Principal's Message
ADVENT WEEK 2
The readings of the Second Week of Advent have two things in common. They recognise the need for hope and peace in the world and the importance of St John the Baptist, in the life of Jesus.
The second candle of our Advent Wreath is the candle of John the Baptist who remembered Isaiah’s prophecy of PEACE. “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given and his name shall be called wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Let us remember that Jesus is our peace. His peace is deep within us, reaches out to friends and strangers and brings justice to our world.
An Advent Blessing
May love come alive within your heart
As Christmas time draws near
May hope fill each room you decorate
And bring joy to those you hold dear
May peace be before you at every meal
And faith ring through every song
For Christ is alive, the light of the world
May He bless you all season long.
HAPPY MISS “O” DAY
What a fantastic day we had last Friday! It was a true testament to a wonderful teacher Shan O’Brien, affectionately known as Miss O, who is retiring after 34 years teaching at St Michael’s Mittagong. Our special day was known as “O Day” and all things during the day related to the letter “O”. We all came to school wearing orange coloured clothes and we started the day with a special liturgy for Miss 0.
Following the Liturgy, Year 6 lead us in the “O” Games, providing lots of fun for the whole school.. but before we could begin... Miss O needed to start the games by hitting the “O” piñata. Lots of fun entailed.
We celebrated afternoon tea with donuts for all the students and staff and finished the day with a wonderful assembly that was attended by past and present students and parents.
On Monday 16th December, we will celebrate Miss O’s retirement at our Christmas Carols. All are welcome to attend.
What a special teacher and a great lady. Thank you to all who helped make “O” Day so special.
RETIREMENT OF OUR DIRECTOR MR PETER TURNER
Today, the staff of the Catholic Education Office along with the Principals of our Diocesan Schools, met at the Catholic Education Office to say thank you to our Director Mr Peter Turner and welcome to our Diocese, our new Director of Schools, Mr Peter Hill. Peter Hill has over 30 year’s experience working in Catholic Education and is currently Director Employee Services and a member of the Catholic Education Leadership Team in the Archdiocese of Brisbane, a position he has held since 2011. Prior to this appointment Peter was Executive Director of Schools for the Diocese of Bathurst. He has also held the role of Executive Director Mission Leadership with Mater Health Services and as a Principal in a Brisbane Catholic school.
Sadly, we will be saying goodbye to our wonderful Director of Schools, Mr Peter Turner. Peter is retiring at the end of January and will be very missed by all who have had the privilege to work with him. Our Diocesan formal farewell will occur this Thursday during the Farewell Mass for Peter. Student representatives from Year 5, along with some staff members and myself, will be attending this Mass in Wollongong, on our school community’s behalf. I take this opportunity to thank Peter for all of his guidance and the special connections he made with all who met him. We wish Peter a wonderful and fulfilling retirement.
APPOINTMENT OF THE DIRECTOR OF SCHOOLS IN THE DIOCESE OF WOLLONGONG
YEAR 6 CAMP
We wish Year 6 a wonderful camp this week. Year 6 will be attending a three day camp in Berry with Miss O’Brien, Miss Moroney and Miss Brown. We thank our wonderful staff for guiding the students throughout their time at camp. We appreciate the time and support they are giving to our fantastic students.
SURF LIFESAVING DAY TODAY
Whilst I am writing this newsletter, our staff and students from Years 4, 5 and 6 are happily enjoying a day at the beach and learning very important surf lifesaving skills. Thank you to the organisers of the day, for the time and preparation they give to support our students with these very important skills.
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Time is fast approaching to the end of the year and our St Michael’s Christmas Concert will soon be here. I take this opportunity to invite all families and friends of our school community, both past and present, to attend this wonderful evening. The P&F will be conducting a sausage sizzle from 5:30pm. It’s definitely a night not to be missed!
HELPER THANK YOU MORNING TEA
If you have not already done so, please return your RSVP to the school office for the helper thank you morning tea. We hope you are able to join us.
END OF YEAR REMINDERS:-
Wednesday 11th - Friday 13th December
Year 6 Camp
Monday 16th December
End of Year Awards (Kinder - Yr 5) 9.15am-10.15am
P&F Sausage Sizzle/Stall 5.30pm
Christmas Concert 6.30pm
Tuesday 17th December
End of Year Mass 9.30am
Year 6 awards to follow at end of Mass
Helpers Thank You Morning Tea 11am
Wednesday 18th December
Last day of school for students and staff.
Have a lovely week.
Mrs Katrina West
Acting Principal