From the Principal

Please note that weekly Parish mass times will now be located each week on our School Hours / Timetable page in our newsletter. 

Prayer

Thank you to our Grandparents - Feast of Ann & Joachim

Health Department Alert – Whooping Cough (Pertussis) 

The Victorian Health Department recently issued a public notice in relation to an increasing number of cases of whooping cough (pertussis) in Victoria, particularly among children aged 10-12. Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory illness known for causing a cough, and can lead to life threatening infections in babies. Many babies who get pertussis catch it from older children and adults who might not even know they are infected. Pertussis usually begins with cold-like symptoms, such as a dry cough (occurring in bouts), characteristic 'whooping' sound when breathing in, tiredness, runny nose, and low-grade fever. Please speak to your doctor (GP) and seek a diagnosis if your child is exhibiting any of these symptoms. 

Early identification and separation are crucial in preventing the spread to other children. Pertussis is mostly spread to other people by droplets from coughing or sneezing, so good hygiene practices and immunisations help prevent the spread. Immunisations are particularly important for infants and pregnant women. If pertussis is diagnosed, your GP will advise on appropriate treatments. If you have any questions, please speak to your GP. Read the full alert here: Increasing pertussis (whooping cough) cases in Victoria | health.vic.gov.au

Kinder kids session

Last week we held our third Kinder Kids session and again it was lovely to see our visitors in fine form. This time we held a mini-art session where the children were able to create a little mini-school student to take home. The Year Five students were yet again amazing in their support and encouragement of the Kinder Kids, fostering a positive environment and displaying a sense of responsibility and empathy. Our Year Five students will make amazing buddies in 2025!

Please note, the final Kinder Kids session will be held on Friday 23 August, 9am

Year One/Twos Science Incursion with ThermoFisher

Our Year One/Two students had the pleasure of working with Jack and Luciana from Thermo Fisher this week to conduct a science experiment. Thermo Fisher designs solutions to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Luciana is also one of our school mums and offered for Thermo Fisher to come and run a session with our children. This week, they combined various ingredients to make slime. They talked about the reactions that would happen when certain materials were put together and how they would combine these ingredients to create something new.

Term Three Level Newsletters

Year Level newsletters will be sent to families this week and again we ask parents to please look over the information within these letters so that you can support your children to engage in their learning.

Term 3 Events

Over the next few weeks St Michael's will be engaging in a range of special events and celebrations. For many of these events we invite our children to dress up as part of the celebrations and to aid in their memory and understanding of the events. We understand that for some families this can be an added, anxiety-provoking experience, so we ask that you please keep things simple, no-fuss. Dress ups that are designed with what you have at home is all we ask as a way of your child participating. Please note the following on your calendar:

• Friday 2nd August - 100 Days of Prep Celebration - information about this will come home from classroom teachers.
• Wednesday 7th August - Olympics Cultural Colours Day - dress in colours representing your culture, country of birth, country of parents or grandparents birth.
• Wednesday 14th August - Bullying NO WAY, National Week of Action - Dress up as a Superhero - this can be as simple as a cape and / or a mask.
• Friday 23rd August - Book Week Dress Up Parade - This year's theme is Reading is Magicso anything relating to magic for this day is suitable. For ideas, google "book week 2024 dress up ideas" and remember, you can use things you already have at home to create a costume. Friday 23 August is also a Kinder Kids day - we invite any visitors to wear a "Magic" costume.

SCHOOL DISCO

We are really looking forward to our children taking part in the school disco next week! 

For details, and to book please go to the PFA page.... See you there!

Uniform

Just a reminder that our new uniform policy allows for children to have the option to wear either their school or sports uniform on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays each week. Naturally they will need sports uniform on their PE day.

Term Dates

This page was updated late last term for your reference. Please check dates against your personal calendars. There are still a few dates that are yet to be confirmed and we will release these as soon as possible. Thank you

St Michael's School Advisory Council

Expression of interest for S.A.C. 2025

As mentioned in the final newsletter of Term 2, the St Michael's School Advisory Council (S.A.C.) is now seeking expressions of interest from several parents and caregivers interested in joining the council from 2025 for a term of two years. Current members of the council will remain until the completion of their term. If you are interested in knowing a little more about the purpose of the S.A.C. the details in this notice / form will be of assistance. You are also advised to speak with myself and / or one of the council members: Sousan Esposto, Lauren Prior, Paul Tesoriero, Andrew Dodds, Paula McKiernan, Amanda Tran or Father Laurence.

TheirCare Out of Hours Care

Recently we held a very positive information session with Steve Baldock (National Partnership Manager) who unpacked more about the program and THeirCares operations for families. Many questions were asked and answered and there was a great response from those who attended. TheirCare will be setting up the Supper Room over these coming holidays in readiness to commence their work here at St Michael's on Monday 15th July. If you haven't booked in yet, please take time to review the details in the following flier.

St Michael's Art Show

The Art Room has been a hive of busy artists over the past 2 terms and now the wait is finally over. I am thrilled to announce that Term 3 is here and that means the St Michael’s 2024 Art Show is nearly HERE!!!

Every student has worked extremely hard so far this year on preparing a variety of pieces for the Art Show. We can’t wait to share it all with you.

Each week we will be sharing with you one of the advertisments desgined by some of our 5/6 students:

Anna R