Dear Parents and Carers,

The year has begun and we are already 3 weeks in. Our new Kindergarten class has begun with a bang and are settling in nicely. They have met their buddies and are having a great time learning about how school works. It is wonderful seeing their bright faces every morning.

Thank you for assisting your children to transition back into school life after the Christmas break. All students have returned to school enthused about learning, working with their new teachers and beginning a new chapter of their St Michael’s journey. I look forward to what the year ahead brings.

This week we acknowledged the anniversary of National Apology day. I would like to share an excerpt from an article that reflects on National Apology day 11 years on and the value of saying sorry.

Apologies are encouraging because they embody a decency that we long for. We try to build it into the lives of our children, but often fear that it is being lost in society. Apologies affirm a shared sense of right and wrong by which we can judge our lives and which we are called to pass on to our descendants.

When we are teaching children a right way to live, we want them to learn three magic words: please, thank you, and sorry. If they make these words central in their lives and mean them, they will treat everything in their lives as a gift not as an entitlement, and they will be well equipped to form and heal relationships. If their lives are lacking in the reality of the three words they will be lacking in humanity.

Of the three words sorry is the lubricant. It acknowledges the shared inevitability of failure to act well, and enables fresh beginnings.

Eureka Street – Volume 29 Number 3

Belinda Hughes - Principal

Opening School Mass

Our Opening School Mass is being held on Friday 22nd 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 2018 Year 6 leaders. At the Mass, Year 6 will be commissioned as senior leaders of our school. Fr Ken will bless the 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 and grandparents are invited to come and share in celebrating Mass with us. Following Mass the school will host a Cuppa Catch up in the hall.

In service to the less fortunate of our community, we ask that each student bring an item of non-perishable food into their classroom before the opening school Mass on Friday 22nd February. Thank you for supporting the St Vincent De Paul Society.

Catholic Schools Week

Catholic Schools Week will be taking place this year from the 4th - 8th March, 2019. We will have open classrooms and a whole school assembly on Friday March 8th. There will also be other exciting activities happening during the week! More information will come out in the Week 5 newsletter, thank you and we look forward to it.

Confirmation

The Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred by Bishop Brian on Wednesday(26/6) & Thursday (27/6) 2019 to Year 6 (or older) students.

Enrolment Forms for the Sacrament of Confirmation close on 13 May 2019. To download an enrolment form go to the St Michael’s Parish website (thirroul@dow.org.au) and return it to the Parish Office.              

Project Compassion

Caritas, the international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church in Australia, holds its annual fundraising and community engagement appeal during the season of Lent.  Project Compassion is Caritas Australia’s annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal. Millions of Australians come together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity

The theme for Project Compassion 2019 is “Give Lent 100%”. Mrs Hughes and the Year 6 captains will be travelling to Gwynneville on Tuesday 28th February for the Diocesan Launch with Bishop Brian Mascord. Each class will receive a Project Compassion box for students to donate spare change (giving alms) at any stage during the season of Lent & there will be more news about a whole school fundraiser coming up soon!

Leaders of Living the Faith Team

I would like to formally recognise the ‘Living the Faith Team’ for 2019. We will be working together to ensure meaningful prayer, liturgical, worship and

• Michael Wilson
• Samuel Garvey-Oakes
• Jonah Eglitis
• Ruben Mayers
• Raphael Jolly
• Taj Gearside
• Luca Karakousis
• Sunny Canales
• Ruby Sheeley
• Charlotte McLeod
• Maya Ryan
• Finlay Reid

Dates for your diary

(whole school) Opening school Mass - Friday February 22nd

(class) Year 5 Attending Mass - Friday March 1st

(class) Year 4B Attending Mass - Friday March 8th

(whole school) Year 5 Liturgy - St Joseph's Day - Tuesday March 19th @ 2:30pm

(class) Year 4W Attending Mass - Friday March 15th

(class) Year 3 Attending Mass - Friday March 22nd

(class) Year 6B Attending Mass - Friday April 5th

(whole school) Holy Week Liturgy - Tuesday April 9th

(whole grade) Confirmation Wednesday June 26th & Thursday June 27th

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 2.40pm 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 5 - Friday 1 March

Week 6- Friday 8 March

Week 8- Friday 22 March

Week 10- Friday 5 April

SPB4L Update:

All primary schools in the Wollongong diocese implement the School-wide Positive Behaviours for Learning (SPB4L) framework. This framework creates a support network for all students in the classroom and non-classroom setting and enables quality social and academic competencies to be established and maintained.

Each school also has a SPB4L Team.  The role of the SPB4L team is to monitor, review and evaluate behaviour management procedures and routines in the school and clarify expectations for students, teachers and parents. The focus of the team is always student safety and well being.

The SPB4L team at St Michael’s this year is Mrs Amie Dutaillis, Mr James Bryce and Mrs Ronelle Peardon. The team meets regularly to discuss procedures, routines, behaviour expectations and to ensure that documentation and protocols are clear. As a team we aim to be proactive in ensuring student safety and well being as well as responding to student behaviour data, teacher and parent feedback.

If you ever have any concerns or questions in regards to your child’s wellbeing, please contact the school. This will assist us in providing the necessary early intervention and support.

This week the SPB4L team will be sharing the St Michael’s Award System and Uniform Expectations. Throughout the year we will continue to provide a short update on our school SPB4L procedures.

St Michael’s Award System

Please find below a summary of the fortnightly awards that are presented at our assemblies.

St Michael’s Uniform Expectations:

Please find below an excerpt from the Parent Handbook in relation to school uniform expectations. This ensures that a high standard is maintained. If students are consistently wearing the incorrect uniform a reminder slip will be sent home.

The wearing of the correct school uniform is an expectation at St Michael’s. It is important for students to take pride in themselves, and in their school, by being correctly groomed and wearing full uniform.

The following information from the Parent handbook outlines the school uniform policy. We thank you for your cooperation in ensuring that our students take pride in their school uniform.

Girls Summer Uniform

Blue check tunic, short blue socks, black shoes, hat with school emblem or culottes and shirt.

Girls and Boys Sport Uniform

Unisex microfibre navy shorts or culottes, polo shirt with emblem, blue socks, preferably white or blue joggers with white or blue laces. Navy microfibre sports jacket with emblem and microfibre sports pants, navy scarf (optional). School hat with emblem.

Boys Summer Uniform

Navy blue shorts, short-sleeved blue shirt, blue socks, black shoes. School hat with emblem.

Hairstyles

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, in face) 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.

Jewellery

For safety reasons, jewellery, with the exception of simple watches, signet rings and plain stud or small “sleeper” earrings, is not permitted. Crosses on chains may be worn under uniforms.

Nails

Nails are to be kept short and clean.  (No nail polish or other cosmetics are to be worn.)

Passive Play area

In response to student feedback we have had a revamp of our passive play area to ensure it is more welcoming and engaging for our students. This has included the purchasing of cushions and rugs for the students to utilise whilst taking some time to engage in quiet games or reading at lunch. In addition there have been a range of games and other resources purchased that students can use individually or collaboratively. Our Year 1 and 2 students have thoroughly enjoyed this new place space and we look forward to welcoming more of our students throughout the year.

Meet And Greets

Meet and Greet conversations will be held next week (Monday 18th February - Friday 22nd February) for all students K-6. This is your chance mums, dads and carers, to value add to the teacher’s knowledge at the start of a new year.

How can you support Meet and Greets?

• Please arrive on time for your conversation
• The side gate will remain open next week from 8am - 9am and 3:20pm-6pm to allow parents easy access to classrooms. NB Parents are responsible for the supervision of children on the school site before and after school hours
• Don’t forget to bring the Parent Questionnaire
• Teachers will have back to back bookings. A reminder that the Meet and Greet conversations are 10 minutes duration, so if necessary, please make an appointment for a longer chat at another time. 

Professional Learning for Teachers

At St Michael’s you will notice that teachers plan together, engage in professional learning and carry leadership responsibilities.  The result of this engagement is that we move towards being the excellent teaching team that we aspire to be.  Where appropriate, teachers will be out of their class engaged in professional feedback and learning experiences on site and/or fulfilling leadership responsibilities. During these times quality learning continues for the students and teachers alike. Please see the What’s on communication that will alert you to upcoming professional learning experiences.

Staffing News

It is with pleasure that I am able to announce the staffing for 2019.

K - Amie Dutaillis

Yr 1 - Ronelle Peardon

Yr 2 - Katie Kelly / Carmel Gralton

Yr 3 - Emma Riolo

Yr 4B - Chelsea McLeod

Yr 4W - Jason Novak

Yr 5 - Emma Groves and Laura Aguilera

Yr 6B - Eliza Treble and James Bryce

Yr 6W - Shari Mayo and Paula Jackson

TPPT - Kirra Calvert

Principal - Belinda Hughes

Assistant Principal - James Bryce

Religious Education Coordinator - Emma Groves

Middle Leader 2 - Eliza Treble

Middle Leader 1 - Amie Dutaillis (K-3 Literacy Support)

Sport Coordinator - Jason Novak

School Support Officers

Office - Claire Ryan

Office - Jakki Agostino (Thursdays)

Executive Assistant  - Jakki Agostino (Fridays)

Classroom - Chris Loughrey, Helen Cook, Ambre Scheidl

Library - Cecilia Medina

TEA AND TISSUES THANK YOU

Thank you to our parents and friends for serving the Tea and Tissues morning tea for our school families and thank you to the Year 5 parents for providing delicious goodies.

CATHOLIC CARE COUNSELLOR

My name is Kerrie Paul and I am the School Counsellor at St Michael's. I am from Catholic Care’s School Student and Family Program which aims to promote the wellbeing and development of students. I provide counselling support to students for issues such as anxiety, friendship issues, anger and behaviour management, sleep problems, support through family breakdown, grief and loss, or any other concerns you may have for your child. At times I may also run groups on social skills, dealing with anxiety or anger. I am also able to provide information on other Catholic Care services. If you would like to refer your child to me then please contact the school Principal, Mrs Hughes and she will provide you with the appropriate form. I am at the school 3 days per month on a Wednesday.

SKOOLBAG APP

Our school has our own Skoolbag App to help us communicate more effectively with our community. All families are expected to install the Skoolbag App so you don’t miss important information. To install it, search for St Michael’s School in the Apple App Store. The App is free and will be used for a variety of purposes including accessing school news and receiving alerts in real time. Please contact the school if you have any questions about the app.

Social Media Presence - St Michael’s

The Diocese is supporting schools in developing a social media presence through avenues such as FaceBook. As a result we now have an official St Michael’s FaceBook page! This page will be used to celebrate and showcase some of the great things that happen in our school and the occasional reminder of upcoming events.

It is important to note that the skoolbag app is still the official channel of communication and will have the most up to date information. If you would like to contact the school, this is still to be done through the school office or school email address.

The recent photo permission form that was sent home is inclusive of facebook also. If you would like to make any changes please contact the school.

Later this year the Diocese is launching a Social Media policy that will cover the use of social media and the ethical boundaries and expectations of such. Currently there are codes of conduct that outline that any social media platform is used for its intended purpose and for positive comments only.

Please ‘like’ our page and we look forward to sharing the great things at St Michael’s through another avenue!  www.facebook.com/stmichaels.thirroul

School Swimming Carnival Reminders - Friday 15 February

This Friday, Year 3-Year 6, and competent Year 2 students, will battle it out at Thirroul Pool for the winning sports house at our 2019 swimming carnival. If needed, notice of a postponement due to inclement weather will be made via the Skoolbag app by 8am.

NB 100m competitors will need to be at the pool by 8:30am. All other competitors will walk to the pool at the 9am bell with their class teachers. As this is a school event, students must sit in their house team to cheer on fellow competitors where they will be supervised by school staff.

PAUL KELLY CUP: AFL Competition

The Paul Kelly Cup is being held on Tuesday the 5th of March 2019.The Paul Kelly Cup Competition is the largest AFL primary school competition in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Students from Years 5 & 6 are encouraged to participate in Boys competitive and Girls competitive teams. The Winning boys and girls team from the round robin competition progress through to the next round, then opportunities to progress to State Finals.  Paul Kelly Cup teams consist of 12 players + subs (three zones consisting of four players). Games are played on smaller modified fields under 12 rules (modified tackle and 10-12 min halves), this allows children who are new to the game to experience and enjoy AFL in a fun and safe environment. Teams will play a minimum of 3 games at the Paul Kelly Cup round robin gala day. Winners will progress to the sub-regional finals in Term 2.

Expression of interest notes were sent home this week; be sure to return notes by Monday February 18th, 2019 so that teams may be formed.

Term 1 sport dates to take note of:

Swimming carnival                                             Friday 15/2/19

AFL Trials (nominated players)                            Wednesday 20/2/19

AFL Paul Kelly Cup                                              Tuesday 5/3/19

South Coast Swimming carnival                           Thursday 7/3/19

Football (soccer) Trials (nominated players)          Friday 8/3/19

Rugby League Trials (nominated players)              Friday 8/3/19

Netball Trials (nominated players)                        Friday 8/3/19

Hockey Trials (nominated players)                        Wednesday 13/3/19

Cross country                                                      Friday 29/3/19

Touch Trials (nominated players)                          Tuesday 2/4/19

 Mr Jason Novak - Sport Coordinator

Principal's Awards presented at the last assembly;

• Amelia Nichol
• Jasper Hasham
• Monte Hasham
• Libby Sharratt

Gold Awards presented at the last assembly:

• Jasper Hasham

St Michael's Blue awarded at the last assembly;

• Jasper Hasham

Congraulations to all students!!!!

CLAIM THE DATE: THURSDAY 14 MARCH

On Thursday 14 March our Parents & Friends are hosting a Welcome Back to School Picnic night & AGM. More information will be shared soon.

At the AGM all executive roles will be vacant. If you would like to be a part of the P&F please consider taking on a role and working in partnership with the school. The roles include; President, Vice President, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer Secretary and Assistant Secretary.

Snack Shack - Canteen

Please note; The Snack Shack will be doing a pop up shop at the swimming carnival on Friday 15 February. We will be selling recess items only, Anzacs, muffins, watermelon, bliss balls, adventure mix and frozen fruit cups.