One important question to ask ourselves as parents is,
"What is the purpose of education?"
For many people it has simply become a career preparation program, but we want our education to be much more. Working in partnership with parents, we hope that our graduates will be able to think well, speak well, and write well. They should know how to tell right from wrong and practice acting in ways that are right (habits which we call virtues). In this way, our education will form them to be good people, good citizens, and people of faith leading lives of holiness.
|
|
We've finally been able to get the designs completed for the new House t-shirts, and we are ready to begin the ordering process. The order form is
HERE and the shirts are being sponsored by our PTO.
We need EVERY FAMILY to
complete
one order form per student and request one shirt per student
. The deadline to return order forms is THIS Wednesday, August 29. Please return the completed order form to your student's homeroom teacher.
The House roster is
HERE
so you can see which House you have been assigned to. We have checked in a number of times, but if you see any mistakes in the House roster, please contact us at 254-8850. We are very grateful to our PTO for their support!
|
|
|
Have You Joined the Comet Campaign?
|
The Comet Campaign at Saint Benedict Catholic School is an opportunity for all of our families to show our children that 100% of our parents, teachers and staff are behind them! Your tax-deductible donation ensures that our children have excellent teachers, a classroom to be proud of and the opportunity to learn and practice their faith. We are a community of the faithful and as we begin our Centennial celebration in 2019, we look to you to continue our commitment to all of our children.
Please make your gift to the Comet Campaign today...you can make an outright gift or you can pledge your gift and make payments monthly. Click
HERE
for a form, that can be filled out and sent to school with your child or you can make a donation via PayPal on our website
HERE
.
|
|
SEPTEMBER 11th
. Mark your calendar for the Back to School Night and our Parent- Teacher Social on Tuesday, September 11 from 6:30-9pm. After you visit with your child’s teacher, please join us in St. Anselm Hall for our social. This is a great time to reconnect with old teachers and friends and meet our new families. You’ll also be hearing from a few guest speakers about important information and events for the school year.
This is an adults only event, so plan now to leave the children at home.
Monthly PTO Meetings:
A big "Thank You" to all of the families who joined us for the PTO meeting this past Thursday. As PTO president, I greatly appreciate the effort made by those parents that came out on a work/school night and took an interest in what is happening at SBCS. Some came alone, some came with spouses, some came with kids, some were familiar and some were new to our school. The room was attentive and enthusiastic.
Please remember that attending our PTO meetings is a great way to stay connected with things happening in the school and it also counts as an hour towards your volunteer hours. If you missed our meeting please be sure to check your emails as the meeting notes will be sent via your PTO President. We'd love to see you at next month's meeting on Thursday, September 20. All are welcome to attend!
The PTO is still in search of room reps for JK, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades. If you are interested in being a representative for your child's class please click
HERE
to learn about the responsibilities and to sign up.
|
|
|
Mass of Atonement - Sept. 14th
|
Bishop Knestout is inviting the faithful to come and pray with him for all the victims of abuse at a Mass of Atonement at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart on Friday, Sept. 14 at 7pm. Please see the press release
here.
|
|
Order Sept/Oct Lunches by NOON FRIDAY 8/31
|
Ordering for Tuesday Chick-fil-A and Friday Belmont Pizza for SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER must be completed by THIS FRIDAY (8/31) AT NOON for your students! This is done on the
ParentsWeb system and it is automatically billed to you through FACTS in 2 installments. Directions on how to order your lunches for SEPT & OCT are provided
HERE.
Don't forget because the kids love these lunch days!
|
|
Reminder
: This year will involve a bit of a change with the PE schedule. Since Mr. Insley is also working as a firefighter, we have planned the schedule around his hours at the fire station. That means the PE schedule will alternate.
Here
is a copy of the PE/Art schedule through October 8. You may want to print a copy and keep it in a visible place.
|
|
We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Pamela James to the faculty of St. Benedict. Dr. James earned her Bachelor's from The Catholic University of America, a Master's in Music Education, and a Doctorate in Music Education from Shenandoah University. She has over fifteen years of teaching experience, including time at Christchurch School, Collegiate School, and Appomattox Regional Governor's School. She currently serves as Interim Director of Music at St. James the Less Episcopal Church in Ashland.
|
|
Gretchen Ridgely has rejoined our faculty as our new Director of Admissions and Communications. Gretchen previously served as our Director of Development before having to step away last year to take care of a family member. Gretchen and her husband, Chuck, have two students at the school - Vivian (7th) and Thomas (4th) and the family has been longtime parishioners at St. Benedict's. We are very pleased to have Gretchen back in this capacity, as we wish our good friend, Lisa Yost, all the best in her new endeavors. Lisa brought great energy and enthusiasm to our faculty and she will be missed. Gretchen will be responsible for all enrollment-related functions, as well as our internal communications (newsletter, facebook, etc.) and external marketing efforts. Gretchen can be reached at
gridgely@saintbenedictschool.org
.
|
|
A few families have expressed an interest in trying to set up carpools to and from school. If you are interested, please email Maria Jaramillo at
mjaramillo@saintbenedictschool.org. Maria will gather and share names & addresses of those interested. It will then be up to those participants to coordinate and organize a carpool.
|
|
We believe that music is a very important part of a well-rounded education. A number of diocesan schools have partnered with the Greater Richmond School of Music to provide students with opportunities for Band (for students in grades 4-8) and private music lessons that the schools cannot offer on their own. For more information about these wonderful opportunities, please visit:
https://grsm.net/grsm-st-benedict-catholic-school/
.
|
|
Facebook - Like Us, Recommend Us
|
We have posted 3 short videos from our first week of school along with many (and many more to come) photos of all of the smiling faces of our Comets!
Be sure to check it out and help promote our school to the broader community by liking us and recommending us to prospective families who view our site!
If you have any recommendations or suggestions on how we can improve our facebook presence, please email Gretchen Ridgely, Dir. of Admissions and Communications at gridgely@saintbenedictschool.org. Check us out on Facebook by clicking
here
!
|
|
Saint Benedict Oktoberfest
|
St. Benedict's Oktoberfest brings over 40,000 GUESTS to the Church's parking lot-turned-Festplatz, along with thousands of dollars to support
OUR SCHOOL
! The event is quickly approaching September 21-23! What we need now IS YOU....YES YOU....EVERY ONE OF YOU... to volunteer for AT LEAST 1 SHIFT at this year's Oktoberfest because many hands make light work and this is our school's most important fundraiser of the year, put on through the dedication of our parish. We need EVERYONE'S HELP to pull off one of RVA's favorite annual 'fests! There are many different sitting, standing, front-lines and behind-the-scenes jobs that need help. Click
HERE
or visit
www.stbenedictoktoberfest.com
to sign up TODAY - its fast and easy!
|
|
Please look over these opportunities to help our school out throughout the year. Information can be found at this
link. We encourage you to sign up for the volunteer opportunities through the sign up genius link listed below each activity prior to Book Day. A printed version of the sign up forms with the remaining slots will also be available at Back to School Night.
|
|
|
In order to volunteer with anything that involves contact with children you must be Virtus trained and have a background check. Pam Autry, in the front office, must process your background check and confirm your Virtus attendance before you volunteer with children. Your attendance counts to your volunteer hours. There are a number of different times and locations offered for training sessions. Register for a training session, by visiting
https://richmonddiocese.org/child_protection_virtus/.
|
|
The SBCS Online Spirit Wear Shop is Open!
|
Support the St Benedict Comets and show your school spirit! Click
here
or use the link below to order SBCS spirit wear in a variety of colors and styles, dri fit shirts and adult sizes, tote bags and all your P.E. uniform needs. Please note standard P.E. uniform rules still apply. Go Comets! All orders need to be placed by Sept 4, 2018.
https://www.bsnteamsports.com/v3/shop/team_shop/Benedict19#/
The Comet Shop is open every Friday, during all lunch periods. Stop in and say hi!
|
|
Boy Scouts at St. Benedict's
|
Scouting is an ideal way for boys of Saint Benedict to make friends in the parish and school. You can learn more about the fun that awaits you and your son in Scouting by attending the Parish and School Scouting Open House on Monday, September 17 in Saint Anselm Hall (multipurpose room) of Saint Benedict School.
·
Cub Scout Pack 498 — Boys in grades K-5
·
Boy Scout Troop 498 — Boys ages 11-18 or grades 6-12
The scouts and adult leaders of Cub Scout Pack 498 and Boy Scout Troop 498 look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to the adventure of Scouting! For more information, contact Scoutmaster Barry Hodge at
troop.498.bsa@gmail.com
or Cub Master Sean Priest at
SeanPriest@hometownrealtyservices.com
.
|
|
Aug 31 - School Mass (8:30am at Church)
Aug 31 - Lunch ordering closes at NOON for Sept/Oct (use ParentsWeb to order)
Sept 3 - No School (Labor Day)
Sept 4 - Comet Spirit Wear Shop ORDER DEADLINE
Sept 11 - Back to School Night (St. Anselm's Hall) - Volunteers Needed
Sept 14 - Early Dismissal (1:30pm)
Sept 20 - PTO Meeting 6pm Cafeteria
Sept 21 - Early Dismissal (**12:30pm**)
Sept 21 - 23 ST. BENEDICT OKTOBERFEST
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
