From the Principal

Dear St Michael’s School families, 

Prayer

The Ascension of Jesus

Dear Jesus,

You rose up high into the sky,

Back to your home with God on high.

But you did not leave us all alone—

You promised we are never on our own.

Thank You for showing us Your way,

For loving us every single day.

You went to heaven to prepare

A special place for us up there.

Help us to share Your love and light,

To do what's good, and kind, and right.

Until the day we see Your face,

And join You in Your heavenly place.

Amen.

STAFF UPDATE

As many of you will be aware, Miss Catriona O'Donoghue has been working in One/Two R for these past six months and Mrs Deanna Imbriano was due to return from parental leave in Term Three. It has been a pleasure working with Catriona and I have observed the flourishing of the children under her care during this semester. Deanna will be returning later this term, however she will be leaving again early in Term 4 as she and her husband, Josh, are expecting their second child later this year. We are so excited for Deanna and Josh and wish them well as they continue to add to their family.

Catriona will also be leaving St Michael’s School at the end of this term as she and her partner will be travelling throughout the next six months. We will welcome her back as a Casual Relief Teacher in between her travels and also wish her well as she explores our wonderful world.

Resultantly, Miss Katelyn Struthers will be teaching One / Two R for the final two terms of this year. Miss Katelyn has been working in One / Two G throughout Term Two while Mrs Lampe has been on Long Service Leave. Katelyn has worked closely with the One/Two level and developed familiarity with the processes, planning and the children. We are pleased that Katelyn is able to remain with the One/Two level and we look forward to our continuing relationship with her. We also welcome back Mrs Lampe in Term Three after

her wonderful expedition on the Spanish Camino! 

Additionally, we have continued our search for a Performing Arts Teacher to replace Mrs Quinless in this role. This term Miss Alannah Morris has been with us and continued to teach the skills in this area and we are grateful for her work in this space. Commencing Term Three, Ms Jess Fary will lead the work for our biennial school production, due to go to the stage on Wednesday 8th October. Jess has experience in dance and performance and supported the work of our last production in 2023. This work will be in place of the Visual Arts curriculum for Term Three, which will return to the Specialist Program in Term Four. We are delighted to have the amazing skills of Jess and look forward to learning all the songs and dance moves throughout Term Three. No doubt you'll be singing them all each night at home!!

PARENT / TEACHER / CHILD LEARNING CONVERSATIONS

We inform our families that Semester 1 Parent / Teacher / Child Learning Conversations will occur on Wednesday 23rd July, which is the first week of Term Three. Students are required to be present for these conversations. 

Semester 1 (Terms 1 and 2) reports are due to parents on Monday 30th June through the Nforma Portal. This gives time for parents to review the information provided and then to hold discussions with the class teacher on 23rd July. Booking information will be made available to parents shortly. Please keep this date free.

Please note, classes will cease at 12.30pm on Wednesday 23rd July to enable teaching staff to be available for these Learning Conversations.  TheirCare have been informed of this date. Please make contact with them if you require care for the afternoon.

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.

BOROONDARA AND WHITEHORSE DIVISION CROSS COUNTRY

CONGRATULATIONS Annabelle and Alex!!! We are so proud of them both for their efforts in this event, both qualifying for the Regional Cross Country happening in a few weeks time. Anyone who has run Cross Country knows how important it is to pace yourself and stay the course, eliminating all other thoughts when it gets really hard. Well done to you both for your perseverance and the high standards you set for yourself!

 HOOP TIME

Well done to all our Junior Hoop Tim-ers who fought hard in each of their games on Tuesday at the Nunawading Basketball Centre. They were up against some formidable and seasoned teams, but played valiantly and with courage. Well done to our All-Star Boys team who qualified for the semi-final. A fabulous game to watch!

Thank you to the parents who were able to assist on the day by being present and also coaching! Peter Betros, Mel Papazzo, Sally Le Guen, Steve Molnar, Shelly Davies and Jane Potter.

Senior Hoop Time will take place on Thursday 26th June.

SEESAW

I take this opportunity to remind parents and caregivers about the Seesaw App which is used for every student at St Michael's School. Seesaw is used as a communication tool to share and engage parents in students' progression of learning. Students take agency in their learning and are able to communicate photos, videos, voice recordings and explanations with their parents. You are able to give feedback to your child by making comments and you can also "like" their work. If you do not yet have the log in details for your class Seesaw account, please see your child's classroom teacher. For further information about accessing Seesaw and what you can do, please see our Parents' Guide to Seesaw in our Quick Links section.

LUNCH ORDERS

The School Advisory Committee (SAC) has taken into account feedback from families expressing a desire for lunch order options on Tuesdays. Starting next week, the Milk Bar will offer lunch orders on Tuesdays, in addition to their current service on Mondays and Fridays. Classroom Cuisine will maintain its lunch order service throughout the week, with the exception of Tuesdays when they will be closed. As a result, families will have lunch order options available every day of the week, as follows:

• Milk Bar: Monday, Tuesday, Friday

• Classroom Cuisine: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (no change)

Thank you for the work of the School Advisory Committee members in following this up for our families!

KINDER KIDS PROGRAM

Our Kinder Kids program was a huge success last week with many of our 2026 incoming Preps being present. The Year Five students diligently and excitedly prepared the library and the books they were going to read to the Kinder Kids and were amazing supports to our young visitors. Thank you to our Year Four students in Three/Four R who made an apricot slice for us all to share and to Mr McIlroy's class who made groovy bookmarks for the Kinder Kids to take home. We look forward to our next Kinder Kids session on  Friday 13th June, 9am.

ST MICHAEL'S VEGGIE GARDEN

Thank you to Five/Six G who took on the gardening work this week!! They planted some broad beans in the old garden bed near the Junior playground, and transplanted some of the spring onions in there too. They also harvested the remaining lettuce, more silverbeet and the coriander to sell at the end of the day. Great to see the garden is expanding and the children are seeming to enjoy the work in planting and watering. Be sure to share with us what you are making with the produce you have purchase

2026 PREP ENROLMENTS

A reminder to all our families who have a child coming into Prep in 2026, please ensure you have completed the enrolment form and submitted this to the school office as soon as you're able.

NForma PARENT PORTAL - ADVICE OF STUDENT ABSENCE

A reminder to all families to please use the NForma Portal to notify the school when your child is going to be away or late or needs to be collected early. We understand this in a change in systems and appreciate the change in thinking around this.