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 

This week we began our community Advent Liturgies with a beautiful reflection on the season of Advent and what it means to the Year Three / Four students. Please take some time with your family to pray this prayer together as we prepare for the coming of the Christ child.

Dear God,

We are getting ready to celebrate the birthday of your Son, Jesus.

We ask your help to prepare our hearts for his coming. 

Fill us with joy as we prepare to receive this greatest gift of all.

Help us to remember those who are lonely this holiday season. 

Let us reach out to them and to others in our lives. 

Help us to take one step to make the world a better place to welcome your Son. 

May we witness the love he brings into our lives and share that love with others.

We ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Advent Liturgies 

A reminder that all family members are welcome to attend our Advent liturgies that are being held each week.

School Community Prayer sessions:

8.50am Monday 4th December

9.00am Monday 11th December

8.50am Thursday 14th December

School Staff 2024

Ms Rosie Ashburner ~ Deep apologies to Rosie as I had not mentioned her in last week's newsletter. Our lovely Rosie is also taking leave from St Michael's School in 2024. Rosie has been at St Michael's, teaching in both classroom and the library positions. Rosie also leaves to explore a range of schools and different positions in an emergency teaching capacity. We thank Rosie for her contribution to St Michael's School and wish her every happiness as she ventures beyond our doors.

After many hours of consideration by our staff team our 2024 class lists are in draft form and ready to be finalised.   We alert families that we can no longer take parent requests for 2024 classes.   Parents would be aware that opportunities for parent input into student placement were advertised through previously published newsletters earlier in Term 4.  I thank the staff for the time, care and consideration given to each child's placement in our 2024 classes.  Students will meet their 2024 teacher on Monday 11th December in their 2024 classroom.

Classes for 2024

After much consideration, assessment of numbers across the school, input from the School Advisory Council and discussions with the staff, the arrangement of classes for 2024 will be as follows:

Carols on the Green

We look forward to our annual St Michael's Carols on the Green event for the celebration of Christmas 2023 NEXT WEEK. 

When: Thursday December 7th, 6-7.30pm (Gates open from 5:00pm)

PFA BBQ - The PFA will be serving a BBQ from 5.00-6.00pm on the Soccer court. Where: St Michael's Tennis Courts

What to bring: A picnic basket and outdoor chairs, water bottle, hat (NO alcohol please)

Please provide a snack for your child before 6pm as they will not be able to rejoin you for the picnic before the carols are finished. Also, please ask your child to bring a drink bottle with them to carols so they can keep hydrated throughout all the songs and a hat as the weather is looking warmer for next week. 

Students will sit in their class groups in front of the stage for the evening and return to parents at the end of all class performances. Families are invited to bring along their picnic rugs and sit on the grass or bring chairs and sit along the concreted areas towards the side and back of the tennis courts. Please note this will be an alcohol free event due to child safety regulations. Please keep an eye on the newsletter for updated details.

Specialist Programs 2024

Next year our Specialists Programs will include:

• Science
• Performing Arts
• Physical Education
• Visual Arts and
• Mandarin

St Michael's Library, while individual Library lessons won't be lead by a specialist teacher, will be frequented weekly by each class in the school. Classroom teachers will focus on reading a range of literature to their students, relating to their Inquiry Learning or other areas of learning where possible and give time for their students to borrow from the library, as they have been doing this year. We will aim to keep the library open at least one lunchtime a week as well.

2023 School Fees ~ Overdue

As we are now very close to the end of the school year, could I please urge you to complete payment of school fees for this year as soon as you are able. Please don't leave this until the last day of the year as this is a very busy day and can be quite stressful for office staff to process on this day. Many thanks in advance.

Prep and 1/2 Rayner's Orchard Excursion

On Friday the 17th of November we went on an Excursion to Rayner's Orchard. It took one hour to get there, and while I was on the bus I talked to Zach. At Rayner's Orchard, 1/2G and Prep cut and peeled pears first. After that, we ate some food. Next, Farmer Len came and took us on a tour around the farm to eat sweet and sour lemons. Farmer Len told us all about the farm and the fruits on the orchard. Next, we went on a tractor ride and saw a sleeping kangaroo. Finally, we went back and went to school. We had a great day.

Written by Isaac in 1/2G

St Michael's School Disco

The School Disco held last Friday was so much fun for all.  It was great seeing students and parents alike groove on the dance floor.  The glow sticks were an absolute hit and it was amazing to see all students getting involved in the games and dancing. Thank you DJ Jessie and thank you to the parents who volunteered on the day. 

Craig Family Care Community Market

Last Saturday 30 eager students from St Michael's School proudly arrived at the Craig Family Centre to perform Wombat on a Surfboard. After a quick practice, we assembled outside the centre and the children did an amazing job of singing, reminiscing about their recent performance night. Thank you to all the children who attended, to their families for making the time on a busy Saturday before Christmas and also to Eloise Ellis and Rachael Lampe who ran practices with the children last week to prepare them.

Prep Parent Information Night and Prep Transition

Last night we held our final information session for our Prep parents. We had the opportunity to share the last pieces of information around what happens in the Prep room and how we can help prepare our children for their first year at school. It was lovely to gather together and enjoy a social night, meeting other families with whom we will travel the journey over the next seven years!!

This morning we then held our final Prep Transition session where we met our 2024 Year 6 buddies. The children did a treasure hunt around the school with their buddies and had the chance to find out who their classroom teachers were. We topped off the 2023 Prep Transition Program program with an icecream! What a treat!

Helping to make school drop-off and pick-up safer for everyone

 We have been asked by Boroondara Council to include the following notice in our newsletter. Please take some time to read over it, for the safety of our children.

Respect the road rules and parking signs

Illegal parking in a school zone is not only inconsiderate to other motorists, it threatens the safety of students. If our parking officers witness a motorist breaking any of the following traffic rules, they will issue them with a fine.

• Double-parking restricts the view of other drivers, obstructs traffic flow, and means children have to get out of the car onto the road. It also blocks the passage of any emergency vehicles that might need to pass.
• School crossings are there to ensure children cross the road safely. Parking within 20 metres before or 10 metres after a designated school crossing is illegal.
• The designated Kiss and Ride areas outside schools are No Parking, with a maximum two-minute standing time. This gives parents enough time to kiss and drop off/collect their kids before moving on to allow the next car to follow suit.
• School zone speed limits are clearly signposted and must be adhered to.

Walk or ride to school with your child

Walking or riding to school with your child is a healthy and enjoyable way to avoid the inevitable traffic snarls at drop-off or pick-up time.

• If you must drive, consider parking a few streets away and accompanying your child on foot the rest of the way.

If you would like any more information about keeping your school zone safe during drop-off and pick-up periods, please contact me at 9278 4774.

Best wishes

Aysegul Altug

Senior Support Officer - SXP

Civic Services | Urban Living

2024 St Michael's School Fees and Levies

Please refer to last week's newsletter for the fee and levy details for 2024.

St Michael's Library End of Year audit

This is the final week of borrowing for all students. We ask that you please do a huge look for all library books over this weekend and return these as soon as you are able. We need to ensure all resources are returned through our system as well as onto shelves in readiness for next year's library borrowing. As you can imagine, this is a massive undertaking each year so we greatly appreciate the support for families in this work. Thank you 

Coding Club

Check out this Coding Club idea for next year here.

Chess Mates

Thursday afternoon Chess Mates has been a huge success so far, prompting us to run Chess session during lunchtimes too. Chess Mates will continue on Thursday afternoons, 3.30-4.30pm until the end of the year. We will book in further sessions in 2024

Hands On Music concerts

Hands On Music provides instrumental lessons for students at St Michael's School. On Tuesday 5th December, all students who learn an instrument will take part in a concert at St Michael's School to perform something from their learning this year. This is an excellent opportunity for the children to put their learning into practice. These sorts of events aid students in strengthening their skills as they aim for mastery of their instrument. We look forward to hearing the students at the two concerts being held on this day, at 12.30-1.15pm and 1.15-2.00pm. All parents, grandparents, extended family and friends welcome! 

Get to Know You

Over the past few weeks we have been holding "Get to Know You" sessions where children have gathered in groupings for 2024, for example students in Year Prep and Year 1 have engaged in sessions together. The idea of these Get to Know You times, where children engage in cooperative style activities, is for students to familiarise themselves with the Year Level they will be with next year. We have not been organised into classes for next year yet, just in Year Level groups. Students will find out their class teachers and students in their class on Monday 11th December when we hold our Meet the Teacher session.

Parent Thank You Morning Tea

SAVE THE DATE: WEDNESDAY 6TH DECEMBER, 11AM TO 12 NOON

We welcome all parents who have helped out this year in any way, shape or form, to come to a morning tea to celebrate 2023! This is our chance to say thank you for the amazing and wonderful support you give us in offering the programs, learning and environment to our children. Whether you have attended an Enhancement Session, been a classroom helper, supported a sports program, or even cleaned tables for the classroom teacher you are WELCOME!

The morning tea is being held directly after the St Michael's End of Year Mass and we truly hope you can be there!

Altar Servers at St Michael's Parish

The Parish is looking for Altar Servers for 2024. Students who have received their Eucharist are eligible to be an Altar Server. If your student is wanting to apply, please email a short application to rloricco@smashburton.catholic.edu.au explaining why they would like to be an Altar Server.

See the Religious Education section for some information on Our Giving Tree 

Some important 2024 dates

To assist you in your planning for 2024, we release some of our term dates here for your home calendars.

St Michael's School Open Days 2024

The St Michael's Open Days have now been published! Please tell your neighbours, friends and families, if they have a child who is ready for Prep in 2025, to come to an open day or to phone the office and arrange a tour at a time that suits them. Tours run from 9.30am each Open Day for approximately 1 hour.