Contacting Teachers

There are times when you may need to contact your child’s teacher for a variety of reasons. Please ensure that you send all messages via email through to the office email address; info@smtdow.catholic.edu.au  Please do not contact teachers or members of the leadership team directly. All enquiries will be responded to during work hours. 

Another way to contact the school is to phone the front office and your message will be delivered to the appropriate person. Please refrain from using See Saw as a communication tool with your child’s teacher. This is a wonderful avenue for you to view your child’s work, their progress with their learning and for you to leave feedback in regards to that piece of work.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

What is new at the school?

It has been an exciting few weeks here at St Michael’s as the Year 5 classrooms have been refurbished and transformed into contemporary learning spaces. They were in much need of a make over and the students and teachers are loving the new space.

Thank you to everyone of you that participated in the mufti day run by the P&F in Term 3, we were able to purchase new protectors for the poles in our playground. They are secure, look great and provide a safe play space for all of our students. The basketball court continues to be worked on in between wet weather. We are very close to having all the line markings completed. 

Holiday Leave

A reminder if you are taking any holiday leave, even one day, there are specific forms that must be completed and then the application is considered for approval by the Principal. The forms can be collected from the front office.

New Parent Calendar

We have been working with the CEO to set up a live parent calendar that can be accessed through our newsletter and through your Compass Parent Portal. 

 The calendar on the newsletter can be accessed in 2 ways:

• You'll find it in the 'Calendar' tab in your main menu on the newsletter (ie: on the top bar menu on desktop (ie: here); and in the main hamburger menu at the top-left of the screen on mobile).
• It is also added as an 'Upcoming Events' panel in your newsletter sidebar (circled in red below). This will be automatically updated whenever something is added to the calendar.

Sharing Celebrations in our School

Covid 19 has certainly presented many challenges, one of the more significant impacts has been the restriction of having parents and carers permitted on site. We certainly miss having you a part of our celebrations and events. We have attempted to where possible share photos, videos and news articles with you as a parent community. The CEO have released some further guidelines in accordance with the sharing of footage. Please find the summary below and the implications for us here at St Michael’s.

• Confirmation that an event will be recorded for distribution must be advised in writing to parents (this will be done via Compass)
• The signing of the annual consent form for publishing of photos, videos etc will be relied upon for permission. If parents would like to revoke this they can do so in writing via the office email address.
• No duplication or onward transmission of the recording is permitted

We will begin to share recordings of liturgies with our parent community, these will be advised via Compass before hand. These guidelines will ensure that we continue to maintain the privacy of students and families and follow current restrictions and guidelines.

Staff Development Day

The postponed staff development day from term 3 will be held on Wednesday 16 December. This means that the students last day of school will be Tuesday 15 December.

Creative Arts News

‘The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."
Albert Einstein 
This fortnight’s "Creative Corner” is our amazing Year 3 students, sharing their
wonderful creativity in the processes of creating ‘Violin and Newspaper’ inspired
artwork by Pablo Picasso and the arrangement of Hip-Hop dance. Demonstrating the
Criss Cross, Two Step, Happy Feet and the Hip and Pull techniques on the link below:

Thank you!
Over the last few weeks I have received many kind words of appreciation and thanks
from families and caregivers. I would like to thank you all, for your support in
celebrating the teachings of the Creative Arts curriculum.
Please feel free to contact me via the school office, if you have any questions or queries.

Mrs  Paula Jackson – Creative Arts Classroom Teacher