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- Important Dates & Events
- Principal's Page - Judy Egan
- Happy Birthday
- Harmony Awards
- Parish News
- Religious Education News - Erika Tokich
- AFL Paul Kelly Cup!
- Sport & Library News - Erin Hardwicke
- eSafety Parent Webinar!
- Kidsafe Youth Action Committee EOIs Open
- NCCD Information
- Story Dogs
- Lowes Sale!
- School Counsellor News
- Parentline!
- School Sport ACT - ACT Teams Selection - 2024
| Thursday 16 May | Athletics Carnival @ Merici College | |
| Friday 17 May | 2:15pm | Feast of Pentecost Liturgy & Awards in Church |
| Thursday 23 May | Belconnen Region Cross Country | |
| Friday 24 May | 5/6 Indigo Assembly | |
| Monday 27 May | Reconciliation Day Public Holiday | |
| Thursday 30 May | First Eucharist Retreat Day - Year 4 | |
| Thursday 30 May | 6:00pm | First Eucharist Parent Child Formation Evening |
| Friday 31 May | Assembly & Awards | |
Hats On!
Students are still expected to wear hats. Hats off is for June/July.
Dear Parents and Carers,
Last Thursday I was privileged to attend the Commissioning Mass for our Early Career Teachers 2024 at St Christopher’s Cathedral Manuka. We are very proud of Mr Connor Howland who is one of these early career teachers working with us at St Michael’s. Connor went through Catholic schooling in Canberra and has chosen teaching in Catholic Schools as his vocation. We are incredibly proud of Connor and sincerely welcome him as a valued member of Catholic Education at St Michael’s Kaleen.
Powerful Pets
Did you know: “Research has shown that simply patting a dog lowers the stress hormone cortisol, while the social interaction between people and their dogs increases levels of the feel-good hormone oxytocin (the same hormone that bonds mothers to babies). (John Hopkins Medical)
Last week many of our students enjoyed some ‘feel-good’ hormones, thank you Miss Sahariv and Raph!
Our Community Council met on Monday evening, please see the update in Community Council Corner. We are looking for helpers.
Tomorrow is our Athletics Carnival; we are very excited to be heading to Merici this year. Thank you to everyone involved especially Erin Hardwicke our Sports Lead. Thanks also to our parent volunteers and staff. It looks like we will have great weather!
Congratulations to our Year 5/6 AFL team and thanks to Nick Feeney and Danielle Madsen for a great day yesterday.
Thank you for your continued support, it is greatly appreciated. Please also find attached the Family Engagement with Faith-Term 2. A PDF developed and shared by Catholic School Parents.
Many blessings,
Judy Egan
Principal
Community Council Corner
Community Council met on Monday evening at the school. Thank you so much to all our parent helpers and volunteers for the number of recent events- Hot Cross Buns, Working Bee and Mother’s Day stall. Our next event this term is the School Disco-Thursday 20 June. Can you help? Please email or call the front office to assist.
Coming up in August- Our Parent Trivia Night. We are looking for a super-fabulous volunteer quizmaster- is that you? We have heard there are some amazing extroverts in our community- here’s your opportunity to excel! You can call us on (02) 62414022 or email us at office.stmichaelsps.@cg.catholic.edu.au
MONTHLY SCHOOL FEE STATEMENTS
(INCLUDING ACT BUILDING FUND AMOUNTS)
Please note Families who have a zero balance and no current transactions will not be issued a statement. Where we have received payments for School Fees since the last statement, a statement will be issued displaying the movement in their account.
BUILDING FUND OPT IN RESPONSES
Your continued support is important of the building fund as this funding is vital for the maintenance and upkeep of our school facilities.
Please read the following information:
- An email has been sent from donotreply-accounts@cg.catholic.edu.au email address. This is an authentic CECG email address and is not SPAM.
- The Opt-In email will be sent to both parents and take the option chosen by the first parent. Split families will receive separate emails for their portion of the split.
- Each family will be requested to either select “Yes” or “No” regarding their intention to contribute to the Building Fund.
- The amount and frequency will be locked to $210 per Term, however an additional area has been included that will enable a family to contribute an additional amount if they wish to do so.
- Families can amend the Receipt details if they are contributing, i.e., for tax purposes.
Special wishes to those children who will celebrate their birthday this week:
| Stuti S | 3/4Green |
| Carol G | 3/4Orange |
| Xanthia B | 5/6Indigo |
| Zoe E | 3/4Green |
Congratulations to the following students who achieved a Harmony Award this week.
Well done!!
| K Yellow | Sophie V |
| 1/2 Blue | Miah G |
| 1/2 Red | Eliza D |
| 3/4 Green | Aaliyah J |
| 3/4 Orange | Valentina C |
| 5/6 Indigo | Jayden R |
| 5/6 Pink | Hamish S |
Parish Sacramental Program 2024
2024 Parish Sacramental Program – for students who are baptised and in years 4-6 in 2024.
Sacrament of First Communion – will be celebrated during the four Parish weekend Masses on 15 and 16 June 2024.
Commitment Masses – Sacrament of First Communion – LAST WEEKEND
Students and parents must attend one of the weekend Masses at either St Monica’s Church (5pm 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 18 and Sunday 19 May
There will be no additional commitment masses beyond this date.
Trybooking – will open on Monday 20 May to book the Mass service for your child to celebrate the Sacrament (ie St Michael’s Church Kaleen on Sunday 16 June at 8am or 5.30pm OR St Monica’s Church Evatt on Saturday 15 June at 5pm or Sunday 16 June at 10am).
As these Masses will be regular Sunday Masses (includes parishoners) we will try to limit 20 candidates at each of the 4 Masses.
The TRYBOOKING links will be listed on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
Sacrament of Confirmation – will be celebrated on 17, 18, and 19 September. Registrations will open on 24 June 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
This coming Sunday the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Pentecost. At Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost marks the end of the Easter season and is often called the birthday of the church. It was from this event that Jesus commissioned His disciples to continue His work; to go and spread the good news and establish the Church. At Pentecost, we are also given the gift of Jesus’ Spirit. As Christians we are also called to carry on Jesus’ mission, being disciples and spreading the good news of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
As our theme for this year is ‘Come Holy Spirit’, Pentecost is an extra special celebration. Thank you to Mrs Jane McKeough who has been collaborating with our 5/6 leaders to create a Pentecost banner which symbolises the Holy Spirit as fire. It will be on display in the church along with another banner Mrs McKeough created. All are welcome to come and celebrate the Feast of Pentecost this Friday at 2:15 for a liturgy followed by awards.
Eucharist
This year the Year 4 students at St Michael’s and St Monica’s will be joining for a Eucharist Retreat Day on Thursday the 30th of May. The day will be an opportunity to understand more about Eucharist through Scripture and reflect on the importance of Eucharist in our lives. Whilst it is a special day that supports the children preparing for their First Communion, it is a retreat day for all students in Year 4. The retreat will take place during the usual school day at St Monica's Primary School in Evatt. Year 4 students will receive a note on Compass with further details.
Year 5 and 6 participated in the AFL Paul Kelly Cup yesterday. This competition is designed to engage and introduce primary school students both male and female to the game of Australian Football and participate in a fun and friendly environment. Our students played fairly and their teamwork was exceptional, encouraging each other and improving their skills throughout the day. Thank you very much to Nick Feeney for coaching and Mrs Madsen for managing the team. Overall our 5/6 team came third in the Competition.
Athletics Carnival Reminders – Tomorrow
Our athletics carnival will be held tomorrow, Thursday 16 May at Merici College. All students from K-6 will travel to and from the carnival via bus. Please see the Compass event for details about the day. Buses will depart at 9:15am. Students are encouraged to wear house colours.
There are still a few families who are yet to provide consent. Please provide consent via Compass as soon as possible. If consent is not provided, students are unable to attend the carnival. If you need assistance with Compass, please contact your child’s teacher.
A sausage sizzle $3 and fruit box $1 can be purchased on the day for lunch. All other food and drink (fruit break & recess) will need to be sent to school as usual.
Regional Cross Country
Thursday 23 May at Stromlo Forest Park, Dave McInnes Rd, Stromlo ACT. The program of events has been added to the ‘resources’ tab on Compass. Please meet Mrs Blakey and Mrs Hardwicke when you arrive to collect your competitor’s sticker.
Library
Indigenous Literacy Foundation
This year we will again support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) by hosting a Great Book Swap. The Great Book Swap will be held next term as part of our CBCA Book Week celebrations. To help make the day a success, we are asking each child to donate a book in good, second-hand quality. Books can be donated at any time this term and can be dropped at either the Front Office or given to your child’s teacher. On the day of the Great Book Swap each class will visit the book stall and be able to choose a book for a gold coin donation. All money raised will then be used by the ILF to purchase books for Indigenous children in remote communities. We hope you will help us to support this great initiative.
Erin Hardwicke
Library Teacher/Sports Lead
Please contact Bridgette McCann for more information: bridgette.mccann@cg.catholic.edu.au
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?