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 

Twilight Sports & Results

As noted all evening, we couldn't have asked for a better day!! There was an air of anticipation in the school last Thursday as we eagerly awaited the arrival of 3.00pm! After savouring delicious hot sausages, we raced to Warner reserve with winning as our goal! Thank you to the amazing parent helpers, without whom it would have been a huge challenge to run this event smoothly. Thank you to all the staff who were present and supported the students in so many ways throughout the day. A huge thank you to Mr Jordan Lo Ricco, our Physical Education teacher, who planned the activities and set up the courses for us all to enjoy. Well done to all participants in challenging yourselves with the events and persevering through them all.

Congratulations GOLD team on being overall winners of the 2023 St Michael's Twilight Sports Carnival!

Congratulations to BLUE team for being recipients of the 2023 Twilight Sports Spirit Award!

St Michaels' Welcomer-Families

One of the many wonderful traditions we have at St Michael's is that of our Welcomer Families.  Each year, we match volunteer families to new families who are joining our school.  Could you be one of our welcomers?

What's involved?

Our volunteer family writes a short letter of welcome (we provide a template to help and a card) which is given to our new families at either one of the Prep transitions or mailed out to them.  The volunteer family provides a phone number or email address so that if there are any questions before school starts, the new family has someone to reach out to for advice.  You would remember the questions - what's a testing day? Do they wear their uniform or casual clothes?  Where's the best place to park? And if you don't know the answer, you have the PFA to ask, backing you up! On the first day of school, which next year will be Friday 2nd February, hopefully the welcome family can also be there to say hello and help our new families feel at home.

Normally, we draw our welcomers from current Prep families and current families who will have a Preppie starting next year.  In 2024 though, we will also be welcoming families across the school from St Mary Magdalen's, so we need lots more helpers than usual.  If you are happy to participate, please contact Therese Molnar on 0417.014.772 or via email therese.molnar@gmail.com  Many Thanks!

School Enhancement Session

Thank you to the parents who attended last Friday evening's School Enhancement Session! We have been needing to clear out and clean the garage all year and with all hands on deck we achieved this goal! It was fabulous to also have some parishioners attend who could advise on some of the items and whether they were still needed or not. The whole team worked together well and we now have some amazing storage space available as needed.

Craig Community Centre Craft Market

The Craig Community Centre is holding a Craft Market on Saturday 25th November, from 11am to 3pm. St Michael's students have been invited to perform at the event, during which we will perform one of the songs from our recent Production, An Aussie Adventure! All students are invited to take part in this and we would love to have as many voices there as possible. If you're able to be present between 1.30-2.30pm, please reply to the Operoo notice that went out last week. Invite your families to come and watch as well. See you there!

Hands On Music concerts

Hands On Music provides instrumental lessons for students at St Michael's School. On Tuesday 5th December, all students who learn an instrument will take part in a concert at St Michael's School to perform something from their learning this year. This is an excellent opportunity for the children to put their learning into practice. These sorts of events aid students in strengthening their skills as they aim for mastery of their instrument. We look forward to hearing the students at the two concerts being held on this day, at 12.30-1.15pm and 1.15-2.00pm. All parents, grandparents, extended family and friends welcome! 

Year Six Mini Fete

Well done to our Year Five and Six teams who worked together to organise stalls for this year's Mini Fete. The main aim of this fete is for students to raise funds for their upcoming Big Day Out, however it is all planned around a financial inquiry learning unit during which students learn about how to set up a small business. Students prepared a business plan, which included sourcing their products, designing what they would sell, marketing and learned about profit and loss as part of the whole process. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn and so great to have involved their families in their endeavours too! Luckily the rain cleared in time and it was a beautiful day! Thank you to the many parents who supported the students with their stalls and also being here for the event.

Walk for Tiwi

As you may recall, earlier this year I attended a Principal conference in Darwin where we visited the Tiwi Islands and late last term we raised funds for St Therese's Church through our Walk for Tiwi initiative. As an East Central Zone Network of schools, we raised $8,500.00 in total to donate to St Therese's, about which we were notified this week. An excellent result and one which has been shared within our local Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools (MACS) news. See here for details. Many thanks again to St Michael's families for your contributions to this worthy cause.

Parent Thank You Morning Tea

SAVE THE DATE: WEDNESDAY 6TH DECEMBER, 11AM TO 12 NOON

We welcome all parents who have helped out this year in any way, shape or form, to come to a morning tea to celebrate 2023! This is our chance to say thank you for the amazing and wonderful support you give us in offering the programs, learning and environment to our children. Whether you have attended an Enhancement Session, been a classroom helper, supported a sports program, or even cleaned tables for the classroom teacher you are WELCOME!

The morning tea is being held directly after the St Michael's End of Year Mass and we truly hope you can be there!

St Michael's PFA School Disco

We are excited to announce that the PFA is holding a school disco on 24th November. Details below. Book through this LINK

Friday 24th November 2023 in the Hub

Session 1: Prep, Grade 1's and 2's :   5.30pm - 6.30pm

Session 2: Grades 3 - 6 :   7pm  - 8pm

** Alternatively stay for both if you have children across the two sessions!

Cost: $5 per student

While the Kids groove, parents are invited to "Linger and Laze" in the Supper Room and Catch-up with Other Parents 

Bookings close: Wednesday 22nd November 2023

****Please note: Even though this event will be taking place at St Michael's Primary School, it is not an official school event.  It is an event organised and run by the PFA.  Therefore all children MUST be supervised by either their parents or nominated guardian.

Hopefully you have taken advantage of the parent seminars made available through this project. Due to the positive feedback received from parents/carers, the TKPSP team is offering an additional two weeks of seminars from Tuesday 21 November until Thursday 30 November. These sessions provide parents with practical tools and strategies for:

• behaviour management
• managing anxiety and
• building healthy peer relationships

For further details go to our Wellbeing News section

Solway Basketball Programs

In our Community News section, there are two basketball programs advertised which I encourage parents to review. If your child is not currently participating in a sport and is reluctant to do so, these sessions could be a good opportunity to try something new and engage in some healthy competition. 

Altar Servers at St Michael's Parish

The Parish is looking for Altar Servers for 2024. Students who have received their Eucharist are eligible to be an Altar Server. If your student is wanting to apply, please email a short application to rloricco@smashburton.catholic.edu.au explaining why they would like to be an Altar Server.

See the Religious Education section for some information on Our Giving Tree 

Carols on the Green

We look forward to our annual St Michael's Carols on the Green event for the celebration of Christmas 2023. 

When: Thursday December 7th, 6-7.30pm (Gates open from 5:30pm

Where: St Michael's Tennis Courts

What to bring: A picnic basket and outdoor chairs (NO alcohol please)

Students will sit in their class groups in front of the stage for the evening and return to parents at the end of all class performances. Families are invited to bring along their picnic rugs and sit on the grass or bring chairs and sit along the concreted areas towards the side and back of the tennis courts. Please note this will be an alcohol free event due to child safety regulations. Please keep an eye on the newsletter for updated details.

PFA BBQ - The PFA will be serving a BBQ from 5.00-6.00pm on the Soccer court. 

Chess Mates 

THIS AFTERNOON

We are holding our very first session today in the library at 3.30pm.

Please note, when the session ends at 4.30pm the children can be collected from the Quadrangle. The school gates at the front of the school will be reopened.

 Can't wait to see you there!!

https://chessmates.com.au/school-lessons/#search

SPARE CHESS SETS - We have had an overwhelming response from students across the school showing their interest in the game of Chess and we will be starting a St Michael's lunchtime Chess Club. If you have a spare Chess set at home (all pieces please) that you would be happy to donate for our lunchtime club, please send it in to the school office. Much appreciated! 

Prep Transition 

This morning we held our third Prep Transition session with many of the students walking in confidently and excitedly to meet their teachers and see their Year Five friends again. Looking forward to our final session when the children will be with their 2024 Prep teacher and get to know their 2024 Buddies. Exciting times ahead!

Thursday 30th November, 9-11am (Please bring a small morning tea for this session)

Upcoming Closure Day ~ Monday 27th November

A reminder to all that we are holding an additional closure day on Monday 27th November for 2024 planning. Please ensure you have this date in your home calendar.

Some important 2024 dates

To assist you in your planning for 2024, we release some of our term dates here for your home calendars.

Jump Rope for Heart at St Michael’s!

We’re skipping through the term!

We have 28 students signed up to Jump Rope for Heart, with a total of $495 raised so far! We are so close to our $500 target! If you haven't registered your child, it’s not too late: www.jumprope.org.au/parents

We will be holding a special Jump Rope For Heart Fundraiser day later in the term for all students to get involved!

Annual Report to the School Community 2022

The 2022 Annual Report to the School Community is now available. Should you wish to see a copy, please email Annie Herbison at principal@smashburton.catholic.edu.au