This season of Advent is a time in which we prepare for the Lord's coming. 'We prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight' Luke 3:4. As we move toward the end of the second week of Advent, we pray for the courage to make peace, peace in our hearts, peace in our homes and peace in our communities. 

What a busy and fun week we have had at St Michael's. Tuesday we had a celebration day which started with our Giving Mass and finishing with our Christmas Carol Spectacular. Thank you to everyone for your generous support of our St Vinnie's Giving Tree. All these items have now been donated to St Vincent de Paul.

Thank you to our Community Council members and all the helpers who ensured Tuesday night was a great community event. From baking, to cooking BBQs to helping set up and clean up. Very much appreciated! Our Christmas Treat store raised $459 which will be donated to Companion House. Companion House is a community based organisation in Canberra who work with adults and children who have sought safety in Australia from persecution, torture and war related trauma. Our St Vincent de Paul raffle organised by Mrs Whalan and our Mini Vinnie students raised $341. Congratulations to Eamon 3/4W who won the raffle. Money raised from the raffle will be donated to St Vincent de Paul. Thank you to everyone for your generous donations. 

Year 6 Final Assembly

Tomorrow we continue our end of year celebrations by beginning the farewell of our Year 6 students. At 2pm, Year 6 will present their final Primary School item. We will also have 3 special awards to present, along with some Harmony Awards and Sustainability Awards. We hope to see you all there!

Whiteband Celebration

On Monday we will host our last White Band Celebration (Movie & Treat at 2pm) for those students who have achieved their white band in second semester. At the start of next year we will no longer be rewarding students using the Gotcha/Band system. We will instead move to presenting a 'Rainbow Award' to two students in each class each term. These will be presented at a special award's assembly. Then, in Term 4, students who have achieved a Rainbow Award will all have a combined special lunch and celebration day. Harmony Awards will continue and be presented on Friday at morning gathering in the courtyard. 

Fitness - 2019

Next year, we will also be starting a fitness program each Monday and Friday where student leaders will lead students through a 5-10 minute fitness activity.

Christian Meditation - 2019

We will be continuing with Christian Meditation in 2019, however, we will be moving this to mornings on Tuesday and Thursday straight after morning gathering. 

Specialist Classes - 2019

As mentioned, in 2019 we will continue with Library, Language and Sustainability lessons along with introducing a specific Arts lesson each week. Erin Hardwicke will take library lessons which will focus on exposing students to high quality literature and borrowing time. Language lessons will focus on the Indonesian language and culture led by Jacqui Ramesh. Damien Webb will continue with Sustainability lessons centred around Miss Jordan's Garden. Art lessons will compliment the art that teachers are already doing in their classes. Jane McKeough will lead students through Art lessons focusing on the elements of Art and developing specific Art skills and understanding. I will also be taking every class for half an hour each Wednesday. This will be a Wellbeing lesson centering on unpacking our school Values, looking at how we can build, maintain and restore positive relationships and unpacking the Berry Street Education Model with students. I am looking forward to connecting with every class on a more regular basis in 2019 and getting back in the classroom. This of course means that Wednesday I will be unavailable for any meetings, however, I am sure everyone would appreciate the importance of me being with students in the classroom. Exciting times ahead!

Swimming Carnival 2019

As mentioned previously, after feedback, evaluation and careful consideration, our Swimming Carnival will be held at Queanbeyan Pool next year on Tuesday 12 March. We will be taking all students in Years 3-6 and any competitive swimmers in Year 2 only. We will be holding swimming events as previous years and accessing the splash park for fun. There will be no novelty events.

Other Year 2 students, all Year 1 and Kindergarten students will remain at school for a water fun day and special lunch. This will assist to ensure all students are safe near water, ensure all students are more actively involved in the day and assist with staff supervision.

Year 6 Graduation Night

A big thank you to our Year 5 parents who will help on Tuesday night to set up and pack up the Year 6 Grad Celebration Dinner. Thank you to Lisa and Maria for their work coordinating and organising this special event. I look forward to celebrating with our Year 6 families as they mark this special milestone in their child's life.

I have been very impressed with our Year 6 leaders over the last week. Generally, at this time of year, Year 6 students can find it difficult to remain focused on school rules and expectations. They are tired and ready for high school. There is a level of anxiety also which can add to some silly choices being made. We want to ensure every student finishes Year 6 on a positive note. We want students in Year 6 to be placed in the best possible position ready to transition to Year 7. Damien Webb and myself have spoken to all Year 6 students and had a very similar conversation as mentioned. We have stressed, that if they need to remove themselves from a situation, to come up to our office at anytime during the day and we can help, advise and support them. Whatever we can do to help them get to the finish line successfully, we will do. Please let us know if there is anything we could be doing further for your child.

2019 Fees

Please be reminded that all direct debits will need to be increased to cover the fees for 2019.  Please see Lisa in the Front Office to fill in a form to change the debit amount.  If you are experiencing difficulty or need some assistance, please contact myself or Lisa Monro.

Enjoy the week ahead.

Regards,

Pat Ellis

Principal

Congratulations to the following children who achieved a Harmony Award in Week 9 and will receive their award at our last assembly tomorrow 14 December.

Running Order

Welcome and Prayer

Presentation of Year 6 Major Awards (Academic Excellence, Pastrol Care and Christian Values, Community Service Award).

Presentation of Week 9 Harmony Awards

Presentation of School Maths Olympiad Awards

Presentation of Year 6 Sustainability Awards

Year 6 Farewell Performance Item

Staff Farewells

Conclusion and School Song

Hope to see you there!

2018 is almost gone, and gone fast! The liturgical calendar 2018 of the Catholic Church has ended with the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ The King. Last weekend, another liturgical calendar year 2019 started with the celebration of the First Sunday of Advent. Time flies indeed!

One big thing that happened this year was the official ceremony of the Amalgamation of two parishes (St. Monica's, Evatt & St. Michael's, Kaleen). The simple celebration was held in St. Francis Xavier College, Florey and was officiated by Archbishop Christopher Prowse on the 18^th February 2018.  The new parish is named OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP, NORTH BELCONNEN.

With the new Parish being amalgamated, it means that a new Parish Pastoral Council, Parish Finance Committee, Parish Liturgical Committee, and some other things needed to be organised as well. Luckily, I had them all organised easily because people in both Churches are very generous and willing to give their time and participation in forming the new parish.

The two schools are also working together as one. We have joined the Sacramental programs together. There were regular meetings and planning among the two Principals, RECs, School of Religion, Sr. Kate and myself. The Orientation evenings for the Sacramental programs had been joined and the celebration of the Sacraments are being offered in both Churches to families as well. It means that students and their families can conveniently choose which Church they prefer to celebrate the Sacraments of First Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation. The idea is to get the message to our students and parents that we are one Parish with two Churches and Schools.

The two schools also had morning prayer and morning tea together this year. I have invited the two Principals to make it a regular activity, may be twice a year, to foster strong relationship between staff, teachers and students. So far so good!

Last year, the big screen TVs of St. Monica's Church were installed and it has been a big success up to this date. The children are more participative and attentive in the Masses and weekly prayers. The parishioners are very appreciative and happy about those big screens. I have haven't received any complains yet since installation, so I would like to think that everybody is happy about it. 

This year, St. Monica's Church has changed the 30 year old carpet. It was successfully replaced in July. We do have a new and beautiful carpet now. We hope and pray that it will last for the next 30 years or more. The baptismal area was also upgraded from carpet to tiles. The total cost of both tiles and carpet change was $40,000.

The Church of St. Michael's in Kaleen had some updates done as well this year. We polished the parking lines and signs. There are new six disabled parking spaces. The Church carpet and foyer were cleaned extensively. There were additional lights installed in the premises of the Church and Parish Office as well.

I would like to wish you all a blessed and fruitful Merry Christmas. A reminder to us all again that even though this season gets very busy and probably crazy, we must always keep in mind the real reason of Christmas Season, JESUS CHRIST! 

Through the intercession of our parish patron Our Lady of Perpetual Help, may she guide us always in our journey. And may she carry us in her maternal care and protection as we embrace and face what 2019 may bring to us.

Have a good Christmas holidays everyone. Enjoy, have fun and be safe. God bless you all!

Sincerely yours,

Fr. Luis 'Loi' Viovicente

Parish Priest

Advent Liturgies

Thank you to 5/6H and 3/4W for your beautiful prayer liturgies for the first two weeks of Advent. This Friday it is Kindergarten leading us in our Advent prayer directly after morning assembly. All families are invited to stay with us for this special prayer service as we prepare for the birth of Jesus at Christmas. 1/2M will lead our final Advent liturgy on the last day of school.

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hampers

Thank you so much for your generous donations for our Giving Tree. These were given to our local St Vincent de Paul following our Giving Mass on Tuesday and will be made into hampers to help brighten Christmas for those in our area in need. Mrs Whalan and some children from our Mini Vinnies will be helping finalise these hampers with them on Monday morning. Any further donations please leave in the St Michael’s Church foyer where there are boxes still for this purpose. 

It has been a big year for sport and I would like to congratulate all the students for their involvement. Whether it be participating in school based clinics, trying a new sport at a carnival or selection to Belconnen region or ACT teams, it is great to see so many students enjoying sport. I’d like to also thank the many parents who have volunteered their time and skills to support our sporting endeavours throughout 2018.

Wishing everyone and safe and fun-filled Christmas. See you in 2019!

Congratulations to Orla B (3/4W) who participated in the MS Readathon this year and raised over $300 for The MS society.  A great effort, well done!

Special wishes to those children who celebrate their birthday 

this week:  

Daniela 5/6B, Gabriella 3/4YM, Apajok 5/6R, Joey 3/4YM,

Kosta KL, Isaac 1/2M, Shakira 5/6H & Sienna 5/6H

We hope you have a great day!!

A reminder that all library books are due back now for stocktaking, we appreciate your assistance with this.  If you have misplaced a book, could you please email Erin Hardwicke at erin.hardwicke@cg.catholic.edu.au to assist with our stocktake.

Thank you!

All lost property has been placed on a table near the sliding doors and is filling up very quickly with unnamed clothing and lunchboxes/drink bottles.

Please ensure that your children's belongings are clearly labelled.  If you are missing an item, please remember to check the table, any unclaimed items at the end of term will be disposed of.

Friday 14th December (Week 10)

9-11.30       YMCA
12.30-1.30  Jane

Thank you for your assistance, all help is greatly appreciated.

In 2019 the Canteen will change from Flexischools to QKR, there will be a new menu to come as well.  If you don't already have QKR now is the time to download the app.

PLEASE NOTE:  Due to the hot dogs/puppy dogs falling under the RED food category, they are to be removed from the canteen menu.  The canteen will no longer be selling these food items, as mentioned prior, other healthier food items will be added to the menu in the new year to replace them.