Principal's Post

Dear Parents of St Columba’s,

What an event-filled weekend for the St Columba’s School Community. Our community spirit was clearly demonstrated when parents united to support the school on three separate occasions.

The P&F held their annual school disco on Friday 13 October. Students eagerly arrived in their best dancing clothes and didn’t stop celebrating the commencement of the final term until the last song. Parents assisted with cooking, supervision, and the sale of snacks throughout the evening.

Whilst the night ended for most after the senior disco at 8.15 pm, the P&F and a team of helpers stayed behind for clean up and to organise what they could for the very next day. They gathered early the next morning to prepare the food required to feed the many who would visit our school to vote for the Voice Referendum.

Many parents displayed their culinary skills by baking an impressive array of cakes, cookies, slices, and other treats whilst other parents helped with their time to prepare sausage sizzles or bacon/sausage and egg buns and serve the steady crowd. It was heartwarming to witness parents of all ages and backgrounds working together, laughing, and sharing stories as they put their time and effort into serving the community.

I especially would like to thank our P&F Executive Tanya Armstrong, Simonne Moretta, Leston De Mello and Bea Humphries for all the planning and cooking that went on before, during and after the scenes. I also would like to thank their families who support them with everything from running extra errands to collect supplies or just being available for the family to allow them to do what they do. You are all so generous with your time and your passion for the school and community is a standout.

This remarkable collaboration among parents not only has raised funds to support the resourcing for the curriculum and buildings of the school, but also fostered a sense of togetherness and a stronger community bond. The willingness of these parents to volunteer their time and resources for the benefit of their children’s education serves as a shining example of the incredible community spirit that exists within our school community.

To conclude the weekend, Columba Runners held their season wind-up at the Riverside Gardens. There were some remarkable achievements by children of all ages. An example is a Pre Primary child running a total of 71 km over the season and the km’s of the team combined to be the equivalent distance from Perth to Hawaii. Students received personal acknowledgment of the distance they had run as well as awards for special categories, some of those connected to previous committee members who commenced the tradition. Each child also received a pin and gift. Sliders and a delicious chocolate cake were enjoyed by all who attended.

Special thanks again to parents who have been co-ordinators for 2023, Tanya Armstrong, Louise Bass and Sascha Harris. Columba Runners needs new committee members for 2024. Our students need your support for this great initiative to continue. Please contact Tanya, Louise, Sascha or the school if you can assist.

Before School Supervision

Supervision before school commences at 8.15 am. Opening times for our gates have been amended to be more in line with our supervision times.

We ask parents to please not leave their child unsupervised before 8.15 am. This is not only a safety issue but a workload issue for our teachers who require this time before 8.15 am to prepare for the day ahead without interruption. It is also important for our OSHC licence that only those enrolled in OSHC or approved as a visitor are on site prior to 8.15 am.

If your child requires care before 8.15 a.m., please contact Jess at St Columba’s OSHC for a position in our Before School Care Program – 9208 2723. The cost for before-school care, prior to the child care benefit is $20.

Catholic School Advisory Council (CSAC) and Parents and Friends (P&F) Committee

At this time of the year, we are calling for nominations for our two parent groups, Catholic School Advisory Committee and the Parents and Friends Executive.

Please read on for further information and nomination forms.

Election for both parent groups will be held at the Annual Community Meeting (ACM) on Wednesday 22 November at 6.00 pm. The School, CSAC, P&F and Parish will also share their annual reports at the ACM. All parents are invited to attend the Annual Community Meeting.

In gratitude

Gina Burns

Nominations for Catholic School Advisory Council

I invite you all to consider nomination to the Catholic School Advisory Council (CSAC). Involvement with the CSAC is very rewarding and gives you the opportunity to be closely associated with the school.

A CSAC provides parents and community members with structured ways to provide support and expertise to the Principal and School Leadership Team.

The CSAC operates in accordance with the CSAC Terms of Reference, Quality Catholic Education, Policies, Executive Directives, and the Delegations of Authority. The CSAC is accountable to the Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia (CECWA).

The CSAC must carry out the following functions:

1. Support planning for the present and future operation of the Catholic school;
2. Provide membership, at the principal’s request, on selection panels for the employment of staff to the Catholic school in accordance with the relevant CECEWA Policies and Executive Directives;
3. Provide membership on the panel that recommends the appointment of a principal in accordance with the relevant CECWA Policy and Executive Directives;
4. In consultation with the principal, communicate about the Catholic School and about Catholic education to persons and organisations in the School Community;
5. Endorse the catholic school’s annual budget before submission to CECWA for approval; and
6. Advise the Principal on school financial matters such as performance against budget, sustainability, and capital and recurrent planning.

There are two elected positions and two co-opted positions available on the CSAC for 2024.

Nominees to the CSAC should possess:

• A commitment and desire to promote Catholic education and give service to the Catholic School Community;
• A commitment to the safety, well-being, and pastoral care of all students and staff;
• An ability to work co-operatively and constructively with the principal, school leadership team, and all other members of the Advisory Council;
• The possession of skills, competencies, and experience that are reflective of, relevant, and beneficial to the Catholic School Community; and
• A sufficiency of time to devote to Advisory Council duties.

The CSAC meets once a term on a Tuesday evening.

If you would like further information about the role of the CSAC, please contact me at the school or via email – gina.burns@cewa.edu.au

Nomination forms for the CSAC should be returned to the School by Tuesday 14 November 2023.

Catholic School Advisory Council Nomination Form 2024

Nominations for Parents and Friends Committee

The Parents and Friends Committee (P&F) directs its energies to friendship, fundraising, and other community activities to support the operation of the school.

All parents of enrolled students at the school are considered general members of the P&F.

The P&F is led by a volunteer group of parents, each of whom is elected to office bearer positions. These people are identified as P&F Committee members.

The P&F Committee membership conditions are:

(a) a commitment and desire to promote Catholic education;

(b) a commitment and desire to give service to the school;

(c) a commitment to the safety, wellbeing and pastoral care of all students and staff;

(d) an ability to work cooperatively and constructively with the principal, school leadership team, the School Advisory Council and other members of the P&F; and

(e) a sufficiency of time to devote to P&F duties.

The P&F Committee should be comprised of four to six plus the Principal or their delegate.

The P&F Committee must consist of the following office bearers:

(a) Chair;

(b) Deputy Chair;

(c) Secretary; and

(d) Treasurer.

All P&F positions will become vacant at the conclusion of 2023.

The P&F meet approximately once a month on a Tuesday evening.

If you would like any further information on the role of the P&F Committee or office bearer positions, please contact me at the school or via email – gina.burns@cewa.edu.au

Nomination forms for the P&F Committee should be returned to the School by Tuesday 14 November 2023.

P&F Nomination Form 2024

P & F News

TERM 4 Events

• End of Year Concert – We will be holding a sausage sizzle at the end of the concert for those that don’t want to go home and cook dinner.
• Christmas Raffle – We would like to do a Christmas Raffle that is more activity based for school holidays rather than toy based. If anyone has any contacts or ideas for prizes, please contact your class rep.

Entertainment Memberships

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

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

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

Tanya Armstrong

Chair P&F

Pastoral Care

Award Winners

MERIT AWARDS – Term 4, Week 1

PP Green – Maxeen Li, Holly McMenamin, Leo Sharrinovski, Molly Veale
PP White – Jake Bourteloup, Clara Fuller, Sophie MacDonald, Exra Ta

1 Green – Ava-Marie Bova, Amelia Gibson, Chase Gilbert
1 White – Ella Aldworth, Harvey Kemmy, Erin Kennewell, Ella Phillips

2 Green – Arden Bezich, Lucas Scali, Reuben Williams
2 White – Jacob Hofmann, Patrick McGlue, Mia Paulus

3 Green – Anh Hoang, Maya Katich, Luke Magee
3 White – Alexander Khoo, Lucia O’Toole, Senumitha Ratnayake

4 Green – Aaliyah Brandis, Jaike Evangelista, Andrew Gai, Alessia Marrapodi
4 White – Shishir Berigai, Eli Felt, Zozie Higgs, Luca Scagnetti

5 Green – Ty Fernandez, Natalia Milhinch, Keira Pollitt
5 White – Kaitlyn Bidwell, Jaydyn Duong, Gethin Humphreys

All Year 6s – Resilience, determination and willingness to expand your paradigm while on camp.

Religious Education and Curriculum News

From our Year 4 Classes:

In Year 4, in Religion this week, we are learning about how people belong and participate in communities. We will be learning about how people participate in the Church community through the Sacraments, and how the Sacrament of Baptism initiates our belonging to a Church community. We created a profile on ourselves that explores a sense of who we are within one of our communities.

From our Year 3 Classes

In Maths last week we were learning about 3-D shapes. We learnt about how many faces, edges and vertices different shapes have. A triangular pyramid has 6 edges, 4 faces and 4 vertices. We also learnt about which number equalled which word e.g. quad means 4 and pent means 5.

Elizabeth Year 3G

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

Classifieds