Dear Parents and Caregivers
I hope you are all keeping warm. The cool weather looks as if it has finally arrived and boy, it has come at a rapid pace.
This week has been a very special week for our Year 3 students and their families. Our students this week received the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Year 3 Green celebrated their sacrament on Tuesday while 3 White celebrated theirs today. Along with the Year 3 students we also had some Year 4 students celebrate their Sacrament as well. Congratulations to Hannah Gai, Irissa Duong and Jaydyn Duong. The children were beautifully prepared by their teachers and so reverent throughout both services.
I would like to thank Fr Andrew (who is not well at the moment), for celebrating this special sacrament for our year 3’s. Also, a big thank you to Fr. Lennard who assisted Fr Andrew on both days.
The Gospel (below) outlined to the students what Reconciliation means. Fr. Andrew also demonstrated to the children the meaning of forgiveness and wanting to do good, by using a great little story and prompts. I won’t spoil it, but parents, please ask your child what Fr demonstrated with the water.
GOSPEL: Luke 15: 11-24 (adapted version)
One day Jesus told this beautiful story to his friends, so they could better understand how our Father in heaven loves us.
There once was a man who had two sons. One day the younger son said to his father, “Father, give me now my share of the property that I would inherit after you die.” So, the father gave him his share.
After a few days the son left home with his money and began wasting his money by reckless living. Soon he had spent all he had and was left without a penny to his name. He became hungry and so he tried to find a job. A man hired him and sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs. He was so hungry that he wished he could eat the scraps that the pigs ate, but no one offered him even that.
At last, the young son came to his senses and said, “All of my father’s hired workers have more than enough to eat, and yet here I am about to starve to death. I will get up and go back to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I do not deserve at all to be called your son. All I ask is that you treat me as one of your hired workers.’”
So, the son got up and returned to his father. He was still a long way from home when his father saw him coming. His heart was filled with love and mercy for his son. He ran toward his son, threw his arms around him, and hugged him.
“Father,” the son said, “I have sinned against God and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.”
But the father called his servants and shouted, “Hurry, bring the best clothes and put them on him and let us celebrate with a feast! For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive. He was lost, but now he has been found.” And so, they began to celebrate.
You will obviously know this parable as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The main message of this parable is that it doesn’t matter how far we stray from our Heavenly Father or how much we squander the gifts he provides, he is always delighted when we turn back to him. His unconditional love is waiting for us to return home where he greets us with open arms. This would be a good time to chat with your children and remind them of this.
I would like to congratulate and thank Ms Klatt, Mrs Musca and Mrs Vinciullo for preparing the children and organising the services on both days. A big thank you, too, to Mrs Martin for the time spent on writing our certificates for the students. All your efforts are greatly appreciated.
ST COLUMBA’S DAY
This Thursday the school will celebrate St Columba’s day. Unfortunately, with a few restrictions still in place we will be restricted on what we can do.
Mrs Vinciullo has organised a liturgy in classrooms over the PA with a PowerPoint for students to follow. At lunch time an ice cream be given to each child for as a treat.
LONG SERVICE LEAVE
Next Semester, (Term 3 & 4), Miss Clare Wright will be taking long service leave.
Clare is aiming to return home to see her family in Ireland. She has been waiting for this opportunity for a number of years due to the border restrictions. We wish Clare all the best for this special time and look forward to her return in 2023.
Safe travels, Clare and God bless.
PUPIL FREE DAY
A reminder that this Friday 3 June, we have. a Pupil Free Day. With the long weekend, please keep in mind that school recommences on Tuesday 7 June.
‘Wear It Yellow Day’
Last Friday we celebrated ‘Wear it Yellow Day’ as a part of Reconciliation Week. The students could add a touch of yellow to their sport uniform for a gold coin donation. We raised $459.90. What a fantastic effort.
Sandro Coniglio
Principal
P & F News
Entertainment Memberships
Online memberships are available again this year. Memberships can be purchased online
https://www.entertainment.com.au/orderbooks/83589g
CSPWA AGM
The Catholic School Parents WA Annual General Meeting will take place in 4 weeks on Thursday the 16th June 2022. Please forward any items to admin@csp.wa.edu.au by Wednesday 1st June. We also invite members from schools who are financially affiliated with CSPWA to consider nominating to Council at the AGM. In addition to contributing to the work of council at state and local level, Council members have the opportunity to represent CSPWA on national, state and Catholic education sector committees and working parties according to their experience. If this is something you might be interested in or if you would like to find out more, please contact Siobhan Allen, Executive Director CSPWA on 0409 025 683.
Please find below the link to the 2022/23 Council nomination form and AGM flyer.
CSPWA New Councillor Nomination Form 2022
We have had queries from families who would like to make a contribution to the CSPWA without being involved in purchasing items. This is incredibly generous, and we are always grateful for any donations in whatever form they take.
The CSPWA bank details are below and can be used at anytime to pay online for fundraisers or for contributions. We ask that you include a family name in the description so that we can allocate funds coming into the account
Name – The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth, St Columba’s P&F Association
BSB – 086 006
ACC – 679360271
The next meeting is on Tuesday 14th June at 7pm.
Any questions or queries, I can be contacted via email gtarmstrong@iinet.net.au
Tanya Armstrong
President CSPWA
__
Together we’re making a difference
At Pharmacy 777, your support makes a difference to your school.
We understand how much your school means to you, that’s why at Pharmacy 777, we’re passionate about making a difference. Our Community Spirit Program makes giving back to your school easier. As a Community Spirit member, for every transaction you make at Pharmacy 777 Bayswater and Maylands, they will give part proceeds back to the school. This contribution accumulates over time and funds raised support causes at the heart of your school. We would encourage all school community members to visit Pharmacy 777 Bayswater and Maylands and join up.
Library News
Library 2022
A warm invitiation is extended to ALL families to visit the library from 8:15am in the mornings Monday – Friday.
(If Mrs Cuthbert is unavailable, the library will be closed)
Pre-primary, Kindy & Pre-Kindy families take advantage and come and read all our fabulous picture books with your little ones till 8:45am.
The library is a calming and quiet place, making it the perfect spot for students to have a smooth and calming transition in the morning.
Students may like to return and borrow books before school.
Looking forward to seeing you the library.
Reading and activities in the LIBRARY
At LUNCHTIMES
Students may also use this time to exchange their library book.
Homework/Library Bag 
Just a reminder that students require the school green
‘Homework and Library Bag’ in order to borrow from the Library.
Many students will already have the green school
‘’Homework and Library Bag’ from previous years.
‘Homework and Library Bags’ can be purchased
from the Uniform Shop at a cost of $10.
The library has lots of books needing covering. If you can help by taking a small number of books home to cover, please advise the library. Your help is greatly appreciated by staff and students.
Rita Cuthbert – Library Officer – Library - the original search engine
Pastoral Care
Happy Birthday to:
To the following students who will be celebrating this coming week:
Celeste Mulherin PPG
Otis Knox PPW
Lily Vernon 1W
Irissa Duong 4G
William Armstrong 4G
Harry Mawer 4G
Archer Laffrey 4W
Jaydyn Duong 4W
Kai Fermanis 5G
Georgia De Luca 6G
Yana Baldwin 6W
TERM
Week 7 – 8 June
Week 8 – 15 June
| Kindy Green | Week 7 Frankie Wilson Week 8 Indiana Gray |
| Kindy White | Week 7 Edith Parks Week 8 Eliza McGlue |
| PP Green | Week 7 Heaven White Week 8 Ivan Masnyk |
| PP White | Week 7 Caiden Thompson Week 8 Ella Aldworth |
| Year 1 Green | Week 7 Maria Wai Week 8 Megan Hutton |
| Year 1 White | Week 7 Jack Michael Week 8 Juliana Versaico |
| Year 2 Green | Week 7 Corey Nguyen Week 8 Eve Hamilton |
| Year 2 White | Week 7 Gianna Krishnan Week 8 Isabella Goh |
| Year 3 Green | Week 7 Ivy Hoogland Week 8 Kathleen Vaccari |
| Year 3 White | Week 7 Elliot Dorozenko Week 8 Harriet Webb |
| Year 4 Green | Week 7 Francis Le Week 8 Grayson Harris |
| Year 4 White | Week 7 Hannah Hinks Week 8 Hendrick English |
| Year 5 Green | Week 7 Harvey Lindsay Week 8 James McDougall |
| Year 5 White | Week 7 Kaleb Smart Week 8 Lily Katich |
| Year 6 Green | Week 7 Lauren Pincus Week 8 Natasha Juszkiewicz |
| Year 6 White | Week 7 Derek Ong Week 8 Isaac Iaschi |
Religious Education and Curriculum News
From our Year 3’s
This term in Religious Education the Year Three classes have been learning about God’s love and mercy, and how God forgives us, even when we make wrong choices. This week we celebrated the sacrament of Reconciliation for the very first time.
From our Year 1’s
In Year One, we have been exploring different Fairytales and learning about the different components of a narrative. In Art, we drew and decorated our own Fairytale Castles. Don’t they look beautiful.
Community Notices
St. Michael’s Parents and Friends Association invites St Columba’s parents to join them for a parent information seminar on online safety presented by eSafeKids.
Thursday June 9
6:30-8:30pm in the school/parish hall (entry via Hamilton St)
RSVP via this link: www.esafekids.com.au/events
Cost: A small donation on the night would be gratefully accepted
*Please note, this seminar is not affiliated with Catholic Education WA’s Child Protection Framework and curriculum guidelines. This seminar is for parent information and support purposes only.
Columba Runners
We have had an amazing start to the season with over 100 students signed up for Columba Runners so far. We are still welcoming members, even if you can only make one of the sessions a week. Sessions are held at Frank Drago oval 3.10-4.10pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. Cost is $30 per child, parents can join free! Prizes awarded based on total kilometers achieved over both terms, including those brave enough parents! Please complete the online registration.
This club is run by volunteers. Any parents who are able to attend and assist with marking laps and encouraging everyone, we would love to have you. Those attending OSHC are also considered, please chat to the lovely Jess.
If your child is in Yr 2 and below, they must be accompanied by a parent or older sibling. It is the responsibility of the parent/caregiver to ensure the safety of the students between school and Frank Drago.
__
Mercedes College | A College for every girl in the heart of your city!
We have limited places available in all year groups for 2023 and are currently interviewing for 2024 & 2025. If you are considering enrolling your daughter at Mercedes College, please visit our website at www.mercedes.wa.edu.au to request a prospectus, to enrol online or book a tour of our campus. Please contact our Enrolments Officer, Mrs Nicole Kirk on 9323 1323 if you require further information.
—
Classifieds
