Dear parents and carers

Welcome to Term 3 at St Michael’s!

We hope everyone had a restful and refreshing winter break. As we step into the second half of the school year, there’s a real buzz of excitement in the air. This term promises to be a vibrant one, packed with engaging activities, exciting excursions, memorable camps and joyful celebrations. 

Whether you are a returning family or new to our school community, we’re thrilled to have you with us. There’s so much to look forward to, and we can’t wait to share all the fun and learning ahead!

Grandparents’ Day

The fun has already begun this term, with our much-loved Grandparents’ Day, held as part of our celebration of the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne - Jesus’ grandparents.

It was heartwarming to see our church filled to the brim, with a record number of grandparents joining us for the special mass and classroom visits. The joy and pride on our students’ faces as they welcomed their grandparents into their learning spaces was truly something to behold. 

A huge thank you goes to Ms Kelly Evans (our APRE), for her thoughtful planning and coordination of the event - everything ran smoothly and beautifully, as always. Our student leaders also shone brightly, delivering tuckshop-prepared goodies for morning tea and lending a hand with the clean-up. What a wonderful way to kick off the term!

Docemus Award Nominations - Celebrating Excellence!

We are thrilled to announce our 2025 Docemus Award nominees - outstanding staff who go above and beyond every day! A huge congratulations to Jesse Short, Damien Coad, Dorina Gawley and Chandell Van Rees for being recognised for their incredible contributions.

We’ll be celebrating their excellence during Catholic Education Week, and we couldn’t be more proud. What a team!

St Michael’s Community Group

Our Parent Engagement Meeting last week was buzzing with energy and brilliant ideas! It was fantastic to see so many parents getting involved and sharing ways to stay connected with school life. From fresh ideas for communication to exciting plans for fundraising - like our new nature playground - there’s a real sense of momentum building!

Each term, in Weeks 2 and 8, our St Michael’s Community Group meets to explore ways families can get involved in their child’s learning and help our school’s growth. Whether it’s helping out with events, joining project teams, or simply offering feedback, there’s something for everyone. And don’t forget - Week 8 also brings our popular parent workshops!

This year the session topics include “Literacy Blocks - what are they?”; “How is Maths taught in schools now and how can I help my child?” and “How can I support my anxious child?”. These after-school sessions (5:30-6:30pm Wednesday evenings) are led by our Leadership Team and are a great way to learn, connect and feel empowered. We are so grateful for the enthusiasm and involvement of our parent community - it’s what makes St Michael’s such a special place! Let’s keep the momentum going!

A Friendly Reminder about Stop-Drop-Go and School Safety

At St Michael’s, the safety of our students, staff and families is always our top priority. We kindly ask all parents and carers to help us keep things running smoothly by following a few important protocols:

• Stop-Drop-Go: Please use the designated zone for quick student pick-up and drop-off. If you would like to walk your child in or come in to school to collect your child, please ensure you park in a legal parking space.
• Limited Parking Alert: Due to the Cairns Regional Council’s current works on the Water Security Project, parking opposite the school on Mill Street will be limited in the coming weeks. The street will become a one-way only street running from south to north. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
• Staff and Parishioner Parking Only: Our school carpark is reserved for staff and parishioners. Please avoid using these spaces during school hours.

• Disabled Parking: These spaces are essential for students and staff who need them - please keep them clear at all times.
• Signing In: All visitors (including parents) must sign in at the Front Office and wear a lanyard while on school grounds. This does not apply to parents collecting students at the end of the day.
• Toilets: Please use the adult toilet facilities only - student toilets are for students’ use only.

Thank you for your continued support in keeping St Michael’s a safe and welcoming place for everyone!

St Michael’s WALKs with God

At St Michael’s, our values and expectations are at the heart of everything we do. We believe in creating a safe, respectful and nurturing environment where every member of our community - students, staff and families - can thrive. We WALK with God by choosing to Walk respectfully, Act responsibly, Love learning and Keep safe at all times. These values guide our actions in the classroom, on the playground and beyond. They help us build a strong, supportive school culture where everyone feels valued and empowered.

Be sure to check out one of our posters around the school that shows exactly what WALKing with God looks like in action at St Michael’s!

…phew! Such a lot of great news and it’s only Week 3! I look forward to sharing more news with you in the coming weeks. In the meantime, have a wonderful week!

God bless

Prep A

Class 1A

We recently celebrated 100 days of learning in Year 1. Term 3 is off to a busy start, learning about 3D objects, information report writing, fire safety, the concepts of past, present and future; how we can honour Mary, and more. 

Class 2A

Class 3A

In 3A, our reading fluency activities have become a vibrant part of our Literacy block. It's truly inspiring to see students working collaboratively, supporting one another, and offering constructive feedback to help their peers grow and develop. Their enthusiasm and engagement not only build confidence but also foster a strong sense of community and shared learning.

Class 4A

Last week, our Year 4 students were treated to an exciting cinematic experience with a viewing of The Wild Robot — a heartwarming and thought-provoking film based on the popular book by Peter Brown.

The movie themes of belonging, resilience and character growth sparked great discussions and set the perfect foundation for our upcoming English unit.

Class 5A

Year 5 has had a fantastic start to the term! We’ve begun exploring information texts, learning how to research and write about amazing Australian wildlife. In Maths, we’re diving into multiplication strategies and using real-life skills to plan a trip. Students are showing great enthusiasm and working collaboratively across tasks. It’s been wonderful to see their curiosity and confidence grow. We’re looking forward to a productive and engaging term ahead!

Class 6A

Throughout the last two terms, student’s in 6A have been discussing mathematical observations about images presented on the class screen. This activity is used to contextualise a concept (i.e. see it in the real world) and find out what their current understanding is. Students are encouraged to make connections and use learnt mathematical language to help transfer knowledge between concepts. For me, it presents valuable feedback and supports student engagement through conversations. The image below captures a typical scene where each student uses a mini whiteboard to show their thinking, even if it’s just a question mark. One noticeable observation so far has been how incredibly inclusive and supportive these students are with each other which is reflected in their confidence to share their thoughts and listen respectfully. The other two images demonstrate a stimulus sequence where we might discuss measurements combined with our unit on fractions and decimals.

Book Club Issue 5 

SAVE THE DATE! BOOK WEEK 2025

PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE

Join Our Tuckshop Fun!

Hi everyone! I’m Chandell, Tuckshop Convenor. I’m all about making our tuckshop a lively, fun-filled place, and I’d love for you to be part of it!

How You Can Get Involved:

VOLUNTEER Whether you’ve got an hour or two to spare, or just want to pop in for a quick hello, your help is gold to us! No need to let us know in advance—just swing by and join the fun. Don't forget to complete your volunteer induction first!

BAKE FOR US If volunteering isn’t your thing, we’d love your support through baked goodies. Sweet or savory, your treats make our tuckshop extra special!

Come for the laughs, stay for the community, and help us keep our tuckshop the heart of the school. We can’t wait to see you there! 

Volunteers always welcome in the tuckshop! Interested? Drop in and see us today :)

tuckshop.gordonvale@cns.catholic.edu.au 

TUCKSHOP OPENING HOURS

BREAK TIMES

Parents can see all of our current Tuckshop items in the Flexischools app.

Flexischools Online Ordering

Tip: Search for Gordonvale to find St Michael's School in the list.

App also available for download from: