From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers

Please note that weekly Parish mass times will now be located each week on our School Hours / Timetable page in our newsletter. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

As our children embark on the journey of beginning a new school year, especially for those starting fresh, we come before you with hearts full of hope and gratitude. 

We thank you for the gift of their lives and the opportunity for them to learn and grow in knowledge and wisdom.

We pray for their protection, both physically and spiritually, as they navigate the challenges and joys of the school year. 

Surround them with your loving presence and guide them in making wise choices.

Grant them courage to face new experiences, confidence to believe in themselves, and resilience to overcome any obstacles they may encounter. May they be surrounded by supportive teachers, caring classmates, and positive influences that foster their growth and development.

Help them to cultivate a love for learning, a spirit of curiosity, and a heart of compassion for others. May they always strive for excellence, in their learning and in their relationships.

Give us, as parents and guardians, the wisdom and patience to nurture and support our children in their educational journey. Help us to be actively involved in their lives, to listen attentively, and to provide them with the guidance and encouragement they need.

Above all, may our children always walk in your ways. 

May they grow in faith, hope, and love, becoming beacons of your light in the world.

We entrust our children into your loving care, knowing that you with them always. 

Amen.

2024 St Michael's Staff

We warmly welcome back many of our staff to 2024. Please refer to the 2024 Parent Handbook for the full list of staff.

We welcome back to St Michael's School Mrs Emma Quinless who left after Term Two last year to take parental leave. Emma returns to St Michael's on Tuesdays to take on the Performing Arts teaching position for Years 3 to 6. Along with Mrs Elise Rimington who will teach Performing Arts on Mondays for Years Prep to Two, I know they will be a dynamic duo in this curriculum area. 

In addition to Emma's return, we welcome Ms Emily Heverin as a Learning Support Officer (LSO) in 2024. Emily undertook some casual LSO work in 2023 and will return this year for two days per week. 

As noted in last year's newsletters, Mr Ray Hickey begins the year with us in our Year Five/Six classes. We have come to know Ray as he came for various visits in December and has been here busily setting up his classroom in the past two weeks.

We wish both Ray and Emily a very happy year at St Michael's School.

Ready for the new year

It has been wonderful to see everything coming together for the new year. Over these past few weeks, we have unpacked all of our brand new chromebooks with their sleek new covers; had new sand trucked into our sandpits, set up classrooms and we now have a brand new student wellbeing room. Can't wait for you all to see it!

Testing Days Wednesday 31st January and Thursday 1st February

It was wonderful to see children return to St Michael's yesterday and today to participate in their testing day. Children completed a range of testing activities which helps the teachers' understand and get to know the children.

Anaphylaxis at St Michael's 

As within all schools, St Michael's School has students who are anaphylactic to certain foods, most commonly nuts. We wish to advise our families that at St Michael's we have a student in Year 3 who is highly sensitive to nuts specifically and can react to the touch of someone else with even the smallest amount. We ask that you are mindful when packing food for your child and that you please avoid packing nuts themselves and foods which contain traces of nuts, for the safety of all our students with anaphylaxis. Of course, if foods are accidentally packed for students, we understand this can happen and will manage this accordingly on the day. 

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

COVID Awareness

As we are aware, new strains of Covid have been appearing in recent months. As a school we continue to encourage Covid safe practices. Some practices we will be revising with our children in these first few weeks include:

• washing hands after using the toilet / playing outside
• using sanitiser when entering the classroom
• air filters in classrooms and office areas
• coughing and sneezing into elbows

We remind families that it is really important to keep children home when children are unwell. Sadly we have some families in the school who are suffering from Long Covid and we wish to support these families and of course, each other.

Raising Kids in a Digital World

On Thursday 15th February, we are thrilled to host Marty McGauran again to lead our community in learning more about the ever-changing digital landscape in which we live. Marty is the founder of Inform & Empower, and he will present his session on 'Raising Kids in a Digital World’, with new information for parents about what to look out for in the digital world.

As St Michael's embarks upon a new approach in it's Digital Technologies program, with students from Years 3-6 taking home their devices, it is vital that at least one parent attends the session so that you are fully informed. We ask that you please complete the Operoo form for this event as soon as you are able.

The presentation will begin at 7pm and finish at approximately 8.30pm and will be located in the Hub. Child Care is available if you have no other option to you on this night. We have limited staff available for this so please email Annie Herbison at aherbison@smashburton.catholic.edu.au if you are in need of child care.

Year Three-Six Swimming Program

As notified last week, our Swimming Program for Years 3 to 6 students commences on Monday 5th February - NEXT WEEK. A few of the dates for this have changed, as per the dates listed below:

Week 2 - FEBRUARY 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th AND

Week 3 - FEBRUARY 14th, 15th, 16th AND THURSDAY 22ND FEBRUARY (Water Safety Day)

Please place these dates on your family calendars. An Operoo notification will be issued shortly. Parents wishing to volunteer will be given details through the Operoo notification.

The swimming carnival will run on Monday 12th February, which means there will be no lessons on this day.

ENHANCEMENT SESSION / WORKING BEE

School and Parish Enhancement Session / Working Bee

Our first enhancement session for this year will be held on Saturday 17th February, from 9-11am and will be in conjunction with the Parish Working Bee. An Operoo notification will come out today for you to complete. At 11am Fr Laurence will be cooking a BBQ for all the attendees.  

Some of the jobs that will need to be done include: weeding, digging, some indoor & outdoor cleaning, sweeping, shovelling, clearing of items to the skip.

Please bring the following if you have them at home: garden gloves, window washers and buckets, rakes, brooms, shovels, wheelbarrows, pruners, hedge shears (electric or manual)

We look forward to seeing you there!

CSEF Eligibility

If you are eligible for the Camps, Sports, Excursions Fund (CSEF), please make contact with the school office at your convenience. If you receive a Carer Allowance on behalf of a child, or any other benefit or allowance not income tested, you may be eligible. If you are unsure, make contact to find out.

CHILD SAFE PRACTICES - Working with Children Checks 

St Michael’s School is committed to providing a child safe environment and takes active steps to ensure any person authorised to conduct ‘child connected works’ does not pose a risk to their safety or welfare. To achieve this, the school implements screening processes, including Working With Children Checks (WWCC), to assess and verify their suitability. 

St Michael’s School ensures that non-teaching staff, contractors, volunteers and visitors are of suitable character and do not have a relevant criminal record that poses an unjustifiable risk to children. 

Teaching Staff & Casual Relief Teachers who are registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) undergo criminal record checks via their annual registration.

Parents wishing to assist with any of our school activities will need to have a valid Working With Children Check. If you do not have one yet, or if it needs renewing, please visit the Service Victoria website for information.

Hands on Music

Hands On Music is a company St Michael's has been using for some time.  If you wish for your child to learn an instrument this year, please make contact with Jen Capon via email: handsonmusic.j@gmail.com or phone: 0402 910 330

Class Reps and WhatsApp groups for 2024:

As informed in December, every class has a WhatsApp group set up, with thanks to the organisation of the Parents and Friends Association. Please see the links below. We strongly urge you to join your class WhatsApp group, so you can be sure of knowing what is going on.

Each class needs a class rep or two. This important role is the link between the PFA and each class. The main task is to organise and manage a class kitty which covers the teacher's birthday present and Christmas present. If interested, please contact Therese Molnar on 0417.014.772 or via therese.molnar@gmail.com 

Prep 2024: please contact Charlotte Jones on 0431.321.775 if you haven't already joined the group, which was advertised at the Prep information session.

Mrs Lampe's 1/2 class:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/HC9fTePBBKEGyPdOlJZACP

Miss O'Donnell's 1/2 class:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/E7pQOXhpy9p2p2YzYb26Pg 

Mr Stent's 1/2 class:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/DE0t0uIB5z137onLOIRyNp

Ms Balzat and Miss Anne's 3/4 class:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/FMT6mFh2YQ9LICwzQG19PG

Mrs Harding and Mrs Hedley's 3/4 class:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/F97XrdW3XSM53uTpoVzpoy

Mrs Imbriano's 3/4 class:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/GiszikWr8fSDjt8gehl0Qa

Mr Hickey's 5/6 class:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/I3HbW5rsiRYJESo21NXYCK

Miss Casey's 5/6 class:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/LdDY5mMkLQ1IR5BDxSnm6s

St Michael's Cake Stall

 We continue to need helpers on the Cake Stall at the Ashburton Festival on Sunday 25th February. If you're able to assist OR help with some other needs on this day, please see the details in our Community News page.