Filter Content
| Important Dates & Reminders | Time | Event |
| 1 December | 9.00am | Advent Liturgy 1 led by Yr 1/2 followed by Assembly–Final Harmony Awards for 2023 in the Hall |
| 1 December | Daramalan Year 7 Orientation day | |
| 4 December | 2.30pm | Advent Liturgy 2 led by Yr 1/2 in the Hall |
| 4 December | Semester 2 Reports released on Compass | |
| 4 December | 9.00am - 12.30pm | Kinder Orientation 2 in the Classroom |
| 5 - 8 December | Optional parent/teacher interviews booked on Compass | |
| 6 December | SFX Year 7 Orientation day | |
| 7 December | 9.30am | St Michael’s Giving Mass and Rainbow Awards. Students are welcome to come dressed in Christmas t-shirts and clothes |
| 8 December | 9.00am | Advent Liturgy 3 led by Yr 3/4 followed by Year 6 Assembly in the Hall |
| 11 December | 9.15am | Kinder Nativity in the Church |
| 11 December | 5.00pm | Year 6 Graduation Liturgy and awards in the Church followed by Dinner |
| 12 December | 2.20pm | Candle Ceremony - Passing on the Leadership light from Year 6 to Year 5 students at the Church |
| 12 December | 12.30 | Meet the teacher - students find out allocated classes for 2024 & enjoy lunch time together |
| 13 December | 9.00am | Advent Liturgy 4 led by Yr 3/4 in the Hall |
| 14 December | 8.20am - 3.00 |
Year 6 Fun Day Year 6 Breakfast in the Calm Space - enter via back gate |
| 14 December 2023 | Last day of school for students | |
| 15 December 2023 | Pupil Free Day | |
| 31 January 2024 | 8.50am | First day of school 2024 |
Dear Families
K-2 Literacy update
This week our K-2 staff have completed professional development on InitiaLit, a Tier 1 whole class literacy program which will be delivered by classroom teachers to all students across K-2 in 2024. This program will provide students with essential core knowledge and strong foundations to become successful readers and writers.
InitiaLit is a reading program that incorporates a synthetic approach to the teaching of phonics alongside a rich literature and vocabulary component. The teaching of this program enables our teachers to strengthen literacy practices and provide thorough and consistent instruction across classrooms and a reduction in the number of children needing support in higher grades. This program is an evidence-based approach to reading and spelling that is aligned with the Australian National Curriculum.
Kinder Orientation
We look forward to welcoming back our students who will become our Kindergarten cohort for 2024. Our current Year 5 students will be meeting their new Kinder buddies and are extremely excited to be stepping up into this role. Please ensure that your child brings fruit break, morning tea, a water bottle and a hat to the session starting at 9:00-12:30 in the Kinder classroom.
Campaign against child sexual abuse
At St Michael’s we prioritise the safety of children. Please be aware of the importance of ‘One Talk at a Time’, a national campaign against child sexual abuse, launched by the National Office for Child Safety. One Talk at a Time aims to protect young people from sexual abuse by encouraging adults to have ongoing, proactive, preventative conversations.
Link: https://www.childsafety.gov.au/one-talk-time
Advent Liturgy 1
This Friday Year 1/2 will present our first Advent Liturgy followed by our morning assembly and final Harmony awards for 2023 at 9am in the hall. All parents are welcome to attend.
Reports & Interviews
Semester 2 reports will be issued via Compass in week 9 Monday 4th December. Your child’s teacher may request an interview to discuss progress. Parents can book an optional appointment for an interview between 5th- 8th December through the Compass portal. The bookings will go live on Compass on Monday 4th December.
School Camp 2024
In February we are offering a camp experience for Year 5 & Year 6 at Camp Wombaroo. Camp will be held on Wednesday 28 February - Friday 1 March 2024. The camp provides an exciting and inclusive environment for the students to be active, develop competence in life skills, learn about their abilities and benefit from meaningful participation in an amazing setting. Please ensure that you provide consent on the Compass Portal to secure your child’s place.
Giving Mass & Rainbow Awards
Next week, Thursday 7 December we will be holding our Giving Mass & Rainbow Awards in the Church. We will start with a Mass in the church at 9:30am followed by Rainbow Awards for Term 4. We will also farewell any staff leaving. Students are welcome to come dressed in Christmas t-shirts and clothes and all parents are welcome to attend.
End of Year Events
There are several events coming up at school which we will keep advertising via newsletter, Compass and Facebook. Updates and details will be provided on our website, Facebook and for specific events, teachers have sent home information on Compass.
Further Reminders:
We greatly appreciate families paying school fees to ensure we are up to date financially before the start of a new year. The preferred payment method is using your new BPAY details in the top right hand corner of your fee statement. Please contact Lynda if you have any questions/concerns.
Please let us know if you have had a change of circumstances and will not be returning to St Michael’s in 2023.
Thanks for your continued support!
Many blessings,
Bridgette McCann
Assistant Principal
Vinnies Christmas Hampers
A reminder that items for Christmas Hampers are due by Tuesday the 5th of December. Hampers will be blessed and presented at our Giving Mass on Thursday the 7th of November. If you are interested in other ways to assist, SVdP have other programs including The Giving Tree and the Vinnies Christmas Appeal. Thank you in advance for your generosity which will help provide relief for many families.
The Advent Season
As a Church family, we have a calendar of events and seasons. The Church year begins with Advent and ends with the feast of Christ the King. On the 26th of November we celebrate Christ the King and the 3rd of December will be the first Sunday of Advent.
Advent is a season of waiting and preparing for the coming of our Jesus Christ. Like Mary awaiting the birth of her son, we too await the coming of Jesus into our lives in a fresh and new way. It’s a time to prepare our hearts and minds to receive Jesus anew. Advent is followed by the Christmas season which is a time of joy and celebration of the birth of Jesus our Saviour.
Over the coming weeks the students will be learning about Advent through scripture, stories and songs. They will explore the meaning behind the Advent wreath and calendar, Jesse Tree and other Christmas traditions. Starting on Friday the 1st, the students will also be participating in Advent liturgies as part of their preparation for Christmas. The first two liturgies will be led by the Year 1/2 classes and the final two liturgies will be led by the 3/4 classes. All families are warmly invited to join us in the school hall. Please refer to the table below for dates and times.
Kindergarten Nativity - 11th December @ 9.15am
You are welcome to join us as our Kindergarten children lead the school in sharing the story of Jesus' birth.
Key RE Dates for Term 4
|
7 December 9:30am |
St Michael’s Giving Mass - Rainbow Awards Students are welcome to come dressed in Christmas t-shirts and clothes |
|
11 December 9:15am |
Kinder Nativity |
|
11 December 5:00pm |
Graduation Liturgy |
|
12 December 2:30pm |
Passing on of the Leadership Light |
|
1 December 9:00am 4 December 2:30pm 8 December 9:00am 13 December 9:00am |
Advent Liturgy One led by Year 1/2 followed by Assembly Advent Liturgy Two led by Year 1/2 Advent Liturgy Three led by Year 3/4 followed by Year 6 Assembly Advent Liturgy Four led by Year 3/4 |
All liturgies will be in the church except for the Advent liturgies which will be in the school hall.
For all Religious Education enquiries please email Erika Tokich at:
erika.tokich@cg.catholic.edu.au
Parish Sacramental Program 2024
2024 Parish Sacramental Program – for students who are baptised and in years 4-6 in 2024.
Information Session
An information session for the 2024 Sacramental Program will be held at 6pm on Thursday 8 February 2024 in St Michael’s Church, Kaleen.
If your child is baptised and will be in years 4-6 in 2024, please put this date in your diary.
Sacraments to be celebrated in 2024
Sacrament of Reconciliation - Term 1, 2024.
Sacrament of First Communion - Term 2, 2024.
Sacrament of Confirmation - Term 3, 2024.
For further Information – please contact the Sacramental Program Coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au or check the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
Congratulations
A very big congratulation to Mahli G (3/4O) who has just returned from the School Sport Australia Track & Field Championships in Tasmania.
Mahli came 3rd in the 10 years 200m and was awarded a bronze medal. There was just 0.20 seconds between gold and bronze! Mahli also placed 7th in the 800m event and 13th in the 1500m event.
Mahli had a jam-packed program, with minimal athletes competing across both sprints and middle-distance events. Mahli exceed her goals with PBs in all her events and had an amazing experience making friends from across Australia. She can't wait, if she gets the opportunity, to do it all again.
Well done, Mahli.
Mahli
Library News
Book Donation
Thank you to Fr. Mick for donating this book to our library!
Overdue Library Books
Erin Hardwicke
Congratulations to the following students who achieved a Harmony Award this week.
Well done!!
| KD | Thomas B |
| 1/2K | Felix w |
| 1/2T | Harriet S |
| 3/4B | Adeline B |
| 3/4O | Harry B |
| 5/6H | Landon A |
| 5/6M | Caitlyn H |
| 5/6S | Jahzara G |
Special wishes to those children who will celebrate their birthday this week:
| Madeleine B | 5/6H |
| Ellis L | 3/4O |
| Sofia B | 1/2K |
| Ella A | 5/6M |
| Finnlay B | 5/6H |
| Larisa I | 1/2T |
| Evie C | 3/4B |
