Thank you to the 130+ parents who joined us for last week's Back to School Night! It's always such fun to socialize with our Comet community and visit with our teachers! We also kicked off our $300K raise for our new playground (details coming home in backpacks this week)! Special thanks to our awesome PTO parent volunteer team for organizing a great event and serving delicious food (shout out to Polpetti!) & drink! We are so blessed as a school community!

• IT'S OKTOBERFEST WEEK! Volunteers are still needed and you can knock out almost half of your PTO hours in 1 weekend!! CLICK HERE!

• Friday, September 16: NO SCHOOL!

• Friday, September 16-18: 17TH ANNUAL ST. BENEDICT

• Saturday, September 17: Comet Sports! Check the schedule here for your team.

• Club Activities this Week! - Click here!

PLANNING AHEAD...

• September 20: PICTURE DAY! Details in next week's newsletter!
• September 30: Feast of St. Jerome! Jerome House (orange) wears house shirt.
• October 1: Admissions Application for the 23-24 school year goes live. Parents - if you have a prospective JK or K student for next year, this is the time to apply!

This year, all of the schools in the diocese have switched from using the Scantron Performance Series to the NWEA MAP Growth test. From the perspective of students and parents, very little will change. We will still test students in grades 2-8 three times a year in reading and math. By testing three times per year, we are better able to observe growth and development over time. Similar to Performance Series, MAP Growth is also an adaptive test that will adjust the questions to the student's level and performance. The tests are given on the school's Chromebooks. Each testing session takes about an hour, and they are done within the regular classroom setting. We do not expect students to prepare for these tests, and we do not want them to be stressful. We just ask students to do their best. The Fall testing is currently taking place and will be completed by September 15. Please keep in mind that standardized testing is one of a variety of ways in which we gauge student growth and progress. We also utilize formal and informal in-class assessments, assignments, and oral question and answer to give us a comprehensive picture of how a student is performing and progressing. 

THANK YOU!!! to everyone for doing such an amazing job signing up to make our PTO events and activities around school a success! Volunteer opportunities for the first half of the year are filling up!

Fall Fest is Saturday, OCT. 15TH!!

Take a turn and help out, before - during - or after the event, to help us make it a great night for our kiddos! Volunteers are still needed!

How to report your PTO Volunteer Hours:

• Click here to go to Parentsweb on our website.
• On the left-hand sidebar, click on FAMILY.
• In the center of the page, click ADD+ in the SERVICE HOURS section to enter your PTO Hours.
• Please be sure to do this right after you volunteer for an event so you don't lose track of your PTO hours.

Calling all 5th - 8th grade students who want to participate in Drama Club!

Come practice your acting skills and prepare to put on a Christmas performance 

to be held in December (date TBA).

We will rehearse in the library on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:00 - 4:30pm starting Monday, September 26th.

We are asking for a $25 fee per participant to be paid through FACTS and will cover various program needs each semester.  

Looking forward to meeting all budding actors!

Families - whenever you are in need of basic school information, please check our website! We try to keep everything you need to know easily accessible there. Most information is located under our SCHOOL LIFE tab, but here are some ready links:

Calendar

PARENTS WEB 

(NEW parents - be sure to set up your account ASAP)

FACTS

(NEW parents - be sure to set up your account ASAP)

Past Issues of Newsletter

Uniform Guidelines

School Handbook

School Supplies List

Summer Reading & Assignments

Forms

Faculty & Staff Contacts

And some other helpful info (non-website)...

Need to book Afterschool or Morning Care?

Need to pick up your child early from school?

Is grandma or someone else picking up your child?

Email Mrs. Autry: pautry@saintbenedictschool.org or call 804-254-8850

Tia Lukanova - School Counselor

And don't forget to follow us on Social Media!

Instagram

Facebook

We ask all families to work at least 2 shifts (8 hours) at the annual St. Benedict Oktoberfest, because it raises significant support for financial aid and operating support at our school. You can earn up to 12 hours towards your required PTO hours (nearly half!) in just one weekend. Many of us work even more because many hands are needed to pull off this amazing event for our parish and school communities. 

St. Benedict Oktoberfest Volunteer Needs

CLICK HERE!

We especially need help in the following areas and in the later (busier) shifts of the day. Thank you!!

Ticket Sales (must be 21)

Food Concessions

Grill Crew (must be 21)

Id Checkers (must be 21)

Kitchen (must be 21)

Pack Up Crew

Beer Pouring (must be 21)

Thank you to everyone for doing a GREAT JOB following our carline procedures.

KEY REMINDERS:

• Morning Carline drop off begins NOW at 7:50am and ends at 8:10am. 
• Afternoon Carline begins at 3:00pm and ends at 3:20pm.

Carline Courtesy: 

• VERY IMPORTANT! ENTER THE CARLINE ON HANOVER FROM NANSEMOND Street. DO NOT CUT INTO THE CARLINE FROM TILDEN or any other side street. Our neighbors have called to inform us that this is happening, we are clogging the side streets and it is not allowed. Please help us to be good neighbors.
• Do not block the road. Pull over as far as you can to the right. Leave some space between you and the car infront of you in case you need to let a neighbor out.
• Keep your blinkers ON in carline so people see the line and can move around us. 
• Be courteous to our neighbors in carline. If you see someone trying to get in/out of their parking space or garage, kindly acknowledge them and move out of their way as soon as possible. PLEASE do not block the garages on Cleveland St.
• If someone else is picking up your child, please make sure you have informed the office and have instructed them on our carline procedures.
• If you aren't in carline, do not use Cleveland or Hanover. Please help us by using Grove.
• THANK YOU FOR KEEPING OUR CARLINE MOVING EFFICIENTLY AND FRIENDLY :)

CARLINE MAP... Please enter the carline on Hanover Ave. from Nansemond St. Please do not use other side streets as it causes extra neighborhood congestion. If you are not in carline, PLEASE avoid Cleveland and Hanover Avenues during those times to help lighten the traffic load! Thank you!

Orders need to be placed by Sunday at noon.

Executive Order Two requires that as of January 24, 2022 parents make the decision about whether their students wear masks in school.

ONLY COME TO SCHOOL IF….

• Your temperature is under 100.4 degrees.
• You do NOT have other symptoms of COVID-19, without an alternative diagnosis. Other symptoms include chills, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
• Please notify the school about a positive COVID test or possible exposure by sending an email addressed to pautry@saintbenedictschool.org, mmeadows@saintbenedictschool.org and scruess@saintbenedictschool.org.

Helpful resources for our families:

School Covid Guidance as of April 2022

COVID-19 Testing Information

Free At-Home COVID Tests

Richmond/Henrico Testing

Chesterfield Testing

How to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine

Richmond Health Department