Drama classes at St Michael's are held on a Tuesday at lunchtime, please contact Elizabeth McIntosh on 6255 9054 if you are interested.

Please note that due to the swimming carnival, next weeks class will be held on Friday at lunchtime.

IMPORTANT DATES & EVENTS

What a great start to Term 4!

Reading to Dogs Program 

This term we continue to partner with ACT Companion Dog Club as we continue to develop our 'Reading to Dogs Program'. We will be joined every Monday afternoon by a beautiful dog for some students to read a favourite book to. This is such a calming and engaging experience for students. If you would like your child to become involved, please email patrick.ellis@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Belconnen Community Service - BUNGEE Program 

This term we begin a partnership with Belconnen Community Services to run a Bungee Program. Bungee is an inclusive resilience building program that promotes emotional wellbeing through the arts. The program supports young people (aged 5-18) to participate in activities designed to build resilience, enhance well-being and social and emotional health. Bungee fosters a supportive environment that encourages participants to socially connect with others as well as develop new and existing artistic skills.

Bungee offers a suite of art based programs in schools and community settings. The program employs professional artists and support workers who develop a series of interactive, structured workshops that are tailored to the individual skill level, need and interest of the enrolled participants. The program offers weekly sessions and run over eight weeks in a school setting and nine weeks in the community settings.

This term we begin this program on a Thursday. Damien Webb will be overseeing this program in his role as Classroom Support Teacher.

Seasons for Growth 

This term, Jo Krippner will be returning and transitioning back into the Classroom Support Teacher role for 2019. As part of this role she will begin running Seasons for Growth sessions. The Seasons for Growth Children and Young People's Program strengthens the social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people who have experienced significant change or loss in their lives. There will be one Year 3/4 group participating in this program in Term 4. Further sessions will run during 2019. 

Sporting Events

The Catholic Schools Netball Carnival is on this Saturday 20 October. Good luck to our teams participating. Next Friday, 26 October, the Boorowa Netball and Touch Carnival is also on. Good luck to the teams participating and representing our school. Thank you to all the parents who are helping with coaching and managing teams and also to Erin Hardwicke for her organisation and preparation behind the scenes.

Catholic Mission Week 

Next week we celebrate Catholic Mission Week.

Catholic Mission is the international mission agency of the Catholic Church in Australia. Locally and globally, we answer the call to love God and to love our neighbour, and work to establish the Reign of God through building communities of missionary disciples who share their faith by proclaiming the Word, serving people in need, acting for justice and creation, and adopting child-focused, community-based development programs.

Reminders

A reminder to email through any requests regarding class placements for 2019. 

Please keep the money coming through for the upcoming Family Rainbow Walkathon and to return all permission notes. We are getting closer to the big day!

Playground

You will have noticed a few new additions in spaces across the school. The garden beds and sitting area outside the canteen have been upgraded to provide a safer and more comfortable space for students. A new ramp has been created at the entrance of the school which is more accessible compared to the side ramp. New blinds have been installed in the office and sick bay areas as well as the after school care room in the hall. Our stage in the hall has also had some repairs. We are waiting on installation on our new additions to the infants play equipment. Finally, a new permanent outdoor Ping Pong table has been set up on the playground. We look forward to playing some games with students and building up our skills.

Enjoy the week ahead.

Kind regards,

Pat Ellis

Principal

Congratulations to the following children who achieved a Harmony Award in Week 1 and will receive their award at tomorrow's assembly:

SOCKTOBER

October is celebrated as Catholic Mission Month in the Catholic Church. It is a time to pause and reflect on the important role missionaries have in our world. At St Michael’s we are focusing on learning more about Catholic Mission this month. Each class will be investigating what Catholic Mission does, especially in their focus country this year, Myanmar. Classes will also be writing letters to our partner school in Kenya. Thursday 25^th October will be our “Socktober” Day when everyone is invited to wear silly socks to school. This is a visual way of highlighting the valuable work done by Catholic Mission around the world. I look forward to seeing your most spectacular socks, worn in the most creative way next Thursday.

RECONCILIATION

A reminder of our upcoming events for those involved in preparing to receive their First Reconciliation this year:

 BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS – in our community

So far this year at St Michael’s we have explored building our relationships with ourselves, God and our families. This term we will investigate how we build and nurture positive relationships within our community. As a part of this focus we are establishing an ongoing relationship with a school in Kenya through Global School Partners. The school is the Jariah Education Centre in Kisii County, Kenya.  Jariah Education Centre was started by Jackson Onyonka because he saw a need for local children to have easier access to school, rather than having to walk a long distance. The school is in a rural and remote area, a long way from other infrastructure. The land is fertile, and many local people are subsistence farmers. Due to HIVAIDS many students are orphans or partial orphans (where one parent has died). The school commenced in 2010. We will be looking at practical ways to support this school as well as establish social connections with the staff and students. Mr Simon Carroll from Global School Partners will be at our Assembly this Friday to launch our partnership.

OUTDOOR TABLE TENNIS 
What a smashing hit the new outdoor table tennis table has been in the first few days of term! I’ve met my match with some of the students so I’ll need to be brushing up on my skills over the coming weeks. 

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS NETBALL CARNIVAL 
All players should have received a note with the draw and a map of the playing fields. The briefing session for coaches, managers and umpires is at 8:10am at the pavilion. We will have our school shade set up on site 25. Students are reminded to wear sports uniform. Playing bibs will be provided on the day. Please remember to bring hats, sun block and water. Looking forward to seeing you there and watching some great netball games. 

BOOROWA TOUCH & NETBALL CARNIVAL 26th OCTOBER 
Boorowa is rapidly approaching and next Friday will be here before we know it. Today we received the draws which are also available on the St Joseph’s Boorowa website. There are usually a few changes to the draw so the final note will come home on Monday next week. We are in desperate need of netball umpires and touch football referees. If you are able to help out please send me an email. 

K - 2 SWIMMING PROGRAM 
Notes are due back to school tomorrow. If you do not wish for your child to participate the permission note still needs to be returned. Your support with this is of great assistance to us. Please feel free to speak to me if you require any further information. 

SCHOOL SPORT ACT TRIALS
Please keep an eye on the School Sport ACT website www.schoolsportact.asn.au for upcoming trials. If you need any assistance registering your child please feel free to ask for assistance.

CONGRATULATIONS
Well done to Mischa 5/6B who competed at the Brindabella Eisteddfod which is a local and national dance competition. She placed first and second for her solo dances in the 10/u category.

Over the long weekend Will Z 5/6R and former St Michael’s student Kayla Arena attended the Mounted Games State Championships held at Cobargo. The Canberra Riding Club team received 8 ribbons in their 10 events. Due to such an outstanding effort the team received the position of Reserve Champions.  On the second day of competition they participated in Team Sporting. They were joined by Will’s sister Jessica also a former St Michael’s student. The team managed another two ribbons.

Special wishes to those children who celebrated their birthday in the holidays:

Madison 1/2F, Hamish KL, Brooke 5/6H & Beth 5/6H

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

Jett 3/4W, Harper 5/6R, Cameron 1/2F and Lilly 3/4YM

We hope you have a great day!!

Week 3

This week in Peer Support children will discuss skills and how to communicate their feelings and needs to others. The children will discuss skills they use when participating in a variety of activities. When children understand they already have many of the skills needed to succeed, they can feel more confident when trying something new. The children are asked to identify events which trigger different feelings. Encourage your child to remember the skills they have used in one activity when trying something new. Also encourage your child to communicate their feelings and needs.

Friday 19th October (Week 1)

9-11.30        YMCA

12.30-1.30   Jane

Friday 26th October (Week 2)

9-11.30       YMCA

12.30-1.30  Jane

Thank you for your assistance, all help is greatly appreciated.

ACTIVE STREETS PROGRAM

Late last year our school was selected to benefit from the Active Streets for Schools program over the next four years. Active Streets is an infrastructure program – supported by educational resources – to make it safer and easier to walk or ride to school.

More children walking or riding to school has numerous benefits, including increased health and wellbeing, less congestion and safer school communities. Some of the elements delivered through the program include:

• Infrastructure improvements around schools, for example new or improved footpaths, crossings, better signage or traffic calming measures (e.g. speed humps)
• Educational resources (including a map for each school)
• Wayfinding pavement stencils
• Promotion of part way drop off and collection points
• Communication materials

A key aspect of the program is engagement with school communities to tailor the program to suit our needs. In the coming weeks the school community will be invited to provide feedback about the school’s map and invited to participate in a survey, which will allow you to highlight potential infrastructure improvements around the school to support walking or riding to school. We encourage the school community to embrace this opportunity and engage in the program.  

More information is available on the Transport Canberra website.

CHESS!!
Learn to be a chess champion! Coaching for students at St Michael's Primary School (Kaleen, ACT) is held on Tuesdays from 1:20pm to 2:00pm, starting on 16 October 2018.

Learning and playing chess helps children develop their logical thinking and problem solving skills, improves their concentration and focus, while also being a great source of enjoyment.

Activities include group lessons on a demonstration chess board or interactive whiteboard, puzzle solving and fun practice games.

Students earn merit awards by making checkmates, or by displaying skills and positive qualities, which all good chess players strive to develop.

If your child is interested in taking part, you can collect an enrolment form from the school office, or email enrol@sydneyacademyofchess.com.au for a copy. For all enquiries, please contact Sydney Academy of Chess on (02) 9745 1170.

Playgroup is held on Wednesdays in Weeks 2 to 9 from 9am till 10.30am in the School hall.

It is for children ages 0-5 and their parents/carers.  Please contact Kylie Arena or Lisa Monro on 62414022.

Australian Girls Choir – November Open Day

Look no further than the Australian Girls Choir (AGC) because we encourage, challenge and inspire girls as they learn to sing, dance and perform. School aged girls are invited to come along to our Open Day on Sunday November 4 to try our fun and inclusive classes and learn more about being part of the AGC! Please contact us if you would like to attend the Open Day. Ph 1800 338 142 or email headoffice@asagroup.com.au