Previous information
TERM THREE STAFFING UPDATE
I appreciate this year has been a year of a few staffing changes which, at times, has been challenging for staff, parents and students. I also acknowledge the incredible resilience shown by the students as we have all managed these changes and the commitment and support of the incredible staff in their roles. I thank you for your patience and ongoing support of St Michael's School and look forward to more settled times as we approach Semester Two.
Prep B
This week I am pleased to inform you that we have secured excellent replacement staff for Prep B. Whilst we are sad to see Adriana Corso leave and we wish her well, we have been fortunate in securing Miss Stephanie Drew (Monday to Thursday) and Mrs Lyn O’Brien (Fridays) for the remainder of the school year.
Stephanie Drew has undertaken some casual relief teaching at St Michael’s School last year and has taught in a leave replacement position in a Year Two class at Caulfield South Primary School for Semester One. She comes highly recommended to take on our wonderful Prep children and we all look forward to working with her as the year progresses. Lyn O’Brien returns to St Michael’s School after having taught here as a classroom teacher and as a casual relief teacher. Lyn is highly experienced and has a close connection with our school already so we are pleased to have her back on staff.
Performing Arts
We are incredibly grateful to Alannah Morris who has filled the Performing Arts role this term when Emma Quinless took parental leave. Alannah now moves on to undertake work in a regional area of Australian, as part of her VISA and we wish her well and hope she returns for CRT work with St Michael's School. Mrs Deanna Imbriano will take on Performing Arts during Term Three, as a support to Jess Fary in our preparation for the biennial production. Whilst Jess will lead the work on the production, Deanna will take classes to conduct additional practice sessions of class items.
Learning Diversity and Student Wellbeing
Commencing Term Three, we welcome Mrs Chloe Hickey to the St Michael's staff.
Mrs Hickey will be working in Three / Four R each Thursday and she will be replacing Mrs Quinless in the Student Wellbeing Leadership role and Mrs Sam Isaacson in the Learning Diversity Leadership role, as they will both be on parental leave. We are incredibly fortunate to have Chloe's level of skills in both teaching and these leadership areas.
We wish Sam Isaacson all the very best on her family journey and look forward to lots of visits from her and baby Isaacson soon!
Year One / Two Level
As the term comes to a close, I know that students in One/Two R will be sad to see Miss Catriona O'Donoghue finish her time with them, as will the staff! Catriona will be undertaking some travel during the latter six months of this year but we are pleased she will be continuing to take on CRT work at St Michael's School when she's in Melbourne. Miss Katelyn Struthers will replace Catriona in One/Two R for the remainder of the year and Mrs Rachael Lampe returns from her travel to One/Two G. We are looking forward to hearing about Rachael's travels through the Camino de Santiago.
Five/Six G
In Term 3 we also welcome back Miss Jess Casey after her travels and long service leave. Miss Kate van Sebille has replaced Jess for much of this term and has been a wonderful addition to the Year Five/Six team. We are grateful for Kate's work with the class and we wish her well as she also heads off to travel. We look forward to Kate also taking on some CRT work at St Michael's later this year.
MELBOURNE ARCHDIOCESE of CATHOLIC SCHOOLS ANNUAL SURVEYS
Each year in Term Three, Catholic Schools across our diocese release online surveys for participation by students, parents and staff in Catholic Schools. The feedback we gain from these surveys is helpful in giving us a gauge of how we are going and gives insight into where to go next. It helps us to design the right goals for our Annual Action Plans across all areas of the school. Attached here is a letter further describing what happens for your reference. Please feel free to speak with me should you wish to ask questions or need any clarification.
STUDENT ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING
Next Monday parents will have access to their child's Semester One (Terms One and Two) academic report through the Nforma Portal. Details about navigating the portal have been emailed to you this week.
Once you receive the report, please take the time to review the checklist statements that teachers have considered carefully both in writing and assessing. We understand that many parents go straight to the "dots" as this is a graphical representation of your child's achievement. However I caution parents that this is not the full picture of your child's achievement of the whole semester's work. The true progression your child has made is very difficult to translate to you in this one "dot". The checklist statements and any additional statements that may be added to your child's report, together with student work samples and discussions with your child's teacher are what can provide a much fuller picture of their progress.
It is also important to note the significance of where the "dot" is placed. When the dot is within the year level column (blue shaded section) the reporting program will state ‘At Standard’. However, if the dot is to the left within the column, this indicates your child’s learning is 6 months below the St Michael’s benchmark, even though it states ‘At Standard’ The criteria for assessment changes from year to year and should never be viewed as a scope and sequence from one year to the next. Hence the reason why it is essential to have discussions with your child's teacher to get the full understanding of how they are progressing.
2025 NON-GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS CENSUS COLLECTION NOTICE
The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) would like to advise all staff, parents, guardians and students (where applicable) that it will collect certain information about your school, its staff and student body as part of the non-government schools census collection (the census).
ST MICHAEL'S SCHOOL KINDER KIDS SESSIONS
Do you have a 3 or 4 year old toddler at home? If so, please note down these dates as our Kinder Kids sessions for this year. Any kinder children are welcome to attend and meet our Year Five students to share some stories and games together.
PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES AT ST MICHAEL'S SCHOOL
Parents who are seeking a psychologist for their child are welcome to make contact with Advanced Psychology, who run their sessions in a confidential space onsite. Sessions can take place during the school day. If this is something you are seeking, please make contact with Linda Kollind at Advanced Psychology on 03 7002 8006. Discuss your needs and Linda is able to assist with the right program and / or assessment for your child. Please know this is a completely confidential service.