St Michael's was founded in 1895 by the Community of the Sisters of the Church and remains in its original location on a single campus.

With the arrival of Headmaster Simon Gipson in the year 2000, the School administration adopted new approaches, including introducing modern terminology, a new school uniform,[2] and a six-stage building plan, including the Sisters of the Church Learning Centre and the new playing surface for the oval.

[4] The cinema continued to operate as usual, with films screening at nights and on weekends, while the building was often used by the school for assemblies and events on weekdays.

At primary level, all students study basic subjects including mathematics, English, science, geography, history, Japanese, music and sport.

Sport Carnivals: Combined: Boys: Girls: Drama has one of the highest voluntary participation numbers among students of any department of the school.

In 2001, St Michael's was the first school to stage a production at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre with the performance of Les Misérables.

Activities include daily snorkelling from St Michael's Orpheus Island Research Campus.

Originally the program ran for a duration of one month, but has since been extended to include days in Townsville, Paluma and Tully to learn more about Indigenous culture.

This is a challenging 20-day expedition where students travel (through various methods including snowshoeing, hiking, white-water rafting and canoeing) from Mount Kosciuszko to the coast of Victoria, camping along the way.

The group travels biannually to Europe to compete in international choir competitions and perform on world stagesy.

Past tours have travelled to Rome, Carrara, Pisa, Venice, Vicenza, Nördlingen, Reykjavík, Copenhagen, Berlin, Leipzig, Hagen, Cologne, Voorburg, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Florence, York, Croissy, Munich and Vienna, including performances at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales.

[11] The program is notable for being the origin of the Cheeky Geezers,[12] a prominent local rock band of the recent live Melbourne music scene that has supported several of Australia's greatest punk acts and performed in major venues across Victoria such as the Corner Hotel, The Tote Hotel, Croxton Bandroom, Cherry Bar, Hotel Esplanade, Federation Square, as well as the Abbotsford Convent as part of the Punters Club Reunion Show.

The Japanese exchange with Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior & Senior High School in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture has been operating for over 10 years.

[18][dead link‍] Once or twice a term, a Community Action Day is held, organised by the social service captains of each house, to raise money for a diverse number of charities.

The pastoral care system is based on a house structure which deals with all matters relating to a student's wellbeing or curriculum needs.