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

Loving God, 

You give each one of us a special life and love in our families. It is through the experience of sharing and growing together that we deepen our experience of You.

As our children now come to celebrate the Sacrament of Eucharist for the first time, we ask You to be with us in the power and gift of Your Spirit. We ask you to encourage all of us to be aware of the wonder of Your Sacramental gift and to deepen our union with You and with one another in and through Jesus, Your Son. Amen

We congratulate all of our First Communion candidates who are receiving the Sacrament of First Eucharist this coming weekend:

Amy B, Elise D, Brayden F, Jay F, Ashika G, Isabella K Sanne M, Sebastian Mo, Patrick P, William R, Isaac S, Alexander B, Rashwin L, Luke H Chloe D, Olivia D, Leonardo E, Francesca G, Aaliyah G, Charlie G, Sophia L, Maxen M, Inaya R, Anna R, Samuel S, Annabelle S, Anthony T, Diaz F and Gabriel G

New Enterprise Bargaining Agreement ~ Change to School Start Time

Many of you will have heard about the new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement between the Independent Education Union (Vic-Tas) and the Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools. The attached letter to families explains how the new EBA affects our timetable here at St Michael's School and what exactly this means for you as parents. I encourage all parents to please take the time to read this letter to help you understand what these changes are and when they will be taking place.

St Michael's Principal Appointment Process

The process for the appointment of an ongoing Principal to St Michael's School has just begun. This process is lead by St Michaels' Regional Learning Consultant, Mr Rob Scanlon, who is the nominee of the Executive Director of the Melbourne Archdiocese. Mr Scanlon's role is to support Father Laurence and the school community through this process. A panel, including both Mr Scanlon and Father Laurence, is being assembled at present to consider the criteria for the position. The panel also includes two parents from our community, John Whitehouse and Therese Molnar, as well as an experienced Principal, usually from another region. The process is expected to be completed by early Term 3, when the announcement of the principal will be made. 

Winter Uniform

The chill of Winter has certainly set in, obvious from the donning of the heavy coats and scarves in recent weeks. This week I reminded students about wearing their Winter uniforms and some parents have spoken with me about some of the challenges around this. I understand that some children do have sensory and other issues around certain fabrics and density of materials. A uniform signifies someone's belonging to a community, one of which we are proud at St Michael's. Hence, the important consideration for our children is that they are wearing the uniform. The final decision about what items of our school uniform are worn by students rests predominantly with you as parents. Thank you for your support in ensuring that uniforms are respectfully presented and ready for our children each day. 

St Michael's Production information

As mentioned previously, cast selection and rehearsals will occur throughout Term 3 with ASPA staff onsite to take all classes on Fridays throughout the term.  As these sessions will run from the beginning of the day to the very end, our assemblies for Term 3 will run on Monday afternoons instead of Friday, from 2.40-3.10pm. We understand this is another change thrust upon us! I am sure we can make this accommodation as out students prepare for their biennial production, an event to which they greatly look forward! Thank you for your understanding and here are the changes of dates for Term 3 for your convenience.

Booroondara Division Cross Country

Gallant efforts by both St Michael's School participants were shown at this week's Booroondara Division Cross Country event. Maddison H and Darcy B qualified for this after the Glen Iris District Cross Country meet the week before. Maddi and Darcy didn't qualify for the following event this time, however we are incredibly proud that they applied a growth mindset and gave it all they had to take part in the experience. Well done to you both! 

Prep Enrolments 2024

DON'T FORGET.... Get your Prep enrolment forms in! 

A few more forms have made their way into the office this week and more phone calls have been coming in for tours at tomorrow's Open Day. We wish to schedule Prep Family Meetings with all families who have enrolled. It has been a great pleasure to meet our incoming Preps and I look forward to seeing siblings over these next two terms at pick ups and drop offs!

Parent / Teacher / Student Conversations

Student reports are due to be available for parents to access through the Nforma portal on Tuesday 20th June. Parents / Teacher / Student Conversations will then be held in the first week after the school holidays, on Thursday 13th July. As has been done in previous years, classes will finish at 12.00 noon on this date to allow for these meetings to happen. Please save this date on your calendars and more details will be available in next week's newsletter.

Staff Leave 

As expressed in letters to Prep and Three/Four R families recently, Ally Panas and Deanna Imbriano take leave later this term to enjoy some travel time with their families. They both finish Term 2 on Friday 9th June and return to school at the commencement of Term 3, Monday 10th July. We wish them safe travels and an enjoyable time away with their respective families.

The Thriving Kids & Parents Schools Project

We invite parents to look into taking part in The Thriving Kids & Parents School Project. This project offers parents seminars that will help provide parents and carers with tools to support their child(ren) to thrive. As a school, we are also offered resources to use with our students. Go to www.tkpsp.com to see more information available about the project.