WELCOME TO TERM 2 WEEK 8 NEWSLETTER
Last Sunday was the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, meaning the “Body of Christ” in Latin. The feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ provides an opportunity for the Church to focus on Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist, which Pope Francis said satisfies the deepest desires of our hearts.

“The Lord, offering himself to us in the simplicity of bread, also invites us not to waste our lives in chasing the myriad illusions that we think we cannot do without, yet that leave us empty within,” Pope Francis said this weekend.

“The Eucharist satisfies our hunger for material things and kindles our desire to serve. It raises us from our comfortable and lazy lifestyle and reminds us that we are not only mouths to be fed, but also his hands, to be used to help feed others.”

“We would like to go back and change the past, but we cannot,” he said. “God, however, can heal these wounds by placing within our memory a greater love: his own love.”

“It is especially urgent now to take care of those who hunger for food and for dignity, of those without work and those who struggle to carry on. And this we must do in a real way, as real as the Bread that Jesus gives us,” he said.

“This is the strength of the Eucharist, which transforms us into bringers of God, bringers of joy, not negativity,” Pope Francis said.

A message from the Gospel this week is that in the Eucharist, Jesus draws close to us: let us not turn away from those around us.

Thank you for being a community who cares for one another.

CEO - ADVICE FOR SCHOOLS REGARDING THE NEED FOR MEDICAL CLEARANCE FOR STUDENTS RETURNING TO SCHOOL
We have been advised from the Catholic Education Office, that if any student does not attend school because they are unwell, they are required to provide medical clearance before returning. This includes:

1. When a student issent home from school unwell they are required to provide medical clearance before returning to the school site;
2. When a student proactively stays home because of illness(i.e. they are recorded as 'sick', 'cold', 'runny nose', 'sniffles'),  they are required to provide medical clearance before returning to school.  

This is a directive from the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong and is the current procedure in all Diocesan schools, after seeking advice from the NSW Health Department. We thank you for your understanding.

Yesterday we shared with you the important update regarding changes to school activities now and in Term 3. We are committed to reintroducing these activities safely and in line with health authority guidelines. You will receive further communication related to the activities as they are reintroduced. The following activities are allowed from Monday 15 June 2020:

• School assemblies and liturgies (not Eucharistic celebrations), limited to 15 minutes. Unfortunately at this stage we are not able to host external visitors, including parents, at assemblies.
• School photos (students only, there will be no group staff photos). Our school photos have been booked for Term 4.
• Choirs and performing arts. This will be within the school only at this point, with no inter-school activities.
• Day field trips to outdoor locations with no physical distancing requirements. We are currently booking excursions for each of our classes. We will let you know the dates and locations for these excursions as soon as possible.
• Incursions/external adult providers at the school to support delivery of curriculum. (All external visitors to the school must maintain physical distancing and hygiene requirements and complete a declaration form, which will be provided by the school). We are currently confirming our Gymnastrix Program to commence in Term 3. The children will be very excited that they can participate in this great program.

The CEDoW COVID-19 website aims to provide clear and accurate messaging for our school communities about all Diocesan procedures regarding CEDoW COVID-19 measures. A link to the COVID-19 Information Centre has been placed on our school website home page. It is also available on the CEDoW website. You can access the site from this link.

https://www.dow.catholic.edu.au/about-us/general-news/covid-19-information-centre

NAIDOC WEEK
At St Michael’s we are going to commence our recognition of NAIDOC Week, in Week 9. Some classes have linked with the Wingecarribee Shire Council to support their art activities for NAIDOC week. Our whole school will be participating in an art activity involving painting throughout next week, so I am suggesting that if your child does not have an art shirt at school at the moment, can they bring one in by next Monday. An old business shirt or adult size t-shirt make great art shirts, as they cover most of the uniform. We will be using washable paint; however, it would be great if their uniforms remained clean.

Each child will need 2 disposable plastic or styrofoam cups for the artwork. Thank you for your support of our NAIDOC week activity.

SCHOOL DRIVE SUBSIDY
We are aware that some of our families live in more remote areas and would like to inform you of a benefit that you may qualify for. The NSW Government provides a payment called “The School Drive Subsidy” to families of school aged children who live in an area that is not serviced by public transport.   The subsidy exists to reimburse parents for driving an eligible student all or part of the way to school.

According to information found on the Transport NSW website: https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/#/schoolDriveSubsidy   students from K-6 will be eligible if the distance from their home address to either school (or the nearest public transport pick up point) is at least 2.3 km walking distance (or 1.6 km straight line distance).

Most of our families will live in suburban areas where public transport does service a point less than 2.3 km walking distance from the home address, and therefore not qualify for the subsidy, however some of our families living in more remote locations may wish to investigate the conditions further.

The subsidy is only intended to partly offset the cost of using a private vehicle to drive the eligible student and is not intended to cover all costs. Once a distance has been determined through the application process, currently the rate of payment per trip is $0.69 per kilometre for travel by car. Students in Yr 7-12 can also be covered by the subsidy, however the walking / travelling distance to be eligible is slightly further than a primary school aged student.

Further details and an application form can be sourced on the above mentioned website.

FAMILY PHOTOS
If you haven’t already done so, can you please send in a family photo for our FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY wall. We would like to create a photo wall in our school foyer, recognising all our great families that make up our school community of St Michael’s Mittagong.

Thank you for your continued support of our school community.

May you have a wonderful week.

Best wishes and God Bless,
Mrs Katrina West
Principal

Ripples PODCAST

Throughout COVID 19 the Catholic Education Office has been creating ways to assist not only staff, but families as well. Ripples is a PODCAST developed for staff and parents on-going spiritual formation. It seeks to offer a space where people can draw on the wisdom of a series of guest speakers and can experience some treasured stillness through meditation. Practices like these create a ripple effect. They have the potential to impact the way we respond to family, friends, colleagues, to creation and to our loving God. Come and enjoy some Inspired Voices and Treasured Stillness. Please click on the link to access

https://sites.google.com/dow.catholic.edu.au/clem-spiritual-formation/spiritual-formation/parents

St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal
The St Vincent de Paul Society was founded by a 20 year old student named Frederic Ozanam in 1833. It was established by like minded individuals who wished to put their faith into action. This compassionate outlook, enthusiasm and vision continues today in Australia. There are thousands of people who, every day share their time, care for humanity and energy to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged people all around Australia.

On Friday, 3^rd July (last day of term) St Michael’s will be having a food drive for St Vincent De Paul. Each student is asked to bring in non–perishable food items to support people in our local community who need help this winter. Students who bring in items are able to wear Mufti clothes to school on that day. Each class will be given a suggested list of items.

*These are only suggestions and are not limited to these items. Please make sure that all items are non-perishable.

K	1	2	3
Tins of: Bake Beans Spaghetti 2 minute Noodles	Tins of: Soup Stews	Tins of: Tuna/fish Meats (spam	Packets or tins of Pasta Gluten Free Pasta Flavoured Pasta
4	5	6
Tin Vegetables Carrots Peas tomatoes Corn etc…..	Long life Milk: Almond Full cream Lactose Free Soy	Tins of Fruit: Fruit salad Apricots Apples Coffee & Tea

Refugee Week

Refugee Week commences on the 14^th – 20^th June. The theme of Refugee week 2020, is “A Year of Welcome”. Welcome is about generosity, opening our arms and our houses to friends and strangers, feeding the hungry and avoiding the temptation to shut the door.

This year we have celebrated the generosity of people who have kept welcoming strangers – opening their hearts, homes, cattle feed and purses to families made homeless by the Bushfires and more recently, the generosity of health workers in Australia and elsewhere who have risked their own health to help strangers.

We have seen, too, the goodness of people who have built laughter and friendship in local communities, and particularly befriended elderly people in nursing homes. They have opened doors in a world that has closed so many doors.

Let us celebrate by thinking of the all the ways we have welcomed those around us, just like Jesus taught us to do. 

First Reconciliation
Congratulation to students at St Michael’s who have made their First Reconciliation last week and over the coming weeks. We are very proud of you making this important step in the commitment to your faith.

Mass
Registration for all weekend Masses are still required at this stage. Registration for Mass will available online from 7.00 a.m. on Monday 15 June, 2020. Please click on the following link www.ccsh.org.au. Please do not just “turn up” as you are only allowed to attend Mass if you have registered

There are NSW Government and Diocesan directives which have to be followed. Most of the government ones are known to you, but a couple of diocesan ones will feel very strange to us. For example, congregational singing is prohibited; Holy Communion will be distributed only on the hand and the Precious Blood will cease to be offered from the chalice; no physical touching at the sign of peace; collection plates will no longer be passed through the Church. 

All of these conditions are contained in the directives which are available on our parish website and the diocese of Wollongong website.

As you enter and leave the Church, there will be baskets clearly marked first and second collection. Please give generously, and thank you to those who have continued to donate while we have been in lockdown. Direct debit is the easiest way to contribute to the income of the parish. If you would like to join, please contact the office.

Mass and liturgy services will continue to be posted online through the Parish YouTube channel. I encourage you to still participate in Mass by viewing them online.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7S6wrESEOUqrF9Ppp7mDvg

Please remember that all Masses will be celebrated at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, because of the social distancing requirements. We are fortunate that we have a Church which will easily accommodate 50 worshippers and even 100 when restrictions further ease.

Mass times this coming weekend:

Vigil Mass (20 June)            5.00 p.m.

Sunday 21 June                   8.00 a.m.

                                              9.30 a.m.

                                            11.00 a.m.

                                            12.30 noon

                                              5.00 p.m.

Parish Fundraising
“MEGA RAFFLE” tickets can still be purchased.  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.

Rebecca Mitchell
REC

ENTERING STUDENT ABSENCES
Compass has been reactivated to allow parents to explain their child's absence from school.  When completing this in Compass, please ensure that ALL fields are completed.  Please type the reason your child is away in details/comment box, it is important that the school is aware of the reason, particularly at this time.

Premiers' Reading Challenge: 
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. 

The final day for student entries is Friday 28 August.  

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

India M and Frankie B.