Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts over the last week. I've felt very supported and valued the strong sense of community we have here at St Michael's. My father-in-law's funeral is tomorrow, so I will be away on Thursday and Friday. A huge thank you to the team, especially Damien Webb, for ensuring all still ran smoothly in my absence at school.

I know that recent media reports of the trial and conviction of Cardinal Pell in Melbourne have caused distress to many. As a leader in Catholic education, I am mindful of our responsibilities that lie in this area and it focuses us at Catholic Education to be particularly mindful of those who have suffered abuse in the past and how these reports will affect them.

Every support will be offered to students, staff and members of our community whose suffering and distress may be heightened at this time. As a Christian community, we are called to listen to the source of their suffering. We must have open hearts and open minds and address the needs before us.

We continue to commit to providing the safest possible environment for all our students and staff and, while the trial has been difficult to watch, it in no way detracts from the work we are doing.

The safety and welfare of students remains our absolute top priority. The child safety approaches administered by our dedicated teachers and leaders assure we are held to the highest professional and regulatory standards. They are embedded in organisational governance, policy, procedures, practice and culture. It is a key responsibility for everyone who works or volunteers in Catholic education.

This year Catholic Education Canberra-Goulburn has created a Child Safe Advocate role supporting every systemic Catholic school in the Archdiocese, consolidates Catholic Education’s commitment to child safety and protection from all sources of abuse. This commitment to child safety in every aspect of school life will continue and we must remain vigilant. Catholic schools are highly valued because they provide safe learning environments. I am confident this will continue to be the case.

Should you or your family require support during this time, please reach out and we will support in whatever way we can.

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend.

Be Kind.

Regards,

Pat Ellis

Principal

Shrove Tuesday

A huge thank you to Irene Culjak and Angela Dzaja for preparing the pancake batter for Shrove Tuesday’s pancakes. Thank you also to Angela Dzaja, Amelia Sitauti, Kylie Charles, Dinora Collins and Cheri Roberts for making the pancakes on Tuesday morning. They were delicious!!!

Ash Wednesday

Today we marked the beginning of Lent with Mass. Congratulations to 3/4YM for your thought provoking introduction to the Mass and your lovely choice of songs. Our 5/6 students on camp also paused for an Ash Wednesday liturgy this morning.

Lenten Appeal

As is our tradition we are supporting Caritas’ Lenten Appeal, Project Compassion. All students should have come home with small money boxes this week. Students are encouraged to think of ways they can donate money to help those in great need. You may wish to have a conversation with your children about how they will do this. Money boxes are asked to be returned in Week 10 this term so we can send the funds to Caritas. Thank you.

An important part of Project Compassion is also raising awareness of world poverty and how to help. Please consider viewing the video and information for Week 1 of Project Compassion. Learn all about Thandolwayo from Zimbabwe. https://lent.caritas.org.au/page/week-1

Sewing needed

I am looking for help with sewing a new cover for our Mass book that Father Loi uses during all of our school Masses. He would like it to continue to be rainbow coloured. If you are talented with creating and sewing (not my gift) and are interested in helping with this small task please contact Ms Younger at school or via email. meaghan.younger@cg.catholic.edu.au  

Whole School Prayer Time

5/6B are very busy preparing to lead us in prayer this Friday, 8^th March. This Whole School Prayer Time will offer us the opportunity to consider how we ‘Include’ as we are ‘Growing with the Spirit’. Whole School Prayer Times will begin at 2:20pm this year. They will still be held in the St Michael’s Church.

Saturday 16 March 10-2pm 

We only have 10 days to go until our Autumn Fete. Many people have been busy behind the scene organising and preparing to make this day a huge success. Like any fundraising, there is a certain risk involved regarding how much work has gone into the event vs the amount of people who will turn up to support and the amount of money we will raise. Please support by attending and purchasing as much as you can and please invite friends and families to do the same. We are a small Catholic primary school who rely heavily on funds raised at events such as this to purchase bigger ticket items like playground equipment, furniture and tech equipment to name a few items. Please support and please give generously. 

We are still looking for

• Jars
• Craft items to sell
• Second hand books (in good condition) to be dropped off (tables on stage in the hall). We are after children's books and good quality literature.
• Next week, information will come home regarding baking items for the cake store. 

Each class has been allocated a stall, and we would ask parents/carers from that class to volunteer to help run the stall on the actual day. 

Please follow the link below to the google doc to put your name against a time slot, all help is greatly appreciated. 

All volunteers will need to have a WWVP card, however if you do not have a card you are required to sign a statutory declaration which is available at the Front Office.  

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OwudBffkTMb_hHJCyUvlkZYtNJcKUKwU4GW9-b8oyt0/edit?ts=5c732a8d#gid=2097185166

The Colour Wheel

Primary, Secondary, Complementary, Analogous and Monochromatic Colours.

Over the next two weeks we will be looking at the colour wheel.

The lower grades will investigate what happens when primary colours are mixed together.

The upper grades will investigate how to make tints and shades and discover the relationships between the colours on the Colour Wheel.

Artists often use the colour wheel to help understand how colours relate to one another.

Changes to School Sport ACT

From the commencement of this year there will no longer be Belconnen Region level trials for specific sports. To replace the regional level completion, many sports are holding gala days for schools to attend. We will enter teams in these gala days where there is student interest. The pathway for selection to an ACT sporting team is through trials offered in the same way as they have been previously. Please see the information below in relation to the process of registering your child for ACT trials on the School Sport ACT website.

Trials for 12&U Track and Field ACT Team

The School Sport Australia 12&U Track and Field Championships will be taking place in Darwin, NT this year and due to their weather conditions, the event has moved to 18-23 September, from its traditional dates in December. This means a much earlier selection process is required.

The ACT Team Selection Trial dates are Wednesday 20 March - 4.30pm - 6.45pm AND Tuesday 26 March - 4.30pm - 6.45pm. The venue for both dates is Woden Park Athletics Track, Phillip ACT

Students must meet selection criteria requirements, including minimum standard times. The selection criteria process can be found on the "Track & Field" page of the School Sport ACT website.

https://schoolsportsact.blob.core.windows.net/schoolsportsact-container-eas/SportAttachment-258.pdf

Catholic Schools’ Soccer Carnival

We are excited to be entering two year 3/4 teams and one Year 5/6 team in this year’s Soccer Carnival. Notes will come home shortly with details of the teams and coaches/managers. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to coach/manage a team.

School Swimming Carnival  12th March at Queanbeyan Pool.

Looking forward to a great carnival next Tuesday.  A reminder than canteen facilities are available.  Please ensure your children have sunscreen, hats and water bottles. 

K- 2 Water Fun Day Tuesday 12^th March

Our water fund day is next Tuesday.  Please refer to the reminder note sent home last week.  Looking forward to a great day.  All students in Years K-2 will enjoy a water fun day and special recess here at school, while the older students are at the swimming carnival. 

NAB AFL AUSKICK

The after school AFL program will now be commencing on 13th March and will take place on our school oval. The program is being offered by Auskick ACT so please refer to their website for the most up to date information. For more information on this 4-week program or to register go to Play.afl/auskick

Cross Country Carnival

Save the date: 4th April, 2019 (Thursday Week 9)
If you are willing to assist on the day as a course marshal, your time would be much appreciated.

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.

SCHOOL SPORT ACT TRIALS 

Please keep an eye on the School Sport ACT website www.schoolsportact.asn.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 – schoolsportact.asn.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?
8. Make the $5 credit card payment then click to register.
9. An automated email will then be sent to your Principal/School Approver for their approval to trial (no need to take anything to school for the Principal to sign).
10. You will be able to see the process has been complete back in My Profile – once your Principal/School Approver has completed the approval process your child’s information will be collated onto a list for the Team Manager and Coach prior to trial.
11. Note the registration process closes two days before the first trial date to allow sufficient time for approval and sharing of collated information.

Looking forward to another big year of sporting participation,

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

Pic Collage is the app of the week. Make a professional looking artwork, a great collage or just collect your ideas in one place, this app does it all. Just pick your photos, change the background and add some descriptive text. Versatile and easy to use for students across Kinder to Year 6.

The 'Momo' online game has once again surfaced. You may have seen recent information in the news regarding this online game.

The ‘Momo challenge’ is an online game which encourages children to self-harm by setting 'tasks' and sending them disturbing and graphic photographs.

The game, which appears to have originated in Japan, is an online viral sensation which depicts an image of a sculpture of a young woman with bulging eyes, long black hair, bird legs and a creepy smile.

Momo is played through Whatsapp, Facebook, Youtube and other online platforms and there are warnings saying it is used by hackers to mine information.

We would encourage parents to be vigilant when it comes to their children’s online activity and ensure they know not to give out personal information, and to make sure they know that no one has the right to make them do anything they don't want to. We will continue to stress these points at school as well. 

The Life Education Van has arrived and all classes will participate in a session this week. Life Ed has been going for 40 years and still provides a strong message of healthier choices in a fun and engaging way.

Book Fair!! 

Overdue Books

The student loans have been cleared of any overdue books prior to the commencment of this year.  We ask your assistance in ensuring that books are returned to the library within the loan period of two weeks.  There are now a number of overdue books that are outstanding from loans this year.  We would appreciate your assistance in returning these books as soon as possible.

Volunteering

If you are interested in volunteering in the library I’d love to hear from you. It is a great way for parents, grandparents and carers to get involved in school life and your time makes a valuable contribution to the running of our library for staff and students. We are always looking for people willing to help out with covering new library books. It is an easy job that can even be done at home. If are able to volunteer with this task please get in touch.

Student Borrowing 

Library lessons for each class will be on Wednesday's. Each Wednesday students can return books and borrow new ones for the week. If you wish to return books at other times, they can be placed in the returns slot on the front of the library desk. I look forward to working with all the students to develop their love of reading and literature throughout 2019.

Visiting our Library 

We hope that the library is an inviting space for our students and families too. If you wish to come in and spend a few minutes reading to your child/ren either before or after school, please know that you are welcome to do so. We ask that you return the book to the returns slot (on the front of the library desk) and it will be re-shelved for you.

Parent Library

A new initiative to the library this year is the parent borrowing bookshelf. It is located just inside the library, opposite the library desk. The system is based on a book swap approach. Please feel free to take a book and return when you are finished or bring in a book to swap. We are hoping to include literature that is for enjoyment and also related to parenting and educational information. If you have any books to donate to our parent library, they would be gratefully accepted.

We would like the library space to be 'the heart' of St Michael's. A space to gather and enjoy. So, if you have any ideas, feedback or questions, please flick me an email erin.hardwicke@cg.catholic.edu.au 

This week our senior students have been at Cooba for their Leadership Camp. I have heard many great stories and can't wait to hear more upon their return. Thank you to Jess Figura, Shannon Blakey, Jane McKeough and Damien Webb for attending and supporting the students over the last three days. Jump over to our Facebook Page to check out some photos of the fun!

Reading to Dogs Program 

At the end of last year we participated in the reading to Dogs Program, which was a great success. This term we will once again continue to partner with ACT Companion Dog Club to develop our 'Reading to Dogs Program'. We will be joined every Monday by a beautiful dog for some students to read a favourite book to. This is such a calming and engaging experience for students. 

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

Matilda 3/4AK, Sarah 5/6B, Dylan 3/4AK, Chloe KL, Emma 3/4YM and Jett 5/6B

We hope you have a great day!!

I have a few items of lost property handed in to the Front Office, please see Lisa if you are looking for any of the following items:

• reading glasses in a soft case with a picture of a lady on it
• key (could be a house key) on a Ford keyring
• pink felt purse with flowers sewn on it
• gold ring

Congratulations to the following children who have achieved a Harmony Award in Week 5 and will receive their award this Friday at morning gathering.

Being a parent is the hardest job we’ll ever have.  All parents at some time experience difficulties and stress.

Parentline ACT is a confidential and free telephone and face-to-face counselling and information service.

Phone Parentline if you would you like:

• To talk with someone about those parenting issues.
• Help with some ideas on raising children.
• Support in the important job you are doing.
• To know what is available for parents, teenagers and children.
• To build better relationships in your family.
• Help to understand your child or teenager’s behaviour.
• Make an appointment for a counselling session.

Parentline ACT.

Monday to Friday (except on public holidays), 9am to 5pm.

Phone: 6287 3833

Lenten Program

Each year during Lent, we have groups who meet throughout the parish to reflect on the Sunday Lenten Gospels. Sheets are available in the church foyers to enrol or if a Friday morning at 9:00 am suits you better, Sr Kate holds a group at her place, which you are more than welcome attend. Sessions last for about an hour over a cup of coffee. Everyone is welcome, so if you are able to join in, let Sr. Kate know on k.mcmahon3@bigpond.com (Home address will be supplied.) Groups begin on Friday 15th March.

Our new canteen menu for 2019 is going well! This is an exciting, healthier change and we thank Empire Catering for engaging in conversations and making these changes. Feedback from the school community assisted in these changes.

All lunch orders now need to be placed by

MIDNIGHT 12pm on Wednesday nights.

The canteen still require assistance on Friday's from approximately 12.30-1.45 to help pack lunch orders, if you can assist in anyway, please contact Lisa in the Front Office.  Any help is greatly appreciated.

Please feel free to contact Empire Catering on 0408200481 for any queries with lunch orders or any constructive feedback you have regarding menu items. As we outsource to Empire to cater for our canteen each week, we would appreciate you communicating directly with them regarding any issues, problems or concerns you may have regarding the canteen. 

Please support businesses that support our school.