Dear Parents and Carers,

In 1982, St Michael’s opened its first classes for teaching. This makes 2022 an important year for us- our 40^th Anniversary! The Community Council is looking at ways we will mark this special milestone. Given the current climate this will happen later in the year and will also involve special events/activities with the students.

Building News

Last year I met with CE Planning and Maintenance Team and have been successful in securing a small building grant to refurbish the front entrance and increase the accessibility and functionality of the staff room space. We are also in the process of following up an insurance claim after the water damage last year to our Maths Room and equipment.  

Teaching and Learning

Today, we welcome Associate Professor Lorraine Hammond PhD CF AM from Edith Cowen University to continue our journey in using High Impact Teaching Practices to improve student learning. Lorraine will demonstrate lessons, observe lessons, and give feedback to the staff and leadership team as part of our Annual Improvement Plan.

Maths Olympiad

Congratulations to our 23 students from Years 5 and 6 who have nominated themselves to take on this year’s Maths Olympiad. The competition is run by The Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO) and will see our students put their best mathematical problem solving strategies and techniques to the test.

The APSMO Maths Olympiad has been operating in primary schools since 1987 and in high schools since 2003. Each year thousands of schools participate in the competition from around Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. We wish our 2022 team every success.

Easter Fun

While we are not yet in the Easter season, we would love to end this term with some Easter enjoyment, including the opportunity for families to purchase Hot Cross Buns. A note was sent home digitally and in bags on Monday with instructions for orders. We have purchased some Easter craft materials across the school and are planning on a surprise visitor in the K-2 area on the last Friday of school.

Thank you to all our families who continue to support us and work with us to ensure children are happy and improving their learning at St Michael’s.

Many Blessings,

Judy Egan

Emails sent to School 

Previously, if you have emailed Lisa Monro directly for any school correspondance, please note this email is no longer active.

For all correspondance please email: office.stmichaelsps@cg.catholic.edu.au

Recording of Student Absences

A notification went home via Compass reminding parents/carers to ensure the school is provided notes for absences. It is a legal requirement for schools to ensure they have documentation around student absences, and we need your help. Please follow the instructions on the Parent Portal to send an absent note or email the front office and let us know.

office.stmichaelsps@cg.catholic.edu.au

We will be sending reminders each Thursday to any families missing notes, this is a generated email from compass, please email or phone the front office if you have any concerns. 

Kind Regards

Judy Egan
Principal

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

Tia T, 1/2H & Chloe W, 5/6S

We hope you have a great day!!

Congratulations to the following students who achieved a Harmony Award in Week 9.  Awards will be handed out to students during the day on Friday.

Well done!!   

Parish Sacramental Program 2022

If you have a child in years 3, 4, or 6 in 2022, this is a Sacramental year.

This also applies if your child is in year 5 and he/she has previously missed the Sacraments of Reconciliation and/or First Eucharist.

Sacrament of First Eucharist - will be celebrated on the weekend of 18 and 19 June 2022 (Corpus Christi Sunday) across the four Parish Sunday Masses.

6pm - 18 June at St Monica’s Church – Evatt;

8am - 19 June at St Michael’s Church – Kaleen;

10am – 19 June at St Monica’s Church – Evatt; and

5.30pm – 19 June at St Michael’s Church – Kaleen.

Parent Formation Evening

The parent formation evening will be held on Thursday 31 March 2022 at 6pm via zoom at https://cgcatholic.zoom.us/j/62414099856

Registration for the Sacrament of First Eucharist

Registration must be made via the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Qkr! App (NOT the school app).

Registrations open on Monday 4 April 2022 and will close by Friday 29 April 2022.
No late registrations will be accepted after the closing date.

Commitment Masses

Students and parents must attend one of the weekend Masses at either St Monica’s Church (6pm Saturday or 10am Sunday) or St Michael’s Church (8am or 5.30pm Sunday) on one of the dates listed below to make their commitment for the Sacrament.
Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May
Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 May
There will be no additional commitment masses beyond these dates.

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 then send an email to sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au and arrangements will be made for delivery/pickup.

Confirmation will be celebrated in term 3, 2022.

Reconciliation will be celebrated in term 4, 2022.

For further Information regarding the Sacramental Program – please contact the Sacramental Program Coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au or check the parish website for updates at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth

Religious Education around our school – Spotlight on B Block learning this term

The children in Kindergarten, Year One and Year Two have been very busy in Religious Education this term. They have been looking at prayer. They have explored various ways we pray and special words we might use. 1/2B would like to share their beautiful prayers of praise they wrote:

Religious Life of St Michael’s

Project Compassion boxes / Lenten Appeal

Thank you to so many of you for your wonderful support of Project Compassion once again. It delights me to see the bulging little boxes coming in already to the Front Office. Thank you!!! The money you raise goes to support so many amazing projects Caritas runs. Check out below just one of these projects helping people in the Solomons. To help with getting these donations to Caritas promptly, please return your money boxes by the end of Week 10 to assist Mrs Logan in banking it all together before Easter. Thank you again.

Shaniella grew up in a remote village in the Solomon Islands in a province which has limited educational and job opportunities – and one of the country’s highest poverty rates. 

After leaving school, she decided to move closer to the capital city, Honiara, to study hospitality and tourism. 

However, her vocational training school was hit by a landslide and cyclone in quick succession, destroying its water supply system and the vegetable garden that it relies on for food. The landslide destroyed the school’s main source of water, damaged school buildings and devastated the garden which the school relies on for food. 

With your kind support, Caritas Australia Solomon Islands (CASI) was able to help the school to install eight water tanks. This restored students’ access to clean drinking water and the tanks also supply water to nearby schools, health centres and the wider community.

CASI also supported the school by providing it with improved planting materials, 200 chickens, and training in agricultural skills and poultry management, to help it to boost its food security. 

To ensure that the school is better prepared to respond to future disasters, CASI ran Disaster Risk Reduction training workshops, raising awareness about evacuation procedures and how to respond during an emergency. It provided additional support when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, by helping the school to improve hygiene practices to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Shaniella can now complete her job skills training and the school has enough food and water for its students. She is also better prepared when disaster strikes and can share her knowledge with her community back home.  

Watch her story here: https://youtu.be/EVy_OBNSOpM

Caritas Ukraine

Crises like the one unfolding in Ukraine put a spotlight on the critical need for ongoing assistance and development work around the world for vulnerable communities. Caritas Australia is committed to providing support before, during and after humanitarian crises, conflicts and natural disasters to ensure that the impact of donations is enduring and sustainable.

Caritas Australia has a long-standing partnership with Caritas Ukraine, who is currently working on the ground providing emergency support to internally displaced persons. We have launched an appeal to provide support to Caritas Ukraine as they work tirelessly in tremendously difficult circumstances to provide essentials to vulnerable people in Ukraine, including emergency food and water, shelter, hygiene kits and counselling.

The community can contribute to the Ukraine Crisis Appeal by visiting www.caritas.org.au/ukraine.

Chris Nolan

Social and Ecological Justice Animator NSW/ACT

chris.nolan@caritas.org.au

Holy Week Celebrations

How strange to be having Easter in the middle of our school holidays again. Along with COVID restrictions, it certainly makes our school celebrations of this most important week in our Church calendar look different. Unfortunately, we are still unable to invite families into the school, nor are we allowed to gather in the church to celebrate together as a whole school. Instead, teachers will guide their classes through the events of Holy Week utilizing a liturgy shared by renowned liturgist, Andrew Chinn, artworks depicting the events of Holy Week and a new resource for each class - Resurrection Eggs. If you would like to make your own set of Resurrection Eggs at home there are many resources online to support you, such as the link below. What a fun family activity for during the holidays!! If you make some I’d love you to share some photos for our first newsletter next term. 

https://www.faithward.org/diy-resurrection-eggs-for-holy-week/#:~:text=R%20esurrection%20eggs%20are%20a,of%20Jesus's%20death%20and%20resurrection

Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge

Every year, tens of thousands of students across the ACT participate in the Chief Minister’ Reading Challenge. The Challenge aspires to allow every young person in the ACT to discover the joy reading can bring. We are proud to be registered in the Challenge for this year.

The 2022 Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge ambassadors are local authors Jack Heath, Tracey Hawkins, Irma Gold, Harry Laing, Stephanie Owen Reeder, Tania McCartney, and Emma Batchelor.

St Michael’s Cross Country Carnival!

We are very excited to be able to run our school carnivals again! We will kick off next term with our cross country carnival on Thursday 28^th April (Week 1)! All students will participate in the carnival and students aged 8 years and above will compete to represent our school at the Belconnen Region Carnival later in the term. 

The carnival will proceed in a way that aligns with the COVID regulations at the time of the event. We are hopeful that students will be able to gather in house groups – fingers crossed!

We would love to hear from any parents who are able to volunteer, between 9:15-11:00am, as course marshals. If you can assist, please contact Erin Hardwicke via email.

Term 2 Tennis Clinics

Next term we are fortunate to offer tennis lessons to all our students from K-6. The lessons will be run by Get Set Tennis who are the coaches at Kaleen Tennis Club. The program will run from Weeks 2-5. K-2 classes will have their lessons at school on Tuesday. Years 3-6 will have their lessons on Thursday at the Kaleen Tennis Courts. I think the next Ash Barty is among us!

Erin.hardwicke@cg.catholic.edu.au

Community Photography and Art Competition

Council on the Ageing (COTA) ACT are inviting students to take part in a Community Photography and Art Competition.

This competition promotes the value, contribution and importance of older people in the community.

Photographic images or works of art must feature an older person/s (Aged at least 55 years). It can be a portrait type image or perhaps an image of an older person involved in a recreational activity or spending some quality time with grandchildren or family members. The image might show an older person serving as a volunteer or doing other community work. Images can be humorous and entertaining.

Prizes for finalists in each category include photographic and art-related vouchers, bookstore gift vouchers and more.

Categories: Pre-school to Year 1

                         Year 2 to Year 6

Category finalists and other entries will be displayed throughout Canberra in Public libraries, retirement villages and other venues.

The deadline for this competition is 5pm, Friday 8 April.

Artworks and completed Entry Forms must be hand-delivered to COTA ACT’s office, located within the Hughes Community Centre complex, adjacent to Hughes Shopping Centre, 2 Wisdom Street, Hughes ACT, between 9.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.

For more information and entry details visit cotaact.org.au

As several of the students at our school have a life threatening allergy to nuts and related products we have adopted a NUT FREE policy. 

Our school does not sell any nut products and we ask you to support our efforts by ensuring that your child does not bring peanuts, peanut butter, nutella or other nut related products to school in their lunch boxes.  This will require you to take note of the content of items such as muesli bars etc.

We appreciate your support in ensuring the health and safety of all our students.

Parent Support Network

Dear Parents

We are calling for nominations for parents to be the class representatives on the Parent Support Network.

This network would help support communication between the classroom teacher/s and the parents in the class. These networks have proven very successful in past, but with the interruptions of the past 2 years, we haven’t called for parent volunteers since 2019.

We are looking forward to getting this network up and running again and helping everyone stay connected and continuing to build our wonderful school community.

Parents on the network will receive a copy of the email address of the families in the class and there will be a short digital meeting in the coming weeks with Mr Webb to discuss the simple duties of the role and the ways that you can support the class. It is not a time consuming role, so the commitment to role is certainly not demanding 

If you are interested please email Mr Webb, damien.webb@cg.catholic.edu.au and include the following information

• Your name and name of child
• Class of child
• Email address
• Best contact phone number

Once again, thank you all for the continued support

Many thanks

Mr Webb