Filter Content
Dear Parents and Carers,
Last Saturday I was joined by a number of staff members to interview a large number of our prospective Kindergarten students for 2022. I always see this as a great privilege. I am still interviewing for the next few weeks and it is most likely that we will once again have more applications than places. I urge you to let family and friends know that our first round of interviews is happening and that places for next year will be highly sought after. If you have a school age child for Kindergarten 2022, please contact the office as soon as you can for an appointment. Places for 2022 will be offered in the middle of June.
Many students in Year 6 and the parish are in the final weeks of preparation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on the weekend of 5/6 June 2021. As we still have COVID19 restrictions, each family is only able to have a total of five people attend the Confirmation ceremonies. This includes the student and four others. This Wednesday 26 May 2021 at 6.30pm, the Year 6 Confirmation candidates and parent/carers will come together in the school hall for a ‘Reflection’ evening’. The students will also have a ‘Spirit’ day in the school hall on Thursday 27 May 2021 for all Year 6 students.
After the Confirmation weekend, on Monday 7 June 2021, our Year 6 students will travel to Milton for an event called ‘ACTIVATE FIRE’ which is run by the Diocesan youth team.
Students from the two schools will be treated to a day-long immersive spiritual experience. A range of sessions will be on offer throughout the morning and afternoon including a mix of singing and prayer, discussion and reflection, games, workshops and other fun...plus the social opportunity of a sausage sizzle together at lunch. Based on the Year 6 Religious Education unit, Confirmation: Celebrating the Gift of the Holy Spirit, the program is designed to move our young people from a passive experience of their faith towards a more active, mature and responsible engagement with God. The experience also gives the children a taste of the youth ministry initiatives they will be offered in secondary school and a chance to share in our Catholic mission to spread the word and love of God through words and action.
This Sunday 23 May 2021 is known to Catholics as Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is observed on the seventh Sunday after Easter and 10 days after the Ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven. The name comes from the Greek word "pentekoste" which means fiftieth as Pentecost Sunday takes place on the 50th day of Easter. As the date is based on Easter, this day is a moveable feast. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and other disciples following the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ (Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2), and it marks the beginning of the Christian church's mission to the world.
Bell Times
As we continue to move through COVID19 recovery, the school will revert back to the previous home dismissal times. Prior to COVID19, the dismissal time was heralded by a bell at 2.55pm to allow students to be walked from their classrooms to buses, walking lines and parent pickup. At 3pm, the students will be allowed to leave the playground when they see their parents/carers. This will commence at the start of Week 7, Monday 31 May 2021. We will continue to dismiss the students to families from the main gates on the playground. The morning drop off procedures will remain the same, including the entrance via the gates on North or Osborne St and the spraying of hands with sanitiser. A guide to the new dismissal times will be sent to parents via Compass next week. During the COVID19 period, students have been collected at 2.50pm.
To allow for more teaching time, the ‘Assembly’ schedule will change until the end of term. The new schedule is:
Week 5 - infants
Week 6 - primary
Week 7 - no assembly
Week 8 - infants
Week 9 - primary
Week 10 - no assembly
Unfortunately, due to the number of students at each assembly, parents/carers are unable to attend.
Tour de Cure School Visit - 31 May 2021
On 4 March 2019, our school was visited by a large group of cyclists participating in Tour de Cure. The aim of the tour is to raise money to find a cure for cancer. We have been invited to host the riders once again for a short assembly at 9.30am on the playground on Monday 31st May, 2021. The tour raises awareness through donations from the public and a brief chat about what they are doing and where they are travelling. This is a great cause and raises much needed funds. The students will talk to you about it when they arrive home on the Monday afternoon of the visit.
Good luck to all of our students representing our school and diocese in sporting events in the next couple of weeks. We will give a full report in the next newsletter.
Yours in Faith and Virtue,
Mr Christopher Paton
Tomorrow, Friday 21st May, a group of girls from Year 5 and 6 will be making their way down to Batemans Bay to compete in the South Coast Final of the AFL Paul Kelly Cup. The girls we be up against other teams from the far South Coast and the winners will progress through to the next round of finals. Miss Scurr, with the assistance of David Ellerington, have been training the girls during lunch times to get them prepared for the day. We wish them the best of luck tomorrow.
Another one of St. Michael’s talented students has been off competing at a diocesan level. Anna Duncan from Year 6 represented the Diocese at the Mackillop Netball tryouts that were held in Canberra. Anna played games against Sydney, Parramatta, Canberra/Goulburn and Wagga Wagga. The games were all very competitive. Anna played against other talented and competitive players and unfortunately, she did not make it through to next level. Congratulations to Anna for her extraordinary effort making it to the Mackillop trials and on representing our school and Diocese.
As reported in the last newsletter, four boys from St. Michael’s, Taj Goddard, Noah Jamieson, Luke Keating and Brodee Green, represented the Diocese at the MacKillop NRL trials early May. The boys played 4 games against Sydney, Parramatta, Canberra/Goulburn and Wagga Wagga. Taj Goddard and Brodee Green were picked in the top 26 of possible and probables to play against each other in the 5th and last game to pick the final MacKillop team. Unfortunately, the boys didn’t make the MacKillop team this year, but they should be very proud of their achievements representing the Diocese Team and St Michael’s school.
The school’s athletics carnival is approaching. It will be held on the 21st June at Shoalhaven High School. On the day, the students will compete in the athletic events of 100, 200 and 800m and other novelty events. At school on Fridays, teachers will be taking the students through the field events of high jump, long jump and shot put. The finals of these will be run off at school and not at the carnival. The top place getters in these events will progress to a Diocese Athletics Carnival, where students will compete to represent Wollongong at the MacKillop trials.
Upcoming sporting dates for Term 2:
AFL Paul Kelly Cup – 21th May
Netball School's Cup – 25th May
MacKillop Cross Country – 8th June
Netball Gala Day – 15th June
Athletics Carnival – 21st June
If you have any questions about sports or any events coming up please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Mr. Allmark
Sports Coordinator
By the end of this week all of the students in Year 5 and 6 who have been a part of the Seasons for Growth, would have completed the program. Later in the year we will hold a ‘Reconnector Session’ to see how everyone has been using what they have learnt in the program.
In our Art Club we have been doing some drawing. Students followed instructions to create their own bouquet of flowers. Last week we started using beads and students have started to create their own beaded windchime. These will be continued next time we have Art Club.
On 1 July Defence Community Organisation (DCO) will change their name to Defence Member and Family Support (DMFS).
The new name reflects their vision, what they do and who they do it for. While their name is changing, there will be no changes to the services or programs offered to ADF members and their families.
Find out more about the name change www.defence.gov.au/dco
Mrs Natalie Hayes
Defence School Mentor
Just a reminder that school photos are being held next Monday 24th May.
Students need to be in full winter uniform.
Sibling photo packs are available from the office.
We have a vacant School Crossing Supervisor position for our school and are seeking interested applicants for the position.
Please refer to the attached flyer for further information and application details.
The St Michael's P&F are creating a recipe book to be used as a fundraiser.
Please see the attached flyer for further information.
Mr Dylan Anderson is holding another fundraiser event at The Tea Club Nowra for Dancing for Cancer.
To purchase tickets, please click on the following link.
As part of our recent school safety initiative we are looking at ways to improve the safety around school pick up and drop off areas in our local schools.
We are looking at individual audits of the schools with high priority safety concerns and would also like to gain more information on the modes of transport your students use so that we can better understand their individual needs.
Please click on the link below to access the survey to provide feedback regarding the transport you currently use. The survey is only 8 questions and no personal information is required.
|
Term 2 |
|
|
Week 5 |
|
|
Friday 21.05.2021 |
Year 4 Mass 9:30am |
|
Week 6 |
|
|
Monday 24.05.2021 |
School Photos |
|
Tuesday 25.05.2021 |
Sorry Day Liturgy 11:30am Netball School's Cup - Selected students Diocesan Cross Country - Selected students |
|
Friday 28.05.2021 |
Year 3 Mass 9:30am |
|
Week 7 |
|
|
Monday 31.05.2021 |
Tour de Cure Visit |
|
Friday 04.06.2021 |
Year 2 Mass 9:30am |
|
Saturday 05.06.2021 |
Year 6 Confirmation 2pm |
|
Sunday 06.06.2021 |
Year 6 Confirmation 11:30am |
|
Week 8 |
|
|
Monday 07.06.2021 |
Year 6 Activate Fire Day at Milton |