From the Principal

PRAYER

Ever-generous God,                                                                                           

You inspired St Mary MacKillop

to live her life faithful

to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

and constant in bringing hope

and encouragement

to those who were disheartened, lonely, or needy.

With confidence in your generous providence

and joining with St Mary MacKillop, we ask that you continue

 to guide us as Pilgrims of Hope.

We ask that our faith and hope

be fired afresh by the Holy Spirit so that we too,

like Mary MacKillop, may live with courage,

trust, and openness.

Ever-generous God, hear our prayer.

We ask this through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

“Never see a need without doing something about it.” – St Mary MacKillop

Dear St Michael’s School families,

GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY

We are greatly looking forward to our visitors for tomorrow's special day! Please see the timetable below for details. Grandparents and Special Friends can come directly to the hub from 1pm and will meet their grandchildren at 1.25pm. We can't wait to see you all!

A breif outline of the afternoon has been provided here for you to share with your Grandparents / Special Friends:

ART OF THE WEEK

Thank you to our Year Six Arts Leaders for making the arrangements each fortnight for our Art of the Week competition.

THEME: Disney Characters

ARTWORK DUE:  Thursday 20th August to be presented at assembly on Friday 21st August.

STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DAY

Last Friday our staff visited the Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre in East Melbourne to undertake a professional learning day together to deepen our faith and enhance our Religious Eduation practice.

We began the day by reflecting on the purpose of Christian meditation and the key elements that help create a meaningful experience of prayer and stillness. Guided by Brittany Ford, we were invited to "go into our heart space, tune into stillness, and listen to God's whisperings." As adults, we recognised that embracing silence and stillness can be challenging, prompting thoughtful discussion about the support and guidance children need as they develop these important spiritual practices. We also explored a range of valuable resources that will help us review and strengthen our approach to meditation at St Michael's School.

The second part of the day had us delve into the Catholic Social Teaching principles, which are central to our Religious Education program in Catholic schools. These principles help shape the values we hope our students will carry with them beyond their years at St Michael's: a commitment to making ethical decisions, respecting the dignity of every person, and contributing positively to the wider community.

We took the opportunity to browse the museum and reflect on the life and legacy of Mary MacKillop. As we learned more about her ministry, it became clear how deeply she embodied the principles of Catholic Social Teaching in her everyday life. Her unwavering commitment to justice, compassion, and the dignity of others remained steadfast, even in the face of significant personal challenges and opposition. Her example continues to inspire us as we strive to nurture these same values in our students.

Thank you Brittany (also a parent of St Michael's) and Sr Rita Malavisi for sharing your insight and knowledge with our staff!!

For some interesting information about Mary MacKillop, please see our Religious Education page in this newsletter!

100 DAYS OF PREP

What a marvellous day our Prep students had this week as they celebrated 100 days at school this year so far. They reflected on how they are now 100 days "smarter" than they were when they started and looked at many different ways to make 100! With 100 balloons in their classroom they made 100 using beads, stickers and counters. They each brought in a collection of items from home and grouped these to make 100. What an engaging way to learn about the number itself with these hands on activities. Of course they then needed to celebrate with a dance party afterwards. I wonder if they listened and danced to 100 songs??

Thank you Caitlin for making the Prep students' 100 days so amazing!

FUNDRAISING EFFORTS FOR THE PLAYGROUND

Once again, a HUGE thank you to the 80th Anniversary Gala committe who continue to work behind the scenes to raise sponsorship and donations for our Gala Dinner for 17th October. Don't forget our Wine Wall! If you're able to donate some bottles for this cause, please check out the details on our 80th Anniversary Gala Event page. Check out our sponsors there too and please support them if you're in the area!

AUSTRALIAN MATHS COMPETITION

This week sixty nine St Michael's students participated in the Australian Maths competition. We congratulate all students who took part and attempted some quite challenging questions. It was great to see so many who were keen to challenge themselves and try something that stretched their thinking.

SAFETY ONLINE - INFORM & EMPOWER

As previously stated, each term St Michael's School engages in workshops for students about ways to remain safe online through the Inform & Empower webinars. These are wonderful reminders to the students about what to look out for, safe spaces online and what to do if something unexpected happens. Inform & Empower also provides a parent page so you too can keep abreast of what the focus is for the students too! Click on the image below to take you to the parent page.

FACTSHEET - NATIONALLY CONSISTENT COLLECTION of DATA

Please find information here in this factsheet about the collection of data on students with Disabilities. This process takes place in schools across Australia and helps ensure that students who require adjustments receive the support they need to access learning and achieve their best.

ST MICHAEL'S VEGGIE GARDEN

Thank you to One/Two Red who planted snap peas in our garden this week! These beautiful green pea-pods are rich in fibre, plant proteins and important vitamins our bodies need. They help us to digest our food well and maintain our blood sugar levels. Looking forward to when these crunchy little gems are ready to eat!!

MACSSIS CONSENT FORM

Each year our parents, staff and students are asked to complete surveys so we can gauge how everyone is travelling. We seek feedback on learning, culture, community, connection and so much more. This then supports us as a school to review the data collected, along with other surveys and performance data, and work strategically for improvement in our school. Please take some time to read the information in this letter from the Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools. Please see either myself or Eloise Ellis with any questions of concerns.

SQUISHIES & OOSHIES

Thank you to families for your support of the school staff in working with your children to keep their Squishies at home. We notice many of the students are continuing to bring Ooshies (Yes! They are different!) which don't have the potentially toxic centres. We're happy for children to bring these along and show their friends, however please understand that we are not encouraging swapping Ooshies at school. As I'm sure you're aware, without direct and keen adults present to support swaps, this can result in great confusion and misunderstandings for children. We encourage that if your child wishes to engage in swapping, that they do it when they have play dates at home. Again, thank you for your understanding. 

Squishies:

Ooshies:

LOMBARD BOOK WEEK COSTUME SCHOOL FUNDRAISER

Planning to purchase a costume for this year's Book Week?

If you shop at Lombard between 6 July and 6 September 2026, simply mention St Michael's Primary School, Ashburton at checkout, and 5% of eligible sales will be donated back to our school library.

It's a simple way to support our library while purchasing your child's Book Week costume.

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.