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Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,
What a wonderful experience the children had yesterday performing at the Traralgon Eisteddfod. We know for some children this is their time to shine and they love the opportunity to perform. For others it is not so easy and something that they find a huge challenge. We are proud of them all.
Thank you also to our Parents and Friends group for all their work in organising and running the Fathers Day stall. We appreciate all your doing in helping to build the school community.
Gates before and after school
Please note that the front and church pedestrian gates automatically unlock at 8:30am, and again at 3:10pm. Parents are welcome to walk through the gates at these times and do not need to wait for a teacher to open the gate for them. There will be teachers on duty in the yard so the children are not left unsupervised. We acknowledged that at times the gates have been lapsing and apologise that they have not unlocked “on the dot”, this is out of our control and is a main server issue with the provider. They have been notified of this issue but as yet it has not been resolved.
2024 requests for classes
All school staff aspire towards providing an environment where the best interests of the child are held paramount. While teachers may not have the same attachment to a child that a parent does, the staff at St Michael’s care personally for the children in the school. We are starting the process of planning for the 2024 school year. If parents have a genuine reason for class placement requests for next year, could you please email them through to principal@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au by Friday 15th September.
An enormous amount of time and effort is put into the creation of class lists and many factors are taken into consideration by the staff. A written request will be considered on its merits but is not a guarantee. Who is teaching which grade has not yet been decided so please do not request certain teachers.
At St Michael’s we work on a whole school approach to class planning and are blessed to have a committed teaching staff who collaborate to give the very best learning opportunities to all students in our care. Please be aware that a request has to be made for this current year, we will not be referring to requests made 12 months ago as circumstances change.
If your family situation is changing, we would also appreciate you letting the Office know. An accurate indication of student numbers assists us enormously in our planning for 2024. We have a waiting list for some grades and if we know you are leaving we can offer them your spot.
All requests are due by Friday 15th September and no further requests will be considered after this time.
Kind regards
Jodie
- Thursday 31st August - Yr 4 Camp to Coonawarra
- Thursday 7th September - Italian Week Dress up day and parade
- Friday 8th September - School closure day
- Monday 11th September - Fairytale day (Foundation only)
- Monday 11th September - Year 3 Camp to Allambee
- Thursday 14th September - Footy Colours day
- End of term -Thursday 14th September at 3:20 pm.
In the week beginning September the 4th, the school will celebrate an Italian cultural week. A number of things will happen during this week..
Firstly, there will be a school incursion on Monday the 4th of September. This will be held in the school hall. We have an Italian magician coming to perform 2 shows during the day for the children.
On Thursday the 7th of September at about 9am, we will have a school parade. Parents, family and friends are warmly welcomed to attend. The children are invited to dress up in the Italian colours (green, white and red) or as an Italian character.
Some simple ideas are as follows:
- a pizza chef - just need a pizza box and an apron
- a gondolier driver - a stripey top and black pants
- gelato (ice cream) - a colourful wig with brown clothing
- a Carnevale participant- a mask (can be made or Spotlight has some)
- a soccer player - soccer top and soccer ball
- a painter like Michelangelo - school art smock or old shirt and a paintbrush
- any clothing with the Italian colours (red, white green) - some children wear green sports tops on sports day and all children have a red polo shirt.
- An Italian flag
On this day, the children will also be able to taste some gelati. If your child is not able to have gelati because of health issues, please contact Carla Scholtes on the email address below to arrange an alternative. We usually also have available gluten and dairy free sorbet, such as Gelativo from Woolies but please let her know if your child will need this.The gelati will be served in cups, not cones. (cscholtes@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au).
Foundation- 2 section
Highly commended went to the Foundation team for their performance of Puddles, 3rd place to 1/2CD with Cover me in Sunshine, 2nd place to 1/2AB with Anything You Can Do and congratulations to 1/2EF on their performance of Splish Splash
3/4 Section
3rd place went to 3/4EF for their performance of Purple People Eater, 2nd place went to 3/4AB with Shotgun and congratulations to 3/4CD on their performance of Addams Family.
5/6 Section
A highly commended went to 5/6EF with their performance of I'm a Believer, 3rd place went to 5/6AB with Proud Mary and 2nd place went to 5/6CD who performed the Mummy Song. A group from Morwell Central took out the top spot in this section.
Choir
The choir competed in their own open primary school section in the afternoon. They performed One Voice and Naughty. They did a fantastic job and ended up coming 3rd in the section.
Thank you to all the teachers and students for all their effort and hard work to get the songs up to performance standard. Thank you to all the parents/grandparents and other supporters who came to watch the students perform. The eisteddfod is a unique opportunity for the students and we are lucky to be able to offer it here at St Michael's.
Each week students from each class are awarded Student of the Week certificates. These children are nominated for the example they have been within the school based on the School Wide Expectation focus for that week. The weekly focus will be from Wednesday until Tuesday the following week. Awards will be presented to students at assembly on Friday.
In Week 8 the School Wide Expectation focus is Safety :
The award winners for Week 8 are:
| Vivienne Lugtu | Annabel Wight | Audrey Crow |
| Molly Davis | Johnathan Salama | Estelle Archibald |
| Amalee Kendall | Nadine Chihota | Claudia Blomquist |
| Ava Cahir | Mark Edgar | Xavier Buhagiar |
| Eva Brady | Alexis Lia | Akoch Manhiem |
| Ollie White | Ajak Manhiem | Chloe Rawson |
| Peyton Palmer | Blake Warne | Chris Keo |
Jesus goes on to say to Peter, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.” Peter isn’t perfect. Remember, before Jesus is crucified, Peter denies him three times, just as Jesus predicted he would. Yet Jesus trusts him to be the leader of his disciples. Why is a rock a good symbol for faith? A rock is a symbol of solidness and strength. Rocks are hard to break, but they can break other things easily. How would you describe your own faith? Is it as strong as a rock?
Preparation for the 2023 Communion Sacrament will begin with a Parent Information Meeting on the 25th October at 6pm in the St Michael’s Church.
Registration forms are due back at the Parish Office by Friday 16th September. If your child is in Grade 4 and you have not yet received your information OR if your child is in Grade 5 or 6, has received Reconciliation and has not yet received First Communion please contact me via email srickwood@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au .
Regards, Sue Rickwood
Coming up....
- Thursday 14th September - Footy Day Hot Dog Day
Please note if you wish to communicate with the P&F they have a new email address pandf@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au
The Second Hand uniform shop
The shop will be open every 4th Thursday of the month. The next day it will be open will be on Thursday 26th October from 3:00pm to 3:30pm. The stall is located in the large meeting room at the school, so those wishing to purchase items will need to enter through the main office. Donations and swaps welcome.
Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge
The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 8 September 2023. There are 11 days left to complete the challenge! Could students participating please complete their entries by the 5th of September to allow time for verification.
Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.
All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers.
To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: https://www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge
Deborah Gilmour in the school library is able to help with any enquires.
