On Sunday last week, we moved into the Season of Advent. It is the four-week period where we prepare for the season of Christmas. Advent begins the cycle of the Liturgical Year and focuses on the coming of the Lord. The first weeks offer a vision of the future, looking to the end of time when Christ will come again. The final weeks point more specifically to the birth of Christ. Christ, the promised one, is awaited with joyful expectation. It is a season of preparation, waiting, anticipation and joy.

Over the last few weeks, House of Welcome staff, Homerooms and our staff have worked together to create Christmas Hampers for the clients of our College community partner, the House of Welcome. These hampers were filled with groceries to help families through the Christmas period, as well as what our Mission Team has taken to referring to as “Joy”—those little luxury items that remind us of the joy and warmth of Christmas.

From Thursday 12 December, changes will be made to College networks and College - supplied laptops regarding sites and services that students can access. Students in Years 7 through to 10 will no longer be able to use the direct chat function within Microsoft Teams. This change will not affect the Student learning experience, as it only relates to direct messaging, voice, and video calls within the direct messaging feature on the platform. Collaborative and supervised interaction within College defined Teams and Groups will still be accessible to all students.

Similarly, access to streaming services for the same year groups will be removed, including but not limited to Netflix, Spotify, and others.

Students in all year groups will have greater restrictions placed on social media and networking sites and their access to Zoom Team Chat will also be removed. These changes are in line with our continuous improvement approach across the College systems.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact The Deputy Principal's office.

Scott Broadbridge-Brown
Director of ICT

Congratulations to the December Merit Award Recipients.

Click here to download the Recipient list.

*College Assemblies For Parents

College Assemblies are livestreamed for the MSB parent community at 9:40-10:45am on the dates specified in the schedule above. The live stream link is here.

In Term Four, we entered nine teams in the Santa Sabina Volleyball Invitational Competition, and what another great season it was. Well done to all students involved. It is great to see all our teams having fun, making new friendships, and improving their volleyball skills.

Well done to our MSB01 Team, who competed in the Opens Division, who were gold medallists: Amelia A, Jessica A, Elyssa C, Bridget G, Evie H, Alexandra H, Piper N, Livvy P, Keisha R, and Melanie W.

Congratulations also to our MSB06 Team, consisting of Year 8 students, who were gold medallists: Zara C, Aditi G, Khiara H, Leila K, Kaythari L, Indi L, Alicia N, Robyn O, Georgia R, Tanisha S.

Thank you to our amazing coaches, Sheilah, Amelia, Brian, and Oliver, for the support throughout the season.

Lauren Martin
Sport Academy Convenor

In Term Four, we had two teams participate in the Barker Rugby 7s Competition. Our Junior team consisted of Year 7 and 8 students, whilst our Senior team consisted of students from Years 9 to 11. Well done to our Senior team, and to many who took on the challenge of playing up in the Senior division. The team are congratulated on their efforts and for holding their own against older competition. The Junior team are congratulated on a great season, for winning their semi-final, and finishing as runners-up, against Barker in the grand final match. We thank our amazing coaches, Craig, Irene, and Scarlett, for their support and guidance throughout the season.

Lauren Martin
Sport Academy Convenor

Last Thursday, we held our final session of the Physical Activity program for the year. Term Four saw the return of our self defence program, which was another success. Over the past weeks, we had 28 students actively participating in the weekly sessions, where they learnt valuable, transferable skills including stamina, coordination, and self-discipline. Thank you to Matt, Jess and Jessica for passionately teaching the students and sharing their expertise.

Stephanie Kelleway
Sport Academy Convenor

Last Friday, we wrapped up our Social Sport Program for the year. This term, futsal was held on a Friday afternoon in the College Hall, providing students with a fun and active way to end their school week while bonding with friends. Congratulations to MSB1 who finished on top of the ladder.

A big thank you to our amazing coaches Mia, Ella, and Claudia for their dedication and hard work. Also a special thanks to Isabella, our student helper, who generously volunteered her time to officiate the games.

Stephanie Kelleway
Sport Academy Convenor

In Term Four, we had two teams participate in the IGSA Touch Football Competition. Our Senior Team, MSB01, consisted of students from Years 8 to 11, who competed in S07 division. Our Junior Team, MSB02, consisted of students from Years 7 to 8, who competed in J07 division. It was a very successful season, with both teams finishing within the top three of their division, a great achievement. It was great to see both teams develop over the season, and new friendships being made amongst teammates.

A special mention to our Senior team, MSB01, who finished the season in first place. Congratulations to the following students from the team: Florence B, Annabel C, Olivia H, Poppy L, Scarlett L, Zoe M, Charlie M, Chelsea M, Ava S, Shelby S, Sarah S, and Claudia V.

Thank you to our coaches, Mia and Claudia, for all their knowledge and guidance throughout the season.

Lauren Martin
Sport Academy Convenor

Earlier this week, Sophia B from Year 10 attended the Broken Bay Surf Lifesaving. Congratulations Sophia who won the Senior Girls Swim and was second in the Senior Girls Board Events.

Lauren Martin
Sport Academy Convenor

The College recently sent an Opens team to the CGSSSA Touch Football Championships. The team consisted of students from Year 7 through Year 11.

Lauren Martin
Sport Academy Convenor

On a very hot Tuesday 26 November, six students from Years 7, 8 and 9 participated in the Broken Bay Diocese Tennis Championships.

Alana K, Ishita M and Karina L formed the Junior team and Sofia F, Olivia M and Suvarti S formed the Senior team.

Mount St Benedict College has a dedicated careers website to assist students with their career research and post-school planning. In addition to the main website, students have their own secure area to create and store their personalised career documents.

The site is also designed with parents/carers in mind, so you can access information to help your child with their career planning and post-school decisions. The site can be accessed via the Careers and Post School Options icon in the BenniesLink dashboard (Our new parent portal).

Whilst exploring the site, you may find it benificial to familiarise yourself with the following sections:

School Careers Newsletters

Calendar of Events

Information About Institutions/Courses

TAFENSW

Appointment booking with Careers Advisor

To download Mental Health Resources click here.