Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Can you believe we're already at the beginning of Week 9, Term 3? The year has truly flown by and our calendar is quickly filling up with end-of-year events. 

One of the most recent highlights was the annual Stage 3 Camp to Sydney during Week 6. What a trip it was! Sydney is always a fantastic place for a school excursion and this one was no exception. There was never a dull moment and both the students and staff had a blast.

You can read about the students' favourite moments in Learning News and I highly encourage you to check it out. I was so proud of how our students conducted themselves—the majority were incredibly well-behaved, showing respect, kindness and courtesy to each other.

A true testament to their character came on the train ride home, which was delayed for three hours after our departure from Central Station, due to technical issues. Our students showed amazing resilience and perseverance in the confined space of a train carriage. Many fellow travellers, especially the elderly, were in awe of their behaviour. Several even took the time to praise the wonderful kids from St. Michael's Manilla.

A huge thank you to Miss Summerell and Mrs Shepherd for taking time away from their own families to help with the trip. Also to Miss Newton and Mrs Mitchell who were working behind the scenes back at St Michael's ensuring our journey was smooth and hassle free. Without staff commitment, these incredible opportunities wouldn't be possible for our students. Great job, everyone!

Looking ahead, the Stage 3 Camp for 2026 will be in Coffs Harbour at the Coffs Coast Adventure Camp, with our next Sydney trip scheduled for 2027.

Next week, work will begin on our long-awaited and much-anticipated toilet block refurbishment. The project is scheduled to run from Monday, September 22, until the handover on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.

In addition to refurbishing the existing children's toilet block, a new, stand-alone accessible toilet will be constructed right next to it. This new facility is expected to be ready for use on Thursday, October 30, 2025.

The construction of the accessible toilet is being financed by Armidale Catholic Schools, while St. Michael’s is funding the refurbishment of the existing facilities. We are all looking forward to a much more pleasant and practical space for our students. 

Once the toilet block refurbishment is complete, we'll be resuming ourexternal paintingproject. This work was temporarily stopped earlier in the year when dry rot was discovered in the beams outside the Kindergarten classroom. We're pleased to announce that all necessary repairs have now been completed.

As part of this project, we added an extension to the COLA (Covered Outdoor Learning Area). This extension provides all weather cover for the bubblers and creates a larger undercover play area for students. We appreciate your patience as we continue to improve our school facilities.

Last Friday, St. Michael’s successfully completed its five-year registration and accreditation audit by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). This audit is a crucial process that ensures schools meet the requirements of the Education Act, with a focus on compliance across our entire system of schools.

The audit honed in on several key policy areas, including Attendance, Discipline, Complaints Handling and Child Safety, as well as the teaching and learning in Stage 2 and Stage 3 English and Mathematics. I want to extend a huge congratulations to our dedicated teachers, Mrs Ellie Davis, Ms Emma Martin and Mrs Cathy Shepherd, who had their classroom work in the spotlight. A special thank you also goes to Miss Leah Summerell for her excellent coordination of all the audit materials for English and Mathematics.

We are incredibly proud to share that St. Michael's was particularly commended for our outstanding work in student attendance. Our current attendance rates are the highest they've been in four years, which is a fantastic achievement. This success is a true testament to our parents and carers for prioritising daily school attendance. We know that children learn best when they are at school, engaging with their peers in a safe and happy environment. Data consistently shows that students with prolonged absences tend to fall behind academically and can have their social interactions impacted.

Let's keep up the great work, everyone! Your commitment to your child's education is making a real difference.

As we approach the end of Term 3, we want to remind families that the changeover to Summer Uniform will officially begin at the start of Term 4. Unless we experience a significant increase in temperature, students will remain in their Winter Uniform for the rest of this term. Thank you to all our families for your continued cooperation in ensuring students come to school each day in the correct uniform. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Get ready to dance! We will be so excited to see you at our family-friendly School Disco this Thursday evening, September 18. The music will kick off at 5:30 p.m. and admission is free. You can grab dinner from the BBQ, with delicious sausage and steak sandwiches on offer, as well as snacks and drinks from the canteen. Feel free to bring your own drinks if you wish and don’t forget a fold-up chair so you can take a break from the dance floor.

Have a song you want to hear? Contact the office or speak with Miss Rasche to add your request to the playlist. Thankyou to our P&F for making this family event possible.

I hope you enjoy a great week.

Bronwyn