Dear Parents and Carers,

On behalf of our staff at St Michael’s Mittagong, I welcome all families back to school for 2023. I hope that you had a fantastic new year and holiday and that you had the opportunity to share many memorable moments with your children.

Welcome to our wonderful new families and staff who have joined our school community for the first time this year. I know that you will be kindly supported by our families and staff here at St Michaels. 

Our new students for this year are:

Kindergarten:  Leuen, Flynn, Benjamin, Ryan, Benji, Madelyn, Natalia, Maisie, Layla, Cassidy, Bianca, Lillian, Reid, Elena, Arden,  Evie, Arabella, Finn, Isaac, Elouise, Olivia, Phoenix, Cruze, Audrey, Ellouise, Sophia, Dallas, and Lucia

Year 1: Katherine

Year 3: Jack, Travis and Jacob

Year 4: Kiri

Year 6: Gabby

Our new staff members are:

Mr Liam Adams (Year 5 teacher) and Mrs Linda Francis (School Support Officer).

Thank you for joining our St Michael’s Primary school community.  

PHOTOS

Below is a gallery of photos containing each class on their first day of school. The students have settled in really well and have been very positive in their interactions with one another and in their learning experiences.

Kindergarten- Mrs Bourke-Nash and Mrs Janine Webb

Year 2- Mrs Anderson

Year 3- Mr Nash

Year 4- Mrs Williamson

Year 5- Mr Adams

Year 6- Mrs Mitchell and Mr Tuckwell.

PRAYER FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR

Lord, as we commence a new year at school, make us ready, attentive and available to hear you. 

Thank You for the gift of being able to rise each day with the assurance that You walk through it with us. 

Thank You for the gifts of creativity and uniqueness, and the energy to put them to good use. 

May all that we are today, all that we try to do today, may all our encounters, reflections, even the frustrations and failings, all be placed in your hands. 

May the work we do and the way we do it, bring new hope, new life, and courage to all we come in contact with this year.

We thank you, Lord.

Amen 

YEAR 6 LEADERSHIP ASSEMBLY and COMBINED SCHOOL BEGINNING OF SCHOOL YEAR MASS

This year, Fr Sean has asked that as a parish, we have a combined schools, Beginning of School Year Parish Mass, which will be held on Sunday 5 March at 5pm at  St Thomas Aquinas Church, Bowral. Students from St Thomas Aquinas, Bowral and St Michael's, Mittagong will be participating in this Mass. The parish extends a warm invitation to all our families to join together for our first celebration of the year. Our Combined Schools Liturgy group and Parish Youth Group will lead us in song. 

Students in Year 6 usually receive their leadership badges in our first Mass. As the Mass is now a combined Parish Mass, we have decided to do a very special liturgy at school for our students and their families, to recognise the role of leadership they will have in our St Michael's school. 

I invite all parents and family members of our Year 6 students to a Leadership Liturgy on Friday 17th February at 9am in the hall. Our school students will attend this liturgy as well. Following the liturgy we will have a morning tea for the Year 6 students and their families in our school library. 

We know this will be a truly special occasion for the Year 6 families and their Year 6 child.

Further information about the Combined Schools Mass will be given closer to the event. Please save the date (5th March at 5pm) in your calendars. It will be lovely to see as many families attend as possible. 

SAVE THE DATE- PARENT INFORMATION EVENINGS

Each year we hold a Parent Information Meeting for Year 1-6 early in the term. All parents are invited to attend. At this meeting, your child's class teacher will explain the curriculum highlights for the year and other areas pertaining to that class. It is important that at least one parent from each household attend these meetings.

The evening will be on MONDAY 20TH FEBRUARY. Please see below the times for the individual class meetings.

Year 1: 5:30pm-6:00pm

Year 2: 5:30pm-6:00pm

Year 3: 6:00pm-6:30pm

Year 4: 6:00pm-6:30pm

Year 5: (Mr Adams will meet with Year 5 parents on a later date as he will be on sick leave due to surgery at this time). Details have been sent to the Year 5 parents in regards to this. 

Year 6: 6:30pm-7:00pm

Kindergarten parents will be meeting with Mrs Bourke-Nash as part of Meet and Greet meetings. Further information about these meetings will be given to the Kindergarten parents in the near future. Thank you for your support of these valuable information sessions.

TERM 4 SWIMMING PROGRAM AND ST MICHAEL’S SWIMMING CARNIVAL

In Term 4, we hope (fingers crossed!!) to hold our swimming program for Kindergarten to Year 3. At the end of this program, we will run our 2023 St Michael’s Swimming Carnival. At that carnival in Term 4, non swimmers and competitive swimmers will have the chance to participate in skill related activities throughout the day. Competitive swimmers will then be selected from our swimming carnival, to represent our school in 2024. So basically, our swimming carnival is being moved to December and all opportunities will be available to the students similar to what usually has occurred prior to covid restrictions. Hopefully after having a swimming program, our junior students will be more confident to participate in the carnival at the end of the year. We are aware that due to covid restrictions and a decreased access to swimming coaches, a lot of our students have not had swimming lessons for a very long time. 

In Term 4, we are also booking into the NSW Surf Lifesaving program for Years 4 to Year 6, where the students have the opportunity to travel to Wollongong and be instructed by qualified surf lifesaving instructors on beach safety and in particular, how to be safe in rips. This has been a truly valuable program that we have run in the past and I know our students will benefit greatly from this opportunity to learn new skills.

ASSEMBLY

Our Friday afternoon assemblies will resume this week with Year 4 leading us in prayer. All families are welcome to attend. Assemblies start at 2:20pm generally unless otherwise notified. This year we are only having live assemblies at school and not online assemblies. There will be an online recap of events over a few weeks, that will be uploaded for you to view photos of the students participating in various school activities. I thank Mr Tuckwell for the amazing work he did in creating these online assemblies as a response to covid restrictions and for the future work he will be doing in creating the online video learning stories.

NAPLAN for Year  3 and Year 5 students is held this term commencing in Week 8 on Wednesday 15 March to Week 10 Monday 27 March. Parents who have students in Year 3 and Year 5 will receive information about NAPLAN at the parent evening on Monday 20th February

COMPASS

Just a reminder that COMPASS is our main point of contact from school. From time to time, staff may send you a news feed message in regards to something at school that you need to know. I have noticed that lately when I send out a news feed via a phone notification and email, the email has not been reaching our community until hours (or days) later. There must be a glitch in the system at the moment. Can I ask that you all check your phone notifications please, so that you get messages in a timely matter. 

Our main messaging will be via news feed this year, with a newsletter sent out when we have a lot of information. We have had positive feedback that parents like the short version of information that the news feed option gives and it also means that I can let you know information straight away, rather than having to wait until the next scheduled newsletter. When you do receive a newsletter, can you take some time to read it through, so you don’t miss out on important information, especially things sent to us from the Catholic Education Office or the community. 

Thank you for your wonderful support of our school community. 

I hope you have a  lovely week ahead.

Best wishes and God Bless

Katrina West

Important Dates

17^TH February           Year 6 Leadership Presentation and Year 6 and Parent morning Tea

21^st February            Caritas Launch

22^nd February          Ash Wednesday – Liturgy in the Hall

5^th March                  Corpus Christi Beginning of the School Year Combined Mass with St Thomas Aquinas

17^th March               St Patricks Day – Year 2 Fundraiser

19^th March               St Joseph’s Feast Day

27^th March               Year 3 – Fundraiser

A Student's Prayer for a New School Year

Lord Jesus,

I ask for Your help as I begin this new school year. Allow me to experience Your presence in the many blessings You put before me. Open my eyes to the new challenges and exciting opportunities that this new school year brings. Open my heart and mind to new friends and new teachers. Give me a generous spirit to be enthusiastic with my studies and courage to accept new opportunities. Help me to be attentive to my teachers and let me experience Your presence in my new friends. Jesus, inspire me to do my best this year!   

Amen

Thank You Year 6 2022

Year 6 2022 worked very hard to raise money to present the St Michael’s school community with a beautiful metal banner recognising our connection to the Sisters of Joseph. This beautiful metal cut out will be place just under the bulletin board at the entrance to our school during the coming year.

Staff Mass

On Friday the 27^th February staff from St Michael’s, St Thomas and St Paul’s gathered with the Parish to welcome a new teaching year. It was a lovely Mass lead with singing by Mrs Prentice. Thank you to Father Sean and everyone who attended

Whole School Masses

This year as part of connecting with the wider community all whole school Masses will be celebrated with Parish community. This is a great opportunity for both our Parish schools (St Michael’s and St Thomas) including the Liturgy group to connect with our Parish community Corpus Christie. Ours first combined celebration will be on Sunday the 5^th March at 5 pm. All are welcome to attend this wonderful celebration of starting the school year.

Mass Times at Corpus Christi Church

​Weekend Masses

• Saturday Vigil - 5:00pm
• Sunday - 8:00am 
• Sunday - 9:30am
• Sunday - 5:00pm

Weekday Masses

• Tuesday - 8:00am
• Wednesday - 8.00am
• Thursday - 8.00am
• Friday - 8:00am​

IMPORTANT DATES TERM 1-TERM 3

As it is the beginning of the school year, there are dates that still need to be finalised, however, please keep in mind these events for Term 1- Term 3. There will be additional dates to be added throughout the year, especially with P&F Meetings and P&F events to be decided.

First P&F Meeting for Term 1- Friday 24th February in the school library at 9am- ALL WELCOME

TERM 1

• FRIDAYS- Canteen will commence next week on Friday. Every Friday this year we will be opening the canteen at afternoon tea for students to purchase snack items if they wish. 
• Mon 20 Feb - Western Region Selection trials for swimming 
• Mon 20 Feb- Parent Information Evening Yrs 1,2,3,4,6
• Wed 22 Feb - Ash Wednesday- the students will participate in an Ash Wednesday Liturgy led by Fr Sean here at school during the day
• Mon 27 Feb - Year 3 Fundraiser (Shiny Shoes)
• Tues 28 Feb- SPLICED at Hartzer Park- Selected students in the SPLICED program will attend a meeting. More information to be given to those students at a later date.
• Wed 1 March - Western Region Swimming Carnival
• Fri 3 March - Netball, Rugby League, Hockey rep trials
• Sun 5 March - Beginning of Year Mass at St Thomas Aquinas Church Bowral - 5pm
• Wed 8th March - Football (soccer) rep trials
• Fri 10 March- SMM Cross Country in Alexandra Square TBC
• Wed 15 March- NAPLAN-Writing commences- NAPLAN 15 MARCH- 27 MARCH
• Fri 17 March - St Patrick’s Day Year 2 Fundraiser - Wear a touch of green
• Mon 20 March -(in lieu of 19th) St Joseph’s Day 
• Tues 21 March - Harmony Day
• Thur 6 Apr- Holy Thursday
• Thur 6 Apr- Last Day of term

TERM 2

• Mon 24 April - STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY
• Tues 25 April - ANZAC Day- Public Holiday
• Wed 26 April- STUDENTS RETURN 
• Wed 26 April- ANZAC liturgy
• Fri 28 April - Rugby rep trials
• Tues 2nd May - Dio Cross Country
• Fri 5 May - MacKillop winter trials (netball, rugby league . . . )
• Wed 10 May- Mother’s Day stall
• Fri 12th May - Canberra Excursion (Stage 3)
• Sun 14 May- Mother’s Day
• Thurs 18th May - Kindergarten Fundraiser  
• Tue 23 May- Caring for our Common Home -WEN day- some Year 6 students
• Fri 26 May - National Sorry Day
• Sat 27 May - 3 June - National Reconciliation Week
• Mon 5 Jun - World Environment Day
• Thur 8 Jun - Corpus Christi Feast Day- school has Mass with STA at Bowral
• Mon 12 June - King's Birthday Holiday
• Thurs 22 June - Netball Gala Day
• Wed 28th June - Year 4 Fundraiser
• Fri 30 June- Term 2 Finishes

TERM 3 GYMNASTICS EVERY THURSDAY

• Mon 17th July- STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY
• Tues 18 July STUDENTS RETURN 
• Wed 26 July - Year 6 Mass with Bishop Brian at STA  
• Wed 2nd Aug - Year 1 Fundraiser - Crazy socks
• Fri 4 Aug - West Region Athletics
• Fri 4 August- National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Day
• Tue 8 Aug - Mary MacKillop Feast Day (Liturgy and activities)
• Friday 11th Aug -  Kindergarten Botanic Gardens excursion
• Mon 21 Aug- G Day Asia Performance- K-6 in hall. 
• Tue 22 Aug - Book Week Parade
• Thu 24 Aug- Soccer Gala Day at Tahmoor
• Wed 30 Aug- Father’s Day Stall
• Book Fair Week 7
• Fri 1 Sept - World Day of Prayer for Creation
• Fri 1 Sept - G-Day
• Fri 20th October - Crazy Hair Day Year 6 Fundraiser
• Fri 29 Sept- Last Day of Term

ESAFETY ADVICE FOR PARENTS - THINKUKNOW PROGRAM

This week we have been focusing on safety with the internet. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are urging families to be proactive this school year and update the privacy settings on children’s devices to help prevent predators from contacting them online. 

The AFP-led ThinkUKnow program – Australia’s first and only nationally delivered, law enforcement-led online safety program – has produced guides for parents and carers.

• Gaming devices and what you need to know
• Parent and carer social media starter kit

For more information, visit https://thinkuknow.org.au

SAFER INTERNET DAY

Safer Internet Day is a global event that brings together communities, families, schools and organisations from more than 200 countries to help create safer online spaces.

This website, provided by the office of the eSafety Commissioner  contains further information - and various resources (including those intended for use in schools). 

Our school has been asked to share the following resources that might be of interest to you in regards to being aware of safety and internet use by your children. 

Cyber Security Resource

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Kids Cyber Security Checklist provides simple tips for primary school-aged children about the basic cyber security steps to stay secure online. The ACSC’s Kids Cyber Security Checklist is available at: https://www.cyber.gov.au/cyber-security-kids.

Use the ACSC’s learning resources

Help create a more secure online environment for children by sharing our easy-to-follow guides, including:

• Kid’s Cyber Security Checklist
  A one-page list of suggestions to enhance cybersecurity
• Cyber Security Instruction Manual
  A Kid’s Guide to Using the Internet Securely
• Cyber Security Poster for Kids
• Cyber Security colouring in sheet for Kids

What can you do?

The ACSC is encouraging Australian families to strengthen their children’s cyber security online by taking the following steps:

• Turn on automatic security updates on all devices to fix weaknesses.
• Activate multi-factor authentication to add multiple layers of protection.
• Regularly back up devices to help easily restore your files in the case your device is ever hacked, lost, stolen or damaged.
• Use strong passphrases to secure gaming, social media and all other accounts.
• Check settings and set portable devices to require parental approval before software is installed. Parental controls can also be used for this purpose.
• Report and recognise scams.

2023 SCHOOL FEE INFORMATION 

School fees for 2023 have now been invoiced and statements will be issued by the end of Week Two with annual or first instalment payment due on 28 February 2023. You may also view your school fee account in the Compass Parent Portal. 

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

 ▪ The invoicing of school fees and the distribution of school fee statements each month, is now a function carried out by the Catholic Education Office.

 ▪ Payment of fees, whether as an annual payment or payment by instalments is due on the date/s provided on your school fee statement. 

▪ If an amendment is made to your school fee account e.g. your child changes subjects in a secondary school, etc. you will be emailed a statement which will provide a new schedule of payments and due dates. Please review this schedule to make any changes to your payments that are necessary. 

REMINDERS FOR LATE PAYMENTS 

SMS and email reminders are automatically generated by our accounting software based on the number of days a payment is overdue and are distributed by the Catholic Education Office. For those families that may have difficulty in paying their school fees, these reminders may cause some distress. This is not our intention. Our intention is to support the collection of school fee accounts centrally and in so doing, alleviate some of the administrative work of our schools. 

SCHOOL FEE ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES 

Please note, despite the centralisation of various functions, your school/s will always be your point of contact for matters pertaining to fees. If you wish to discuss your school fee account, please contact your school office. The role of the Catholic Education Office is to action centralised tasks on behalf of schools.

IF YOU WISH TO PAY BY INSTALMENTS 

Many families have already elected to pay their school fees by instalments. If you wish to avail yourself of this option please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on your school’s website or at your school’s office. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at your school’s office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your account and a schedule of payments and due dates will be provided on your next school fee statement. Please note it is only necessary to complete this form once during the period of child/children’s enrolment unless you wish to amend your payment frequency. 

DIFFICULTY WITH PAYMENT

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we encourage you to contact the school in which your child/children are enrolled to discuss an arrangement that will assist you meet your commitments. This may include the completion of a Diocesan Application for Fee Concession which is available from the administration office of each school. Be reassured that your situation will be treated with strict confidentiality and respect for your circumstances. If you wish to submit an application, please do so at your child’s school. Please note, if you have children in more than one school, it will only be necessary to submit one application. For those families that received a Fee Concession in 2022, you will receive an email prior to your annual review date attaching a further Application for Fee Concession. You may also initiate an earlier review if you wish to do so by contacting your school office. 

For further information regarding school fees, please access the Diocesan School Fee Management Policy and Frequently Asked Questions which is available on your school’s website.

First P&F Meeting for Term 1- Friday 24th February in the school library at 9am- ALL WELCOME