The season of Advent provides many wonderful opportunities for families. The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus, which simply means "coming." There are many devotions and traditions associated with Advent that help us commemorate the coming of Jesus into the world. Many families have an Advent wreath and light candles for each Sunday in Advent. Advent calendars mark each day as we count down toward Christmas. A Christmas nativity scene may be set out, leaving the manger empty until Jesus is born on Christmas day. Another activity is having a manger that children can fill with straw as they make little sacrifices. Christmas caroling is a longstanding tradition throughout the world, although this year it may need to be done in our own homes. All of these little things remind us of what Christmas is really about and give us an anticipation for the coming of Jesus.

Due to COVID precautions, it may be a little more difficult to attend Christmas Mass this year. If you plan to attend Mass at St. Benedict Church, please register now on the parish website at www.saintbenedictparish.org. The deadline for registration is December 18, but earlier is better, since Masses will fill up.

The Virginia Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit Program provides funded financial aid to make a Saint Benedict education a manageable sacrifice for children whose families' annual income is less than 300% of the current poverty guidelines. At the same time, this helps to insure that our school has funds necessary to operate.  In return, individual or business donors then receive a 65% tax credit. The Catholic Diocese of Richmond’s McMahon Parater Scholarship Foundation is approved by the Virginia Department of Education to receive donations under this program. The Foundation then distributes scholarships to qualifying students at St. Benedict, as well as other Catholic schools in the Diocese.

For more detailed information visit the McMahon Parater Foundation website or contact Gretchen Ridgely, Director of Admissions & Development, at development@saintbenedictschool.org or 804-254-8850.

The St. Benedict Knights of Columbus are once again offering the limited edition SBCS Centennial Ornament! Get yours today by sending in this form along with a check for $25. The ornament will be sent home in your child's backpack. 50% of the proceeds support our school.

Parents! Please encourage your child to check our Lost and Found closet in the Cafeteria, especially if they have misplaced something at school. We will be cleaning out our Lost and Found closet over the Christmas break and donating any items to charity.  

Our Comet Community will once again be collecting gently used winter coats for friends in need through GOODWILL! Please send in your donations BY THIS WEDNESDAY Dec. 16th to your student's homeroom. Thank you!

Family Service Hours - Please remember to log your completed service hours in RenWeb - you can find instructions https://www.saintbenedictschool.org/school-life/parents.cfm. We greatly appreciate your volunteer hours and understand that in this unusual year that you may not have been able to complete 8 hours this Fall. We ask that you continue to take advantage of opportunities as they become available.

Please remember you can record the time you spend completing VIRTUS (initial training 3 hours or monthly bulletins (about 1 hour for the year) -- or more if you have gotten behind). We STRONGLY encourage every parent to complete VIRTUS training (https://www.virtusonline.org/virtus/reg_list.cfm?theme=0).

~Images are password protected, the login information is the same as the original information that was sent home. If you have misplaced yours or never received it, reach out to Andee, she can help you get that information.  andee@reallifeevents.net or through the web url contact info. She will need your student's information and please identify SBCS. 

SBCS is excited to announce the creation of the SBCS Rosary Society. The purpose of the society is threefold: to encourage devotion to Our Lady; to promote the sanctity of its members; and to pray for the intentions of the entire SBCS family. Membership is open to all students, staff, and families, and there are only two requirements: praying a daily Memorare and a weekly Rosary for the intentions submitted to the society. If you or members of your family would like to take part, please fill out the short form linked to HERE.

Click here: smile.amazon.com to connect your Amazon account to benefit our school! (We're listed as "Saint Benedict Elementary School"). Also, AmazonSmile customers can now support Saint Benedict Elementary School in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.

If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app, update your app. Click here for instructions.

In light of the Governor’s recent update to mask requirements, we would like to remind parents to please wear a face covering at drop off/pick up both in front of the school and in the alley when not in a vehicle. Thank you for doing your part to help.

The kids have generally been doing a great job with their masks. A few of them have struggled because of the fit of their mask, so they are constantly being reminded to cover their nose. Please check with your child on the fit of their mask. Here is a great video made by 14 year old about how to wear your mask and on making your mask fit better.  https://youtu.be/EC2OxVSX53M

Every Comet's favorite shopping day.... Santa Shop! The shoppers had lots of fun - almost as much fun as their personal elves did in helping them! It's a wonderful tradition at SBCS and we thank everyone who sent in little treasures to make this a great success!