Filter Content
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
Term wrap up
With only a week left for the term, I’d like to thank each of you for your ongoing support. There is a special feeling within our school community at the moment and we are very grateful to have the privilege to work in partnership with you. From the outset of my new role as Principal, I communicated my vision that every person who walks through our gates has the opportunity to be the best version of themselves. As a staff we have strived to build a culture where each individual understands their unique gifts and feels a sense of belonging. This will be an ongoing journey, but I hope both you and your children feel like you are a special part of our beautiful community.
Our Cyclic Inquiry (school review) has been a positive experience and has helped us better understand how we can continue to improve as a school community. Parent, student and teacher voice has been critical in this reflective process. As a staff, we feel energised and excited about the strategic priorities that we have drafted. We know it’s not going to be an easy journey, but are confident that with our strategic focus and relentless determination we will collectively create the best possible schooling experience for each and every student. We look forward to sharing our finalised strategic priorities later in term 4 with the parent community.
I’ll finish the term by leaving you some wise words from Ted Lasso.
Calendar overview and Term 4 newsletter schedule
In response to feedback, we will be trialling a method to further enhance our communication to the parent community. In week 10, we will be sharing a term 4 overview to parents via compass. This overview aims to provide you with information on upcoming events across all aspects of our school (Catholic Identity, sports events, P&F events, fundraisers etc). Please note that in some circumstances dates or times may be adjusted across the course of the term. If this is the case, parents will be notified of the changes. In time we will seek your feedback to evaluate this communication strategy.
A reminder that in term 4, we will also be trialling sending parents newsletters in weeks 3, 6 and 9. We will also evaluate this change at the end of term 4.
Mr James Bryce - Principal
What’s coming up in Term 3?
What’s coming up in Term 3?
|
Event/celebration |
Date |
Parent support, engagement, or reminders |
|
First Penance Class - Session One |
Tuesday - 19th September At 3.45pm |
Parents and students. Please bring your booklet and pencil. |
|
Staff Spirituality |
Friday 22nd September |
Student pupil free day |
What’s happened at St Michael’s over the past fortnight?
Christmas Art
Congratulations to these creative students for their outstanding achievement in becoming the finalist for the Diocese Christmas art competition. Their dedication to to convey the essence of the Christmas story through art is truly commendable.
Thank you to Mrs Campbell and Mrs Aguilera for their commitment to ensuring our finalists artworks submissions were prepared and submitted to the highest standard.
Once again thank you to all our Stage Three students who put their hearts and souls in producing not only creative but meaningful artworks.
Catholic Mission Month Launch
Yesterday My Bryce had the pleasure of accompanying Lucy B and Oliver F at a Mass held at Holy Spirit for the launch of Catholic Mission month. Congratulations to these leaders for their remarkable representation of our school.
Mini Vinnies
Sacrament of Penance
Next week our Year Two students will begin preparation for the Sacrament of Penance.
The Sacrament of Penance, also called reconciliation or confession, is a way for us to be forgiven, find healing, be reconciled, and brought closer to God. It is a message of love and hope that God has for each of us. Let us place our Year Two students in our prayers as they commence their preparations.
Mrs Steph Brown - Religious Education Co ordinator
What's coming up in Term 3
What’s coming up in Term 3:
|
School event |
Date |
Parent support, engagement, or reminders |
|
Around the World Mufti Day |
Thursday 21 September |
Wear mufti clothes with the theme ‘around the world’. Gold coin donation goes towards fundraising for our new playground equipment. Special ‘around the world’ canteen meal deal and snacks. Use the ‘chip in’ function to donate to our playground equipment fundraiser. See additional information below |
What’s happened at St Michael’s over the past fortnight?
WASTE FREE WEDNESDAY update
Here are the results for Week 8:
Year 1: 52%
Year 2: 63%
Year 3: 50%
Year 4:52 %
Year 5: 62%
Year 6: 47%
Kindergarten: 82%
So the Gold WFW warriors were: Kindergarten
And the silver WFW warriors were: Year 2
Here are the results for Week 9:
Year 1: 63%
Year 2: 80%
Year 3: 65%
Year 4: 70%
Year 5: 57%
Year 6: 52%
Kindergarten: 91%
So the Gold WFW warriors were: Kindergarten
And the silver WFW warriors were: Year 2
This week was MAGIC ROUND so all students who bought waste free lunches to school on Wednesday this week have gone into the draw to win 2 BENTO boxes. These will be raffled off on Monday morning.
The overall Term 3 WASTE FREE WARRIORS are Kindergarten. They will be rewarded with extra play and a taste testing session of produce from our school garden. This produce will be strawberries, cherry tomatoes with basil and lemon cordial with mint.
Respectful Relationships
We are continuing our respect focus of ‘Calling out Disrespectful behaviour’ as we are starting to get very good traction with students being upstanders and calling out disrespect when they hear it and see it. The members of our Student Advisory Group (SAG) have been busy creating actual scenarios and role plays of calling out disrespect for all classes to enact and use as discussion points. Lara M and Olivier F in Year 6 also created an imovie after they interviewed students about their thoughts on calling out disrespect. You can view the imovie below.
Calling out Disrespectful Behaviour is…
-Saying stop in a strong voice
-Saying, ”I don't like what your saying or doing”
-Doing something about the disrespect, taking action
-Being brave and not worrying about what others will think
-Helping/standing up for others
-Telling a teacher when you hear or see disrespectful behaviours
Calling out Disrespectful Behaviour is not…
-Being a bystander
-Ignoring, walking away from disrespectful behaviours
-Joining in and encouraging disrespectful behaviour
Term 3 Respect Focus
|
Weeks |
RESPECT FOCUS |
|
Week 9-10 |
Calling out Disrespectful Behaviour |
School Assembly Timetables
|
Week |
Focus |
|
9 |
Living the St Michael’s Vision Awards Assembly |
Mrs Amy Sammut - Assistant Principal
St Michael’s School Social Media
With so much going on at school, a great way to follow any up and coming events and read about the great things that are happening, please follow us on:
Instagram- stmichaels.thirroul or Facebook-St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Thirroul.
|
From Fr Ken Blessing of Animals, Monday, 2 October at 9:30am. As usual, the Blessing of Animals will take place on the Monday of the long weekend, 2 October at 9:30am at the Parish of Saint Michael, 325 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Thirroul. The blessing takes place in the courtyard next to the church. All animals under 800kg and their carers are welcome, though please keep the larger crocodiles on a tight leash. The feast of St Francis of Assisi is on Wednesday, 4 October, with Mass at 9:00am – animals are welcome at that Mass. Blessed are you, Lord God, maker of all living creatures. May we always praise you for all your beauty in creation. We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.
Centenary of the Parish – Saturday, 28 October. All are invited to join our parish family, old and new, to celebrate the Parish’s first 100 years! Mass with Bishop Brian will be held at 17:30pm on Saturday, 28 October, followed by a community gathering: a BBQ in the school grounds for all. Further details to follow. In addition, to celebrate the Centenary, you will be able to order special mementos: 100 Year Anniversary Book; Centenary Wine Glasses; Centenary Wines – Sauvignon Blanc or Merlot. Order forms are available in the church, from the Parish Office, or on the Parish’s website or with the Bulletin emails. Orders need to be placed by Tuesday, 3 October the latest. Hand or email in your order form to the Parish Office, or in a special box on the front seat in the church. By 10 October, please phone or email the Parish Office, or complete the sheet in the church indicating how many from your family will be attending the BBQ dinner after the 17:30pm Mass on Saturday, 28 October. All are invited to attend. |
What's coming up in Term 3 & 4
What’s coming up in Term 3 and 4
|
Event |
Date |
Parent support, engagement, or reminders |
|
MACKILLOP SELECTION TRIALS The MacKillop Selection Trials will be held on Monday 18th September, 2023 in Homebush. Congratulations to both Abigail S and Tye F who will represent SMT. Abigail will be participating in the “1500m track race” and Tye is participating in “High Jump”. Congratulations to you both and wish you all the best. |
Event date: 18th September, 2023 |
Contact Teacher: Ms Maria Shea |
|
Cricket Gala Day - Stage 3 ONLY (Boy and Girl Divisions) |
Thursday - 12th October, 2023 (Backup date 19th October, 2023) Venue: Thomas Dalton Park (South) Fairy Meadow |
Consent/payment due by: 12th October, 2023 Parent support: Team Managers required Contact teacher: Ms Maria Shea |
|
2024 Representative Sport Pathway Trials. List of sports open for nomination include:
|
Trials commence in Term 3, 2024 and continue throughout 2024. |
Nominations: Opened Monday 11th September, 2023 Close: Monday 23rd October, 2023. Please refer to the Compass notice sent to current Year 3, 4 & 5 students' families for more information, selection criteria and how to nominate your child/ren. Please contact Ms Maria Shea for any further information in regards to nominations and criteria. |
Congratulations to both Abby S and Tye F who will represent SMT at the MacKillop trials at Homebush on Monday 18th September, 2023. We wish you both the best and success in your events.
STUDENT SPORTING SUCCESS STORIES
We invite all our families to share their child/children’s sporting achievements outside of school, so we can share in their success as a whole school community through our School Newsletter.
If you are interested in nominating your child for any of the above trials, please login to https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/sport/events-primary/ to find out further details about the events, how to nominate your child and the closing date. It is the responsibility of the parents to individually nominate their child.
If you require any further information about sporting events at St Michael’s please contact Ms Maria Shea (Sports Convenor).
Ms Maria Shea - Sports Coordinator
|
eSafety Webinars for parents and carers |
|
Getting the most out of gaming This 45-minute webinar provides families with strategies for supporting children and young people to have safe, positive experiences when playing games online. It is designed for parents and carers of children aged 7 to 14. It will cover:
Dates (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/1334321559130979344 |
|
Getting started with social media: TikTok, YouTube, Instagram This 30-minute webinar is designed for parents and carers of young people in primary school. It includes practical tech tips, conversation starters and digital parenting advice. It will cover:
Dates (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/#rt/2822124618746015758 |
Miss Emma Riolo - Instructional Coach
Congratulations to the following students who received awards at the last assembly.
Principals Award
- Willow B
- Elliot O
- Milla B
- Maggie L
- Rhys W
Gold Award
- Milla B
Term 4
Executive Meeting - Thursday, 26 October (2-3pm)
General Meeting - Thursday, 2 November
(6.30-8pm) Venue Beaches Hotel, Thirroul
2023 SMT Fundraising Event - Friday 17th NovemberTICKETS SALES ARE NOW LIVEThe time has come..we welcome all parents and carers within the SMT School Community to purchase their tickets to the 2023 fundraising evening via the Flexischools app. With only 200 tickets available, we encourage everyone to jump on board and grab your tickets before they sell out!Date: Friday the 17th of November 2023Time: Doors open at 6.30pmVenue: Thirroul Surf Lifesaving ClubTheme: AROUND THE WORLDCost: $55 p.h. tickets include games, prizes, donation and entertainmentBYO Alcohol and payment for food vans (His Boy Elroy and Steve’s Pizza)Tickets can be purchased via Flexischools App. If you have any questions or need assistance purchasing tickets, please reach out to the team at pandf@smtdow.catholic.edu.au.Term 3 – Mufti Day
Thursday, 21 September (Week 10). To support the lead up to the annual parent Fundraising Evening, we encourage all the children to get into the spirit of the same theme - ‘Around the World’.We kindly ask children to bring a gold coin donation for the school P&F. All money raised goes towards supporting school resources, facilitlies and community events hosted throughout the year.
Kanteen Kat will also join in the fun with a special canteen order for the day, parents are welcome to 'chip' in towards their lunch order. All money raised through Kanteen Kat will go towards the P&F.
To promote this great initiative the Kindness Factory are launching a Design a Mascot competition with the aim of bringing the 12 attributes of kindness to life in the form of mascots. This could be a stick figure, a cartoon character, a sketch or emoji.
Click on the link to enter:
Illawarra Edible Garden
Not sure if you can add the link to your Instagram Linktree but if so here it is.
Website information :
https://footballsouthcoast.com/2023/08/17/free-girls-only-come-and-try-football-sessions/
Facebook post :
Instagram post : https://www.instagram.com/p/CwAK86Dv5Vo/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
FREE TRIAL: Week 1 of Term 4, on Thursday the 12th of October from 4:15-5 at Stuart Park.
2 Locations! Bulli and Stuart Park
Officially Starting: Week 2 of Term 4, on the 17th & 19th of October
Finishing: Week 10 of Term 4, on the 12th & 14th of December
When (Bulli): Tuesday mornings from 7:05 - 7:50am at Bulli Junior Football Club
When (Stuart Park): Thursday afternoons from 4:15 - 5:00pm at Stuart Park (meet on the corner, where George Hanley Drive and Cliff Road intersect)
Who: for Primary School children who want to:
Learn the foundations of running
Train for and improve in Cross Country and Athletics
Improve fitness for other sports
Price: $135 for 9 weeks
To find out more information about the program, or to enrol in the Savvy Kids Run Program at Bulli or Stuart Park, please call 1300 942 895.
Savvy is a NSW Active Kids Provider. If you would like to use your voucher for your child, please let us know before paying, so we can arrange this.
