What a crazy start we have had to this week with yesterday's wind and unseasonably cold temperatures. A special shout out to the Admin team who put on their catering hats to ensure that any child with a lunch order still got lunch. It’s a reminder on how much we rely on services such as electricity! Hopefully all the school community now has power and the impact from the storm has been minimal. 

 National Child Protection Week

You will have noticed the messages on our facebook page this week about Child Protection week. In 2024, the National Child Protection Week message that ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’ will be complemented with the theme ‘Every conversation matters’.

Conversations are powerful tools to keep children and young people safe and well.

Conversations can help us understand issues, craft solutions, value community knowledge, and build the brains and social connections of children and young people.

Conversations between

…children and their caregivers matter (from the very earliest days)
…children and their peers matter
…families with teachers, doctors, and other professionals matter
…friends or neighbours matter 
…decision-makers and the communities they serve matter.

And, of course, conversations in the public realm and media matter…

So this National Child Protection Week we invite you to speak up – and speak together – about what needs to change for every child in every community to have a fair go.

• A great, free resource for parents/caregivers and other family members is the Australian parenting website raisingchildren.net.au. The site offers free, reliable, up-to-date and independent information to help families grow and thrive together. The articles, videos and interactive resources are tailored to different ages and stages, taking families from nurturing a newborn to raising a confident, resilient teen – and helping parents to look after themselves too.
• If you’re looking for activities to do with your children the National Association for the Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) has launched a great Children’s Activity Booklet. Working through the pack is a great way for you to start a conversation with your child about what makes them feel safe and supported where they live.

2025 requests for classes 

All school staff aspire towards providing an environment where the best interests of the child are held paramount. While teachers don’t have the same attachment to a child that a parent does, the staff at St Michael’s care personally for the children in the school. We are starting the process of planning for the 2025 school year. If parents have a genuine reason for class placement requests for next year, could you please email them through to principal@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au by Friday 20th September. 

An enormous amount of time and effort is put into the creation of class lists and many factors are taken into consideration by the staff. A written request will be considered on its merits but is not a guarantee. Who is teaching which grade has not yet been decided so please do not request certain teachers.

At St Michael’s we work on a whole school approach to class planning and are blessed to have a committed teaching staff who collaborate to give the very best learning opportunities to all students in our care. Please be aware that a request has to be made for this current year, we will not be referring to requests made 12 months ago as circumstances change.

If your family situation is changing, we would also appreciate you letting the Office know. An accurate indication of student numbers assists us enormously in our planning for 2025. We have a waiting list for some grades and if we know you are leaving we can offer them your spot.

All requests are due by Friday 20th September and no further requests will be considered after this time. 

Key dates:

• 5th September - Pie drive closes 10pm on CDFPay
• 9th - 10th September - grade 4 camp
• 12th September - Pie order collection from 3:15pm
• 19th September - Footy Colours Day 
• 20th September - Term 3 ends at 1pm 

Thank you for the many well wishes regarding my upcoming holiday,

Kind regards

Jodie