Dear Parents and Carers,

This week marks the season of Winter in Canberra. Stories of ‘Jack Frost’, the occasional snow shower, hot soups, freezing Saturday morning sport and days where the fog doesn’t lift till lunch time! During Winter we can snuggle up with a book or movie and technology now gives us the chance to binge on a favourite series, play digital games and chat online to family and friends. Screen time can be wonderful and magical, however there are also multiple concerns for children using the internet without adult supervision.      

The eSafety commissioner website has information for families about safe internet usage, which is very helpful, addressing multiple questions such as;

• How much screen time is a good balance?
• How to set boundaries at home
• What are parental controls and how do parents access them?
• How do I talk to my child about pornographic images they may have seen?

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/screen-time

There may also be instances where students exposed to inappropriate content share conversations with their peers. It’s often confronting as a parent when your child brings up something at the traffic lights in front of younger peers that was totally unexpected! The good news is communication lines are open and its crucial as your children grow older to encourage them to come to you and chat. CatholicCare is a great family resource when you need a hand with family conversations and relationships. Jo from CatholicCare our school counsellor can always assist, she is with us every Monday and her details are below;

Jo Samprathi

Student and Family Counselling

CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn

T 02 6162 6106

PO Box 3167 Manuka ACT 2603

catholiccare.cg.org.au 

Tell them from me

We are inviting students, teachers and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey.

The surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process. We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community, we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St Michael’s.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You can access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below:

http://tellthemfromme.com/h4t63

Parents are welcome to complete the survey in the library if you are popping in to share a book with your child. The survey is also available in several languages, please let us know if this is helpful.  

What’s on at St Michael’s

Our Eucharist Retreat day is next Thursday 8 June- best wishes to all our students preparing for their First Holy Communion and thank you to Mrs Erika Tokich for her organisation. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish is a special part of who we are at St Michael’s and at assembly last Friday I presented Father Mick and the Parish with a print from Israel- detailing the Sea of Galilee and the Ministry of Jesus.  

Good luck to our Oz tag students and congratulations to the Cross Country Team, we love our sport at St Michael’s.

The Disco is coming up- 15 June 5pm-7pm! Thank you to the Community Council Team and parent helpers who are organising the event- get your dancing shoes on!  

Thank you to all our parents and families and for everything you do to support your children and our school community.

Many Blessings,

Judy Egan

Principal