WEEK 9
Schools are often the hub of their community and St Michael’s Mittagong is no different. We have a very special community that genuinely cares about and looks out for each other and that is something we greatly value. I would like to thank all of the parents who have contacted our school recently, to say thank you for the support we are giving their children during this time. It is a really lovely message to receive and is definitely appreciated.

Our expert team of teachers are working very hard to ensure that we continue to provide quality learning and wellbeing programs for our students.

Following our Premier’s decision yesterday and decisions made from Catholic Schools NSW, we are currently trying to support our families as best as we can, especially with the home learning program. Our team of teachers have been and will continue to work on, the best course of action to ensure continued learning at home. You will have received yesterday, the home packs with a variety of resources that the students can do whilst they are at home, both digitally and in paper form. Your child’s class teacher will continue to keep in touch with their class via the various online platforms in place, such as GOOGLE classroom, Seesaw etc.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions regarding home learning. I will continue to advise you of developments as the school is informed. Please make sure that you have informed the office of your email addresses, if either you haven’t done so before, or there has been a change in email address. The same applies to contact phone numbers. It is important that we are able to contact you at all times, so that updated information can be given to you in a timely matter. Please check that your COMPASS App is updated so that you receive our COMPASS News Feed items. For urgent matters we will use both COMPASS and Schoolzine to get the message out, like we did last night.

“THERE……. WHERE YOU ARE…….. YOU WILL FIND GOD”

These beautiful words were written by Australia’s Saint… Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. She was referring to the hardships of the day and the blessing that God will always be with us, no matter what is going on in our lives. Today, with the many changes and uncertainties, it can be very reassuring to know that God is with us.

A PRAYER FOR THE WORLD

God of love and hope,
you made the world and care for all creation,
but the world feels strange right now.
The news is full of sad stories.
Some people are worried that they might get ill.
Others are anxious for their family and friends.
Be with them and help them to find peace.
We pray for the doctors and nurses and scientists,
and all who are working to discover the right medicines
to help those who are ill.
Thank you, that even in these anxious times,
you are with us.
Help us to put our trust in you and keep us safe.
Amen.

ASSEMBLIES THE ST MICHAEL’S MITTAGONG ONLINE WAY ‍
On Friday, we held a fantastic whole school assembly in a very different but fun way!!

We ran our assembly through ZOOM... online direct into the classrooms, and the students loved it 

Each class interacted with the assembly through smart boards and tv screens and the essence of our Friday Assemblies was still there. We have even set up our own “recording studio” for our ZOOM meetings. We had a “test run” on Thursday, streaming our St Joseph Feast Day through ZOOM into the classrooms as well.

Thank you to our Year 6 leaders, Brady and Dallas for leading us in the assembly; to Mrs Bourke-Nash and the students from K-6 who lead us in prayer; to all our special award students and to our Year 3 students who entertained us with their “SIZZLING STARTS” writing.

Well done to Mr Tuckwell and Mrs Mitchell for helping with the technology.... it was so good, we’ll definitely do it again.

To see a clip from this assembly, please go to our school Facebook page.

NAPLAN
Just a reminder that NAPLAN exams have been cancelled this year due to widespread disruption to schools caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

Term 1 2020

• Thursday 9^th April – Holy Thursday
• Friday 10^th April – Good Friday

Project Compassion
During this period of adjustment to our new model of learning, we are still able to support Project Compassion. Perhaps, if during your time at home, your child does do extra jobs, they could put a little aside and can bring into the office at the end of Term. We will ensure that donations are given to Caritas Australia. It is important for children to think of the needs of others especially during the season of Lent.

This is a story about Sakun, a 32-year-old Gond indigenous woman living in a village in central east India. She has a thriving small business and is actively involved in leadership and decision-making within her community. But this has not always been the case. Sakun developed polio as a child and now finds it difficult to walk. She lives with her sister in a rural area of Chhattisgarh, which is the poorest state in India. They belong to the Gond tribal community – a group who have long been disrespected and disregarded by the broader population. Being unmarried, poor, belonging to a tribal group and having a disability – Sakun has had to face more obstacles than most people. To say that life has been difficult is an understatement.

You can view more details on Sakun at https://lent.caritas.org.au/page/schools#blank

PARISH NEWS

Parish Fundraising 
To help fund our projects for this year (and beyond) eg. Awnings outside both churches, a “MEGA RAFFLE” has been launched.  First prize is a HONDAJAZZ, valued at over $20,000 (supplied by Southern Highlands Motor Group).  Tickets on sale now, $10.00 per ticket. Tickets can be purchased via https://www.raffletix.com.au/ccsh.  The raffle will be drawn later on in the year. Thank you for your continual support in this challenging time.

Although there are no Parish Masses at the moment, information from the Parish can be found at https://www.ccsh.org.au/

Rebecca Mitchell
REC

SUMMARY OF DIRECTIVES

1.   No regular class teaching. Children who need to come to school will be supervised throughout the day as they complete their learning and not necessarily by their class teacher.  

2.  We encourage you to keep your children at home unless you need to work away from home and there is no one at home to look after your child.

3.  If you work in essential services and work part time, please only send your child to school on the day you work.

4.  All updates will be made via the Compass Parent Portal and Schoolzine app.

5.  Once work is developed, the same work is available for students at home or at school.  If you have not already done so, please arrange to collect your child's Learning From Home resource pack from the school office.  If you are unable to attend the office, please call the school and we will arrange for the pack to be posted to you.

6.  No canteen or student banking until further notice.

7.  No music, drama or sport lessons.

8.  For those children who will be attending school, we ask that for the safety of our children and staff, that you drop off and collect your child at the school gate.  Please do not enter the school site except via the office.

PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS
An important part of our school’s reporting process are Parent/Teacher interviews at which the teachers will be able to discuss in detail your child’s progress.

Years 2-6 - These interviews will be held during Week 10.  Bookings are now open.  A reminder that there will be no face to face parent/teacher interviews.  All interviews will be conducted over the phone.  Please book in your time via the Compass Parent Portal.

The NSW Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) will take place again this year.   Please keep encouraging your children to participate in the Premier's Reading Challenge.   You can download and print the reading log by clicking the link below. 

If you do not have access to a printer, please keep a note of Challenge books read (title and author) and drop them in to the school office.  

The final day for student entries is Friday 28 August.  Start reading and start recording! 

Mrs Linda Sewell

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

Amos M and Ava F