We’re enrolling now for 2026! Applications are fee-free and can be made online. If your child is due to start Kindergarten next year, the best time to make your application is in Term 1 this year.  

Learn more about our school and the enrolment process here:

https://www.smtdow.catholic.edu.au/

Book Week 2025: ‘Book An Adventure’

This year, to celebrate Book Week, our students took part in a variety of activities that highlighted the joy and value of reading and writing in our lives. From buddy reading to author circles, our students read with confidence and proudly shared the talented readers and authors they are becoming. 

On Wednesday, Thirroul Library visited our K–2 students and took them on a virtual adventure! Together they explored a zoo, watched turtles leap off cliffs, and travelled around Australia. Their tour guides from the library taught them fun songs and dances when they arrived at school. Students even learned surprising facts, like how to move a zoo and that blue tongue lizards have a hidden third eye! It was a truly amazing experience for our students.

On Monday, our school was filled with joy as we came together to celebrate Book Week and showcase our students’ amazing learning. We want to sincerely thank all of our parents and families for the many ways you contributed to making the day so special.

The parent workshop really highlighted our learning journey so far and gave families some helpful insights and questions to guide conversations with their children about their writing. This was followed by classroom learning walks, where students proudly shared their work. It was heartwarming to see the pride and excitement on their faces as they spoke with confidence about their learning.

Our Book Parade was a vibrant highlight, with students embracing the theme ‘Book an Adventure’ for 2025 through their incredible costumes and characters. The community picnic was a beautiful way to continue the celebrations, and in the afternoon our students were treated to a very special author visit from the wonderful Anh Do, who inspired and entertained us all. This was the perfect way to top off our Book Week celebrations for 2025.

Here are some additional highlights from Book Week - Book Week Clip 

To help keep your conversations going at home about your children’s learning, here are five simple questions you can ask them:

1. What were you learning about?
2. How did you go? How do you know? 
3. What did you do if you didn’t understand?
4. How can you improve your writing?
5. What are you most proud of with your writing?

Thank you once again for preparing costumes, making time to join us, and for always supporting your children so wholeheartedly. The memories made on Monday reflect not just the joy of Book Week, but the strength of our school community.

Tournament of Minds: On Sunday 24th August, fourteen of our students proudly represented St Michael’s at the Tournament of Minds competition. Seven of our Year 4 students took on the Arts Challenge, while seven of our Year 5 students embraced the Language Literature Challenge. Both teams showed incredible creativity, teamwork, and courage as they presented their solutions in front of a live audience. We are so proud of the way they committed themselves to the process and shone on the day. It was a true celebration of the learning, talent, and spirit we have here at St Michael’s.

A heartfelt thank you also goes to the parents and teachers who encouraged and supported our teams throughout their journey. This experience was not only a chance to showcase their talents but also to grow in confidence, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Waste Free Wednesday Results

Week 4

Kinder: 86%

Year 1: 48%

Year 2: 68%

Year 3: 87%

Year 4: 48%

Year 5: 78%

Year 6: 57%

So the Gold waste free warriors are: Year 3

And the silver waste free warriors are: Kindergarten

Week 5

Kindergarten: 84%

Year 1: 70%

Year 2: 61%

Year 3: 69%

Year 4: 53%

Year 5: 74%

Year 6: 66%

So the Gold Waste free warriors are: Kindergarten

And the Silver waste free warriors are: Year 3

Final call-out to our Budding Scientists

St Michael’s Science Fair 2025  “Decoding the Universe”  Optional: You’re invited to be a scientist! This year’s theme is:  “Decoding the Universe” – discovering how things work in our world and beyond! Your Task: Choose something in Science that makes you curious and create a project to help explain it to others Science Fair Showcase Day: Tuesday 2nd September in the school hall - 12:00-1.45pm All are welcome  All students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will have the chance to showcase their amazing science project to the school community.  Your project can be: - An experiment (e.g. What melts fastest? What makes plants grow?) - A poster (e.g. What is gravity? What lives in the ocean?) - A model or display (e.g. Solar system, volcano, animal habitat) - A presentation (e.g. slideshow) Here are some ideas to get you started.  You can either use these or design your own. What do living things need to survive? What makes rain? How do magnets work? What happens when we mix things? How do birds fly? What happens to light when it travels through space? How do planets orbit the sun and why don’t they fall in? How do clouds form and what do they tell us about the weather? What causes tornadoes and how can we recreate them safely? How does the water cycle keep the environment balanced? What to include in your project: A big question or idea What you found out Pictures, drawings, or results Something that helps others learn from your project Let’s explore, investigate, and decode the universe together!

Mrs Chelsea McLeod - Acting Assistant Principal 

Gotcha 4 Life- Mental Fitness Week snapshots 

It has been amazing to celebrate Mental Fitness Week as a whole school community. Throughout the week, students have had the opportunity to develop their understanding of the mental fitness protective factors of ‘Building Our Emotional Muscles,’ ‘Embracing Your Village,’ and ‘Never Worry Alone.’ Activities have included the Book Week festivities, spending some time device-free in the classroom, reading out on the playground and participating in Mental Fitness Day. 

I hope that everyone has had a great Mental Fitness Week. Please continue to take time throughout each day and week to check in on your mental fitness and the family's mental fitness. John Mark Comer says, “You do not have to live a life of non-stop exhaustion. You, right where you are, no matter your stage of life, can adopt this practice.”

If you have any photos you would like to share from the week, please send them through to info_stmichinfo_stmichs@dow.catholic.edu.au 

Gotcha 4 Life Year 5 Student Voice Project:

In Week 5, Year 5 had the opportunity to work alongside the Gotcha4Life team to launch a student voice project. The class, as mental fitness leaders of tomorrow, were tasked to create a product that promotes mental fitness. It has been great to see how each student has worked collaboratively and respectfully within their groups, as they creatively respond to the task at hand. On the 10th of September (Week 8, Wednesday), students will be showcasing their final products to the whole school community. Details will be provided through Compass next week.

Student Engagement

Amy Berry, in her book “Reimagining Student Engagement,” describes the importance of cultivating a culture of engagement. This requires redefining the term engagement as a partnership where teachers and students come together to work toward a common goal and to share the responsibility for engagement and success. 

Throughout the year, students in Year 5 and I have worked alongside each other to flip the culture in the classroom. By seeking student feedback across the year, we have developed a shared language and expectation of engagement within the classroom, and has helped me design learning experiences that aim to optimize engagement. Students have taken ownership over their learning by identifying where they sit on the continuum of engagement, expressing why and creating a goal for the lesson. This has been a rewarding experience, and I am very excited to continue this work. 

Mr David Ryan - Middle Leader 2

On Friday 5 September, we will celebrate Father's Day with a breakfast. Commencing at 7.45 - 8.45am where you will be treated to a bacon and egg roll & a coffee. Please register your attendance via the link below.

https://forms.gle/xo1iaWAFkSe6TPS87