Vision: Inspired by Christ, we aspire to excellence in learning, living life fully in community
The mission at St Michael’s is to:

• be a vibrant catholic community where all feel safe, valued, loved and respected

• display understanding, compassion and care for others and all creation

• foster dynamic and diverse learning opportunities

Staff spirituality Day- Friday 26 September
On the final day of term, staff will be gathering to engage in a spirituality day. The intention of the day is reflecting on our individual and collective values that help shape the culture of our beautiful Catholic school. This will be a starting point for the co-construction of a set of values that pervade our school community and further animate our school vision and mission. To continue the journey, in Term 4, students and parents will have opportunities to provide input into the values that we identify to maintain and continue to build our school culture. By the end of the year, we aim to have identified these values and begun to identify strategies to ensure they become central to all we do. This will be inclusive of the review of our current award structure. 

Creating a community where all students feel safe, valued, loved and respected
In the last parent newsletter, I shared a personal story of my brother’s (who is neurodivergent) experience of school in  a very different era. This personal experience drives me to ensure that all students at St Michael’s feel valued and are provided with the opportunities to unlock their unique gifts. This week I observed a beautiful situation involving one of our newly diagnosed neurodiverse students. As I wandered past the classroom, I saw a book hanging out of this child’s bag titled-’ ADHD is our superpower.’ The title grabbed my attention and certainly made me curious. I was so curious, that I ended up researching the book and purchasing multiple copies for the school. The following day, this particular child asked to show me something. The child slowly opened a beautiful diary and began to read me an excerpt. I was nearly brought to tears, hearing the words this child had used to describe her ways of thinking in such a beautiful way. At a young age, this amazing person could identify what is challenging in the classroom and strategies to overcome these potential barriers. More importantly, the student could see this way of thinking as their own special superpower. 

At St Michael’s we will continue to educate our students about the importance of being curious, not judgemental. Like Jesus, it is important that we take the time to know, understand, and love all people for their uniqueness. Each of us have been given different gifts to contribute to a better world. We aim to empower our students to gain a deeper understanding of different thinking styles to better understand themselves and others. 

Enhancing our classroom environments- Marina Bailey
Throughout Term 3 and 4, we have Marina Bailey (Psychologist) coming out to work with all classroom teachers. The intention of her visits is to provide feedback on how we can create inclusive learning environments that allow all students to flourish. This is a key strategy to bring to life our school Faith, Learning, and Wellbeing framework, with a particular emphasis on environment. Marina will spend some time observing teachers, before working collaboratively to implement some little tweaks to their classrooms. Marina’s background lies in supporting students with neurodiversity, however the recommendations she will provide will enhance the learning environment for all learners. 

Thankyou to our wonderful P&F Executive
A huge thankyou to Fiona, Indra, Alexa and Rob for the coordination of our Family Movie Night. The children had an absolute ball! We are very grateful for the time and energy you put in to bring our wonderful community together. 

2026 Year 6 student  leadership elections (Term 4)
Fr Ken will once again help facilitate our revamped student leadership selection process. Please see below a timeline of the key dates that shape our student leadership elections:

Wednesday 22 October: Current school leaders speak to Years 3-5 about their roles (1.45pm in the school hall).
Friday 31 October: Years 3-5 voting for school captains (10.45am in the school hall)
Friday 7 November: Years 3-5 voting for Leaders of the vision (1.30pm in the school hall)
Friday 14 November: Years 3-5 voting for house captains (11.00am in the school hall). 

Reflection from the Principal retreat
On Monday and Tuesday, I was gifted with the opportunity to attend the Principal’s overnight retreat. This opportunity not only allowed me to stop and slow down, but also inspired me personally and professionally. The theme of the retreat was focussed on being pilgrims of hope. We commenced by anchoring ourselves by exploring Jesus teachings- the ultimate pilgrim of hope. As we delved deeper into the retreat we were challenged to reflect on our personal values that shape who we are. We then explored some of the thought patterns that can potentially derail us from staying true to our core values and the people we want to be. These common through patterns included:

1. Judgement- our mind’s evaluating and critiquing ourselves and others
2. Time travelling- being caught in the past or focussing too much on the future. Not enjoying the present moment
3. Reason giving- the mind offering logical reasons for not doing meaningful things
4. Unhelpful rules- rigid internal rules about how we must behave
5. Self stories- fixed identify labels (I’m not smart enough, experienced enough etc)
6. Comparison: comparing ourselves to others
7. Catastrophizing- imagining worst case scenarios 
8. Mind reading: assuming you know what someone else is thinking, often in a negative and fear based way. 

As humans, we all find ourselves slipping into these patterns, which have the potential to impact not only ourselves, but those around us. The best way to remove ourselves from those particular thought patterns is to find ways that we can unhook or disconnect ourselves. For me, this is as simple as going for a run, catching a friend for a coffee, a morning swim, or a short meditation. I aim to apply one of these strategies on a daily basis, particularly when life gets busy (which is a lot). We often feel guilty or worry that we let someone down by doing this, but actually it is quite the opposite. These little moments and strategies allow us to re-centre and ensure our values drive our daily interactions. To me, this is critical to ensure we are all the best version of ourselves. I will continue to share these messages with students and staff. If we can help our little people to recognise their thinking and identify strategies that help them feel positive, we are setting themselves up for now and into the future. 

Family challenge: Discuss with your child strategies that help them feel calm or happy. Endeavour to help them implement that strategy. 

Leave: weeks 1 and 2
I will be on leave for the opening 2 weeks of Term 4. During this time the amazing Amy and Chelsea will be stepping up.

Calendar overview 

Pupil Free Days

Mr James Bryce - Principal