GOSPEL MESSAGE

THE PRESENTATION OF THE CHILD JESUS IN THE TEMPLE
LUKE 2: 22-40

The Gospel story presented this weekend at Mass, relates to Jesus and what others thought he would do when he grew up. Do you think Jesus, as a child, knew what he wanted to be? Other people knew, from the time of his birth, who he was and what he would become.

In the Bible, in the second chapter of Luke, we read about two prophets – people who, guided by God’s Spirit, anticipated that Jesus was a special leader. The first was a man named Simeon. When he saw the child, Jesus, he praised God because he knew he was seeing the Messiah, the one who came to bring God’s love to the world. The second prophet was a woman named Anna who also praised God because she recognized the child, Jesus, as the one who had been sent by God.

The story then tells us, “the child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him” (2:40).

This is what we want for every child; that they grow strong and be filled with wisdom to make good choices. Our students and children may not know what they want to be when they grow up, but know that God’s love, is upon each one of them and they have the support of their parents, teachers and mentors to help them on their life journey.

OUR TERM SO FAR…
Thank you to all of our wonderful parents and carers for helping the children return to school in such a happy and well organised way. The students and our staff have had a great start to the school year and all have settled in well to their new learning environments.

This Thursday, 6^th February, we welcome our new Kindergarten students. It has been lovely seeing each one of them visit our school over the past week, to complete Best Start with their teacher Mrs Bourke-Nash. All of our Kindergarten students are very excited to begin school. I am sure their families are very excited as well, to see their child start “Big School”. The Kinder students will meet Mrs Bourke-Nash in her classroom at 8.40am on Thursday.

ST MICHAEL’S VISION AND MISSION
Last year, our staff started the process, to review our school’s Vision and Mission statement. The purpose of this review is to ensure that everyone associated with the school has a clear understanding about its purpose and direction, so that it is able to provide the best possible Catholic education for our community.

We have been working with Mr Gary Quinn from the Catholic Education, Diocese of Wollongong. His role is with Adult Spiritual Formation for the Diocesan Schools. As part of this review, parents will be asked to complete a survey regarding our current Vision and Mission. Recognising the partnership between home and school, this survey is an opportunity for you to provide some feedback. I thank you in advance, for your interest in completing this survey. Later this week, you will be sent the link to the survey.

Our current School Vision and Mission Statement is:

Vision and Mission

Our Vision, inspired by St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, is that all children who leave our school:

• have a positive sense of community
• have an appreciation of, and respect for themselves as valuable people
• have respect for other people and the world in which they live
• have been given the opportunity to attain their academic potential
• are aware that learning is a life-long experience

Our Mission

Following the example of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, the Mission of our school community is to build a relationship with Jesus and live it in our values and relationships with each other.

OUR BEGINNING OF SCHOOL MASS
On Friday, 14^th February, we will be holding our Beginning of the 2020 School Year Mass at 9:30am in St Michael’s Church. We will be commissioning our Year 6 students in their leadership roles for this year. All parents and friends are welcome.

HEALTHY HAROLD
Healthy Harold! Life Education has been supporting the wellbeing of children for 40 years.  The big friendly mascot, Harold the giraffe, with the Life Education Facilitator, will be visiting St Michael's on this Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Life Education programs and sessions are linked to the PDHPE syllabus. All lessons are held in the Life Education Van at the School. Students in Years 1-6 will have the opportunity to visit the van with their class teacher.

We are excited for our visit!

OUR SCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL
Next Wednesday we have our school swimming carnival for Years 2-6.  Thank you to those who have already sent back your notes.

MEET AND GREET
On Wednesday 19^th February, we will hold our 2020 Meet and Greet meetings for Years 1-6. This is an opportunity for you to meet your child/children’s class teacher and learn about the various activities planned for their class.

Times for Meet and Greet

Year 1 and Year 2:     5:30-6:00pm

Year 3 and Year 4:     6:00-6:30pm

Year 5 and Year 6:     6:30-7:00pm

Thank you for your continued support of St Michael’s Mittagong.

WORLD READ ALOUD DAY

This Wednesday is World Read Aloud Day- a day to celebrate the unique ways reading aloud to another person can inspire others. Please find a link below for parents to find out ways our children can benefit from reading aloud and listening to stories.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Please remember to check the calendar on the newsletter each week so that you are aware of upcoming events. We try to give at least three weeks notice where possible. 

Our first assembly will be held this Friday at 2:30 in the hall.

P&F - THANK YOU
Late last year, Liz Martinovic decided to step down from her role on the P&F Committee.  I take this opportunity to thank Liz for all that she has done on behalf of the P&F and St Michael's.  We appreciate the many ways in which she has provided support to the School.  Amongst many things, a highlight would have to be the Colour Run held in 2018. 

I invite our school community to continue to support the P&F.  Nominations are now open for 2020 positions.  Further information is in the newsletter below.

We are grateful to all who offer to help, in any which way.

PARENT HANDBOOK
The parent handbook is available on our website which contains some useful information for both current and new families. The handbook can be found under About Us/Policies and Procedures/parent handbook.

Best wishes,
Mrs Katrina West
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.

Please see attached notices regarding changes to the Sheep and Dog Bus of an afternoon which we have received from Berrima Buslines.   The changes will come into effect on Monday 10th February.  In summary, students living in Willow Vale will now catch the Dog bus rather than the Sheep bus and kids living in Aylmerton will catch the Sheep bus rather than the Dog bus.

These changes are being made in an attempt to decrease the number of students on the Sheep bus in the afternoon.    Whilst we understand that this will not solve the issue completely, we are hoping this will ease the crowding on sheep bus.    We thank Berrima Buslines for their continued efforts to find a solution to the afternoon buses.

Term 1 2020

• Tuesday 4^th Feb - Reconciliation Meeting (for parents of enrolled children)
• Friday 14^th Feb – Whole School Mass (start of the year mass, 9:30 am)
• Friday 21^st Feb – Year 6 visit The Abbey
• Wednesday 26^th Feb – Ash Wednesday Mass
• Monday 2^nd – 6^th March – Catholic Schools Week
• Friday 6^th March – World Day of Prayer
• Thursday 19^th March – St Joseph’s Day
• Friday 20^th March – Year 6 visit The Abbey
• Thursday 9^th April – Holy Thursday
• Friday 10^th April – Good Friday

Whole School Mass
Welcome back to another school year. To celebrate our new school year, St Michael’s will have a Whole School Mass on Friday the 14^th of February at 9:30 am. It will be a wonderful way to celebrate returning to school.

Reconciliation Meeting tonight for parents of enrolled children in the Parish Hall at Bundaroo Street, Bowral. Reconciliation program will commence shortly after this meeting.

Rebecca Mitchell
REC

A reminder to return the signed Consent for Use of Student's Works/Images Form to the School.  

Unfortunately, if the form is not returned we are not able to display, publish, publically acknowledge or "use" any of your student's works or images. This includes but is not limited to our newsletter, social media, newspaper articles, or in school displays/Open Days/Showcases (eg SPLICED, Gday, Office Displays, assemblies), Diocesan publications or Catholic Education Office Publications.

The Canteen will be open Thursday and Friday this week.

Please find attached the new canteen menu.

School Zone Safety remains paramount for the safe travel of students to and from school.  Below is the updated information from Wingecarribee Shire Council that outlines enforceable school zone parking arrangements and infringement information for parents, carers, and teachers.

Further information can be found in the  ‘Keeping Our Kids Safe Around Schools’ below.

LOOP - order online 
LOOP is the Scholastic Book Club Linked Online Ordering & Payment platform for parents. It allows you to order and pay online via credit card, negating the need to return forms and cash to school. It also cuts out the middle man, so you can be assured that your order is exactly as you want it. No waiting for change or wondering if the order actually made it to the Book Club Organiser. You can order and pay for Scholastic Book Club by credit card by visiting the Scholastic website at  https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent.aspx or on the go with the app (available in Google Play and the App Store). More information here http://www.scholastic.com.au/schools/bookclub/assets/pdfs/toolkitpdfs/Loop%20registration.jpg
 
Returning members can jump straight into your login and order here https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Login.aspx

A very warm welcome to parents on behalf of the P&F. The P&F is the formal body for the engagement of parents in the life of the school. The P&F exists to:

• formally recognise the role that parents/carers play in the education of their children;
• provide a collaborative, accessible forum for parents to meet formally and regularly with school staff to discuss matters pertaining to the education of students;
• provide a parental perspective to assist the Principal in decision making;
• allow parents to be informed and educated about the faith-life and educational goals of the school;
• promote appropriate social contact among Parents & Friends;
• foster effective partnerships between parents, students, staff, Parish and Diocese; and
• to raise funds to provide resources to enrich the learning environment of the school.

St Michael's Parents and Friends Association (P&F) plays a vital part in supporting the school community. It is a forum for parents to contribute suggestions and ideas that assist the principal's role of building a welcoming and supportive community.

Rather than specific roles, the P&F is organised through a number of small working groups, each one managed by a Coordinator, who is supported by class representatives. The coordinators meet with the Principal and/or Assistant Principal as needed otherwise business arising will be agreed upon via email or P&F meeting.

Involvement in the P&F
These events would not happen without the help of volunteers. Every family at the school is automatically a part of the P&F and is invited to attend meetings, events and help where possible. The level of involvement in the P&F is up to the individual and can range from being a committee member, class coordinator, attending meetings, or helping out when there is an event on.

Every P&F fundraiser is run entirely by volunteers - from the big jobs of organising events, right down to baking cupcakes or manning a sausage sizzle for an hour. No amount of support is too great or small.

GET INVOLVED IN 2020
Many hands make light work, and we thank the many parents who have kindly offered their time to help out in any way.

This year we say farewell to Liz Martinovic who decided to resign from her position at the end of last year.    

The following positions are open in 2020:-

• Executive Committee Member
• Class Parent Representatives

Anyone can nominate for these roles and we encourage you to think about it and get involved! This is a great opportunity to become involved with the School.

If you are interested, please send an email to the P&F c/- info@smmdow.catholic.edu.au stating which role you wish to be considered for nomination.

Further information regarding the Catholic Education Office P&F can be found here DOW Link for-parents- pandf

St Michael's P&F Facebook
We are on facebook - click the link below.