Dear Parents,

I can hardly believe that we only have six weeks of this school year left. I am sure you  have seen amazing changes in your children over this past year. The past few weeks have been wonderful and we have been blessed as members of St Michaels Mittagong. Thank you to all those who have supported special days such as the P&F Colour Run, excursions and mission initiatives. I am so proud of the students and the caring and kind way they support each other. We have had many visitors from the Catholic Education Office this term and all have commended our students. This is a credit to the children themselves, to you as parents and to our wonderful staff here at St Michaels. 

EVENTS FOR THIS TERM

We have quite a few events happening in the coming weeks, so please mark your calendars. Details of those events are below: 

WEEK 4

8 Nov- Kindergarten 2025 Transition to School Program 1:45pm

8 Nov- Afternoon assembly 2:20pm 

WEEK 5

11 Nov- Remembrance Day 

12 Nov- Musica Viva- incursion K-6

13 Nov- 2025 Kindergarten Parent Orientation Meeting- (parents only) 9am

15Nov- Kindergarten 2025 Transition to School Program 1:45pm

WEEK 6

18 Nov- Chevalier Orientation Day- some Year 6 students

19 Nov- Hot Dog Day- Year 6 School Gift Fundraiser

22 Nov- Year 4,5,6 Sandon Point Surf Lifesaving skills excursion

22 Nov- Kindergarten 2025 Transition to School Program 1:45pm

22 Nov- Afternoon assembly 2:20pm (unless advised)

WEEK 7

24 Nov- First Holy Communion at St Thomas Aquinas Church

25 Nov- Liturgy Group Singing at Uniting Church Xmas Carols

29 Nov- Year 5 Fete-please send in any donations to the school office

WEEK 8

Start of St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal

3 Dec- Bowral High Orientation Day- some Year 6 students

3 Dec- Year 5 Leadership Day

4-6 Dec Year 6 Camp at Berry

6 Dec- Afternoon assembly 2:20pm (unless advised)

WEEK 9

11 Dec- Swimming event TBC

12 Dec- Transition to next year’s class in the afternoon

13 Dec- End of Year Whole School Mass at St Michael’s Church 9:15 am- all welcome, especially Year 6 parents

Morning Tea for parents after the Mass

13 Dec- Assembly at 2pm. Students will receive class certificates -parents welcome

WEEK 10

16 Dec- Christmas Concert and P&F BBQ at night

16 Dec- P&F Christmas Raffle Drawn at Christmas Concert

17 Dec- Talent Quest for students

18 Dec- Last day of school for students

19 Dec- Staff Development Day

20 Dec- Staff Development Day

REMEMBRANCE DAY 11 NOVEMBER 11 AM

Remembrance Day is a nationally recognised day of commemoration held each year on 11 November, when we pause for one minute of silence at 11 am to remember the service and sacrifice of all who gave their lives in wars, conflicts, and peace operations, and those who continue serving in our armed forces.   We also pray for healing and peace across our world today and into the future.  

On Monday 11 November at 11 am, St Michaels will join together in prayer and listen to the Last Post. This will be followed by a minute's silence, the Rouse and our National Anthem.

YEAR 5 EXCURSION

Last week, our Year 5 students were very fortunate to have visited Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney. Mary MacKillop Place is unique in Australia. The heart of this sacred site is the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel where the tomb of Saint Mary MacKillop is located. Today, the students visited the museum on site which celebrates the life, work and spirituality of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods. It was a special day.

KINDERGARTEN 2025 COHORT- PLAYGROUP

Last  Friday  we commenced the first of  our Kindergarten 2025 Playgoups. It was so wonderful to see all our new future students and their families. A big thank you to Mrs Bourke-Nash for all her preparation of these groups.

The next three playgroups will take place on the following afternoons.

Friday 8 Nov- 1:45-2:45 pm

Friday 15 Nov- 1:45-2:45 pm

Friday 22 Nov- 1:45-2:45 pm 

A reminder that we have our Orientation Meeting for all families with Kindergarten students 2025 next  Wednesday 13th November at 9am in the school hall. Details regarding that meeting have been emailed to those families. This is a parents only meeting. 

DONATIONS TO YEAR 5 FETE

HELP NEEDED

Every year, Year 5 organises a Fete which raises money to support worthwhile charities.  For many children, this is one of the highlights of the school year.

The Year 5 students are in the process of organising some fun and varied activities and games for the fete which we hope to take place on Friday 29th November (Week 7) between 11.50 am and 1:10 pm.

As we did the past four years, we are asking for some help with the ‘White elephant’ stall.  It would be appreciated if children across the school could donate to Year 5 any toys, games, books, dolls etc that you have at home and no longer really use or need.  If they are in reasonably good condition, we can sell them for a small cost to other children in the school.  Your child as well may be then able to buy something fun to bring home! 

 Students from Year 5 will visit each classroom from now on in the morning to collect donations.  We would really appreciate your help!  A successful stall will not only provide a lot of enjoyment for our children at St Michael’s, but also raise money for people who really need our help.

YEAR 6 SCHOOL GIFT

Each year, the students in Year 6 fundraise to purchase a leaving gift for the school from their class. This year, the students have been organising Hot Dog Days, to raise money for a fantastic secret gift. Today the students have sent home a flyer for their last hot dog day and they wanted to say thank you to all the families who have supported their fundraising. Thank you also to Mrs Mitchell who does all the shopping for these special days. 

CRAZY SOCK DAY- TUESDAY 5 NOVEMBER

This week students were encouraged to wear crazy socks to school with their school uniform to join in the fun to raise money for Catholic Missions, to support their Fundraising appeal. Thank you to our Year 1 students  and our Year 6 Mission team for organising this appeal.

PIZZA DAY

Thank you to our wonderful P&F for organising a Pizza lunch last week. It was a great initiative.

LEAVING FAMILIES

If you know that you will not be returning to St Michael’s next year or during next year, can you please let our school office know, as we are currently organising classes for 2025. If you know of any families that are considering an application to St Michaels, we do have a couple of classes with vacancies.  Enrolment application forms can be downloaded at https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/for-parents/enrolment/

CHANGE OF ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBERS AND PERSONAL INFORMATION

Just a reminder to please inform the school office if there are any changes to your telephone numbers, address details, work details or emergency contacts. This enables us to maintain accurate records so that parents can be contacted promptly, especially in the case of an emergency.

Thank you for your continued support of our school community

God Bless

Mrs Katrina West

Congratulations to Harper, Lexi, Lucijana and Macy from Year 2 who were selected for the Southwest Razorback Under 9 representative Oz tag team, which is a team that represents the Southern Highlands and Wollondilly regions.They are now training with their team until February where they will play in the State Cup.

What a great achievement girls

CHRISTMAS ART - Crazy Camel

Thank you to all those families who supported the Christmas fundraiser for children's art on card with Crazy Camel. Further details about collections will come in the future weeks.

PIZZA DAY

Thank you to the parents who helped with the pizza day. The students were very excited to have the opportunity for a yummy lunch. 

CHRISTMAS RAFFLE

Our annual Christmas Raffle will be going out soon. If anyone has contacts that could donate a prize to the raffle, can you please contact Melissa Bartolo or the school office. This will be greatly appreciated.