Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The last week and a half has been a challenging time for families and staff battling COVID19 and the extreme weather conditions. I do believe we are possibly on the tail end of the COVID19 wave and there has been a gradual increase in student attendance during the last week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to any families affected by the weather conditions of the last few days. I have been in regular contact with one of my sons who lives in Lismore. His house was fortunately above the flood zone, but as a journalist with the Koori Mail, he has witnessed first hand the devastating impact on this beautiful country town. This coming Friday 11 March 2022, our newly elected Student Representative Council are coordinating a crazy sock day to raise funds to send to our Catholic schools in Lismore. The children may wear crazy socks and donate a gold coin or two to a great cause. 

Thank you to all families who supported the closure of the school on Tuesday due to local flooding and treacherous weather conditions. Coupled with staff shortages due to sickness, the students have once again encountered a time of angst, anxiety and uncertainty. Due to not having enough teaching staff, some classes have been required to be split amongst other classes in the school. The goodwill of teachers to accept additional students into their classrooms has been exceptional. Splitting a class group is the absolute last resort when all other options have been explored and exhausted. Thank you to students and parents for your understanding. 

 Over the last two weeks, the school has been sharing through Compass each grade’s introductory newsletter. This is in place of the annual ‘Meet and greet’ evening, unable to be held due to COVID19 restrictions. Yesterday all families will have received a one page hard copy of a letter acknowledging that the grade newsletter has been received and the hyperlinks explored. Please read, sign and return to school. 

Next week is a special one for Saints in the Catholic Church. On Thursday 17 March 2022 we will celebrate St Patrick’s Day and on Saturday 19 March 2022 we will celebrate St Joseph’s Day. 

St. Patrick was a 5th-century missionary to Ireland and later served as Bishop there. He is credited with bringing Christianity to parts of Ireland and was probably partly responsible for the Christianization of the Picts and Anglo-Saxons. He is one of the patron saints of Ireland. He often used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity and entire kingdoms were eventually converted to Christianity after hearing Patrick's message. Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions. After years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461. He died at Saul, where he had built the first Irish church. He is believed to be buried in Down Cathedral, Downpatrick. His grave was marked in 1990 with a granite stone.

St Joseph was the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus. We know he was a carpenter and a working man. He wasn't rich but despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. St Luke and St Matthew in their Gospels both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). The angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as "son of David," a royal title used also for Jesus. We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man and we know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life.To all of the Patricks and Josephs in our school, enjoy these feast days. 

Rapid Antigen Test kits (RATs)

Our final shipment of RAT kits have arrived and will be available to families on Friday 11 March 2022 and Monday 14 March 2022 from  8.15am - 9.00am and 2.30pm - 3.00pm. From Tuesday they can be collected from the school office. On Friday and Monday the RAT kits can be collected from the foyer of the School Hall. 

Yours in Faith and Virtue,

Christopher Paton

Principal

Well, it’s been a wet past couple of weeks and as expected not a lot has happened due to the large amounts of rain we have had. All of the sporting events have either been postponed or cancelled. 

Last week, the swimming selection trials were supposed to be held at Corrimal pool. This event ended up having to be cancelled as the grounds around the pool were flooded making it impossible to hold the carnival. I know that this left many of our students disappointed as they were very much looking forward to competing at the next level and representing St. Michael’s. CEO made the decision that to go to the next level students had to have swum very competitive times at the swimming carnival. It is with great pleasure that I can announce Kai Reid, from Grade 6, will be participating in the selection trials. If successful at these trials, Kai will go on to represent the Wollongong Diocese at the MacKillop Trials. We wish Kai all the best.

The school Cross Country was supposed to be held on Friday 11 of March at Willandra. Again, rain has played its part and it has been postponed. The new date for the Cross Country for students in Year 3 to 6 is Thursday 31 st of March.
New notes have been sent home electronically and parents/guardians will need to go onto Compass to give consent for attendance. This needs to be completed again due to the change of dates.

St Michael’s had a number of students looking to trail for Wollongong teams in Netball, Soccer, Rugby League and Hockey. These were also postponed due to the weather and new dates have been set for these events.
Friday 18 March - Hockey Trials. Narellan
Monday 21 March - Football (Soccer)Trials, Illawarra Sports and Hockey Centre, Unanderra
Wednesday 23 March - Netball Trials, Illawarra Sports Stadium, Berkeley 
Thursday 24 March (B/Up  Wednesday 30 March) - 11 years and 12 years Rugby League Trials. We wish students participating in these events all the best.

Most summer sports have come to an end. There are a lot of sporting clubs still looking for players to register for winter sports. It has been hard for these clubs to get players to register and train. If your child is interested in playing a winter sport, here are some local sporting teams that your child is able to participate in.

AFL
Nowra Giants: https://www.facebook.com/shoalhavengiants/
Bay and Basin: http://www.bombers.net.au/
Bomaderry: https://www.bomaderrytigersafl.com.au/

Rugby Union
Shoalhaven: https://www.facebook.com/weareshoals/

League
Bomaderry: https://www.facebook.com/Bomaderry-Swamp-Rats-270032815270/

Football
Bomaderry: https://www.facebook.com/BomaderrySoccerClub
Shoalhaven Heads/Berry: https://www.facebook.com/headsberryfc/

Don’t forget to redeem your Active Kids Sport Voucher where you can claim two $100 vouchers that can be used towards your child’s sport each year.

If you have any questions about sports or any events coming up please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Regards,
Mr. Allmark
Sports Co-ordinator