Dear Families,

Confirmation

Last Sunday we had eleven of our Year 5/6 children make their Confirmation.

In our Catholic faith, Confirmation is the final sacrament of Initiation, following that of Baptism. At Baptism our parents make a commitment to raise us within the Catholic faith and to support us in growing closer to our God. Confirmation, is the time for when we make our own commitment to live our lives in the image of Jesus Christ.

We thank Father Nicholas for leading us in such a beautiful and meaningful ceremony where each of these children made that commitment for themselves.

Congratulations to Angel Bui, Benjamin Cao, Ross Bumanglag, Nina Battistella, Samuel Jugo, Violeta Rengifo-Alfonso, Cooper Tortosa, James Huang, Parker Langford, Marko Tudorovic, and Dylan Mehegan.

Along with your families, we are all very proud of you!

School Visit from Educators from Northeast Arnhem Land

On Wednesday we were very fortunate to have a group of Yolngu team teachers from Yirrkala School in Northeast Arnhem Land come to visit our school.

There were 6 team teachers, all of whom work in the classrooms and are studying at the same time. They are doing what is known as C-bate (community-based Aboriginal Teacher education) and this experience is partly to encourage them to keep studying and see how other schools work. They came to meet our students and to take part in lessons. They told the students a bit about their own school and explained how the students learn in their own language and in English.

It was a fabulous experience for our children and we hope this enables us to make an ongoing connection with this school into the future.

Staff News

We will be sad to say goodbye to the following staff at the end of this year. Each of them has served our St Michael's community with professionalism, dedication, passion, and great care for every child. We thank them for their years of service and wish them well in their new adventures.

Abby Dionysiou: Abby has served St Michaels for two years as one of our Year 5/6 teachers. In 2024 she has decided to travel abroad to London with her partner to pursue travel and work opportunities.

Emily Lyle: Emily began with us this year as a Graduate teacher in Year 3/4. In 2024 she will move interstate with her partner to pursue other career interests.

Frances Galea: Frances will not be returning in 2024, she joined us in 2021 and has served us not only as a Learning Support Officer but also as our dance expert. The daily commute to St Michael's can be challenging when you live further away so she has taken a position at another Catholic school much closer to her home.

Grace Farrant: Grace, another of our dedicated Learning Support Officers will not be returning in 2024, she has completed her teaching degree and has decided to travel abroad to Amsterdam with her partner for travel and work.

Molly Fisher: Molly has been on Leave Without Pay this year and has decided not to return to St Michael's. She wishes to spend more time with her family in NSW and pursue other career interests.

Joel Lanza: Joel has also been on Leave Without Pay for most of this year and has decided not to return to St Michael's. He is now studying Social Work and unfortunately, his Uni timetable will not allow him to continue working with us.

We welcome with excitement the following staff to our school for 2024:

Hang Cao: Hang will join us as our Religious Education Leader and Classroom teacher, she is an experienced teacher currently working at Bethany Catholic Primary School in Werribee.

Temeka Lewis: Temeka will join us as a classroom teacher, she is an experienced teacher currently working at St Peter's Bendigo.

Ezza Ramsay: Ezza will join us as a classroom teacher 3 days per week. He is currently working as an LSO at St Michael's North Melbourne!

Michael Jeffrey: Michael will join us as a Learning Support Officer 5 days per week, he is an experienced LSO currently working at St Mary MacKillop School Bannockburn.

Violette Pirotta: Violette will join us as a Learning Support Officer 2 days per week. She is studying for her Bachelor of Education.

Courtney Barrett: Courtney has completed her Educational Support Staff qualification and has worked here as a Learning Support Officer casual relief person this term. She will join us as a Learning Support Officer 5 days per week.

Georgie Wiley: Georgie is currently working as a Learning Support Officer at a school in Canberra. She is moving to Melbourne and will join St Michael's as a Learning Support Officer working 5 days per week.

David Whimpey: David, a Speech Pathologist, currently works for MACS and also attends our school 1 day per week as part of the GIR Literacy project. In 2024 he will join the St Michael's staff and will continue in the same role.

2024 Class Groups

Our staff spent much time collaborating together to place children into their class groups for 2024. In 2024 the class groups will be:

Prep - 2 class groups

Prep T - Tahlia Bogg

Prep L - Lucinda Goring

Year 1/2 - 3 class groups

Year 1/2D - Diane Ortisi

Year 1/2G - Gabby Paul

Year 1/2KF - Kate Johnston (3 days) Fiona Dunne (2 days)

Year 3/4 - 3 class groups

Year 3/4G - Georgia Foley

Year 3/4S - Susan Plant (4 days) Sarah Nicol (1 day)

Year 3/4T - Temeka Lewis

Year 5/6 - 2 class groups

Year 5/6N - Nathan Fitzgerald

Year 5/6EH - Ezza Ramsay (3 days) Hang Cao (2 days)

Much consideration has gone into the composition of these class groups, we have considered enrolment numbers, academic needs, and social-emotional needs at each level. Families will be informed of the class their child will be in on Step Up Day.

SAC

Our School Advisory Council met last week and our Chairperson Joe Greco has written a report. I invite you to read this report which you can find in the SAC section of this newsletter.

TheirCare

The appointment of a new OSHC provider, TheirCare is one that took great consideration from myself and our School Advisory Council. We believe that the new company will provide our school with a more professional and efficient service but also one that will engage our children in fun activities.

Families who use this service will need to re-register with the new company.

Families can access more information about this company and register for the service via their website.

More information is shared with families via Operoo.

End of Year Celebrations

Over the next weeks, families have many opportunities to join in Christmas and End of Year School celebrations. I encourage you to check the Upcoming Events section in this newsletter and lock these dates into your calendar.

A reminder that we have a SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY ON FRIDAY DECEMBER 1ST.

The holiday program is available for families on this day.

Denise Hussey

(Principal)

'The most simple thing I can do is to be good today but better tomorrow'

Catherine McAuley - Mercy Sisters Foundress

All students attending St Michael's Primary School have the right to feel safe. The care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a fundamental responsibility of all within our school.

Learning News

Prep L / Community