St Michael's Catholic Parish Primary School Nowra
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28 North Street
Nowra NSW 2541
Subscribe: https://smndow.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: info@smndow.catholic.edu.au
Phone: 02 4421 3630

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

A very special welcome to the new school year is extended to all of our families, especially our brand new Kindergarten students who are in the process of coming into school to participate in a one hour ‘Best Start’ assessment. Kindergarten will officially commence next Tuesday, 7 February 2023.

This is the first of a regular fortnightly newsletter that families will receive. In between fortnightly newsletters most information for parents will be shared as a ‘Compass Alert’ directly to your mobile phone/device. Most grades in the school have been gifted with a small number of new students who have settled into new routines quite quickly. All of these new students to our school are very welcome. The first four days of school have been superb and I would like to congratulate all parents on having the students ready for the new year. I am pleased to report that the playground during all breaks has been very calm and student behaviour has been excellent.

The school presently employs around 60 people each day as teachers, School Support Officers (SSOs) and Aboriginal Education Assistants (AEAs) and Defence Mentors. With great excitement, I am pleased to announce that one of our AEAs, Mark Mongta will be returning to the school, commencing this Friday. The teaching staff for each grade at this stage include:

Keely Hayden

KW

Ashleigh Palmer

KR

Emma-Kate Callaghan

KB

Maree Hamilton

Kindergarten

Dylan Anderson

1W

Stephanie Jakimyszyn

1R

Anne-Maree Berryman

1B

Jessica Phelps

2W

Magdalena Van Eeden

2R

Hayley Millsom 

2B

Melanie Firkin / Ashleigh Walker

3W

Martine Mathieson

3R

Sandrine Butler

3B

Michelle Warner

4W

Andrew Allmark

4R

Renee Roles

4B

Christine Hart

5W

Nicole Baran

5R

Pauline Scerri

5B

Anne Dempsey

6W

Victoria Boyton 

6B

Cathy Palmer

6R

 

Good Samaritan Centre

Oonagh Cameron

Benedictine Centre

Samantha Luxford 

Reading Recovery

Lee-Anne De Roo

A number of these classes are also supported by leadership team members, additional teachers, SSOs and AEAs.

The Leadership team for 2023 includes:

Principal 

Christopher Paton

Assistant Principal

Carolyn Rutkowski

Religious Education Coordinator (REC)

Martine Mathieson

Middle Leader 2 - PB4L and Wellbeing

Patrick Douglas

Middle Leader 2 - Literacy Coach

Michelle Heffernan

Middle Leader 2 - Diverse Learning Needs

Emma-Kate Callaghan

Middle Leader 1 - Aboriginal Education

Anne Dempsey

As a school we are looking forward to working in partnership with all parents and caregivers to enable all students to reach their full potential. Each classroom teacher will provide you with specific class related information for 2023. Most importantly, I encourage you to develop a positive relationship with your child’s teacher so that true partnership and collaboration can occur. I encourage all parents to formally arrange a parent meeting through the school office if required, for an educational or other matter. It is difficult to conduct important meetings when the students are lined up ready to go into the classrooms in the morning. I also encourage families to ensure each child comes to school with healthy food for recess or lunch. Each child will also require a healthy food option (fruit, vegetables) for daily ‘Munch n Crunch’ as well. 

Over the next week the school will inform parents of upcoming events or meeting opportunities, including ‘Parents and Friends’. The most immediate event coming up will be the Opening Liturgy for the year. Next Friday 10 February 2023, at 9.30am in the school hall, the students will gather in the hall to congratulate the new student leaders for 2023. Usually, just the parents of Year 6 students would attend this liturgy. It is not a mass, just a short prayer assembly welcoming the students back and presenting Year 6 students with their leadership badges. There will be whole school assemblies, masses and liturgies as the year progresses.

St Michael's Parish Sacramental News - Reconciliation

As I shared with you towards the end of last year, the students at St Michael's Nowra have always received the various Sacraments following comprehensive instruction in the classrooms. The celebrations of these Sacraments, especially Confirmation and Eucharist (First Holy Communion) have been coordinated by the school in conjunction with the Parish. Essentially, in the past the school has prepared St Michael’s students and the Parish has prepared the students in the State and Christian schools. 

From 2023, a decision has been made by Father Joseph and the parish team for all Sacraments to be coordinated by the Parish using a different structure of preparation. All students in the Parish will receive the same Parent/Child booklet which will allow parents to be part of the preparation. Parent enrolment in the Sacramental Program will occur during one of the masses on specified weekends.

Last year, the Parish Newsletter provided details about the enrolment process for the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation). For 2023, the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation) will be offered to the present Year 3 (2023) or older students who have not yet received this Sacrament. This means that from this year onwards, students in Year 3 or older will receive the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation), not Year 2 students as has previously been the case. 

All St Michael’s Nowra students in each of the Sacramental grades, Catholic and Non-Catholic, will continue to learn about the Sacraments as part of the school’s Religious Education program, ‘To Know, Worship and Love’. Information regarding enrolment in the Sacrament of Confirmation and the Sacrament of Eucharist (First Holy Communion) will be shared through the school newsletter and the parish newsletter in the term prior to receiving the Sacrament. The school has been officially informed that Bishop Brian Mascord will be leading the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday 10 June, 2023. The Parish Office will be the first point of contact regarding the Sacraments, however the school will continue to support all families in any way. 

Afternoon Pick Up Procedure

The procedure for afternoon pickup before and after 3pm is as follows. 

A bell will be rung at 2.50pm to remind teachers to commence preparing to send students home.

  • From 2.55pm, the school gates will be opened and parents/caregivers can enter the playground and head towards the classrooms, to wait for the 3pm pick up bell.
  • At 2.55pm, students who catch buses will move to the two main line up areas - under the lower COLA or outside Kindergarten.
  • Students being collected by parents will not leave the classrooms until 3pm. 
  • If a family wishes to pick up a student before 3pm, parents or caregivers must report to the school office. A phone call will be made to the classroom teacher and the child will meet the parent or caregiver outside the office. Under no circumstances are students to be collected directly from classrooms prior to the 3pm bell.

ASPIRE - Before and After School Care

I am pleased to announce and welcome the arrival of ASPIRE to our school. ASPIRE has commenced providing a quality service to our school community, following approval by Shoalhaven Council. If you are interested in enrolling your child with ASPIRE, please contact them directly on 0448 141 753, a flyer is attached.

Parents and Friends Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of our school's Parents and Friends group is scheduled for Monday 13 February 2023. This will be offered as an 'attend in person' and a Zoom meeting. We would love as many parents as possible to attend this very important meeting. 

Professional Planning Time - Week 3 Commencing Tuesday 7 February

Each week the students participate in a number of specialist lessons in the areas of Physical Education (PE), Library (LARC) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL). While the students are receiving these specialist lessons, the teaching staff are given ‘Professional Planning Time’ referred to as PPT. The students rotate through the various lessons according to the below roster. Please put this roster on the fridge or a cupboard door in a prominent position in the house. When doing PE (Physical Education), the students are encouraged to wear their sports uniform. I recommend printing off a copy and highlighting your child’s class so that you can keep up with what the students are doing each week. If you require a hard copy of the PPT roster, please contact the school office and the copy will be sent home.

Have an enjoyable weekend everyone.

 

Mr Christopher Paton
Principal