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

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Welcome back to another exciting term here at St Michael’s, Thirroul. I hope you and your families had a wonderful Easter filled with joy and hope. It was wonderful seeing all of the smiling students return to our beautiful little school. 

As I stated from the outset, I hope to ensure that St Michael’s is a place where every individual can be their best. Please continue to maintain open communication as we work in partnership to ensure we support every individual’s faith, learning and wellbeing needs. 

As a school we value utilising the expertise and passion within our school community to enhance the experiences of our students. In response to our parent expertise survey, we have been fortunate to tap into some of these talents. A big thank you to Gary Coleman, Matt Gully, Kane Hay, Rodney Bolton, Fiona Morris and Mrs Peardon's Dad, Michael Barnett for supporting Year 6 in their science day where students designed and made an electrical circuit for a model house. 

I’d also like to thank Sonya Harrison for supporting our school cross country team. I know the students are loving the lunchtime training! 

Thank you also to our wonderful P&F, as well as the parent volunteers for your time and commitment in supporting our Mother’s Day celebrations and stall. 

We truly appreciate the time and energy our parents put in to support our school community and will continue to explore ways to utilise your expertise to enhance the life of our school. 

Parent voice to support our strategic direction 

Last week a compass notification was sent out to all parents to provide access to a Tell Them From Me survey. This survey is a key component of our school Cyclic Inquiry (4 year review) that we are currently engaging in. By completing this survey, you as parents and carers, will play an important role in helping shape our strategic direction as a school for the next 4 years. The survey will close on Thursday 18 May.

For further details on the purpose of the survey and instructions on how to access it, please click on the link below. 

How to access the TTFM survey?
To access the survey, simply open our St Michael’s unique URL link. . You can choose to
complete the survey in multiple languages other than English if required.

Staffing announcement 

Recently, our Year 5 parents were informed of a staffing change that would occur from week 3 for the remainder of the year.

After putting forth a proposal, the Catholic Education Office has provided an additional staffing allocation for the remainder of 2023. I will be utilising this staffing allocation to have Mrs Amy Sammut off class to support me in playing a critical leadership role in the implementation of our annual improvement plans and the reshaping of our diverse learning support. 

I’d like to formally welcome Mrs Danielle Campbell to St Michael’s. Danielle has been appointed to fill Amy’s current classroom position for the remainder of 2023. Danielle comes highly commended as an exceptional practitioner from her precious school at St Anthony’s, Picton. Danielle has a vast range of experiences and will add a great deal of value to our wonderful school community. I know you will support me in making Danielle feel welcome in our school. 

Student attendance

As a school, we strive to meet our Diocese benchmark of 95% student attendance rates. We understand that there are a variety of factors that can have an impact on student attendance that are out of your control. Where possible, we encourage you to ensure that your children attend school unless there are circumstances that prevent them from doing so ( e.g. illness, family situations etc). A day here or there may not seem like a lot, but over time can have a significant impact on your child’s learning.

If you have planned leave that will span longer than 5 days, can I ask that you complete the Application for Extended Leave documentation that can be obtained from the school office. Please ensure that this documentation is provided at least 14 days before planned leave, with the exception of unpredictable circumstances. If you have any questions about planned leave please don’t hesitate to contact the school to organise a meeting with Mr Bryce. 

Mr James Bryce - Principal

Living the St Michael’s Vision Awards

On Friday March 31  it was a wonderful opportunity for our school to unpack and celebrate the many successes that our students have achieved through Term One. These awards acknowledge and celebrate the leadership of student’s that show a genuine expression of our Vision. We were very blessed to have Fr Ken join our school community to hand out the awards to our students who live out our school Vision.

Living Fully in Community Award

Excellence in  Learning Award

Inspired By Christ Award

Holy Week

On Wednesday, 5 April, we gathered as a school community to commemorate Holy Week by participating in a liturgy “Encountering Jesus on the journey” we reflected on the final days of Jesus' life, his suffering and death.  The prayerful reflection engaged all students and families in the key events. We would like to thank all the students and their teachers for the preparation of this reflection and the reverence and respect shown as we walked the final days of Jesus’ life. It was a moving experience.

Prayer Stations

During Holy week our students were  actively engaging in a range of interactive prayer stations during their Religious Education (RE) lessons which were designed to help them reflect on the significance of Holy Week and deepen their understanding of the Easter story.

Anzac Day

We would like to express our appreciation for our school captains and Mr Bryce who represented our school at the Dawn Service on Anzac Day. Our school captains - Oliver and Audrey were a credit to our school and community. Their participation in the Dawn Service was a testament to their leadership and dedication to upholding the vision and mission  of our school.

Easter Liturgy

The liturgy was a beautiful and uplifting ceremony that provided a valuable opportunity for our students to reflect on the significance of Easter and the message of hope and renewal that it brings. We were particularly proud of our students from Kindergarten, Year Two and Year Five who took part in the liturgy.

Mother’s Day

Mother's Day, we would like to extend a warm invitation to all parents and caregivers to join us for our Mother's Day prayer service. The service will be held tomorrow at 9.15am on the top playground. Iit will provide a wonderful opportunity for us to come together as a school community to celebrate the important role that mothers and all the special women play in our lives.

Caritas

Our Student Leaders worked incredibly hard to raise awareness and funds throughout Lent for Project Compassion.  As a result of various activities and events that included Jersey/ Sundae day, Project Compassion Collection Boxes, Easter egg guessing.  It is the most fulfilling feeling  to know that our school community gave so generously and raised $991.50 for Project Compassion which will go to those who help people who are most in need to build a better future for generations.

Mini Vinnies Care Packs

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of the families who contributed to our Mini Vinnies care packages, and to our Year Six students who worked hard to assemble them. Your generosity and commitment to our school community are greatly appreciated, and your contributions have made a meaningful difference in the lives of those who received the care packages through the Easter season.

Environmental Stewardship Initiatives

Recycling our Writing Instruments

At St Michael's we are commencing  an exciting new initiative that they hope will help to alleviate the amount of waste we generate.  Located through out the school, there will be baskets where old, used and dried out pens, felt tip pens, highlighters , whiteboard pens and textas can be placed ready for recycling.  When full, these will be sent away for recycling into new products.

Bottle Tops

Mrs Steph Brown - Religious Education Co ordinator

Parish Update

Sacrament of Confirmation – Enrolments  Close on 15 May.

Confirmation, one of the three Sacraments of Initiation, is celebrated in our Diocese for Year 6 students or older.  Details of Confirmation this year, including an Enrolment Form, are on our Parish website:  thirroulcatholic.org.au Click on Sacraments (on the left-hand side), then on Confirmation.  Enrolments close on Monday, 15 May.

K-2 Numeracy 

Students in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 have been engaging in some hands-on, practical numeracy activities and their teachers have been learning about how to develop students' reasoning skills so that they think and work mathematically and solve problems confidently and efficiently. Much of their Mathematics work is done through hands-on experiences, representing using oral language and concrete materials. Students are also working at vertical non-permanent surfaces where they stand in groups of 2-3 and solve problems by talking and reasoning with each other. Teachers are engaging in formative assessment strategies such as using reasoning prompts to encourage students to predict, generalise, reason and justify. From student responses and their representations, teachers make informed decisions about what students need and their next instructional steps. There is much less of a reliance on pencil and paper assessment tasks. Some examples of some reasoning prompts teachers are using regularly with their students are:

• What is the same and what is different?
• How can you describe this pattern?
• How can you show or prove that this is true?
• Is there another answer? Show me!
• Is this always true? 
• Can you explain what you did, step by step?

Please enjoy some photos of our K-2 students engaging in the practical numeracy tasks.

Walk (or ride) to School Safely Day

Active kids are healthy kids. Why not walk or ride to school on Friday, 19 May. Enjoy the cool morning on this day, and walk or ride safely with an adult to school. Remember if you are under 10, you must hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road. If you are riding to school, be sure to wear a helmet. Always stop, look, listen and think before crossing the road. All students who walk or ride to school safely on Friday, May 19 will receive a ‘Walk safely to School Day’ tattoo. 

WASTE FREE WEDNESDAY

We want to reduce the amount of plastic and food packaging we bring to school so we have decided to start WASTE FREE WEDNESDAY! This is an environmental initiative run by the Living Fully in Community Team in conjunction with Garden club and the WEN Ambassadors in Year 5. This is what Waste Free Wednesday is all about:

• Bring food without packaging every Wednesday- no plastic
• There will be a tally of how many students in each class bring waste free food to school on Wednesdays at eating time at recess
• The class that brings the most waste free lunches to school will be the WASTE WARRIORS and will receive the St Michael’s Peace Lily for their classroom for the week.
• At the end of the term, the class with the most Waste Warriors will win the special Environment Award which is extra play time and a taste testing session from harvested fruits and vegetables from our school garden. 

So don’t forget to pack fresh foods in your lunch every Wednesday, starting next Wednesday (Week 4) and ditch the plastic. I wonder who will the next week’s WASTE Warriors?

Mrs Amy Sammut - Assistant Principal

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

2024 Kindergarten Enrolments Update

The Enrolment process for Kindergarten 2024 is well underway and we are delighted with the positive response so far.

Mr James Bryce will be conducting interviews in Weeks 6 & 7. These dates and times were emailed to the relevant applicants last week. Following the interview process and enrolment offers/acceptances, we will also be providing an Orientation Day and Transition to School Playgroup sessions. These dates will be confirmed later in the term.

Mother’s Day Breakfast

Our wonderful P&F with be hosting a Mother’s Day breakfast on Friday, 12 May in the hall and on the verandah commencing at 7.45am - 9.00am.  There will be a breakfast station that the students can use to get something for their Mum, Grandma or Carer in the hall and from there we can then move to eat outside. Please confirm your attendance via the link below or contact the school office. It will be a very special morning and we look forward to showing you how special you are!

https://forms.gle/Yehod8EmSAVYwFpH9 

St Michael's Cook Book

2._Cookbook_Recipe_Advert_2023_pdf_1_.pdf

2 Cookbook_Recipe_Advert_2023_pdf_1 pdf 110.00 KB

2023 Wollongong Running Festival

It's on again! A fantastic local running event.

Once again there is a $1,000.00 prize money up for grabs for the school with the most particpants. Last year, St Michael's were the runners up only missing out by a narrow margin. The students who did particpate in the 2k event had a fantastic time and there was a sea of blue when our athletes ran in their sports uniform. This year we hope to have an even bigger team attend. Mr Bryce and other staff members  have already registered. 

To help motivate us and and get us into the spirit, James from Savvy Fitness will visit our school next Tuesday to do a fun active workshop with each class and also talk about the Running Festival. There will be prizes and a mascot design competition that the students can do at home or in class. 

Sunday, 4 June at North Wollongong - 2K event starts at 9.30am

To register visit:

https://www.wollongongrunningfestival.com

Term 2 Sport Uniform Days

Please see the table below indicating sports days for each class for Term 2. Students are to wear their full sports uniforms on these days.

Class	Sports Days
Kindergarten	Tuesday and Friday
Year 1	Tuesday and Friday
Year 2	Tuesday and Friday
Year 3	Monday and Thursday
Year 4	Monday and Thursday
Year 5	Tuesday and Friday
Year 6	Tuesday and Friday

School Photos

This year our school photo day will be held on Wednesday, 14 June. Students are to wear their full winter uniform with their hair neat and tidy. Envelopes went home with students this week. If you require a sibling photo, sibling envelopes are available at the office. 

Please note that all envelopes are to be brought in on (or before) the actual day of photography, this assists in the smooth operation of the pre-payment system.

Canteen 

Last Thursday we welcomed Canteen Kat to St Michael’s. Kat and Nicole had a lovely day meeting our wonderful students and providing delicious healthy lunches and snacks. A reminder the canteen is open on Thursdays only at this stage. To place orders, please sign up to the online portal - My School Connect https://myschoolconnect.com.au

We look forward to working together with Canteen Kat in providing this wonderful service to our school.

School Assembly Timetables 

 

Week	Focus
3	Awards  and Environmental initiatives
5	Awards and Respectful Relationships
7	Awards and Respectful Relationships
9	St Michael’s Vision and Mission Awards

 

Cross Country Championships

Unfortunately, the Diocesan Cross Country that was scheduled for Tuesday the 2nd of May has been postponed until the 23rd of May. Although this is disappointing, it now gives us some time to undertake some training as a team. Students will be notified of the training dates via Compass and are permitted to wear their sports uniform on these days. We truly appreciate Sonya H and Angela S who have offered to give up their time and will be taking on the training of the students. I have also heard on the grapevine that some students have been doing some of their own training, which is commendable. I’m feeling pretty confident that we will at least win the small schools award. 

St Michael’s Athletics Carnival - Wednesday, 28 June 2023

The St Michael’s Athletics Carnival will be held on Wednesday 28th June, 2023 at Beaton Park (Term 2, Week 10). More information will be sent out via  Compass closer to the date. To ensure that this event is successful, we are again asking kindly for our wonderful St Michael’s parents to support us on the day. 

South Coast Netball Gala Day 

Nominations for the Netball Gala Day have now closed. Students who have nominated will be placed in either junior teams (boys/ girls - Years 3 & 4), senior teams (boys/girls - Years 5 & 6) or a boys team (Years 5 & 6 only) team.  Further details about this event will be sent out via Compass and a finalised draw will be forwarded to parents when finalised. 

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.

Celebration of Erica's Gymnastics Competition

Last weekend Erica competed at the selection trials for the Border Challenge Gymnastics competition. She competed in an open age division, finishing 4th all around and scoring her best ever all around score by far.

Erica has now been selected for the level 7 team to compete in the NSW Women’s Artistic Gymnastics State Team. She will now travel to Brisbane in June to compete for NSW with the goal of winning the national title.

The St Michael’s school community would like to wish Erica all the best at the NSW Women’s Gymnastics Competition

Good Luck!

Mrs Amy Sammut - Assistant Principal

Webinars for parents & carers

Miss Emma Riolo - Middle Leader 2 & Instructional Coach

Remaining meetings 

Term 2

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

General Meeting - Thursday 18  May (6.30-8pm) Venue: Beaches Hotel

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)