Principal's Post

EDU DANCE / Christmas Concert

We look forward to seeing you this Friday at our Edu Dance / Christmas Concert, commencing at 6.30 pm for PP to Year 6 students. Please refer to the information provided by Mr Niall Kehoe regarding the event.

Our Kindy Edu Dance Concert will be held this Friday at 2.00 pm. Parents are welcome to collect older siblings from their classroom to view the concert. Parents, please ensure you sign your child out of class first at the classroom. They will need to remain with you for the remainder of the day.

Staffing 2026

Last week, I shared our staffing arrangements for 2026. Today, I would like to provide an important update.

Clare Wright has advised that she will conclude her time as a teacher at St Columba’s at the end of this year. On behalf of our entire community, I extend our heartfelt gratitude for Clare’s nine years of dedicated service across multiple year levels. Her commitment to teaching and the many contributions she has made have enriched the lives of both students and staff.

We deeply appreciate the care, professionalism, and passion Clare has brought to her role, and we wish her every success and happiness as she embarks on the next chapter of her journey.

Looking ahead, Jacob O’Reilly will move into the position of Year 6 Green Teacher. While Jacob has greatly enjoyed his role as Technology Specialist, he is excited to return to the classroom, particularly to Year 6, a space he is passionate about. Congratulations, Jacob.

The school will advise of the update to the Technology Specialist role at the commencement of 2026.

Transition Morning

Next Monday morning, students will transition to their new classroom and meet their new teacher for 2026.

Our teachers have put a great deal of effort into considering all the information provided when creating the class lists for 2026. While I believe every student has been thoughtfully placed to support their learning and well-being, there may be some situations that could lead to disappointment. It is tough to see your child unhappy, but it is important to recognise that disappointment, though unpleasant, is not a negative emotion. In fact, it has been shown to play a key role in a child’s intellectual and social

growth. The article below by Dr. Janice Morais may offer valuable insights on how to help your child build resilience in facing disappointment.

Strengthening Your Child’s Disappointment Muscle

School Pick Up Procedures

If your child’s usual pick-up details change during the day, please call our office on 9208 2700 so one of our Administration Staff can ensure this message is received and delivered directly to your child’s class teacher. Teachers are not always able to check SEESAW or their emails for messages during the day so our Administration Staff will contact them directly via a phone call and keep making attempts until they can be reached.

Changes to a child’s pick up arrangements can also only be actioned when they have come directly from the child’s parent. We apologise we cannot action any changes advised from other parents.

2026 Student Leaders

Congratulations to the following students:

Head Girl: Abigail Vernon
Head Boy: Jonathan Truong

Deputy Head Girl: Gianna Krishnan
Deputy Head Boy: Senumitha Ratnayake

Faction Captains

Columbanus: Henry Webb, Maya Katich

McCauley: Huw Humphreys, Grace Howard

Russell: Oscar Hamilton, Amelia Wilkey

Pascal: Connor Campbell, Mia Fernandez

Ministry Leaders

Alexander Lilleyman, Corey Nguyen, Davern Laffrey, Quill O’Brien, William Parks, Emma North, Evie Zekas-Crooks, Isabella Goh, Poppy Lillico, Savannah Ceric

Upcoming Events

• Thursday 4 December: Chisholm Induction Day
•  Friday 5 December: Edu Dance / Christmas Concert commencing at 6.30 pm / Kindy Concert @ 2.00pm
•  Monday 8 December: Transition Morning @ 10.50 am (meet my new Teacher and Class)
• Tuesday 9 December: Year 6 Graduation Mass and Awards Evening, commencing at 6.30 pm.
• Tuesday 9 December: PP Incursion
• Wednesday 10 December: Final School Mass
• Wednesday 10 December: End of Year Reports Distributed
• Thursday 11 December: End of Year Excursions
•  Friday 12 December: Term 4/2025 School Year Ends for Students

2026

•  Friday 30 January 2026: 9:00 am – 10.00 am Shaking off the Nerves Morning
•  Monday 2 February: Term One Commences for all Students
• Friday 6 February: Commissioning Mass for all Leaders
• Friday 6 February: Welcome Back to School Sundowner for Families 5.00 – 7.00 pm

Our community has so much to celebrate. We look forward to gathering with you all for the Edu Dance and Christmas Concert.

In gratitude,
Gina Burns
Principal

Assistant Principal's Updates

WELCOME FATHER MARK

We are delighted to extend a warm welcome to Fr Mark Payton, who has recently joind our parish community. Fr Mark brings with him a wealth of experience, a deep commitment to faith and a genuine passion for serving others. We look forward to journeying together in faith under his guidance and leadership.

Please join us in making Fr Mark feel at home, make sure you say ‘Hi’ to him if you see him around the school. Let us keep him in our prayers as he begins this new chapter with us. We are excited for the opportunities ahead and the blessings his presence will bring to our school community.

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.

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

A reminder we will 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 this Thursday 4th December 2025.  Thank you for your support.

Mrs Leesa Vinciullo

Assistant Principal

Leesa.Vinciullo@cewa.edu.au

School Counsellor News

Dear Parents

Please find below a link to the eSafety Commissioner website on information for parents regarding under 16’s and the new laws for social media.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/social-media-age-restrictions#talking-with-under-16s-about-age-restrictions-%E2%80%93-videos

P & F News

MARK YOUR DIARIES! FIRST EVENT TERM 1 2026
Welcome Back Sundowner & 90th Birthday Celebration! – Flyer attached to this Newsletter

Join us on Friday 6 February, 5–7pm for a relaxed family sundowner as we kick off the year and begin celebrating St Columba’s 90th birthday. Bring a BYO picnic, enjoy children’s entertainment, and treat the family to something sweet from the Lady Bee Ice-Cream Van. It’s a wonderful opportunity to welcome both new and existing families – we’re looking forward to starting the year together!

CALL FOR 2026 EXEC / 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! The P&F advertises this on our School community Facebook page mid January. 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.  

Please see a brief description of what the Class Rep role entails:

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.

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

BUY YOUR 2026 SCHOOL SHOES FROM 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 TERM 1

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

Library News

Week 8 Library News

Rita Cuthbert – Library

(Monday, Thursday & Friday)

Pastoral Care

Award Winners

MERCY AWARDS – Term 4, Week 8

Congratulations to all the recipients of this week’s Mercy Awards:
 

PP Green – Lucas Young
PP White – Madison Aung Than

1 Green – Ned Moore
1 White – Esme Crookes

2 Green – Le Hoang
2 White – Sophie MacDonald

3 Green – Faye Gallagher
3 White – Noah Palmer

4 Green – Olivia Molony
4 White – Isaiah Chong

5 Green – Connor Campbell
5 White – Jonathan Truong

6 Green – Shishir Berigai
6 White – Jaike Evangelista

Class News

Christmas fun in Pre-Kindy 🎄🥰

What We’ve Been Up To in Year 3!

We’ve been reading Charlotte’s Web, and it’s been AWESOME! We love Wilbur because he’s so cute, and Charlotte is super smart with her amazing webs. Some parts made us laugh out loud, and some parts made us feel a little sad, but we think it’s the best story about being a good friend. We’ve enjoyed discussions about the characters, their choices, and the lessons they teach us about empathy and courage. We even created an art piece using origami to show one of our favourite characters, and they  look amazing! We’ve also talked about the big ideas in the story, like kindness and helping others, and shared what we would do if we lived in the barn with Wilbur and Charlotte. Year 3 says this book is the BEST book ever.

Community Notices