reopening this fall). Every gift makes a difference for our students; no gift is too small or too large. Mrs. Ridgely has provided more information below about this really important 2-week event for our school that launches tomorrow.
Finally, a BIG thank you to everyone who shared information about veterans in our school community for our Wall of Heroes; pictures of our Wall of Heroes can be found in this newsletter. If you still have pictures to send in, please get them to us before Thanksgiving break and we'll be sure to keep adding to this tribute. Let's not forget to pray for our veterans and active duty members of our military.
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#iGiveCatholic Kicks Off Tomorrow - Let's Do This! |
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Last year (that's the picture on the right) we kicked off our $1M Centennial Fund in honor of our school's 100th Anniversary. We're working hard to raise $1M to be good stewards of wonderful little school - to pay for our brand new HVAC ($700K), take on a much-anticipated playground renovation ($200K), and maintain our well-used community spaces ($100K).
Our school stepped up to the #iGiveCatholic on #GivingTuesday Challenge last November, and we ranked #1 in Virginia amongst all of the Diocesan schools, parishes and ministries (and #45 in the nation)! What's more - 98% of our families did their part to help us get there - which is a truly AMAZING level of support for any school. That's speaks VOLUMES as to the incredible dedication of our wonderful school family.
What's more - it spoke volumes to The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation who has awarded our school a $100K Challenge Grant to help pay for our new HVAC. So now we have to raise $100K so that The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation will DOUBLE OUR DOLLARS! This is an amazing opportunity and blessing for our school!
Tomorrow kicks off the 2020 #iGiveCatholic on #Giving Tuesday Challenge. This year our goal is to raise $100K, so we can receive the matching grant from The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation. That's going to take EVERYONE once again, doing what they can to help us get there. So over the next 2 weeks we are asking all of our school families, grandparents, alumni, faculty and friends to support this effort!
Members of our school board, PTO, and Alumni community have stepped up as Class Champions for a little friendly competition to help us achieve our goal. Check out the link to your class champion below to make your gift anytime between now and Dec. 1st. Grandparents - your gifts count too towards our class competition, so please help your grandchild's class do their best! EVERY class that gets to 100% participation will get their own special TAG day (with a Theme of their own choosing) and the class that raises the most money will ALSO get a sweet treats party of their choosing as well! This is an exciting two weeks for our school which will culminate at midnight on #GivingTuesday- December 1st.
Let's do this, Comets!
Click on your Class Champion to give today!
Don't want to give online? That's fine! Just send in your donation with this form no later than December 1, 2020 in an envelope with your student or mail to us at St. Benedict Catholic School, 3100 Grove Ave., Richmond, VA 23221. In the memo line be sure to write "Centennial Fund" so we know what its for! It will still count towards our #iGiveCatholic challenge and your student's class competition.
Considering a larger gift? We are so grateful to everyone for sharing their generosity with this effort. If you are able to make a larger donation - or would consider making a multi-year gift, please use our donation form here. Donors making gifts of more than $2500 can be spread out over up to 5 years and will be recognized in a permanent Centennial Fund display in our school lobby. Using the form for this level of gift is recommended to avoid iGiveCatholic's online processing fees, while still counting towards our #iGiveCatholic challenge and your student's class competition.
Want to help us make a BIGGER impact? When you go to our SBCS #iGiveCatholic page, click on FUNDRAISE and tell why you love our school. You'll get your own #iGiveCatholic fundraising page that you can share on social media or over email with your family and friends. Check out my page here ! Want to know more? Email Gretchen at centennial@sainbenedictschool.org. And thanks so much for increasing our impact!!
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Grandparents Day 2020 - WOW - How wonderful! |
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We had so much fun welcoming our Grandparents and Grand Friends to our school via Zoom this past Friday from all over the globe! As promised, we are so happy to be able to provide the following videos that were shared on our call!
Enjoy!
God Bless America - performed by 7th Grader, Mariana Gonzalez, accompanied by our wonderful music teacher, Liz Williams
*Grandparents - we are also pleased to share with you our Virtual Tour video - which was not shared on our Zoom so that we would have time to take you live to the classrooms. We hope you enjoy seeing your grandkids here too!
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How Delicious and How Fun! |
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This is going to be SO FUN!!! Please join us on November 21 from 6pm-8:30pm for the first gathering of Comet PALZ (Comet Parents Actively Learning through Zoom)! We will be featuring a Virtual Cooking Class hosted by RVA's popular culinary school, Mise en Place!
Our virtual cooking class will feature a menu of various tapas to inspire your holiday cooking. Chef Christine Wansleben will walk us through cooking dishes like Shrimp Fritters, Mushroom Tostadas with Garlic Aioli and Chorizo stuffed Dates while we cook along together from our kitchens.
The cost per family to attend is $25.00 and proceeds will benefit the SBCS PTO. Instructions along with a shopping list will be sent out the week of the class to all registered participants.
Sign up BY THIS WEDNESDAY at the following link and let's get cooking, friends!
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Title III is a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). The purpose of Title III is to help ensure that English learners (ELs) attain English language proficiency and meet state academic standards. We ask all families to complete the following survey: https://forms.gle/y8vuhy3ktus3aDNs5
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We are having a canned food drive for Little Sisters of the Poor beginning Monday, November 9th and ending Friday, November 20th. All donations should be sent in to your child's homeroom teacher. The grade from the lower school with the highest percent contribution will be awarded a free Tag Day, as will the grade from the middle school with the highest percent contribution. Needed items include cranberry sauce, canned fruits, peas/corn, stuffing, potatoes and sweet potatoes (whole), pumpkin filling.
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Honoring Our Heroes This Veterans Day |
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Thank you to all of our families for sending in photos for our Wall of Heroes at SBCS! Sharing the courage and selflessness of our loved ones who served our country is a gift to future generations. What incredible service and sacrifice to our country! |
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Be sure to double-click on any of these images to enlarge them so you can find our more about our wonderful heroes! Still have pictures to send? Please get them to us before Thanksgiving Break and we'll add on! |
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Taking Care of our Comet Family |
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Please remember that we are one community that is supportive and respectful. As in any year, from time to time teachers and students may be out of school. Please respect privacy and don't jump to conclusions.Whenever a member of the school community has a confirmed case of COVID-19, we will work with the Diocese and the Health Department to make sure close contacts are notified so they may take appropriate action inline with CDC guidance.
Also, here's some other helpful information:
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As we approach Thanksgiving now might be a good time to review the CDC recommendations for Thanksgiving
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As we enter cold and flu season you may want to learn more about the differences between COIVD-19 and the Flu here.
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And remember!
ONLY COME TO SCHOOL IF….
- Your temperature is under 100.4 degrees.
- In the past two (2) weeks, you HAVE NOT presented symptoms of COVID-19, such as a fever, chills, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, with no alternative diagnosis.
- In the past two (2) weeks, you HAVE NOT been exposed - less than six (6) feet for greater than 15 minutes - to anyone who has tested positive for or exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 (with no alternative diagnosis), without wearing the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 3, 2020
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