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- Important Dates & Events
- Principal's Page - Judy Egan
- Happy Birthday
- Rostrum Public Speaking Finals!
- Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week
- Parish News
- The Resilience Project!
- World Environment Day!
- Religious Education News - Erika Tokich
- Sport & Library News - Erin Hardwicke
- NCCD Information
- Kidsafe Youth Action Committee EOIs Open
- Story Dogs
- Parentline!
- School Sport ACT - ACT Teams Selection - 2024
| Thursday 30 May | First Eucharist Retreat Day - Year 4 | |
| Thursday 30 May | 6:00pm | First Eucharist Parent Child Formation Evening |
| Friday 31 May | 2:15pm | Assembly & Awards |
| Wednesday 5 June | World Environment Day | |
| Monday 10 June | King's Birthday Public Holiday | |
| Friday 14 June | 2:15pm | Assembly & Awards |
| 15 & 16 June | Sacrament of First Eucharist | |
| Thursday 20 June | School Disco | |
Hats On!
Students are still expected to wear hats. Hats off is for June/July.
Dear Parents and Carers,
Congratulations to our students in 5/6 who took part in Rostrum Speaking on Friday last week. Public speaking is a great skill and certainly not one that comes easily to many of us. Congratulations to our speakers who will go on to represent St Michael’s at the next level.
Well done also to our students and teachers who attended the Belconnen Cross Country Carnival last Thursday. The weather was picturesque, and the students were a credit to themselves and our school.
Playground Upgrades
We have been working with CECG to ensure that we maintain our beautiful grounds and environment at St Michael’s. This past week teams have been adding crusher dust to update playground spaces and lifting and repairing concrete sections outside the junior toilet block.
The team will be re-painting the rainbow which will make a huge difference to refresh and revitalise these areas. I am grateful to the CECG team for supporting us to ensure our students play and learn in well-kept and pleasant environments.
National Reconciliation Week
Thank you to Danielle Madsen our Aboriginal Contact Teacher and Jane McKeough for their amazing work with all students this week to raise awareness of Reconciliation through Art and Culture. More photos are attached.
Upcoming Events
Our next event for students is our School Disco which will be held on Thursday 20 June.
Please save the date and keep an eye out for information around the event. We are very grateful to our Fundraising Working Group for their planning and involvement.
Thank you to all our families who continue to support our school and community.
Many blessings,
Judy Egan
Principal
Special wishes to those children who will celebrate their birthday this week:
| Ivy-Rose G | 1/2 Red |
| Lillian B | 3/4 Green |
Congratulations to Xanthia (5/6I), Alexander (5/6I), Annika (5/6P) and Isabella (5/6P) who spoke in our school's rostrum public speaking finals. You each spoke with such enthusiasm and should be extremely proud of your efforts.
Congratulations to Alexander who will be representing our school at the next level. We wish him the best of luck!
National Sorry Day is held each year on Sunday 26 May to remember the Stolen Generation. To acknowledge this imp
ortant day, our students decorated a hand using Aboriginal symbols and colours, which was then placed on a large Aboriginal Flag. This week is also Reconciliation week which is held from 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two milestones in the reconciliation journey: the successful 1967 Referendum and the High Court Mabo decision. Students have been engaged in activities to learn more about these significant events, and in Art lessons with Mrs McKeough they have created artworks inspired by contemporary Aboriginal artists and used the technique of dot painting to paint Australian animals, emu eggs and boomerangs.
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.
Please arrive at the Church at least 15 minutes early so that Mass can begin on time.
Sacrament of Confirmation – will be celebrated on 17, 18, and 19 September. Registrations will open on 24 June 2024 via the parish Qkr! app.
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
Part 3: Empathy & Kindness
This next presentation from The Resilience Project is all about Empathy and Kindness.
Empathy is our ability to put ourselves in the shoes of others to feel and see what they do. We practise this through being kind and compassionate towards other people.
Brain imaging data shows that being kind to others registers in the brain as more like eating chocolate than like fulfilling an obligation to do what’s right (e.g., eating brussel sprouts)!
Research shows that practising empathy, such as performing acts of kindness, taps into our brain’s ‘mirror neurons’, builds compassion and our behaviour becomes more social and community-based.
View Part 3 of the series here:
Part 3 - Empathy: https://theresilienceproject.com.au/2023-parent-carer-hub-inspire-hugh/
Here’s an activity to practise empathy and kindness:
- Reflect on someone in your life who could benefit from an act of kindness today. It could be a friend who would love some affirmation about their work, your pet who deserves an extra treat, or a family member who would love a phone call or text message.
- Make a plan for who you are going to give an act of kindness to, and what you are going to do.
- If you want to add accountability to your plan, share it with someone else and encourage them to do the same thing.
- Follow up with each other in a few days time, to ask how it went!
Sources: Psychology Today, UC Berkeley, Greater Good Science
For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page.
Shianne Sahariv
Classroom Teacher
World Environment Day, held annually on 5 June, brings together millions of people from across the globe, engaging them in the effort to protect and restore the Earth.
This year’s World Environment Day campaign focuses on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.
Next Wednesday, we will be having “Nude Food Wednesday.” We highly encourage students to bring unpackaged food to reduce the amount of rubbish and so that we can collect and feed the worms the compost. Students will also explore and participate in sustainability activities in class.
Any questions regarding this day can be forwarded to Miss Sahariv: shianne.sahariv@cg.catholic.edu.au
Catholic Calendar
As a Church family, we have a Catholic Liturgical Calendar of events and seasons. The Church year begins with Advent. Easter is the high point and the year ends with the feast of Christ the King. This Sunday we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi (the Holy Body and Blood of Christ) and then we move into Ordinary Time. The name Ordinary Time comes from the Latin word ordinalis which refers to the order and ongoing nature of the season. The liturgical colour assigned to Ordinary Time is green; a colour associated with growth, hope and new life. During this season, Gospel readings around the life and teachings of Christ are read during liturgies which assist our understanding of how to be followers of Jesus.
Tomorrow the Year 4 students at St Michael’s and St Monica’s will be joining for a Eucharist Retreat Day at St Monica’s School Evatt. The day will focus on learning more about Eucharist through Scripture and reflect on the importance of Eucharist in our lives. Over the coming weeks the Eucharist candidates will be visiting other classes in the school for prayer and share what they have learnt about Eucharist. The Sacrament will be celebrated on the weekend of the 15/16th of June. Please continue to keep our candidates in your thoughts and prayers.
Congratulations to all our students who took park in the Belconnen Region Cross Country at Stromlo last Thursday. Many personal bests were achieved, and our students were a credit to our school in the way they represented themselves on the day. We wish Mahli (5/6P) all the best as she goes on to compete at the ACT Championships.
OzTag Coaches Needed
We are looking for a 5/6 boys Oz Tag coach and two 3/4 girls coaches. If you are able to help please reach out.
Belconnen Region Athletics
The Belconnen Region Athletics Carnival will be held on 20 August at the AIS. All students, aged 8 year and older, who came first or second in their event at our school athletics carnival, will be eligible to represent our school at the regional carnival. The event as well as further information will be available on Compass early next term.
Boorowa Touch Football and Netball Carnival
The Boorowa Touch Football and Netball Carnival will be held on Friday 25 October (Term 4, Week 2). We are in the early stages of determining interest and numbers of teams we will enter. Please note that Boorowa is 1.5 hrs from Canberra and parents need to make their own arrangements for transport to and from the venue. The carnival is open to students in Years 3-6.
Book Fair – Week 9 & 10
We are very excited to have our book fair at the end of this term. This year our book fair is with Lamont Books and all purchases support our school through a rewards scheme which allows us to purchase new books for our library. We would love to see you at the fair!
Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge
A reminder that the challenge officially concludes at the end of this term. Our school prize draw will take place on the last day of term. Be sure to put your completed challenge forms in the barrel in the library.
The Great Book Swap
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.
Book Covering
There are some new books in the library ready for covering. If you are able to help with this please reach out.
Erin Hardwicke
Library Teacher / Sports Lead
Please contact Bridgette McCann for more information: bridgette.mccann@cg.catholic.edu.au
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?