Dear Parents, 

Last Sunday our Year 1 families attended the 9.30am mass. Father Pat and the school staff were very pleased with the engagement by the Year 1 families. This same engagement continued on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night with the Year 2 students who received their first Reconciliation. They were well supported by their families. The Year 3 students and families have had their first meeting in preparation to receive their First Holy Communion next term. Please keep all of these students in your prayers and thank you to our staff who always support them.  

The launch of World Mission Month will be held at St John’s Nowra on Wednesday 18 September 2019. Mrs Mathieson, four of our Year 6 students and I will attend the launch. Students and staff from every Catholic school in our Diocese will attend the launch. 

This week our Indigenous team comprising Mrs Dempsey, Miss Vanessa, Ms Crossley, and Mark Mongta have been attending the 2019 Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Catholic Education NSW State Conference in the Hunter Region. This is an opportunity for them to share what they are doing at St Michael’s as well as learn more about how to best assist our Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander students. They will return to school on Monday. 

Traffic concerns: In the morning there is a problem with some parents driving into the carpark in front of the Parish Centre. Staff are permitted to use this entrance up until 8.15am each morning. After 8.15am, students are officially supervised in the playground. Driving into the carpark puts the safety of students at risk. Please use the dropoff zone in front of the carpark entrance or park over the road. The good news is that our application for a person to work on the crossing has been approved and should commence some time next term.   

During the last few months the school has been reviewing its structure of assisting students who receive a minor or a major as a result of their poor behaviour choices. Previously we had a system where a student would attend a restorative session at lunchtime with a teacher if they received a major. This was known as ‘attention’. After a review of this procedure and in light of recent research, we have revised the process including involving parents in improving behaviour. The following procedures will now occur:

1. If a student receives 3 minors over five consecutive school days, a parent will be contacted by the student’s teacher.
2. If a student receives 6 minors over ten consecutive school days, a parent will be contacted by a member of the ‘Leadership Team’ who supervises that grade.
3. If a student receives a major, the parent will be contacted by a member of the ‘Leadership Team’ who supervises that grade and a collaborative meeting is held with the student.

Yours in Faith and Virtue,

Mr Christopher Paton

Religious Education News

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who supported our 

5c Challenge. Every class raised an amazing amount of 5c coins. In total St Michael’s raised $1400 for the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. 

A special congratulations to-  

2B - $135.60

KW - $140.15

And our WINNER 6B - $147.15

WELL DONE EVERYONE!

First Holy Communion

Just a reminder to parents who missed the first meeting for the Sacrament of Communion, an abridged meeting will be held on Wednesday 25 September at 3.30pm in the Parish Office.

St Michael’s Feast Day Mass

Please join us for mass on Friday 27 September at 11.30am to celebrate the Feast Day of St Michael. 

A huge thank you to everyone that was able to support our first Billy G’s Cookie Dough fundraiser! We are looking at raising around $2000 for our wonderful little School. Thank you!
The Cookie Dough is due for delivery on Wednesday the 25th of September. If you are available to help pack out the cookie dough, on Wednesday afternoon from 1pm, we would be very grateful for your help. If you know you have Cookie Dough orders to collect, please make yourself available on Wednesday afternoon to collect your orders. The cookie dough will arrive to us frozen, so it is important you’re able to collect your orders on Wednesday, we will not be able to store them.

The 2019 St Michael’s School Fair will be here before we know it!!! Please save the date for Sunday the 10th of November, from 10:30am-2:30pm. Tell your friends, family, colleagues. Help us spread the word by sharing our social media posts and popping aside the date in your diary now, you won’t want to miss it!
If you have any unwanted books, plants, pots or succulents at home, we would love for you to keep them aside.
Plates will be going home this week to fill with goodies for our basket stall, stay tuned for more information.

We are excited to announce that 94.9 Power FM will again be hosting their breakfast show at our school on Thursday the 7th of November, just in time for our School Fair! Stay tuned for more details.

Our next P & F meeting will be held on Tuesday the 8th of October at 6pm in the fall foyer. We hope to see you there!


2019 Year Book
The production of our annual Year Book is well under way, if you have any exciting news, or extracurricular achievements of your child that you’d like to share, please email them through to yearbookstmichaels@gmail.com

CONTACT US:

Got any suggestions? Can you assist us? You can contact the P & F any time.

St Michael’s Parents & Friends Events 

P & F Mailbox is located in the school office 

Email us on stmichaelspnf@gmail.com

Parents and Friends Executive Committee contact numbers:

We know Defence families are strongest when they are connected with their local communities. Defence Community Organisation provides a number of support and information services to help you connect with and contribute to your community, including funding for local Defence community groups and a range of social and information events. You can get support or referrals any time from your local Family Liaison Officer or the Defence Family Helpline on 1800 624 608. Follow Defence Community Organisation on social media or see the website for what’s available near you at www.defence.gov.au/dco