This is the last newsletter for 2020. The last week has been a very busy one but the students have remained very settled and learning has continued to be the main focus. Yesterday the ‘Parent Portal’ opened for parents to access the student reports. If parents wish to book a parent teacher meeting with their child’s teacher, please email the office and a time will be organised. 

During this last fortnight, the following events have occurred:

• Twilight swimming carnival - 51 minutes of great swimming! 
• Year 2 Performances
• Promotions day on Monday afternoon for students to see their new classrooms and discover their teacher for 2021
• The Graduation Mass for Year 6 students, including the handover of student leadership to Year 5 students. Due to COVID-19, a ‘live stream’ of the mass was provided for Year 5 and 6 parents who were unable to attend. Thank you to St John’s Nowra for providing the ‘live stream’
• The Graduation awards for Year 6 students and their parents/caregivers on the back COLA  between 5.30-6.40pm. 

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 16th December in the afternoon. At this stage we will be planning to farewell the Year 6 students at 2:30pm in a COVID-19 safe way. On Tuesday night our two School Captains, Anya Ellerington and Thomas Paton gave a wonderful farewell speech on behalf of Year 6, remembering many of their former teachers. In a challenging and unpredictable year, Anya, Thomas and the prefects and colour captains have displayed courageous leadership. 

As the year draws to a close, I usually briefly reflect on the many events that our school community has shared this year. Due to COVID-19, many of the usual events in the school year needed to be cancelled or presented in a different way. Our Sacramental meetings became Zoom meetings, as did our ‘Personal Development’ night for Year 4 and 5 students and families. In a year of reduced parish participation, our students still managed to participate in the Parish Sacramental programs, fundraising for the missions and some additional activities. 

In spite of the need for Remote Learning, the students experienced a rigorous education program. 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. In fact, our Year 2 students achieved the highest growth in the Diocese of Wollongong. Our parents and caregivers continued to support the school in numerous different ways, limited by Covid-19 restrictions. In 2021, our Parents and Friends President Sophie Pavlis is looking forward to introducing a range of new and existing activities to invite parents back into the school setting. 

The year 2020 also saw the retirement of Father Pat Faherty. What an incredibly humble and Spiritual leader of our Parish and school for so many years. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we were only able to have a socially distanced gathering in the school hall and I regret we were unable to include parents and students. The school presented Father Pat with a beautiful photo book including messages and photos from staff and students. We also gave Fr Pat a Stole designed by the local Indigenous community. A Stole is an ecclesiastical restment worn by Catholic Priests. Father Pat enjoyed the afternoon tea and thanked our staff and students. My introduction to the Photo Book was:

Dear Father Pat, 

It gives me great pleasure to write the introduction to this book of blessings. Each class has prepared something special to celebrate your transition to retirement. From your arrival in Australia many years ago, your life has been one of selfless service to the youth and adults in your various parishes. You are a person of the highest integrity, appreciated and loved by all those fortunate to be in your flock. Your commitment to spreading 'The Good Word' has been outstanding. Your wisdom has always been appreciated by all you have encountered. Over the last 31 years of Principalship I have been fortunate to journey with numerous outstanding Parish Priests across six Catholic Primary schools. However, of all these wonderful Priests, you have been the exceptional pastoral and spiritual leader, gently and quietly leading the Nowra Parish and School community. Your compassion and genuine empathy with all you have encountered has been noted by all of us. I feel privileged to have worked with you for the last eight years and have always continued to be amazed by your outstanding memory of families within the parish. Please take plenty of time to read and reflect on the wonderful messages from the students and staff. I am so pleased that you will be living locally and will be able to remain connected to our parish and school. Enjoy these golden days. You deserve every accolade which will come your way in the weeks ahead. 

Enjoy your transition to retirement. We will all miss your gentle, quiet presence and your friendship, but look forward to whenever you are able to connect with our school community.  

Running a large three stream primary school of 545 students is not an easy job, so I would like to say a special thank you to Mrs Carolyn Rutkowski, our Assistant Principal, for her loyalty and support during the year. To all of our leadership team, may I thank you for what you have done for our students and staff in 2020. 

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 Leo Mifsud and Father Ronan have been most supportive of the faith development of our students.  

At the end of 2020 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 retiring or moving on to new challenges. I would like to acknowledge the following staff and thank them for their gift of presence at our school:

• Mrs Joyann Arnold will be retiring after three plus decades of wonderful service to St Michael’s Nowra. Joyann in many ways personifies what is great about our school. A dedicated and extremely effective teacher admired by her peers, appreciated by the parents and loved by the students. Enjoy your retirement Joyann and enjoy your ever increasing family! Enjoy these golden years with your husband Gary.
• Mrs Natalie Rojas will be leaving us and moving towards the beautiful Southern Highlands of NSW. Natalie has been the founding teacher in our specialised setting known as the Benedictine Centre (BC). Natalie has been responsible for establishing the program which gives a small number of students personalised learning before transitioning to our mainstream classrooms. Natalie will be very missed but leaves behind an established and well-functioning classroom setting. We will see Natalie at the start of 2021, supporting Mrs Luxford in her new role in the BC.  
• Mrs Melissa Firkin will be taking maternity leave in preparation for the new arrival. I have been amazed by Mel’s resilience and ability to teach almost up to full term with maximum attendance at school! I wish Mel and her husband Brad the very best as they prepare for the new arrival. I will share the good news when our newest baby joins us.  
• Mrs Carol-Ann Robinson will be heading back to Canada following a year on teacher exchange. Mrs Robinson has loved teaching Year 3 and will return as a tourist in the future. Thank you for the energy and enthusiasm you brought with you from Canada. All staff now have a destination to visit. 
• Mr Stephen Zamroz will be returning to teach in the Wollongong region and we thank him for teaching Year 6 in 2020. Stephen has developed strong relationships with students making their last year at St Michael's one to remember.  We wish Stephen the very best as he heads north! 
• Mrs Carly Butler will be finishing full-time teaching at the end of 2020 and will be returning in a casual capacity in 2021. Carly has had an amazing year with Year 1 and I thank her for the effort she has put into supporting her students in 2020. 
• Mr Henri Taylor and his family are heading to the beautiful country town of Braidwood. As a new scheme teacher, Henri has given his heart and soul to the students in his care. I wish Henri and his family the very best for next year and know that he will be very successful in his new school.

We welcome back:

• Mrs Nicole Lenihan from her Canada teacher exchange experience. I believe from all Facebook posts, Nicole has still managed to see a good part of the Province of Alberta despite the Covid-19 restrictions. The Year 6 students in Nicole’s class in 2021 will benefit from her adventures in Canada.
• Mrs Amanda Mason who has been teaching in the Wagga Diocese. Amanda brings back with her the experience of teaching in a smaller country school. Amanda and her family have had a great adventure and her 2020 school is very sad to see Amanda return to us! 

I am pleased to announce two recent appointments for 2021. Congratulations to Mrs Samantha Luxford who will be the new full-time teacher in the Benectine Centre. Sam will be a great success in her new role. I also welcome back Mrs Mel Green who will teach in the Benectine Centre each Thursday. We will finalise any additional part-time teaching positions by close of business on Wednesday 16 December 2020. 

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 Thursday  28th January 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.