It’s been another huge couple of weeks here at St Michael’s, Thirroul. We had our beautiful new Kindergarten students begin, our first school assembly, and the St Michael’s swimming trials. I’d like to thank the amazing staff at St Michael’s for their extra time and energy to ensure our students have had the best possible start to 2023. A big thank you to all of the parents who came out and supported our swimming carnival. It was a very positive atmosphere, and we are very grateful for your ongoing support. 

In the first newsletter I shared my vision as Principal for 2023: St Michael’s is a place where every individual can be their best. In my opening weeks with staff we discussed the importance of creating a culture where we continually learn and grow together in a safe and supportive environment. This fortnight at our assembly, I will be talking to our students about the importance of challenging ourselves, which often involves stepping out of our comfort zone. We all feel nervous about things that are new or different, but it is through these opportunities that we experience the most growth.Our personal relationships with Christ help us to know that we are not alone as we face our fears or experience challenges. My hope is that all of our students can identify some of these areas where they feel challenged, and support each other in turning these fears into their superpowers. 

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Mr James Bryce - Principal

Fr Ken Visits Kindergarten

Last Friday Kindergarten had their first special visitor - Fr Ken. Father Ken shared photos and memories from his childhood. The students listened, asked lots of wonderful questions and tried to find Fr Ken in all the photos. This visit by Fr Ken is the first of many that the students will experience at their time at St Michaels. Fr Ken graciously gives his time and becomes a very special part of each of our lives.

National Apology Day  

Monday 13 February 2023

On Tuesday morning we came together for a prayer service to acknowledge this important day. We are committed to walking together with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers in a spirit of reconciliation and recognition.

God of Justice,

We come to seek your guidance, wisdom and compassion.

We remember the many children who were removed from their family and culture and who are now known as the Stolen Generations.

In a spirit of reconciliation let us all move forward on a journey towards healing.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen

Valentines Day

On this day we give love and thanks for all the special people in our lives. The students shared stories, made crafts, cards and created a whole school display. 

“You are all loved” 

Ash Wednesday - Classroom Liturgies 

Ash Wednesday is next week and marks the beginning of the season of Lent. On Wednesday 22nd February at 9:15 am, Year 6 will attend the Ash Wednesday Mass in our Parish Church with Father Ken and Mr Bryce. After Mass, the Year Six students will visit each of the classrooms (K-5) and hold an Ash Wednesday prayer service. All children will receive a cross of ashes on their foreheads as an outward reminder that we need to be ‘True to Jesus’. During Lent, our loving God takes us by the hand and asks us to walk closely with Him. It is through the love of God and love of each other that we learn to become more like Jesus wants us to be. 

Opening School Mass & Induction of Leaders 

“Welcome to the 2023 St Michael's Family”

All students from Kindergarten to Year 6 will gather together for our Opening School Mass on Friday 24th February at 9:30am. The Mass will be led by Father Ken in the St Michael's Parish Church. This is a special occasion when we come together as a school community to ask for 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 2023 Year 6 leaders. Fr Ken will bless the Year 6 students and present them with their badges. 

Mini vinnies

As a part of the preparation for our Opening School Mass we will be supporting the St Vincent De Paul society by collecting non-perishable food items. We ask that each student bring an item of a non-perishable food item before the Mass (Friday 24th February). Each class will share their basket as an offering at the Opening  School Mass. 

Ash Wednesday Wednesday 22nd 

9.15am Mass -  Year Six 

Opening  School Mass

Friday 25th - 9.30am

Year Two and Four Buddy Grade Mass

Friday December 2nd at 9.30am 

Year Three Grade Mass

Friday March 3

Mrs Steph Brown - Religious Education Co ordinator

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) 

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) for students with a disability has commenced. Over the coming weeks, students who have a personalised plan will have their goals reviewed in consultation with their parents/carers. For further information on the purpose of the NCCD, please refer to the following fact sheet. NCCD Factsheet for Parents, Guardians and Carers

NAPLAN 2023

This year our Year 3 and Year 5 students will sit the NAPLAN online assessment. The dates for the actual assessment are March 15 - 17. NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake. NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through their regular school curriculum.

Students sit assessments in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All assessments for Year 5 will be online. Year 3 will sit online assessments for reading, conventions of language and numeracy. Their writing assessment is a written paper based assessment. The students will have plenty of opportunities to familiarise themselves with the digital platform and the types of questions that may be in the tests.

The Public demonstration site provides sample tests for student familiarisation year-round. If you would like to see what the online assessment platform looks like or would like your child to practise some questions, please feel free to access the public demonstration site. For more information on NAPLAN, please read this document ​​NAPLAN information for parents and carers brochure (PDF 141 KB).

Mrs Amy Sammut - Assistant Principal

PB4L at St Michael’s 

What a busy start to the new year! It is always lovely to see the students return with such big smiles and an enthusiasm for learning. It takes us all a while to settle back into the rhythm of school and for some of us, finding a rhythm and learning how school works. So that all students are achieving success, we approach positive behaviours as an opportunity to learn how we are expected to behave. Learning a behaviour is just the same as learning a new skill, either an academic skill or a sporting skill. Just with any of these skills, they require practice and feedback on achievement. 

In the coming weeks we are planning our first PB4L meeting where we set goals for the year and a strategic plan so as to best implement and attain our goals. 

Mrs Ronelle Peardon 

School Fees

At  the beginning of each month parents are emailed their fee statements. Our school fees include tuition fees, SEDSO fees, classroom resources, carnival and sport levy, excursions and school managed iPad where applicable. Including all these payments means that we don’t have to charge families separately for events and excursions. The only things that will be charged separately  are Representative events eg Diocesan carnivals etc.

Second Hand Uniforms

During the school term, we have second hand uniform pop-up stores. These days are communicated via Compass. Uniforms for donation can be dropped off at the school office.

Thank you 

Canteen

Our school canteen will operate on Thursdays and Fridays again this year. Unfortunately we have been unable to open the canteen due to a water leak outside the canteen. We are in the process of getting this rectified We are hoping that the canteen will be open this week. We welcome Sally who will be managing our canteen this year.

We have  a new canteen lady starting with us this term. Her name is Sally.

Award System

5 x Superstar Awards = Principal Award

3x Principal Awards =  Gold Award

2x Gold Awards = SMB

WOW!!!! What an amazing day the students had participating in the 2023 Swimming Carnival at Corrimal Pool on Monday 13 February, 2023.

To all the students who participated and helped in some way, you were just wonderful. To see the true friendships and sportsmanship shine through in all of you was very special. 

On behalf of the whole school, I would like to say a very big thank you to all the parents and carers who volunteered their precious time to support us with this wonderful event. We are unable to have such a successful day and join as a community without your continued support. 

A letter has gone home to each of the parents whose child has made it through to the South Coast Regional Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 7 March, 2023. Student’s will also receive a hard copy of the event listing their event they will be swimming in.

If your child qualifies in the top 4 places in their event, at the South Coast Regional Swimming Carnival, they will be then invited to the Diocesan Selection Trials to be on Monday 13 March, 2023 at the Corrimal Pool between 9.00 am - 12.30 pm. 

Congratulations to our Age Swimming Champions for 2023.

Junior Boy - Alistair F

Junior Girl - Abigail S

11 Year Boy - Flynn S

11 Year Girl - Tully H

Senior Boys - Oliver F and William H

Senior Girl - Imogen V

Mrs Maria Shea - Sports Convenor 

SOUTH COAST REGIONAL  SWIMMING CARNIVAL 

Following our Swimming Carnival on Monday 13th February, successful swimmers will attend the South West Regional Swimming Carnival. The proposed date for the South Coast Regional Swimming Carnival is set for the 7th March 2023 and is to be held at the Corrimal Swimming Pool. Students will receive a note following the Swimming Carnival advising them of the events they will be participating in for this carnival. More information about this will be in next week's Newsletter. 

SOUTH WEST REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE LEVEL COMPETITORS INFORMATION

Below is an outline of “Age Groupings” and number of competitors representing the school at South Coast Regional level.

• Junior 8, 9, 10 years and Senior - 12 & 13 years (Age they are turning this year eg 4/3/2023)
• Relay Groupings Junior - 8, 9, 19 years, 11 years and Senior - 12 & 13 years
• A competitor may not compete out of his/her age group (relays included) except in open events

Each school may enter the following number of competitors in the events listed for both boys and girls

All Age 100m Freestyle - 1 (fastest boy and girl swimmer)

50m Freestyle 8 yrs - 2, 9 yrs - 2, 10 yrs - 2 11 yrs - 2, 12 yrs - 2, 13 yrs 2 (fastest 2 boys and 2 girls)

Backstroke Junior - 1, 11 yrs - 1, Senior 1 (fastest boy and girl)

Breaststroke Junior - 1, 11 yrs - 1, Senior - 1 (fastest boy and girl)

Butterfly Junior (fastest boy and girl)

Junior Medley 200m - 1 (fastest boy and girl)

Senior Medley 200m - 1 (fastest boy and girl)

Relays 4 x 50m Freestyle 1 junior team, 1 senior team (4 swimmers per team)

CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICE SPORTS PATHWAY WEBSITE

There are opportunities that exist for students to nominate for a range of Wollongong representative teams throughout the year. Details of upcoming sporting events, Gala Days and how to nominate your child will be advised through the weekly newsletter.

For all upcoming School Sporting Pathway events please refer to the following link: Catholic Education of Wollongong Sporting Pathways: https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/sport/diocesan-sport-news/?ref=quicklinks

If you have any questions in regards to sport please contact Maria Shea through email at the school.

Week 5 February 20-21: Stage 3 Excursion to The Tops, Friday 24 February - Whole School Opening Mass and picnic 9.30am

Week 8 March 15-17: NAPLAN Assessment Year 3 and Year 5

Week 9 March 24: Cross Country Carnival at Gibson Park

Week 11 April 6: Holy Thursday last day of school for Term 1

Changing the narrative (Numeracy)

One of our School Improvement focus areas for this year is Numeracy. This term teachers have already been involved in professional learning to develop their understanding of contemporary, research-based and syllabus-aligned instructional practices in mathematics. The focus is on pedagogies that promote problem-solving, dialogic practices and mathematical reasoning. Teachers will be working collaboratively to analyse student data and plan targeted learning experiences that allow the opportunity for all students to thrive in mathematics. 

Through Changing the Narrative in Numeracy we aim to increase student engagement and achievement in Mathematics. Building teachers knowledge so that we can support students to develop strong numeracy skills.

Online safety- e safety commissioner section/resources

eSafety's free webinars provide parents and carers with the knowledge, skills and tools to support their children to have safe, positive online experiences. The live webinars for parents and carers attracted record attendance numbers in 2022. To meet the growing demand, we are expanding the program in 2023 to include more dates and topics to support school communities. Here are webinar offerings for Term 1: 

The following students received awards at the last assembly:

Principal's Award:

• Beau B

The school P&F plays a pivotal role in supporting our school community. We welcome you to join us throughout the year at our general meetings. 

Please see below the following dates for our P&F meetings for 2023. Each of these meetings will be held in the school library.

Term 1

Executive meeting - Monday 20th February

General Meeting Thursday 23rd February

Term 2

Executive meeting - Thursday 11th May

General Meeting - Thursday 18th May

Term 3

Executive meeting - Thursday 3rd August

General Meeting - Thursday 10th August

Term 4

Executive meeting - Thursday 26th October

General Meeting - Thursday 2nd November