Dear Parents,

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

Congratulations to all the students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Wednesday and Thursday nights. They were lovely nights with the candidates being well supported by many family and friends as they take the next step in their faith journey. 

The children have now completed their initiation into the Catholic faith and we pray that the gifts and the fruits of Holy Spirit shine through in their daily lives while building their own relationship with Jesus. 

A huge thank you to Fr Ken for a beautiful ceremony. Thank you to the parents for being the first and foremost educators of their children in the faith and to the teachers and catechists for assisting the children with their faith formation.

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 or 30 November or 1 December or 7/8 December or any weekend from then on.

MINI VINNIES TERM 3 FUNDRAISER

Thank you for your generosity with our toiletry bags and winter items for the St Vincent De Paul Society. We created toiletry bags for the Vinnies Van as well as many warm blankets and jumpers that will be given to those sleeping rough in our society. Through the Vinnies Van and St Vincent De Paul Centre, our donated items will be provided to people who need them. Thank you everyone. 

UPCOMING EVENTS TERM 3

Grandparents Day and Book Week

Friday 23rd August (see details outlined above) . 

Year 6 Mass with the Bishop 

Next term on Tuesday 6th August, Year 6 will join with other diocesan schools at Fairy Meadow to celebrate Mass with Bishop Brian Mascord. 

Mary MacKillop Whole School Mass

On Friday 9 August - Father Ken will celebrate Australia’s First Saint with us on this morning. 

Religious Literacy Assessment 

The Year Four Religious Literacy Assessment will be held on Tuesday 20 August

Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary Liturgy  - Hosted by Year 4B 

Thursday 15th August @ 2:30pm 

St Francis of Assisi Liturgy- Hosted by Kindergarten 

Wednesday 25th September @ 2:30pm 

Miss Emma Groves - Religious Education Co-ordinator

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 Friday, 2 August 2.40pm.

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

A huge thankyou to all of the classes that have engaged in the work sharing component of our assembly. It has been wonderful to showcase just some of the wonderful learning that has been occuring in these classrooms.

The Leader In Me update

Throughout this year our Year 6 student leaders have implemented a new component of our assembly that revisits the 7 habits outlined in ‘The Leader In Me’ program. Our leaders have done an absolutely brilliant job of creating engaging presentations at our school assembly to allow all of our students reflect on how they can implement these habits in their daily lives. It has been wonderful to see these habits displayed by our students throughout our school community.

Sports Uniform Term 3

Please see below the timetable for sports for each class in Term 3. If there are any amendments this will be communicated via the skoolbag app. 

Cyber Safety

Throughout the term we will continue to provide 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

There is a lot of conflicting advice and emerging research around screen time. But, the right amount of screen time can depend on a range of factors like your child’s age and maturity, the kind of content they are consuming, their learning needs and your family routine. It can be easy to focus only on the clock and how long your child is spending in front of the screen, but the quality and nature of what they are doing online, and your involvement are just as important. 

1. Be involved Sharing screen time and online activities like gaming with your child helps you gauge the appropriateness of what they are doing and manage potential risks. It’s also a great way to start conversations with your child about their online experiences. 
2. Work with your child to set boundaries for screen use If you decide that setting screen time limits is right for you and your child, discuss these new rules with your child. Older children are more likely to cooperate if they have been part of the decision making process. Colourful pictures or charts of daily limits and other important activities is a fun way to get younger children on board. 
3. Be clear about the consequences of not switching off Part of our role as parents is to set clear limitations and boundaries. The same applies to technology limitations so, being clear and consistent about the consequences for your child if they do not stick to these rules is paramount. The Raising Children Network provides some useful tools and advice. Screen time for your child – 7 tips esafety.gov.au/parents 
4. Set device-free zones and times at home Device-free zones can help you manage your family’s digital use. Here are some ideas for setting digital boundaries within your home: • no devices in the bedroom for younger children • all screens off in bedrooms after a certain time for older children • all screens off at least one hour before planned bedtime • all family members switch off at dinner time • charge devices overnight in a place your child cannot access
5. Ask your child to explain their screen use Get your child in the habit of explaining why they want to be in front of a screen or online. It’s a great way to get them thinking about their own digital habits and balancing screen time with other activities. 
6. Use tech tools to help manage access There are robust products and device functions which allow you to see which apps are being used in your home and for how long. But try not to use these tools to secretly monitor your child. Instead, be open about the process and check the whole family’s usage, including your own. Start with Google Family Link for Android devices or parental controls and Screen Time for iPhone/iPad. 
7. Lead by example your behaviour is one of the most effective ways to help your child develop a positive digital mindset. Show your child you can put down your device too

Reports 

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

Mr James Bryce - Assistant Principal

Home-School Communication Survey

Thank you to all parents who were able to complete our recent online Home-School Communication survey. Over a quarter of families responded to the survey, which is a very good response.

What we learned;

 Preferred Channels

• The preferred channels for communication are the school newsletter (88.9% read it every fortnight) and the Skoolbag App (100% of families downloaded Skoolbag)
• Facebook (72.2%) and Instagram (69.4%) are the most frequently used social media channels by families, although only 44.4% (Facebook) and 25% (Instagram) of families wanted to receive school information via those channels
• The school website was generally not accessed by families
• Parents wanted to receive different types of information e.g. notes home, school fee notices, student reports by a range of channels e.g. email, Skoolbag or sent home with child (see graph below)
• The majority of parents (63.9%) wanted to receive urgent information (such as school closures, Sports Carnival cancellations, etc) via text message
• 75% of parent respondents wanted to receive individual updates on their child’s learning/progress via the See Saw App (currently being trialled in Year 1 and Stage 3); and 22.2% responded ‘maybe’.

  

Parent Forums

• Only 44.4% of parent respondents had attended a parent forum in the past 12 months
• Families are more interested in attending for topics relevant to their child’s learning rather than for parent networking – this means that niche topics around learning for various grades/groups (e.g. children with disabilities, learning difficulties) may be preferable to larger school forums
• The majority of families preferred Friday or Saturday daytime forums or evening forums with Monday, Tuesday and Thursday the preferred days

 Concerns and Feedback

• The majority of parents felt comfortable raising a concern about their child (69.4% mostly and 27.8% sometimes) and most knew to approach their child’s classroom teacher (91.7%)
• Only 36.1% of parents felt their concerns were mostly listened to and responded to appropriately; 44.4% felt their concerns were sometimes listened to and responded to appropriately; and a minority (2.8%) didn’t feel their concerns were listened to or responded to appropriately; a portion (16.7%) indicated they didn’t have concerns
• The majority of families believe that St Michael’s listens to parents feedback, ideas and suggestions (55.6% mostly; 36.1% sometimes; 8.3% never)
• Over two thirds of families (69.4%) think introducing an email/suggestion box would be a good way to get feedback from parents – the other 30.6% weren’t sure

 Overall Communication

• The majority of families are generally happy with school communication although there is room for improvement (27.8% Great; 44.4% Good; 27.8% Needs Improvement)
• Overall families would like more information that is relevant to their child’s learning, events and calendar information and more readily available information for parents on policies and school matters

 Recommendations

• For St Michael’s to continue with a multi-channel communication approach with Skoolbag and the newsletter priority channels for school information
• To consider Instagram in addition to Facebook as key social media channels for those that like to use them
• To review the school website and newsletter to provide greater relevance to parents to support their child’s learning and make information on the website more relevant and accessible
• To review teacher-parent-student communication about learning in the classroom/subject area and introduce informal, regular ‘reporting’ on student progress
• To review timing of parent information sessions (nights preferable) and niche parent forum topics to be more relevant to children’s learning (this would also help with communication on student progress)
• To introduce a formal channel for parent suggestions and feedback
• To look at the introduction of a parent portal in the future to become a one-stop shop for home-school communication

The next step is for the school leadership to look at each of the recommendations to continue to improve school communication with families.

Parent/Carer Skills Audit

A parent/carerskills audit was also undertaken as part of the survey.

What we found:

• The key areas where parents would liked to be involved are:
  • Arts & Crafts
  • Cooking/healthy nutrition
  • Technology/STEM
  • Environmental (SEMP, gardening, maintenance, etc)
  • Marketing/Communication/Video production
• For class-related volunteer opportunities Fridays and Thursdays day times would be the preferred days
• For working bees, non-class volunteer opportunities Saturday days would be the preferred day

Recommendations:

• To look at areas in the school/learning programs that could benefit from these skills and identify opportunities for potential parent involvement, eg:
  • Parent-led arts and crafts sessions, cooking classes, STEM/IT programs, environmental programs like the veggie garden, etc
  • Parents to work with students on a school video for enrolment marketing, etc
• To start building a volunteer database of parents with specific skillsets
• To look at high schools for sources of additional volunteer support

The next step is for the school leadership to look at each of the recommendations to identify opportunities for great parent/carer involvement and volunteering.

Thank you again to all those who completed the survey and we will keep you updated of progress on these recommendations.

Book Week and Grandparents Day 

Important Information 

The theme for Book Week 2019 is ‘Reading is my Secret Power’. Book Week will run from the 19th - 23rd of August 2019 and so this year St Michael's will be celebrating Book Week on Friday 23rd August in conjunction with Grandparents day. 

To celebrate this wonderful occasion we are inviting all students from Kinder to Year 6 to come dressed as their favourite book character or around the theme of 'Reading is my Secret Power’ for our school book week parade on Friday 23rd August. Logistics of this will be sent out prior to the date. 

Timeline: 

• Book Week Parade: 9:45am

Come one and come all to see the wonderful students at St Michael’s parade around as their favourite character from a book. 

• Morning Tea: 10:30am in the school hall

Morning Tea will be provided for our lovely grandparents 

• Recess with the students: 11:00am

Grandparents can join their grandchild on the playground at recess time.  

• Open Classroom: 11:30-12:30am 

Grandparents are welcome to come to open classrooms to help the students engage in fun & exciting Literacy Activities around the Shortlisted Books for 2019. ALSO in this time go to the bookfair to purchase a book for our wonderful school. 

• Prayer and Blessing for grandparents:  The day will conclude with a prayer and blessing from 12:30- 1:00 pm. 

In the school library from 11:30am - 12:30pm there will be opportunities for families to buy a book to donate to our library. There will be cash only. 

Disco - Normal (mufti) clothes 

The school disco on Thursday 23rd of August.

K-2 Disco: 5.30pm - 6.45pm and Yrs 3 to 6: Disco 7.00pm - 8.15pm. Tickets will be sold at the door at for $5 per person, which includes entry and a sausage sandwich.  Glow sticks will be available at the door. Please dress in normal clothes. 

Introduction of a new online Platform for St Michael's

From the beginning of Term 3, St Michael's will be changing over to a new system for the digital storage of all school information. The new system is known as Compass and is the system all Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Wollongong will be using. This includes a Parent Portal, at the next P&F Meeting in Term 3 - Friday, 16 August 1.30pm to 2.30pm) a representative from the CEO will be joining us to explain and share how to use and access the portal, in particular the full capabilities of the new communication system. We look forward to seeing you there.

School Garden

As a part of our initial stages of our landscaping project we now have a beautiful place on playground one for a school vegetable garden. To assist us in the design and maintenance of the garden we are looking for any parents or grandparents to help our Year 6 leaders in designing and caring for this space. If this is something of interest could you please make contact with the school office. At this stage we are still looking for any volunteer support to have this underway in Term 3.  

AFL 

On Tuesday June 18, 12  boys from Years 5 – 6 participated in the AFL Illawarra knockout after winning our local Paul Kelly Cup Gala Day. 

Raphael Jolly

Cooper Garrard 

Seamus Wood 

Riley McEvoy 

Jayden Beaumont 

Will Egan-Brown 

Dylan Lopez- Oliveria 

Rory Milross-Rose 

AJ Duffin

Michael Wilson

Dashiell Barr

Jack  Cameron 

Kyan Lamb

They had a fantastic day and every student represented our school with pride and enjoyed playing AFL. Congratulations to each one of you on your brilliant sportspersonship and respectful attitude! We won our first game and lost our second so our AFL journey ends here this year. 

Thank you to all the parents and grandparents who came to help cheer on the team. A special thank you to Mr McEvoy and Mr Duffin who volunteered to coach and manage the team. Your assistance is very much appreciated. 

Miss Emma Groves

PARENT PORTAL

A reminder that the next P&F Meeting in Term 3 wil be held on Friday, 16 August 1.30pm to 2.30pm) a representative from the CEO will be joining us to explain and share how to use and access the portal, in particular the full capabilities of the new communication system. 

Awards

Principal's Awards:

• Tessa Body
• Sophia Lamberger
• Elijah Muscat
• Harper Pingnam

GOLD Awards:

• Tessa Body

ST MICHAEL'S BLUE

• Tessa Body