Dear Parents and Carers,

It is a sincere privilege to be acting as Principal this week whilst Mrs Hughes is on leave.

I am so proud of our students. Having had the opportunity to work in and visit many classrooms and playgrounds, I have witnessed a genuine passion for learning and for playing with friends.

I am fortunate that my role at St Joseph’s allows me to maintain a strong professional relationship with Mr Bryce and the St Michael’s staff. We are involved in a number of professional learning initiatives and my time here this week enabled me to witness the commitment of the staff to ensuring these practices and processes are embedded across the school for the benefit of our students.

The liturgy celebrating National Reconciliation Week was a wonderful start to the week. Thank you to each class for sharing such important messages that remind us that as Australians we must continue to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Reconciliation Prayer

Holy Father, God of Love,

You are the Creator of all things.

We thank you for the survival of Indigenous cultures.

Our hope is in you because you gave your Son Jesus

to reconcile the world to you.

We pray for your strength and grace to forgive, accept and love one another, as you love us and forgive and accept us in the sacrifice of your Son.

Teach us to respect all cultures.

Help us to share justly the resources of this land.

Help us to bring about spiritual and social change to improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities, especially the disadvantaged.

Help young people to find true dignity and self-esteem by your Spirit.

May your power and love be the foundations on which we build our families, our communities and our Nation,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

 (Extract from National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council- Wontulp Bi-Buya Indigenous Theology Working Group 13 March 1997 Brisbane, Qld).

Mrs Cheryle Brennan will begin her Acting Principal role next week for the remainder of the term.

Regards,

Kaylene Duffin (Acting Principal)

Vinnies Bins

Just a reminder that our Vinnies bins are used for BOTTLES or CANS only. Anyone from our community can bring in bottles or cans from home and put them in our Vinnies bin. Please find these blue bins on the playground and add your bottles!

The scheme guarantees a minimum of 10 cents to be given for each drink container that is returned to a St Vincent de Paul coordinated collection point. This money then goes towards supporting their agency work and helping those in need.

This a wonderful opportunity for school communities to embrace the call to serve the poor and vulnerable, and as a waste recycling initiative, it resonates clearly with the inherent message of Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si.

Winter can be a particularly difficult time for the 3.6 million Australians facing food insecurity at some point each year. Whilst many of us are snuggling up indoors The Australian Bureau of Statistics has found that over 116,000 Australians are experiencing homelessness. Of these, 60% are under 35, 44% are women and 13% are under 12 years old.

We are asking everyone to bring in item to give to those who are sleeping rough this winter. Many people in our local area are living on the streets, in tents or in temporary dwellings. We thought we would do a fundraiser to raise awareness and help these people to have some basic necessities over the cold winter months. The items that we have allocated to each grade have been selected by St Vincent de Paul Thirroul and Coniston branches as things they need this winter.

There will be a basket in every grade and these items can be brought in from Week 5 (Tuesday 28th May) to Week 8 (Tuesday 18th June).

Kindergarten: Blankets

Year 1: Noodle cups

Year 2: Body Wash / Soap (toiletry item)

Year 3: Shampoo (toiletry item)

Year 4: Toothpaste and/or toothbrush (toiletry item)

Year 5: Small packets of tissues (toiletry item)

Year 6: jumpers / long sleeve shirts or blankets

Your help and generosity will make a real and remarkable difference to the lives of homeless people in our area.

Confirmation Dates for your Diary

Parents/Guardians need to attend the Parent Meeting at 7:30pm, Tuesday, 4 June 2019.

Classes 1 and 2, Tuesdays, 11 and 18 June, 3:45pm to 5pm

Confirmation Practice, Tuesday, 25 June, 7:00pm

Sacrament of Confirmation: 7:30pm on Wednesday, 26 June or 7:30pm on Thursday, 27 June 2019

If there are any enquiries please contact the Parish office - all information is on the Parish website.

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK & St Michael’s Prayer Service

National Reconciliation Week is celebrated each year throughout Australia between 27th of May and 3rd of June.

Reconciliation Week is an opportunity for all Australians to highlight and celebrate the place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and rights in the history of our nation. The theme for National.

Reconciliation Week 2019 Grounded in Truth. At the heart of reconciliation is the relationship between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. To foster positive race relations, our relationship must be grounded in a foundation of truth. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long called for a comprehensive process of truth-telling about Australia’s colonial history. Our nation’s past is reflected in the present, and will continue to play out in future unless we heal historical wounds.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY Liturgy

On Tuesday June 4th St Michael’s is celebrating World Environment Day.

On this day we are acknowledging World Environment Day by having a whole school Liturgy at 2:30pm.

World Environment Day is the UN’s most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. Since it began in 1974, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in over 100 countries. WE CAN’T STOP BREATHING. BUT WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE QUALITY OF OUR AIR is the theme for World Environment Day.

The Sacraments of First Penance and Communion

The Sacraments of First Penance and Communion are celebrated when a child is in Year 2 or seven years old (or older).

Prior to receiving First Communion, children are to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance Reconciliation.

Enrolments close on Tuesday, 10 September 2019

Enrolment Forms for 2019 may be downloaded at the parish website: http://www.thirroulcatholic.org.au/ and they must be handed in directly to the Parish office.

In order to prepare for these Sacraments, there is a preparation program consisting of the following:

Parent Meeting: Tuesday, 15 October at 7:30pm

Penance Classes 1 and 2: Tuesdays, 22 and 29 October, 3:45 pm to 5pm

Sacrament of Penance: Wednesday, 30 October at 7:00pm

Eucharist Classes 3 and 4: Tuesdays, 12 and 19 November, 3:45 pm to 5pm

First Communion: at either of the weekend Masses on 30 November or 1 December or 7/8 December or any weekend from then on.

Term 2 Assembly dates

School Assemblies

Assemblies at St Michael’s are an opportunity for our community  to come together to acknowledge and celebrate the great learning and events that happen in our school. The school assembly allows all students at St Michael’s to be recognised for their efforts. This term we have added an additional component to our assembly which allows one class per fortnight to share some of the brilliant learning that has been happening in their classrooms. Thank you to Miss Treble and 6W for sharing their learning at our week 2 assembly.

Week 5- Friday 31 May (Year 5 sharing their learning)

Week 8- Friday 21 June (Year 1 sharing their learning)

Week 10- Friday 5 July (Kindergarten sharing their learning)

Cyber Safety

Technology is a powerful learning tool that is used effectively within our school environment to provide tailored and engaging learning experiences. At the beginning of each term Stage 3 students are explicitly taught the strategies necessary to be safe in the digital world. It has become crucial in today’s society that students are equipped with these skills in order to have safe and positive online experiences. Throughout the term we will be providing parents with information that will support our school cyber safety messages at home. All information in these excerpts will be based on the information provided from the esafety government initiative that aims to support all Australians in accessing the digital world in a safe and positive way.

The link below is a great way for parents to explore strategies to support the safe use of technology with their children at home. I highly recommend accessing this content to develop a range of skills and strategies to assist your children with developing safe practices when using technology in all environments.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent

Social Media fact:

On average, children aged 10 to 14 years have 2 active social media accounts

1. Talk regularly with your child about privacy settings on social media. Updating your own privacy settings sets a great example and helps you understand potential safety issues. Be aware of any minimum age requirements.
2. Keep your ears and eyes open. Other parents and the media can be a great source of information when it comes to the latest or most preferred app.
3. Let your child know that you’re really interested in how they’re connecting with friends. They might be more inclined to talk openly about social media if you talk about what others (their friends and peers) are doing online.

Reports

Reports will be sent home this term on Friday 28 June. Parent Teacher Interviews will begin Monday 1st of July.

Showcase of learning

Throughout 2018 and 2019 we have invested in a great deal of professional learning and have witnessed the vast positive impact this has had on the learning of our students. To share this with you we will be incorporating a showcase in each newsletter to provide a quick snapshot of this learning in action.

In Kindergarten the students have been using success criteria to reflect on and edit their writing. Below is an example of the success criteria used, as well as a wonderful sample of the impact it has had on student learning.

In Year 5 the students have been focusing on using evidence to support their arguments in persuasive writing. It is important that students are allowed time to plan and craft their ideas as an initial phase of the writing process. Below is an example of a Year 5 writing planning sample:

Mr James Bryce - Assistant Principal

Parent workshop- Assessment  

On the 21st of June we will be holding a parent workshop about how assessment is undertaken within our school.

On Thursday the 6th of June we will be holding a Visual Arts day for our SPLICED students. This will be an opportunity for the students to work on their art works for a prolonged period of time with guidance from teachers and hopefully some volunteers. On this note if you have a talent, skill or interest in visual arts and would like to be a part of this workshop please contact the school and let us know. I would like to thank the parents who have already come forward to help on this day

MATHEMATICS - Developing your child’s mathematical skills

Parents and caregivers have an amazing opportunity to teach their children ‘real’ maths. Everyday activities like cutting sandwiches and talking about the shapes and fractions the bread makes all the way to which is the best deal at the supermarket. Below is a list of real life situations where you can have a conversation with your child about maths.

• Getting your child to recognise the time you leave for school or sporting events. This can then move into asking your child how many minutes until you have to leave etc.
• Looking at patterns in titles
• Look at and talk about graphs in newspapers or magazines
• Looking at the score in sporting games on television and asking questions like who is winning? How many more does the other team need to equal? How many more does the other team need to win?
• Practising timetables in the card or asking mathematical questions about speed limits, distance etc
• Get your child to work out the best buy at the supermarket or identify how much an item is going to cost.

The above suggestions are only a few examples of the many at home opportunities to talk about, enjoy and engage with mathematics at home. Asking your students ‘what if’ questions is a great way to get your child thinking and problem solving about the world around them.

Science… Let’s get coding

The year six students of the Leaders of Learning and Innovation team will continue running lunchtime coding workshops for all grades. The student leaders have done an amazing job planning for unplugged and plugged activities to develop students knowledge, skills and understanding of coding.

Ozobots

The School has also purchased 10 Ozobots that will be used across all classes from kindergarten all the way through to year six. The staff have been involved in workshops where they have shared ideas and resources make sure the ozobots have the most impact within the classroom.

mBots

The school has purchased 10 more mBots to assist with the implementation of the new science syllabus and to continue to engage our students in coding experiences. Year six students are currently working hard in their teams to program their mBots to dance, wrestle or get through mazes.

Year six will be involved in an in school competition were the winners will then go on and represent our school at the dioceason mBot coding challenge.

PARENT ENGAGEMENT,  FOSTERING EFFECTIVE AND POSITIVE PARTNERSHIPS IN LEARNING, LEADING AND LIVING THE FAITH

At St Michael’s parents have many opportunities to be involved in school life and engaged in student learning either at the school or by making connections at home. Please see below some upcoming workshops that we hope you will be able to join us for.

COMMUNICATION TO TEACHERS

• check in at the office and ask if the teacher is available. If they are available the office staff will let you know where to meet them. If they are not available you can either leave a written message or leave a message for them to call you back.
• phone the office and ask to speak to the teacher. If they are not available the office staff will leave a message for them to call you back (You may find that it is a better option to make a time to chat face to face)
• email the school at info@smtdow.catholic.edu.au with the subject “Attention (insert teacher name)” and the office staff will forward the email to the teacher – please follow this process in regards to emails. Please do not email staff directly.

GRANDPARENTS (& GREAT PEOPLE) DAY

This year we will celebrate this day on Friday 23 August 2019. This is a special day of celebration for St Michael’s and we invite not only Grandparents but also all those special, great people in the lives of the children. We are very much looking forward to another wonderful day to share with the Grandparents & the Great People in the lives of the children. So claim Friday 23 August, 2019 in your calendars!

STUDENT SUPPORT 

This year the regulations and requirements from the Catholic Education Office for a school when a student has an injury have changed. When a student is at school and has an injury that requires adjustments to be put in place (this could include, broken bones, use of crutches, fractures etc) the school now requires a medical certificate to certify that the student is fit to return to school. In addition the medical certificate needs to outline what the child can and can not do at the school, for example the student is fit to return to school, they are unable to participate in any physical activity. If your child injures themselves out of school hours please keep this in mind as you receive medical treatment. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Illawarra Surfing Titles

Three of our students competed in the Illawarra Surfing Titles on weekend held at Sharkey's Beach.

Charlie Lamberger U 12 Boys

Sophia Lamberger U12 Girls

Taj Gearside U14 Boys

The surf was a solid 4ft. Charlie Lamberger came 2^nd and now goes to NSW State Titles to be held at Maroubra beach. Well done to Sophia Lamberger who came 3^rd   

^{Great Effort!}

Uniform Shop

The Uniform shop will be open Friday, 31 May from 8.30 - 9.30am.  All orders will need to be in by 5.00pm today.

A reminder that all orders are now done through Flexi-schools.

Awards

Principal's Awards presented at the next assembly:

• AJ Duffin
• Lachlan Ferguson
• Sara Trasler
• Hamish McLeod
• Charlotte McLeod
• Tomas McCarthy

GOLD Awards presented at the next assembly

• Charlotte McLeod

St Michael's Blue Award presented at the next assembly

• Charlotte McLeod