Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians, 

Last Friday and Saturday I attended the Diocesan Assembly held at Federation University, where over 200 delegates from across the Diocese had the opportunity to determine key priorities and actions for the Diocese for the next five years. A hot topic of discussion was the importance of the school’s relationship with our Parish and the role that our youth play in shaping the future of our Church. From the Assembly, these priorities, and many others identified,  will be presented to Bishop Greg and an implementation plan developed. It was a great opportunity to help determine the strategic path for the Diocese of Sale.  

Changes to Parent Teacher Interview structure 

In Term One, parents are invited to attend an Open Classroom afternoon. This is an opportunity for parents and carers to observe their child’s learning space and ask any questions of teachers that you or your child may be thinking about the year ahead.  At mid year (June), reports are sent home and we conduct a formal parent teacher interview. 

In Term Three, we conduct Student Led Conferences. This provides a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge successes, challenges and goals for each child. It is a chance for the child to reflect on their learning and another occasion to link the learning between school and home. 

At St Michael’s, we use SIMON as a tool to produce reports. This allows student outcomes to be checked several times throughout the year and changes made to the level of achievement if necessary. The mid year report indicates student achievement at the mid year point and is based on specific outcomes or content areas covered. A further report is completed at the end of the year and all outcomes are listed and assessed. The student reports will be found on PAM twice yearly. 

Open Classroom Afternoon - Tuesday 25th February 3.40pm to 5.00pm 

We warmly invite parents, carers and guardians to attend our Open Classroom Afternoon. During this time, your child’s classroom will be open to allow you to meet their teacher and to view some samples of their work completed so far. This is an opportunity to observe the learning space and ask any questions of teachers that you or your child may be thinking about the year ahead. Classrooms will be open from 3.40pm to 5.00pm. There is no need to make a booking as there are not allotted time slots, but rather a casual approach to meeting the teaching team. The specialist classrooms will also be open for viewing at this time.

Attendance

It is really important that your child is at school every day, unless they are unwell. Frequent absences have a great impact on children's learning. It is also important that children arrive at school on time as information is discussed at the beginning of the day and not hearing this information or coming into a class that has already begun can be very unsettling if a child is frequently late. 

It is a requirement that you notify the school if your child is absent.  Please use PAM to notify of your child’s planned absence or if they’re  sick.  Current guidelines in place for all schools mean that you will be contacted by the school if your child is absent without contact from you. Written notes can also be sent as a way of informing us of planned, future absences.  A text message will be issued if the school has not been informed of an absence by 9:30am.

Important Dates - these dates are also located on the school website 

• Thursday 20th February - School Photos 
• Tuesday 25th February - Open Classroom Afternoon 
• Friday 28th February - Year 3- 6 Athletics Day 
• Friday 28th February - Year 1/2 Mass 
• Wednesday 5th March - Ash Wednesday whole school Mass 12pm (all families are welcome) 
• Friday March 7th - School Closure Day - Staff Professional Development Day 
• Tuesday 11th March - School Closure Day - Staff Professional Development Day 
• Wednesday 12th March - NAPLAN begins 

Kind regards, 

Lia DiCorleto

Luke 6: 17 - 26

This week's gospel is a familiar one to many of us, the Beatitudes. In Luke's version of this story the afflicted are to be ‘happy’ rather than ‘blessed.’ It seems odd that anybody should be happy to be poor, hungry, mourning or reviled and we would certainly regard these as states of sadness and difficulty; not times for rejoicing at our good fortune! However, this gospel in particular frequently reminds us that God does not think, feel and behave as we might expect. God’s actions are frequently contrary to the expectations of society. The Gospel of Luke makes it plain that the reign of God will upend the structures of society. The lowly will be raised and the mighty will be brought low.

It is in this context that the poor, the hungry and the outcast are regarded as happy. Their happiness comes from the reassurance that although they are rejected and dismissed by society, they are indeed the most favoured of God. Whatever the world dishes up to such as these, they can rejoice in the knowledge that in the reign of God their fortunes will be reversed and they will be favoured. However, just as the fortunes of the poor and afflicted will be reversed for the better, those who are rich, well fed, happy and well regarded will also have their fortunes reversed. Alas to them! Their comfort and joy leaves no room for the generosity of God!

Wednesday 5th March we begin the period of Lent with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday. Traditionally Shrove Tuesday is a day for preparation when people would indulge in sweet treats before fasting begins, commonly this involved eating pancakes which is why it has become known to some as Pancake Day.

On Tuesday 4th March the Mission Team will be making and selling pancakes at St Michael’s. The funds raised on the day will be used to support Project Compassion.

Pancakes will be available for $1 each. There will be an assortment of toppings available. 

Dairy free and Gluten Free pancakes available.

Orders to be placed on CDF by Monday 3rd March at 10pm.

The School Savings Bonus is a State Government initiative designed to assist families with cost-of-living pressures. Under this funding, each eligible student is entitled to a $400 bonus for application towards activity levies and uniform purchases from approved supplier. Within our school, all CSEF applicants are eligible to receive this funding. All families who have a Centrelink Health Care Card and have not applied for CSEF in the past are encouraged to contact the school office and initiate an application this year. Please refer to the below link for more information:

https://www.vic.gov.au/receiving-school-saving-bonus#non-government-school-information

All 2024 CSEF recipients and new 2025 recipients will receive a letter and DOSCEL Funds Allocation Form for SSB via email. Please complete and return the form as soon as possible, but no later than 28th February 2025. If you would prefer to complete a paper copy of the Allocation form they will be available at the office.

At St Michael’s we are lucky enough to team with The Resilience Project again in 2025. The Resilience Project is an evidence- based program that is designed to teach positive mental health strategies to all students and members of the school community. 

The four pillars of the program are Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy. Each part plays an important role in helping children understand their emotions and build positive mental health and coping strategies from an early age. Lesson content includes learning how to help others, practising mindfulness, being grateful and thankful for things they have and learning to recognise and understand their emotions.

GEM chats are done regularly and are practised by both students and teachers, and this is something that you can do at home with your child. 

This year, grades 3-6 have Resilience Project school diaries and our younger students have TRP reading logs. These diaries have many ideas of how you can connect with your child and use the GEM practices at home. 

Good News: New CDFpay mobile app available to download

St Michael’s School will be using the new CDFpay mobile app for uniform shop, events, fundraising, and special lunch days at our school from the start of Term 1 2025. 

How to register for a new CDFpay account

1. Download the CDFpay mobile app on the Apple or Google store, then click ‘Sign up now’.
   No app? Register here

Important:

• You will not be able to use your existing CDFpay credentials to log in to the new CDFpay mobile app. You will need to follow these steps to create a new CDFpay account (you can use the same email address if desired).
• Register for a new CDFpay account before the start of Term 1 2025 and we will transfer any remaining balance on your account before the end of March 2025.

2. Enter and confirm your email address, then click ‘Sign up’.
3. Check your email inbox and follow the prompts to complete your account registration (check junk/spam if lost).

After you have registered and entered your child’s details, you can:

• Top up your parent wallet.
  • To avoid card surcharges, top up $50 or more using a debit card or bank transfer any value.
• Order and pay in seconds!

Have questions? View CDFpay powered by Flexischools Help & Support for detailed FAQs or chat to the Flexischools Digital Assistant. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please complete the online Contact Form and Flexischools will get back to you directly.

We offer hot lunches weekly on a Monday with Munch Lunch. They are a local company that offer a variety of lunch items. 

Ordering is simple, download the Spriggy Schools app via your App Store or Google Play store, select St Michael's School,  add your children and their class to the app and place your order!  Lunches will then be delivered to school. Orders need to be placed by 9:00am on the day. You can pre order lunches 2 weeks in advance.

Contact: Munch Lunch 0459 220 445 or hello.munch.lunch@gmail.com