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- Important Dates & Events
- Principal's Page - Judy Egan
- Happy Birthday
- Harmony Awards
- Parish News
- Religious Education News - Erika Tokich
- Library & Sport News - Erin Hardwicke
- Indonesian News!
- Out of School Hours Care Provider for St Michael’s in 2024
- School Counsellor News
- School Sport ACT - ACT Teams Selection - 2024
- School Hats For Sale
| Important Dates & Reminders | Time | Event |
| Tuesday 20 February | 9.30am | Whole School Opening Mass @ Church |
| 28 Feb- 1 March | Year 5/6 Camp | |
| Friday 22 March | School Photos |
Dear Parents and Carers,
It was wonderful to see so many families at our Meet n Greet last night. Thank you so much to all our staff helpers who assisted in the cooking, serving and supervision and to our fantastic teachers who have worked hard to ensure your children have a great start to the year. If you were unable to attend and would like to join the parents who have volunteered for working groups, they are listed below, we’d love to hear from you if you are keen to assist. You can join a group by emailing the front office with your details. (office.stmichaelsps@cg.catholic.edu.au)
Sports Pastoral Care
Fundraising Parent Engagement
Maintenance Canteen
Today we celebrate Mass together at St. Michael’s Church to mark the beginning of Lent.
Lent is an opportunity to take stock and make some positive changes, to be more and grow more in our relationship with Jesus. Joan Chittister Benedictine nun, theologian, and author has some great insights;
Lent is a call to weep for what we could have been and are not. Lent is the grace to grieve for what we should have done and did not. Lent is the opportunity to change what we ought to change but have not. Lent is not about penance. Lent is about becoming, doing, and changing whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of life in us right now. Lent is a summons to live anew.
The first challenge of Lent is to open ourselves to life. When we "rend our hearts" we break them open to things we are refusing for some warped reason to even consider.
We have refused for years, perhaps, to even think about renewing old commitments that we've allowed to go to dust—spending time with the children, visiting our parents, exercising, taking time to read good books. We've closed our minds, maybe, to the thought of reconciling with old friends whom we have hurt. We've refused to put the effort into reviving old spiritual practices like visits to church, meditation in the morning.. Lent is the time to let life in again. A Summons to Live Anew: Lent 2024, by Joan Chittister
Happy Valentine’s Day
Did you know St. Valentine was a Roman priest and martyr in the 3rd Century who celebrated secret weddings against the wishes of authorities? This Valentine’s Day is a chance to celebrate and recognise those we love. This doesn’t have to cost anything- a simple hug and a kind act can mean so much during a busy day.
Thank you for your continued support.
Many Blessings
Judy Egan
Principal
NAPLAN 2024
Special wishes to those children who will celebrate their birthday this week:
| Lydia W | 5/6 Pink |
| Logan W | 5/6 Indigo |
| Florentina K | 1/2 Red |
| Peltsho C | 5/6 Indigo |
| Gursirat K | 3/4 Orange |
| Lucas V | 5/6 Pink |
Congratulations to the following students who achieved a Harmony Award this week.
Well done!!
| KYellow | Sofia L |
| 1/2Blue | Valentina E |
| 1/2Red | Xavier K |
| 3/4Green | Anthia D |
| 3/4Orange | Maria C |
| 5/6Indigo | Charlotte M |
| 5/6Pink | Isabella P |
Parish Sacramental Program 2024
2024 Parish Sacramental Program – for students who are baptised and in years 4-6 in 2024.
Sacraments to be celebrated in 2024
Sacrament of Reconciliation – will be celebrated during term 1 on:
Tuesday 2 April in St Michael’s Church, Kaleen;
Wednesday 3 April in St Monica’s Church, Evatt; and
Thursday 4 April in St Monica’s Church, Evatt.
Registrations open this coming Monday, 19 February via the parish Qkr! app.
Registration for the Sacrament must be made via the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Qkr! App (NOT the school app).
If you are registering more than 1 child you will need to fully complete and pay for each separate registration.
No late registrations will be accepted after the closing date.
Sacrament of First Communion - will be celebrated across the four Sunday Parish Masses on the weekend of 15 and 16 June.
Sacrament of Confirmation – will be celebrated on 17, 18, and 19 September.
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
Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of prayer, almsgiving and fasting. This holy day is observed by Catholics as well as other Christians around the world. During Mass a cross is marked on peoples’ foreheads using the blessed ashes from the burned Palm Sunday branches from the previous year. Everyone is welcome, no matter their faith to receive the blessed ashes. This cross signed in ash on foreheads reminds people of their mortality and symbolizes the dust from which God made us. Ash Wednesday marks the start of our 40 day Lenten Journey. The time during Lent prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Project Compassion
The beginning of Lent also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. Every dollar raised, helps change the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
The theme of Project Compassion 2024 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good we do today extends to impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues. We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent by almsgiving in support of Project Compassion. This week each family will receive a Project Compassion money box for their donations or you can donate online via the St Michael’s Kaleen Caritas Australia website at:
https://schools.projectcompassion.org.au/o/st-michaels-primary-school-kaleen
Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Chief Minister’s Reading Competition
The Chief Minister’s reading competition has started! This year’s competition will conclude on the last day of Term 2.
Remember to put all completed challenge forms into the barrel in the library. Prizes will be drawn at the conclusion of the challenge.
Volunteers Needed
Thank you to the 7 parents and grandparents who have kindly offered to cover books! We are very appreciative of your time and assistance.
If there are any parents who can assist with covering library books, we would love to hear from you. We have over 500 new books that are ready to be covered so as they can be added to the library collection for students to borrow. Please see Mrs Hardwicke if you are able to help.
Swimming Carnival - Thursday 7 March, Stromlo Leisure Centre
There are still quite a few families who have not returned consent/nomination forms on Compass. Please be reminded to complete these by today. If you require assistance with this please contact your child's teacher. Thank you to the families who have already returned the forms.
Thank you to the 15 parents who have kindly offered to volunteer on the day! Information will be send home to volunteers in the next week or so with information for the day.
Information was sent home via Compass last Monday. Please accept or decline your child's attendance by the due date. To nominate your child to their events please complete the questions on the Compass event. We are looking for assistance on the day from parents who are able to assist as time keepers or supervision at the splash park. We would greatly appreciate your help as we cannot run our carnivals without assistance from our families.
Gymnastics Clinics
We will be running gymnastics clinics for all classes from K-6 in weeks 7, 8, 9 & 10.
We were fortunate to receive a Sporting Schools grant for this term and this will be used to cover the costs of the program. Looking forward to seeing the students learning some new skills and having fun with the coaches from Canberra City Gymnastics Club.
Cross Country – Save the date
Our Cross Country will be held on Tuesday 9 April.
Erin Hardwicke
Community Services #1 are pleased to announce that we will be the Out of School Hours Care Provider for St Michael’s in 2024.
Information about our service
Daily session fees and opening hours:
Before School Care: 7.00am-8.45am - $27.00 per session * - includes breakfast
After School Care: 3.00pm-6.00pm - $41.00 per session * – includes afternoon tea and a late snack after 5pm
* Session fees are calculated before the Child Care Subsidy is applied.
Program:
Children have access to a wide range of resources such as sports equipment, board games, construction, art and craft, books, small world, dramatic play and loose parts. Experiences planned by and with the children are run each session as well as spontaneous experiences based on children’s interests on the day.
Expressions of interest and more information
If you would like to submit an expression of interest for care in 2024 or have any questions, please email stmichaels@communityservices1.org and you will be sent through information regarding enrolment.
We look forward to meeting you next year.
Regards,
Emily
|
Emily Richardson Operations Director – Early Childhood Education and Care Head Office: 1800 960 938 PO Box 7, Narrabundah ACT 2604 |
My name is Jo, and I am happy to be back as the School Counsellor at St Michaels in 2024.
I have a psychology and counselling background and I have a great passion in working with young people. I feel it is a great privilege to be able to support them with their growth, emotions, relationships, and any other concerns they might be experiencing.
The school counselling program is a first port of call in supporting your child’s mental wellbeing within the school environment. I am able to provide short-term counselling intervention sessions over a few weeks and provide support and guidance in accessing external services if required. Feel free to touch base with any questions or concerns relating to the counselling service at your school, happy to chat through the program and the support I can offer in this role. I am at the school on a Monday each week.
If you would like to make a referral for your child, please use the link below to access the form – once the referral has been put through, I will be in touch as soon as possible.
https://catholiccare.force.com/housing/s/school-referral-form
I look forward to working with you and your school throughout 2024!
School Sport ACT - ACT Teams Selection - Important Information
Please see the School Sport ACT webpage http://www.schoolsportaustralia.edu.au/stateterritory-school-sport-offices/school-sport-act/ or Facebook page for the most up to date information.
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 fee payment via credit card will be required.
- Go to the School Sport ACT website – www.schoolsportact.asn.au
- Click Register (top right corner of homepage) for an Account – enter parent details and password
- 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.
- Click Log In (top right hand corner of home page) enter password then click on top tab My Profile
- You will see a ‘dashboard’ of your information, click green box to Add Student – enter student and medical details and save.
- Go to the Sports Tab – choose your specific sport, click on Trial Information box then click on the Register to Trial link.
- 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?
