Welcome back! I hope all students and families had a relaxing break and have returned to school ready for the traditionally busy Term 4.
I would like to welcome Mr Zane Osborn to the Stage 3 team and all new students and their families who are joining us at Ben Venue this term.

K-2 Athletics Carnival

Thank you to Kathy McMillan and the K-2 teachers for organising a fun and highly successful athletics carnival. It was wonderful to see students participating in the races and activities and to see parents sharing in the fun. What a great way to start the term!

For more photos, please see the Kindergarten and Stage 1 newsletter items.

Selective High School Applications

Applications for Year 7 entry into selective high schools in 2025 are now open and close on 20 November 2023.

Please see the attached information for applicants and be aware of the application timeline, which is strict.

You must apply before the closing date via the link on the selective high schools and opportunity classes Year 7 website. Further information outlining the online application process was sent via School Bytes last week.

NAIDOC Week

During Week 3, Ben Venue will be celebrating NAIDOC Week. The theme of NAIDOC Week this year is For our Elders.

We will begin our special week with an opening ceremony on Tuesday 24 October starting at 10:30 am. We invite our Elders and members of our school's Indigenous community to join us for a morning tea and a yarn after the opening ceremony in the Yarning Circle.

Students will be participating in a variety of activities over the week including Indigenous art sessions, Dreaming stories, Yulunga Traditional Indigenous Games, and a weapons and artifacts presentation. The week will conclude with a mufti day and closing ceremony on Friday 27 October. Students are invited to wear red, black, yellow, green, white or blue - the colours of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.

We look forward to a great week of activities celebrating our Elders and the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

2024 class placement

At the end of every year, teachers work diligently on the complex task of creating functional class groupings for the new year. We aim to create classes with an even mix of boys and girls, academic and social development levels, behavioural and learning support needs, while also accounting for friendships, separations and other student needs.

As part of this process, we offer families the opportunity to make requests for special consideration in the class placement process. Requests for special consideration should be made via email to benvenue-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au before Tuesday 14 November. Please be aware that requests are sometimes conflicting, and not all requests can be accommodated.

School Bytes - Parent App

School Bytes now has a new parent app available.

Download the app on either the Apple App Store or Google Play to ensure you receive important notifications regarding school events.

Check-in Assessments

Students in Year 5 and Stage 2 will be completing reading and numeracy check-in assessments over the next three weeks. These assessments have approximately 50 questions and are mapped to the NSW Syllabuses and National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions.

Lana Howlett

Relieving Principal

Community Notices