Dear Parents and Carers,

Yesterday, Ash Wednesday, marked the start of Lent. A time to stop and reflect on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is a time where we have the opportunity to consciously and prayerfully give to others. Whether that be through almsgiving, fasting or simply giving something of ourselves for the betterment of others.

As a school community we will continue to explore ways that we can support our local community and global brothers and sisters through this sacred time in our Church year.

Please find below a message from our Bishop Brian Mascord about Lent.

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

In early January, I wrote to the faithful of the diocese at a time when many within our communities were still fighting the bushfires or trying to come to terms with the feelings of loss and grief associated with the bushfires. Since that time, I have had the opportunity to visit a number of communities throughout our diocese in the Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee and Wollondilly regions, seeing the destruction firsthand. Importantly, these trips gave me the chance to simply be with, pray with and listen to the many stories from shocked, impacted, overwhelmed and brave people.

There have been incredible outpourings of support for the communities impacted by these fires. I continue to be heartened by the stories of unity and generosity that continue to bring people together in the aftermath of the fires, from within the impacted communities, from our diocesan agencies, our parishes and wider communities who have sought to generously donate money, time, goods and services to help those impacted and to help communities rebuild.

As a way of continuing to prayerfully show solidarity with each other, we have collected ashes from areas representing the diocesan regions ravaged by fire. I have blessed them this morning at St Francis Xavier Cathedral and have invited my clergy to add them to the ashes of their own community to be used in Ash Wednesday celebrations.

I trust that they will be, as always, a powerful symbol of the start of our Lenten journey, but particularly this year, a powerful symbol of our journeying with others in our diocese, especially those amongst us in the recovery phase.

Yours in Christ

Most Rev Brian G Mascord DD

God Bless

Mrs Belinda Hughes - Principal

Opening School Mass

Our Opening Whole School Mass is being held on Friday 28th February at 9:30am in our Parish Church. 

This is an important occasion when we come together as a school and parish community to ask God’s blessings for the year ahead. It is an important time to welcome our new students and staff to our community, as well as acknowledge our 2020 Year 6 leaders. Fr Ken will bless the Year 6 students and present them with their badges. At the conclusion of Mass, Year 6 parents are asked to pin a leadership badge onto their child’s uniform in the courtyard beside the Church. 

All parents, grandparents and families are invited to come and share in celebrating Mass with us. 

Following Mass the P&F have organised a lovely morning tea in the school hall to welcome everyone to our school community. 

Non - Perishable Items 

In service to the less fortunate of our community, we ask that each student bring a non-perishable item into their classroom before the opening school Mass on Friday 28th February. Thank you for supporting the St Vincent De Paul Society.

ASH WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday 26th February at 9:15 am, representatives from Years 4 to 6 attended the Ash Wednesday Mass in our Parish Church. 

Ash Wednesday begins the Season of Lent - time to prepare ourselves for Easter. Ashes on our forehead mark us as Christians, as people who carry Christ’s message in the actions of our lives. It is a time for refocusing and renewing our lives so that we more closely reflect our Baptismal promises. 

During Lent we are encouraged to pray, fast and give alms (money, food or clothing) to those in need. As we all know, Jesus retreated into the desert for forty days to prepare for his ministry. It was for him a time of reflection and contemplation.

Prayer - Mass attendance; family prayer; a visit to a church or chapel; reading the Bible; making the Stations of the Cross; praying the Rosary.

Helping others - special attention to someone who is poor, sick, elderly, lonely or overburdened.

Self-denial - not eating sweets or dessert; giving up entertainment to spend time with the family; limiting food and drink so as to give to the poor; not eating meat; (abstinence from meat and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday for people between 18 - 60).

Open Classrooms 

On Friday 6th March St Michael’s will celebrate our love of learning. We are inviting parents, families, and parishioners to spend the afternoon with us as we host a Celebration of Learning. 

Visitors are invited to join us at 1:50pm for a Celebration of Learning where visitors will have the opportunity to visit classrooms and engage with students in their learning. The Year 6 Leaders of the Learning and Innovation Team will greet visitors at the school front gate at 1:45pm. Following the Celebration of Learning, visitors are invited to join us for our Friday afternoon assembly where each class will share their Class Mission Statements. 

The afternoon assembly starts at 2:30pm. We hope you are able to come and celebrate Catholic Schools Week with us.

Project Compassion Launch

Bishop Brian Mascord will be launching Project Compassion at St Benedicts Catholic College, Oran Park. The theme for Project Compassion 2020 is ‘’Going Further Together”, which is based around giving in the name of hope. Mrs Hughes, Miss Groves and some members of the Living the Faith Team will represent our school at this event.  

Project Compassion Fundraiser

Caritas Australia is the international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church in Australia, and is part of one of the largest aid and development networks in the world – Caritas Internationalis – working in over 200 countries and territories. 

Each year, Project Compassion runs during the six weeks of the Church season of Lent. We are raising money and awareness for project compassion by doing a CRAZY SOCK DAY at St Michael’s on Friday March 6 (same day as Catholic Schools Week open classrooms and assembly). Students are asked to bring in a gold coin donation and these donations will go to the most vulnerable women, children and men in Australian and around the world. Together, we can all help to break the cycle of poverty and injustice.

Mini Vinnies 

A speaker from St Vincent de Paul came to speak to our new Year 5 Mini Vinnies members. Lauren from St Vincent de Paul spoke about how Mini Vinnies started and the impact they can have as a Mini Vinnie. We have 28 students from Year 5 who have joined our Mini Vinnies this year! 

Confirmation

The Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred by Bishop Brian on Thursday July 2nd @ 7:30pm.  Enrolment Forms for the Sacrament of Confirmation close on Monday 11 May 2020. 

To download an enrolment form go to the St Michael’s Parish website (http://www.thirroulcatholic.org.au/) and return it to the Parish Office.         

Life Education 

The Life Education Van NSW will be visiting our school on: Thursday 5 March, Friday 6 March and Monday 9 March. The Life Education program addresses many of the components and objectives within the NSW PDHPE curriculum. 

Dates for your diary:

• Ash Wednesday Liturgy: Wednesday 26th February @ 11:40am (School Hall) 
• Opening school Mass and Morning Tea (each child brings in non perishable items before this date): Friday 28th February @ 9:30am (Church)
• Catholic Schools: Open Classrooms, Whole School Assembly & Crazy Sock Day (Donation for project compassion): Friday 6th March @ 1:45pm onwards (Classrooms, Hall) 
• Year 6 attending Mass - Friday March 6 @ 9:30am  (Church)
• Year 3 attending Mass - Friday March 13th  @ 9:30am (Church)
• Year 5 Liturgy - St Joseph's Day - Tuesday March 24th @ 2:30pm (Hall) - CHANGED DATE 
• Year 5B attending Mass - Friday March 20th @ 9:30am (Church)
• Year 5W attending Mass - Friday March 27th @ 9:30am (Church)
• Year 6 attending Mass - Friday April 3rd @ 9:30am (Church)
• Holy Week Prayer Services from Monday 6th April - Thursday 9th April @ 9:30am each day (Outdoor Prayer Space)

Miss Emma Groves - Religious Education Co Ordinator

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.  We welcome all parents and friends to our school assemblies which are held every fortnight on a Friday afternoon at 2.30pm in the hall (McCarthy Centre). Our wonderful Year 6 leaders will be facilitating these assemblies throughout the year. This year we are exploring other ways to showcase our learning through our assemblies.

Please see below dates for our Term 1 assemblies.

Week 6-  Friday 6 March 

Week 8- Friday 20 March 

Week 10- Friday 3 April 

The Leader In Me 

This fortnight's focus will be reviewing the habit ‘Be proactive.’ During this time we will revisit this important habit and celebrate the many ways it is applied in our school community. Be Proactive is about taking responsibility for one’s own life. Proactive people don’t blame parents, circumstances, or conditions for their behavior. Instead, they choose to focus on areas of life that lie within their circle of influence. This is evident in the Gospel of Matthew below, where Jesus preaches the importance of becoming like children. The message behind this reminds us to review the attitudes and ways in which we look at the world. The gospel calls us to view it through the lens of a child removing all prejudice and complications that we commonly put in the way as adults. These gifts that children display, such as honesty, humility and innocence need to be reflected upon and become key values in our lives.  

Matthew 18:1-5
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Professional learning update 

This fortnight we have continued our professional learning in writing to continue to build consistent evidenced based practices that fosters growth in learning for all students. During this professional learning we have collaboratively used writing assessment data to review student learning and assist us in the process of designing whole class and small group learning based on student needs. In week 6 and 7 all staff will engage in a collaborative process to design teaching and learning experiences to meet the specific needs of their students. 

Below is one sample of  a component of the stage based writing assessment criteria that staff have collaboratively developed. This assessment criteria was one of the pieces of evidence that staff have used to identify student needs and next steps in instruction in writing. 

PB4L update 

Last year we had a very successful year with the implementation of our PB4L (Positive Behaviours for Learning) action plan. This week our new PB4L team had their first meeting to review last year's progress and use our school data to drive our action plan for 2020. We look forward to building on last year's work to continue to create safe and supportive learning environments for all students. We look forward to sharing our progress throughout the year. 

Mr James Bryce - Assistant Principal

Got a Concern or Problem at School?

We acknowledge that parents can sometimes feel aggrieved about something that is happening at the school. Got a probelm at school? Worried about an issue that's affecting your child? Not sure what to do? The Wollongong Diocese has a very specific policy that details school responsibilities when dealing with complaints or grievances. St Michael's is bound by the policy that aims to give individuals a clear path leading to resolution of issues in a just and transparent manner (See flowchart below). If you are unsure of who to contact at school about your concerns, please check in at the school office and you will be referred to a staff member who can help. Complaints are always welcome! Thank you to parents for sharing positive feedback.

Uniform Shop News

The Catholic Education Office is supporting schools across the Diocese to transition from in school uniform shops to an outsourced alternative. We have been very fortunate to have a school uniform shop onsite for many years. It has always been run on a voluntary basis and there are countless and tireless hours that go on behind the scenes to ensure our students have their uniforms. 

From term 2 onwards parents will be able to purchase the St Michael’s uniform from Lowes in Wollongong. The are no changes in the uniform, it will remain the same. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the uniform committee who have gone above and beyond with their time and experience over the years. There have been many hands over time and all have contributed to getting us to where we are today. 

The second hand uniform shop will continue as another avenue for used uniforms.

2020 School Improvement Priorities

Every school in our diocese uses a framework that helps us get better at what we do.  This tool is called School Review and Improvement (SRI). It is a framework which outlines what schools should be doing in order to achieve excellence in various areas. Schools use the framework and data to prioritise goals for each year.  

This year we have four main improvement areas that incorporate learning, faith and community. We look forward to sharing with you our progress via the school newsletter or at P&F meetings throughout the year. To achieve these goals we have committed to the following strategies:

Goal 1: A focus on delivering a comprehensive writing program that enhances student learning.

• teachers regularly meeting in Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) with a focus on student learning to collaboratively assess and design units of work, identify the immediate learning needs of all students and develop whole class learning goals
• teachers engaging in classroom observations and feedback conversations about improving teaching practice
• teachers engaging in Professional Learning

Goal 2: A focus on providing differentiated learning experiences K-6

• developing a whole school shared understanding and knowledge of quality differentiation

• teachers regularly meeting in Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) with a focus on student learning to collaboratively identify the variety of teaching and learning experiences needed to meet the needs and interests of students.

Goal 3: A focus on revisiting the school vision and mission 

• engaging with an external consultant to explore a journey of staff spiritual formation
• liaising with CEO to work through a process of authenticity to revisit and refine the school vision and mission

Goal 4: A focus on social and emotional learning and student wellbeing from K-6

• A whole school approach to student wellbeing and the development of social and emotional knowledge, understanding and skills
• Integration of learning experiences that specifically target learning the skills needed for positive relationships
• Implementation of core practices focusing on mindfulness and brain breaks

National Day of Action Against Bullying

Friday 20th March is the National Day of Action Against Bullying. It is an opportunity to nationally recognise the things that are being done in schools to counter bullying. The website is a great resource for students, parents and schools. At St Michael’s we will be re-visiting some practical strategies to assist students in making positive choices that help to create a safe environment for all. https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/NationalDay

2021 Kindergarten Enrolment Applications

2021 Kindergarten Enrolment Forms are now available from the school office. You may also access the forms from our school website. We look forward to welcoming siblings and new families to our wonderful community.

The enrolment package is available from our school or online at www.dow.catholic.edu.au

P&F News:

The results from our recent P&F Annual General Meeting and a listing of the 2020 Elected Executive can be found on the P&F News section of this newsletter.

Premier’s Reading Challenge 2020

The Premier's Reading Challenge is set to begin again next week  (March 2).  Kinder to Year 2 complete this challenge in their classroom with their teachers and Years 3 - 6 complete the challenge separately.  Any books the students are reading now can count towards their achievements, so keep track of the title and author of the books they are reading so they can be added when the challenge officially begins.

Challenge opens for students entries: Monday March 2

Challenge closes for students entries:  Friday August 28.

Mrs Cecilia Medina - PRC Co-ordinator

MacKillop AFL Diocesan Trials

A huge congratulations to Cooper Garrard, AJ Duffin and Willian Egan-Brown who all successfully trialled for a position in the MacKillop AFL Diocesan team. The boys were competing for a place in a team with very talented players and it is a big achievement to be invited to trial. Well done to Cooper, AJ and Will who were successful in making the MacKillop squad. We wish you well on the next step of your journey. 

School Swimming Carnival: 

Thank you to all the parents who volunteered their time to help yesterday. Your flexibility and understanding was much appreciated. Results will be published in next fortnight's newsletter.

Term 1 sport dates to take note of:

AFL Paul Kelly Cup Tuesday 17/3/2020

South Coast Swimming carnival Thursday 5/3/2020

Cross country Friday  20/3/20

Touch Trials (nominated players) Tuesday  31/3/20

Jason Novak - Sports Coordinator

Differentiation for St Michael’s Thirroul 

SPLICED: Stretching Potentiontial through Learning in Interactive Challenging Environments in the Diocese. 

SPLICED is a CEO initiative that aims to provide conceptually based differentiated units for learners that are teacher identified as intellectually motivated and in need of an extra challenge. At the end of the SPLICED 2020 journey, a few of our students may be lucky enough to be identified as intellectually gifted and be published on the SPLICED CEO website or in the SPLICED published book. 

The unit for the 2020 SPLICED program is “Contemplating Connections”. During this unit, we give selected students the opportunity to engage in critical, creative and reflective thinking. The students involved with the SPLICED unit this year have had their first workshop where they began their brainstorming ideas for their topic. 

The students selected for SPLICED will be working on their unit once a week during an in-school workshop with Miss Treble and Mrs Mayo. They will also be given in-class time as negotiated with their classroom teacher of up to two hours a week, some of our students will also be attending out of school workshops with John Charadia from the Catholic Education Office. St Michael’s is also lucky enough to have booked in some in-school workshops with Mr John Charadia so he can support students on their journey throughout the program. 

St Michael’s Coding Club

This year students have the opportunity to participate in the St Michael’s Coding Club. Throughout Terms 1 and 2, Stage 3 students can participate in the club during lunch times to develop their coding skills using mBots. 

mBot is a STEM education robot, that makes teaching and learning robot programming simple and fun. As students progress, they will learn about a variety of robotic machinery and electronic parts, develop an understanding of the fundamentals of block-based programming, and expand on their logical thinking and design skills.

Students will complete tutorials in which the basics of block coding is taught to them and then have an opportunity to participate in a school based competition, which may then lead to Regional and Diocesan Challenge days.

We have already had a successful start to the year with many Year 6 students participating at lunch time on a Monday and a large number of Year 5 students participating on Wednesdays. 

2020 P&F Executive Nominations

At the last meeting the President halted proceedings and handed over control to the returning officer – the Principal, who commenced by declaring that all positions on the St Michael's Parents and Friends Committee would now be open for nominations and subsequent election for the 2020 year.  The Principal proceeded to seek nominations for all the positions.

Results below: