Principal's Post

Farewell to Fr Andrew 

Fr Andrew has been appointed Parish Priest of Our Lady of the Rosary in Doubleview. 

As we prepare to say goodbye to Fr Andrew, we do so with hearts full of gratitude and affection. Fr Andrew has been a gentle and guiding presence in our Parish, especially in the way he connected so beautifully with the children through his homilies, always thoughtful, engaging, and filled with love and the mandated Dad joke. 

We have been blessed by his welcoming spirit, particularly in the way he embraced all families during baptisms, making each one feel truly part of our faith community. His quieter, gentler side has been a source of comfort and peace, while his fun-loving nature shone brightly at our recent Parish karaoke night. What a joy it was to see him sing and laugh with us! 

We were delighted when his stay with us was extended, and though it’s hard to see him go, we know the Lord has greater plans for him. Fr Andrew will continue to be a great shepherd to his new Parish, and we will keep him in our prayers as he begins this next chapter. 

We will miss you deeply, Fr Andrew. Thank you for everything. God bless you always. 

There will be a celebration after each Mass this weekend for Fr Andrew.  

• Saturday 22 November @ 6pm 

• Sunday 23 November @ 7.30 am and 9.30 am.  

Fr Andrew’s final Mass at St Columba’s will be next Tuesday 25 November at 9.15 am and some of our classes will also attend. 

Sand Recall 

A message was sent via SEESAW to let you know about a product safety recall of Educational Colours – Rainbow Sand, Creatistics – Coloured Sand and Kadink – Coloured Decorative Sand, that is sometimes used in schools.  

The suppliers have issued this recall as some batches may contain asbestos. Testing has not found any respiratory asbestos (fibres that can be breathed in), and the overall risk has been assessed as low.  

CEWA is following the guidance of Product Safety Australia, in liaison with the Department of Education and other government agencies and is taking the appropriate steps including removing this product from our school.  

For further information on the products that have been recalled, please visit the ACCC website: Product Safety Australia – Educational Colours Sand Recall.  

As more information is received, we will provide further updates.  

In gratitude,
Gina Burns
Principal

Upcoming Events 

• Tuesday 25 November: Pre Kindy 2026 Orientation Morning @ 9.00 am 

• Wednesday 26 November: Annual Community Meeting in the School Library commencing at 6.00 pm. All welcome to attend. 

• Tuesday 2 December: Year 6 Final Assembly @ 2.00 pm 

• Friday 5 December: Edu Dance Concert commencing at 6.30 pm 

Assistant Principal's Updates

KAPTURE PHOTOGRAPHY – Last Chance to order School photos

A reminder,  all photos are currently still available to purchase, but they will be removed from our website at the end of Term 4 in readiness for next year. Please see the Kapture flyer attached to this newsletter for the School code.

School photos were sent home Thursday last week.  Please ensure to check your child’s bag or follow up with the classroom teacher.

• Magnetic photo frames and additional prints are slotted between the prints of your package.
• Photo Greeting Cards & Keychains are packed separately and distributed by the school office to the classroom teachers, who then distribute to the students. Check with your teacher if you have not received yours as yet.
• Sibling photos (if applicable to your school) are delivered to the eldest child and placed inside their photo package as additional prints.
• Digital image orders will be sent to your email address supplied within 3-5 days of the school photo delivery. Please check your junk folders.

If you ordered photos 10+ days after photo day, your order will be handled separately and mailed directly to your home address within the next 28 days. Check your confirmation email for more information.

ST VINNIES CHRISTMAS APPEAL – (Flyer attached to this newsletter)

We will again be helping out St Vinnies this year with their Christmas Appeal.  Baskets have now been placed in each classroom ready for donations.  Please see flyer attached to this newsletter for suggested items to be donated.  All dontaions to be in by Thursday 4th December 2025.  Thank you for your support.

Mrs Leesa Vinciullo

Assistant Principal

Leesa.Vinciullo@cewa.edu.au

School Counsellor News

SOCIAL MEDIA AGE RESTRICTIONS

Parents, please find attached a link to the esafety social media restrictions webinars for parents.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/industry-regulation/social-media-age-restrictions/webinars

P & F News

CALL FOR 2026 EXEC AND CLASS REPS NOMINATIONS

 The P&F are seeking two new members for the Executive Team in 2026 — a Chairperson and Secretary (nomination form attached to this newsletter). Also, we kindly invite parents to start thinking about whether they’d like to become a Class Rep in 2026. These nominations are called for by the Secretary in mid January. ANYONE can do this role and its great to have fresh faces, ideas and skill sets each year. Its for DADS and MUMS with all interests to take part in volunteering whilst helping the School achieve their fundraising targets and a social community!

Please see a brief description of what this role entails below:

1. Attend 10 x P&F meetings including the ACM.
2. Deliver friendraising/fundraising ideas to the team on behalf of your Classes.
3. Be a communications leader between the P&F and Class; gathering up to date family contact lists, sending P&F news/documentation, providing reminders about general School items, organising Teacher gifts as well as encouraging social catchups amongst your Class groups when required.
4. Manage 1 x whole School P&F fundraiser event during the year, supported strongly by the wider team.
5. Be a kind person, who wants to listen and learn from others and encourage our community to work together in delivering a strong year of fundraising for the benefit of all the students.

Please note, the P&F advertises this on our School Facebook page mid January — if you don’t have access and wish to volunteer as Class Rep, please email back and we can put your name against the class you would like to help with (or head to the group and pop your name down on the post). If you don’t wish to be a Rep but would like to just attend meetings or play another part in assisting the team, we’d love to hear from you. If you have a business that would like to support us, we would be so lucky to have your assistance.  

 REMINDERS

SECOND HAND UNIFORMS FACEBOOK GROUP

A new private facebook group has been setup exclusively to buying, selling and swapping second-hand school uniforms online. Please note, this group is separate from the main school community group and is purely for uniform-related posts. Search ‘St Columba’s Bayswater | Second Hand Uniforms’ and join now heading into Term 4 uniform-selling-season!

Help Our School Move Forward — Join ‘Your Move’!

We’re inviting all parents to sign up to the Your Move website and join our school group! Every registration earns points for our school — and the more points we accumulate, the more exciting opportunities we unlock (such as grant funding for bike infrastr. From Connecting Schools Grants to bike education, student leadership labs, and Safe Routes to School guides, Your Move helps us build a more active, connected school community. Whether your child walks, wheels, scoots, or rides, your support helps us inspire healthier habits and access valuable resources. Let’s get moving — sign up today and help our school thrive! https://yourmove.org.au/register

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.

 SAVE THE DATE

Welcome Back School family event / St Col’s 90^th Birthday Party — Friday 6^th February 5-7pm

Library News

The library has lots of new and exciting books needing covering so that our students can read them before the end of the year.  If you can help by taking a small number of books home to cover, please call into the library Monday, Thursday or Friday. Precut covering for books is supplied. Your help is greatly appreciated by students and staff.

The State Library of Western Australia is holding the following event.

Many thanks. 

Rita Cuthbert – Library

(Monday, Thursday & Friday)

Pastoral Care

Class News

From our Pre Primary Classes 

The Pre-Primaries have been introduced to division and what better way to learn about sharing when using cookies. The children were asked to divide their dough into equal parts so each family member would receive the same number of cookies. The problem was presented, “Share your cookies evenly between each family member, how many cookies will each person receive? The children were then required to make enough to share with their family and completed a follow up activity to represent their learning.

From our Year 6 Classes

This term in Art, students explored the captivating world of optical illusions. They designed artworks featuring 3D shapes that appear to balance in impossible ways, challenging our perception of what is truly possible. Students also created stunning pieces titled Tanzania at Sunset, showcasing the rich diversity of life across the Serengeti plains.

Community Notices