Dear Community of St Columba’s,
NAIDOC Week
Last week, students from Aquinas College visited and performed several Aboriginal dances to mark the beginning of our NAIDOC Week celebrations. Our children were deeply engaged and learned a great deal from this special experience. A heartfelt thank you to the staff at Aquinas College for this wonderful partnership.
Our Year One students also led this week’s assembly with a beautiful performance of “Wanjoo.” Throughout the week, students participated in activities that explored the significance of NAIDOC Week. This is a time to celebrate the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, our First Nations People. These communities have lived in Australia for thousands of years, and NAIDOC Week helps us learn about their stories, art, music, and traditions.
It is also a reminder to treat one another with kindness. We acknowledge that First Nations People were not always treated fairly. Saying sorry and learning from the past helps us build a better and fairer future. This is the work of reconciliation.
Mid-Year Raffle
A huge thank you to our incredible Parents and Friends (P&F) Association for their generous donations and support in making our mid-year raffle a fantastic success. Special thanks to Dan Bull, Member for Maylands, who donated the main prize, a $500 gift voucher, and was able to join us for the draw. Dan, your support of our school is deeply appreciated.
We are also very grateful to all parents who helped by selling tickets, donating prizes, and spreading the word. Your efforts make a meaningful difference in our school community and have inspired many of our wonderful students to volunteer their time in the mornings to help sell tickets. Great job to all the students I spotted helping out!
Congratulations to all our raffle winners. We hope you enjoy your prizes and thank you for being part of the fun. Together, we have raised valuable funds to support our school, and we could not have done it without your support. Thank you!
Staying Healthy During Cold and Flu Season
Cold and flu season is upon us, and we want to keep everyone as healthy as possible. We cannot emphasise the importance of excellent hand hygiene practices enough. Washing hands regularly with soap and water or hand sanitiser, helps stop the spread of germs. To support this, all our classrooms have hand sanitiser available for students and staff to use throughout the day.
If you or your child is feeling unwell, please stay at home to rest, recover, and help keep others safe.
Please see further information sent out through Seesaw earlier in the week.
Mid-Year Reports
Today, mid-year reports will be uploaded to Seqta Engage. It is a privilege to read about the student achievements, progress, and the care our students show for one another. Each report reflects the hard work, learning, and kindness that fills our classrooms every day. We are proud of every student for their efforts and the way they support each other.
A special thank you to our dedicated teachers, who have put so much time and care into preparing these reports. Your commitment to each child’s learning journey is deeply appreciated.
Now, it is time for everyone to enjoy a well-earned holiday Rest, recharge, and get ready for more exciting learning ahead.
Upcoming events:
- Friday 4 July: Final Day of Term 2
- Monday 21 July: Term 3 commences for staff and students
Thank you for your continued support in keeping our school a safe and healthy place for all to learn and grow.
In Gratitude,
Gina Burns
Principal
Assistant Principal's Updates
COMMUNITY BAPTISM – TERM THREE
The St Columba’s Community Baptism Event has become a much-anticipated occasion on the school calendar! In the three years we have been offering it, we have assisted in organising Baptisms for over 65 children of varying ages.
In Term Three we will be holding our third Community Baptism for the year.
Dates to note:
Thursday 31 July : Baptism Information Evening for parents and those to be Baptised. In the St Columba’s Church at 6pm.
Sunday 17 August : Baptism Ceremony at 10.45am after the 9.30 Mass
If you are interested, or have any questions about this event, please contact me.
LOVING FOR LIFE – YEARS FIVE AND SIX
As part of our Religious Education and Health Programs this year, we have engaged the services of Loving for Life WA to provide information and a values-based education on human sexuality that is appropriate for students in Years Five and Six. Loving For Life WA is supported by the Archdiocese of Perth and was created to support the work of Catholic schools to develop educational programs and resources to increase understanding of healthy, positive relationships and wellbeing, from a Christian perspective. (Please refer to the flyer attached to this newsletter)
We are looking forward to Loving For Life WA providing family-based presentations this year at St Columaba’s.
Year Six : Thursday 21 August at 6pm
And
Year Five : Thursday 28 August 6pm.
Female students will need to attend with their mother (or female caregiver) and male students with their father (or male caregiver).
More information will be provided closer to the date. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Best wishes
Mrs Leesa Vinciullo
Assistant Principal
P & F News
P&F WRAP UP SEMESTER 2
MID YEAR RAFFLE
Congratulations to all the Mid Year Raffle winners! We wish to thank everyone for buying tickets and supporting the fundraiser which made over $1100. Our generous sponsors who kindly supported the raffle prize pool this year are the heart of this competition – so many of the businesses are local and give year after year. You have brought happiness and excitement to the children of St Col’s which brought magic to the assembly during the draw. Thank you for your donations so we could deliver another mid year raffle to the community in 2025.
SPONSORS
Dan Bull MLA
Music Rocks
Silly Goose Maylands
Lollipops Bayswater
Bayswater Hotel
Pharmacy 777 Bayswater
Bayswater Waves
Slater-Gartrell Sports Midland
Kmart
Coles
A special thank you to the parents who gave up their mornings to sell tickets outside the library and our dedicated subcommittee Bec Vernon, Kimberley Hann, Davina Goh & Nikki Staveley who sourced prizes over the last few months from many local businesses – without your volunteered time, we are unable to run these competitions for the students. Please note 4 of 7 prizes have been collected (the rest are at the office — please bring your prize certificate to the office to collect).
WINNERS
1st Prize Y5 Tom
2nd Prize PP Lewis
3rd Prize PP Olivia
4th Prize Y6 Lilah
5th Prize PK Benji
6th Prize Y4 Xander
7th Prize K Ava
Colour Run Prizes were delivered to students Tuesday 1st July
Congratulations to the whole community and fundraising team who made over $15,000 for our School. This is a huge achievement and one we’d like to particularly thank all who were involved in. First, Rebecca Wilkey, a Mum of 3 at St Col’s and also a teacher herself, organised this fundraiser overall — we’d like to extend our thanks for a superb effort in managing and guiding the School with the rollout of the Colour Run. Also, a big shoutout to the Year 1 mum team who sorted the prizes and the helpers from 5G, who delivered to classes. Congratulations to ISLA from Year 6 who was the winner of the Nintendo Switch (all students who raised $50 or more went into the draw). We look forward to bringing this event back to St Col’s in the future for the students to enjoy again.
The BIGGEST Bike Bus – SCHOOL HOLIDAY STYLE!
This school holidays, together with several of the other bike buses around Perth, please find an event invitation attached.
Parent Quiz Night — Call for volunteers
After a successful response to the retro night, tables are nearly all sold out! If you didn’t get your hands on a ticket, consider volunteering for the evening to be part of the night — a link will be published in the next newsletter for interested parents to sign up and assist with silent auction and raffle sales – watch this space!
REMINDERS
Containers for Change
Get involved with our School yard fundraising by joining the containers for change group. All you have to do is scan the barcode attached to the newsletter with your containers from home — all funds from your deposit goes directly back to fundraising for items that benefit the kids at St Cols.
School Rewards Program — THE ATHLETE’S FOOT Morley Galleria
With $5 from every pair of shoes purchased being donated back to our School, This applies to the whole family across their fantastic range of school, sports, work and casual shoes. Make sure you mention St Col’s!
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
St Columba’s School Parent Quiz Night — Saturday 2 August 6.15pm
P&F Meeting — Tuesday 19th August 6:30pm
Father’s Day Breakfast – Friday 5th September 7:30am
Library News
A HUGE Thank You to the following families that have kindly covered library books during the semester:
Allison, Billington, Bova, Charles, Halls, Jeganathan, Khoo, Lumsden, McIntyre, McShanag, Nebel, O’Callaghan, Patten, Sanders, Verma, Wallace & Winspear.
Your assistance and support is greatly appreciated!
Mrs Cuthbert and the students of St Cols.
Pastoral Care
Happy Birthday to:
All the students who will be celebrating birthdays over the July holidays.
Would you like to Volunteer with us?
We are always looking for Volunteers to join the Pastoral Care Team. If you can spare a little time on a Wednesday morning after drop off, you can find us in the Church meeting room just as you enter from the basketball court entrance. Come say Hi and see what we are all about or please feel free to reach out to us by leaving a message with Lisa or Kylie in Administration and one of our amazing volunteers will talk you through volunteering with us.
WEEKLY RAFFLE ROSTER
TERM 3
Week 1 – NO RAFFLE
Week 2 – 30 July
Week 3 – NO RAFFLE (Year 6 camp)
Week 4 – 13 August
| Kindy Green | Week 2 – Charlotte Hawke Week 4 – Madison Hayward |
| Kindy White | Week 2 – Clementine Espie Week 4 – Theo Fagionata Dezajacomo |
| PP Green | Week 2 – Darcy Eden Week 4 – Ronan Elliott |
| PP White | Week 2 – Jennifer Hart Week 4 – Austin Hohnen-MacDonald |
| Year 1 Green | Week 2 – Maxine Isautier Week 4 – Margot Juniper |
| Year 1 White | Week 2 – Ethan Harris Week 4 – Clara Pearson |
| Year 2 Green | Week 2 – Alfred Eden Week 4 – Isla Elliott |
| Year 2 White | Week 2 – Oliver Hawke Week 4 – Jude Hoogland |
| Year 3 Green | Week 2 – Hugo Garrett Week 4 – Millie Gibson |
| Year 3 White | Week 2 – Luca Isautier Week 4 – Celeste Mulherin |
| Year 4 Green | Week 2 – Brooky Hamilton Week 4 – Felix Juniper |
| Year 4 White | Week 2 – Megan Hutton Week 4 – Katie Kim Oliver |
| Year 5 Green | Week 2 – Evie Hamilton Week 4 – Tommy Gibson |
| Year 5 White | Week 2 – Maya Katich Week 4 – Gianna Krishnan |
| Year 6 Green | Week 2 – Henry Garrett Week 4 – Ivy Hoogland |
| Year 6 White | Week 2 – Eli Felt Week 4 – Andrew Gai |
Award Winners
MERCY AWARDS – Term 2 , Week 10
Congratulations to all the recipients of our Term 2 Mercy Awards:
PP Green – August Knox
PP White – Sebastian Teal
1 Green – Amelia Congdon
1 White – Jayden Win
2 Green – Oscar Harstrom
2 White – Maxeen Li
3 White – Ella Aldworth
3 Green – Florence Crookes
4 Green – Tristan Goh
4 White – Eleanor Lee
5 Green – Jude Allison
5 White – Senumitha Ratnayake
6 Green – Lilah Jagger
6 White – Isla Bentley
Religious Education and Curriculum News
From our Year 4’s:
Our Year 4 students have been learning about the British colonisation of Australia by imagining what life was like for the convicts who travelled on the First Fleet. Through their writing, they have brought to life the journeys, hardships, and experiences faced by these individuals. Writing from the perspective of a convict, students have captured the emotions of leaving England, surviving the difficult voyage, and arriving in a strange and unfamiliar land.
🖤💛❤️ NAIDOC Week Dance Performance ❤️💛🖤
As part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations, we were honoured to welcome a group of talented students from Aquinas College, who shared a powerful and culturally rich traditional dance performance with our school community last Friday.
Their performance was a meaningful expression of First Nation culture, identity, and storytelling through dance — a celebration of the strength and pride of the world’s oldest living culture.
It was a truly special experience for our students and staff, and we thank the Aquinas College boys for their time, energy, and spirit. We look forward to welcoming them back again!
Community Notices
HEALTH NURSE TIPS AND INFORMATION
How much physical activity should my child be doing?
- School age children need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. But more is better, so encourage your child to be active for up to several hours each day.
- Children need a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. ‘Moderate activity’ is any activity which is similar in intensity to a brisk walk e.g. bike riding or active playing. ‘Vigorous activity’ is any activity which makes your child “huff and puff” e.g. organised sports, ballet, running or swimming laps.
- Any activity that requires your child to expend energy should be encouraged. Go to http://raisingchildren.net.au for more information.
Physical activity – family activities
If you’re looking for ways to help your family be more active, why not try…
- walking or riding to school together
- visiting the beach to play cricket or Frisbee
- taking the dog for a walk
- doing some gardening (try building a veggie patch!)
- visiting the local swimming pool
- playing at the park together.
- going for a bike ride
- bush walking
- outings that involve walking (like the zoo)
- participating in a community walk
- buying children presents that encourage physical activity (like sports equipment or a kite).
For more ideas visit www.natureplaywa.org.au/ or http://raisingchildren.net.au.
School Counsellor News
SEMINAR
Join Australia’s leading Cybersafety expert, Susan McLean, for a powerful and informative session tailored for parents and carers. Known for her direct and no-nonsense approach, Susan will uncover the reality of the online world and equip families with the knowledge to keep children safe.
This session is both eye-opening and empowering—a must-attend for anyone raising or caring for young people in today’s digital world. Includes Q&A. This presentation will take place at Padbury Catholic primary school on July 23rd at 6pm. Tickets are available via the Trybooking link below.
https://www.trybooking.com/DCOMO
Midvale Hub Parenting Sevice – Parent Programs Term 3
City of Bayswater
Circle of Security Parenting https://events.humanitix.com/circle-of-security-parenting-maylands-739jl2s3
The Emotion Coaching Toolkit https://events.humanitix.com/the-emotion-coaching-toolkit-bayswater
Online Platform
Circle of Security Parenting https://events.humanitix.com/circle-of-security-parenting-online-platform-8vgls4mv
Protective Behaviours https://events.humanitix.com/protective-behaviours-online-platform
Below is the link to our website information which explains our service and programs that we offer.
https://www.midvalehub.org.au/copy-of-parenting-and-family-suppor
Our Facebook page link – we share some great parenting information. Also the program that we run are in the events section.
https://www.facebook.com/midvalehub/
Humanitix link – all our live events
MIDVALE HUB PARENTING SERVICE PERTH NE | Humanitix