From the Principal

Prayer 

Dear St Michael’s School families,

Loving God,

We thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit,

poured out upon our children in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

May the Spirit guide them with wisdom, courage, and love

as they continue to grow in faith.

Help them to live as true disciples of Jesus—

sharing kindness, standing up for what is right,

and bringing peace to those around them.

Bless their families, teachers, and friends,

who walk beside them on their journey of faith.

May your Spirit continue to strengthen and inspire them each day,

so that their hearts always remain open to your call.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

CLOSURE DAY NEXT WEEK

We remind families that Monday, 3rd November will be a school closure day for St Michael’s School, followed by the Melbourne Cup Day public holiday on Tuesday. This closure provides staff with an opportunity to take Time in Lieu for the many additional commitments undertaken beyond regular school hours, including meetings, Sacramental celebrations, the School Production, and Parent–Teacher Conferences.

We hope you also are able to take the Monday as a break from your workplace and enjoy some family time with the children.

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

Congratulations to all of our students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation last night with Bishop Les Tomlinson. Our students were truly amazing, showing a deep understanding of the meaning and importance of this special step in their faith journey. It was wonderful to see our families and parish community gathered together in prayer and support, making the evening a truly sacred and memorable occasion. We are so proud of our Year 6 students and grateful to all who helped make the celebration so special.

A special thank you goes to Fr Darien and Deacon Malcolm for their continued support of all our Parish children, the families and our staff during this time. Thank you to Miss Jess Casey, Mrs Elise Rimington and especially Mr Ray Hickey as our Religious Education Leader, for the incredible time spent on organisation and and preparation of the students.

WISHING DEANNA IMBRIANO WELL

Last week, our staff and students farewelled Mrs Deanna Imbriano as she commenced parental leave to prepare for the arrival of her second child. This year, Deanna has shared her wonderful talents across many classrooms and in the Performing Arts specialist area, bringing energy, creativity, and care to her work with students at all year levels.

We are deeply grateful for Deanna’s dedication and the joy she has brought to our school community. We wish Deanna, her husband Josh, and their daughter Luanna every blessing as they prepare to welcome their newest family member.

YEAR FOURS' KINDER VISIT

Last Thursday, some of our Year Four students were invited to visit Paisley Park Early Learning Centre and spend time with the 3- and 4-year-old kinder group. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to step into a leadership role and experience the joy of connecting with younger children.

Each Year Four student was paired with a kinder child for activities and play. Although some of the little ones were a little shy at first, our students quickly helped them feel comfortable through kindness, patience, and care. Many students commented on how rewarding it felt to make the children smile and how much they enjoyed being positive role models.

We are so proud of the way our students represented St Michael’s with respect, maturity, and compassion. A warm thank you to Vanessa Han, Director of Paisley Park ELC, for the generous invitation. We look forward to giving the rest of our Year Four cohort the chance to visit another local kindergarten soon and continue building these beautiful community connections.

PLANNING FOR 2026

As many will be aware, we are now fully in planning mode for the 2026 school year with the many considerations this requires. I am sure you can appreciate that this is something the staff spend a great deal of time and energy in doing. Placement of students into classes takes many weeks of consideration, professional discussion and deliberation with the following in mind:

• The social and academic distribution of the children within the same level across classes
• A gender balance in each class
• Children’s friendship groupings and their individual needs
• Specific placement of siblings and children with individual needs, inclusive of emotional, learning, physical and behavioural needs
• The social needs of children including the working relationships of all children and the desired separation of children who do not have a positive social or learning influence on each other
• An awareness of teachers in the previous academic year.

As you can appreciate, a significant amount of time and care goes into these arrangements. We are aware that some parents may have valid reasons to have input into the placement of their children for the forthcoming year. 

Should there be numerous requests from parents then the ability for staff to make positive and professional judgements for the best learning environments for our classes is compromised.  Given this, if parents have any relevant information that you believe is essential to the grade placement process, I invite you to make contact with Eloise Ellis eelliss@smashburton.catholic.edu.au or myself, Annie Herbison aherbison@smashburton.catholic.edu.au to share your thoughts for the 2026 school year.  We will evaluate all requests and make a professional judgement on the placement of the child in question. Please note that the final decision must rest with the school in the interests of providing the best scenario for all students. 

P.F.A. SOCIAL FUNDRAISER

Our recent PFA fundraiser — a fun-filled night celebrating the spirit of Woodstock — has once again provided an incredible boost to our school community. A heartfelt thank you to the PFA organisers and to all families and friends who supported the event, whether through the silent auction or by joining in the fun on the night. We're so fortunate and grateful for your energy and support. 

An amazing $10,700 was raised, which will go a long way in helping us achieve our goals for enhancing our school’s play spaces.

Winners of the Archie thongs through the Big Wheel are being asked to submit your order as soon as possible. Details will be on the flier.

SOCIAL MEDIA NEW AGE RESTRICTIONS

As many parents will have heard, from 10 December 2025, age‐restricted social media platforms must take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 years of age from having accounts. We provide this link for parents as a resource and information to support you in the decisions you make in your home. 

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/social-media-age-restrictions

ST MICHAEL'S NEW-LOOK WEBSITE

If you haven't had the chance yet, be sure to check out our New-Look website with lots of new photos included. Be sure and tell your friends and neighbours to check it out too!

👉 Visit us at https://smashburton.catholic.edu.au/ 

MATHS OLYMPIAD & MATHS EXPLORER CERTIFIATES

We are pleased to let you know that students who participated in the Maths Olympiad and Maths Explorer extension competitions will be presented with their awards at our whole-school assembly this Friday, 31st October. Assembly begins at 2.40PM in the Hub. We look forward to celebrating their hard work, problem-solving skills, and enthusiasm for mathematics. Families are very welcome to attend and join us in recognising these achievements.

TWILIGHT SPORTS

A reminder that our Twilight Sports event has been rescheduled for Wednesday 19th November and again ask parents if you are available to assist on this day we would greatly appreciate it. An Operoo notice has been sent for you to respond. As we are already aware, Warner Reserve will be under construction during this time so we will hold the Twilight Sports on school grounds. 

SALES CLOSE TONIGHT!!DO YOU LIKE THE TASTS OF SWEET, JUICY MANGOES?

SALES CLOSE TONIGHT!!

Check out our PFA page of delicious recipes and how you can get your hands on a whole tray of them!!

PREP 2026 TRANSITION PROGRAM

We look forward to our incoming Preps attending St Michael's for their second Transition session next week on Thursday 6th November, 9-10am. Again parents and caregivers will meet us in the hub for coffee / tea and we will share some information with you.

ENHANCEMENT SESSION

The Term Four Enhancement Session on Friday 14th November will be the final session for this year. Again we require parents and caregivers to bring gardening tools (shovels, rakes, brooms, hedge shearers, wheelbarrows) and gloves to assist with this session. Please sign up through Operoo as soon as you're able.

LUCINDA EVERLASTINGS

Seeds are still on sale for these bright and beautiful flowers. See our Community News page for how to purchase them.

TERM FOUR SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY

We remind families that on Wednesday 26th November the school will be closed for a staff planning day. We have informed TheirCare of this date in advance of this date. Please make contact with TheirCare if you wish to book them in for this day.

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