St Benedict's Catholic College

As 2024 draws to a close, we reflect on another remarkable year at St Benedict’s Catholic College. This year has been filled with countless moments of joy, growth, and achievement as we continued to live out our mission of faith, learning, and service.

We are especially proud of the continued focus on faith formation, with many students participating in retreats, liturgies, and outreach initiatives. The commitment of our students to serve others truly reflects the spirit of Christ in action.

We also thank the teachers and families who supported our Year 12 students throughout their journey. Your guidance and encouragement have been instrumental in their success. A detailed analysis of our HSC results are available below.

We wish you a safe and Merry Christmas, and we look forward to welcoming you back in 2025 for another exciting chapter in the life of our College.

May God bless you and your loved ones during this holy season.

Kind regards,
Michael Turner

As the school year drew to a close, we were blessed to gather for our End of Year Mass, celebrated by Most Reverend Brian Mascord - Bishop of Wollongong DD and joined by Fr. Feleki Tautunu - Parish Administrator of St Mary MacKillop Parish Oran Park. The Mass was a beautiful reminder of the spiritual significance of the season and an opportunity to reflect on the year past and the hope that lies ahead.

Bishop Brian’s homily resonated deeply as he spoke about the importance of being the light of Christ in our world. In this season of Advent, as we prepare for Christmas, his words encourage us to not only celebrate the birth of Jesus but to embody His light through our actions. In a world often clouded by challenges and distractions, Bishop Mascord reminded us that we are called to shine with kindness, compassion, and love, illuminating the lives of others just as Christ illuminates ours.

He invited us to delve deeper into the true meaning of Christmas — a celebration not merely of gift-giving and gatherings, but of the profound joy and hope brought to humanity through the birth of Jesus. This call to understand Christmas in its fullness challenges us to reflect on how we can share the gifts of love, peace, and generosity, not just during the festive season, but all year round.

Bishop Brian also emphasised the importance of authenticity — being true to who we are as individuals and as people of faith. Authenticity is the foundation of meaningful relationships, both with God and with others. His words reminded us that when we live authentically, we inspire others to do the same, creating a community that reflects the values of the Gospel.

We were also grateful for the presence of Fr. Feleki, whose warmth and joy added to the sense of unity and celebration. Together, they reminded us that our faith is not a solitary journey but one we share as a community.

As we conclude this year, I wish our entire College community a Merry and Blessed Christmas. May this season be filled with the joy of Christ’s birth, the peace of His presence, and the hope of His promises. May your celebrations be surrounded by loved ones, and may the light of Christ shine brightly in your homes and hearts.

As we look ahead to the new year, let us carry the light of Christ in our hearts, embrace the true meaning of Christmas, and live authentically, sharing our unique gifts with the world.

May these reflections guide us to grow stronger in faith, deeper in love, and brighter in hope.

Wishing everyone a blessed term,

Kimberley Logue

The Critical Thinking Course is a new Stage 5 elective being introduced in schools across the Wollongong diocese. A small group of Year 10 students were selected to be a part of the trial run of the course, where we learned a variety of valuable skills we would not have otherwise gained. The 100 hour course was a blended online learning experience, meaning we worked predominantly online in small groups with a few opportunities to meet in person and discuss our ideas. The course ignited our ‘critical thinking’ skills as we were challenged to identify bias, consider a multitude of perspectives and creatively convey our views.

As a part of our online blended learning we were able to participate in four immersion/showcase days. These days allowed us to connect with peers from throughout the diocese including Holy Spirit College, Magdalene Catholic College and St Francis Catholic College. At the start of this year we were introduced to our peers with a taster day where we explored the idea of debunking conspiracy theories, we worked with mixed groups with students from all different schools and utilised our combined knowledge to debunk ideas such as flat earthers and government control through vaccines. Going forward we had two more opportunities to meet with our peers and work collaboratively and show our work we had been completing online. We were able to form connections with our peers not only through the course but also outside of school with shared interest and common life goals.

An e-magazine titled ‘The Critical Thinker’ was the main event of our final immersion day. Where our major work from Term 3 was displayed for the whole diocese to view on a special platform, allowing us to be commended for our hard work, and ability to conduct extensive research. This task encouraged us to choose any topic and create a multimodal presentation about biases in the media. Our topics included navigating the challenges of maintaining unconditional love while raising a child with autism, the impact of Barbie’s brand on feminism throughout history, the exploitation of children in family vlogging channels and the impacts of homeschooling vs traditional schooling.

The CEDoW showcase was an opportunity for students part of the first Critical Thinking Course to showcase their/our work from the whole year (through an e-portfolio), collect certificates of achievement, present a product pitch and witness the launch of an e-magazine containing a certain piece of work from each student. This was held at the Emmaus Centre in Campbelltown on 5 December 2024. All students and their significant family and friends were invited to witness the amazing work produced this year. The day started with a brainstorm in small groups, finishing a social enterprise product pitch. As well as lunch breaks during the day, we each made a 10 minute presentation about our social enterprises, before we were presented with completion-of-course certificates. Finally the e-magazine “The Critical Thinker” was published containing our major works.

We would like to thank everyone involved in making the immersion days, showcase and the course itself as it was an enlightening experience that we all took something away from. A special thanks to Mr Ghignone for organising the course in our school, Mrs Smith for being our wonderful mentor and Amanda Nascimento from the CEO!

-Critical Thinking team - Jordyn, Lilia, Lillian and Lucas

Kind regards,
Marc Ghignone

We are excited to share the wonderful success of our End of Year Activities Day, held on 17 December 2024, at the stunning Austinmer Beach Ocean Pools. The day proved to be a fantastic celebration of the students’ hard work, as they gathered to unwind, enjoy the outdoors, and create lasting memories with their peers.

The weather was perfect, making it an ideal day for the beach activities.

The event was a wonderful reminder of how important it is to take a moment to relax and celebrate the year’s achievements.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the students who participated and to the parents who supported the event. Your cooperation in ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience was appreciated.

Kind regards,
Teresa Holland

Information in this calendar list is correct at the time of publication but is subject to change without notice.

2025 School Return Dates

• Monday 3 February - Year 12 Students ONLY
• Tuesday 4 February - Years 7, 11 and all new students
• Wednesday 5 February - All students return

Year 10 Transition Week students who chose Design and technology as a stage 6 subject for 2025 took part in a step up lesson where they were given a fun design challenge to do in their first lesson.

The challenge is called the "Marshmallow Challenge" and requires students in teams of four to design and build the tallest, freestanding tower made from 20 strands of spaghetti, 1 metre of tape and 1 marshmallow.

Students had to collaborate to design the freestanding structure and only had 18 minutes to do it!

Whether the team's solution passed or failed, students learnt about problem solving, evaluating and collaborating.

Well done to the teams that answered the brief. It was a fun exercise to be a part of.

On Thursday and Friday of Week 9, Year 10 students participated in a cooking skills session. They made Ricotta Pancakes with Fruit Salad. Students learnt how to organise, prepare, cook and clean up in our hospitality kitchens.

I think students would agree that the pancakes were very enjoyable and they learnt a lot! Hopefully parents and siblings are treated to a ricotta pancake for breakfast this weekend! Now that would be good Christmas spirit!

A special thanks to Ms Vargas, Miss Pepper, Miss Grant and Ms Hovey for their support of Year 10 in the kitchens.

Well done Year 10!

Yours Sincerely,
Matthew Limbrey

In Week 8, Year 8 visited the Science Space in Wollongong. They had a brilliant time exploring the exhibits, watching the liquid nitrogen show, building towers in the STEM challenge room, and travelling through the Solar System in the planetarium. Every year we have great feedback from students about how much they enjoy this excursion.

A big thank you to the science teachers, SSOs, Mrs Settineri, Mr Bulfon and all the Year 8 students who made it such an enjoyable day.

This term, Year 8 have been learning about the Solar System in science. In recent lessons, the students have been testing out the new VR headsets to explore the Solar System. Thanks to Mr Andrushko and Mr Duncan for their help with these lessons.

Kind regards,
Erin Lockhart

This term, Year 9 drama has been working tirelessly experimenting with various script types. Over the last three weeks, they have been working on creating their rendition of “So Much Better” from “Legally Blonde: The Musical”. This week the scene came to life with costumes, set, and lighting. Throughout this process, many of the students have stepped outside their comfort zones, dancing and singing along with the song; while acting their assigned characters. Their hard work throughout this process is to be commended.

Kind regards,

Abigail Clement

“Christmas is a ray of light for all, because it reveals to us God’s love and makes us feel the presence of Jesus with everyone, especially with those who are suffering.”

Pope John Paul 2nd, 1978

I would like to thank our school community for their ongoing support over the year with all of the initiatives we have run. Everyone took part in dress up days, bake sales, Winter Fest, food donations, food hampers and so on. The Social Justice team could not have done any of this without your help.

I would like to also congratulate the Social Justice team for all of their hard work and commitment to the team. Their dedication and compassion for wanting to improve our local community and the global community is inspiring.

A big congratulations to the following students who will lead our team in 2025. Rhianna Versola (Year 12) will take place as our President and our Secretaries will be Molly Small (Year 10) and Georgia Goodman (Year 12). Thank you to our leaders for 2024, Claire Small, Kirsty Fernandes and Elizabeth Robertson. Your dedication to the team was wonderful, you represented our team with enthusiasm and encouraged all students and staff to become involved in everything we offered.

The Social Justice team would like to wish the SBCC community a merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year. Rest up with families and friends and get ready for another fun, busy and exciting year of events run by our Social Justice team.

Kind regards,

Sara-Jane Castelli

As always, the Library provides a safe and quiet learning environment for all our students and is continually striving to meet the needs of our College community. In addition to providing physical and digital resources for both reference and entertainment, the Library now provides access to VR Goggles, 3D printing and Cricut printing. This year, the Library hosted some fun initiatives to entertain and promote academic and social engagement for our students.

It’s not too late! Happily receiving returned books in 2025. Please return all overdue books to the Library as soon as possible so other students may borrow them.

What a great year it has been and we are looking forward to seeing you in the Library in 2025.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

From the,

The Library Team

Students who will not be returning to St Benedict's Catholic College in 2025 (excluding Year 12 students) are requested to send an email to our Enrolment Officer advising us of this change. Please email enrolments_sbcc@dow.catholic.edu.au

As we approach the end of the school year, we kindly remind all families to log in to Flexischools and update your child's year group.

Unfortunately, many students are still listed as Year 7, which makes it challenging to ensure orders are delivered correctly and on time. Having the correct year group listed helps us streamline the process and ensures your child’s food is ready for collection in the right location.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us provide a smooth and efficient service! If you have any questions or need assistance updating your account, please contact our office.

To update your details, once in Flexischools, please select the student on the left and update details "Year Level & Class".

Step 1 - Register

Open your Flexischools app or use their website:

App Store - https://apps.apple.com/au/app/flexischools/id1420774608

Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?gl=US&hl=en_AU&id=com.flexischools
Website - https://user.flexischools.com.au/register

1. Submit your email to create an account

2. In your inbox, open the registration email

3. Click the link within and follow registration prompts in app

Step 2 - Setting up your child's details

Once your account is set up, log into your Flexischools app.

1. Select 'Profile' icon on the bottom right hand side of the screen

2. Under 'Students' click 'Add new'

3. Enter your child's name, school, year level, class & student card number*
* This card number is on the back of your child's Compass Card (10 digits)

Step 3 - Order and pay with ease!
Here's how to order food on Flexischools

1. Click 'Order food' top of app home screen

2. Select the student you'd like to order for

3. Choose a service (break 1 - recess) or (break 2 - lunch) and order date

4. Select any items you'd like to order

5. Once finished, click 'view order'

6. Select 'Checkout & pay' to place the order

When using the Compass App:

1. At the bottom of the screen, select the 'more' option

2. Select the 'Open in Browser' option

3. On the top right hand of the screen click the 'clog symbol'

4. A drop down menu appears and select 'CompassIdentity Card'

5. Click 'Order New Card'

5. Under 'Payment' click the 'Order Now' button

6. An $11.50 (including GST) fee applies and once paid it will take up to 7 school business days to arrive at school

7. The office will send an email to the student when it arrived and the student will need to collect from the Student Foyer.

Remember when the new Compass Card arrives, to update your 10 digit code on the back of the card with Flexischools.

This is a friendly reminder that students are not to carry medication with them on site, with the exemption of an EpiPen and/or Ventolin. If your child is required to take any medication during school hours this must be provided to the office by a parent/carer accompanied by the completed Request to Administer Medication Form attached below.

For all things related to the College BYODD Program, please visit the College BYODD Site. Here you will find all information relating to the BYODD Program including device requirements, Apple Care + and how to configure your device for use at the College.

For questions relating to BYODD, please contact the College or email:

https://sites.google.com/dow.catholic.edu.au/byoddsbcc/it-support

For students in Year 12 with ADHD - a practical webinar is being offered for parents early in Term 1 2025. If interested please access this link to get tickets. This talk is being run by Claire Pech (a Careers Adviser who works with Year 12 and adults with ADHD) and Amanda Krulis, an Organisational Psychologist. Register: https://events.humanitix.com/year12-and-beyond-with-adhd.

Mrs Tracee Brown

Transition & Pathways (TaP's) Coordinator/ TAS Teacher

Applications are now open for 2025 School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) travel.

Students using School Opal cards must tap on and tap off in line with the Opal terms of use.

Please find attached the school bus timetable for 2024 or you can click on the link below to see our school timetable that has been uploaded onto the transit systems website.
https://nsw.transitsystems.com.au/

Our College's Clothing Pool is running low on uniforms, and we need your help! If you have any uniforms you no longer use, please consider donating them.

You can drop off your donations at the office Monday to Friday, from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM. Your generosity will make a big impact!

Thank you for your support!

P & F Uniform Pool order form - click here

The P & F preloved Uniform Pool has reopened, please complete the order form and send to the P & F by email at: uniforms@sbccdow.catholic.edu.au

Our wonderful P&F volunteer Tracey will contact you.

Items can be paid for in cash ONLY and collected from the SBCC College Office.

Donations of items in good condition can be left at the College Office.

ORGANISE UNIFORMS FOR SUMMER NOW

If you know the uniform sizes required, you can purchase the uniforms in-store or place an online order via the webstore at shop.ranier.com.au. For any exchange, item must be in original condition (unworn, unwashed, unaltered, tags attached) with original packaging. Some exclusions may apply. Note that online orders are only processed during shop operating hours. Orders placed during school/public holiday period will be picked and packed when the shop re-opens.

Ranier Schoolwear end-of-year closure and re-opening dates:

2024 last day of trading: Friday 20 December

2025 first day of trading: Wednesday 8 January

Closed on Public Holiday Monday 27 January 2025.

CONTACT:

Ranier Schoolwear Unit 5/6-8 Porrende Street Narellan 2567

Online purchasing and appointments visit: shop.ranier.com.au

Email: stbenedict@ranier.com.au

Phone: 02 4647 8942

Responses will be provided during opening hours

For more immediate assistance, Head Office details are

Online: ranier.com.au/contact

Email: custservice@ranier.com.au