From the Principal

PRAYER

Yesterday our whole school paused to remember and honour all those who have served our country in times of war and conflict.

Loving God,

We remember and pray for all who have served to protect our country, 

particularly those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom and peace we enjoy today.

We give thanks for their courage, bravery and selflessness, 

and remember the families and loved ones who have carried the burden of loss.

May we never take for granted the gift of peace. 

Help us to be people who choose kindness over anger, 

understanding over judgement and compassion over conflict.

May we honour the memory of those who served by working together to create a world where all people can live in safety, dignity and peace.

Lest we forget.

Amen.

Dear St Michael’s School families,

JUNIOR HOOP TIME REGIONAL FINALS

We wish all our girls the best for TOMORROW as they take on the challenge of the Junior Hoop Time Regional Finals. There will be some tough competition but we know our girls are up to the challenge. Can't wait to hear how you go!

Many thanks to Lauren Lepore for your help in training our girls and to Mr Lo Ricco for making the necessary arrangements.  

ST MICHAEL'S SPORTS DAY

What a marvellous afternoon was had yesterday during our school sports! The sun was shining, it was the pick of the week, we went into action with cheer and energy!

Congratulations to all our students for their eager participation. It was so clear to see their excitement as they engaged in the novelties they have been practicing in PE lessons these past weeks.

Thank you Mr Lor Ricco for his time and effort in the arrangements of the sports and to the many parents who really helped make it "light work". We know how much the children love to see you there and we certainly can't do it with out you!

Congratulations (again) to GOLD team on their triumphant win. There's definitely something in the water at St Michael's for Gold to win again!!

Congratulations to Green team for winning the SMASH Values award. It's so wonderful to see these values alive in our children every day!

SCORES:

Yellow - 128

Blue - 124

Red - 113

Green - 110

THANK YOU AND FAREWELL MRS LUO

It is with great sadness that I announce to you that Mrs Lily Luo (Mandarin Teacher) will be departing St Michael's School at the end of this year. Lily has worked with us for the last 9 years and has done a wonderful job in teaching our children about both the language of Mandarin and the Chinese Culture. We have been so fortunate to have her wisdom and gentle nature with us for this time. We wish Lily well as she takes on a full time position at Hartwell School, teaching Mandarin from Prep to Year 6.

At St Michael's School, we have assembled our Consultative Committee, through which we review and determine our specialist classes each year. Families will be notified of what changes we make in speciliast classes once these have been determined for 2027.

ENHANCEMENT SESSION - TOMORROW

The focus of our Enhacement Session tomorrow afternoon will be on tidying our garden spaces and trimming some of the trees. If you have any of the following items, please bring them to help with the efforts:

• secateurs (pruning shears)
• shovel
• loppers

Looking forward to working together again!

2027 BEGINNING YEAR DATES

We are currently finalising some of the dates for 2027. Whilst they are not all ready yet, we wish to inform parents of the start dates for the year so you can organise your home calendars.

YEAR FIVE / SIX BIG RIDE

This year our Year Five and Six students will be training for the BIG RIDE! In 2025 the target year level for this was Year Three / Four so it will be wonderful to see how skills have improved from 12 months ago for some of our students. Start to get your bikes ready! Year Five / Six families will be notified shortly of when this will begin. 

ST MICHAEL'S CAROLS

We remind families to keep the night of Thursday 10th December free for St Michael's Carols. More information will come, however just for your diaries:

• 5pm Carols in the church (all students will be involved in this)
• 6.15pm BBQ / BYO Picnic on the school grounds. 

This year we will be moving across to the school grounds directly after Carols for a BBQ and/or BYO Picninc. The BBQ will be one of our regular PFA Fundraisers. 

Let's join together and enjoy some time with friends and family. We remind everyone that this will be an alcohol free event as this is a requirement under Child Safety regulations. 

Looking forward to seeing you there and celebrating the end of the year together.

ST MICHAEL'S FETE 2027

SUNDAY 14TH MARCH 2027

After the great success of our 80th anniversary fete this year, in 2027 we look to hold another fete on 14th March. Keep the day free and tell all your friends and neighbours!! There will be rides, food, drinks and lots of free sports for the children. 

ST MICHAEL'S VEGGIE GARDEN

Last week our Prep students planted some more silverbeet into the trugs in the quadrangle. They were armed with their gardening gloves, hat and a can-do attitude, as Preps always do!! Thanks to these garden enthusiasts and we look forward to watching the silverbeet grow.

ZOOPER DOOPERS

Help support the Year 6 Graduates by buying a Zooper Dooper!

IMPORTANT STUDENT FREE DATES

We remind all families about some dates in the coming weeks of school closures, commencing with this coming Monday. Please ensure these dates are in your family calendars. A reminder to all families that TheirCare is available for bookings on all closure days (not public holidays) and offer a range of engaging activities. Full or part days are an option. 

MONDAY 23RD NOVEMBER - SCHOOL CLOSURE - Time in Lieu acquittal

TUESDAY 24TH NOVEMBER - SCHOOL CLOSURE - Staff professional learning day

PLANNING FOR 2027

As many will be aware, we are now fully in planning mode for the 2027 school year with the many considerations this requires. I am sure you can appreciate that this is something the staff spend a great deal of time and energy in doing. Placement of students into classes takes many weeks of consideration, professional discussion and deliberation with the following in mind:

• The social and academic distribution of the children within the same level across classes
• A gender balance in each class
• Children’s friendship groupings and their individual needs
• Specific placement of siblings and children with individual needs, inclusive of emotional, learning, physical and behavioural needs
• The social needs of children including the working relationships of all children and the desired separation of children who do not have a positive social or learning influence on each other
• An awareness of teachers in the previous academic year.

As you can appreciate, a significant amount of time and care goes into these arrangements. We are aware that some parents may have valid reasons to have input into the placement of their children for the forthcoming year. 

Should there be numerous requests from parents then the ability for staff to make positive and professional judgements for the best learning environments for our classes is compromised.  Given this, if parents have any relevant information that you believe is essential to the grade placement process, I invite you to make contact with Eloise Ellis eelliss@smashburton.catholic.edu.au or myself, Annie Herbison aherbison@smashburton.catholic.edu.au to share your thoughts for the 2027 school year.  We will evaluate all requests and make a professional judgement on the placement of the child in question. Please note that the final decision must rest with the school in the interests of providing the best scenario for all students. 

GRADUATION SAVE THE DATE!

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we learn, play, pray, work and gather. 

We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and we honour the ongoing cultural, spiritual and educational contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.