From the Principal

Dear St Michael’s School families,

Prayer

A Winter Prayer

Loving God,

As the days grow shorter and the air turns colder,

we thank You for the beauty of winter—

for crisp mornings, soft scarves, and the sparkle of frost.

Help us to find warmth in kindness, 

joy in simple moments,

and comfort in our families and friendships.

May this season remind us to care for one another,

to slow down, and to rest when we need to.

Keep us safe, healthy, and hopeful through these winter days.

Amen.

GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY 

What a wonderful day was last Friday with so many of our Grandparents and Special Friends visiting the children for the afternoon. After a swift coffee or tea and a nibble in the hub, our visitors were ushered through the quadrangle to find their allocated classrooms. After hearing the story, Shoes from Grandpa, together they designed their own groovy outfits with their grandchildren. After some fun and laughter together, all went across to St Michael's church for a wonderful celebration. 

Thank you to the many family and friends who took time out of their day to be with our children; to the many hands from PFA members who assisted with the afternoon tea and to all the staff who carefully prepared and made the arrangements for the day. 

STAFF UPDATE

Just so that parents are aware, Mr Jordan Lo Ricco (P.E. teacher, and Digital Technologies Leader) will be taking leave from Thursday next week until the end of Term Three to undertake some travel. In his absence, Mrs Deanna Imbriano will take on P.E. classes and Mrs Fiona Kolitsis will take Jordan's S.T.EM. classes. We wish Jordan well in his travels.

BOOK WEEK AND DRESS UP PARADE

This year's theme for Book Week is Book an Adventure. The feature artist for the year, Jess McGeachin, has brilliantly captured this adventurous spirit in his artwork, which features a whimsical map filled with imaginary characters. Jess’ illustration invites young readers to embark on fantastical journeys, inspiring them to travel through the worlds that books open up. As an award-winning Australian picture book illustrator, Jess’ work encourages children to imagine, explore, and create their own adventures.

So for this year at St Michael's School, we are encouraging our children to be adventurous in their dressing up for Book Week. Any theme, any book character can be considered and created for this year's event! The Book Week Parade this year will be held on Monday 18th August at 9am. Looking forward to seeing all the creative geniuses in our midst!

A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) AND ONLINE SAFETY PARENT WEBINAR

Catholic Network Australia (CNA) and Cyber Safety Project are hosting a free ‘AI & the Digital Generation’ webinar for parents and carers s of primary and secondary school students on Monday 11 August 2025 from 7.30 to 8.00 pm.

 Registration and further information are available via bit.ly/AICSP25.

 The webinar offers essential insights into topics including:

•  generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI companion apps
•  deepfakes and online misinformation 
•  AI safety at home
•  legal and ethical considerations of AI use.

The webinar will help parents and carers:

•  understand the online tools and technologies their children are using
•  build confidence in discussing AI, deepfakes and digital truth with their children
•  learn practical strategies to encourage safe and ethical online behaviour. 

I urge parents to consider attending this FREE webinar to support you in understanding new information about what our children are accessing online.

AUSTRALIAN MATHS COMPETITION

On Tuesday August 5th, 67 students from St Michael's School from years two to six will participate in the Australian Maths Competition. This competition is designed for students who excel in mathematics and enjoy tackling challenging problems to test and extend their skills. The AMC contains unique problems designed each year by leading educators and academics to challenge and extend students’ problem-solving skills.

We wish all our students the best of luck!

The Maths Competition will run at the following times next week :

Tuesday 5th August 

Three/Four students : 9-10AM

Five/Six Students : 12PM - 1PM

Students will require their Chromebooks charged on the day.

TERM THREE LEVEL NEWSLETTERS

Level Newsletters will be made available to families TOMORROW. Again we ask families to please take time to look through these for important dates and what the focus of learning will be in the classroom this term. Discussions about learning at home can always strengthen learning and assist children to better understand concepts.

SCHOOL PRODUCTION

Rehearsals have begun and the students are raring to go with their class songs. The stage is booked, the staff are in a frenzy, we're all so excited about our upcoming Production!!

We invite parents who are keen to join a committee to support us with things such as costumes, ticketing, props etc to please email me at principal@smashburton.catholic.edu.au. Even if you're unable to attend meetings, there may still be some things you're able to assist with in your own time. Let me know, we'd love to hear from you!

The Production Committee has begun working on our much anticipated School Production, School Of Pop. We are seeking all students to submit a piece of artwork.

Please see below for more information. 

ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGY BLOG

St Michael's School has partnered with Advanced Psychology with a psychologist working onsite weekly. This link takes you to a blog with podcasts / webinars that deal with a variety of topics which might be of interest to parents and teachers. 

https://www.advancedpsychology.net/blogs