St Michael's Catholic Parish Primary School Thirroul
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Station Street
Thirroul NSW 2515
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Email: info@smtdow.catholic.edu.au
Phone: 02 4267 2560
Fax: 02 4268 1482

School News

Year 6 Captains 2022

I am pleased to share the Captains and House captains for 2022. This year we saw a tie for the male vice captains, an unprecedented event in my 20+ years of teaching. Congratulations to the following year 5 children, I look forward to working with you next year.

Captains - Sofia L & Cameron S

Vice Captains - Amelia M & Jesse M and Tomas M 

Mackillop House:

Isla O & Sebastian N

Fitzroy House:

Harper P &  Riley S

Penola House:

Eliana T & Owen A

Tennison House:

Ruby W & Noah H

Staffing News

The staffing for 2022 has been finalised, please see below the staffing arrangements for next year. On Tuesday 14 December, the children will spend some time with their new teacher for next year.

Principal: Belinda Hughes

Assistant Principal: Eliza Treble

REC: Stephanie Brown

ML 2: Emma Riolo

SSSO: Claire Ryan

Kindergarten: Katie Kelly

Year 1: Emma Wragge

Year 2: Maddie Negus

Year 3: Stephanie Brown

Year 4: Chelsea McLeod

Year 5: Emma Riolo

Year 6: Ronelle Peardon

DLNS: Shari Mayo

TPPT: Laura Aguileira 

Executive Release: Amie Dutaillis

SSO: Jakki Agostino, Renee Holt, Helen Cook, Cecilia Medina and welcome Jessica Nelse to St Michael's.

We wish Miss Groves all the best for next year at Kiama and Miss Cole who is moving closer to home.

Semester 2 Reports 2021

Due to the disruption caused by COVID-19, adjustments to curriculum have been made throughout Terms 3 and 4. Focus for Semester 2 has been on student wellbeing and learning, and priority has been given to Religious Education, English and Mathematics. As a result of this extended period of Remote Learning and the lack of opportunities for teachers to provide reliable assessment tasks to determine student learning attainment and/or growth, student reporting in Semester 2, 2021 will look a little different to the one you received earlier this year. 

This Report provides information about your child’s participation in learning during this time of extended Remote Learning. I would like to extend my thanks to you, the parents and carers, for your ongoing support and commitment to your child’s learning through these unique times.

Reports will be sent home via Compass on Friday 10 December.

Term Dates and Already Allocated Pupil Free Days 2022

All Catholic schools will have the beginning and end of school year pupil free days aligned to the Department of Education Model for 2022 onwards. All schools, CEO and Department schools are to determine at their discretion the timing of pupil free days in Terms 2 & 3.

Term 1, 2022

  • 28 January - Staff Return Pupil Free Day (Friday) 
  • 31 January - Staff at School Pupil Free Day (Monday) 
  • 1 February - Students return; Years 1-6  (Tuesday) 
  • 8 February - Kindergarten Students Return (Tuesday)
  • 8 April - Last day of Term 1 (Friday) 

Term 2, 2022

  • Pupil Free Day - TBC
  • 25 April - First day of Term 2 (Monday) 
  • 1 July - Last day of Term 2 (Friday) 

Term 3, 2022

  • Pupil Free Day - TBC
  • 18 July - First day of Term 3 (Monday) 
  • 23 September - Last day of Term 3 (Friday)

Term 4, 2022

  • 10 October - First day of Term 4 (Monday) 
  • 19 December - Last day of Term 4 (Monday)
  • 20 December - Pupil Free Day (Tuesday)

 

Carnival Dates 2022

Earlier this year we published the dates of the scheduled school carnivals for 2022. Please find below a reminder of these dates, they are on the Parent Calendar.

Swimming Carnival - Wednesday 9 February

Cross Country - Thursday 24 March

Athletics Carnival - Friday 24 June

Building Update

As we draw closer to the end of the year, we also inch closer to the refurbished administration building being complete. It is anticipated that we will be fully moved in and operational by Monday Week 11. Once we have confirmation of the date we will let all families know via Compass. We are excited to be able to move back into the office space and share the new building with you all. Fr Ken will bless the building on Wednesday 14 December.

School Fees
A reminder that 2021 school fees were due to be finalised by the end of November. Please ensure that fee accounts are finalised by the end of term 4. Please contact the school office if you require any assistance. 
PAYMENT OF SCHOOL FEES BY INSTALMENT

EXISTING FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL WITH INSTALMENTS
If you are currently paying by instalments there is no need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment as
your request carries over from year to year unless you wish to amend the frequency of your payments eg Weeky to
Fortnightly, etc.

EXISTING FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL WITHOUT INSTALMENTS
If you would like to pay school fees by instalments in 2022 and have previously not taken up this option for payment,
please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on the school’s website or from the
school’s administration office. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or
submit at the school office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your school fee account
during the process of invoicing 2022 school fees. Your school fee statement will provide a list of scheduled payments
and their due date depending on the frequency you have chosen eg Fortnightly, Monthly, etc.
IMPORTANT: Please note that if you currently have a child or children at another school in the Diocese and you are
paying by instalments at this location, you will not need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment. The
instalment request carries over from school to school with the same frequency of payment eg Weekly, fortnightly, etc.

Christmas Appeal 2021

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The Term 4 Mini Vinnies consists of an eager group of Year 6 students willing to help those less fortunate than us in our community. 
During Week 9 and 10 the Mini Vinnies are hosting a Christmas Appeal. All students have the opportunity to bring in non-perishable items (noodles, biscuits, life milk, poppers etc.) and place it in a Christmas hamper in their classroom. All items that are donated from the students will go straight to St Vincent's De Paul and will be given out to people in need this Christmas enabling them to celebrate this Holy holiday. 
Along with the non-perishable items, students will be making Christmas cards in class. These Christmas cards will go along with the items and be given to people in our community wishing them a Merry Christmas. 
The Christmas Appeal is finishing on Friday Week 10 (10th December) and all the hampers and cards will be presented at our whole school final liturgy. 
Thank you for all the work that the students, parents, caregivers and staff have done to serve our school and wider community in social justice this year. Without your kind and giving hearts, Mini Vinnies would not be as successful as it is. 
Miss Negus and the Term 4 Mini Vinnies

Keeping your children safe in Group Chats

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Although the country has now returned to face-to-face teaching and learning, the majority of school-aged kids are still using group chats to communicate with their friends.

Staying in touch with each other is a wonderful thing, it keeps human connection alive in what at times has been a very isolating learning experience. Group chats however can often be a breeding ground for bad behaviour, with bullying and sextortion being high amongst negative experiences that students have faced.

The most commonly used group chat apps are WhatsApp, SnapChat, Instagram, Discord, Kids Messenger, and Facebook Messenger, all of which allow individual and group communication.

Here are a few tips to creating positive group chat experiences for your children:

  • It is recommended that Primary School-aged children should only use Facebook Messenger for Kids so that parents can control what is going on in any group chats through the parental controls. 
  • Devices should never ‘go to sleep’ with children. Normalise handing them over to parents before bedtime or to put them in another room until the next day so they are unable to respond to messages at crazy times of the night and morning.
  • Help your children develop the skills to leave a group chat that is not helpful or is harmful in any way. Teach them simple phrases to remove themselves from toxic conversations - ‘Sorry guys, I’m not feeling comfortable talking about that’ or ‘This is getting a bit nasty for me, I’m going to go’. 
  • Remind your child that they must always be kind, respectful and responsible at all times while engaging in a group chat. All it takes is for someone to take a screengrab of cyberbullying for interactions to become public and be used as evidence against them.
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