A Message Of Thanks
Thank you to Fr Sean, the staff, students and parents of St Michael’s Primary, for all of the wonderful support that you have given to me over these past 18 months. I am truly blessed to be working with you all  as part of  this very special St Michael’s Catholic School community. 

Today it has been announced that I will be able to continue this journey with you and your children, in my role as Principal. I am very excited to see what 2021 will bring. Already this past week, we have welcomed  to our school, our new Kindergarten students and their families. The excitement they showed as they embarked on their first steps in their educational journey was certainly so beautiful to see. Watching them reminded me of a special note we gave to our current 2020 children’s parents at the beginning of this year and I thought I would share these thoughts with you, as this message reflects my feeling about learning at St Michaels. 

“I promise you every day

Your child will learn something

Some days they will bring it home in their hands

Some day they will bring it home in their heads 

And some days they will bring it home in their hearts".

My promise to the students of St Michaels, is that they will learn in a variety of ways, something new each day. My promise to the staff of St Michaels, is that I will help enable them to have the skills and opportunities for this learning to occur. And my promise to myself, is that I will be open to listen with my heart, create with my hands and mind and continue to grow as a lifelong learner.  Working together, with the guidance of our faith in God and in one another, we will continue to enable all of our community to flourish in this new world that has been created for us in 2020- embracing the past and looking forward to new beginnings. Please know that I am always here for you. 

Pope Francis relaunches the Global Compact on Education
Pope Francis recently relaunched the Global Compact on Education, appealing to every sector of society around the world to subscribe to, and provide, support. The Pope made the appeal in a video message during a virtual event at Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University.

The initiative promotes the values of care for others, peace, justice, goodness, beauty, acceptance and fraternity in order to build hope, solidarity and harmony everywhere. In his message, Pope Francis drew attention to the challenges and adverse effects of the COVID-19 crisis on educational systems worldwide.

He noted that online educational platforms have brought to light a marked disparity in educational and technological opportunities, forcing some 10 million children to leave school, apart from the already over 250 million school-age children excluded from all educational activities.

In a video message the Pope said that education is above all a matter of love and responsibility handed from one generation to the next. 

"Education is meant to be transformative," 

"To educate is always an act of hope, it should open up new horizons in which hospitality, intergenerational solidarity and the value of transcendence give birth to a new culture.”

"The education process should help respond to today’s challenges and problems and find solutions to the needs of every generation.

"This will help contribute to the flourishing of humanity now and in the future," Pope Francis said. 

He said the Global Compact on Education is "to ensure that everyone has access to a quality education consonant with the dignity of the human person and our common vocation to fraternity".

First Holy Communion
Congratulations to our students who made their First Holy Communion on Sunday as part of our Parish Sacramental Program. Both of the Masses were very special as they were a special celebration of love for one another. Love that the families show in coming together to celebrate an important moment in their child’s faith journey and the love that Jesus gives all of us, through the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Thank you in particular to Fr Sean, Mrs Mitchell, Mrs Moroney and Miss Abotomey for preparing the children. A very special thanks to all the children who recorded their singing for both the Communion and Confirmation Masses. 

Advent
This coming weekend we commence the season of Advent. Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year. It is the four weeks before Christmas. It is a time of preparation and waiting for Christmas and a time to help one another. At this present time, our school is collecting food items for the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. If you can help by providing food, can these items be brought into school this week please. 

Welcome To Our School
This week we welcome another family to our school. Welcome to Faith in Year 1 and Vincenzo in Year 2. We were very excited to see you join our St Michael’s Primary School community. Thank you to our Year 1 and Year 2 students who have made Faith and Vincenzo’s start to our school, such a special one. 

Leaving Families
Please let us know if you are planning to move your child/children to a different school in 2021 as soon as possible, as we have had quite a few enquiries over the past weeks for new enrolments and we need to gauge an idea of class sizes for 2021.

Bush Fire Emergency Procedures
In the event of a Bush Fire two options for action are available to the ‘Person in Charge’. The implementation of these options will be dependent on the predicted weather conditions such as the temperature, humidity and wind conditions as well as advice from the NSW Rural Fire Service. At all times the students, staff and parents/visitors safety will be paramount.

1. School Closure Procedure
School Closure Procedures will be invoked upon notification from the CEO. A decision to close the school is likely to occur outside of school hours and so it is important that parents/carers and staff listen to the local ABC radio and check www.nswrfs.gov.au

If a decision is taken to pre-emptively close a school because of an emergency situation, it is vital that communication with families is effective and timely, so they can make arrangements for their children to be supervised by an adult if they are not able to be at school. Please ensure that your emergency contact details are up to date via Compass.

2. Bushfire Evacuation Procedure
If conditions prevent staff, students and visitors leaving the school site safely due to insufficient time or unsafe conditions the ‘Bushfire Evacuation’ procedures will be invoked. Bushfire Evacuation procedures will be invoked if there is an immediate level of risk as a result of a Bush Fire alert. In this instance, all students, staff and visitors will be located to a central and relatively fire-safe building in the school premises to increase ease of protection. This will be known as the ‘Bushfire Evacuation’.

At St Michael’s School Mittagong the ‘Bushfire Evacuation’ is the current School Hall.

Have a lovely week everyone,
Take care and God Bless
Katrina West