From the Principal

Dear St Michael’s School families, 

We wish all our families at St Michael's School and Parish a very Happy Easter.

Risen Christ, 

We give thanks for the new life you have given us.

Show us how to be loving and forgiving, 

To live in hope and make a change, 

So that all people may live in peace.

 Amen. 

Sadly we said farewell to Pope Francis this week and we included him in our thoughts and prayers during our Easter reflection on Wednesday morning. Here is a prayer you can pray with your children at home:

A Prayer for Pope Francis in Heaven

Dear God,

Thank You for the life of Pope Francis,

Who loved You and shared Your love with the world.

We are sad he is gone,

But we know he is now with You in Heaven,

Smiling in Your light and surrounded by peace.

Please hold him close and tell him we love him.

Help us remember the good things he taught us—

To be kind, to help others, and to trust in You.

Give comfort to all who miss him,

And help us feel Your love in our hearts,

Just like Pope Francis showed us.

Amen.

STAFFING UPDATE

At the end of Term 1, Mrs Louise Hedley made the thoughtful and courageous decision to resign from St Michael’s School. After careful consideration, she has chosen to take time to explore new opportunities, both within education and beyond. Lou has been a deeply valued and much loved member of the St Michael’s team for over 20 years. Throughout her time at St Michael's School, she has contributed across many areas, including Literacy Leadership and Literacy Intervention, supporting students across all year levels. Her expertise and dedication have been an invaluable resource for both staff and families, and we are sincerely grateful for the significant professional contributions she has made during her time at St Michael’s School. We farewelled Lou officially this week at a morning tea as a staff and she visited her two classrooms yesterday to say farewell to the children. We wish her all the best in her new endeavours.

To replace Lou in her two classes, Mrs Kylie Ashton will work Wednesdays in One/Two B for the remainder of the year and Mrs Des Harding will work some Thursdays and a CRT will work some Thursdays in Three/Four R until a permanent replacement is found.

Joining Mrs Rachael Lo Ricco and Three/Four G this term is Mrs Laura Dzanowski, replacing Miss Ann Lagreca. She will be known to the children as Miss Laura and has already started to familiarise herself with the students in the classroom and the program. We wish her all the best for the remainder of the school year.

During Mrs Rachael Lampe's absence this term, we welcome Katelyn Struthers (Miss Katelyn) to One/Two G. Katelyn comes to us highly recommended with considerable experience in teaching Junior classes. We are delighted to have her in our community and wish her well for the term.

We welcome Mrs Chloe Lawlor to the St Michael's staff as she takes on the Student Wellbeing and Learning Diversity Leadership roles. Chloe has extensive experience in Wellbeing Leadership and some experience with the NCCD processes as well. This term Chloe will work alongside both Emma Quinless and Sam Isaacson as she is mentored and inducted into the roles at St Michael's School. 

STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY - VICTORIAN CURRICULUM 2.0

This week during our staff professional development day, our staff took time to build familiarity with the updated Victorian Curriculum. We reviewed our Curriculum Concepts which are currently on a two year cycle as well as the Learning Areas which best suit the concepts and when / how these will be covered within this cycle. We also allocated time to our reporting outcomes for the year and how the new curriculum aligns with these as we move forward. Finally, as a staff, we received training in the updated Code of Conduct which has been released through the Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools (MACS).

SCHOOL ENHANCEMENT SESSION

Our next School Enhancement Session is upon us already! Please respond to the form on Operoo if you are able to attend. We have a number of jobs that need doing and many hands are required. In order to plan this one in advance, I will need to have a good idea of numbers. See you there!

MOTHER'S DAY BREAKFAST & GIFT STALL

Our Mother's Day breakfast and gift stall will be held NEXT Friday, 2nd May. Please see our St Michael's PFA News page for details about booking tickets and how your child can purchase tickets.

EASTER EGG HAMPERS

What a fabulous and fun time we had at our Easter Egg Raffle last term. Again, I take this opportunity to thank our PFA and Jane Potter for their wonderful contribution to this annual raffle. A special thanks also to our Easter Bunny who visits us each year at this time!

Easter Egg Raffle winners: Harrison D, Sebastian S, Antonella V, Mia Z, Metaxia K, Poppy & Quinn W, Elyssa B, Eliane G, Charlotte K, Amy B, Aaliya G, Freddie S and Isaac L.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

No doubt you're noticing the beautiful warm weather we are continuing to experience as we begin Term 2!  Usually Terms 2 and 3 are our Winter Uniform terms, but with the warmth continuing, you will need to consider which uniform is best for your child to wear to school for these first few weeks. Often after the cooler mornings we are experiencing warm and sunny play breaks. We do also recommend that children wear hats for a little while longer as well, however we leave this decision to the discretion of parents.

YEAR THREE TO SIX CROSS COUNTRY EVENT

A reminder that our school Cross Country event is being held at Warner Reserve next Tuesday 29th April for all year Three to Six students. Please see the notice sent to families on Operoo for details of what to wear and bring for this event.

PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES AT ST MICHAEL'S SCHOOL

Parents who are seeking a psychologist for their child are welcome to make contact with Advanced Psychology, who run their sessions in a confidential space onsite. Sessions can take place during the school day. If this is something you are seeking, please make contact with Linda Kollind at Advanced Psychology on 03 7002 8006. Discuss your needs and Linda is able to assist with the right program and / or assessment for your child. Please know this is a completely confidential service.

GIRLS' FOOTY AT ASHY REDBACKS

Attention Girls!!

Our Ashy Redbacks have a thriving girl’s program, and we are excited to announce that in 2025 we will have  U9 , U11, U12 girls teams.

TRAINING: Monday and Wednesday evening throughout the year and they will have an enormous amount of fun.

If you are still interested for your child, go to:

Registration Link: https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/94c3e8

Club Queries regarding Registrations: registrations@ashyredbacks.org.au

www.ashyredbacks.org.au P: 0416 069 458

ST MICHAEL'S SCHOOL KINDER KIDS SESSIONS

Do you have a 3 or 4 year old toddler at home? If so, please note down these dates as our Kinder Kids sessions for this year. Any kinder children are welcome to attend and meet our Year Five students to share some stories and games together.