From the Principal

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

Prayer 

St Michael's Art Show

The students and staff are greatly looking forward to our biennial art show next Thursday 12th September. We will hold the official opening of the Art Show at 2.30pm in the quadrangle (weather permitting) during which time the Arts Leaders will officially open it and we have invited a special guest to present their "art journey" as well. 

After the opening, parents / caregivers are welcome to enter the gallery to view the art works. You are welcome to take your child/ren through at this time, however we ask that school bags are not taken into the hub during the art show. Please let your child's class teacher know if you will be taking your child home before 3.30pm. Collect their school bags from the classroom after you have viewed the art show.

The St Michael's Art Show will then be open for parents, caregivers, family members, neighbours and friends from 3.30-6.30pm. We invite you to welcome anyone you know to see the creative works of our students. Staff will be onsite throughout this time. We ask that visitors please do not touch any of the art works and please keep a close eye on toddlers during your viewing. Thank you! 

Please note, Chess Club is running as per usual on this day in the library!

Fathers' and Special Friends' Breakfast

After the raging winds on Thursday night last week, a beautiful new day dawned in readiness for St Michael's to welcome our Dads and Special Friends to celebrate the Father's Day breakfast. Thank you to Emma Quick and Rod Hine for arriving at 6.30am to assist with the cooking! Thank you also to the many staff who came early on this day to cook and have things ready. Again, our Dads and children enjoyed some snags, eggs and bacon for their breakfast, before heading outside to engage in some sporting fun. Thank you to Paul Klooster from Ashburton Meats for once again generously donating 200 sausages!

Father's Day Stall

What a lot of fun and excitement was had choosing the perfect gift at the Father's Day Stall! We hope you had a wonderful Fathers Day and felt very loved and cherished.  There was certainly a lot of love and effort poured into the decorated bags and cards made by the children.

Enormous thanks to the mighty team who made the stall possible: Clare Skafte, Carla Petrovski, Apple Hindle, Gillian Rapose, Hayley Betros, Ness Wood, Jyoti Francis, Laura Sonego and Eleni Kokkinos.  A special thanks to Jenny Birt, Julien, Alyssa and Isaac who braved the wild rainy night to purchase some additional gifts that night before the stall.

Hot dog day - 20th September

On this day the Year 6 parents will be selling hot dogs for any children wishing to order them. This is to help raise funds for the Year 6 students' special Big Day Out which will happen in December. Please see the details about this on the Community News page. Order forms will be coming to you soon.

As a school we also invite children to wear their favourite sports team's colours on this day if they wish. Traditionally this is Footy Colours Day, however if your favourite sport is something else, feel free to wear the colours of your team. Students may wear scarves, beanies, jumpers, tshirts of their favourite teams. 

About Real Life Sex Education for children (Years Three to Six)

Hopefully by now you have seen the regular feature in our Wellbeing News section about these online sessions which are happening on Tuesday 17th September. These are optional sessions, naturally, however they will give you an opportunity to start some very important discussions with your child in a very sensitive and respectful manner. Sessions are open for registration NOW!

Principals' Pilgrimage ~ The Way of St James

I wish to make parents and caregivers aware that I will be absent from school in the first week of Term 4 (7-11 October) as I am attending a special pilgrimage with 25 other Catholic principals from the Eastern Region of Melbourne. I will depart Melbourne on 23rd September for Spain, meeting the Principal group on Sunday 29th September, returning to Melbourne on Saturday 12th October. Mrs Eloise Ellis will be your point of contact during my absence - eellis@smashburton.catholic.edu.au 

This pilgrimage follows in the footsteps of the Apostle, St James, in Northern Spain. It's an ancient pilgrimage from medieval times, arriving at the Santiago de Compostela, where it is believed the remains of St James are buried. This particular pilgrimage is often referred to as the Camino de Santiago. The total distance of this Camino is 825km, however my colleagues and I will only be completing the final stage of this journey, from Sarria to Santiago, which is 115km. 

As a team of leaders in Catholic schools, our goals during this pilgrimage will be to build on our collegiality as well as experience spiritual growth and cultural immersion. We have each been gifted a journal for our Camino, which has a range of reflections and prayers for meditation along the way. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is situated in Galicia in northwest Spain which will be the final point of our pilgrimage where we will have the privilege of visiting the Tomb of St James, in a crypt beneath the main altar. 

I am most grateful for the opportunity I have been given in this journey and hope to bring my learnings and experiences back to St Michael's to share with you in Term 4. I ask for your blessings and prayers during this time!