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Wednesday, June 15, 2022 - Volume 14, Issue 21

Message from Administration

As many of you are aware, there was a graffiti incident that occurred last week suggesting a threat to the school community. Although the perceived risk was determined not viable by WRPS, we recognize the concern and anxiety this type of situation creates. As a school, we continue to communicate the importance of reviewing our internal safety processes, the importance of student supervision, and being observant to any suspicious activity throughout our days. Thank you for your continued support as we work together as a community to keep our school safe.

As we move through the month of June, we continue to celebrate the successes of our students; last Tuesday, we celebrated the Athletic banquet, where students were celebrated for the participation and involvement in this year’s sports. On Thursday, 200 students and staff participated in the Relay for Life, raising nearly $25,000. These activities would not have happened without the dedication and commitment of our staff and students! Congratulations to all.

Admin Team

Mrs. M. Ingoldsby
Principal
A-Bl

Ms. E. Riley
Vice Principal
Bo-G & International

Mr. R. Stehlik
Vice Principal
H-N

Mr. R. Roque
Vice Principal
O-Z
We are looking forward to our upcoming Graduation ceremony on June 27th.

One final reminder, as we wrap up the last days of classes and assessments, please continue to encourage your children to be in uniform, on-time and prepared for classes. We want to ensure that all finish strong, achieving success! We encourage you to reach out to classroom teachers if you have any specific questions about progress or expectations.

Relay for Life a huge success!

Relay for Life was a HUGE success thanks to our awesome St. Benedict school community! Big shout outs to YOU, our participants, everyone who sponsored a participant, our planning committee volunteering so many lunches to plan the event, our custodial team, our tech support, and our awesome staff & admin team! Without the participation and support from all we would not have been able to raise $24,930!!!
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We raised $24,930 ... we crushed our goal!

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We CRUSHED our goal, helped to support the fight against cancer and had fun doing it all!

We were very fortunate to have some extraordinary sponsors: Cambridge Pizza, BBE Construction Inc, No Frills, The Sports Link, Discover You, Willibald, and Cambridge Centre - your generosity and support is so greatly appreciated.

Final Eval Days Schedule

WCDSB Chromebooks Return Dates

Students are expected to be in class for the evaluation days next week. Classes will be 8:00 to 10:00, with bus departures at 10:15 and 10:25.

June 21: Period 1

June 22: Period 2

June 23: Period 3

June 24: Period 4

Students requiring credit recovery may need to come to school Monday, June 27 and Tuesday, June 28.
Graduating grade 12 students and students not returning to St. Benedict CSS next year must return their school-assigned Chromebook and charging cord to the school on either Thursday June 23 or Friday June 24 between 8am and 12 noon. Please return them to room 111 during these times. These devices will be disabled and no longer usable beyond June.
Students who are returning to St. Benedict for the 2022- 2023 school year may keep their assigned Chromebook over the summer and use it again next year.

Families requiring internet can review information about Rogers’s Connected for Success reduced-rate internet access program at: https://connectedforsuccess.ca/ontario/

Important Information for Parents /Guardians of Students in Grades 7-12: Region of Waterloo Public Health Immunization Catch-Up Clinics

Under the Immunization of School Pupils Act, all primary and secondary students need to have proof of immunization against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, meningococcal disease, pertussis and varicella (chickenpox).

If your child was born in 2006 or later, they are also eligible to receive or complete their series of Hepatitis B and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines.

Enforcement of the Immunization of School Pupils Act is expected to resume next school year. Students are being encouraged to catch-up on their vaccines now to avoid suspension when enforcement begins.

Public Health is offering clinics to help get students back on track with their vaccinations. Many appointments are available in the month of June in both Cambridge and Waterloo locations.

If your child is in grade 7 to 12 this school year (2021/2022) and not up-to-date on their routine vaccines, you will have received a letter in the mail letting you know which vaccines are missing.

Before booking an appointment, parents/students should update their immunization records with Public Health using one of the following methods:

· Online at the following link: https://bit.ly/3v9rwPT
· By calling 519-575-4400 ext. 5001 (Monday to Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm)
· Phone 519-575-4400 Ext 5001
· Fax 519-885-7260

Appointments for students in grade 7 to 12 can be booked online using the following link https://bit.ly/3MDSiXy or by calling 519-575-4400 ext 5001. Translation is available for those who require it.

If you have questions about the Vaccine Program catch-up process, please call 519-575-4400 ext. 5001.

Catholic Parent Involvement Committee - Parent Information Hub

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Access our Catholic Parent Involvement Committee - Parent Information Hub to listen to various community organizations speak directly to questions such as: How do I support my anxious child? How do I help my child build social skills? Where do I learn more about LGBT2S+ identities? How do I keep my child safe on the internet? Interested in additional services to support your child? Follow the links to access more information on services offered by each organization.

https://www.wcdsb.ca/cpic-parent-hub/

#SentToBuild

Grad 2022 update

The St. Benedict CSS Grad Committee and staff are excited to be preparing for an in-person graduation ceremony for the Graduating Class of 2022. As always, we must add in the disclaimer that all plans are tentative and are based on Public Health restrictions and requirements.

Having said that, we ask you to save the date for the evening of Monday, June 27th. We are planning for an in-person ceremony at "Forward Church" in Cambridge. Much more information will be announced in the coming weeks. We will keep the most up to date information posted on our website and our Grad Webpage - https://stbenedict.wcdsb.ca/grad2022/. Please check this page every so often to see these updates.

As communicated earlier to our community, we will not be hosting a school run prom. We are instead putting our focus on our graduation celebration. There is also more information on this (as sent out through an earlier School Messenger) on the Grad web page.

We all look forward to celebrating with our 2022 St. Benedict Graduates and their families!!

Significant Days & Dates

Click here to view the most up to date calendar information.

Final evaluation days:
June 21 to 24, 8 to 10 AM

Stay Connected with St. Benedict's!

Twitter

@StBenedictCSS
Instagram
@bennies_sac_updates

Grad gown pick-up this Thursday and Friday, plus more information that is important for our graduating class so we made this title extra large to draw attention to the importance of this information

Attention Grads! On Thursday, June 16 and Friday, June 17 you can pick up your Gown, Grad info letter, tickets to the ceremony and RSVP for the Grad Mass and Brunch in room 111 during lunch! Remember, there will be a livestream link sent out for those who cannot attend the ceremony at Forward Church. On Monday, June 20 we will have a virtual meeting during period 3 to review logistics of the ceremony and answer any questions you may have. Please make sure you arrive at Forward Church at 6:00pm.

On Friday, June 24 at 10:30am in the caf, grads will attend a celebration mass followed by brunch. Make sure to RSVP for this awesome event when you pick up your gown! Please direct any questions to Sarah Spitzig (sarah.spitzig@wcdsb.ca).

Our St. Benedict Community can't wait to celebrate this milestone with you!
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Daily Screening

A reminder that students must complete the daily screening: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/ before leaving home each day. This daily screening tool gives information on how to handle various personal/family symptoms scenarios. Should the guidance be to stay home from school, we ask that you contact the attendance office to report your student’s absence by calling the direct line 519-621-4001, or emailing SBEN.Attendance@wcdsb.ca

Bus Route Information 2022-23

Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region (STSWR) has announced that bus route information for the 2022-2023 school year will be available on the their website starting Monday, August 22, 2022.

STSWR website login instructions: https://www.stswr.ca/parents/student-login/
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News from Guidance

Who is your Guidance Counsellor?

Counsellor’s Name

Ext

Last names

Mrs. O’Toole
5190
A – Dl
Ms. Arkell
5636
Do – Ki
Mr. Betik
5633
Kl – Pl
Mrs. O’Neill
5634
Po – Z
Ms. Varriano Lane
5635
International Students/ICP

Guidance Google Classrooms

Once again, the Guidance department will have google classrooms available to share information with our students. Please consider joining the classrooms:

Grade 9 and 10
https://classroom.google.com/c/Mzg1OTc4MjA0MDk1?cjc=7c3t6un

Grade 11 and 12
https://classroom.google.com/c/Mzg1OTc4MjA0MjMz?cjc=mxmohzx

Scan the code below to book an appointment with your Guidance Counsellor

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Then click the plus sign beside your Guidance Counsellor to book an appointment.

Academics

Business Leadership class hosts Bennie's Bonanza

On Tuesday, June 14, Ms. Grebinski’s Grade 12 Business Leadership class ran a full day, outdoor event for the St. Benedict community - the Bennies Bonanza.

The event included a number of different games and activities all intended to build teamwork, a sense of community after a long 2 years, and most importantly, fun before the summer break. Activities ranged from Drip Drop Drop, to Spikeball, to Parachute, and so much more!

Thank you to all 24 classes that participated, and congratulations to the entire Business Leadership class for successfully planning and executing their first event as a group. It was a fun day for all!
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After school support sessions for students

The Ministry of Education has recently announced a grant for schools to provide FREE after school tutoring for students. This is welcomed news and may provide some additional support for students who have had their learning interrupted as a result of the pandemic. 

Students are welcome to attend these “drop in” tutoring sessions that will be offered Monday through Thursday every week. The sessions will last one hour in duration and will be offered four times per week.  Various teachers will be available to support students working on assignments, homework and/or test preparation in their courses. We are hopeful that this will be a great opportunity for your child to improve their level of achievement in their courses, complete outstanding work or receive extra help with challenging concepts. The sessions will run until June 20th, 2022.

If this is an opportunity that you think would benefit your student, please register on the attached flyer or have them drop in.

Tutoring Program Schedule

Location: Room 206 & 207
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Dates: April 19th to June 20th, 2022

If you have any questions about the program, please contact the school.
SBEN WCDSB Tutoring (2)
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Athletics

Track and Field season recap

Now that track and field has officially come to a conclusion, we would like to congratulate all of the Bennies track participants on a very fun and successful season. Extra congratulations go out to our athletes who broke the all-time school records for St. Benedict:
  • Jason Chen set a new school record in the Novice Boys Shot Put with a throw of 11.52 meters.
  • Jake Murray set a new school record in the Novice Boys Discus with a throw of 33.04 meters.
  • Emily Taborek beat the school record in the Senior Girls 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute, 9.7 seconds
  • Cassie Wilkie set the new standard in Steeplechase with a time of 10 minutes and 8 seconds
  • Amy Mifsud who made it to OFSAA in Toronto in her first year, set a new school record in the ID 100 metre dash with a time of 25.94 seconds
For more information on our Bennies track records check out our website under "Student Life".

Clubs

Bennie's Rowing Club navigates the Grand

What's better than rolling out of bed in time for a 7:55 am period 1 start? A lucky group of 11 students and two teachers now know it's catching the sunrise on the Grand River with the first-ever St. Benedict Rowing Club! This small group of students have had the amazing opportunity to learn a sport most have only ever seen during the summer Olympics.

Volunteer coaches at the Cambridge Rowing Club have instructed students on how to row in quads, doubles, and singles, and now these students will get to continue to hone their new-found skills on the Grand all summer long. Look out for us next spring, as we hope to compete in our first Regatta! If you'd like to learn more about this club, or think you might want to get involved next year, talk to Ms. Currie or Ms. Novakovich.
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Doctor Who final meeting Friday

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ATTENTION DOCTOR WHO CLUB MEMBERS! This Friday is the FINAL MEETING of the year, which will include the end of year MEGA PRIZE RAFFLE. Join us for one last adventure in time & space Friday after school in room 226.

Other News

News from the Library

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Gaming is Back!

Video gaming is back in the library beginning May 30, 2022
If you’d like to book a session come to the Membership Desk in the library.
  • A valid Idea Exchange library card is required.
  • Bookings are for ONE hour.
  • Maximum of 2 gamers at one time.
  • NO food or drink in the gaming room
Note: there is no gaming during the school day including lunch hour.

Gaming Room Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 2 to 8 pm
Friday: 2 to 5pm
Saturday: 10am to 5pm
Sunday: closed
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Calendar of Events

Thursday, June 16
Flag Day
EQAO
School BBQ
10:30am: MCU Club
10:30am: GSA Club
10:30am: Chess Club
10:35am: Grad Gown Distribution
2:00pm: FREE After School Tutoring
2:00pm: ACE Robotics Team
2:00pm: Math Club
2:00pm: Racing Saints E-car club
2:00pm: Games Club

Friday, June 17
EQAO
10:30am: Lights Out! Club
10:30am: MCU Club
10:30am: Star Trek Club
10:35am: Grad Gown Distribution
2:00pm: Doctor Who Club

Sunday, June 19
Father's Day

Monday, June 20
10:30am: MCU Club
2:00pm: FREE After School Tutoring
2:00pm: Homework club
2:00pm: Debate Club

Tuesday, June 21
Summer Solstice
8:00am: Evaluation Day - Semester 2 Period 1

Wednesday, June 22
8:00am: Evaluation Day - Semester 2 Period 2
Thursday, June 23
8:00am: Evaluation Day - Semester 2 Period 3

Friday, June 24
8:00am: Evaluation Day - Semester 2 Period 4
10:30am: Grad Mass (School Gym) and Breakfast (Caf)

Monday, June 27
Assessment and Evaluation Credit Recovery/Rescue
7:00pm: Convocation at Forward Church

Tuesday, June 28
Assessment and Evaluation Credit Recovery/Rescue

Wednesday, June 29
BENN Newsletter release

Friday, July 1
Canada Day

Be sure to check out the calendar on the school website for updates!

Did you know?

The 2022-2023 school year calendar for the WCDSB is available on the Board website. Click here to see the elementary and secondary calendars.

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