Principal's Post

Dear St Columba’s School Community,

Our updates this week show that St Columba’s values diversity, community, and education. These are all essential components of a well-rounded school. My sincere thanks to everyone for the role you play in supporting your child’s school.

Father’s Day Breakfast

The Pastoral Care Team and Volunteers, under the leadership of Stephanie Anile-Booth, organised such a heartwarming Father’s Day Breakfast last Friday. Celebrating our Fathers and all father-like figures is important as it recognises the vital role fathers play in families and society, fosters positive relationships, promotes gender equality, and contributes to the overall well-being of individuals and the community.

Following the breakfast, we celebrated as a community at Mass with Father Andrew, our spiritual father. The Mass concluded with an endearing PowerPoint tribute by our students to dads. If you missed it, it can be found on our School Facebook Page.

It was such a great way to express our gratitude and celebrate the love and care that Fathers provide to their children and families. I thank all who contributed to making this day happen and hope all Fathers had a wonderful Father’s Day.

NAIDOC Celebrations

Our Aboriginal Engagement Committee organised a week of activities for our students to acknowledge NAIDOC Week this week. NAIDOC week is a great opportunity to show respect and appreciation for Aboriginal Culture and Heritage.

Whilst NAIDOC Week traditionally occurs in July, opportunities to bring presenters into the school can be limited at that time. We were fortunate to be joined by Cyril Yarran, from Milliyan Aboriginal Services to perform a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony at the commencement of our Liturgy Service on Monday. The smoking ceremony assists in cleansing the area and people to promote their protection and well-being along the land in which they journey.

Thank you to our Aboriginal Engagement Committee, Matthew Hubbard, Sarah Bolton, Andrea Middleton, and Jess Scott for leading the school.

Pasta Day

Grazie mille Signora Castro for organising Chef Valentina and all parent helpers to bring the experience of traditional and authentic pasta making to students in Years 3 to 6 last week. The hall and kitchen smelt just like my Nonna’s house for Sunday lunch and brought back so many fond memories. Teaching a language goes beyond learning to speak another language, it promotes cognitive, cultural, and personal development while preparing individuals to thrive in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.

Many thanks Simona for also including our students in the junior years. Whilst Italian lessons commence in Year 3, younger students were treated with gelato. Buonissimo!

Science Week

Thank you and congratulations to Science Specialists, Ric Carbone and Sarah Bolton on your efforts to co-ordinate this year’s science fair. Promoting science education through a science fair is a great initiative and inspires and engages students in STEM (Science, Technologies, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects. Engaging students’ interests in science will undoubtedly have a positive impact on their future. There was such a range of scientific experiments on display. I have learnt a lot and can see the fair provided a great opportunity for families to engage in learning with their child.

Athletics Carnival

Next Wednesday 13 September is our School Athletics Carnival. Our P&F has organised for all spectators to be well-fed with a Cake Stall and Sausage Sizzle. They would appreciate any help you can offer on the day. This will ensure that all our parents have those precious moments to be released from behind the food stalls to support their children as they compete. Please let them know when you can pop in to help. We look forward to seeing you all there.

In gratitude,
Gina Burns
Principal

P & F News

With the athletics carnival next week, orders for sausage sizzles are now open. Please use the link below to order. Payment is via credit card online only and is processed via a secure platform, Stripe.  Orders must be in by 5pm Monday 11^th of September with limited extras available to purchase on the day.

https://www.cognitoforms.com/StColumbasPrimarySchool/StColumbas2023AthleticsCarnivalPFSausageSizzle

We are also running our annual bake sale at the carnival. Come over and buy something delicious, cash and card payment will be available. Also looking for those keen bakers in the school to donate goods to the bake sale. Please note we are not permitted anything with fresh cream or anything that needs refrigeration. For home baked goods, please have a list of ingredients included and remember the schools nut free policy. Both sweet and savoury donations will be greatly appreciated.

We are looking for people to help with both the sausage sizzle and bake sale. We have a volunteer roster for those that are able to help out at the carnival. Please use this link to sign up for a shift.

volunteersignup.org/LKKYC

Entertainment Memberships

Online memberships are available again this year. Memberships can be purchased online.

https://www.entertainment.com.au/orderbooks/83589g

Our next P&F meeting is Tuesday 12 September at 7.00pm in the library.

Items for the agenda must be submitted by 5pm Friday 8 September.

Any items after this time will be tabled for the next meeting.

Any questions or queries, I can be contacted via email gtarmstrong@iinet.net.au

Tanya Armstrong

Chair P&F

Library News

The WINNER of the Library Lucky Dip competition …

“What was the 2023 Book Week Theme”

Is :   Charlotte – Yr 2G

Rita Cuthbert – Library Officer – Library - the original search engine

Pastoral Care

Religious Education and Curriculum News

From our Year 4 Classes:

This term the Year 4s are exploring the topic of relationships. The students have been learning strategies which can help them resolve differences when they have a disagreement with others.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches that, when people treat others well and do good things for another person, that Jesus himself is that other person. Jesus also talked about how it is essential to restore relationships by showing love and forgiveness.

Community Notices

Enrolments are now open for VacSwim swimming lessons during the summer school holidays. VacSwim offers fun lessons at beach or pool locations. They are a great school holiday activity and they teach valuable safety skills to help keep your child safe in the water.

Enrol at education.wa.edu.au/vacswim

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Parents can enrol at the following page:

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Classifieds