SCHOOL CLOSURE
Thank you to all our parents who supported the decision by the Catholic Education Office in consultation with the Rural Fire Brigade, to close the school today. If we hear of any additional warnings, we will keep you posted.

REFLECTION
With the fires across our beautiful country, there are many, many people our prayers need to be with this week. We remember all those families devastated by the bushfires and compounded by drought and the many, many brave people who are involved in fire and rescue, community support and wildlife rescue.

We pray:

God of life and strength,
our prayers today are where our hearts and minds
have been during these last days
and where they have so often been this season;
with those whose lives have been touched
in differing ways by the bushfires.

We pray for all those who have been affected;
and for those who have been killed.
We pray for those who have been injured and survived:
for physical and emotional trauma;
for the fear and helplessness experienced;

Let there be peace
Let there be hope
Let there be life 

We pray for those who have lost their home and property
or are facing such loss:
for those who have been forced to leave
their memories and belongings;
for the fear and disorientation of all involved;
Heal them from their memories.

Let there be peace
Let there be hope
Let there be life 

We pray for all involved in fighting the fire:
for our  Rural Fire Service and their leadership
and all those we know and those we do not know;
we pray for courage in a place of fear;
for new strength in the face of exhaustion;
for people who have travelled distances
in order to resource those who experience fatigue;

Let there be peace
Let there be hope
Let there be life

 We pray for all who offer support and care at this time:
for the various agencies, churches and community groups;
for disaster response chaplains;
for government services as they are activated;
for friends and neighbours, known and unknown;
for aiding recovery and providing a shoulder to cry on;
we give thanks too,
for the generosity of many, in small and large ways,
to those who are struggling.

Let there be peace
Let there be hope
Let there be life

We are mindful of the days, weeks and months ahead,
For many dangerous days yet to come,
for seasons of recovery and rebuilding,
of homes, farms, lives and communities;
we pray for strength, courage, patience and hope
as grieving continues,
as frustrations rise
and the inevitable new changes occur.

Let there be peace
Let there be hope
Let there be life 

Lord hear our prayers

Amen.
By Simon Hansford

SCHOOL AND PARISH MASS
Thank you to all those who celebrated with us our School and Parish Mass on Saturday evening. A big thank you to our Liturgy Group who sang so beautifully, especially our new Year 3 students. Thank you to all of the parents and grandparents who attended and to all our staff who were there to celebrate Mass together, led by our very special Parish Priest, Fr Sean.

A special thank you to Mrs Mitchell (Acting REC ) and Mr Tuckwell (Acting AP) who prepared the Mass and rehearsed our liturgy group. It was a joyous Mass and I thought to myself as I left to go home, “God would have been smiling!”

SPLICED RECOGNITION
This Thursday, 14 November at the Fraternity Club in Fairy Meadow, the Wollongong Catholic Education Office will acknowledge and celebrate the work of 91 students across the Diocese, who have been successful in the 2019 SPLICED Unit "The Good, the Beautiful, the True". Our Diocesan Director, Mr Peter Turner along with Mr John Charadia, Education Officer for Gifted Education , will launch a Book dedicated to the work of the students, along with a “The Good, the Beautiful, the True” Website and present certificates to those students who were recognised as highly commended in their tasks.

I am very proud to announce that 6 of those 91 students from 29 Primary schools have come from St Michael’s Mittagong. Throughout the year, I have worked with a group of students in the SPLICED program and the following students will be recognised this week at the launch:

Emily King, Year 3; Rylan Barry and Ava Morris, Year 4; Jacinta Taylor,
Mannat Kaur and Max Gardiner in Year 6.

Congratulations also to the following students who have created some amazing projects in the SPLICED program:

Micah Yap, Ruby Francis and India Meredith in Year 3; Skye Alexander
and Lucas Glasspool in Year 4; Tiana Gospel, Paige Alexander and
Jane Yap in Year 5; Alex Williamson, Nash Linsley, Stevie Blight and
Joshua Goodfellow in Year 6.

When all of the projects have been returned to us, we will have a mini exhibition in the hall for the school and community to view their works. I am very proud of them all.

ATTENDANCE
Just a reminder, that if you are planning to take your family on a holiday during the school term, can you let the school office know please. Currently our staff are conducting assessments and preparing for the many events to be conducted at the end of the year and we have found that there are students away. We understand that sometimes it is only possible for families to take holidays during in school term, however, there are forms that we need to sign for this to occur. Thanking you for your support in this matter.

CHANGE OF SCHOOL 2020
Please let us know if you are planning to move your child/children to a different school in 2020 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 2020.

KINDER PLAYGROUP
The Third Kinder Playgroup will take place this Friday at 2:20pm. Next Tuesday the 19th of November, there will be a Kinder 2020 Parent Meeting in the hall commencing at 9 am.

As per our tradition at St Michael’s School, the current Kinder parents have kindly volunteered to provide morning tea to welcome our new Kinder 2020 parents. Thank you to those who have returned notes offering to provide something for Morning Tea on the 19^th November.   If you are able to donate or provide something for morning tea and have not yet returned your note, please contact the office.

REMEMBRANCE DAY LITURGY
Yesterday we commemorated Remembrance Day with a special liturgy, led by Mrs Mitchell and some Year 3 students. Thank you to all our students who participated in this liturgy. A special mention needs to go to Dylan O’Brien who represented the Air League Brigade at the local Remembrance Day commemoration.

Have a lovely week.

Mrs Katrina West
Acting Principal

Listed below are some important school dates.  The school calendar is updated regularly and can be accessed via the school website and Compass parent portal.

HELP NEEDED - YEAR 5 MISSION FETE
Every year, Year 5 organise a Fete which raises money to support Maubara Orphanage (East Timor) as well as Sr Anna Warlow’s Indigenous Outreach Mission in Western Australia. 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 will take place on Friday 22nd November (Week 6) between 11.40 am and 1:10 pm.

As we did last year, we are asking for some help with the ‘White elephant’ stall. Our supply of items to sell at the moment is quite small. It would therefore be appreciated if children across the school could donate to Year 5 any toys, games, dolls etc that you have at home and no longer really use or need. If they are in a 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!

Year 5 children will bring a plastic tub to each classroom for 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.

School Fees
Please ensure that your school fee payments are up to date to have your school fees paid by Friday 6th December. Payment of school fees are part of your enrolment obligation and receiving these are imperative for the running of the school.  If you are having trouble paying your school fees, please contact the school office to make an appointment to see Mrs West.

A few Compass reminders:-

• All absences should  be entered on Compass by parents—please check for any outstanding absences needing explanation.
• Make sure you have notifications turned on for Compass in your phone settings.
• Full access to Compass parent portal on your phone or ipad can only be achieved by opening in your browser. To do this, open the Compass app
  on your device and click into the 3 horizontal lines that appear in the top left hand corner. Click on 'Open in Browser'. The Event alert should now
  be visible in your newsfeed. This is not an issue when using a desktop computer or laptop.

P&F Meeting –Friday 22nd November
The P&F final meeting for 2019 will take place at 1.40pm on Friday 22nd November.

At this meeting we discuss the funds raised in 2019, seek feedback on this year's events as well as discuss and plan our fundraising for 2020.

You are all invited to come.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrate a birthday this week:

Dani T