Vision: Inspired by Christ, we aspire to excellence in learning, living life fully in community
The mission at St Michael’s is to:

• be a vibrant catholic community where all feel safe, valued, loved and respected

• display understanding, compassion and care for others and all creation

• foster dynamic and diverse learning opportunities

Parent engagement and support

As a part of our Term 1 P&F General Meeting, our parent representatives pitched the idea of developing a parent task team to support our school and diocesan sporting events. A big thank you to Gill Sharratt who was our parent representative at the South Coast Swimming carnival. A big thank you also to Vanessa Bolton, Nathan Gough, Sonya Harrison, Alexa Marciano, Kathryn Renton, Angela Saville and Tahnee Tiene for offering to support our Cross Country carnival task team. Your time, passion, and support is greatly appreciated. 

On Wednesday, Year 6 were very fortunate to have one of our very talented parents (Dr Jessie Hohmann) visit. Year 6 are currently engaging in learning on human rights, and Jessie kindly offered to share her experiences and knowledge. We are very grateful for her time and support to enrich the learning experiences of our students. As a school, we will continue to look for opportunities for parents to share their expertise to support the faith, learning, and wellbeing of our students. 

Cyclic Inquiry 2023

This year St Michael's will be engaging in a cyclic inquiry. This is a key process that all schools within our system engage in every 4-5 years. The purpose of this cyclic inquiry is to work in partnership with the broader school community and System to:

1. Celebrate improvement (faith, learning, and wellbeing) at our school community over the past four years
2. Engage in an authentic review involving all stakeholders (Parish, students, staff, and parents) to identify strategic priorities for the next four years. 

To begin this inquiry, we will use our staff development day at the end of Term 1 to engage in a rigorous process to celebrate our improvement and use authentic reflection informed by research on school improvement and reliable data to identify our draft strategic priorities from 2024-2027. 

One of the steps to shape our improvement agenda is capturing the voice of students, parents, and Parish. Early in Term 2, parents and students will be given the opportunity to complete a 'Tell Them From Me' survey. The survey will provide another source of data to support us in crafting improvement priorities that are responsive to the needs of our school community. There will also be further opportunities in Term 3 to capture the voice of Parish, parents, and students. We will provide further details on these opportunities closer to the date. 

Play Equipment Update  

Unfortunately, the play equipment will remain closed for the remainder of the term. We have recently applied for a funding grant from the Catholic Education Office, to replace the play equipment and develop an area that supports the wellbeing and learning needs of our students. This may be a lengthy process, so we appreciate your patience and understanding. In the interim, we will be using our current resources to provide modified spaces on the playground that cater for student interests (e.g. passive play space, updated sports equipment). 

Parent concerns 

“Parents and families are recognised as integral members of the school community and partners in their child’s education.”

Australian Council for Educational Research- National School Improvement Tool, 2016

At St Michael’s, a key part of our school mission is to ensure that we are a catholic community where all feel safe, valued, loved and respected. To ensure we enable this positive school culture, it is imperative that we maintain open and ongoing communication between parents and school. If you have any concerns or questions about your child’s learning or wellbeing, it is important that you firstly discuss this with their classroom teacher. 

The earlier we are aware of any concerns or questions you are holding, the better able we can address them and navigate the situation in partnership. To initiate a parent meeting, please email the school office at info_stmichs@dow.catholic.edu.au. If you have worked in partnership with the classroom teacher and still have concerns, or have other urgent matters please then make contact with the school to organise a meeting with Mr Bryce or Mrs Sammut.  

Below is an excerpt from the CEDoW Parent Partnership Framework that unpacks the principles that both school and parents commit to in order to have a partnered approach to support the faith, learning, and wellbeing of all students. 

Mr James Bryce - Principal

Living the St Michael’s Vision Awards

On Friday 31st March at 2.30pm we as a school have a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the many successes that our students have achieved throughout Term One. We will recognise those students that model leadership and live our school vision and mission daily.

Lenten Promises

In our Religious Education units this term we focus on our Lenten promises. Each student and staff member placed a purple ribbon on the cross as a reminder this Lent - to give, fast and pray. 

Mini Vinnies

On Monday 27th March  at our Monday morning assembly we will have the pleasure of commissioning our Year Five and Six Mini Vinnies ambassadors for 2023.

The first initiative for the Year Six team will be to host an Easter Appeal so that our school can provide Easter care packages to those less fortunate and enable them to celebrate this Holy holiday. Each classroom will be allocated a particular non-perishable item to collect. All items will be collected by Wednesday 29th March and the Mini Vinnies team will work together to create the care packages.

 Allocated items for each grade - 

Kinder - Noodles

Year One - Muesli bars

Year Two - Muesli bars 

Year Three - Fruit cups

Year Four - Juice popper

Year Five - Fruit cups

Year Six - Easter egg

Caritas

Please continue to support this year's project compassion, we encourage  our  students to give to our class project compassion boxes. The money raised goes to support those people living in the most vulnerable communities across the world in the hope to create a lasting future across the world.

On Thursday March 23rd the students will have the opportunity to wear a sporting jersey and donate a gold coin. 

During the break that day, the Inspired By Christ team and School leaders will be selling ice cream sundaes to the students for $3.00.

On Monday April 3rd and Tuesday April 4th there will be an Easter Egg guessing competition where the students can donate a coin to have a guess at how many eggs are in the jar. The winning guess will take home the jar!

Holy Week 

For Holy Week this year, Year One, Two, Three, Four and Six  will be responsible for leading a special part of the Holy Week journey. This is a  time of remembrance and prayer as we walk alongside Jesus in his last moments of his life on earth. This reflection will take place at 10.00am on Wednesday April 5th on the school grounds.

On April 28 Kindergarten and Year 5 will share the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection/Easter at 2.30pm. 

All parents, caregivers and grandparents welcome to join us as we gather as a faith community. 

Year Two and Four Buddy Grade Mass

Friday March 17 at 9.30am

Jersey/ Sundae Day - Project Compassion event

Thursday March 23

Holy Week reflection

Wednesday April 5 at 10am

Kindergarten and Year Five  Buddy Grade Mass

Friday March 31 at 9.30am 

Living the Vision The St Michael’s Vision Leadership awards

Friday March 31 at 2.30pm

Mrs Steph Brown - Religious Education Co ordinator

Enrolments for 2024

Enrolment Applications for Kindergarten 2024 are now open. If you have a child attending Kindergarten next year or you know of anyone who is thinking of enrolling their child, please encourage them to visit our St Michael’s website or visit the school office for the Enrolment forms. There is also opportunities for new families to visit the school to have a tour and meet our new Principal Mr James Bryce. https://www.smtdow.catholic.edu.au

St Michael's Open Day

We are excited to announce that we will be holding our first ever Open Day. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase our great school. Our school leaders will also play a key role in welcoming potential new families. If you know of any families that are interested in enrolling their child at St Michael's, please direct them to either our website our our social media pages where they can follow a link below to register their attendance.

Thank you to our P&F who have also offered their support in making the afternoon successful.

https://forms.gle/ghHW1yt5VpHeNCQH9

School Social Media

With so much going on at school, a great way to follow on up ad coming events and follow the great things that are happening please follow us on Instagram: stmichaels.thirroul or Facebook: St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Thiroul

 

Premiers reading challenge - 2023

Thursday 9 is the official beginning of the PRC at St Michael's Thirroul. Each infant class will receive 5 titles from the K-2 Challenge to be read in class.  Once they are finished, they will be returned to the library for another set of 5 titles.  

A record of the books will be given to each teacher and a copy of them will be kept in the Library.

Once SMT student's file is uploaded onto the PRC website, a password will be issued to each student.

A folder with the list of the class passwords will be uploaded onto Google Drive for teachers access.

Mrs Cecilia Medina - Library SSO

Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 Oral Language and Communication Focus

The K-2 teachers and students have been learning new ways to engage in and develop the oral language and communication of students. This is in line with the implementation of the new English syllabus. The teachers have been engaging in professional learning to give them the tools they need to teach oral language, which is the foundation to reading and writing in ways that engage the students, draw out and develop their vocabulary and enhance their writing. Students have loved exploring the Draw, Talk, Write, Share strategy and interactive writing. Here are a few snapshots of the students work.

Mrs Amy Sammut - Assistant Principal and Yr 5 Teacher

Celebration of Student Achievement

Last year, I invited the Year 6 students (2022) to participate in a Catholic Mission competition. The competition was an international event to celebrate 180 years of the Pontifical Society of Holy Childhood. The Society is the arm through which Catholic Mission support children around the world. The theme of the competition was to illustrate how Pope Francis inspires children to help other children. One winner was to be chosen from each Diocese in Australia with a national winner selected. The national winner’s entry was sent to Rome to be featured in a publication this year. 

It was thrilling to find out this week that one of our past students, Eliza Ryan (Yr 6 2022), was announced as the diocesan winner for Wollongong as well as being shortlisted as a national finalist. While she was unlucky not to advance, Fr Brian Lucas, the National Director was highly impressed by her work and commended it. Fr Brian also extended his commendation to all the Year 6 2022 students involved in the competition. His staff were uplifted by the creativity and imagination displayed in the visual responses to what was a complex challenge. Fr Brian continued in saying that out students’ unique entries in this competition clearly show the imagination that flow through our school, and for that he was both proud and grateful. “Congratulations to all their efforts!”

As you can imagine, I am certainly one proud teacher. The love and care we have for our students does not cease because they have gone on to bigger and better things. 

Mrs Ronelle Peardon - Yr 6 Teacher

Harmony Day - Everyone Belongs

We will be celebrating Harmony Day on Monday 20 March. Our Living Fully in Community Year 6 leaders have been working hard to make this day a fun and engaging way to learn about our cultural diversity. The team will be visiting each classroom to share a cultural story with the students followed by a fun quiz with prizes. 

Mrs Amy Sammut - Assistant Principal and Yr 5 Teacher

Vegetable Week 

In Week 10, the Dynamic Learning Team have some very exciting things planned to celebrate Vegetable Week. From a mascot designing competition Monday and Tuesday lunchtimes to a competition between classes!

There is a week-long competition between classes. This will involve tallying up each day how many vegetables each class is eating for their munch & crunch. For Week 10 please encourage your child to eat vegetables by packing this for munch & crunch. 

Check out these heavy-on-the-veg recipes for snacks, lunchboxes, and main meals. https://healthy-kids.com.au/teachers/vegetable-week-the-big-vegie-crunch/recipes/ 

Miss Emma Riolo - Yr 5 Teacher & Instructional Coach

Inspirational Student

Lara M in Year 6 has been so excited and waiting for her beautiful locks of hair to reach 36cm mark to donate her hair to a charity and part of the Sustainable Salons initiative called Donate a Ponytail project. You can watch a clip on their project here. It goes to make wigs for kids with cancer. 

At least 4,000 ponytails are needed each year to make enough wigs for those living without hair as a result of medically-induced hair loss-conditions. Click here to find out more about where the ponies go.

She was thrilled to be finally able to get the chop. Lessons for both mum and Lara were made at the hairdressers about new things this company is doing for sustainability and helping minimise environmental impact. Some of their learnings are:

- they use the off cut hair and send it away to be clumped up and made into big sausage type bags to use to absorb oil from spills in the ocean.

- off cut hair is good as mulch for the garden (especially roses)

- these sustainable salons even re-purpose chemicals and turn it back into water to use on those big trucks that water the roads

- it's a non-for profit organisation and they send any proceeds to Oz Harvest..

Thank you Lara for being such an inspiration to our school and wider community. You definitely are an example of being ‘Inspired by Christ’

Canteen reminders 

Just a reminder that canteen orders must be placed via Flexi-Schools before 9.30am the morning of.

There has been some ordering issues with students' classes, could you please check on the App that your child’s class is correct to avoid confusion.

South Coast Swimming Carnival 

On Tuesday the 7th March, 2023, 27 students from St Michael’s participated in the South Coast Swimming Carnival at Corrimal Swimming Pool. All the students demonstrated wonderful sportsmanship and encouraged each other to do their best and have fun.

St Michael’s were awarded with the overall Championship School award, which we are all very excited about and proud of our representative swimmers. Congratulations to the following students who have placed in their races on the day. The top four (4) winners of each event (except for the Relay), go through to the next level at the Diocesan Swimming Trials next Monday 13th March, 2023.

​​SWIMMING RESULTS – SOUTH COAST SWIMMING TRIALS

Junior Girls Relay – Abigail S, Jemima C, Drew Mc and Milla B - 4th place

9 Year old girls 50m Freestyle –  Abigail S  3rd place, Jemima C -  4th place

11 Year old boys Backstroke – Tully H - 4th place

Senior girls 50m Backstroke – Imogen V - 2nd place

Senior girls 50m Butterfly – Imogen V - 4th place

Senior male 50m Backstroke – Oliver F - 4th place

50m Junior Relay – Jemima C -  4th place

A huge thank you to Gill Sharratt who volunteered her valuable time to attend and supervise the students on the day. Also, thank you to Mrs Costello who also attended the carnival and ensured that all our swimmers were ready for their races on time.

Seven of our students qualified to attend the Diocesan Swimming Trials on Monday the 13th March 2023, at Corrimal Swimming Pool. Congratulations to the following students:

• Abigail S
• Jemima C
• Milla B
• Imogen V
• Tully H
• Drew Mc
• Oliver F

Students were presented with their South Coast Swimming place ribbons at Assembly last Friday and Mr Bryce proudly presented each of our representative swimmers with their St Michael’s swimming caps. 

Diocesan Boys and Girls Football Trials

On Wednesday the 8th March, 2023 we had three of our talented Football (Soccer) students attend the Diocesan Football Trials at the Unanderra Park, Unanderra. Congratulations to Harley S, Flynn S and Lila H on being selected to represent our school at Diocesan level. We are all very proud of you achieving this level of representation in Football.

Mrs Saville advised the school that “It was a tough trial yesterday, the boys worked hard in the heat. Both Flynn and Harley missed out on a place in the team selected to trial for Mackillop this year but gained much benefit from the experience. They will be back to trial again next year.” 

Mr Harrison advised the school that “Lila had a great day and enjoyed the experience of playing Football at the level. She displayed great sportsmanship on the day, however she missed out on being selected for the Mackillop team.” 

Cross Country Carnival - Friday 24th March 2023 - Gibson Park - Thirroul

A Compass notice has been sent out to all families last week, advising them that the St Michael’s Cross Country will be held on Friday the 24th, March, 2023 (Term 1, Week 9) at Gibson Park for all students from Kindergarten to Year Six. Students come to school as normal before walking to Gibson Park ready to race at 9:30am. This is a whole school event and we would love to see all students attend.

We will be running both a competitive event and a fun run event for those who do not want to run competitively and for the younger students. The competitive event is suited for those students who wish to be considered for representing at a Diocesan level (8 years and above).

We are unable to run an effective day without the help of our parents and carers. We will be requiring assistance from anyone who can help on the day. In response to parent feedback, we will also be developing a parent task team to assist in the organisation prior to and on the day of the carnival. 

Thank you to the following parents who have joined our team:

Sonya Harrison, Nathan Gough, Alexa Marciano, Vanessa Bolton, Angela Saville, Kathryn Renton and Tahnee Tiene.

Rugby League Trials

Last Friday, three talented Rugby League players, Chayce S,  Wiliam H and Nate R had the opportunity to represent St Michael’s at the Rugby League Trials at St Gregory's Junior College, Campbelltown. 

Each of the boys played their best, displaying excellent sportsmanship and being great role models for our school. The boys were up against some very talented players from across the Diocese, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful in gaining a position on the representative team. Congratulations to all the boys on an outstanding effort. Also, thank you to the parents, staff, selectors and team managers for the professional manner that the trial was run,  ensuring the fair and equitable selection of the teams.

We received this lovely parent email congratulating all 3 boys on their sportsmanship and enthusiasm. 

Parent letter

“What a great opportunity and thanks to all of the organisers and the St Michael’s staff / team for coordinating.

All of the boys should be very proud of the way they played and their sportsmanship during the games and throughout the day with boys from other teams and areas. The opportunity to make some mates and interact as part of a team with boys from different schools and areas was not missed and our boys easily fitted in.

In very hot conditions, the St Michael’s boys played very well and all tried their hardest amongst some very tough and talented opposition. As part of the trial process the boys were asked to play some unfamiliar positions, but did so with great enthusiasm, commitment and effort and did an amazing job of being part of a team and working together.

Chayce was great in the unfamiliar role as fullback and as always was amazing with the ball and in defence. Nate also in an unfamiliar position showed great determination, skill and effort while playing in the centres. 

Regardless that this time we were not successful in being selected into the final team, the boys certainly displayed that they are more than capable of competing with the boys that were eventually selected.”

Well done boys.  Alicia Rutledge

Grandfather letter

Will H represented our school in the District 12 Years Rugby League trials held last Friday, 3 March, at Campbelltown. Sixty-two of the District’s talented players assembled at St Gregory’s for the selection of a group of sixteen players to compete at the regional trials in Canberra. This occasion was notably an acquaintance of an old foe from past encounters. An uneasy comradery quickly developed amongst the players as they sized each other up. This was coupled with an air of nervous disposition about the day’s outcomes.

The games were played at a fast pace and the tackling was fierce. Tries were a premium throughout the day, with each player competing in five matches over the course of the trials.  Will performed admirably and he was well in the mix, displaying his renowned solid defence and his incisive running with the football. The convenor of the trials congratulated the players on the standard of rugby league on display and acknowledged the good spirits in which all games were played on the day. Will was a fine ambassador for our school and deserves to be commended for the manner in which he conducted himself throughout the day. Bill Agnew

NSW Netball Primary

The School Sport Unit is conducting a state trial to select a NSW Netball Primary All Schools Boys 12 Years and Under Team to compete at the inaugural School Sport Australia 12 Years and Under Netball Championship in Perth, Western Australia (Years 5-6). Registration and trial details can be accessed through the attached flyer, registrations close Friday 26 May.

Please note: All boys who aim to represent NSW at a School Sport Australia Championship in Netball must be selected through this pathway.

Attached is the flyer outlining all the details you require and how to register. 

To register you must use the Catholic Schools link on the Boys Netball flyer.

The flyer contains a registration link specifically for Catholic School NSW Students. Please note that students/parents must use this link as searching DASH for this event will not allow them to register.

To apply for the Primary All Schools Selection Trial, complete the relevant online registration form on DASH (NSW Government schools, NSW Catholic schools, NSW Combined Independent schools) and make payment by the closing date, Friday 26 May 2023.

Decorate your own Football competition

Football Australia and Summit Sport are very excited to launch the ‘Decorate your own Football competition’ ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup!

This competition is open for all Australian primary school students to enter, with entries open from the 7th of March 2023 until the 18th of August 2023, with the winner selected on the 21st of August, 2023.

Three winners will be selected on the best and most creative design voted by Summit Sport and Football Australia

• 1st prize – Signed Matildas jersey & 50 soccer training balls with the winning design printed
• 2nd prize - 10 x CommBank Matilda’s footballs and ball bag
• 3rd prize – 2 x Football Australia tear drop goals.

For all the details on how to enter, Summit Sport has a landing page on their website that includes all the details for entry submission https://summitsport.com.au/pages/football-design-comp

Term 2 - 2023

May 2 - Cross Country Championships - Nowra

June 20 - South Coast Netball Gala Day

Term 3 - 2023

July 28 - Soccer 2023 South Coast Gala Day

August 8 - Athletics 2023 South Coast

September 14-15 - Basketball 2023 South Coast (BERKELEY ONLY)

September 14-15 Basketball 2023 South Coast Junior and Senior

Term 4 - 2023

October 12 - Cricket Gala Day (Yrs 5 & 6) 2023

October 27 - Softball - Boys and Girls - Selection trials (2024) - Paper Trial ONLY

November 14 - Basketball - Boys and Girls - Selection Trials (2024)

If you are interested in nominating your child for any of the above trials, please login to https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/sport/events-primary/ to find out further details about the events, how to nominate your child and the closing date. It is the responsibility of the parents to individually nominate their child.

If you require any further information about sporting events at St Michael’s please contact Ms Maria Shea (Sports Convenor). 

Week 9 - March 20: Harmony Day celebration led by the Year 6 Living fully in Community team

Week 9 - March 23: Jersey and Ice cream Sundae Project Compassion Fundraiser

Week 9 - March 24: Cross Country Carnival at Gibson Park

Week 10: Vegetable Week

Week 10 - March 31: Vision and Mission Awards Assembly at 2:30pm

Week 11 - April 5: Easter Hat Parade and Last day of Term 1

We have now filled all roles for our 2023 P&F.  A big thank you to Rebecca Hay and Rob Grilli for joining the P&F Executive for 2023. PnF_Thirroul.List@groups.dow.catholic.edu.au.

President: Erin Matts

Vice President: Rob Grilli

Secretary: Alexa Marciano 

Treasurer: Rebecca Hay

Remaining meetings 

Term 2

Executive meeting - Thursday 11 May (2-3pm) Venue TBC

General Meeting - Thursday 18  May (6.30-8pm) Venue TBC

Term 3

Executive meeting - Thursday 3  August (2-3pm) Venue TBC

General Meeting - Thursday 10 August (6.30-8pm) Venue TBC

Term 4

Executive meeting - Thursday 26 October (2-3pm) Venue TBC

General Meeting - Thursday 2 November (6.30-8pm)

I would like to thank both Rodney Bolton and Sarah Brennan for their support and contributions to our school community in their previous roles on the P&F Executive. 

Free webinar: Dr Justin Coulson PhD on Anxiety and Resilience 

Run by the Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT, Anxiety and Resilience with Dr Justin Coulson PhD is a free, 60 minute webinar for parents, carers and staff in CEDoW schools to assist them in supporting the children in their care. 

Dr Coulson is the co-host and parenting expert on Channel 9's Parental Guidance and holds a PhD in positive psychology. 

Date: Wednesday 29 March 2023 at 7:00 pm

Register at https://www.ccsp.catholic.edu.au/event/52

Screen time for your child – 7 tips

Miss Emma Riolo - Middle Leader 1 & Instructional Coach

The following students received awards at the last assembly:

Principal's Award:

• Blake Mc
• Willow B
• Flynn S
• Erica K
• Giselle B
• Liam D

Gold Award:

• Flynn S
• Giselle B