St. Michael's Primary School ~ Term 2 Week 6

IMPORTANT DATES

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed my first weeks at St Michael’s. My time spent with the students, staff and families has been so rewarding with many moments of joy and learning for me. I thank the PRG members for a wonderful meeting on Wednesday evening at the Tallangatta Hotel. Their commitment to our students, staff and school through this vital group is a sign of the strength of our community, thank you to all the members and supporters. 

As we enter National Reconciliation Week 2024, the importance of fostering understanding and unity among all Australians resonates more deeply than ever. During the week, we honour the rich cultures, histories, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, while also reflecting on the journey towards reconciliation and our part in this journey.  

We are called as followers of Jesus to love God and to love others.  The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2024 is ‘Now More Than Ever’, which reminds us that, no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will – and must – continue. 

Our FIRE Carriers will be working with Michael Chisholm - CES Ltd’s Senior Aboriginal Education Officer and Mrs Moffat in learning more about National Reconciliation Week and Aboriginal Cultures and Histories. Together, we reaffirm our commitment to building respectful relationships and creating a future based on mutual respect, justice, equity, and understanding.

Now more than ever all Australians are encouraged to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives.  We can do this by using Jesus as our model to live a life of love in the service of others, to be brave and speak up to make changes in our world through healing and reconciliation.

Let us pray,

Gracious God, you have given us this great land of Australia.  You want us to share her wealth, her wonders and her land and for all people to be treated equally.  

We pray for your strength and grace to seek justice for all, welcome, accept and include all people of this land.  May the spirit of reconciliation fill our hearts, our minds and our deeds.

We ask this through Jesus, our model and guide.

Amen

With peace and blessings,

Mrs Lisa Hitchcock
Principal

ST MICHAEL’S 2025 ENROLMENTS 

The 2025 enrolments close on 31 May. If you have a child, or know of any families that have a child, who will commence school in 2025 we can organise an enrolment pack. If you have any questions, would like to meet with the principal or would like a school tour please contact the school office. 

Enrolment & Orientation Dates:

2025 Enrolment dates: 

Friday 31 May - Enrolments close
Friday 14 June - Enrolment offers made to families
Friday 28 June - Accept/Decline enrolment offer
Term 3 Weeks 3-5 - Foundation Interviews
Foundation 2025 Orientation Dates - TBC
Statewide Transition - Tuesday 10 December 2024

Term 2 - Parent Support Group (PSG) MEETINGS 

We will be holding our Term 2 PSG meetings during Week 8 - Tuesday 4 and Wednesday 5 June. Families will be notified of dates and times in the coming days. 

Student Reports 

Our teachers are working hard on students’ Semester 1 2024 reports. These reports will be supplemented with a Learning Conversation during Term 3 - Weeks 2 and 3.  At these learning conversations students, families and teachers will discuss the students' achievements in Semester 1, set goals for Semester 2 and ensure a collaboration between students, parents and teachers to support your child/ren’s learning. The reports will look slightly different from 2023 because of this change. They will be released on Thursday 27 June to allow families time to read their child/ren’s report/s before our learning conversations. 

At the beginning of Terms 3 and 4 2024, teachers will send home a termly newsletter that will detail what students will be learning. This will allow families to be aware of the child/ren’s learning and provide opportunities for you to support your child/ren throughout the term. 

Mrs Lisa Hitchcock
Principal

St. Michael’s Primary School is committed to child safety and the inclusion of all children.

New email address - Office Staff 

With the change in office days for staff, a new email address has been created for all office related school communications at:

office@smtallangatta.catholic.edu.au

Principal and teacher emails are still to be addressed directly to the staff member.

Mrs Marsha Ardern - School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) Framework

Growing Our Compassion Garden with Kindness for our SWPBS focus.

At our school, we're committed to nurturing a culture of compassion and kindness. This term, we launched an exciting new initiative called the "Kindness Wall," where students can showcase their acts of kindness and watch them blossom into a beautiful garden of compassion.

The Kindness Wall

The Kindness Wall is located in the main hallway, a vibrant display designed to remind us daily of the importance of kindness. Here's how it works: each time a student performs an act of kindness, they write it down on a water drop-shaped note. These notes are then added to the wall, where they symbolically water the flowers, helping our compassion garden grow.

The wall carries the uplifting message: "Kindness helps our compassion garden grow." It serves as a visual representation of how each small act of kindness contributes to the overall health and happiness of our school community.

Acts of Kindness

We've encouraged all students to participate by performing acts of kindness, no matter how small. This could be helping a classmate with their work, sharing their equipment during play, offering a kind word, or simply being there for someone in need. Every water drop counts and every act of kindness makes a difference.

Kind Words Initiative

In addition to the Kindness Wall, we're exploring the power of kind words throughout the entire school. Each classroom is focusing on using kind and supportive language in daily interactions. Teachers are integrating lessons on empathy and positive communication into their curriculum, encouraging students to think about the impact their words can have on others.

A Reward for Kindness

To further motivate our students, we've set a school-wide goal: when the Kindness Wall reaches 100 words of kindness, the entire school will receive a special reward—extra playtime! This not only encourages individual acts of kindness but also fosters a sense of collective responsibility and community spirit.

Celebrating Together

We believe that recognizing and celebrating acts of kindness will help to instil these values in our students, creating a more compassionate and caring school environment. As the water drops accumulate and our compassion garden flourishes, we look forward to seeing the positive impact this initiative will have on our school.

Let's all contribute to watering our garden of compassion, one kind word and deed at a time. Together, we can make our school a brighter, happier place for everyone.

Class 1/2 - Ms Bianca Kennedy

The year 1/2 class have been working on their narrative story writing this term! The students used their imagination to create settings, characters, problems and a solution. They used a planning template to map their work, check their spelling and improve their writing. Then, they created their very own little story book from their draft copy!

In Maths, we have been working on our number skills, learning strategies for adding, subtracting and regrouping numbers into tens, and hundreds for some. The students have enjoyed learning about all the different ways you can get to the same answer in math, developing their understanding that each learner is unique and processing math looks different for each student. All of which are A-okay! Math is about exploring what works best for your own mind, rather than trying to match someone else's! 

For sport, we have been practicing our world class hockey skills with a hockey coach from Wodonga. The kids have really enjoyed learning how to control the ball with the hockey stick, along with developing their teamwork skills. Sport can often test a child's social-emotional skills, so it has been a great opportunity to teach elements such as supporting your teammates (no matter their skill level), being patient, waiting for a turn and that winning isn’t everything! 

We have had a great term so far in year 1/2 and look forward to the remainder of it!

Warm Clothing Appeal - Mini Vinnies

Dear Families,

The St Michael's Mini Vinnies group  are conducting a Warm Clothing Appeal to collect blankets, doonas, coats, gloves, scarves, beanies for local families in need.  These students will help Mrs Moffat's help to deliver the items into the Wodonga St Vincent dePaul shop each week. 

Please be generous with clean second hard or new items to keep others warm. Any questions please email Mrs Moffat on mmoffat@smtallangatta.catholic.edu.au or call in and chat with your queries.

Thank you everyone. 
 

Mental Health Wellbeing Leader Mr Joe Quinn

The Victorian Government has provided schools with the Mental Health in Primary Schools program.  This is supported by the Murdoch Children’s Institute of Research and Melbourne  University. 

There are three main parts to the Mental Health Wellbeing Leaders role. 

1. Work with Leadership of the school to implement learning and teaching programs that support the Mental Health Wellbeing of the students.

2. Build the capability and confidence of teachers to better identify and support students with mental health concerns.

3. Develop a clear pathway for referrals for students identified as requiring further support within the school and to regional and external community-based services.

While my role is not a teaching role, I spend some time in each class every week to build relationships with students and to support the teachers. It is important that we work together to destigmatise mental health issues.

I also provide support for families who may seek assistance from time to time. I may be able to link you and your family to existing services at the times you feel you need some extra support. 

Updates via School Newsletter and Dojo. 

I will be providing support resources on the school Dojo page from time to time and in the school newsletter.

Contact: 

You can contact me through the school office on 02 60712386 or directly by email at jquinn@smtallangatta.catholic.edu.au.  I work at  St Michael's on Monday and Tuesday. I also work at Sacred Heart PS in Corryong on Wednesday and Thursday.  I will respond to urgent emails from Monday - Thursday. 

Joe Quinn

School Handbook Update

A synthesis of contemporary research is that schools with a policy on full school uniforms are more likely to be high-performing academically and also less prone to high rates of bullying, exclusion, absenteeism, suspension and poor student behaviour choices. A school uniform encourages a sense of belonging and provides a visible identity in St Michael’s School community. A school uniform eliminates parents' and students' unnecessary costs associated with fashion trends and peer pressure. 

 Our uniform reflects the distinctive nature of St Michael’s Primary School with our colours, green and gold. The school logo features a cross at the heart of our Catholic belief that we nature the mind and hearts of all students. Our philosophy of our school uniform reinforces our school motto, “Courage, Compassion and Community”. 

Hair 

Hair is to be neat, off the face and not covering the eyes. Attention-seeking hairstyles, colors, or beading are not permitted. Hair longer than shoulder length must be tied back with plain forest green or gold bands/ribbons or scrunchies. 

Earrings 

One set of matching earrings (one in each ear lobe) is permitted. These may be plain fine sleepers or small simple studs in gold or silver and may include a clear or coloured stone. 

Necklaces 

Necklaces are to be in gold or silver with a simple charm. These are to be unobtrusive, that is small and simple in appearance, if visible when worn with their uniform. Medical necklaces or bracelets may also be worn. 

Rings

Children may wear one small, plain ring on one hand.

Wodonga Catholic Parish News

Hi all,

Well it’s fairly hectic here in the Parish Centre, we have what I like to call a very happy ‘organised chaos’!

Don’t forget to drop in for morning tea next Tuesday after the 9:15am Mass….where you can get to know our clergy, the Parish Centre staff and you’ll get to see firsthand the said “organised chaos” that is our happy Parish Centre!

Please find attached the bulletin for this weekend.  

Just to draw your attention to the last page of the Bulletin  ‘Save the Date’  JUNE 16^th - the Installation Mass for our new ‘Team Ministry’, celebrated by Bishop Shane more info to come…. 

Happy days to all.

What's on

Lunch Order  List 2024

Neighbourhood House - Tallangatta

Free Help with Your Gizmos!

We are excited to be partnering with the awesome Vocational Major students from Tallangatta Secondary College to deliver the ‘Know Your Gizmo’ program. The students will be at the House to give free one-on-one help on whatever devices you would like to bring along such as your smartphone or laptop so you can learn how to use them to their full potential.  Sessions will be held on Thursday 6 and 20 June from 1.40pm to 2.40pm.  To book call us on 0408 573 474 or drop in and see us at the House, Monday to Friday between 10am and 2pm.  Please help us spread the word by sharing this information with your non-tech savvy family, friends and neighbours. 

COMMUNITY INFORMATION

Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea

One of our lovely community members is hosting an Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea event in Tallangatta to support those impacted by cancer.  A $10 per person cover charge includes tea, coffee and scones.  There will be games, door prizes, a silent auction and raffles.  The event will be held at Lakoala Café / Gang Gang 53 at 53 Towong St THIS Sunday 26 May at 10.30am.  Numbers are limited.  Book your spot by texting Robbie on 0407 529 321 or drop into Lakoala.

Pub to Pelican Marathon – Volunteers Needed

Not a runner?  Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the inaugural Pub to Pelican on Sunday 2 June.  Runners will choose from a full or half marathon or the 10km distance. The full marathon starts at Koetong Pub and finishes at Pelican Park in Tallangatta.   Community volunteers are needed for a range of roles including corner marshals, water station attendants and checkpoint auditors.  No special skills are needed so why not be a part of the event’s success by joining the ‘High Vis Flock”?  Indicate your interest by sending a Message via the Pub to Pelican Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557403294015  or you can reply to this email and we will pass your details on to the organisers.

Tallangatta Health Service – Volunteers Needed

Tallangatta Health Service highly values the support of community volunteers and currently have a wide range of volunteer roles they are looking to fill both onsite and out in the community:

• Meals on Wheels program operates Monday – Friday delivering meals between 12pm & 1pm to Tallangatta residents in their homes and URGENTLY need assistance with delivery
• Leisure and Lifestyle program operates Monday – Saturday in both Bolga Court and Lakeview Nursing Home and the team welcomes assistance in providing group and individual activities
• My Community Home Care program operates several bus outings each month for members of the community and the team welcomes assistants
• Tallangatta Men’s Shed welcomes new volunteers and participants

Do you have a little time to spare in your week to help out with this much needed service for our community?  If you would like more information on how to get involved contact Sue Mitchell, Consumer Experience Coordinator, during business hours on (02) 6071 5200, email ths@ths.org.au or drop in to reception at Tallangatta Health Service.

Why not try bowls?

Tallangatta Bowling Club is a family and friendly club, welcoming everyone of all ages and abilities. The clubrooms can also be hired for functions.  Tallangatta Bowls Club have a brand new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559273891225&mibextid=LQQJ4d .  Like the club Facebook page to keep updated with club happenings or for more information call 0438 584 748 or email tallangattabowls@hotmail.com