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| THIS WEEK | ||
| 25 October | Kinder, Year 1, Year 2 & Year 6 return to school | |
| NEXT WEEK | ||
| 1 November | All students return to school | |
| 4 November | Reconciliation Parent/Child Formation Night 6pm | |
| COMING UP | ||
| 9 November | Sacrament of Reconciliation | |
| 10 November | Kinder 2022 Orientation tba | |
Please remember that copies of notes sent home are available on our website. https://www.stmichaelsps.act.edu.au/notes
Dear Parents and Carers,
We had a wonderful day on Monday welcoming back our Kinder, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6 students. There were many stories being shared and the delight on children’s faces was wonderful to witness as they joined their friends and teachers again. I know for families there will also be a huge sigh of relief, after trying to struggle with work demands and schooling.
A bright spot last Friday night was the Trivia fun night organised by Mr Webb, thank you to Damien for his generosity for taking the time to present this, it was enjoyed by over 30 families. Thanks also to Jane McKeough, our amazing Arts teacher for her wonderful, colourful welcome back sign! 
This Friday 29th October is World Teacher’s Day and I want to take the opportunity to thank our dedicated teachers at St Michael’s. The fact that 3 teachers on our staff are going through the process of collecting evidence and creating portfolios to attain the classification of Highly Accomplished, speaks to the professionalism and commitment to excellence of teachers at St Michael’s.
Many blessings and stay safe
Judy Egan
Assessment and Reporting
This year CECG (Catholic Education Canberra/Goulburn) schools moved to the COMPASS platform to deliver Semester 1 and Semester 2 reports which didn’t include a section for comments. Communication from CECG around the change to reporting was included in newsletters. At St Michael’s we strongly value partnerships for learning and we would like to change the reporting structure this semester. As this report will also have no comments, we are encouraging parents to meet with teachers in Week 9 to have a productive discussion focusing on learning strengths and challenges for the students and some personal goals for 2022. These meetings will take place using MS Teams. Due to the prolonged period of Remote Learning for much of the term, the reports will focus on Religious Education, Literacy (English) and Numeracy (Mathematics). Teachers will also be reporting on a scale for student engagement with learning including creative and critical thinking, communication, responsibility, and collaboration. It is our hope that parents/carers will feel more informed with this change to the process.
Morning Drop off and Afternoon Pick up
Things have been running smoothly this week. Thank you to the families who are reading our communication and supporting safe practices. Don’t forget to put a clear sign on your windscreen, helping us to identify your family name, this makes the process a lot quicker.
A few important reminders:
- If you arrive after 8.50am and the sliding door is locked, your children can enter via the Front Office, and we will sign them in, as this will avoid adults coming into the building.
- If you need to collect your child during the day, please call us and we will sign them out and walk them out to you.
- Please do not sign your children in late or out early on the COMPASS app, we will do it for you, as this causes inconsistencies with attendance data.
Upcoming Events
Large group events are currently discouraged due to COVID-19. CECG have notified us that shortly we will receive information about events such as Graduations and Kindergarten Orientation.
Our date for the Year 6 Graduation is Wednesday 8th December, Week 10. We will be able to invite families to the Church for a liturgy and awards ceremony. Further planning depends on information from CECG around ACT Health Directives.
COVID19 Safety Practices
It can be quite confusing keeping up with COVID-19 safety practices, here is a quick Q and A. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Does my child have to wear a mask at school?
No, only high school students are required to wear masks.
What if I want my child to wear a mask?
We will support the wearing of masks and are happy for the children to bring masks from home. We have some child-sized masks available in classrooms.
The same rules apply for K-6 children at school no matter what their age.
Newsletter Week 4 – The Remote Learning Edition
Rosary
Don’t forget there is an opportunity to pray with the extended parish in a special Rosary on Friday, 29th October at 6pm.
First Reconciliation & Confirmation
Please see the information from our Parish Office below. We keep all the candidates for both Reconciliation and Confirmation in our prayers as they faithfully prepare to receive these blessed sacraments in November.
All Saints / All Souls
The feasts of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day occur next week on the 1st and 2nd of November. We pause to remember and pray for all who have died, especially those loved ones we have lost in the past year. Special prayer times will be celebrated in classes as we cannot gather together at this stage. Children will be invited to add the names of loved ones who have died to our prayer wall and classes will take some time in November to pray at the prayer space.
School Prayer
In these challenging times it is good to reflect that we at St Michael’s have our own school prayer to help us through. I am including it below for families who may wish to add it to your own family prayer times.
I am a child of God
Today I will walk proudly because I am loved
I will use my eyes to see the challenges before me
I will use my words to build caring relationships
I will use my ears to hear your message
Jesus, today I invite you into my heart
so that I may live in harmony with those around me
and have the courage to face the things I find difficult.
Amen
Sacramental Program 2021
Sacrament of Confirmation – New Dates confirmed
Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions in the ACT the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation will now be celebrated on:
Tuesday 23 November in St Michael’s Church at 12 noon and 6pm;
Wednesday 24 November in St Monica’s Church at 12 noon and 6pm; and
Thursday 25 November in St Monica’s Church at 12 noon and 6pm.
COVID Restrictions - due to Covid restrictions limited people are allowed in the church for each celebration and as some parents are working from home Fr Loi has included midday and evening liturgies to celebrate the Sacrament. This will be 6 liturgies with around 15 candidates per liturgy.
This means the number of people attending is restricted to a maximum of 4 per family and only people who reside in the household (and the Sponsor). Which means the people attending would be, the candidate, their sponsor and 2 other household members. If the sponsor is unable to attend, a parent may stand in as a proxy.
Booking a date for the Sacrament opened on 18 October and will close by 5 November 2021. Bookings are to be made through the TryBooking links on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
Sacrament of Reconciliation
The Sacrament will be celebrated (5 minute timeslots for each candidate):
9 November in St Michael’s Church from 3.30 to 6pm;
10 November in St Monica’s Church from 3.30 to 6pm; and
11 November in St Monica’s Church from 3.30 to 6pm
Registration for the Sacrament – is now closed and no further registrations can be accepted.
Booking a date and time for the Sacrament - is now open and will close by 29 October 2021. Bookings are to be made through the TryBooking links on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
Home Booklets – will be posted home once the registration has been received. Families should work through the booklet with their child in preparation for the Sacrament and prior to school resuming for Year 3 students on 1 November and in preparation for the Parent/Child Formation night on 4 November 2021.
Commitment Cards – commitment cards were included in the home booklet and are to be completed and returned to the school on the week of 1-5 Nov 2021 or scanned & emailed to the Sacramental Program Coordinator at sue.coll@bigpond.com
The card must be returned prior to celebrating the Sacrament
Parent/Child Formation night – Thursday 4 November 2021 via zoom
Zoom access - https://cgcatholic.zoom.us/j/64196950174
Home booklets must be completed in preparation for the parent/child formation night.
Overdue Library Books
As we approach the end of the school year, we are starting to plan for the library stocktake to take place. Could we please ask that all library books please be returned as soon as possible to allow this to take place. Overdue slips will come home next week.
If you have misplaced any books, could you please return the slip with explanation written on it or email Erin Hardwicke at erin.hardwicke@cg.catholic.edu.au
Dedicated school buses and revised interim bus timetable from Monday 25 October 2021
Transport Canberra’s dedicated school bus services will recommence on Monday 25 October 2021. This includes ‘S’ trips that divert into schools.
Timings have changed for dedicated school services and the regular timetable. We are strongly encouraging families to check their school pack and plan ahead.
Special Needs Transport continues to run for those families that need this service.
A range of COVID Safe measures are in place to help keep students safe on public transport. Please remind families to familiarise themselves with these measures and talk to their children about them prior to the return to school.
From Monday 25 October 2021 buses will run to a revised interim timetable. This timetable is a similar frequency to the timetable that has been running over the past two months, but with some changes to timings to allow better connections for school students.
Light rail is continuing to run to its regular frequency but will see an increase in frequency from Monday 1 November 2021. This will assist with physical distancing on board. Customers will benefit from extended afternoon peak frequency on weekdays and increased frequency on Sunday mornings.
Consider walking or riding to school – or using a Part way point
Parents and carers may also consider alternative ways to get their children to school. If they live close by they can take advantage of the warmer spring weather and walk, ride or scoot to school!
Part way points are also a great way to get some exercise into children’s days for families that live a little further away and this also helps to ease congestion around schools. Parents or carers can simply drop their child at a point, or park and walk the rest of the way with them.
Park safely and legally
All 40km/h school zones are in place between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday. Speed limits in school zones are there to ensure the safety of children by allowing motorists extra time to stop in an unexpected situation.
Parking across pedestrian crossings, corners, verges and double parking can block kids seeing the road.
School packs and timetable information
The revised interim timetables and school packs are now available online.
For enquiries customers are encouraged to visit www.transport.act.gov.au or call 13 17 10.