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Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
Last Friday staff from St Michael’s and St Gabriel’s gathered together to participate in a day of professional learning provided by Michael Ymer. Our theme for the day was “ Effective Strategies for teaching Mathematics”. Teachers will now consider some key take aways from the day, and to consider how they could implement these into their current teaching practice.
Students using smart watches at school
It has come to our attention that a number of students across all year levels are using their smart watches to contact their parents whilst at school. At times, parents have also contacted their children during school time to relay messages.Unfortunately, sometimes these messages create a moment of anxiety in the child receiving them and then results in the teachers needing to intervene.
I have attached a snippet from our school technology agreement as a reminder of the school expectations that form the conversations teachers may have with any child seen using their device.
'If I have a smart watch, I will have it disabled during school hours so no messages or calls can be sent or received. If I am found to be using my smart watch to send or receive messages or take photos, it will be confiscated and not given back until the end of the day or ...confiscated until a parent comes to collect it'
The school office or teacher email should be the first point of contact if parents require relaying a message to their child.
School Uniform update
Firstly, an update on the new sports tracksuit. As mentioned in Term One, a new sports tracksuit is currently in production with Lowes. Same design, different material. This has resulted in the current track pants being discontinued and it is no longer available in store. Until the new tracksuit is available in store, we have approved of a fleece track pant option that you can purchase instead.
A reminder that in the cold weather, all students should have an approved school jacket or woollen jumper with them. Students are constantly being reminded about the correct uniform and wearing it in a respectful way. We ask for your assistance in ensuring the children come to school in the school approved uniform items. Any student in other attire such as hoodies will be asked to remove them and will be offered a jacket from the lost property box as an alternative.
Jackets or raincoats can be worn outside during break times over the top of their school uniform.
Multicultural Day Traditional attire
This Friday we celebrate Multicultural Day and we invite you, if possible, to dress in attire from your country of origin and showcase your traditional dress. Please do not go out and buy costumes for this event, as students could wear the colours of their country’s flag. For example, blue and white for Greece; orange, green and white for India or green and gold for Australia. This day is all about celebrating the many cultures that make up our school community and it is a lovely way to be able to teach students about their peers' cultural backgrounds.
Gates after school
A reminder that both the Front Gate and back Church Gate are fully supervised by teachers at the end of the school day. We understand that parents may be running late or held up by traffic, and we will remain with your child until you arrive. This is an important conversation to have with your child. Often there are lots of tears and worries when parents are not there to meet their child at the classroom door, but by reassuring them that sometimes you may run late, and that there will be a teacher to watch them, will calm and provide them with a sense of safety.
Kind regards
Lia DiCorleto
Important Dates:
- Thursday 12 June - 5/6 Gold Rush Expo 2:50pm
- Friday 13th June - Multicultural Day - Mass at 11:30am
- Thursday 26th June - Grandparents afternoon 2pm
- Thursday 3rd July - Italian Week Dress up Parade 9am
- Friday 4th July - End of term - School finishes at 1pm
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 given out at Assembly on Friday.
In Week 8 the School Wide Expectation focus is Respect:
I treat my peers, teachers and learning environment with respect.
I show appreciation for the efforts of others.
I speak kindly to others.
I show justice and fairness to all.
I listen carefully to others.
| Khalani Hamblyn | Audrey McKenna | Lincoln Milliner |
| Sam McMahon | Indiana Devitt | Owen Thexton |
| Meila Garth | Isla DiDio | Sammi Illing |
| Emoya Konyi | Frankie Colgan | Grace Ketchion |
| Eylyn Roji | Ella Thornton | Eden Marotta |
| Sebastien Crozier | Henley Ing | Finn Hourigan |
| Marley Martin | Huntah Martin | |
| Sanvika Suveesh | Ella Hogan |
Our next Parents & Friends group meeting is Monday 16th June at 7pm in the Staffroom at St Michael's.
St Michael’s Students Shine at Winter Round Robin
Tuesday 3rd June, 2025
St Michael’s Grade 5/6 students proudly represented their school at the Traralgon District Winter Round Robin on Tuesday 3rd June, competing in a range of sports including Tee-ball, AFL, Soccer and Netball.
All students gave their best and enjoyed the opportunity to compete against other schools in a supportive and spirited environment.
A special congratulations goes to our Netball and AFL A teams, who were successful in progressing through to the Division level. We wish them the very best of luck in the next round!
Thank you to the dedicated parents who supported the event through coaching, umpiring and assisting on the day—your help is invaluable and greatly appreciated. Congratulations also to the Grade 5/6 teachers for their tireless efforts in preparing and organising students for this fantastic day of sport.
Regional Cross Country Success
On Thursday 5th June, a team of determined St Michael’s students travelled to Drouin to compete in the Regional Cross Country event. Representing our school were Hannah Rochstad-Lim, Jackson Stanistreet, Harry McMahon, Louie Flowers, Mack Prince and Harry Duncan.
Each student gave their all, showing great resilience and determination throughout the event. We are incredibly proud of their efforts and the way they represented St Michael’s.
A huge congratulations to Harry Duncan, who finished first in the Under 11 Boys race and will now go on to compete at the State Championships—an outstanding achievement!
Well done to all involved in both events!
The feast of Pentecost celebrates the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples and energising them to set about their mission of continuing the ministry of Jesus. Sunday’s gospel is one of the post-resurrection appearances by Jesus when he breathed the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. The actual events of that first Pentecost are recorded in the book of Acts and are recalled in this week’s first reading. The use of this post-resurrection gospel account is a reminder that Jesus had already imbued the disciples with the Spirit but, as so often throughout his ministry, they were a bit slow to catch on to the significance of what he had done. It seems that they needed a more tangible experience to jolt them into action and Acts records the very physical experience of the Spirit entering their midst as a roaring wind before settling upon them as tongues of flame. Jesus had breathed the Spirit upon them but it took the roaring wind to make a real impression on the disciples. There are frequent references in the gospels to Jesus being ‘filled with the Spirit’. It is this Spirit with which he was filled that he breathed upon his disciples; it is that same Spirit that we receive sacramentally in Confirmation.
For the weeks following the death of Jesus the disciples had lived in fear and confusion, not fully understanding what had happened and not really knowing what to do. When they realised that the Spirit Jesus had breathed upon them was really present and urging them to action they finally had the courage to begin the mission that Jesus had entrusted to them: to spread the Good News of Jesus and continue to realise his message in the world.
St Michael’s Primary School has a long tradition of supporting our local St Vincent de Paul Society. We aspire to live the Gospel message by serving Christ through our care for the poor, showing respect and compassion to all members of society.
Each year we support St Vincent de Paul with two collections: mid-year we collect cans for the winter and December we support the Christmas Appeal.
We are now collecting non-perishable food items to donate to the St Vinnies winter appeal. We ask that the children bring along canned goods over the next couple of weeks. These items will be collected in the classrooms and might include cans of soup, baked beans, vegetables, tuna …… cans that might be used to create a meal for a family.
On Friday 13th June at 11:30am, at our Whole School Mass, we will present our ‘Winter Collection’ to St Vincent de Paul. We extend the invitation to you all to come along and celebrate the Eucharist with us.
We are excited to let you know that our Year 5/6 students will be showcasing their learning in a Gold Rush Expo as part of our current unit on Australian History including the Gold Rush on Thursday 12 June 2025.
As part of the day’s activities, our year 5 and 6 students would love to present their research and dioramas to families on Thursday afternoon - we are inviting you to visit our 5/6 classes from 2:50pm - 3:20pm. Please enter through the Foundation Front Gate.
Thank you for supporting our students in sharing their learning. We look forward to seeing you at the expo!
In the week beginning June the 30th, the school will celebrate an Italian cultural week. A number of things will happen during this week.Firstly, for the grade 3s to 6, there will be a school incursion on Monday the 30th of June. This will be held in the school hall. Foundation to grade 2, will have their incursion on Thursday the 3rd of July. This will also be in the hall.
On Thursday, the 3rd of July 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
During this week, the children will also be able to taste some gelati. We will also have available gluten and dairy free sorbet, such as Gelativo from Woolies. 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. The gelati will be served in cups, not cones. (cscholtes@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au).
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
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
