Week of October 31, 2021 - Happy Halloween! |
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These cute faces were from Fall Fest, but send us pics of your trick-or-treaters on Halloween and we'll include in next week's newsletter! |
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For all in-person events, indoor masking is required regardless of vaccination status.
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Monday, Nov. 1st - School Mass. Feast of All Saints. Middle School Students wear dress uniform.
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Wednesday, Nov. 3rd - Cross Country MS Catholic School Championship - GO COMETS!
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Thursday, Nov. 4rd - TAG DAY ($2 to participate) - Theme: Favorite Football Team! Wear your favorite team's colors, logo or jersey!
PLANNING AHEAD...
- Tuesday, Nov. 9th - EISTC Tax Credit Program via Zoom at 6:30pm - details below.
- Friday, Nov. 12th - GRANDPARENTS DAY (Program at St. Benedict Church and will be livestreamed.) 12:30pm Dismissal (NO lunch, ASE is available) - See below for details.
- Monday, Nov. 15th - iGiveCatholic Advance Giving Begins for Giving Tuesday!!
- Tuesday, Nov. 23 - 2nd Quarter Interim Grades - see ParentsWeb!
- November 22-26 - THANKSGIVING BREAK!
- Tuesday, Nov 30th - GIVING TUESDAY is our DAY OF GIVING at SBCS!!!
Check out our school calendar on the website HERE!
Need a past newsletter? Check out our archives on the website HERE!
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Thank you parent volunteers!
It was wonderful to see so many families at Fallfest a week ago. We've also seen parents helping with class events and field trips (that are finally returning after a year without). The Catholic Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children. With that in mind, I want to thank all of the parents who have volunteered so far this year, and encourage all parents to involve yourselves in the life of our school community. We have a volunteer requirement not only because at a small school volunteer help is necessary, but also because we want parents connected and engaged in your child's school community. Our next PTO meeting is November 19, and I encourage everyone to participate in our Parent Teacher Organization. If you have not already completed the free Virtus training, please do; this is a diocesan requirement before you go on field trips, help with class parties or volunteer with children in any capacity. Virtus training sessions are offered around the diocese or virtually, and you can go to this website to view upcoming sessions. Thank you for your help and support!
Thanksgiving Break Extension from Diocese
If you didn't see the announcement on Thursday, please note for your calendars that the Thanksgiving Break has been extended this year. School will be closed November 22-26. Hopefully this will allow everyone some much-needed time with family and friends.
Last Chance to Order School Pictures Ends Tuesday, Nov. 2nd
Online ordering will close Tuesday night 11/2/2021 11:59pm. Please make sure you login and take a look if you have not already. All orders Print or Digital will be delivered to your student's teacher 2-3 weeks after 11/2. http://reallife.hhimagehost.com/sbcs
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Start An Advent Tradition - Order Your Kit Now |
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Advent Wreath Ordering Deadline is TOMORROW!
The PTO is bringing a new tradition to SBCS Families this year. For the first time, we are pleased to offer you the opportunity to purchase an Advent Wreath kit made of fresh greenery. The kits will be provided by Tommy's Garden, proudly owned by Comet Family Tommy and Pam Autry. Click HERE for the Google Sign up for details and to order yours BY NOVEMBER 1ST! UPDATE: With the extension of the Thanksgiving holiday, the kits will be now be distributed at school on Monday, Nov. 29 or you can pick yours up at Tommy's Garden in Carytown anytime from Nov. 23-27.
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Tax Credit Program is Nov. 9 on Zoom |
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EISTC Tax Credit Program is Nov. 9th @ 6:30pm on Zoom
Please join us for an important and informative presentation about how you can save tax dollars and support scholarships for St. Benedict. Enacted in 2012, the Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits program offers Virginia tax credits to individuals or businesses who make donations to approved scholarship foundations. The foundations then provide scholarships for students from lower-income families to attend private schools. Our Diocesan McMahon Parater Foundation (MMP) is one of those approved scholarship foundations, which means that families can make a donation to MMP and direct their support to benefit students who qualify at St. Benedict Catholic School. In return for their donation, donors receive 65% of their donation back in the form of state tax credits! In just the past year alone, St. Benedict donors have given over $100,000 through the EISTC program and that is a critical funded financial aid revenue stream for our school and our families. So please plan to join us for this information session and bring a couple of friends too. Saving tax dollars while supporting Catholic education is a total win-win, and we look forward to seeing you on the 9th on Zoom. Click HERE to register (and we'll send you the Zoom link)!
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Grandparents Day is Friday, Nov. 12th!
Invitations went out to grandparent emails (provided by parents) today, 10/31!
Here's the invitation you can pass on to your grandparents if you weren't able to get us your emails in time: https://conta.cc/3CwsZ5v
Grandparent's Day is always one of the special days we look forward to each year. We were hoping for a "normal" event this year, but with COVID still with us, we want to prioritize the safety of our community. With that in mind, we will have Mass and our annual Veteran's Day program in the church, and grandparents are invited to attend in person or view via Facebook live. We are so grateful to our grandparents as models of wisdom and virtue for their grandkids. Parents, we know you love to attend as well, so we ask you to please honor our special guests and allow all Grandparents seating first. Once our special guests are all seated in the Church you are welcome to fill in to any available space or stand along the sides of the Church or in the back. Thank you!!
Here's the schedule:
10:30am - Mass with Students
11:30am - Grandparent's Day Program & Veteran's Day Salute
12:30 Dismissal from school & ASE is available.
Grandparents can't attend? No worries - we will be emailing all Parents and Grandparents a link to our LIVEstream a couple of days before the event so you can watch everything online!
If you wish to have your students dismissed with you/their grandparents from the Church immediately following the program, parents must send in a note to their homeroom teacher. Their teacher will release them to you only if they have received a note from the child's parents. Students not with dismissal notes will return to school with their teacher and will be picked up in carline at usual. Please remember that Nov. 12th is a 12:30 dismissal and ASE is available.
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PLEASE REMIND GRANDPARENTS TO SEND A SPECIAL MESSAGE
TO THEIR GRANDKIDS!
We invite all of our Grandparents to send in a letter or email for each of your grandkids to open at school on Grandparents Day. The students love receiving this mail! Here's how to help us make this a speedy & special delivery for your grandkids:
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USE EMAIL (recommended): Write an individual email to each of your grandkids and email it to grandparentsday@saintbenedictschool.org. Be sure to include your grandchild's name in the SUBJECT line so we can get it to them. Please be sure to email it to us by November 10th so we have time to print and distribute to all of our students.
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To mail a letter, please have your letter (no packages, please) postmarked no later than Nov. 5th - though this is no guarantee of on-time delivery. (Our USPS delivery has not been as reliable these days as we'd like, which is why we recommend email.) Mail it to: St. Benedict Catholic School, 3100 Grove Ave., Richmond, VA 23221 and include "ATTN: (Your Grandchild's Name) for Grandparents Day" at the bottom of the envelope.
Questions?
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Junior Kindergarten vs. Kindergarten Start at SBCS?? Consider this...
Parents, with the increase in admissions at SBCS, I wanted to share some important information for you to consider in your decision making process for the timing of younger siblings entering St. Benedict.
For Junior Kindergarten, we have a maximum of 20 spots to fill each year. A student must be age 4 by September 30 to qualify for our JK program and the student must assess as ready for our JK program at our January assessments.
For Kindergarten, we have a maximum capacity of 25 students. A student must be age 5 by September 30 to qualify for our K program and the student must assess as ready for our K program at our January assessments.
It is important to know that when our current Junior Kindergarten class rises to Kindergarten, they will fill around 20 spots...leaving only 5 available spaces. With many large families at our school, you can imagine how those spots can fill up quickly, and we certainly don't want to have to waitlist a little sibling, so please consider beginning your child's journey with us in Junior Kindergarten rather than holding off until Kindergarten. Also, keep in mind that as a Catholic school and a mission of St. Benedict Parish, priority consideration is given to parish members first, then parishioners from other Catholic Churches, and then to our non-Catholic friends. Siblings are given some priority consideration but it is not a guarantee of admissions.
If you have a younger sibling that you are hoping to enroll in Kindergarten as a NEW student for the 22-23 academic year - and have NOT yet applied, please do so immediately by clicking HERE.
If you have a younger sibling for next year's Junior Kindergarten program, we are receiving applications now, and I encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.
Priority consideration deadline is January 30, 2022 and all information must be received and assessments completed by that date. Questions? Email Gretchen at admissions@saintbenedictschool.org
PLEASE NOTE: The above information only applies to NEW APPLICANTS - not currently enrolled students. Current students will receive re-enrollment contracts at the end of January.
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Although we've only just begun our fall sports, it's time to look ahead to our winter season! SBCS hopes to field several teams this year:
5th & 6th boys basketball
7th & 8th boys basketball
5th & 6th girls basketball
7th & 8th girls basketball
It's really exciting that this year's league will be run by The Benedictine Schools of Richmond and all games will be played at their amazing new gym. The fee for each athlete will be $100.
If your athlete is interested in playing this season, please sign up HERE.
As always, St. Benedict's relies upon volunteer coaches. If you are Virtus-trained and available to coach, please volunteer when you sign up your child. Thank you and Go Comets!
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Good news - the library is circulating an average of 350 books each week. Bad news - many books are being returned with damages that could be avoided.
Please do all you can to help your child take good care of our books.Here are some reminders:
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place library books carefully in backpacks
- keep water bottles and food away from library books
- make sure your hands are clean before reading your book
- turn pages carefully to avoid rips
- use an appropriate bookmark and don't turn down page corners
- close a book to carry it
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If the gates are closed, you are late. Please park your car in a legal parking space and walk your student to the front door. We've witnessed some drop-and-go's and illegal parking - neither of which are allowed, even if you are running late.
- ONLY enter the carline on Hanover Ave. FROM NANSEMOND Street.
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Keep your blinkers on in carline so people see the line and can move around us.
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Be courteous to our neighbors in carline. DO NOT BLOCK THE GARAGES ON CLEVELAND PLEASE. We have families trying to get to other local schools at the same time as our carline and they need to be able to get out/into their garages.
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If someone else is picking up your child, please make sure you have informed the office and have instructed them on our carline procedures.
- THANK YOU FOR KEEPING OUR CARLINE MOVING EFFICIENTLY AND FRIENDLY :)
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Substitute Teachers Needed |
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Saint Benedict School is looking for substitute teachers. Applicants should have their college degree and will have a background check performed as part of the application process. Please contact Sean Cruess or Pam Autry at 804-254-8850 if you are interested. Thank you! |
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Reminders & Up and Coming... |
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Remember that if your child is out sick, you can contact info@yaylunch.com to cancel any lunch orders previously placed.
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For the Health of Our Community |
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Mask Policy (as of 8/13/21):
The statewide public health emergency order requires the wearing of masks in K-12 schools when indoors regardless of vaccination status. This Order was effective immediately and shall remain in full force and effect until the CDC guidelines for K-12 schools change, or unless this Order is sooner amended or rescinded.
• Indoors: Masks are required for all individuals aged 2 years and older, including students, teachers, staff, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.
• Outdoors: Masks do not need to be worn when outdoors.
And remember...
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.
- You have NOT had a positive diagnostic test for the virus that causes COVID-19 in the prior 10 days.
- You have NO known exposure to a COVID-19 case in the prior 14 days.
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Please notify the school about a positive COVID test or possible exposure by sending an email addressed to pautry@saintbenedictschool.org, dlawrence@saintbenedictschool.org, and scruess@saintbenedictschool.org.
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