St. Michael's Primary School ~ Term 1 Week 2

IMPORTANT DATES

Principal's Message

Dear St Michael’s School Family,

Happy New Year!

I hope that each of you had a restful and joyful holiday season, filled with moments of peace and reflection. As we begin this new year, I am filled with hope and anticipation for all the exciting learning and growth that lies ahead for our students, staff, and families.

St Michael's has had a great start to the new school year filled with great energy and enthusiasm with a sense of anticipation and excitement with all our existing students, families and staff returning but also with so many new students and staff joining the St Michael's Family. We welcomed 16 new Foundation students and four other students in other year levels and their families. Along with our new staff members Miss Kaycee Frew, Ms Hannah Baker, Ms Mia Puntoriero, Mrs Kathleen Moran and Ms Sharyn Battin-Brown. We have much to be grateful for as we begin this 2025 school year together, and I thank you our families and our staff for all they have done to make this such a successful and positive start.

We have a big year ahead with Magnify Sandhurst being implemented using evidence-based practices in teaching and learning to support each student's unique needs, strengths, and goals. The Magnify program focuses on strengthening core areas like literacy and numeracy, building supportive classroom environments, and integrating Catholic values in daily learning. At St Michael's we are committed to improving outcomes and providing a program where every student can flourish - "Every Student, Every Teacher, Every School, Every Day!"

We will have an information afternoon for our families on Tuesday, 25 February at 3:30-4:30pm to share more about Magnify and how you can support your child/ren's learning.  

Our Welcome Mass is next Friday, 14 February at 9:30am - St Michael's Church. After Mass we will invite you to visit your child/ren's classrooms and enjoy a sausage sizzle. This will be a great opportunity to celebrate our new school year, and join together as a community to support our students' learning, growth and flourishing. 

I would like to take a moment to reflect on the Jubilee Year of Hope, proclaimed by Pope Francis. This year is a special time for Catholics worldwide to renew our faith and commitment to living as pilgrims of hope. Pope Francis calls us to be "pilgrims of hope", sharing the joy of the Gospel and extending compassion and kindness to those in need. It is a reminder that, as a school community, we are all called to be signs of hope, compassion, and courage in the world. 

Let us all begin this new year with the courage to embrace challenges, the compassion to support one another, and the deep sense of community that makes St. Michael’s such a special place.

Blessings for a wonderful year ahead,

Lisa Hitchcock   

Principal

Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.

 May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally.

 May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.  Amen

ST MICHAEL’S STAFFING 2025

Fr. Andrew Fewings: Wodonga Catholic Parish - Moderator of Team Ministry

Fr. John Paul Pasala: Supervising Priest - St Michael's Parish Tallangatta

Mrs. Lisa Hitchcock: Principal

Mrs. Marsha Ardern: Foundation Classroom Teacher and Senior Leader: Behavioural Wellbeing & Data Improvement

Ms. Kacyee Frew: Grade 1 Classroom Teacher

Mrs. Bianca Kennedy: Grade 2 Classroom Teacher

Ms Sally Maguire: Grade 3 & 4 Classroom Teacher

Ms Hannah Baker: Grade 3 & 4 Classroom Teacher and Foundation - Grade 2 Specialist

Mrs. Mez Moffat: Grade 5 & 6 Classroom Teacher Religious Education & Pastoral Care Leader and Sports Leader

Mr Daniel Henderson: Grades 3-6 Specialist Teacher

Mr. Joe Quinn: Mental Health in Schools Leader

Mrs. Kirstin Piper, Miss Holly Johnson, Mrs. Ann Wright, Ms. Ren Wyatt, Ms. Mia Puntoriero, Mrs. Kathleen Moran and Ms. Sharyn Battin-Brown: Learning Support Officers

Mrs. Kelly Johnson: Finance and Administrative Officer

Mrs. Alice Colclough: Administrative Officer

Mrs. Lesley Hildred: School Support Officer

2025 Pupil Free Days

Term 1: 28-29 January Staff Professional Learning Days and 1 April -Behaviour Curriculum Professional Learning

Term 2: 22-24 April Staff Professional Learning Days (The Neuroscience of Learning)

Term 3: 13  August CESL Staff Spirituality Day

Term 4: 20 October Dan Petro Behaviour Analyst Professional Learning, 28 November 2026 Planning day and  17 - 19 December Staff Professional Learning Day & TIL Days

FOUNDATION REST DAYS

Our superstar Foundation students will have the following rest days as they adjust to school life: 

• Wednesday 12 February
• Wednesday 19 February
• Wednesday 26 February 
  

STUDENT ILLNESS & ABSENCES

A reminder that if your child has gastroenteritis or fever please notify the school and record on your child's absence notification. This will help keep our school safe and our students healthy.

Gastroenteritis exclusion from school - 48 hours from last symptom of vomiting and/or diarrhoea.  

Communication at St Michael's 

Please note when contacting staff through email or Class Dojo they will reply within 48 hours. Staff will not be monitoring communication platforms during their class time, as well as before 8am or after 5pm. This will allow our staff to disconnect and to maintain a healthy work life balance. 

Please use the school phone or mobile 0418 105 060 to communicate urgent information or pass on messages about students that are time sensitive - e.g. change of pick up or bus travel arrangements. 

School Hours
The school day runs Monday - Friday from 8.30am – 3.15pm.

Children are not permitted to be at school before 8.30am.

Learning session 1: 8.55am - 11.00am 
Lunch: 11.00am - 11.45am
Learning session 2: 11.45am - 1.45pm
Recess: 1.45pm – 2.15pm
Learning session 3: 2.15pm - 3.15pm
Dismissal: 3.15pm

Learning Conversations: Term 1 - Week 4
Our learning conversations will take place in Week 4 this term, between  Wednesday 19 - Friday 21 February. This is a great opportunity for you to meet and greet your child’s classroom teacher and inform them of their strengths, challenges, social capabilities and any other important information that you think may have an impact on their learning this year, as you embark on this journey together. I know our teachers are looking forward to these valuable conversations and partnering with you to support the learning and growth of your child in 2025.

Students attend the learning conversations with their parents for part or all of the conversation.
It is important to note that teachers will not be providing information regarding learning goals, assessment
results or academic progress at this time.

Learning Conversations will open next week on SIMON to book appointments. 

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

Swimming Carnival

The NERSA Swimming Carnival was held today at the Tallangatta Swimming Pool.

The students did a marvellous job in the heat, competing and cheering for their fellow school mates. 

More details will be shared of the events successes, in the mean time, here are three Age Group Champions!

Congratulations to Archie Bryant, Carla Barnes and Boyd Small!! 

Foundation - Mrs Marsha Ardern

Welcome to the Start of an Exciting Year for Our Foundation Students!

As the new school year begins, our Foundation students have settled into school life with enthusiasm and energy! It's been a wonderful start, as they embark on their educational journey, making new friends and becoming familiar with the daily routines of school.

From morning meeting to transitions to break, they are quickly adjusting to the rhythm of school life and finding their way around their classrooms, playgrounds, and all the fun activities in between.

One of the most exciting aspects of this year is the beginning of the InitiaLit program, where our young learners are diving into the world of language and literacy. They have started exploring how we use words to communicate with each other, a crucial foundation for their future learning. Through engaging activities, Foundation students are discovering the magic of words, and their curiosity about language is blossoming.

A key part of their InitiaLit journey is learning about rhyming words. Whether through stories, songs, or games, students are having fun recognizing how words can sound similar, creating a sense of rhythm and joy in language. This early exposure to rhyming helps develop their listening skills and an awareness of the sounds that form the building blocks of reading and writing.

As they continue to grow and learn, our Foundation students are laying the groundwork for a year filled with creativity, curiosity, and excitement. We are so proud of how well they’ve adapted to school life and can’t wait to see how they continue to flourish in their language and literacy journey.

Here's to an amazing year ahead! Stay tuned for more updates as we watch our Foundation students thrive and shine!

Foundation Classroom

Grade 1 - Ms Kaycee Frew

Dear Families,

We've been having a fantastic time in our Year 1 classroom as we work on emerging literacy skills, counting, and using tally marks to explore data. The students are especially loving our "Fruit Time" where I read the silly stories from Arthur Andy Griffiths — they’ve become an essential part of our day, helping us ease into our morning learning!

I’m really looking forward to meeting all the families at our upcoming Parent/Teacher Night. It’s such a joy to be part of your child's learning journey.

Warm regards
Miss Kaycee

Grade 2 - Mrs Bianca Kennedy

We are off to a great start to the year in grade 2!

Children are engaging in lessons well and proving to engage in a positive classroom culture and environment. We are focused on a calm, kind classroom where we always do our best, whatever that means for each individual child.

We have been discussing that everyone is at a different place in their learning and we have a go regardless of the fear of doing the wrong thing. As a class, we support the class community by being humble in our learning and celebrating our successes without comparison to others. 

I am really looking forward to working with each and every student in the classroom this year. 

Wodonga Catholic Parish News

Remember to share your smile with a friend or a stranger and never let the rain camouflage the wonderful colours of our world. 

Happy days to all.

Kind regards

Sonni 🌻

What's On

Neighbourhood House - Tallangatta