Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

The next couple of weeks will be extremely busy for the children at St Michael's. On Monday night December 4, we will join with our friends from Manilla Central for the Manilla Community Christmas Carols. The carols will get underway at 6.00 p.m. at Manilla Central. The children have been practising the carols and sound fantastic. Thankyou to Mrs Gall and Mrs Shepherd for assisting the children to prepare for this wonderful community event.

Friday December 8, we will celebrate our end of year Mass at 9.30 a.m. in St Michael's Church. This is the first of many school celebrations to mark the end of the 2023 school year at St Michael's. This is a Parish Mass and we warmly welcome anyone who can attend to support the children in their faith journey. On this day, the Semester 2 academic reports will be released on our COMPASS portal. If you would like to discuss any aspect of your child's schooling, please contact the school to arrange an appointment with the relevant class teacher/s.

The following week, we will celebrate with our Year 6 students and their families to mark the end of the children's Primary School education. This is a fabulous milestone in the children's lives and will be celebrated by a Mass commencing at 6.00 p.m. in St Michael's Church followed by a graduation dinner at the Golf Club. As a precursor to this night time event, the Year 6 children will enjoy a fun day out in Tamworth. The date for the Year 6 fun and formalities is Wednesday December 13.

December 14, also commencing at 6.00 p.m. is the annual Award Ceremony. This year it will be held in the hall at Manilla Central High School and we thank them for the use of this facility. Every child K-6 will receive recognition for their work this year with special awards K-6 and perpetual awards also given. Ms Katie Hanes, School Performance Leader for the Armidale Diocese and Fr Curran our Parish Priest will be special guests on the night.

Yesterday I had the privilege of listening to Mrs Amanda McNair address the Armidale Diocese Principal group at our Term 4 gathering in Armidale. Amanda spoke about her role as Inclusion Support Teacher at St Michael's and the significant gains that have been made in this area within the school over the past two years. Amanda is a highly proficient operator and this was very evident in her presentation yesterday. I am very proud of Amanda as the St Michael's community live her positive impact every day. I received many wonderful comments from my colleague Principals regarding the work of Amanda. Well done Amanda and every accolade you received yesterday was very well deserved.

As mentioned at the top of my column, the next two weeks will be extremely busy for everyone at St Michael's as we lead up to the end of year. At some stage the roof will come off and be replaced on the main classroom building. There has been a hold up due to reasons outside of our control. The children are tired and as we prepare for our special events, this will only increase. The remaining weeks need to exhibit patience and resilience from staff, students and the wider community, and together we will enjoy some fabulous celebrations. We look forward to welcoming you to as many events as you are able to attend. If you have any questions, please contact the school.

Enjoy a great weekend,

Bronwyn