Week of November 7, 2021
Mrs. Korte's 4th Grade class presents their Saints projects!
Coming up this week....

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


  • Tuesday, Nov. 9th - EISTC Tax Credit Program at 6:30pm on Zoom (details below)

  • Wednesday, Nov. 10th - Deadline for Mail from Grandparents and RSVP Deadline for Grandparents (details below)

  • Wednesday, Nov. 10th - Middle School Hockey Club 3:15-4:15

  • Friday, Nov. 12th - Grandparent's Day! See below for details! 12:30pm DISMISSAL (NO lunch. ASE is available)

  • Monday, Nov. 15th - iGiveCatholic ADVANCE GIVING BEGINS!

PLANNING AHEAD...
  • 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!
Principal's Corner
We hear the word "culture" used in a variety of ways. At Saint Benedict, we define culture as the best of what any society has to offer - that which is true, good, and beautiful. One of our goals is to create a strong culture for our students that includes excellent literature, beautiful music, and inspiring art. I hope that you will join us in this commitment to culture. Consider the music we listen to, the TV shows and movies we watch, or the books we read. Are they elevating us and our students with truth, goodness, and beauty?

Calling All Chess Players!
A number of our students have expressed interest in a Chess Club. We have some faculty members who are interested in helping out, but we were hoping to get a few parents involved, as well. The only requirement is a knowledge of the basic rules of chess. If you're interested, please contact Mr. Cruess at scruess@saintbenedictschool.org.
Tax Credit Program is Nov. 9 on Zoom
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.

Topic: EISTC Tax Credit Information Session
Time: TUES. Nov 9, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting:

Meeting ID: 878 8076 9114
Passcode: 277845
Grandparent's Day is THIS FRIDAY!
Grandparents Day is THIS Friday, Nov. 12th!

Invitations went out to grandparent emails (provided by parents) on 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

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!

Regarding Friday's 12:30pm DISMISSAL....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.
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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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?
Please email us at development@saintbenedictschool.org or call us at 804-254-8850. Thank you and we look forward to your participation in this year's Grandparents Day!
iGiveCatholic at St. Benedict
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!)

Advance giving begins NEXT 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!!
Take a sneak peak at our new playground proposal on your House giving page!!
Nurses Corner
Parents, please see the following helpful information, sent out annually regarding eating disorders.

Also, Flu Season is here. Check out this important information about the flu and good health practices to keep your family healthy!
Middle School Hockey Club
Hockey Club begins this Wednesday! Members should report to car line as usual to be collected by Mr. Cronheim at 3:15pm. Students will be dismissed to parents from the playground at 4:15pm sharp.
No Food Delivery Service, please
Parents, we understand that lunches get forgotten sometimes, but we ask that when that happens you either drop off a lunch or call Mrs. Autry in the front office and she can provide snacks that we have on hand for those kinds of emergencies. Please do not send Door Dash, UberEats, GrubHub or other food deliveries to the school. Thank you for your help!
Carline Reminders

  • Please obey all traffic signs while in carline - including coming to a full stop at the corner of Hanover & Cleveland.
  • 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.
  • Keep your blinkers on in carline so people see the line and can move around us.
  • 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.
  • 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 :)
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...
Our Sweet Little JK Saints!
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.