This is the last newsletter for 2021. The last week has been a very busy one but the students have remained very settled and learning, along with Christmas craft, has continued to be the main focus. Today the student reports will be available through Compass from 4pm. The report format is similar to the Semester 1 reports from last year. Religious Education, Mathematics and English are reported on, focusing on some specific areas covered during remote learning and the last six weeks at school. The use of the Common Grade Scale (A-E) has been replaced in most schools around the country by a ‘participation’ guide. The general comment remains the same. This is a temporary format for this year only and in 2022,  schools around Australia will return to a more comprehensive format. 

During this last fortnight, the following events have occurred:

• Twilight swimming carnival 
• Promotions day on Wednesday afternoon for students to see their new classrooms and discover their teacher for 2022
• The Graduation Mass and awards for Year 6 students on Tuesday evening on the front playground. Despite ongoing threats of rain, parents and students joined staff for this significant event which was beautifully planned by the Year 6 teachers and reverently celebrated by the students and families.  
• The staff celebrated with Mrs Christine Hart the extraordinary accomplishment of 50 years of teaching in Catholic schools. 

This final week of school will be a very special one for our Year 6 students. We will officially say farewell to these students on Wednesday 15th December in the afternoon. At this stage we are still working out how we will be able to ‘COVID-19’ safely say farewell. We will be honouring our ritual in some way. On Tuesday night our two School Captains, Bonni Bolam and Marshall Avery gave a wonderful farewell speech on behalf of Year 6, reflecting on their years of education at St Michael’s Nowra. Bonni, Marshall, the prefects, colour captains and all Year 6 students have displayed courageous leadership in a time of pandemic and great change. 

As the year draws to a close, I usually briefly reflect on the many events that our school community shares during the year. Due to the second round of COVID-19, many of the usual events in the school year needed to be cancelled or presented in a different way. The school and parish did succeed in running Sacramental programs for Year 2, Year 3 and Year 6 students. Zoom meetings replaced our usual face to face meetings on numerous occasions, including some of the Sacraments, Kindergarten 2022 Orientation and Parents and Friends. 

Despite remote learning in Term 3 and 4, learning continued for the students and technology was used in new ways to connect with students and families in a robust and meaningful way. Literacy and Numeracy results continued to demonstrate promising learning gains and students received many opportunities to be extended in a range of Key Learning Areas. Our parents and caregivers continued to support the school in numerous different ways, limited by Covid-19 restrictions. Some of the usual events such as the Easter raffle, Mothers and Fathers Day stalls continued In 2021. In 2022, as restrictions ease, we look forward to reimagining our Parents and Friends group to reflect the real needs of the school community. Thank you to this year’s committee for all they continued to do in 2021. School banking has now finished at the school and I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of Therese Ganderton, Jacinta Davis and Carmen Carter who have provided this service for many years. Therese in particular, finished as a parent at our school when her son went to St John’s a number of years ago. Despite this, Therese has continued to assist each Friday! Thank you to Therese, Jacinta and Carmen. 

The year 2021 also saw the departure of Father Leo Mifsud as the parish priest and the arrival of Father Joseph Pothenparampil as the new Parish Priest. I encourage all families to re-engage with the parish through weekly mass and other events. The church was closed for a significant period of time due to COVID-19 restrictions but is now open again, in time for the Christmas celebrations.  

Manoeuvring the school through a second round of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an enormous challenge in 2021 and I would like to express a special thank you to Mrs Carolyn Rutkowski, our Assistant Principal, for her loyalty and support during the year. I am thankful for the support of Mrs Martine Mathieson for supporting the religious dimension of the school during this challenging year. To all of our leadership team: Mrs Nicole Skeers, Mrs Michelle Heffernan, Mrs Anne Dempsey, Mrs Emma-Kate Callaghan, Mrs Bianca Koczka and Mr Pat Douglas, may I thank you for what you have done for our students and staff in 2021. 

To all of our staff, you have been magnificent in every way and the St Michael’s community is lucky to have you. Our Parish Priest Father Joe, Father Pat and Father Ronan have continued to be  most supportive of the faith development of our students despite the restrictions.  

2021 is also a year where we say farewell to a number of staff members. While some of these staff will be returning to us some time in the future, some will be moving on to new challenges. I would like to acknowledge the following staff and thank them for their gift of presence at our school:

• Ms Renee Maguire has been seconded to schools in Wollongong for the last two years and will continue to be permanently employed in Wollongong schools from 2022. Ms Maguire taught at our school and gave wonderful service for many years. Her commitment to our students, staff and families was enormous and we wish her the very best for this new stage of her life. 
• Mrs Bianca Koczka has been offered a teaching and Middle Leader role at St Paul’s Albion Park for the 2022 school year. We wish Mrs Koczka the very best for this change of scene for 2022. Mrs Koczka will be missed by students, staff and families during 2022. 
• Mrs Christine Hart will be finishing her teaching career as a full-time teacher after 50 years of exceptional service but will thankfully return to St Michael’s Nowra in some capacity in 2022. Mrs Hart has been at our school in various roles since 2014. Yesterday the staff celebrated the 50 years with a special morning tea. We look forward to Mrs Hart’s continued presence in 2022. 

Our classroom teaching staff for 2022 include:

Kindergarten - Mrs Callaghan, Ms Phelps and Ms Hayden

Year 1 - Mrs Jakimyszyn, Mrs Berryman and Mr Anderson

Year 2 - Mrs Mathieson, Mrs Roles and Mrs Sansom

Year 3 - Mrs Butler, Mrs Firkin, Mrs Walker and one TBA

Year 4 - Mrs Warner, Ms Crossley and Ms Millsom

Year 5 - Mrs Dempsey, Mrs Lenihan and Mrs Palmer

Year 6 - Mr Allmark, Mrs Boyton and Ms Scurr

Good Samaritan Centre - Ms De Roo

Benedictine Centre - Mrs Luxford

At this time of the year we also say farewell to a number of families who have been part of St Michael’s School for many years. Some of these families have seen three or more students attend St Michael’s Nowra during their time at the school and their assistance, loyalty and support has been most appreciated. All of our leaving families are always welcome back at St Michael’s at any time. Thank you for your support over the years.

School recommences for all students in Years 1-6 on Tuesday 1 February 2021. 

Finally, I am praying that Christmas will be a wonderful time of celebration for all families. We have much to thank our God for. I am hoping Christmas will be a time for renewing friendships, making peace, simply enjoying one another’s company, sharing love and appreciation for each other with the exchange of good wishes and gifts.

Yours in Faith and Virtue,

Mr Christopher Paton