St Michael’s Thirroul Christmas Concert 

Term 4 Friday, 6 December 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week I would like to acknowledge the partnership of the school and you as parents and carers. This was certainly demonstrated in abundance last Friday with the launch of Mission Month through our liturgy and then the stalls.

I felt humbled and privileged to be a part of this community last week as we came together in a powerful action of prayer, service and outreach. For me it was what the children took away from the experience. They saw our community working together for the service of others, they were the creative minds behind what the stalls would hold and or sell and it was their participation and commitment to the cause that shone through. This was an authentic display of our vision ‘Inspiring Excellence in Living the Faith’.

Thank you once again for your support and for helping to prepare, buy, bake and sell on the day. The time and effort for all of this does not go unnoticed. Thank you to Miss Emma Groves for her leadership and coordination of the day and to the teachers of St Michael’s who also spent time in assisting the students to prepare for the day.

Please see the write up in the Religious Education News for a detailed reflection of the day and for the wonderful contribution that we were able to make for the people of Myanmar.

Mrs Belinda Hughes - Principal

MISSION MONTH LITURGY AND STALLS 

On the 25th of October St Michael’s Catholic Primary School Thirroul engaged in a Mission Liturgy and fundraising efforts for World Mission Month. The students, staff and families of St Michael’s were invited to think about the importance of education as a path to dignity, opportunity and peace for the people of Ghana. We celebrated a whole school liturgy in order to come together in faith to pray for the country of Myanmar. The school community engaged in a liturgy of the Word which incorporated symbols that represented the hardship faced by the people of Ghana, including malnourishment, lack of education, harsh living conditions and limited care for those living with a disability. These items were then replaced with positive symbols that represent hope for the future, including a bowl of rice, a book with writing in it and a pillow. 

Then we took our faith into action and the community of St Michael’s had the opportunity to be a light of hope for those who are trapped in darkness, by contributing to the education of the children of Ghana during World Mission Month. The students of St Michael’s prepared and set up stalls in order to raise money for Catholic Mission. There was slime, donut off a string, basketball shoot out,  ice-cream, lucky dips, show bags, cakes and much more! Grandparents, parents and friends all came along and there was a great sense of solidarity, passion, enthusiasm and justice. This truly showcased living the faith in partnership with our community. 

In 40 minutes our small school raised: $2400  to support Catholic Mission in building schools, training teachers, providing food and allowing children, especially those with a disability to have access to an education in even the most remote parts of Ghana. Thank you to all the parents, families and friends who came to support our St Michael’s Mission Day! The generosity and the money raised on the day speaks volumes about what we value at St Michael’s. Thank you also for your support in bringing in the different items that we used to sell at the stalls. We really appreciate your involvement, support, generosity and enthusiasm.

See below the ways our money can be of service:

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a healing Sacrament. This is where we learn to mend our broken relationships with God and others. Congratulations to our students who received their First Reconciliation on Wednesday and in doing so have taken the next step in their Catholic Faith journey. In the following weeks, students will continue their preparation to receive their First Holy Communion (the second step in their initiation into the Catholic Faith). We wish students and their parents the strength to continue to share with each other their beliefs and love in Jesus Christ. A reminder that the second preparation lessons are on the 12th & 19th of November at 3:45pm.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

On Monday 11th November our school will again be participating in a joint service with the Austinmer -Thirroul RSL and Thirroul Public School.The Captains and Vice Captains from both schools will be leading the service on Monday morning from 10:30am -11am. Students from Years 3 to 6 will be representing our school at this service. Parents and friends are invited to join us at Thirroul Cenotaph at 10:20am ready for proceedings to begin at 10:30am. Students may bring individual posies of flowers to lay at the cenotaph.

YEAR 5: FAITH AND LEADERSHIP 

In line with our School, Review and Improvement goal of authentic faith formation for students and teachers on Wednesday November 13 the Wollongong MX Mission Team will be facilitating a Leadership and Faith Formation retreat for all Year 5 students. 

During the day the team will facilitate three distinct sessions and use various elements to engage students in the theme of ‘Leadership & Faith Formation’. Through the lens of leadership, the day will present the students with opportunities to discover how God has gifted every person as a leader, seeking to inspire a life lived to the full. 

This day will assist in preparing our Year 5 students as they become the leaders of St Michael's in 2020. 

PUBLIC SPEAKING

On Wednesday October 23rd two of our wonderful Stage Three students represented St Michael’s in the Regional Diocesan Public Speaking finals. Charlie Lamberger from Year 6 and Zoe McNamara from Year 5 were selected to represent our school after finishing first in our school competition. Both speakers came up against some extremely talented public speakers from across the south-east cluster of our Diocese. Both Charlie and Zoe did an outstanding job of delivering very powerful and engaging speeches to a large audience. A special congratulations to Zoe who finished second and will now compete in the Diocesan finals in Bowral. We wish you all the best in the next level of the competition and know you will do our school proud.

UPCOMING RE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY: 

Friday, 1 November: Year 6B Mass: All Saints & Anointing of the Sick 

Friday, 1 November: All Saints Liturgy - 6B Hosting @ 2:30pm

Friday, 8 November: Year 3 Mass: 31st Week in Ordinary Time

Friday, 15 November: Year 5 Mass: 32nd Week of Ordinary Time

Monday, 11 November: Remembrance Day Service 

Tuesday, 12 November: First Communion - Class 1 - 3:45- 5:00pm

Wednesday, 13 November: National Evangelisation Team (NET) Leadership & Faith Formation in Year 5

Friday, 22 November: Year 4B Mass: St Cecilia 

Tuesday, 19 November: First Communion - Class 2 - 3:45-5:00pm

Monday, 25 November: Lord Jesus Christ - Christ the King Liturgy - Hosted by 4W @ 2:30pm

Friday, 29 November: Year 6W Mass: 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Saturday, 30 November (5:30pm) and Sunday, 1 December (8:00am): Holy Communion 

Monday, 2 December: Year 6 Graduation Liturgy & Supper tonight - 7pm

Saturday, 7 (5:30pm) and Sunday, 8 of December (8:00am): Holy Communion

Friday, 6 December: Year 4W Attending Mass: Friday of the 1st Week of Advent & Anointing of the Sick 

Friday, 13 December: Final School Mass 2019 @ 9:30am

Miss Emma Groves - Religious Education Co ordinator

Afternoon Pick Up

We have had multiple complaints from the community about the congestion at car pick up time. Please see the SPB4L update for a reminder of the procedures. In particular the no parking and the need to drive around the block if there is no space in the car line. I thank you for your cooperation with this, it is important for the safety of the children and for our community.

P&F Meeting

Please join us for our next P&F meeting on Friday 8 November at 9.30am in the library.

Annual School Report

How are we going?

Each year every Principal in the Wollongong Diocese prepares an Annual School Report (ASR) which highlights what is happening in their school and also provides an opportunity for parents, students and staff to reflect on how they feel their school is going.

We will be using a process known as “Appreciative Inquiry” to gain your feedback for this report. The Appreciative Inquiry process has been used successfully around the world in many organisations, including schools and the business workplace. Appreciative Inquiry works from the assumption that there is something positive about every organisation. It allows the strengths of a school to be celebrated and highlights areas that require further development. Specifically, I am asking you to respond to the following five “Appreciative Inquiry”

questions:

1. What do you most value about being a member of St Michael’s Catholic School?
2. What do you most appreciate about this school being Catholic?
3. What do you value most about how your child learns at St Michael’s?
4. If you could preserve or maintain three aspects of the school for the next five years, what would they be?

5. If you could have three wishes that ensured a more successful school from 2017 onwards, what would they be?

These surveys were sent home last week. The responses to this survey will be summarised in the St Michael’s 2019 Annual School Report which will be uploaded onto the MySchool website and our own school website midway through next year. I would really appreciate your feedback. Thank you for your time on this survey.

New Phone System

On Monday the school will have a new phone system installed. This will bring us in line with Diocesan primary schools. This change will mean we will no longer have the phone lines down and we will be able to contact classrooms from the office. We will now be able to call children up from their classrooms when needed. This will also bring us in line with Diocesan procedure and policy.

World Teachers Day Thank you

Thank you to the P&F who, on behalf of the parent body, provided a morning tea for staff to celebrate World Teacher’s Day. It was much appreciated and the staff welcomed the lovely treats as well as the recognition of support.

Last Day of 2019

In accordance with the New South Wales Government directive St Michael’s school will be closed for the last two days of the gazetted school year. The last day for all students enrolled in State and Catholic schools in the 2019 school year will be Wednesday, 18 December.

Year 6 Farewell and Supper

We will be celebrating our Year 6 Farewell and Mass on Monday 2, December. Mass will be held at 7.00pm followed by our farewell celebrations and supper in the McCarthy Centre.

Congratulations Sophie Lyon!

Sophie presented a powerful speech in the public speaking competition for Year 2. It was addressed to the Prime Minister and she was advocating for the plight of others less fortunate. Sophie sent her speech to the Prime Minister and she received a reply! Sophie shared her letter with us this week.

OUR SCHOOL GARDENS

Our school gardens are definitely something to celebrate! They have really come along in such a short period of time. Thank you to those who watered our garden areas over the holiday break. We are already getting so much produce and many people have been able to use some in their own salads or cooking.

Thank you once again to Jeremy Smith and the parents who have supported him in getting the gardens up and running. Year 5 and Year 6 students have enjoyed working on the gardens and learning from you.

The whole school community is now going to be involved in taking care of this space. A roster has been put together and each class knows the weeks that they will be responsible for watering and weeding.

Some of our environmental grant money was spent on making up garden kits for each class.  

Below are photos of the garden beds and garden kits that have been put together.

Mrs Katie Kelly - (WEN - Wollongong Environmental Network Contact)

TRANSITION TO SCHOOL PLAYGROUP

Last week we started the Playgroup sessions for the children who will be starting Kindergarten next year.  Each session goes for 1.5 hours with a total of 8 sessions over 4 weeks. The playgroup aims for the children to become familiar with their new surroundings and to be involved in a number of play-based experiences. It is also a lovely way of welcoming families into our school community.

We have had 3 sessions so far and the children are enjoying the unstructured play, fine motor experiences, home area, shop area, story telling play, sensory experiences and gross motor activities. Over the next couple of weeks we will be implementing some structured play as well as a number of outdoor activities.

At the end of each session we have been playing a clean up song while the children, family members and teachers help pack away the play equipment. This has been working very well and we seem to be getting faster each time.  After pack up, the children get their morning tea and come and sit on the mats ready for story time.

The program has been positive in the way that it provides opportunities for relationship building between the children, parents and teachers. Thank you to Year 4 who have been so enthusiastic in helping out and also to Mrs Loughrey who has set up the morning tea for the parents at each session. Also, to Mrs Hughes, Mr Bryce and Miss Groves for joining us in the hall.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed meeting the children who will be in my class next year and it has been lovely meeting the parents. I look forward to the rest of the Playgroup Sessions.

Mrs Katie Kelly - Kindergarten Teacher 2020

The Christmas Story

Art Exhibition and Competition

2019

Over a thousand Years 5 and 6 children across the diocese began last term with blank canvases and sheets of paper. Now, 56 talented young students have had their artworks selected for the 2019 CEDoW Christmas Story Art Exhibition at the Wollongong Art Gallery – inspiring us with beautiful imagery and artistry, rich meaning and creative storytelling to celebrate the Christmas Story. 

Congratulations to Tessa Body and Chloe Bleeker from Year 6 Blue who had their incredible artworks with their descriptive written scripture passages displayed in the Wollongong Art gallery between the 5th October and Wednesday 23rd October. 

Please find below our CEDoW coverage of the Christmas Story Art Competition and Exhibition: https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/about-us/general-news/christmas-story-art-exhibition-2019/

You might also be interested in our interactive virtual tour of the exhibition with audio... view of all the 56 students' artworks as displayed at the Wollongong Art Gallery - zoom in to view a student's artwork in closer detail and to hear from the student as they describe their artwork for you.

INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL TOUR WITH AUDIO at: https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/students/christmas-story-art-competition/resources/interactive-virtual-tour

Mrs Jackson - Christmas Art 2019 Coordinator

Term 4 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. 

Week 5- Friday 15 November (6W sharing their work)

Week 6- Friday 22 November (Year 1 sharing their work)

Week 8- Friday 6 December  (Year 5 sharing their work)

Car pick up procedure reminders

Our morning and afternoon procedures are designed to ensure that students leave school safely.  See below information about Car Pick Up and Morning Duty.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation with these procedures.  We welcome any constructive feedback that may further enhance our practice.  

Car Pick Up Reminders

• Arrival to the car pick up zone is from 3.20pm (NB Please do not arrive earlier than this time as you will be exceeding the 2 minute limit and it causes traffic congestion in Station Street and Lawrence Hargrave Drive)
• Please stay in your vehicle (students enter the vehicle with their school bag - due to the busyness of car pick up it is not safe for students to open car boots to store school bags, bikes or instruments - if you need time and space to pack away belongings please do not use the car pick up zone)
• Students should enter the car from the kerbside. It is not safe for students to enter vehicles on the driver’s side as passing cars are very close
• Ensure that your surname sign is on display when pulling up at the kerb
• If there is no room to enter the pick up zone drivers must do a lap around the block and return
• Students walk to the teacher on duty when their name is called and have their bags off their backs ready to get into their car
• The teacher on duty will direct students to their car when it is safe. 
• If your child requires assistance to put on a seatbelt, please be aware of the bank up effect caused when cars are stationary in the car pick up line for an extended period.  Therefore, it would be appreciated if students are loaded and seat-belted as quickly as possible. Please note it is not appropriate for school staff to have the responsibility for placing children in their safety restraints.

Morning Duty:

• Supervision begins at 8.30am
• Handball is played during morning duty due to the constant flow of students into the school
• Once students have entered the school gates they stay in the playground ‘in-bounds’ area

Professional Learning update 

This week our collaborative planning sessions to support our professional learning in writing have continued. During this time staff collaboratively analysed student writing samples to identify whole class, small group and individual needs to guide their targeted teaching and learning. We have already seen such an impact from K-6 in students writing, particularly their ability to engage an audience. We look forward to sharing some of this exciting learning with the parent community in upcoming newsletters. In our next newsletter we will continue to share some parent videos of ways in which you can support your children’s writing with some engaging and short activities. We hope these videos are informative and valuable. 

Mr James Bryce - Assistant Principal

Learning Labs 

The University of Wollongong has invited your students to LITTLE and EARLY LEARNING LABS, an academic enrichment holiday program. They are targeting students from Year 1 to 6 during 2019, who are passionate, self-motivated and curious learners.

Dates: Little Learning Labs (Years 1 and 2): 6th – 8th January 2020

Early Learning Labs (Years 3 to 6): 14th – 16th January 2020

Venue: University of Wollongong (Wollongong campus only)

Applications close: 6th November 2019

LITTLE AND EARLY LEARNING LABS program brochure

 APPLICATION PROCESS

• Parents/Guardians visit the website and read the full list of workshops available by scrolling to the “January workshops overview” section.
• This is an academic enrichment program designed for students who are motivated and passionate learners and performing excellently in their area of interest. First-time applicants are required to demonstrate their suitability for the program. One piece of supporting documentation is required (see 'Supporting Documentation' section on website). Please note that the Teacher Nomination Letter can be used as a supporting document.

Please know that workshops fill very quickly.

We will also have several sponsorship places available for students who identify as Australian Aboriginal/Torres Strait or students experiencing financial difficulty. 

For further information about workshops and the application process please visit our website, or contact the Learning Labs team via email at learning-labs@uow.edu.au or phone on (02) 4221 5557.

Deadly Encouragement Awards 

The Deadly Encouragement Awards are to recognise Indigenous students who apply themselves to their learning and/or are respectful members of the school community. This year Ruben Mayers was awarded for his work in the Leaders of Faith and Community team. He has consistently given up his time to plan and be part of liturgies and assemblies. We thank Ruben for his commitment. 

Ruben Mayers 

I was proud to get this deadly award because ever since my brother got this award I wanted to try and get this award and be recognised for being Aboriginal. This year I was lucky enough to receive this award and go to the ceremony with my family and teachers.

It was a good experience because I got to meet and see some of the Aboriginal kids in the schools around here. I also got to meet some of the most successful and hard-working Aboriginal people who have been really involved with wanting to be recognised for being Aboriginal and not caring what other people say and think about them.

Inventions are Taking Shape in Year 6 

Project-Based Learning is an inquiry-driven practice that engages students in relevant, real-world problems that require them to attain strengths and skills essential for success in the 21st century. This term year 6 are engaging in an inquiry-driven project related to their Geography unit. The students were given the problem ‘How has the drought affect people, places and things?’ Through brainstorming answers to this question, the students have formed groups and chosen an issue they would like to further investigate. Some examples include dust storms, mental health issues and water wastage.  After further investigation and research about the drought and the effect it is currently having and may have in the future, the students are now inventing a product that could help alleviate their chosen issue. 

The students will work on their inventions throughout the term making prototypes, researching costs to build their project, investigating the impact their product will have on their chosen customers and looking at companies or industries that would be interested in buying their product. 

In week 10, the year six students will be presenting their prototypes and sale pitches to a ‘shark tank’. The panel will include a range of people from the Catholic Education Office and a farmer from Coonamble, NSW. 

We look forward to continuing to share our process with our real-life inventions that could potentially help make a difference in the lives of many people. 

Miss Eliza Treble - Middle Leader 2 

Cricket Gala Day

The Senior Boys and Ms Groves had a cracking day at the Cricket Gala day.  Great sportsmanship was displayed last Thursday. Thank you to Justin McEvoy and Peter Taylor for your support, as team managers. Much appreciated. Here are a few shots from the day

Congratulations!

Ainslie White was selected in the Sydney Swans Academy for AFL. Well done!

Mr Jason Novak - Sports Co ordinator

Prinicpals Awards

• Maggie Lamberger
• Ari Colley
• Amelia McNamara
• Lachlan Ferguson
• Xavier Sunderland
• Oscar Lamberger
• Zara Kokles
• Ruben Mayers
• Finlay Reid
• Sunny Canales
• Ainslie White
• Ruby Sheely

Gold Award

• Oscar Lamberger
• Milly Garrard
• Ainslie White
• Isabelle White

St Michaels' Blue

• Oscar Lamberger
• Ainslie White
• Isabelle White
• Milly Garrard

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