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- Important Dates & Events
- Principal's Page - Judy Egan
- Rostrum Public Speaking Finals!
- The Resilience Project!
- Happy Birthday
- Harmony Awards
- Parish News
- Religious Education News - Erika Tokich
- Sport & Library News - Erin Hardwicke
- NCCD Information
- Kidsafe Youth Action Committee EOIs Open
- Story Dogs
- School Counsellor News
- Parentline!
- School Sport ACT - ACT Teams Selection - 2024
| Thursday 23 May | Belconnen Region Cross Country | |
| Friday 24 May | 2:15pm | 5/6 Indigo Assembly |
| Monday 27 May | Reconciliation Day Public Holiday | |
| Thursday 30 May | First Eucharist Retreat Day - Year 4 | |
| Thursday 30 May | 6:00pm | First Eucharist Parent Child Formation Evening |
| Friday 31 May | Assembly & Awards | |
Hats On!
Students are still expected to wear hats. Hats off is for June/July.
Dear Parents and Carers,
We had a wonderful Athletics Carnival at Merici College last Thursday. Thank you so much to Erin Hardwicke our sports lead and all the staff and parent volunteers who helped us on the day. The children had a great day including a sausage sizzle for lunch and participation in many novelties as well as races, shot put and discus events. Our Kindergarten students enjoyed the 70-metre running race so much that that they continued running after the finish line! There were some very tired little people and adults on Thursday afternoon!
Staff and student Illness
This is the time of year when we have staff and student illness impacting our classes. We are fortunate to have a small pool of relief staff however if they become unwell, we may need to split classes across the school. You may hear your child refer to their ‘day away folder’ all staff prepare learning in the event of unexpected absence to ensure the students continue a quality learning programme. It is important that staff and students remain at home if they are unwell- this assists in curbing the spread of illness. We thank our families for supporting us in ensuring students do not attend school if they have cold or flu symptoms or are generally unwell.
Digital Safety
Does your child have a personal device, i-phone or i-pad? Are you monitoring the use of the device? Primary school aged children are not in a place to make informed decisions about digital safety- they need your help. We are including information around parent controls and recommend these strategies. The statistics on the harm caused by misuse of digital devices is frightening, please take control of your child’s use of devices to keep them safe. Here are some suggestions:
- Only using the iPad or phone at a table where adults are around
- iPad/phones are not taken into bedrooms
- Parental controls are installed
- Parents monitor chat rooms
Parental Controls information by Apple, provides family sharing support around securing your child’s access and content on devices.
https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT208982
Below is a link to the E-Safety Commissioner website that provides valuable tools for parents to feel informed about cyber safety.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents
School Fees
School fees have been sent out and we thank all our families for promptly paying fees to support St Michael’s. If you are experiencing issues with fees, please call and make an appointment to see me. CECG are working with schools to ensure we have systems in place for fee collection. If you have any questions, please reach out to Lynda our Office Manager or arrange to meet with me, we would be happy to address any questions or concerns.
Positive Mental Health
We continue to partner with The Resilience Project to teach our students the importance of emotional resilience through gratitude, empathy and mindfulness. What is one thing that you are grateful for today? We are teaching our students that positivity, compassion and kindness lead to happines, hope and joy. Thank you for helping us to build a community where trust and mutual support is so highly valued.
Many blessings,
Judy Egan
Principal
Congratulations to Xanthia (5/6I), Alexander (5/6I), Annika (5/6P) and Isabella (5/6P) who spoke in our school's rostrum public speaking finals. You each spoke with such enthusiasm and should be extremely proud of your efforts.
Congratulations to Alexander who will be representing our school at the next level. We wish him the best of luck!
This week’s presentation from The Resilience Project focuses on Gratitude.
Gratitude is paying attention to the things that we have right now, and not worrying about what we don’t have. We practise this by noticing the positives that exist around us.
Research shows that practising gratitude rewires our brains to overcome the negativity bias (which can lead to anxiety and depression). Cultivating gratitude helps us to be thankful for our world. It is also shown to broaden thinking, and increase physical health through improved sleep and attitude to exercise.
View Part 2 of the series here:
Part 2 - Gratitude: https://theresilienceproject.com.au/2023-parent-carer-hub-inspire-hugh/
There are many ways in which you can practise gratitude, including starting a gratitude journal. You can simply use a notebook to list three things that went well for you each day or use a more comprehensive Wellbeing Journal, like those created by The Resilience Project.
Source: Psychology Today
For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page.
Shianne Sahariv
Classroom Teacher
Special wishes to those children who will celebrate their birthday this week:
| Stuti S | 3/4Green |
| Carol G | 3/4Orange |
| Xanthia B | 5/6Indigo |
| Zoe E | 3/4Green |
Congratulations to the following students who achieved a Harmony Award this week.
Well done!!
| K Yellow | Bonnie C |
| 1/2 Blue | Graham W |
| 1/2 Red | Mia B |
| 3/4 Green | Lillian B |
| 3/4 Orange | Emma M |
| 5/6 Indigo | Kosta B |
| 5/6 Pink | Annika S |
Parish Sacramental Program 2024
2024 Parish Sacramental Program – for students who are baptised and in years 4-6 in 2024.
Sacrament of First Communion – will be celebrated during the four Parish weekend Masses on 15 and 16 June 2024.
Trybooking – is open and will close this Friday 24 May 2024 - to book the Mass service for your child to celebrate the Sacrament.
As these Masses will be regular Sunday Masses (includes parishoners) we will try to limit 20 candidates at each of the 4 Masses.
The TRYBOOKING links are listed on the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
Please note: The Saturday 5pm Mass is fully subscribed.
Sacrament of Confirmation – will be celebrated on 17, 18, and 19 September. Registrations will open on 24 June 2024.
For further Information – please contact the Sacramental Program Coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au or check the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth
This week I was privileged to attend the “A Current of Grace’ International Schools Conference. Delegates from 13 countries gathered together to discuss the key role of evangelisation in Catholic schools. Keynote speaker Archbishop Christopher Prowse discussed the 3 principles of evangelisation; encounter, discipleship and mission and how they all work together to make Jesus known and loved.
Educators from around the world shared how their schools nurture faith and how staff and students bear witness to the gospel values. A number of students also shared their personal testimonies of their own encounters and how the Holy Spirit is helping them to put their faith into action.
Listening to speakers from across the globe, it was both inspiring and affirming to hear that we all have one shared mission. We all want our schools to educate both the mind and heart; for students to encounter and become disciples of Jesus. We all experience many of the same challenges including adapting to our ever changing world and being inclusive to the diversity of our students.
The words of Barbara Coupar, the director of the Scottish Education Service resonated with me. She said that Catholic Education needs to be, ‘Inspirational, Intentional and Inclusive’. She spoke of how our schools need to be a positive and powerful force for God’s love and mission to be stewards of all creation.
The conference was also an opportunity to share how different dioceses create pathways for their students' faith formation and encounter. Staff from our local Canberra Goulburn Archdiocese discussed the CSYMA (Catholic Schools Youth Mission Australia) program. Last year St Michael’s started the first phase of this program with a Journey with Jesus retreat day. This year we are in the second phase using CSYMA resources that support our Religious Education curriculum. We look forward to continuing the implementation of this program.
Catholic Education certainly has a big responsibility, but what a privilege to journey together as families and schools, with Jesus at the heart of all we do.
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This year all the Year 4 students at St Michael’s and St Monica’s will be joining for a Eucharist Retreat Day next Thursday the 30th of May at St Monica’s school Evatt. The day will focus on learning more about Eucharist through Scripture and reflect on the importance of Eucharist in our lives. Parent’s of Year 4 students have received a Compass note with additional details for the event. They are asked to give permission and advise of any dietary requirements by the end of the week. |
Please contact Bridgette McCann for more information: bridgette.mccann@cg.catholic.edu.au
My name is Jo, and I am happy to be back as the School Counsellor at St Michaels in 2024.
I have a psychology and counselling background and I have a great passion in working with young people. I feel it is a great privilege to be able to support them with their growth, emotions, relationships, and any other concerns they might be experiencing.
The school counselling program is a first port of call in supporting your child’s mental wellbeing within the school environment. I am able to provide short-term counselling intervention sessions over a few weeks and provide support and guidance in accessing external services if required. Feel free to touch base with any questions or concerns relating to the counselling service at your school, happy to chat through the program and the support I can offer in this role. I am at the school on a Monday each week.
If you would like to make a referral for your child, please use the link below to access the form – once the referral has been put through, I will be in touch as soon as possible.
https://catholiccare.force.com/housing/s/school-referral-form
I look forward to working with you and your school throughout 2024!
School Sport ACT - ACT Teams Selection - Important Information
Please see the School Sport ACT webpage http://www.schoolsportaustralia.edu.au/stateterritory-school-sport-offices/school-sport-act/ or Facebook page for the most up to date information.
SCHOOL SPORT ACT TRIALS – Please keep an eye on the School Sport ACT website www.schoolsportact.asn.au for upcoming ACT trials. The process for registering can be found below. If you need any assistance registering your child please feel free to ask for assistance.
How to register your child with School Sport ACT
School Sport ACT now collects all registration information online – this is to prevent the movement to and fro of a paper note and have all information readily available to officials prior to the trial. As this process incurs a fee for data storage, system maintenance and admin, a small fee payment via credit card will be required.
- Go to the School Sport ACT website – www.schoolsportact.asn.au
- Click Register (top right corner of homepage) for an Account – enter parent details and password
- A confirmation email will be sent to your chosen email that will contain a link that you must click on to verify the email account.
- Click Log In (top right hand corner of home page) enter password then click on top tab My Profile
- You will see a ‘dashboard’ of your information, click green box to Add Student – enter student and medical details and save.
- Go to the Sports Tab – choose your specific sport, click on Trial Information box then click on the Register to Trial link.
- Select your child’s name from the dropdown box and then enter the optional fields for Playing History, Preferred Position (if applicable) and Representative Experience. If you are already in the system, ensure your child’s school is up to date in your profile – have they moved onto High School?