The strength of the community

St Michael’s has long been a unique context where a certain spirit pervades who we are and what we do. From the beginning of 2023, we as a school, have communicated one of our key intentions to create a closely connected community that is more than  just a school, it’s a family. It is often at whole school events, where you get the opportunity to stop and appreciate the wonderful community we have here at St Michael’s.  I walked away from our annual swimming carnival on Friday with a real sense of joy, pride, and gratitude. It wasn’t  just the amazing swims that brought me joy, rather the community spirit that was ever so present throughout the day. The high fives, cheers from the crowd, and words of encouragement epitomised who we are as a school community. 

As a small school community one of the biggest challenges is having limited personnel to facilitate large scale events. Once again, the  parent support played a critical role in the success of the day. We had close to 30 volunteers and many others offering a helping hand. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your constant kindness and generosity. I feel privileged to work in partnership with you to ensure St Michael’s is a place that leaves a positive mark on the hearts and minds of all students.

One of my highlights of the carnival was seeing the smiles on the faces of those boys and girls who hadn’t attended a carnival before or aren’t competitive swimmers. We had a vision to create an inclusive carnival filled with fun and community spirit. This vision was only made possible with the support of Sonya Harrison and the parent task team. We pitched Sonya an idea, and within hours, she had planned and resourced an incredibly fun novelty event schedule. 

A big thank you to our new Sports Coordinator, Mrs Danielle Campbell. Danielle brings passion to the role, and with experience on the parent side of sporting events, she brings real depth and professionalism to this role. The work she put in to prepare for this event was obvious on the day. 

Throughout the year, we will continue to look for opportunities to bring our beautiful school community together. We may not be the biggest school community, but we certainly make up for it with connection, love, and a shared commitment to making St Michael’s the best place it can possibly be for all. 

Afternoon dismissal:extreme weather 

We have recently reviewed some of our procedures to ensure we continue to provide a safe environment for all students. We have updated our procedure for extreme weather (dangerous winds, torrential rain, and electrical storms). In the event of extreme weather it is important that all members of our school community understand and follow the procedure listed below:

• A compass alert will be sent out to all parents alerting them that our extreme weather dismissal procedures will be followed.
• Students will remain in their classrooms until collected via the following options

1. Parent pick up: parents will be able to go directly to classrooms to pick up their children. The side gates (next to the hall and library) will be open for easy access to classrooms. The classroom teachers will mark off students as they are picked up by a parent/carer). 
2. Car pick up: Mr Bryce/Mrs Sammut will call out the car name as per usual. Students will exit the school via their identified gate (K-4: gate next to library, and 5-6- front entry gate next to the hall). 

• Students who are riding bikes or walking will remain at school for their safety. They will not be permitted to travel home independently and a parent will be contacted. 
• Parents will be permitted to pick up their children early after the alert is sent to avoid congestion. 

Wellbeing officer- Meet Mrs Parker
As previously communicated, we have strategically restructured the way we support the diverse learning and wellbeing needs of our students. A component of this re-structure is the introduction of a Wellbeing Officer. Mrs Nicole Parker has taken on this important role in 2024. Nicole will be on site each Wednesday to support identified wellbeing needs of students across the school. This support will be provided to students both in the classroom and on the playground. As a school we have a structured process informed by data to identify students requiring wellbeing or learning support. As per usual, please contact your classroom teacher if you have any worries or concerns about your child. If you hold escalating concerns, please don’t ever hesitate to contact Amy or I. We are here to support you, and if we know early, we can direct the required support for your child. 

Diverse Learning (enrichment) Mrs McLeod 

Mrs Chelsea Mcleod has taken on the role of Diverse Learning (enrichment) in 2024. Chelsea has already begun a thorough data analysis process in consultation with Mrs Amy Sammut to begin identifying highly capable and gifted students. Chelsea will be providing tailored support to teachers to assist them in designing learning experiences for their students that are engaging, meaningful, and targeted to their learning needs. In the coming weeks, we will also communicate some other exciting initiatives that will further engage and support the learning of some of our highly capable and gifted students. 

Playground update

As communicated towards the end of 2023, we have been provided with a funding grant to build new play equipment. Before commencing the construction of the equipment, we wanted to ensure we designed a master plan that transformed the space behind Year 5 & 6, tied in with the new equipment design. We have been blessed with the support of James Horan, who offered his services as a Landscape Architect. The concept we pitched to James was that we wanted to create inviting spaces for our students that provided an alternate option to the hustle and bustle of the main playgrounds. 

James has created an initial draft to ensure that the play equipment is located in the best location to maximise the space we have and create the environment that we envisioned. The draft includes 3 mains spaces, including the play equipment (ninja warrior course), a fairy garden for creative play, and an outdoor learning space. The design also includes landscaping that will create a calm and shady option for students and screen some of the surrounding buildings. 

Below is a draft image of the concept. We will be finalising some of the design features in the coming weeks. At our upcoming P&F meeting we will be providing some further detail on this design and some of the fundraising initiatives to complete each of the development stages.  

Calendar overview