Staff News

Congratulations to Ashlea and Jesse on the birth of their new baby boy Patrick Joseph, a new brother for Frankie and Ned. We wish the Millar family much joy and happiness.

BLESSING FOR THE BABY!

Bless this newborn baby

who will bring love, joy

and happiness into your

life, whose precious

smile with light

will make your house bright

It is also with much excitement we announce that Hayley, Year 5/6H teacher is pregnant with her first child. Congratulations to Hayley and her partner Ty on this wonderful news. Hayley's baby is due later this year and will continue teaching until the end of Term 3.

It is with pleasure that I announce the appointment of Angela Flint as Year 3/4 teacher when Kate begins her maternity leave later this term. Angela is a very experienced teacher who brings with her much knowledge and skills and we are more than pleased to have her join the St Michael's staff. She will begin teaching with us in Week 8 and I know you will all make her very welcome.

Mothers Day

I hope that all our mothers, women, grandmothers, and mother figures enjoyed a lovely day last Sunday and that the day brought joy and happiness. A special thank you to all who were able to attend our special Mother's Day activity sessions and to our staff for organising such a great morning, it was a wonderful way to bring our community together. We keep all those who experience sadness or grief on and around Mothers Day in our prayers and thoughts.

Thank you to Jane, Rina and all the helpers for once again organising, setting up and running the Mothers Day stall, it was a great success.

School Review

This week we begin the process of our School Review. Every Catholic school reviews and resets their School Improvement Plan every four years. The school is also required to meet and pass the requirements of the Victorian Regulations and Qualifications Authority (VRQA). Today Steven and I met with our Reviewer, Judi Hanke to review all the VRQA requirements. This is a very important time for our school and one that will greatly assist in setting our direction and focus for the next four years.

School Absence

I wish to remind all families of the need to keep children who are unwell at home until they are fully recovered. I also ask that you inform the school of your child's absence via the Skoolbag App and not via Class Dojo. The school roll is marked before 9am so families who do not inform the school by 9:15am of their child's absence will receive a text message or a phone call from our office staff. I thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Social Media

Social Media tools such as Facebook and Instagram are excellent ways in which we can communicate with each other and our community. At St Michael's we use these tools to communicate with our families as well as the wider community. We have a Facebook page as well as Instagram and I encourage you to access them and become followers but with all these tools come the responsibility to use them appropriately. Our Prep families recently established a private Facebook page so they could share information and stay in touch with each other, a great idea but again it comes with the responsibility of using this page in the way it was intended. When setting up such communication tools families must understand and comply with the St Michael's Parent Social Media Policy, I have attached the link below. I ask you to read this policy and understand that when you engage in social media you must respect the privacy and dignity of all members of our community.

St Michael's Parent Social Media Policy Link

Staff Learning Day

Last Friday the staff were engaged in Professional Learning led by Deb Sukarna who is an educational consultant specialising in the teaching of literacy. We all worked with her to learn more about effectively engaging children in learning about Writing. The focus of our day was about teaching children the craft of writing and nurturing their passion for writing. Your children may now come home talking about 'Writer's Notebook' or 'Seeds for Writing'. As our staff continue to work with Deb we will continue to share our learnings with you. We look forward to seeing our children's passion for writing ignited.

Have a great week of learning!

Denise Hussey

(Principal)

The most simple thing I can do is to be good today but better tomorrow.

St Michael's Primary School Newsletter

"Where I'm Known"

Issue 12 · 13 May 2021

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