Dear Parents and Carers,

Next week we will once again be participating in our school Colour Walkathon. This is a great opportunity to join together as a community and enjoy the activities whilst being able to raise much needed funds for our school.

This year the money raised from the Walkathon will go towards the creation of a sacred space where classes can gather for liturgy, prayer or to hold their Religious Education lessons. The planning has already begun for this space and it is shaping up to be another beautiful addition to our playground. The intended location for the sacred space is at the top of the passive play area.

I would encourage you to promote the fundraising efforts through your social media channels and invite friends and family to sponsor your child as they complete the course and get covered in all the colours of the rainbow. 

Thank you to Clare Rees and the parents of Year 4 who are working very hard behind the scenes to ensure that the day is a success for the children but also for our school and our sacred space. The donation of time and money is greatly appreciated and we all look forward to ending the term on a high.

God Bless

Mrs Belinda Hughes - Principal

You’re Invited to

St Michael’s Mission Day 2019 

On this day, as a school community, we will meet together in both prayer and action. We will have a liturgy at 11:30am and then at 12:00pm, we will put into action our school motto of “Lift Up Our Hearts”. Throughout the school, activities will be happening that will raise money to go to Catholic Mission.

When: Friday 25th October, 2019

Time: Liturgy commencing at 11:30am and Mission Stalls beginning at 12:00 pm and concluding at 1:00 pm. 

Who is invited: Families, friends and the community of St Michael’s

What: Each grade (K-4) and groups of students (Years 5 & 6) will be setting up stalls on our playground at the conclusion of the liturgy. We ask parents to come and help on their class/child’s stall and also take their child around to spend money at the different stalls available. 

What do I need: The stalls will have games, activities and things to buy. Students and families will need lots of silver and gold coins so they can be involved on the day. 

Kindergarten Liturgy - Change of Date and Time

The Kindergarten Liturgy (The Feast of St Francis of Assisi) has changed times: The updated time is: 11.30am on Friday, 20 September. 

Pupil Free Day and Staff Spirituality Day - Monday September 23

Monday, September 23 will be a Pupil Free Day for students as staff will be involved in their annual Spirituality Day. The Staff Spiritual Formation Retreat Day will focus on the theme: Sustaining Our Purpose - Self-care & Staff Well-being. This day will include an integration of spiritual and psychological practices that support us in sustaining our purpose.  “You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story & hustle for your worthiness." - Brene Brown

MISSION DAY LAUNCH

On Wednesday, 18th September some of our Leaders of Living the Faith team joined Mrs Hughes in representing our school at the Diocesan Launch of Mission Month celebrated with Bishop Brian Mascord at St John’s Catholic High School, Nowra. Early next term we will be raising money for Catholic Mission who will be providing life-saving care to children with disabilities in Ghana. 

FATHER KEN’S TERM 4 DATES

Blessing of Animals- 9:30am Monday, 7 October at St Michael's Church

All animals and their carers are welcome. 

Obstreperous camels must be on tight leashes. Leopards must be easily spotted. Chooks must purchase their eggs from IGA.

(Times & Details to follow)

Miss Emma Groves - Religious Education Co-Ordinator

Term 3 Assembly dates

School Assemblies

Due to our colour walkathon on Friday of week 10 there will be no school assembly this fortnight. Our next assembly will resume in week 2 of Term 4. A big thankyou to all of you who have come along to support our fortnightly assemblies throughout the term. 

PAT Assessments

Throughout the past two weeks students from years 1-6 completed the online PAT assessments. A big thankyou to all of the students for completing this assessment in a responsible manner . A huge thank you to Mrs Loughrey for her organisation and commitment to support all of our students throughout the PAT assessments. This data will now be accessible for all teachers to analyse impact on learning and provide further data for targeted teaching. 

Collaborative planning in writing 

This week all teachers have engaged in collaborative planning sessions to implement our professional learning in writing as a response to our most recent staff development day. There were some brilliant professional conversations and collaborative planning that have allowed us to develop additional assessment criteria in writing to analyse whole class and individual student needs. We look forward to continuing this collaborative approach next term to continually refine the way we explicitly teach writing. 

Parent Pick Up: 

Thank you to the parents and grandparents who are following our school procedures in regards to parent pick up. Please find below a reminder of the afternoon procedure to ensure that everyone is safe.

• Parents arriving at school to collect their children are asked to pick up their children from the silver seats along the office building wall 
• Students waiting for parents will assemble on the silver seats along the office wall and must not leave the school grounds until they have told the teacher on duty they are leaving.
• Students are not to run out to their parents / grandparents outside the school gates.

NB Parents who are collecting their children from school on foot (not car line pick up) are asked to come into the school grounds to ensure a safer handover.  If you have a dog please secure your pet to the fence before you enter the school site. The school gates will be open from 3pm. All parents and grandparents are welcome to wait by the school hall railings before collecting their children. 

Mr James Bryce - Assistant Principal

Colour Walkathon - Photo Permission

The school colour walkathon is fast approaching, thank you to all parents and carers who have offered their help on the day. It can not go ahead without your support. On the day there will be a parent taking photos, the photos will be handed to the school and kept at the school only. If you do not want your child’s photo taken please notify the school office.

Staffing News

Mrs Amie Dutaillis will be taking long service leave from Tuesday 24 September until Friday 27. Mrs Penelope Wood will be on Kindergarten for this time. 

Mrs Chelsea McLeod is taking long service leave from Monday 23 September until Friday 18 October. Mrs Kate Kors will be on Year 4 for this time.

Mrs Belinda Hughes and Mr James Bryce will be taking long service leave on Monday 14 October.

Compass Update - School Merit Awards

With the introduction of Compass, all merit awards will be tracked electronically. This includes Super Star, Principal, Gold and Medallions. To assist in the transition to the electronic tracking we are asking all families to send in any merit awards that are yet to be counted towards any level of award. Please send them into the office in a plastic sleeve and they will be entered into the system.

When your child is eligible for a Principal, Gold or medallion you will be notified via email.

We ask for your patience as we transition to the new system. If there appears to be a discrepancy with the initial tracking please notify the office so we can make any necessary adjustments.

Principal's Lunch

Each term, two students with the most tokens from each class, and any student who has received a St Michael’s Blue Award in the term, celebrates their achievement by having lunch with the Principal. This term’s Principal’s Lunch is on Thursday, 26 September in the last week of term. I look forward to celebrating with the children.

Summer Uniform Changeover

Our official uniform changeover date for students to wear full summer uniform is Monday 14 October - Week 1 Term 4. However if hot weather is predicted students are able to wear full summer uniform. 

Hairstyles

Please be mindful of student’s hair length and styles that are suitable for school. The St Michael’s Parent Handbook outlines: 

Hair that is over collar length must be cut or tied back. Hair may not be dyed. Hair that is untidy (for example long in length or on top or sides) must be cut, no hairstyles that are inappropriate for school (eg. rat tails, mohawks, beaded hair etc.) are allowed. Only light blue or navy coloured bands, ribbons etc. may be worn.

We appreciate your cooperation with following the school expectations around hair.

School Site Update

In the next school holidays the roof on the current Year 6 building will be replaced. Please be aware that there will be trades people on site during this time.

Canteen news

Due to popular demand, the Canteen ladies have notified us that they wish to trial the canteen on Monday to Friday next term. The Breakfast service will still only be available on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.

Mbot Challenge Finals

Please see below  an article on the CEDoW website regarding the 2019 mBot Challenge Finals that our school took part in. 

https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/about-us/general-news/students-code-their-way-to-victory-at-cedow-mbot-challenge-finals

The Christmas Art StoryArt Exhibitition and Competition 2019

Students from Years 5 and 6 have been extremely busy sketching, designing and painting their Christmas Art ready for the Diocese of Wollongong Christmas Art Competition. This exhibition and competition provides an opportunity to share with the wider community a greater awareness of the role of the arts in Religious Education. Students can develop a deeper appreciation for their talents, and recognise the value of the arts in expressing understandings of the Catholic faith.

After a lengthy judging process including St Michael’s staff we are very pleased to announce three students from Year 5 and three students from Year 6 whose Christmas Art represented a very high quality of artistic appreciation of the marking criteria and will be forwarded to the CEO.

Congratulations to:

 Year 5:
- Jessica Smith
- Kalani Paxton
- Anabel Gveric

Year 6:
- Chloe Bleeker
- Tessa Body
- Dylan Lopes De Oliveira

Accordingly, not all works submitted by schools​ to the CEO will be chosen to be a part of the exhibition at the Wollongong Art Gallery. Only those works that best respond to the criteria and that are exemplary of Stage 3 reflective writing and artistic skills will be exhibited. The number chosen for exhibition will be limited to 50 pieces of art. Preliminary shortlisting will take place in the Marian Centre on Wednesday, 25 September- the school will be informed if they have any successful candidates.
All other requirements and key dates for the Christmas Art competition can be found on the link below: 
https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/students/christmas-story-art-competition/

Mrs Jackson, Miss Groves, Mrs Mayo and Miss Treble - Stage 3 Teachers

Mrs Katie Kelly (WEN - Wollongong Environmental Network Contact)

MacKillop Athletics Championships

Big congratulations to Zali Ninness who represented the Wollongong Diocese at the MacKillop Athletics Championships in Shot Put. She earnt 6th place with a score of 6.5 metres! Massive effort, well done Zali!

Cricket Gala Day

The Cricket Gala day for students in Years 5 and 6 will be held on Thursday the 24th of October at Thomas Dalton Park. Please ensure that those students who have nominated to attend return their notes by Friday, 20th September 2019.

Diocesan Trial Notes for 2020

Diocesan trial notes have been sent out to Years 4 and 5. Students interested in nominating are required to be experienced players and extremely talented at their chosen sport with a strong representative background in the sport. These trials are not gala days or school-based carnivals. They are not designed for students to ‘have a go’, they have been designed for students who are elite at their sport and expect to make it to the next representative pathway level. There are 30 schools in the Diocese so therefore, there are restrictions on the number of students who can attend the trials and criteria that students should meet before nominating. Please ensure that those students who are nominating return their notes by Friday 18 October 2019.

Well Done!

Holly Sheldrick recently represented Mackillop in the PSSA Rugby 7's Tournament. She had a fantastic time with the team finishing 7th overall. 

Mr Jason Novak -Sports Co-ordinator

Prinicpals Awards

• Zoe McNamara
• Jeong Eum Linton
• Max Sheeley
• Shaun Jones

Gold Award

• Arabella Barr
• Callu Dennyson
• Alice Smith

St Michaels' Blue

• Arabella Barr

St Michael’s P&F Update

In term 4 there will be a P&F general meeting on Friday, 8th November, 9.30am in the school library. Please join us for a cup of coffee and some morning tea as we look back at the year that has been and celebrate all the great things that we have been able to achieve together. At this meeting there will be a report back on 2019 school priorities and discussion about P&F support for 2020. If you have any items you would like to propose for the agenda please have these to the P&F executive by Thursday, 31st October.

P & F Trivia Night