From the Principal

PRAYER

Tomorrow is the Feast Day of Ignatius of Loyola, the patron saint of soldiers, spiritual retreats, and educators.

Loving God,

As we celebrate the life of St Ignatius of Loyola, 

we thank You for his courage, wisdom and deep trust in You.

Help us to seek You in all that we do, to make choices that are loving and just, 

and to use our gifts to serve others with generosity and compassion.

May we, like St Ignatius, be people of hope, always striving to grow in faith, to care for those around us, and to bring Your love into our homes, our school and our community.

Bless all the members of our St Michael's family 

and guide us each day to follow the path You have prepared for us.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Dear St Michael’s School families,

STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DAY - TOMORROW

Just a final reminder that tomorrow is a closure day for students so that staff can undertake a day of professional learning. No staff will be onsite tomorrow as we will be visiting the Mary Mackillop Spirituality Centre in East Melbourne. With Mary MacKillop as our example, our key areas of learning will be:

• Deepening our understanding of Christan Meditation and the need for quiet reflection
• Developing an understanding of Catholic Social Teaching as a guide for living out the Gospel in everyday life
• Growng in our understanding of faith through encounters with significant people, places and stories associated with Mary MacKillop in Melbourne.

We look forward to having this special time together as a staff and deepening our knowledge to support us as we guide our students at St Michael's School in their faith journey.

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.

100 DAYS OF PREP

It's hard to believe that our Prep children will have been with us this year for 100 days already!  It certainly has been a great pleasure to watch these children grow and thrive since the start of the year and the time has certainly passed very quickly. Next Tuesday 4th August our Prep students will celebrate their 100 days of school. You will see them arrive in their 100 year costumes and their focus of learning for the day will be "all things 100"!! Thank you to Caitlin O'Donnell for her work in leading the Prep students so capably this year. We look forward to celebrating with them!

SQUISHIES 

Over the past few weeks, we have noticed a significant increase in the number of Squishies being brought to school. While we understand that these small collectibles are fun and exciting for many children, we are noticing that many are being lost or broken and remnants are being found around the school.

As there have been increasing concerns about the unknown materials and potentially toxic substances that may be contained within some Squishies, we feel it's best and safest for all that they are no longer brought into school. While we are unable to verify the safety of every product, our priority is always the health and wellbeing of our students.

Whilst we appreciate these sorts of items can aid in stress relief for children and can also enhance focus and help regulate emotions by serving as a pleasant distraction, we have items onsite that can support students in the classroom if necessary. We would greatly appreciate the support of parents in this endeavour. Thank you!

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.

INFORM & EMPOWER, TERM THREE DIGITAL SAFETY SESSIONS

We look forward to this term’s Inform and Empower Digital Safety sessions. Students in Year Prep - Year 6 will participate in their sessions over the coming weeks. We encourage families to discuss the sessions at home.

KINDER KIDS 

We had a fabulous time with our Kinder Kids last Friday as we read the story The Burpee Bears. These special opportunities provide a chance for our Kinder Kids to build confidence and a love of reading, while our Year 5 students develop their leadership skills and form meaningful connections with these younger children.

After reading the story together, the children completed a range of engaging movement activities inspired by the events and characters in the book, bringing the story to life through active participation and plenty of laughter. To finish the session, everyone came together for one of the children's favourite activities—the parachute! The hub was filled with laughter and and excitement as the everyone worked together.

These regular buddy experiences are a wonderful way to foster friendships across year levels, strengthen literacy skills and build a strong sense of belonging within our St Michael's community.

UPDATED POLICIES

If you haven't already had the chance to review the updated policies that were issued last week via nForma to all families, I urge you to please do so when you can. These have been issued through the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS). I strongly encourage all parents and caregivers to take a few moments to read these policies at their earliest convenience so that you are aware of the recent changes and understand how they may relate to our school community.

CONGRATULATIONS - S.R.C. SEMESTER TWO 

Last week at assembly we congratulated our students who have been elected to undertake the S.R.C. role for Semester Two, representing their class. The St Michael's Student Representative Council members gives students a voice in our school life. They represent the ideas, opinions and concerns of their classmates, sharing in how we can improve our school in various way. They meet regularly for their discussions, promote our SMASH Values and Expectations, and encourage others to demonstrate these values through leadership, service and active participation. Congratulations to all these students:

Prep B:  Ruby B & Jaida H

1/2B:      Mia P & Leon C

1/2G:      Jimmy P & Kaiden P

1/2R:      Ava B & Lucas Z

3/4B:      Josie P & Elanor W

3/4G:      Gabriella S & Claire R

3/4R:      Jeremy B & Addie K

5/6B:      Edward B & Amber R

5/6G:     Ava G & Jahan R

5/6R:     Jimmy L & Celine W

BOYS AFL 9S DIVISION FINAL

This week, our AFL 9s Boys Team proudly represented St Michael's at the AFL 9s Gala Day. Led by Ms Shae Jesson and Simon Adams, the boys headed off with great enthusiasm, ready to give their best. Despite the wet and muddy conditions, our team showed outstanding determination, teamwork and resilience throughout the day. They chased every ball, supported one another and demonstrated excellent sportsmanship in every match. While they were unsuccessful in taking home the overall win, they should be incredibly proud of the effort, commitment and positive attitude they displayed.

A sincere thank you to Mr Lo Jordan Ricco, Miss Shae Jesson and Simon Adams for generously giving their time, encouragement and support to our students. Your commitment to providing these wonderful sporting opportunities is greatly appreciated.

We wish our AFL 9s Girls Team all the very best as they compete in their Gala Day next week. We look forward to hearing all about their experiences and achievements.

MACSSIS CONSENT FORM

A MESSAGE FROM FIRE RESCUE VICTORIA

As the school year continues, many students are using devices such as laptops, tablets, phones, e-bikes and e-scooters. Most of these devices contain lithium-ion batteries, which have become part of everyday life, but need to be used safely. 

Fire services are responding to an increasing number of  fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, often caused by incorrect charging or leaving devices unattended. That’s why fire safety at home is especially important during the school year. 

You can help reduce the risk by: 

• Only using the charger and battery designed for each device 
• Unplugging devices once fully charged 
• Never charging devices on soft surfaces like beds or couches 
• Not charging devices overnight, or when no one is  home 
• Charging larger devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters away from living spaces and keeping them clear of exits 
• Regularly checking devices and stopping use if a battery looks damaged, swollen or overheats 

You can watch Fire Rescue Victoria’s safety video here (opens in a new window)

It’s also important to make sure smoke alarms are working and tested every month. Fire Rescue Victoria recommends installing smoke alarms in bedrooms, living rooms and near areas where devices are charged—because working smoke alarms save lives. 

For more tips on lithium-ion battery safety, visit: https://www.frv.vic.gov.au/battery-safety(opens in a new window)

A few simple habits can help protect your home and your loved ones. 

GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY - NEXT WEEK

On Friday 7th August, we invite our grandparents and special friends to join us for a special afternoon of celebration at St Michael's Primary School.

This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to share part of their school day with the important people in their lives. We look forward to welcoming our visitors for an afternoon of hospitality, prayer and classroom activities.

The afternoon will run from 1pm to 3.15pm.

To assist us with catering and seating, please complete the NForma formwith how many adults will be attending, by Friday 31 July.

Don't forget to send your Grandparents and Special Friends photos to rhickey@smashburton.catholic.edu.au

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

BOOK WEEK 2026

This year the Children's Book Council of Australia's (CBCA) Book Week Theme is Symphony of Stories. This wonderful image has been specially created for Book Week by author, illustrator and composer, Matt Ottley. At St Michael's School, we will hold our Book Week Parade on Monday 24th August, 9am and we invite children to come dressed as any book character they would like. Our focus for Book Week is always for children to delve deeply into the books and characters that they love and hopefully learn a little about other children's interests as well.

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.