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Wednesday, June 29, 2022 - Volume 14, Issue 22

Message from Administration

Completing this 2021/22 school year has been no small feat. We look back with mixed emotions. While we may feel frustration because of the interruption to normalcy, we may also feel a huge sense of gratitude for a return to many activities that we once took for granted. We can now look forward to an exciting September and 2022/23 school year as we expect a regular start to a regular school year with all that brings. In the more immediate future however, we are looking to enjoy a relaxing, re-energizing, and restful summer break.

On the evening of June 27th, our community joined together to celebrate the St. Benedict CSS Convocation Ceremony. Congratulation to our Graduates! Thank you for sharing your many gifts with us over the past 4 years. We look forward to hearing about your future endeavours and successes as you move through the next steps of your journey. A sincere thank you to our Graduation Committee and to our entire staff for making this celebration possible. Many months of planning and many staff volunteers helped make it a joyful and memorable event for our graduates.

Admin Team

Mrs. M. Ingoldsby
Principal
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Ms. E. Riley
Vice Principal
Bo-G & International

Mr. R. Stehlik
Vice Principal
H-N

Mr. R. Roque
Vice Principal
O-Z
We would like to acknowledge the teaching career of Jennifer Dietrich. Ms. Dietrich is retiring at the end of June and is undoubtedly looking forward to the next phase of her life. Thank you for your 30-year (most of which were here at St. Benedict) investment to the communities and to all the students that you impacted in that time ! We would also like to offer up our best wishes to Vice-Principal Erin Riley, as she moves to St. David in Waterloo. Thank you for all your contributions to this school, its' students, its' families, and its' staff!

Please note that report cards will be mailed out in July. September start-up and registration information will be communicated via school messenger. Please stay connected by visiting our school website for all information pertaining to the 2022/23 school year. We look forward to welcoming a new group of students to the Bennies family in September!

We would like to wish all of our St. Benedict students and families a blessed and wonderful summer! We pray that you stay safe and are able to enjoy the gifts that these months bring.

A true Celebration of People: Graduation 2022

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On Monday, June 27, after two years of virtual graduations, the St. Benedict community finally had the opportunity to celebrate the graduating class in person. Grads, St. Benedict staff, dignitaries and families were treated to a celebratory evening at the Forward Church Cambridge.

Hosted by Ms. Lisa Kukwa-Flynn, we had the opportunity to recognize students for their accomplishments both inside and outside the classroom. A memorable valedictorian speech by Jerill Ashley Morales was one that the graduation class could connect with and thoroughly enjoyed.

We congratulate all our 2022 grads for their determination, their never-give-up attitude, and wish them nothing but a lifetime of success as they pursue their future endeavours!

A letter from the Director


Dear WCDSB Community,

We hope that this communication finds you well. After two successive springs in which we could not end our school year as we might wish due to the pandemic, it has been a very joyous May and June in our school communities. We have had the ability to mark some of our significant milestones in a manner that is more typical, and certainly that allows for a more celebratory atmosphere. We have been so thrilled to see the return of sacraments being celebrated in our school-parish communities, we were pleased to see Catholic education week activities, we have seen spring athletic competitions and artistic undertakings and of course, perhaps most significant of all - the return of in-person graduations.

While we have certainly learned over the course of this pandemic to never say “never”, we remain very hopeful of a traditional beginning to the new school year. And while none of us can be faulted for desiring that reality, I do want to take a moment to celebrate all that we accomplished over the course of this school year, despite the challenges of the time. Our pastoral plan grounded us in the theme “Sent to Build” referencing our desire to build the kingdom of God with everyone in our community that we “called to belong” and who we gathered through the eucharist to become. Our theme was reflected in the bridge, which was an apt symbol reflecting the power of Christ’s love for all, and also for the tremendous work done under the auspices of equity. We are proud of our gains and remain open to the further work to be done. We are thrilled to have the results of our staff census and our first student census to help guide us in this regard and WCDSB stands poised to develop a new strategic plan in the fall.

Thank you for entrusting your children to Waterloo Catholic. We are proud of the strong school communities we have nurtured and all that we accomplish in those schools each and every day. This will likely be my last letter as Director of Education. I have announced my intent to retire and a new Director will be named in mid to late August. We know that person will lead a vibrant and evolving system, with leadership that is strong and committed.

We wish everyone a safe summer, that provides an opportunity to rest and refresh. May God continue to bless your journey and may we be worthy of our mission statement, nurturing those students entrusted to us to transform God’s world.

Sincerely,




Loretta Notten
Director of Education

Semester 2 Report Card Distribution

Semester 2 report cards for grades 9-12 will be mailed the week of July 11, 2022. Grade 12’s will receive their Ontario Student Transcripts included in the envelope.
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Stay Connected with
St. Benedict's!

Twitter

@StBenedictCSS
Instagram
@bennies_sac_updates
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WCDSB Chromebooks Return

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 as soon as possible . Chromebooks can be dropped off until next Friday (school is closed this Friday for Canada Day) between 7:00 and 3:00pm. 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/

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
For all students who wrote the OSSLT in the spring. We are still waiting on results to be released. Once they are released, we will advise as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience and enjoy your well deserved summer.

Spring
OSSLT
Update

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

St. Benedict Garden gets a boost

Our school garden got an irrigation system this year! Thanks to the Waterloo Region School Food Garden grant we were able to purchase hoses to get our plants watered all summer.

In partnership with the Food Bank, volunteers will continue watering and weeding the garden over the summer, providing food for the Food Bank and our hospitality program. This past winter and spring the gardens were maintained by hospitality and science classes.

We also have a new shed/ greenhouse build by our construction class which will help the growth of seedlings, helping them be more resilient for garden planting.
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Graduating? Leaving WCDSB?

You can copy all the data from your school Google Drive to a personal Google account.


About Google Takeout

Google Takeout will only allow you to save files that are in your “My Drive” and are owned by you. Google Takeout will not save files in your “Shared with Me” folder.

If you have a large number of files, it may take some time for Google Takeout to copy your entire Drive. Before you begin the process, make sure the folders in your WCDSB Google Drive are organized how you like them. Google Takeout will copy your files as they currently exist in your Google Drive. If there are any files in your “shared with me” that you would like to keep, you will need to “make a copy” of those documents so you have your own copy of the document that is living in your My Drive (not Shared with me area).

You will need a personal Gmail account to complete this process.

Please note personal Google Accounts have 15GB of storage. If your WCDSB Google Drive exceeds 15GB you will want to purge some of the files owned by you before beginning the transfer process.

Log in and Access Takeout

Sign in to your WCDSB school Google account and navigate to takeout.google.com/transfer.

Start the Copy Process

1. Enter the email address of the destination Google Account where you want to copy your content and select Get Code.

2. On your personal Google Account, check your Gmail inbox for a confirmation email from Google. In the email, select Get Confirmation Code. A new tab will open with a code. The Confirmation Code only works for 24 hours.
GoogleTransfer
3. On your school account, go back to the "Transfer your content" page. Enter the code, then choose Verify.

4. Choose the content you'd like to copy then select Start Transfer.

About the Copy Process

  • The copy process usually happens within a few hours, but it can take up to a week.
  • Copied files might appear in batches on your Google Account during the copy process.
  • When your files are finished copying, you'll get an email at your personal Gmail address.

About your Copied Files

  • To see the files you've copied, sign into your Google Drive with your Personal Google Account
    Copied content will be in a folder labeled with your school account name and the date you started the copy process
  • Copied files aren't shared with others. (You can always choose to share them.)
  • Comments are copied, but revision history isn't.
  • You automatically become the file owner of all copied files.
Please note, if you receive a 500 error after you have started the process do not be alarmed. You will not be able to access the Google takeout/transfer page while the transfer is occurring, and you will see the 500 error instead. You will receive an email when the transfer process is complete.
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VoterLookup

Are You Eligible to Vote for Catholic School Trustees in the 2022 Municipal Elections?


Municipal Election Day is Monday, October 24, 2022.

Make sure your school support designation is “English Separate” (Catholic). It’s a powerful message in support of Waterloo Region’s Catholic schools & Catholic education.

Many people assume they are registered Catholic school supporters when, in fact, they are not.

CLICK HERE TO BE SURE ----- https://www.voterlookup.ca/


Only Roman Catholic school supporters may vote for Catholic School Trustees.

All Catholics are eligible to support Catholic education – not just those with children in school!

You don’t have to have children in school to direct your school support to Catholic education. In Waterloo Region there are more people who DO NOT have children in school than DO have children in school. Your support is vital to the continuation of our Catholic education system. It is an investment in our future -- and all Catholic ratepayers are partners with Catholic educators in this investment.

Have you moved?

Even if you have been a Catholic school supporter in the past, the designation DOES NOT follow you when you relocate. You are automatically designated a public school board supporter.
Every time you move, it is essential that you re-declare yourself as a Catholic school supporter.
  • Check the assessment section of your Tax Bill or Property Assessment Notice
  • Check your Voter Information Card received during a municipal election year.

What to do if you are NOT registered as a Catholic school supporter, but want to designate your support to Catholic Education:

If you are NOT registered as a Catholic school supporter -- but want to designate your support to Catholic Education -- you need to fill out the Application for Direction of School Support.

When a Roman Catholic and a Non-Catholic are jointly responsible for the payment of property taxes -- either directly through ownership or indirectly through the payment of rent -- a Catholic School Support Lease is required. This is simply a technical tool designed to give the Roman Catholic the sole right to determine the school support of her or his residence.

Please visit this website for the forms and more information:
https://www.wcdsb.ca/our-schools/register-for-school/support-catholic-education/

When you have updated your forms, you have two options:

  • Return the forms to your child’s school.
  • If you do not have children attending school, drop your forms at your nearest WCDSB school – or drop them at (or mail them to) the WCDSB head office: 35 Weber St. W., Kitchener, ON, N2G 4G2.

At the Polling Station on Election Day:

Verify that you are registered as a separate school supporter. If your support status is incorrect, ask for an ‘Application to Amend Voters’ List’. This form may be completed and submitted at the polling station.
Ensure the ballot you are given is a separate school ballot.

If you have any questions, please contact the Waterloo Catholic District School Board at 519-578-3660 Ext. 2355.

Academics

Athletics

The St. Benedict Saints Junior and Senior Football teams will be looking to defend their District 8 Championships when the season kicks off in September. Tryouts will be held the first week of school on Wednesday, September 7th at 2pm on the front field. Train hard this summer and come into tryouts looking to be part of this great football program!

D8 Recap: Two Championships decided by one point each

https://district8.ca/d8-championship-recap-two-championships-decided-by-one-point-each/

Any further questions can be directed to:
Junior Team (Grade 9-10) - Andy Reitzel (andrew.reitzel@wcdsb.ca)
Senior Team (Grade 11+) - Joe Vale (joseph.vale@wcdsb.ca)
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Clubs

Other News

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CCFOWRJun22-4
CCFOWRJun22-5

Calendar of Events

Friday, July 1
Canada Day

Monday, August 22
8:30am: HeadStart to Grade 9 (AM group)
12:00pm: HeadStart to Grade 9 (PM group)

Tuesday, August 23
8:30am: HeadStart to Grade 9 (AM group)
12:00pm: HeadStart to Grade 9 (PM group)

Wednesday, August 24
8:30am: HeadStart to Grade 9 (AM group)
12:00pm: HeadStart to Grade 9 (PM group)

Thursday, August 25
8:30am: HeadStart to Grade 9 (AM group)
12:00pm: HeadStart to Grade 9 (PM group)

Monday, September 5
Labour Day

Tuesday, September 6
First Day of 2022-2023 School Year

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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