Principal's Post

Welcome back to Term 3!

As with the start of every term, remember this is a week of gentleness. The first week of a new term always takes us a few days to get back into the routines of school life. Now, we know the busyness of the day comes as well, so this is why it is essential we all take care of ourselves and our families. There is no doubt that at St Columba’s you all take good care of others. This just comes with being true to who we are. Enjoy this first week and all the good things that come with it. Have to say, it is so good to see the kids back with us at school. I know holidays are fabulous, but we do love seeing our kids again after a couple of weeks. They bring joy, but you already know that.

Just a thought:

This is the first quote I placed in my Principal Application for St Columba’s. The first paragraph is underneath. I am placing this in the Donegal this week, and talking about the moments of contact that allows for connection.

‘Everyone comes with them at least one,
and probably many pieces,
to someone else’s puzzle.

Sometimes they know it, sometimes they don’t
…and when you present your piece to another,
whether they knew it or not,
whether they know it or not,

You are a messenger from the most-high.’

Lawrence Kushner

I once attended a two-day seminar on ‘Nurturing Spirituality Within Your School Community’. The above quote was the underlying message that I have reflected upon many times since. Through giving a small piece of one’s self, we connect and build relationships with others. We begin to build the Kingdom of God within our school community. In Jesus’ life he offered pieces of himself to his community and followers. Through his offerings he touched and brought his Father’s message to all people. In our role as people in Catholic Schools, we need to share the gifts we have throughout our community and encourage others to do the same. Jesus’ mission in his life was to build community and lead others. You know this to be true.

Although I knew little about St Columba’s as a community when I applied for the position, I think we would all agree there must have been something in why I was drawn to this quote when writing up my cv. You know my thoughts on the understanding that God puts you where you are meant to be. There is no doubt that for all of us here, including all our St Columba’s Kids, that we are all meant to be here. It is not just by chance. It is where we are drawn to be. Never forget that in each moment you are offering a piece of yourself to someone else’s puzzle. When we have this in our thinking, you will find these connections come in abundance.

When I talk about pieces of the puzzle we offer, when on LSL for a few days at the end of last term, I was lucky enough to see Stephen Coniglio a couple of times. Helps having his mum and dad as mates. Now, here is a bloke who offers his piece of the puzzle to every person he meets. For someone who is rated in the Top 5 players in the AFL. What pieces does Stephen offer others? Well, there is something called appreciation and generosity of spirit, coupled in with the gift of humility. This is definitely something I reckon he gets from his family. Probably stems from the closeness he has with his nonna.

During our few days in Melbourne, because of our connection to Stephen, we ended up in AFL House, in the boardroom, having photos and a round table conversation with Gill McLachlan, the AFL chief, a GWS function and after the game access. The thing about all of this, Stephen also made time to have brekky a couple of times with us. I know it may appear to be that he wanted to have brekky with his dad, and we tagged along for the ride, but I know what type of kid he is, just gives time to others. At every point we had met up with him, Stephen would always say how much he appreciated we had gone to be a part of the Melbourne trip to see him play. Truly, this is his quality, he was thanking us. A genuine top bloke. I mean, this is how the pieces of the puzzles of our lives work. There is always someone offering a piece of themselves to make our puzzle complete. For those of us on the trip, it did not get much better than the pieces we connected with. Not hard to understand why Stephen is in such high demand by clubs this year. Not only a ripping good footballer, but the highest of quality humans.

My hope is we all continue to offer our pieces of self to complete the puzzles of others. To add value to what they experience and that when they leave our moments in time, that they walk away knowing that we can be the messengers from the most-high.

End of School Day Finish Time

We have had to make a slight amendment to our end of school day time. We will commence this next Monday 29 July. This is to be compliant with a registration requirement and system agreement. Our end of day bell will now be at 2.55 pm for all our Pre-Primary to Year 6 students. The impact should be minimal for parents as we will continue to maintain our current structure for after school pick-up at Kiss and Drive and also at Milne Street.

New School Website

We are live with the new website. I know, relax, it is true. Google St Columba’s School Bayswater and you will find us. I wish to make special mention of Phil Wild who set up our school’s original website and has quietly gone about maintaining it in his own time for many years. Phil’s commitment to the website is hugely valued and appreciated. We can only ever do what we do with the support of our parents. With the new website, I wish to thank Damian Katich for the work he has been putting in to support us in getting our website up and running. Again, without the support and patience of Damian, we would not be at this point of having launched the website. Good people doing great things for our school. A bit like the quote at the start of The Donegal, offering a piece of themselves to our puzzle.

Please note the following:

Absentees: You will now have the option of clicking on the absentee link and completing an online form that will go directly to administration. This will cover your accountability, and our school’s accountability, for recording of absent students. Once we have trialled this for a couple of weeks, we will double check the data and records with our compliance officers to ensure the details are meeting registration.

Work in Progress: Throughout the term we will continue to develop the website further with information regarding other aspects of our school. This will include Curriculum, Staffing, Pastoral Care Committee and more.

If you notice anything in the website that needs tweaking, please feel free to let us know via the Contact Us link. We are loving this learning, so do not hesitate if you have any feedback.

Parents and Friends’ Wine and Cheese Night

On Friday evening, 16 August from 7.30 pm, our P and F will be holding a Wine and Cheese Night. Details are in The Donegal and via Seesaw. Closing date for tickets for the evening is Friday 9 August. We look forward to seeing you on the night. Good times with good people.

Front Playground near Administration

Just a gentle reminder for our Kindergarten and Pre-Kindy parents with the use of the playground near the admin. I appreciate the little guys are attracted to this space. I am happy for them to wander through and play while waiting to go into their classrooms, however I need you to be supervising close by with them. As we have no staff on supervision I require your support in making sure if your child is in this play area, you are with them ensuring their wellbeing and safety. This is appreciated.

Interschool Cross Country

This Tuesday, 30 July, our students will be participating in the Interschool Cross Country. Congratulations to all our students who have been selected in the 2019 Squad. We are extremely proud of our students who represent St Columba’s as they always give 150%. I, unfortunately, will be at our local Catholic Primary Principals Conference, so will not be there. It is one of my favourite events of the year, so I will be thinking of all our kids on the day. Thank you to everyone involved in training our kids through Columba Runners and to those parents who have organised the squad breakfast for Monday morning next week. Thank you to Jo McCluskey for coordinating the team.

School Photos

School Photos are scheduled for Week 3, Tuesday 6 August and Wednesday 7 August. Full winter uniform.

For details of the ordering process and information from Kapture, click here.

School Uniform

Thank you for your efforts with the uniform. Just a couple of reminders:

1. Predominantly white sport shoes. Thank you to everyone who has worked with us on this issue of the school uniform. If you have a specific reason for your child not having the predominantly white sport shoes, please email me directly at your earliest convenience.
2. General items: We appreciate ties etc go missing. With school photos coming up, see how you go in readiness for Week 3. This is appreciated.

School Fees – Reminder Statements

Reminder statements were sent home yesterday.

If there is no direct debit set up on your account, payment is required towards the balance of your fees. Method of payment is either by cash, cheque, EFTPOS, BPay or Direct Debit. Parents with any queries regarding their school fees, please contact Mrs Peta Santella on 9208 2705. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Any payments paid after 30 June 2019 have not been included on the Reminder Statements.

Cyber Security Notice from Catholic Education WA

Please find, attached to The Donegal, a letter from the Executive Director regarding a cyber-security breach. St Columba’s School has not been impacted upon, however, it is important to take note of the details within the letter.

Enjoy your week and may there be many blessings and an abundance of good things come your way. Take care over the week and find moments of time for yourself to find time to just be. Hopefully, you get some of these opportunities, knowing just how busy your lives are with your little guys and everything you have in your day.

Enjoy!

Art

P & F News

Thank you
Rachel Lange
P&F President
rachel@galleriapodiatry.com.au

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