Principal's Post

Dear Parents & Caregivers,

Welcome to the end of Term 1. Yes, at the end of March and heading into April already, and we are heading into the holiday break. It has been another rapid fire term at St Columba’s School, and your children continue to give their best to their learning. I wish to acknowledge the work of all our staff, parents and students in creating the positivity around our school. We can only create what we create if every person takes responsibility for their piece of the culture. Keep building this within your connections here at school. Live in the moments and always remember every moment is an opportunity to make a difference in the life of another. No matter how small the moment, the impact can be enormous.

When I sat thinking about what I might write this week in the lead up to Holy Week, I thought about how Easter is a reflective time that can lead to a feeling of sadness on Good Friday, but also about being able to see the light and joy that comes on Easter Sunday. The celebration of new life. Easter is a time where we see Jesus sacrifice his life for us, by staying true to who he is. Pretty tough stuff. It makes us think about how tough times can get, but with hope, we are able to find the light and see that there is support and care that is found in other people.

Our Easter celebration is a reminder for us to take time to appreciate what we have, to take stock of what is it we give out and how we can create new beginnings with others we have in our lives. This is the opportunity for us to stop a little and slow down, to find time to breath and relax. Over the Easter weekend, I wish you much relaxation with family and friends, enjoying the company of those you love. There is nothing better than finding gratefulness in our day and appreciating the good things. There is enough of the other stuff we have to deal with in our day, to not celebrate the good times. Go looking for the good things. Wait and see how it makes you feel. Be relentless in the pursuit of the goodness in others. There is so much we miss when we do not free ourselves to see this goodness. I tell you this from experience. I live by Ikigai as you well know, but also by a Tony Robbins quote, ‘Fear disappears when you are grateful.’ Fearing nothing is freeing.

During all the new enrolments for 2022, I continue to tell all our new families that ‘Ikigai’ is my type of thinking. I tell them that I know my purpose, and that I am very clear that this place, St Columba’s School, is where I belong. I am meant to be here, loving what I do and trying to be the best I can be as a principal. I also explain this is what we all do at St Col’s. It is what we believe as a community, from our kids through to our grandparents. We all get it.

Ikigai and trying to live gratefully is good stuff. I am not saying I do not fail at keeping to this way of being, but it is not about perfection, it is about having a fair go at staying true to what you say. This is the greatest challenge. I mean, I am working very hard to stay true to the Kangas, but as I said at our assembly on Friday morning, ‘My girls and I just love the blokes, like we really like our North Melbourne boys.’ They are easy to love, so a year of struggle is good for us. Being a Penrith Panther supporter in the NRL does soften the blow of North being in a year of transition. Hope your teams are going well.

Events at St Columba’s School in the couple of weeks after the holiday break:

DAY 1 of TERM 2

• Monday 19 April

ANZAC DAY SERVICE

• Thursday 22 April at 9.00 am, we will hold a service to mark ANZAC Day. Parents are most welcome to attend.

PUPIL FREE DAY

• Tuesday 27 April

COMMUNITY and COMMITMENT MASS

• Saturday 1 May at 6.00 pm
• Commitment Mass for the sacraments of Reconciliation [Year 3s] and Eucharist [Year 4s]

MOTHER’S DAY BREAKFAST

• Friday 7 May at 7.30 am
• Huge thank you to the dads that are getting involved in coordinating this special breakfast for our mums. This is good stuff.
• We appreciate this is a non-Pre Kindy day, but all our Pre Kindy mums and kids are very welcome.

MOTHER’S DAY MASS

• Friday 7 May at 9.00 am
• We are assuming restrictions will be fully lifted to allow Mass to take place.
• All mums are welcome to our Mass after the breakfast.
• Again, we appreciate this is a non-Pre Kindy day, but all our Pre Kindy mums and kids are very welcome.

INTERSCHOOL SWIMMING CARNIVAL

• Friday 30 April at Challenge Stadium
• Special thanks to all our parents and students who are involved in training and the breakfast, and to Jo McCuskey for working alongside our parents in preparing our students.

WINTER SCHOOL UNIFORM

• Winter uniform commences in Week 1 Term 2, however, there is a two-week transition period at the start of the term due to the weather still being warm. All students must be in full winter uniform by the end of Week 3. This will allow for any uniform delays.
• Sport Shoes: Thank you to parents who have been purchasing predominantly white sport shoes to be in line with the school uniform policy. 2021 has seen an outstanding level of support from parents. There is still some work to be done in this area, but we are nearly at 100% across our Year 1 to Year 6 students.
• We all agree that the school uniform sets a standard for who we are as a school. Our kids are really proud to be St Columba’s kids, so it is important to continue to work together in keeping these standards.

BUSH FIRE FUNDRAISER

Earlier in the term we held a free dress day to raise money for the Wooroloo and Hills Bush Fire Appeal 2021. I am pleased to announce that we raised $862.15. Well done everyone.

As we celebrate Easter this weekend, I wish to acknowledge all our families for the support of the Pastoral Care Easter Raffle this week. On Thursday afternoon at around 2.15 pm, the raffle prizes will be handed out to the students. We will also be holding a Free Dress Day on Thursday for Project Compassion. Students are asked to bring a gold coin donation. The funds raised will be sent directly to Caritas Australia to support their work. If you have any family Project Compassion boxes you would like to return, please return tomorrow morning.

On behalf of our St Columba’s School staff, I wish to thank you for your continued support of our school community and wish you the very best of wishes over the Easter break. May you be blessed with an abundance of goodness. We look forward to seeing everyone back at the start of Term 2, well rested and keen to get back into the excitement of learning.

All good things your way. Blessings always!

Art

P & F News

Next P&F meeting is on Tuesday 18^th May at 7pm in the Library.

Thank you to all those that ordered wine and especially to those families that didn’t order wine but made a donation to the P&F. A huge shout out to Hay Shed Hill Winery for supporting the school and donating a total of $1,550. Orders will be available for collection Wednesday after school and Thursday. If you aren’t able to collect your order, please let me know (gtarmstrong@iinet.net.au) and we can arrange a time for you.

Our next fundraiser is the Entertainment memberships. These are all now electronic and a flyer was sent home yesterday for each family. Details are also attached to this newsletter and on the parent Facebook page.

Columba Runners

We would love to invite all those children wishing to join us for Columba Runners in Terms 2 and 3 to do so. The first session will be on the 19^th of April at Frank Drago oval 3.15-4.15pm and continue Mondays and Wednesdays. Cost is $25 per child, parents can join free! Prizes awarded based on total kilometers achieved over both terms, including those parents brave enough to participate! 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.

https://www.cognitoforms.com/StColumbasPrimarySchool/ColumbaRunners2021RegistrationForm

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.

Pastoral Care

Award Winners

Term 1, Week 7

PP Green – Olivia Molony, Xavier Tobin
PP White – Connell Parker, Maria Mustica

1 Green – Thomas Gibson, Huw Humphreys
1 White – Luca Marrapodi, Stefano Mustica, Tom Ross

2 Green – Alessia Marrapodi, Estelle Pirone
2 White – Shishir Berigai, Henry Garrett, Harriet Webb

3 Green – Bianca Balla, Tony Masek
3 White – Jack Hutton, Chloe Smith

4 Green – Amelia Dorozenko, James McDougall
4 White – Audrey Lawes, Elizabeth Wright

5 Green – Chernet Desalegn, Charlotte Smith
5 White – Ava Fragomeni, Manon Miller, Derek Ong

6 Green – Sophia O’Toole, Sienna Ross, Nicholas Wild
6 White – Zachariah Armstrong, Emily Falzon

Community Notices

These April school holidays METRONET will have a full-scale model on display at Yagan Square, giving people an early opportunity to see inside Perth’s new C-Series trains.

METRONET would like to invite families to attend the free family-friendly event from Saturday 3 April to Sunday 18 April between 9am and 5pm.

Visitors can walk through the carriage and along the railcar, there is a 1:50 scale model on display, and kids can get involved with a scavenger hunt.

Thursday mornings between 9am-10am are reserved for Quiet Hour, where the display will be low sensory to cater for those who prefer to experience the train in this environment.

Walk-ins will be welcome and families wanting to skip the queue will be able to register for free VIP tickets at www.metronet.wa.gov.au/all-aboard.

As the biggest railcar order in the state’s history, the METRONET Railcar Program will deliver 246 new C-series railcars to Perth’s rail network.

The trains will service an increased demand from METRONET projects and replace the A-series trains that currently operate on the Armadale/Thornlie, Fremantle and Midland lines.

Find out more about the Railcar Program and METRONET at www.metronet.wa.gov.au.

—

Classifieds