IS THIS THURSDAY, SEPT. 29TH!!

• TUESDAY, September 27: TAG DAY - Wear your favorite sports team JERSEY! $2 (Parents: See Tag Day rules below!)

• THURSDAY, September 29: PICTURE DAY! (see below for details)

• FRIDAY, September 30: Feast of St. Jerome! Jerome House (only) wears (orange) house shirt with uniform.

• Comet Sports! Check the schedule here for your team.

• Club Activities this Week! - Click here!

PLANNING AHEAD...

• 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!
• October 5: 7th & 8th Grade Parents: Coffee with Mr. Cruess (all things graduation & high school planning!)
• October 15: FallFest at SBCS!

Goal of Education

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), because they love God. In this way, our education will form them to be good people, good citizens, and people of faith leading lives of holiness. This is what we strive to do each day at St. Benedict.

Tag Day Guidelines for Tuesday Sept. 29th

Our 1st Tag Day of the Year is this Tuesday, Sept. 29th and the theme is to wear your favorite SPORTS TEAM JERSEY. Here are the rules for Tag Day (from our Handbook)

Tag Days are designated days when students may come to school out of uniform, typically for a fee of $2. In whatever they wear, students must practice the virtues of modesty and prudence, and they must adhere to the letter and to the spirit of tag day themes. Shorts may be worn only when students are in summer uniform and are expected to resemble the style of the uniform shorts. No sweat pants, leggings, yoga pants, etc., are allowed. T-shirts with inappropriate messages (as determined by the Principal and the Dean of Students) may not be worn. Sandals, open toed shoes, heels, and PE uniforms are not acceptable tag day attire. Jeans must be pulled up and neat, without holes or tears. No chest, midriff, or shoulders may be showing. All skirts and dresses must reach the kneecap. The school uniform is not to be worn in a sloppy manner on tag day.

Early Dismissal Help

Parents, to help us make the end of the day run smoothly, we ask that you call OR email ahead if you need to pick your child up early. ALSO, please pick your child up by 2:30pm for early dismissal. After 2:30pm, we ask you to pleas follow normal end of day dismissal procedures and pick up your child in carline or as a walker. Thank you for your help!

Thank you for being so understanding regarding the need to reschedule Picture Day due to a family emergency with our friends at Real Life Studio. Picture day will now be THIS THURSDAY, SEPT. 29TH. Real Life Studio will be here to take individual and class pictures starting at 8am. All students should wear their DRESS uniforms. Look for ordering information to come home that day. Make up Picture Day will be Tuesday, Oct. 25th.

Grandparent's Day is Nov. 11th!

Please provide your grandparent's email addresses so we can send your child's grandparents (or grand-friend) an invitation to our Grandparents Day celebration at SBCS. (Even if they can't attend, we can invite them to send in mail for your child!) DEADLINE to provide emails is OCT. 5TH!! Don't Forget!

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!

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!

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.

LET'S BUILD A PLAYGROUND!

Two weeks ago your family received an envelope, which was sent home with your youngest student. The (white) envelope included a letter and brochure about an exciting new phase of our Centennial Campaign which is focused on raising $300,000 for a total renovation of our small playground, as well as new privacy fencing and new asphalt on the large blacktop. As you can imagine, all of our students are very excited at the prospect of the new play and learning space....but in order to make this dream a reality, we have to raise $300K by January 1, 2023 so that the work can be scheduled and completed next summer (2023). We can't build without the funds in place, and we can only do the work during the summer months.

We are asking every family to do what you can to support this effort

that will benefit ALL of our children. God has blessed us all in different ways, and we just ask you to prayerfully consider

your best gift to help us build our new playground! 

...And if you've already made your best gift/, THANK YOU for doing your part. If you haven't, please return your envelope and giving form as soon as you are able (or email Gretchen at centennial@saintbenedictschool.org for help/questions).

You can also make your gift or pledge online here!

TOGETHER, WE CAN!

Family Faith Formation at St. Benedict Church

Looking for ways to talk about your Catholic faith as a family? Family Faith Formation at St. Benedict Church is offered on the first Sunday of every month (unless otherwise noted). Sessions will take place at St. Benedict school and is open to everyone with children in Grades Pre-K through 4^th Grade (Pre-School must be 3.5 years old and potty trained). Our next gathering is Sunday, October 2^nd from 9:45am-10:45am. Contact Ben Fleser at bfleser@saintbenedictparish.org for more information.

Middle School Youth Group at St. Benedict Church

All those in 5^th grade through 8^th grade are invited to join our parish Middle School Youth Group. Middle School Youth Group will meet every other Wednesday from 6:30pm-8:15pm at St. Anselm Hall. Join in fellowship with other middle school youth from the St. Benedict Church and School that includes games, pizza, and growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our kick off is this Wednesday, September 28 from 6:30pm-8:15pm at St. Anselm Hall. Contact Ben Fleser at bfleser@saintbenedictparish.org for more information.

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

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