WELCOME TO OUR TERM 3 WEEK 4 NEWSLETTER

FEAST DAY OF ST MARY OF THE CROSS MACKILLOP
Every morning, our school community prays our school prayer. It is simple, yet very meaningful, and gives light to the traditions of our school. It guides us all to think about ways we can show kindness to others throughout our day. Our school prayer is the Prayer to St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

This prayer is inspired by the history of our school.The Sisters of St Joseph, led by Mary MacKillop (now known as St Mary of the Cross MacKillop) started our school here in 1891. Our school was just a small community in 1891, yet the foundations the Sisters of St Joseph created are instilled today in our school community. 

Mary MacKillop wrote extensively about her life and the many people that she met and cared for. Her love for God and his people was also evident in her writings. One of the most memorable quotes of Mary is “Never see a need without doing something about it”. At St Michaels, we try to embrace this idea of acting upon the needs we see and it is very evident in the way the children are keen to help others, to show kindness to others and to do what they can, to help people in our community. Last week, members from St Vincent de Paul were so thankful for the generous donations our families gave to the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. This is just one example of how we can continue to honour the mission of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in helping others and showing care for each other. 

On Monday, our school will participate in a Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross Liturgy. Later in the day, the students will “go back in time” and play games and participate in craft activities and lessons, similar to the games and lessons the students encountered in the early days of our school. Our Feast Day is certainly a day that the students look forward to each year. 

Let us take a moment to think about the message of hope that we can embrace from Mary MacKillop….

Dear God,

Thank you for the life of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
She showed us that in the  struggles and hard times of our lives
You are there..
Loving us..
Helping us..
Let us be inspired by Mary’s love for all people
To live our day
In love and care for all.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop
Pray for us.

NATIONAL ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER CHILDREN'S DAY

Today is National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day. Children’s Day is celebrated across the country each year on the 4th of August. It is a time to celebrate the strengths and culture of the children and a time to show our support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families.

The theme for National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day 2021 is:

Proud in culture, strong in spirit

Let us celebrate together the wonder, love and spirit children can bring to all our communities. We hope all communities across Australia have a wonderful day celebrating. For more information please visit
https://aboriginalchildrensday.com.au/what-is-childrens-day/

THANK YOU

To our parents, families and friends,

Thank you so much for the kind and generous support you have given towards our Mini-Olympics Day fundraiser. The children and staff had a wonderful day and really entered into the spirit of the Olympics by trying their best as a team member and having fun in the many activities provided. 

As mentioned last week, the sponsorship of students raised approximately $5800 and with additional donations from a couple of parents, which is greatly appreciated, we were able to purchase two SMART TV’s and the stands they require. These tv’s will go into the Year 2 and Year 5 classrooms. When staff at our Catholic Education Office heard about the terrific support from our school community, they also contributed by endorsing the purchase of a SMART TV for our Creative Arts Room which will benefit all K-6 students during activities in Drama, Music and Dance. Thank you everyone, for making this valuable contribution to our school. 

CHANGES TO DATES
Due to Covid restrictions and the current lockdown of Greater Sydney, we have been asked to either postpone or cancel some of the events that were to occur this term. We will always inform you of these dates in advance via COMPASS. It is important that all families read the COMPASS notifications and our school newsletter, in order to take note of any changes. We appreciate your support of this. In our ADMINISTRATION section of this newsletter, there are updates to events that have either been postponed or cancelled. We thank you for your understanding. 

BOOK WEEK PARADE
On Wednesday 25th August, the students will participate in our BOOK WEEK PARADE. I know they are already getting excited about it and thinking of costumes they could wear. We are all very aware of the financial constraints at the moment. The staff are emphasising to the students that they can come as any character and for the students to use clothing items they may have at home to create their costumes. 

The theme is Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds, which is a great theme, as any character you think of, can come from one of the worlds. They could be:  

• Pirates (wear rolled up jeans, t-shirt and a scarf around the head)
• Sports people (the children could wear their sporting gear such as cricket, soccer, footy) 
• People from the olden days (the children could wear their costume from last year’s Olden Day)
• Space people (think Star Wars items they may have at home- eg Luke Skywalker’s outfit can be a karate uniform)
• Heroes (costumes they had for our heroes day) 
• Animals (onesies costumes)
• Princesses (princess costumes from home, dresses with scarves for their heads or capes)
• Harry Potter/wizard/witches/
• Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz (jeans, flannelette shirt, hat and straw
• Woody and Jessie from Toy Story (jeans, hat, vest)
• Minnie or Mickey mouse- red and black clothes with ears attached to a headband
• Dr Seuss characters all wear clothing you could have at home 

I hope these few ideas help. The main point of the day is a celebration of stories… that reading is fun and enjoyable and that books can take you to places you have never been.  THE STUDENTS WILL WEAR THEIR COSTUMES TO  SCHOOL THAT DAY. 

PANDEMIC FATIGUE - CARE FOR YOURSELF AND THOSE AROUND YOU
Everybody is experiencing pandemic fatigue differently. Some of us may not even be aware it is affecting us. It is important to be aware of pandemic fatigue in ourselves and in those around us, so we can take proactive opportunities to maintain our wellbeing

The National Mental Health Commission has developed resources to help individuals lookout for some of the signs of fatigue, and shares steps that people can take to be kind to themselves and overcome these feelings.

While we can all experience pandemic fatigue in different ways, it is possible to counter its effects. Look out for some of these signs in yourself and those around you and take practical steps to be kind to yourself, stay connected, check in with each other, and seek professional support when needed.

If you are concerned that a member of your family or a friend is showing signs of pandemic fatigue, take time to check in with them and see what support they may need.

There are a number of services that you can refer them to including:

• Beyond Blue Support Services (1 300 224 363)
• Lifeline (13 11 14),
• Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Services: 1800 512 348
• Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800
• www.headtohealth.gov.au
•  or their GP. 

These services provide an opportunity to talk things through, confidentially with a mental health specialist and may assist them in relieving built-up emotional pressure, clearing the way forward to focus on self-care strategies.

God bless
Mrs Katrina West
Principal