From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers

Please note that weekly Parish mass times will now be located each week on our School Hours / Timetable page in our newsletter. 

Prayer

School Closure day- Monday 6th November

We wish to advise our school community that Monday 6th November will be a school closure day.  This day is allocated for staff, in consultation with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) to undertake assessment and reporting obligations and also meets the schools obligation to provide staff with time in lieu, a requirement under the new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.  The introduction of time in lieu allocation for staff is now in place for all Catholic Schools throughout the Melbourne Archdiocese. Please note that the following day, Tuesday 7th November, is the Melbourne Cup Day public holiday.

Science Week at St Michael's

Next week is Science Week at St Michael's School. See here for what's happening!

Year Three/Four Excursion to Werribee Zoo

Last Friday the Year Three / Four students attended Werribee Zoo as part of our Inquiry. Students had the opportunity to observe animals from the continent of Africa and make links to their learning about habitats, special features, characteristics, vegetation and threats to their survival and how the Zoo is supporting the survival of animals within their natural habitat.  Along with this learning, students went on a Safari Bus to learn about how African animals rely on each other and the environment. Children participated in a prey and predator session to learn about animal challenges and body defence mechanisms in the wild. Lastly, children walked through the Australian and African animal trails. 

Book Week 2023

What an amazing Book Week it's been so far!! With our whole school Read-to of "There's No Such Book." Yesterday's Book Parade of all the amazing characters from books that we enjoy was such a delight. We had fairies and dinosaurs, superheroes and princesses, many Harry Potters and so many characters from, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" were everywhere. Thank you to everyone for making such a great effort to come dressed and enjoy the day. Many thanks also to Therese Molnar and the many hands who helped and supported with the Scholastic Book Fair this week. We had a fabulous turn out each day, especially yesterday, the last day. A percentage of the sales goes back into books for our own St Michael's Library. Thank you!!

Family Maths Night

Last night's Family Maths Night was a great opportunity for our families to hear about some of the most current research into Maths learning and then see it in action. One of the main messages last night was about the need to allow our children to be in the Zone of Confusion or The Learning Pit for a little while. This is where children are being challenged with new learning and are then prompted by their teachers with new ideas and to think in different ways to exit The Learning Pit. We use "growth mindset" language to support our thinking and help us develop confidence as we learn. See more in our Maths News section.

Performance Costumes

A reminder to all our families that if you have not yet completed the Operoo form with your child's size and not yet made the costume payment to our account, could you please do so as soon as possible. Thank you for your support.

St Michael's Visual Arts Program

A spotlight on our Visual Arts Program!

The junior students have been working very hard to learn and perfect their painting skills. 

The Prep students have been learning about different paint brush techniques and were able to produce these amazing safari animals. 

The 1/2 students studied the famous painter Piet Mondrian and the importance of primary colours in our Art Room. 

The senior students have showcased their knowledge of aboriginal symbols and painting techniques with these fabulous Indigenous pieces of art.   

2023 School Fees

Thank you to all families who have paid their 2023 school fees and those who are up to date with their scheduled payments. This is a reminder, if you have not paid your fees and levies to please contact Kathy Muhllechner to make and arrangement to do so.  

Father's day breakfast, from 7.30am 

WHEN: Friday 1st September

TIME: 7.30-9.00am

• 7.45-8.15am Breakfast will be served throughout this 45 minute time in the Hub 
• 8.15-8.45am Games on the courts
• 8.45-9.00am Liturgy in the Hub

We welcome all our dads (or a special friend) to attend our breakfast which will be happening on the Friday before Father's day. We will be serving breakfast from 7.30am in the Hub; sausages & bacon and egg sandwiches, for Dads and students. We will also hold some outdoor games and activities (weather dependent) before heading back into the Hub for a short liturgy before the end. We look forward to seeing you there.

If you haven't already, please indicate your attendance at this event on Operoo NOW!

St Michael's School Production

Please remember to keep the date free!

DATE: Thursday 5th October

VENUE: Crossway Baptist Church, 2 Vision Drive, Burwood East (see map below)

TIMES:

     Time of arrival for students - 6.15pm

     Time show will begin - 6.30pm

     Approximate finish time - 7.45pm

COSTUMES - Please see details about costumes on Operoo NOW

Ample parking is available at the venue. We require 4-5 people to take responsibility for ushering cars through the carpark for easy organisation. Please email Annie at aherbison@smashburton.catholic.edu.au if you can do this job on the night. You will be shown what to do and you will also be able to watch the show. 

Jump Rope for Heart kicks off this term at St Michael’s!

 Jump Rope for Heart is the Heart Foundation’s primary school skipping challenge that helps kids move more, have fun and raise funds for lifesaving research and programs.

This year we’ve got an audacious goal to see our student Heart Heroes at St Michael’s to log 40 hours of skipping throughout the program! Register your child online, so they can receive the full benefits of the program and participate in online fundraising, simply follow the link below to get started. www.jumprope.org.au/parents

Students will be skipping throughout the term during break time, during this time you can share their online fundraising page with family and friends to help raise money for this great cause.

We will hold our school Jump Off Day in Term 4, this will mark the end of the program and is a chance for everyone to come together to skip and show off their newly learned skills.

Thank you for supporting the Jump Rope for Heart program!

Parking on Top Courts

We remind families that the top courts are not for parking when dropping off or collecting students. Many of our students walk through the courts on their journey home and in order to keep them safe, we ask that you do not park there after school. Thank you for your cooperation.