Everybody loves Ms. Bugay's Music Class! Here's the Kindergarten Class learning about tempo and volume while getting the wiggles out! See our Instagram post for the video :)

*Parent Reminder - Report Cards posted in ParentsWeb on Friday. Please login to review and print. Anyway questions? Please reach out to your child's teacher.

• Friday, January 27:
• Re-enrollment Contracts go home. Due back Feb. 10th.
• School Mass at 8:30am, followed by Honor Roll Assembly

Planning Ahead...

• Sunday, January 29 - Catholic Schools Week kicks off! (See Principal's Corner below to plan for a great and FUN week!)
• Friday, February 3 - PTO Cookie Day!
• Tuesday, February 7 - Parents in Prayer (8:15am - St. Anselm)
• Friday, February 10 - Re-enrollment Contracts Due.
• Friday, February 17 - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS; Parent-Teacher Conferences (details coming soon!); 3rd Quarter Interims
• Monday, February 20 - President's Day Holiday - NO SCHOOL
• Wednesday, February 22 - ASH WEDNESDAY - Lent Begins; Day of Fasting & Abstinence; School Mass 8:30am
• Thursday, February 23 - PTO Special Feature Presentation on Protecting Our Children on the Internet AND Gala Meeting. 6pm - St. Anselm
• March 1: Financial Aid - 1st Round Deadline. See info below.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK IS COMING UP!

We are very excited to be celebrating Catholic Schools Week in just a short time, January 30-February 4. It is a week filled with special activities and opportunities to celebrate everyone who contributes so much to our school community and how grateful we are for our wonderful Catholic School community here at St. Benedict. The students and faculty love this week, and we wanted to give everyone ample time to plan for the fun dress up days and other activities we have in store. I'd especially like to invite everyone to the 11:00am Mass at St. Benedict Church next Sunday, January 29. This is a wonderful way to thank our parish for their support. Students who attend the Mass in uniform will earn points for their House.



• PLEASE NOTE: Students must either be dressed in normal uniform OR dressed in the spirit of the theme of the day. These are not 'free tag days' and students treating them as such will not be allowed to participate in the theme days. Thanks for your help on this, parents!
• Monday 1/30 - Decades Day (dress from a decade before 2000)
• Tuesday 1/31 - Dress Like a Teacher (and teachers dress like a student)
• Wednesday 2/1- Career Day (dress like what you want to be when you grow up)
• Thursday 2/2 - Spirit Day (wear blue and gold)
• Friday 2/3 - Dress Uniform (wear your school uniform for Mass)

Families - please remember that we all SHARE a responsibility for contributing to the life of our children's school. All families are asked to contribute 25 volunteer hours throughout the course of the year and there are many, varied ways to do so. Click below to do your part in helping out this Spring with volunteer needs, and remember, if you didn't help at FallFest, you are expected to help out with our upcoming Gala. This is a very important fundraiser for our school and many hands are needed in a variety of ways to make light work.

Thank you for contributing to our Comet Community!

The Spring season is just around the corner, and St. Benedict's hopes to field several teams this year.

Co-ed Flag Football. 1st & 2nd grade and 3rd & 4th grade teams. No experience required. Brief practices before Saturday games or as scheduled by coaches. First games Saturday, March 11th. A minimum of 2 coaches and 8 players per team. Each team capped at 12 students. $50 fee.

Co-ed Running Club. Grades 1-4. No experience needed. Sunshine, fresh air, and exercise at SBCS once or twice a week. Meetings begin when Spring arrives. A minimum of 3 volunteers and a maximum of 25 students. $25 fee.

Co-ed Track. Grades 5-8. No experience required. One or two practices during the week and two or three meets over the course of the season. First meet TBD. A minimum of 2 coaches and 8 students. $25 fee.

Boys Volleyball. Grades 5-8. No experience required. Players will have a 30-minute training session with a trainer and then play the best of 3 sets. First games Saturday, March 11th. A minimum of 1 coach and 8 students. Team capped at 10 students. $50 fee.

Girls Soccer. Grades 5-8. No experience required. Games to be played Wednesdays and Thursdays at St. Edward-Epiphany beginning in mid-March. Brief practices before games or as scheduled by coaches. A minimum of 2 coaches and 15 students. $50 fee.

If your child is interested in one or more of our offerings, please register HERE. Spots offered on a first-come, first-served basis. As a courtesy to the league organizers, registration will close at 3:00pm Friday, January 27th and no late registrations will be accepted.

Finally, please remember that all our teams rely on volunteer coaches. If you are VIRTUS-trained and interested in helping our kids, please sign up when you register your child.

Calling all 5th - 8th grade students for Drama Club in spring semester!

Comets Drama Company will be reconvening for the spring semester, starting on Monday, January 30th. And practicing for the performance of 

Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors

to be held in May 2023 (date TBA).

We will rehearse in the library on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:00 - 4:30pm starting Monday, January 30th. In order to give focused instruction to actors, there will be rehearsals just for specific actor groups. A schedule for these focused rehearsals will be handed out the first week of drama meetings and reminders will be sent each week. (Due to casting needs participation will be limited to 5th - 8th graders.)

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

Register HERE.

Looking forward to meeting all budding actors!

Tuition Assistance - All returning families, seeking to apply for financial aid for the 23-24 school year, without significant business/self-employment income must apply for tuition assistance no later than March 1st. Those with significant business/self-employment income have until June 1st. That being said, the sooner you complete your application, the sooner you will hear from us. You will have two weeks after receiving the tuition assistance decision to cancel your contract and receive your deposit back. Please know that because the tuition assistance model assumes that the only change on your tax return is your W2 income, in years with a lot of changes in your life the model struggles to be accurate; therefore, we may reach out to you and discuss waiting for your 2022 return to be complete before making a final decision. That being said this does not change the deadlines for applying.

• March 1st Deadline:
• Returning Families with W-2 income and without significant business self/employment income (2021/2022 Return and 2022 W2s)
• Returning Families who do not file taxes - March 1 - other documentation of income
• June 1st Deadline:
• Returning Families without W-2 income who file a tax return (2022 Tax Return)
• Returning Families with W-2 income and significant business/self employment income (2022 Tax Return)
• 
  

Contact Brian Wingfield, Director of Finance if you have a unique situation, or questions

about the process (bwingfield@saintbenedictschool.org or 804-254-8810 x 110).

Thank you to everyone who continues to participate in our Middle School Youth Ministry! Our next Middle School Youth Ministry gathering will be on Wednesday, January 25 at 6:30pm in St. Anselm Hall. All those in grades 5-8 are welcome to join us at any time!

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 

FACTS

Past Issues of Newsletter

Uniform Guidelines

School Handbook

School Supplies List

Summer Reading & Assignments

Forms

Faculty & Staff Contacts

Online School Directory (log into ParentsWeb, select Directory)

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

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