Dear Parents/Carers,

Congratulations to everyone for a smooth and settled start to 2021. It was great to see the children, especially our new kindergartens, so excited, on time, in uniform and rearing to go! Routines keep us on track and help us to get our body clocks into gear. It can be difficult getting routines in place, but the initial pain is worth the gain.

Catalyst; High Impact Teaching Immersion

As part of the Catalyst Initiative, St Michael’s, St Thomas the Apostle Kambah and Holy Spirit Nicholls have been selected to be part of a Pilot Program to develop High Impact Teaching Practice for all teachers. We will be receiving coaching in Explicit Direct Instruction from Dr Lorraine Hammond AM. Dr Hammond will be visit us from Perth this term to work with teachers in K-2, where St Michael’s will host participating schools. This is an exceptional opportunity for us that has grown out of research into the best pedagogy teachers can utilise to support student progress. The Pilot involves multiple forms of Professional Learning and I thank the teachers for their commitment and enthusiasm. Pat Ellis is the Education Lead in Performance and Improvement in Catholic Education and he has done an amazing job organising the roll out of Catalyst across the archdiocese. This is a very exciting time in Education, and we are thrilled to be at the forefront in this Pilot.

Car Park/ Pick up, Drop Off

For our new families, St Michael’s has a very smooth morning drop off and afternoon pick up system in place. For it to work best,

• Adults need to stay in the vehicle, we will help open doors etc.
• Children exit from the left side, (sometimes this is tricky with car seats) some children can climb over or we can assist there by helping the child exit safely on the right side

The car park directly at the front of the school is the staff car park. Parents/Carers are welcome to park in the Parish/Courts car park and walk across to collect or drop off their children.

A reminder that the children are not supervised before 8.20am. If you need to drop your child earlier, please consider accessing our before and after school care to support the safety and wellbeing of your child.

Meet and Greet

We are looking forward to catching up tonight from 5pm-6pm in the courtyard. Last year this was an adult event, however we understand that both Parents/Carers may wish to attend and if you are having difficulty finding care for your children, we would not want you to miss out. Term Overviews listing class procedures and curriculum information will be available for Parents/Carers on Friday of Week 2. The children have been working on Literacy and Numeracy goals for learning which will be shared with you and discussed at 3 Way meeting sessions in Week 8.

Opening School Mass

We were proud of the way the children participated prayerfully and respectfully for our Opening School Mass. It has been a long time since we have been able to visit the Church and Father Loi was very happy to see us.

Sending our Best

I know you will join me in sending our thoughts and prayers to Ms Meaghan Younger who has taken carer’s leave to be with her Dad Ted, following an accident. Mrs Hoda Farhadi, a familiar and friendly face in our school is working with 3/4Y and the Teaching Team in Meaghan’s absence.

Looking forward to catching up with you tonight, it has been a smooth and calm start to 2021 and I particularly thank parents/carers for their efforts to support a positive return to school.

Many blessings,

Keep smiling,

Judy Egan