Week of November 14, 2021
Coming up this week....

For all in-person events, indoor masking is required regardless of vaccination status.

  • Monday, Nov. 15th - iGiveCatholic ADVANCE GIVING BEGINS! (See below!)

  • Thursday, November 18th- PTO Spirit Night at Pies & Pints

  • Friday, Nov. 19th - 2nd Quarter Interim Grades, see Parents Web

  • Week of Nov. 22nd - NO SCHOOL, THANKSGIVING BREAK

  • Monday, Nov. 29th - Back to School! Advent Wreaths distributed to those who ordered. (See info below!)
  • Santa Shop Collection begins (See info below!)

  • Tuesday, Nov. 30th is our DAY OF GIVING AND DAY OF SERVICE @SBCS! Wear your HOUSE SHIRT!! Our iGiveCatholic deadline is midnight!!

PLANNING AHEAD...
  • Friday, Dec. 3rd - SCHOOL PLAY!
  • Tuesday, Dec. 7th - Feast of St. Ambrose. Ambrose House wears House Shirt.
  • Wednesday, Dec. 8th - Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
  • Thursday, Dec. 9th - SANTA SHOP - Yay!
  • Dec. 14, 15, 16 - Middle School Exams
  • Friday, Dec. 17th - Lessons & Carols; 12:30 Dismissal from Church (NO ASE)
  • Christmas Break Dec. 20 - Jan. 2nd. Students return Monday, Jan. 3rd

Check out our school calendar on the website HERE!
Need a past newsletter? Check out our archives on the website HERE!
Principal's Corner
Day of Giving & Day of Service at SBCS is Nov. 30th
Tomorrow kicks off the start of our annual #igivecatholic campaign! This year, the donations raised for our school will go toward the completion of our Centennial Campaign, including the construction of a new playground. More details can be found below. I ask everyone to do what you can to support your House and this important endeavor for our school which we all love so much.

In addition, Giving Tuesday, the final day of #igivecatholic, will also mark the beginning of a new tradition at St. Benedict - our annual Day of Service. While we take on service projects throughout the year, this day will be dedicated to that most important work of charity. Each class will be taking on one service project to benefit our local community, and as an entire school community, we will be collecting gently used coats and shoes for those in need. Please send those items to your student's homeroom. Thank you for helping us make both our Day of Giving and Service a wonderful blessing for our school and our community!

Thank you Grandparents!!
I'd like to thank all of our grandparents for their presence with us at Grandparent's Day this past Friday, whether in-person or virtually. You are such a blessing in the lives of your grandchildren, and we are grateful for your support of our school. If you weren't able to view the livestream as it occurred, you can view it here! (Youtube also provides Closed Captioning of the video, just be sure to click on the "CC" button when viewing.) We also hope to have another video to share with you that was taken from the front row of the Church. As soon as that is available, we'll be sure to email it out.

End of Year Tax Savings with Tax Credits!
Thank you to everyone who joined us last Tuesday for our EISTC Tax Credit presentation on Zoom! If you are interested in learning more about the program, check out our recording from Tuesday. Want to pay less in taxes to the government and support scholarships for lower-income students to be able to attend St. Benedict? You want to check out this program and email Gretchen at development@saintbenedictschool.org to take advantage of this opportunity before the year end!

Advent Wreath Pick Up
Advent wreath kits can be picked up Monday, Nov 29 from school or from Tommy's Garden (3325 W. Cary Street) on Tuesday Nov 22 or Wednesday Nov 23 . Please send Pam Autry at pautry@saintbenedictschool.org an email to let her know when you plan to pick up.

Rules of the Road
Parents, it is very important that we follow all traffic laws when in the car line. I would especially like to remind parents about stopping at the stop sign on the corner of Hanover and Cleveland.Thank you for your attention to this.
iGiveCatholic Kicks Off Tomorrow!!
Our HOUSE GIVING COMPETITION begins TOMORROW!!

Over the past couple of years, instead of year-round fundraising for the needs of our school, we have focused our annual giving efforts at St. Benedict to one specific time of year - #Giving Tuesday and the iGiveCatholic Challenge. And over the last two years, this 2 week challenge each November has helped St. Benedict raise in excess of $300,000 towards our $1M Centennial Campaign goal. That took everyone doing what they could to support our little school, and your participation has been INCREDIBLE! Virtually every family in our school gave something to help advance our efforts, and we were recognized statewide and nationally for our amazing community of support on the iGiveCatholic leaderboards. You did that!

This year, we are focused on completing our Centennial Campaign so that we can begin our much anticipated playground renovations!! To help us get there, this year we are kicking off a HOUSE GIVING COMPETITION! That's right! The House that raises the most money for our IGiveCatholic Challenge takes home top points for the House Cup and is recognized with a special House Day in their honor (with everyone else wearing the winning House color!) House Cup Points will also be awarded for the House that gets to 100% participation first!

Grandparents, family and friends can all help your house by giving through your house giving page... just email them the link here:

Advance giving begins TOMORROW, MONDAY Nov. 15th and runs through midnight on #GivingTuesday, Nov. 30th. Donations can be made on your House's iGiveCatholic page above or you can send in your cash/check donation to the front office to avoid the processing fee. Be sure to write on the envelope that its for IGiveCatholic and include your house name.

Let's see that St. Benedict HOUSE SPIRIT!!
Support Your HOUSE!!
Take a sneak peak at our new playground proposal on your House giving page!!
Thank you Grandparents!!
Thank you to all of our Comet grandparents for making this year's Grandparents Day such a wonderful and special experience for your grandchildren and our entire school community!! Here's one more little gift from us...messages of love from your grandkids!
PTO Spirit Night is Thursday!
Santa Shop is Coming - Yipee!!
Santa Shop is Coming!! December 9th!
Santa Shop is a fun day that our younger students can shop with a middle school buddy to find Christmas presents for the family! Everybody LOVES our Santa Shop!! 
 
Parents - Clean out your gently used or new items around the house and donate them to our Santa Shop so our little shoppers have presents to purchase!

SUGGESTED ITEMS:
Candles, Christmas decorations, Ties, Scarves, New  socks*,  New  gloves*,  New  hats*, Books, Picture Frames, DVDs, Vases, Jewelry, Kitchen and Dining Ware, Stationery, Tools, Board games, Stuffed Animals, Baby Items, and other new or gently used gifts. 
 
*For hygenic reasons, please only donate these items brand new, never worn, WITH TAGS STILL ON.
 
We also need donations of gift bags, holiday wrapping paper, tape and gift tags.

We will start collecting items for donation on Monday, Nov 29 (after Thanksgiving break).

Money collected from the sale will go to Student Council.
Any leftover items will be donated to a charity thrift store after the event.

VIRTUS Trained parents are also needed to help the 8th graders run the Santa Shop. To volunteer and have fun helping out, click here!
Substitute Teachers Needed
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!
Growing in Our Faith
Reminders & Up and Coming...
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
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.
  • 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.