From the Principal

PRAYER

Loving God,

We thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit,

poured out upon our children in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

May the Spirit guide them with wisdom, courage, and love

as they continue to grow in faith.

Help them to live as true disciples of Jesus—

sharing kindness, standing up for what is right,

and bringing peace to those around them.

Bless their families, teachers, and friends,

who walk beside them on their journey of faith.

May your Spirit continue to strengthen and inspire them each day,

so that their hearts always remain open to your call.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Dear St Michael’s School families,

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

Our Confirmation celebration on Tuesday evening this week was a truly beautiful occasion for our children and their families. It was a special opportunity to come together in faith and celebrate an important milestone in the spiritual journeys of our students as they continue to grow in their relationship with God.

A central message of the celebration was a reminder of what we are all called to do as people of faith. The saints were ordinary people, just like us. They lived everyday lives, faced challenges and made choices about how they would respond to the world around them. What made them extraordinary was their willingness to respond to God’s call with integrity, compassion and a commitment to witnessing their faith through their actions. They showed us that holiness is not reserved for a select few; it can be found in the simple, everyday ways we choose to live.

Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, our students are strengthened by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and called to embrace this same mission. They are encouraged to live with courage, make choices that reflect their values, show kindness and compassion to others, stand up for what is right and let their faith guide the way they treat those around them.

We congratulate our students on receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation and thank their families, sponsors and all those who have supported them on their faith journey. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide and strengthen them as they discover how they are called to make a difference in the world.

Thank you to Father Darien, Deacon Malcolm and Ray Hickey for their leadership and guidance throughout the preparation of the Sacrament. We also thank the Year Six classroom teachers: Ray Hickey, Elise Rimington, Rebecca Taylor and Shae Jesson for their dedication and commitment to preparing the students over the past months for this significant milestone in their faith journey. Finally I thank Episcopal Vicar, Fr Andrejz Madry for his gentle guidance, wisdom and encouragement of our young people during both the Reflection Day and this week’s Holy Mass. We are truly blessed to have someone of his calibre, faith and compassion serving in this important role within our Church.

May our newly confirmed students be inspired by the example of the saints, responding to God’s call with integrity, compassion and faith, and remembering that each of us has the opportunity to make an extraordinary difference through the ordinary moments of our lives.

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 2ND NOVEMBER - SCHOOL CLOSURE - Time in Lieu acquittal

TUESDAY 3RD NOVEMBER - MELBOURNE CUP PUBLIC HOLIDAY

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

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

STUDENT WELLBEING RESOURCE FOR PARENTS

Have you seen our Wellbeing News?? There is some great information about a new resource which is useful for parents wishing to have healthy conversations about relationships with their children. Find out about the Friendship Ninja!

STAFF MORNING TEA

What a wonderful time was had at our Pink Ribbon morning tea!!

As staff we have raised $288!! 

Our fundraising goal is $500. Please feel free to contribute to our Fundraising Page if you wish.

80th ANNIVERSARY FUNDRAISING - GALA DINNER

A HUGE thank you to everyone who contributed to the fundraising efforts at our 80th Anniversary Gala Dinner! While the final figures are yet to be confirmed, we are thrilled to share that we have raised approximately $40,000. This is an incredible achievement and a wonderful reflection of the generosity, commitment and community spirit that make St Michael’s so special.

I cannot thank everyone enough for the time, energy and enthusiasm that went into making this event such a success. The support we have received from across our entire St Michael’s Parish and School community has been truly heartwarming. We are also incredibly grateful to the many businesses that generously contributed cash donations and prizes. Your support will help us bring our vision for an upgraded student playground closer to reality, allowing us to achieve this goal sooner than we could have on our own.

Thank you for being part of our story and for helping us shape the next chapter of St Michael’s Parish and School.

2026 SCHOOL FEES

A gentle reminder to all our families to please ensure you are up-to-date with your payments of school fees. As we draw closer to the end of the year, it is vital that fees are finalised so that we can ensure all the outgoing payments we need to make from the school can be finalised. We appreciate your efforts in finalising your fees and thank those who have already done so.

ST MICHAEL'S SPORTS DAY

We look forward to our St Michael's Sports Day, to be held on Wednesday 11th November from 1.30-3.30pm on our school grounds.

We will need a number of volunteers to assist with the various activities. THANK YOU to the many families who have responded to the WWC Check Notification which was issued through nForma last week (WWCC Status Check Permission form). Please note, if you wish to help us with our Sports Day this year, you need to give permission to the school to check the status of your WWCC before the event. Please notify Jordan Lo Ricco if you wish to be a "helper" on this day (Sports Day Support form). Spectators are also welcome.

Please note: Further information about the new process invovled in the WWCC clearance before volunteering for an event can be found at: https://www.vic.gov.au/working-children-connect

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. 

PREP 2027 TRANSITION PROGRAM

We look forward to our incoming Preps attending St Michael's for their second Transition session next week on Thursday 5th November, 9-10am. Again parents and caregivers will meet us in the hub for coffee / tea and we will share some information with you.

REMINDER: NEXT ENHANCEMENT SESSION

A reminder to all our families that our next school enhancement session will take place on Friday 13th November, 5.00-7.00pm. A form will soon be made available to you through nForma so please keep an eye out for it. Please come and join us, even if it's only for an hour, we would love to see you. Our focus for this enhancement session will be some clearing of garden refuse, some painting, and cleaning of windows. See you there!

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.