From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers

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

Prayer 

This blessing may be used at special family visits (such as holidays), at the beginning or end of a visit, or at another appropriate time. 

Loving Creator

Grandparents are cherished members of our family.  

They bring gifts of wisdom, experience, and love and share with us their life of faith. 

We thank you for their example 

and ask that you bless them with happiness and good health.

May our grandparents remain constant in your love 

and remain living signs of your presence to their children and grandchildren.

We ask this, through Christ our Lord,

Amen

Prep 100 Days!

Today the preps celebrated 100 days of school. They all enjoyed a fabulous day. We will share these photos in next week's newsletter.

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

Thanks to all for your participation and engagement in our annual Grandparents and Special Friends Day. It was a beautiful celebration of our families and those who are close to us in our lives. Thank you to the Preps who performed for the grandparents in the hub, the teachers for leading the activities and Rachael Lo Ricco for her organisation of the day and the special liturgy we shared.

Classroom Helpers 

Are you currently a classroom helper? If you have a current Working With Children Check (WWCC) and you have completed our Parent Helper course, either earlier this year or last year, please see your child's classroom teacher and put your name on the roster. Timetables are on classroom doors and you can place your name on there if you have completed the above tasks. If you are yet to complete the Parent Helper course, please make contact with Eloise Ellis at eelliss@smashburton.com.au.

Book Fair 2023!

It's almost time for the FUNnest FUNdraiser of 2023 - the Scholastic Book Fair!  To make the magic happen, we need 5-6 parent helpers each day for about 20 - 30 minutes at pick up from Friday 18th August -  to Wednesday 23rd August. Located in the Hub, younger siblings are most welcome to attend.  If you are able to help, please contact Therese Molnar on 0417.014.772 or via email therese.molnar@gmail.com

St Michael's School Library

Library lessons for term 3 have been happening on Mondays and Tuesdays in Term 3. The library is open on Mondays at lunchtimes for students to visit, where they can share common book interests with others and play games in the library. On Mondays after school, families are welcome to visit the library between 3.15-4pm. We look forward to seeing you for a visit! 

Family Maths Night

Thank you SRC for creating this flier!

This year, we have been fortunate to secure some funding for professional learning of the staff in the area of Mathematics. This has meant that we have been able to employ emergency staff to release teachers from the classroom in order that we can conduct "Lesson Studies" across year levels to develop our knowledge and skills in best practice of Mathematics teaching. We have also used funding to add to our Mathematics resources across the school. One of our main focuses in this area has been around working with students in problem solving tasks with various 'entry points' into tasks to cater for the many learning needs within the classroom. This is something we have been implementing in classrooms over the last two terms.

Part of our plan is to assist parents in understanding what happens in the modern day Maths classroom and we wish to invite parents to attend our Family Maths Night on Wednesday 23rd August, 6.30-7.45pm. We will begin in the Hub with some general information, then move into classrooms where you and your children can engage in some problem solving tasks together.

Following this evening event, we invite parents to come along to an Open Maths Morning on Thursday 7th September, from 9.00-10.00am. Our purpose here is for families to see how a Maths lesson unfolds in the classroom. Straight after the session in class, we will be holding a morning tea for parents in the Hub. All welcome.

Please mark these important dates in your calendar and please respond to the RSVP on Operoo NOW.

Seesaw

At St. Michael’s School teachers and students use Seesaw as a communication tool to share and engage parents in students' progression of learning. Students take agency in their learning and are able to communicate photos, videos, voice recordings and explanations with their parents. 

No doubt by now you have taken many opportunities to view some of your children's learning through the Seesaw App. If you still do not have access to this, please email your child's class teacher so that you are able to access it. It is our hope that you will take some time to view some of your child's learning, particularly in the area of Maths which is a main focus in 2023, and that you will take some time to align the tasks with your child's goals which were shared with you at our recent Parent / Teacher / Student Conversations. Take the opportunity also to give feedback to your child through the app as well when you can.

2023 School Fees

Thank you to all families who have paid their 2023 school fees and those who are up to date with their scheduled payments. This is a reminder to all families to please either schedule your payments If you have not paid your fees please contact Kathy Muhllechner to make and arrangement to do so.  

Father's day breakfast, from 7.30am 

WHEN: Friday 1st September

TIME: 7.30-9.00am

• 7.45-8.15am Breakfast will be served throughout this 45 minute time in the Hub 
• 8.15-8.45am Games on the courts
• 8.45-9.00am Liturgy in the Hub

We welcome all our dads (or a special friend) to attend our breakfast which will be happening on the Friday before Father's day. We will be serving breakfast from 7.30am in the Hub; sausages & bacon and egg sandwiches, for Dads and students. We will also hold some outdoor games and activities (weather dependent) before heading back into the Hub for a short liturgy before the end. We look forward to seeing you there.

St Michael's School Production

With two weeks of practice under our belts now and the selection of our main cast, we are getting excited about our upcoming production. Please continue to keep the date free and we are working now on details of ticketing to release to families soon.

DATE: Thursday 5th October

VENUE: Crossway Baptist Church, 2 Vision Drive, Burwood East (see map below)

TIMES:

     Time of arrival for students - 6.15pm

     Time show will begin - 6.30pm

     Approximate finish time - 7.45pm

COSTUMES - Coming out to families on Operoo will be a letter explaining costume requirements for each class. Please check Operoo tomorrow for all details. 

Ample parking is available at the venue. We require 4-5 people to take responsibility for ushering cars through the carpark for easy organisation. Please email Annie at aherbison@smashburton.catholic.edu.au if you can do this job on the night. You will be shown what to do and you will also be able to watch the show. 

Jump Rope for Heart kicks off this term at St Michael’s!

 Jump Rope for Heart is the Heart Foundation’s primary school skipping challenge that helps kids move more, have fun and raise funds for lifesaving research and programs.

This year we’ve got an audacious goal to see our student Heart Heroes at St Michael’s to log 40 hours of skipping throughout the program! Register your child online, so they can receive the full benefits of the program and participate in online fundraising, simply follow the link below to get started. www.jumprope.org.au/parents

Students will be skipping throughout the term during break time, during this time you can share their online fundraising page with family and friends to help raise money for this great cause.

We will hold our school Jump Off Day in Term 4, this will mark the end of the program and is a chance for everyone to come together to skip and show off their newly learned skills.

Thank you for supporting the Jump Rope for Heart program!

Parking on Top Courts

We remind families that the top courts are not for parking when dropping off or collecting students. Many of our students walk through the courts on their journey home and in order to keep them safe, we ask that you do not park there after school. Thank you for your cooperation.

Student Clothing and Personal Items

We have a number of uniform pieces and personal items of students in our lost property cupboard. Please ensure you name your child's items so we are able to return these as soon as possible to the owners. Thank you.

Final day of school year

This year we have withheld informing parents of the final day of the school year, dependent on the outcome of the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. I can now inform you that St Michael's students' final day of the 2023 school year will be Friday 15th December, 3.30pm. Thank you for your patience in awaiting this date.

Term 3 Kinder Kids Reading final session

Friday 25th August, 8.50-9.45am