ASSEMBLY - Monday 17th July, 5/6R, 2.30pm in the Hub
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
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Preparing for our Kinder Kids
Yesterday our Year 3, 4 and 5 students were instrumental in helping us prepare for our visit from Kinder Kids for today. Miss Toldi's Year Fours busily prepared another delicious slice for our visitors, while others in Year Three and Four made welcome cards for the children. Year Fives spent the better part of the afternoon setting up the library and selecting picture story books they could share with the three and four year old visitors. They are so excited about these sessions and are a credit to our school and community.
Our next Kinder Kids Reading session will be held on Friday 25th August, 8.50-9.45am
Morning routine
Thank you for everyone's patience with starting our new morning routine this week! I understand these sorts of changes are challenging to everyone. The children have transitioned well and will continue to be supported as we move further into the term. Please know that parents are still welcome to enter classrooms with the students and class teacher from 8.45am. You are welcome to join the class for morning prayer as is the culture at St Michael's School.
St Michael's School Advisory Council
This week we had our first meeting of the St Michael's School Advisory Council for 2023. The School Advisory Council (SAC) consists of a team of parents representing various year levels across the school, who act as a forum for discussion and discernment in advising the Principal and Parish Priest on school matters. The SAC provides a structure and a process for shared voices leading to consensus that supports ‘the effective development of the strategic direction of the school’, and gives opportunity for parent voice and community perspective to be available to the principal and the parish priest for the good of school and parish where students’ wellbeing and outcomes are paramount. This week the members of the SAC were inducted into the role, and given information about the purpose and role they will play on this council. Thank you to the following members of our community who have volunteered for this role: Sousan Esposto (Chairperson), Paul Tesoriero, Andrew Dodds, Lauren Prior, Paula McKiernan and Amanda Tran. Eloise Ellis, Fr Laurence Cortez and I are ex-officio members of the SAC.
Save the date
We ask all our Dads to please SAVE THE DATE for our Father's Day breakfast. This year we will hold the Father's Day breakfast on Friday 1st September, from 7.45am. More details will follow but please keep this morning free.
St Michael's Netball Tournament
Next Wednesday, 19th July, our two St Michael's netball teams compete in the Netball Victoria Championships. Trials and selection of team members has been completed and the training has commenced. The students have worked hard in their training sessions and we wish them all the best for the tournament next week. A huge thank you to Lauren Day and Clare Lorenz, parents of some of our students, without whom we would not have been able to compete in this tournament. These parents have supported the girls and taken time out of their own busy schedules to train them. Go St Michael's!!
Inform & Empower sessions
Over the next two weeks all students in Years One to Six will take part in online sessions designed by Inform and Empower, the team who worked with us at the start of this year. The focus of these sessions will be to revisit much of the learning about digital technologies, specifically about how to stay safe online. These sessions will be a refresher for our students, with a focus on Cybersafety, keeping information private, our digital footprint, how to balance screen time and green time, and how we can remain critical thinkers about what is happening online. This is the perfect time of year for parents to have conversations with their children also and perhaps to reset boundaries and limits on devices and children's online activities at home.
Media Arts
Throughout Term 2, Media Arts became a focus area for our students, as they navigated using iMovie and the Green Screen in our Black Box Theatre to produce their own short videos related to their inquiry learning. It has been wonderful to see the enjoyment and engagement of the students as they have watched their finished products of these iMovies. Students from Years Three to Six have now uploaded these works onto their Seesaw Apps for parents to view. Students experimented with transitions, music and additional background images in their iMovies. If you have not yet had the chance to view your child's work, please take some time to see these on Seesaw. Year Prep, One and Two students will be uploading their works over the next few weeks so keep an eye out!
Parent / Teacher / Student Conversations
Parent / Teacher / Student Conversations are happening TODAY in the library, except for One/Two R, Three/Four B and One/Two B. P/T/S Conversations will be occurring in the Hub. Please check details on Operoo for your times.
Thursday 20th July
Three/Four B Mrs Des Harding & Miss Sam Isaacson in the library (All classes will continue until 3.30pm)
One/Two B Miss Caitlin O'Donnell in the library (All classes will continue until 3.30pm)
St Michael's School Production
We greatly look forward to commencing practices for our school production tomorrow. All classes will have their session with Grace, our instructor from ASPA. Each class has three numbers to practise and perform on the night. The production team for costuming, sets and backdrops will convene shortly and we will be calling on parent volunteers for your support in this area so dust off the sewing machines and be ready!
East Central Principal Network Conference
As part of the East Central Principal Network, a network of approximately 20 schools, I will be attending a professional learning conference from Monday 17th July to Friday 21st July.
Our conference focus for the week will be around further enhancing our learning about Australian Indigenous communities and how we can best bring this into our schools.
Indigenous education and the teaching about Australian History are essential elements with our Victorian curriculum. These aspects of the curriculum weave throughout much of the Humanities and also have links to the Capabilities. The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians recognises the fundamental role that education plays in building a society that is "cohesive and culturally diverse, and that values Australia’s Indigenous cultures". It is important that our children are active and informed citizens with an appreciation of Australia’s social, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity, and that they build skills in relations and communications across many cultures; local, regional and global.
Eloise Ellis will be the Acting Principal for these five days during my absence, however I will still be available to families on email should there be any urgent matters which you feel require my attention.
Maths Competition - an opportunity
The Australian Mathematics Competition is an engaging 30 problem competition that demonstrates the importance and relevance of mathematics in students’ everyday lives. It is designed to motivate, stimulate, and develop mathematically interested students in Years 3 to 10. If you are keen to find out more about this and potentially engage your child in this opportunity, read our Maths Monthly section for more details.
Booroondara Photo Competition
Congratulations Jasmine Place
We take this opportunity to congratulate Jasmine in Year 6 who was awarded "highly commended" from the judges in the Booroondara Photograph Competition. Jasmine's entry was selected from hundreds of others and her photo will be on display in the Hawthorn Town Hall gallery until 19 August, and the general public is yet to vote for the "people's choice award". Good luck with this Jasmine!
Grandparents and Special Friends Day
We welcome all our students to invite their grandparents or a special friend to celebrate with us on Thursday 27th July, from 1.00-3.30pm. This is one of St Michael's much anticipated and most enjoyed events of the year so we hope you are able to join with us, even for a short part of the session. See the details here below and an RSVP will be made available through Operoo. We look forward to see everyone there!
School Enhancement Session
Save the date... our next School Enhancement Session will be on Saturday 5th August from 9-11am. Details will be uploaded onto Operoo shortly so please save the date.
Term 3 Calendar
Please recheck the calendar dates in this newsletter as some of the dates advertised from late last term have changed.
