Important Dates

Please make a note of these in your calendars;

Term 3

• Mercy Day: Wednesday September 23
• St Michael’s Talent Show / Last day Term 3: Friday September 25

Term 4

• Pupil Free Day (Staff Professional Development): Monday October 12
• Open Night and Book Fair: Wednesday October 21
• Book Costume Parade: Friday October 23
• Walkathon: Friday October 30
• Confirmation: Sunday 8 November

Mercy Day

Next Wednesday September 23 is our annual opportunity to honour the Mercy traditions upon which our school is founded. Students and staff will be participating in a variety of activities throughout the day designed to capture the spirit of our Mercy values; faith, service, truth and compassion. Everyone is encouraged to wear blue on the day to signify both the Mercy faction and the colour of the Mercy order. Students will be offered a free icy pole at lunchtime but will still need to supply/order their own recess and lunch as per normal.

In the morning, Father Son and the Year 3 students are leading Mass, although at this stage we ask parents to refrain from attending to keep our numbers in the church to a minimum. The middle of the day is dedicated to our class stalls and your child/ren’s teacher will be in touch with you around any preparation for this. Students are encouraged to bring small denominations totaling no more than $5 to spend at the Mercy Day Fair. In the afternoon, some representatives from Mercedes College will be coming to speak about how they enact the Mercy values in a secondary school context with the Year 3-6 students. And finally, classes will be working together to unpack the meaning behind each Mercy value and how we can enact these in our daily school life.

Staying Vigilant: Avoiding Known Allergens

Recently some students have been coming to school with foods that could put others at risk of anaphylactic shock. Sometimes certain foods contain ingredients that are not commonly understood to contain allergens e.g. hummus contains chickpeas (legumes) and appears fine for children with nut allergies, but the sesame seeds can trigger an allergic reaction as this is a common co-allergy to nut allergies. Students are not permitted to share their food at school, however, we ask that parents remain vigilant about what is included in lunchboxes given the sensitivity of nut allergies in young children. Thank you kindly for your cooperation with this, student safety is our priority.

Staying Vigilant: Online Safety

There is always going to be unsafe, unkind and unhealthy content floating around on the internet. As a partnership of parents and educators, we must be constantly vigilant and proactive about knowing what children have access to both at school and in the home. The Office of the Australian eSafety Commissioner is an excellent resource for schools and parents alike to utilise in their efforts to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content and support for children who have been exposed to such content. St Michael’s recommends all parents visit the following website to ensure that just as we supervise children’s physical safety, so too must we work together to supervise their digital safety. https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

Updated Vegetable Garden

This year we have updated the vegetable garden area with raised garden beds. It has been a slow process with COVID-19 putting it on the backburner for a period of time, however, recently the Environment Ministry were able to get their hands dirty by planting the first plants. Thanks to the people involved in getting it up and running with one of our parents, Brad Roberts, helping to clear the old garden and Ms Venosi working with the students. We are looking forward to seeing them grow in this beautiful weather.

Year 5 Business Stalls

For Term 3, the Year 5 students have a class-based monetary reward system. Students earn “money” for completing work, doing class jobs and improving in their learning. They also need to pay for their desks and chairs and also pay a class tax! Throughout the term, the students have business sessions where they come up with their own idea for a business and run a stall. Students from other classes were invited this week to help boost the economy.

Year 3 Pre-Loved Book Sale

For next Wednesday’s Mercy Day class stalls, the Year 3’s are hosting a 2nd hand book sale. If your family has any excess, well-maintained books that you would like the opportunity to offload, please bring them into Year 3 before next Wednesday. We can’t wait to share more literature with St Michael’s children in this way. Thank you kindly for your donations.

Assistant Principal
Jemima Saunders