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Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,
Tomorrow we farewell our grade 6 students. They will enjoy a special lunch in the hall and at 3:10 pm we will gather under the shelter for the traditional grade six throwing of the hat on the final bell. Then at 6pm they will gather with their families for a Graduation Mass at St Michael’s Church. It is a lovely way to end their time at St Michael’s for the staff, students and parents.
Today your child's school report will be available to be accessed via PAM at 3pm. Your child will also come home with a letter advising important information about 2024 and next year's booklist.
You will see that the report shows your child’s achievements assessed against state-wide standards expected at this time of the year. It divides the years of compulsory schooling into levels (Foundation to Year 6) and assesses your child’s level in relation to other children of similar age in Victoria.
Remember that a majority of the students in any group will achieve “At standard”. This is normal and correct. It indicates that the child, in the opinion of his or her teacher, is performing somewhere in the level expected for his or her age group as compared with the standard set for children of that age in Victoria. Please note that this report no longer provides six-month delineations for the position of the progression ‘dot’. Generally, a student may be six months ahead or six months behind and still receive “At standard”.
As you will be aware there are some staffing changes for 2024 and while we farewell some familiar faces from the team we look forward to welcoming some new faces. We wish Mrs Katie Calabrese, Mrs Kerry Adams, Ms Shona Arber, Mrs Amy Smith and Mrs Ruth Buckley all the very best in the next chapter of their lives. We welcome back Mrs Gemma Pizzi for 2024 and also welcome to the St Michael’s team Mrs Jayne Price. We are also excited to support Mrs Kelly Clegg as she progresses into her career as a teacher through the Permission to teach Program.
On behalf of the staff of St Michael’s, I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year. Have a safe holiday and we look forward to welcoming you all back at the end of January.
As this year ends, we must also sadly farewell some families who have had a long association with our school, as their youngest child completes grade six or they move to new places. I thank you for the many and varied ways in which you have been supporters and participants in the life of St Michael’s school.
May the blessing of God go before you.
May grace and peace abound.
May the Holy spirit live within you.
May love wrap you around.
May the blessing remain with you always.
May you walk on holy ground.
Amen
Kind regards
Jodie
DATES TO REMEMBER:
- 13th December - Graduation Mass
- 18th December - students last day
- 31st January - First day for students in Grades 1-6
- 1st February - First day for Foundation students
Jodie
This week’s gospel captures beautifully the spirit of preparation and waiting that characterises the liturgical season of Advent. John the Baptist is portrayed as fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah and others as the one who comes before the Lord preparing the way. He is a messenger, sent by God to ‘do the groundwork’ preparing the people for the coming of the Christ. Although this passage is used during Advent as preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we know that John was a contemporary (indeed cousin) of Jesus and the time of preparation was immediately prior to Jesus’ public ministry.
The gospel passage quotes the prophet Isaiah and casts John the Baptist in the role of fulfilling the prophecy of the voice that cries in the wilderness, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord’. The description of John in camel-skin and eating locusts and wild honey is designed to align him with Elijah, the great prophet of Jewish history. In a very short and sharp passage the gospel ties the coming of Jesus to the expectation of a messiah that has run through Jewish history and been foretold by the great prophets.
Thank you
As our 2023 year comes to a close I would like to say a huge “thank you” to all of our school families for your ongoing support of our Mission work this year.
As it states on our school website “At St Michael's Primary School we promote and foster Gospel values and skills for learning.” We do this by caring for other people in this world, through our support of local appeals with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the work that we have done with Caritas and Catholic Mission. Through our efforts we are giving value to the marginalised in our world, we are the hands and feet of Jesus.
I wish you all a joyful and blessed Christmas.
Sue Rickwood
The Traralgon Country Network buses will continue to run to a revised schedule as follows:
Starting on Wednesday the 13th of December – Buses will carry out their usual morning service. If there are students using the morning service to get to school, that service will also run that afternoon. If there are no students in the morning, the service will not run that afternoon.
The following days, if there are no students using the bus in the morning, the service will not run that afternoon.
If there are no students using the service two mornings in a row, the service will cease.
If there are students using the service up until the last day, the buses will begin their run at 2pm on Wednesday the 20th of December and resume services as normal on Tuesday the 30th of January 2024.
Thank you for being part of the 2023 Premiers’ Reading Challenge.
Certificates have been distributed at assembly on Friday 8th December 2023 to all student participants.
PRC Champion Lapel Pins Recipient for 2023
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Foundation – Lachlan Franklin, Hailee Collison & Quinnie Xin Yan Tiong |
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Grade 1 – Elise Stanistreet, Wyatt Verdaas & Senula Bodawadge |
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Grade 2 – Evie Wyers, Tessa Rouget & Hannah Rochstad-Lim |
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Grade 3 – Isla Jensen, Ashar Saini, Isabella Constantinou & Olivia Francolino |
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Grade 4 – Olivia Wisewould |
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Grade 5 – Jonah Sam Joseph, Clementine Reid, Imogen Rouget & Makayla Atkins |
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Grade 6 - Lucy Graham & Mia Francolino |
