Dear Parents/Carers,

St Michael’s has now introduced Let’s Decode a Program developed by Associate Professor Lorraine Hammond AM, PHD, CF from Edith Cowen University.  For the first 15 minutes of everyday children in Kindergarten to Year 2, are involved in building their literacy skills.

Let’s Decode is an evidence-based programme built on understandings about how the brain learns. In Education we are referring to ‘The Science of Reading’ because after 40 years or more of research in many disciplines we can see we need a revolution and an end to false theories:

If the evidence is overwhelming and compelling, why are so many children failing to learn to read? Despite a preponderance of evidence about what constitutes good reading instruction, these false theories persist:

• Reading is as natural as speaking, therefore immersing children in print and literature will teach children to read.
• Teaching young children to look at pictures, skip over words, or guess at words based on context will develop the strategies necessary for reading comprehension.
• There are hundreds of ways to learn to read, therefore there is no single set of instructional principles that will work for all children.

(Laura Stewart, The Science of Reading, Evidence for a new era of reading instruction)

I am proud to be leading a school community where everyone is committed to using the best methods and research to help your child to learn.

If you would like to know more about the Science of Reading, this is a great article.

https://www.zaner-bloser.com/reading/superkids-reading-program/pdfs/Whitepaper_TheScienceofReading.pdf

Many Blessings

Judy Egan

The Community Council met this week, for the second time this year.  Many topics were covered, with the following of note.  Open day was held recently, and was very well received, with enrolments already being received for the 2022 school year. The Let’s Decode program was discussed with the Community Council, which approved a small amount of funds, complimenting the CE’s funding to purchase additional books for the school.  The school executive is reviewing options for upgrading the school telephone system which would complement the current technology and provide staff greater access across the school.  The Hot Cross Buns fundraiser at Easter was hugely successful and the Community Council are very grateful for those who assisted with organising and all families who supported this delicious event!

Now COVID restrictions have eased, and we adjust to the new normal, community events to bring families and friends back into the school were discussed.  Events such as Whole School Prayer Time or school athletics carnival are possibilities to return the family feel we love at St Michaels.  Further to this, the school trivia night looks set to be held in July.  Further details to come, including the theme, date and venue, as always, it promises to be a great night!

Sacramental Program 2021 – First Eucharist for students in Year 4 from 2021

The Sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated in Term 2 of 2021 on the following dates:

• Tuesday 8 June at 6pm in St Michael’s Church
• Wednesday 9 June at 6pm in St Monica’s Church
• Thursday 10 June at 5.30pm in St Monica’s Church
• Thursday 10 June at 7pm in St Monica’s Church

Please keep the candidates for First Eucharist in your prayers.

Parent Child Formation Night – Thursday 20 May 2020
The parent/child formation night is this Thursday via zoom.
Zoom address is https://cgcatholic.zoom.us/j/98317292168

Registration for the Sacrament of First Eucharist
Registration have now closed and no further registration can be accepted.

Commitment Masses
There will be no additional commitment masses.

Booking a Mass time for the Sacrament
Once you have decided on the date and church you wish your child to celebrate the Sacrament, bookings can be made through ‘Trybooking’ on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
Bookings will be open from 10 May 2021 to 21 May 2021.

COVID Restrictions - due to current Covid restrictions we can only have 200 people in the church for each celebration.
This means the number of people attending is restricted to 8 to 10 per family only (This may include parents, siblings or other family members or friends).

Booking will close once 200 bookings are made for the service.

Purchasing a stole for First Eucharist
Purchasing a stole is optional and is not compulsory. If you wish to purchase a stole, please make a payment of $20 through the Qkr! App and send an email to sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au and arrangements will be made for delivery/pickup.

For further information please contact the Sacramental Program coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au or the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth

As part of this term's work, we have invited World of Maths (a travelling, interactive

Maths Workshop) to visit our school.

World of Maths offers an ideal opportunity for students to see how Maths is applied to everyday life situations and explore Maths in a hands-on-environment.  Students are encouraged to communicate their Maths ideas and answers with other students in small teams, working together.

Students will gain insight into problem solving, working in teams, and explore various mathematic stains which are part of their curriculum this term.

It is a highly engaging session which will show that Maths is everywhere and is important and of course that Maths can be fun!

Parents/carers are invited to attend any of the sessions which will be held in the school hall.

Details of the Visit:

Wednesday 26th May 

K-2 - 8.50-9.50

3/4 - 9.55-11.00

5/6 - 12.10-1.40

We wish our team all the best at next week's carnival!

Athletics Carnival - Friday 11th June

Thank you to all the parents that have volunteered.  More information will be sent home in the coming weeks.

Erin Hardwicke

National Simultaneous Storytime

Today we had a blast as we participated in NSS! This year’s story Give Me Some Space! by Philip Bunting was read from the International Space Station by astronaut Dr Shannon Walker.

It was fantastic to see a glimpse of how the astronauts live and work in space. If you would like to watch the video again, you can visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeCxxMZjlFo

Erin

Congratulations to the following students who achieved a Harmony Award in Week 5.  Awards will be presented at Friday morning's assembly (weather permitting).

Well done!!   

Special wishes to those children who celebrate their birthday this week:

Katie 5/6F

We hope you have a great day!!

I've Been Meaning To Ask You Auditions

Get ready Canberra, this one is gonna be EPIC!... This is a call out to all young people across the ACT aged 9 - 13 years to be involved in one of the biggest theatre events coming to town this year.

I’ve Been Meaning To Ask You is a spectacular theatrical experience full of questions asked by young people, and answered by adults.

We’re looking for energetic performers with a diverse range of skills and experiences to be a part of the large ensemble cast. Whether you're outspoken, curious, expressive, powerful or just plain kooky, we want you!

For more information, check out canberrayouththeatre.com.au/auditions

Auditions take place on Saturday 29 May. Register your EOI now!

DANCECORE -  Dance classes are on Wednesday's at recess in the school hall, forms are available at the Front Office. 
Contact Cassie 0417 442 750 

CHESS -  Chess classes are held in C Block on Tuesday’s at recess, forms are available at the Front Office.  Contact Sydney Academy of Chess 9745 1170

GUITAR - Guitar lessons with Sam on Thursday's, please contact
Sam on 0408 196 855

PIANO - Piano Lessons with Mary-Liz on Mondays & Tuesdays, please contact Mary-Liz on 0413 425 753

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB -  Scholastic Book club is back and runs twice a Term.  If you have any queries, contact Mrs Monro or Mrs Hardwicke.

The Entertainment Book is back, bigger and better, prices starting from $69.99.  Please click on the link below to order your digital copy of the new book.

https://au.entdigital.net/orderbooks/232g38

Please see the School Sport ACT webpage https://schoolsportact.org.au/ or Facebook page for the most up to date information.

SCHOOL SPORT ACT TRIALS – Please keep an eye on the School Sport ACT website https://schoolsportact.org.au/ for upcoming ACT trials. The process for registering can be found below. If you need any assistance registering your child please feel free to ask for assistance.

How to register your child with School Sport ACT

School Sport ACT now collects all registration information online – this is to prevent the movement to and fro of a paper note and have all information readily available to officials prior to the trial. As this process incurs a fee for data storage, system maintenance and admin, a small $5 fee payment via credit card will be required.

1. Go to the School Sport ACT website – https://schoolsportact.org.au/
2. Click Register (top right corner of homepage) for an Account – enter parent details and password
3. A confirmation email will be sent to your chosen email that will contain a link that you must click on to verify the email account.
4. Click Log In (top right hand corner of home page) enter password then click on top tab My Profile
5. You will see a ‘dashboard’ of your information, click green box to Add Student – enter student and medical details and save.
6. Go to the Sports Tab – choose your specific sport, click on Trial Information box then click on the Register to Trial link.
7. Select your child’s name from the dropdown box and then enter the optional fields for Playing History, Preferred Position (if applicable) and Representative Experience. If you are already in the system, ensure your child’s school is up to date in your profile – have they moved onto High School?

Please contact me via email if you have any questions, feedback or are able to offer your assistance at any of our sporting events throughout the year.

Looking forward to another big year of sporting participation,

Erin Hardwicke
erin.hardwicke@cg.catholic.edu.au