Dear Parents and Caregivers

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Congratulations to all of our students who received the sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time on Wednesday evening! Thank you to Father Son, visiting priest Father Anand, Mrs Saunders, Mrs Thompson, Mr Powles, Mrs Stewart, Mrs Albert and all staff who assisted in various ways.

First Eucharist

Please continue to keep our First Eucharist candidates in your prayers as they continue their sacramental preparation. Please note that due to Phase 4 social distancing requirements, the First Eucharist date will remain as 9 August, however, we will have a special Mass at 10.30am for the First Eucharist candidates and their families only. A reminder that the First Eucharist parent information night is coming up next week on Monday 3 August. The attendance of at least one parent is a requirement of the preparation program. The First Eucharist retreat will be held on Tuesday 4 August.

Kindy Interviews

Firstly, thank you to all our parents who are serving as wonderful ambassadors for our community through positive word-of-mouth advertising. This form of advertising is priceless! Many new families enrolling for kindergarten in 2021 have shared that they chose St. Michael’s due to the great feedback they have heard from friends and family. Thank you to all our parents who make our community so great as we can only achieve this through teamwork.

The kindy interviews for our 2021 class have been completed for new families and the assistant principals are starting interviews for existing families. We still have a few places left which are likely to fill as the year progresses. If you know of anyone who may interested, please spread the word and encourage them to contact us as soon as possible to ensure they don’t miss out!

Staff Development

On the first day of term, staff participated in a professional development day run by Jessica Fic from the Catholic Institute of WA. This was a highly engaging day which focused on the integration of the scriptures in the classroom through Godly play.

The CEWA Leaders Forums which are held biannually have been altered this semester due to COVID-19. Instead of all WA leaders gathering together, the CEWA team are hosting regional ‘roadshows’ which the assistant principals and I will attend on Tuesday afternoon next week at Good Shepherd School in Lockridge.

At our next Professional Learning Community (PLC) meeting the teachers will be focusing on a co-operative learning strategy. We call these meetings a Strategy-a-Month (SAM) club. Teachers will have some time to practice the strategy and then will receive in-class coaching during a demonstration lesson.

Gonski Institute for Education – Parent Resources

Please see the Social Worker News section below for a new resource for parents developed by the Gonski Institute for Education to support parents through a range of issues related to their child’s education including digital device use, social and emotional skills, play and transitioning to high school, among others.

Have a terrific weekend!

God bless

Dr Siobhan Galos
Principal

principal@stmichaelsbass.wa.edu.au.