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 

God of hope be with us in our Advent journey to the stable and beyond,

Be with us in our meeting and in our travelling together, 

Be with us in our worship and our praying together, 

Be with us in our Advent journey to the stable and beyond, our God of hope.

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 11th December

8.50am Thursday 14th December

Parish Christmas mass times

At this special time of the church year, We invite all our families to attend our Parish mass times for Christmas.

Sacrament dates 2024

We are pleased that we are able to release the 2024 Sacramental dates so that you are able to plan for these celebrations in advance. Please see the Term Dates page for this information.

Class Placements

After many hours of consideration by our staff team our 2024 class lists are now 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.

Carols on the Green

When: TONIGHT (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 warm 

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. 

Leaving Ceremonies

Traditionally St Michael's has held a "Leaving Ceremony" to farewell students who are departing St Michael's at the end of the school year. This year we will be holding two ceremonies for this, one just for Year Six students and another for other families who are leaving St Michael's. Please see the details below here. All are welcome to attend either or both ceremonies.

Thursday 14th December, 2.30pm ~ Year 6 Leaving Ceremony

Friday 15th December, 8.50am ~ General Leaving Ceremony

St Michael's Cake Stall

Many of you will recall the Ashburton Festival in February this year where St Michael's ran the Cake Stall, including the Snow Cones stall. Right now, the PFA is in desperate need of a volunteer committee to run the Ashburton Fair Cake Stall, which is on Sunday, February 25th, just three weeks into Term 1. If you are at all able to assist, please contact Therese Molnar on 0417.014.772. Please see our end of year letter to families in the Community News Section of the newsletter.

Welcomer families

A big thank you to those who answered our call out for Welcomers for new 2024 families. It really speaks to the warmth and strength of our community, and the kindness at it's core, that even at this busy time of year, you were prepared to take on another task to help out. Especial thanks to the talented Amanda Tran who handcrafted 30 personalised Welcome cards for our new families. 

Lecky the Therapy Dog

Many of you will have heard of Lecky the Therapy Dog who has been attending St Michael's this year. Lecky is now available as a soft toy and for purchase in the school office for $35.00. She's adorable and soft. Come and check her out!

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.

Boroondara Council is preparing a Public Toilet Strategy and we are seeking feedback from the community to help inform the strategy.  I am hoping you could put the following short blurb in your newsletter before the school holidays please.

Boroondara City Council - Public Toilet Strategy

 Help us improve Council owned public toilets in Boroondara.  Have your say by 9am Monday 5 February 2024.

How can we improve your experience of Council-owned public toilets and identify where new toilets may be needed?  Please share your feedback to help shape our new Public Toilet Strategy.

Find out more and complete the survey here.

Coding Club

Check out this Coding Club idea for next year here.

St Michael's Online Safety Hub

We want to share a brand new Digital Wellbeing resource with you - a timely opportunity for our parents while your children are home for the extended Summer holiday break, where kids will inevitably spend more time online than usual.  Our school's brand new Online Safety Hub is full of helpful, easy to follow tips, tools and advice to help you keep your children safe online and to steer them towards confident, safe and responsible technology use.We encourage you to take a look at the online content and open conversations with your children about this important topic! 

https://stmichaelsashburton.onlinesafetyhub.com.au/

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.