Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians, 

Last Friday and Saturday I attended the Diocesan Assembly held at Federation University, where over 200 delegates from across the Diocese had the opportunity to determine key priorities and actions for the Diocese for the next five years. A hot topic of discussion was the importance of the school’s relationship with our Parish and the role that our youth play in shaping the future of our Church. From the Assembly, these priorities, and many others identified,  will be presented to Bishop Greg and an implementation plan developed. It was a great opportunity to help determine the strategic path for the Diocese of Sale.  

Changes to Parent Teacher Interview structure 

In Term One, parents are invited to attend an Open Classroom afternoon. This is an opportunity for parents and carers to observe their child’s learning space and ask any questions of teachers that you or your child may be thinking about the year ahead.  At mid year (June), reports are sent home and we conduct a formal parent teacher interview. 

In Term Three, we conduct Student Led Conferences. This provides a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge successes, challenges and goals for each child. It is a chance for the child to reflect on their learning and another occasion to link the learning between school and home. 

At St Michael’s, we use SIMON as a tool to produce reports. This allows student outcomes to be checked several times throughout the year and changes made to the level of achievement if necessary. The mid year report indicates student achievement at the mid year point and is based on specific outcomes or content areas covered. A further report is completed at the end of the year and all outcomes are listed and assessed. The student reports will be found on PAM twice yearly. 

Open Classroom Afternoon - Tuesday 25th February 3.40pm to 5.00pm 

We warmly invite parents, carers and guardians to attend our Open Classroom Afternoon. During this time, your child’s classroom will be open to allow you to meet their teacher and to view some samples of their work completed so far. This is an opportunity to observe the learning space and ask any questions of teachers that you or your child may be thinking about the year ahead. Classrooms will be open from 3.40pm to 5.00pm. There is no need to make a booking as there are not allotted time slots, but rather a casual approach to meeting the teaching team. The specialist classrooms will also be open for viewing at this time.

Attendance

It is really important that your child is at school every day, unless they are unwell. Frequent absences have a great impact on children's learning. It is also important that children arrive at school on time as information is discussed at the beginning of the day and not hearing this information or coming into a class that has already begun can be very unsettling if a child is frequently late. 

It is a requirement that you notify the school if your child is absent.  Please use PAM to notify of your child’s planned absence or if they’re  sick.  Current guidelines in place for all schools mean that you will be contacted by the school if your child is absent without contact from you. Written notes can also be sent as a way of informing us of planned, future absences.  A text message will be issued if the school has not been informed of an absence by 9:30am.

Important Dates - these dates are also located on the school website 

• Thursday 20th February - School Photos 
• Tuesday 25th February - Open Classroom Afternoon 
• Friday 28th February - Year 3- 6 Athletics Day 
• Friday 28th February - Year 1/2 Mass 
• Wednesday 5th March - Ash Wednesday whole school Mass 12pm (all families are welcome) 
• Friday March 7th - School Closure Day - Staff Professional Development Day 
• Tuesday 11th March - School Closure Day - Staff Professional Development Day 
• Wednesday 12th March - NAPLAN begins 

Kind regards, 

Lia DiCorleto