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

Parish / School Enhancement Session

A HUGE thank you to all the parents who were able to come along and assist with our very first Enhancement Session. Parishioners and school parents worked alongside each other to trim many trees and plants around the grounds. We were able to freshen up the quadrangle, spread softfall around the Biggie and had the outside of the Hub windows cleaned. Thank you to the many hands!! 

St Michael's Cake Stall - THIS SUNDAY

We are greatly looking forward to this weekend's Ashburton Festival, and especially the St Michael's Cake Stall, including numerous delectable cakes, lolly bags and snow cones. Thankfully the weather looks perfect! Come along and visit the cake stall and there are many wonderful activities to do and stalls to visit on the day.

LAST CHANCE - It's not too late to bring lolly bags in. Tomorrow morning we are continuing to collect these at the gates. Thank you for your generosity!

GIDSSA District Swimming

We had and excellent day at this week's Glen Iris District swimming event, the weather providing ideal conditions for the day. with approximately 30 of our students participating in the full range of events. Our students demonstrated great sportsmanship, representing our school admirably. This year, we had more students participating, which was fantastic for team spirit. In the aggregate awards, we secured an impressive 3rd place. Additionally, Anna Rorke achieved remarkable results, finishing 1st and 2nd in her races. As a result, she will progress to the divisional swimming round on March 1st at the Monash Aquatic Centre. I'm so proud of everyone who gave it their best, even when they felt challenged! 

Term 1 Level Newsletters

Tomorrow we will be sending home our Term 1 level newsletters. We ask that you please take some time to read over these so that you have an understanding of what the focus for learning is in the various areas of the curriculum. Having conversations with your children about what they are learning and how their learning is developing helps to deepen understanding of concepts.

Reconciliation Reflection Day

For students who are receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation this year, next Wednesday 28th February, we will hold a reflection day in the Hub from 9.00am to 3.15pm (Students will be dismissed as normal at 3.30pm). Students may wear casual clothing on this day. This is an opportunity for the students to delve deeply into the Sacrament and grow in their understanding of it. They will reflect and pray together and will have the opportunity to meet students from our local area who are also receiving the Sacrament in our Parish. 

Parent / Teacher / Student Conversations 

These will be held next week from 12.30pm (school finishing at 12.00 noon). Please meet your child's teacher at your allocated time in the Hub. Children are requested to be present for it. It is intended that during this meeting you will share how your child has settled into the year and anything else of significance at this point in time.  Whilst some assessments have been completed, this is not a 'goal setting' time, although you and your child may wish to share what your goals were during 2023 with this year's teacher.

Please keep in mind that these Conversations are 10 minutes in length. Should you need to discuss anything further with your child's teacher, you will need to arrange another time to do so. 

Years Three to Six Chromebook Program

The roll out of this program has gone quite smoothly with all students in these year levels having received their device last week. They will now have their login details and will be able to commence some of their homework tasks on their device. It has been great to see the students walk in an out of school with their chromebooks in a responsible manner. We ask for parent support in encouraging this in their children and also to always be aware of where devices are in the home, as explained by Marty McGuaran at last week's Information night. In the Quick Links section of our newsletter, you will find the Information and Policy Booklet for parents.

Chess & Digimaker Clubs

Did your child miss out on one of these Clubs for this term??

If so, we wish to give priority to families who missed the first round of these after school clubs for the next time they are available.

Please email principal@smashburton.catholic.edu.au if you would like your child to access one of these afterschool clubs next time. Make sure you let me know which club!

Thursday 3.30pm Chess Club

Friday 3.30pm Digimaker Club

Days these clubs are held may change in the next round.

Running Club

Yes it's up and running!! Every Tuesday morning from 8.15am, all students students can meet Mr Lo Ricco and Mr Stent on the tennis courts and take part in building your fitness through running games and activities. We thank Mr Lo Ricco and Mr Stent for the commitment to time they put into Running Club. Come along and join the fun!

St Michael's School Library

Library lessons are in full swing! Our focus in the library is for teachers to share literature with their students, either related to their learning in class, or engaging in genre study or an author study. We hope to share a broad range of literature with our students in these sessions and encourage them to read widely and share reading experiences and ideas with their peers. 

Our school library will be open on Monday afternoons from 3.10-3.30pm for parents to visit with their children.

We are in need of helpers for book covering. If you have time, inclination and the skill in covering books, you can collect a bag of books with contact from the school office and return them to the office when they are done.

Specialist Classes - Term 1

Now that our Year Three to Six Swimming Program is complete, specialist classes for the remainder of Term 1 will be as follows. Whilst we try our best not to change these classes, any necessary changes will be communicated to you via the class teacher.

Seesaw

The Seesaw App is now ready for use by all classes. Seesaw is an online tool we use to engage our students in their learning and support their development in using and navigating online tools. Students are supported to think broadly and problem solve when required to complete online tasks through Seesaw. One of the major benefits of Seesaw is as a communication tool for parents. It allows teachers to share real time learning of the students with you. As we set goals for our students in developing their next steps in various areas of the curriculum, you will be able to see how your child is progressing, see the feedback given from teachers and give feedback to your child yourself through the App. The links to each class Seesaw are below. Please also see the Parent Guide to Seesaw on our Quick Links page. 

Prep B - https://app.seesaw.me/s/457-129-625

Prep G - https://app.seesaw.me/s/419-977-216 

1/2B - https://app.seesaw.me/s/845-614-807 

1/2G - https://app.seesaw.me/s/391-124-981

1/2R - https://app.seesaw.me/s/771-173-489 

3/4B - https://app.seesaw.me/s/026-719-747 

3/4G - https://app.seesaw.me/s/520-021-218 

3/4R -  https://app.seesaw.me/s/462-485-228

5/6B - https://app.seesaw.me/s/425-045-309 

5/6G - https://app.seesaw.me/s/269-005-834 

School Photo Day - 19th March

Just a reminder to all families that our school photo day is only a few weeks away. Classes are taken one by one so there are no set times for class or individual photos. We ask that you please ensure your children are dressed in their full Summer uniform on this day, with proper school shoes and long hair tied back. If your children have PE on this day, they may bring their runners to school for their lesson. There will be no running club held on this day.

School Dates

Please check the Term Dates page as more dates for Term 2 have been added

School Crossings

Thank you to our parents for making use of the school crossings which help our children to understand the safety of these measures in our community. Please be mindful when you are crossing to wait for the crossing supervisor to blow the whistle before moving across for the safety of everyone.

SCHOOL FEES & LEVIES - 2024

The Annual Fee & Levy invoice for 2024 has been sent out to all families this week via the office baskets with your eldest child. (Please contact the office if you have not received your copy.)Your payment options include fortnightly, monthly, 4 x term payments or payment in full by 28th March 2024.  

We encourage all families to return the completed Payment Commitment Options form to the office as soon as possible.  Please contact Kathy Muhllechner if you would like to arrange an alternative payment plan.

CAMPS, SPORTS & EXCURSION FUND (CSEF)

Families who hold a current Centrelink Card may be entitled to the CSEF payment of $150 per child per annum.  Please contact the school office by Friday 16th February for a current CSEF form.  We will need a copy your current card for our records.

M.A.C.S. CONCESSIONAL FEE DISCOUNT

Families may apply for a MACS Concessional Fee Discount if they hold a current eligible Healthcare Card or a DVA Gold Card.  Families must apply for this discount using the MACS School Fee Concession Application form.  You must bring your valid Healthcare Card/DVA Gold Card into the office to be eligible for this discount.  Families can only obtain this discount if a Direct Debit Plan is established.

Hands on Music

Hands On Music is a company St Michael's has been using for some time.  If you wish for your child to learn an instrument this year, please make contact with Jen Capon via email: handsonmusic.j@gmail.com or phone: 0402 910 330