The Donegal | St Columba's School

Principal's Post

As our 2019 school year comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the year.

For me it has always been about the people, the people, the people. Relationships are everything, and is what we build from to make the world in which we live a better place. It is what the Maori people have as one of their very special sayings. When I spent some time in New Zealand this was something that I took away as my learning. It is something that I now talk about all the time. At St Columba’s School, I know this to also be true. You know this, because you all do it. I have been blessed with a terrific staff, wonderful students and parents who genuinely care about our school. When we care, then we become unstoppable. There have been so many successes, so many positives. We have always looked to be better each day, looked to create a positive environment for our students.

To create an environment in which every child and every staff member is provided with opportunities for their ‘giftedness’ to come alive in their learning, is what we want for all. The end of the year is always an exciting time as it allows for everyone to take a breath and reset for the 2020 school year. It has been a busy one, but a good one, and we look with enthusiasm to the year ahead.

This quote by Albert Einstein is exactly what we are about. Everybody is a genius! Imagine, if we can find everyone’s giftedness and have it shine brightly. This is ambitious, but well worth having a fair go at achieving.

Year 6s and Their Families

Our Year 6’s and their parents move into their next phase of schooling, high school, at the end of this year. We have a beautiful group of Year 6 students who have continued throughout their schooling to set high standards for others to follow. The importance of friendship, looking out for one another and being accepting of every person is what stands them apart. We thank our Year 6’s and their families, for the contribution they have made to life here at St Columba’s School and for the positive influence they have had on others that will follow their lead into the future. Our Year 6’s will be missed. May their transition around the next corner, be one that is smooth but filled with excitement. May you always find a quietness, a peacefulness and a kindness in your heart for all those who come across your path in the future.

We wish our Year 6s well as they move into high school and know that God will keep them safe, blessing them with much happiness and peace throughout their lives. To our Year 6 families who leave us at the end of the year, we wish you blessings of happiness also. For many of our families, it will be their last year here at St Columba’s. This is a time for all of us to be grateful for the many contributions you have made to our school and its people. Your presence here will be missed. We thank you sincerely, not only for your love of your children, but also your love for our school.

Families leaving us at the end of 2019

To other families within in our school, who move on at the end of the year, thank you for what you have given to us as a community. Thank you for your support during your time here at St Columba’s School. May you be blessed with good times and much happiness. We wish you all the very best for the future. To our kids who leave us, your new teachers are going to love teaching you. You will always be St Col’s Kids. Always!

As families leave St Columba’s, we also have many new families coming to our school for the first time next year. There will be many new families in our Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and also throughout the school. We very much look forward to them joining us and the special qualities they will add to our school community.

It has been another fantastic year in 2019. As you know, and I tell our kids, I am the luckiest principal on the planet. Why, because they once again shine with the way they go about caring for each other. They have such pride in being St Col’s kids. This is why they are stand-outs, they just love it. They love being here and we love working with them. They are a reflection of what a terrific job you do as parents, and how dedicated our staff members are to supporting you in their education. As parents and staff of St Columba’s School, we have a responsibility to live the words of ‘having our kids shine’.

I want to say a special thank you to everyone for participating in the Thanksgiving Mass and End of Year Dance Concert last Friday. It is in the willingness of all our families to respect the evening, but also the organisation of the night that was sincerely valued and a highlight for me as the principal. It was quite special really and something you should be proud of. It followed up a fabulous Graduation Ceremony earlier that week. We really could not have asked for more from our children, our staff and our families. It is all about quality, and this community exudes it in bucket loads. This is your doing and for that I will be forever grateful.

REPORTS

Reports are coming out today [hopefully]. We have had a glitch with the new AoS in releasing the reports to SEQTA Engage.
All our students have worked to be their best. Remember the fish story and Albert Einstein.
Look for the positives and acknowledge the best part about being at school is that there will always be areas for improvement.

BOOKLISTS 2020

This information will be out tomorrow or Friday.
All lists are now bulk orders. Teachers have sent bulk orders through to our school supplies provider, who will deliver all items to St Columba’s before the start of the school year.
The fee will need to be paid directly to the supplier by Friday 10 January.
In 2019, we trialled this system with our Year 1s and 2s. We will now be using this system across the school from Year 1 to Year 6.
Please follow all details on the forms which will come home.
Your support for this is appreciated.

SCHOOL FEES

School Fees are now due and full payment is required before the end of this school term. (Except for families that are on direct debit or have made alternative arrangements)
Thank you to all our parents for the efforts in maintaining payment of the school fees. Method of payment is either by cash, cheque, EFTPOS, BPay.
With our new audit procedures, the school is required to account for outstanding school fees at the end of each year.
If you are unable to pay the account in full and have no alternative arrangements in place, please contact Peta Santella on 9208 2705 or email peta.santella@cewa.edu.au to make a repayment plan.
Please remember, we are here to support families experiencing financial hardship and we are happy to meet with you to discuss this or any other matter. We understand that these are not easy conversations to have, but also know we are genuine in our support of your family.
Your attention and co-operation to this matter is appreciated.

TERM PLANNER 2020

The Term 1 Planner will be sent home at the end of this week, with the full calendar being uploaded to the school website before Friday 20 December. Please be aware that this may change over the coming months and that it is important to continue to check for updates in the Donegal and the website during the year. Whole year start and end of term dates are confirmed below, along with the Pupil Free Days being held during the year.

TERM DATES 2020

Term 1 Start Date Students Monday 3 February
Term 1 End Date Students Thursday 9 April

Term 2 Start Date Students Tuesday 28 April
Term 2 End Date Students Thursday 2 July

Term 3 Start Date Students Monday 20 July
Term 3 End Date Students Thursday 24 September

Term 4 Start Date Students Tuesday 13 October
Term 4 End Date Students Friday 11 December

Pupil Free Dates Professional Learning Days [Staff] 2020

Friday 28 February
Friday 29 May
Friday 3 July
Friday 25 September
Monday 12 October

Please note, these dates are subject to change. If these dates for Professional Learning do require amending, parents will be notified well in advance.

START OF YEAR PARENT TEACHER INFORMATION NIGHTS 2020:

Parent information sessions will be held on the dates listed below. At these evenings I will welcome all our parents to the new year at 6.00pm. This will be followed by meetings in your classrooms at 6.15 pm. There will then be a second session in the classrooms at 6.45 pm on the same evening for parents who have children in two of the year levels. Pre-Primary and Kindergarten meetings have already been held at the end of this year.

Tuesday 4 February Year 1, 3 and 5 Sessions at 6.15pm and 6.45pm
Wednesday 5 February Year 2, 4 and 6 Sessions at 6.15pm and 6.45pm

SCHOOL UNIFORM –Predominantly white sport shoes

Day 1 next year there will be no exemptions with this school uniform rule.
When purchasing new sport shoes over the holidays, please be aware you will receive a notice on the first day of the year, if your child does not comply.
After two years, we still have a handful of families that do not comply. In 2020, we ask all parents to support this. If you have a concern with this, please contact me directly.

SHAKING OFF THE NERVES

On Thursday 30 January, the school will be open from 9.00 am to 10.30 am if you wish to pop in with your children to shake off the nerves. Our Kindergarten staff will not be here, but all other teachers will be working in their classrooms during this time.
This is optional if you feel like breaking the ice before Day 1 on Monday 3 February.

WHOLE SCHOOL START OF YEAR MASS

At our first school Mass of the year, Friday 7 February, at 9.00 am, we will present our 2020 student leaders from Year 6. Our School Board and P & F Executive members will be commissioned for the year.

May you all be blessed for your tremendous work as staff and parents of your children and our school. God will shower you with many special blessings of peace this Christmas. Happiness to you all over the Christmas holidays and enjoy your children and the time you will get with them, without having to rush to get to school, make lunches and, the big one, not having to wash and iron school uniforms. On a personal note, thank you for the difference you make to my life as a principal. It is at times overwhelming. It is one of the things I find a very special part of my life. See you all next year! It is going to be exciting.

Stay safe! God bless you during this special time.

Art

P & F News

777 Pharmacy

Don’t forget to mention that you are a St Columba’s family if you are shopping at the Maylands or Bayswater 777 Pharmacy. 10% of all retail sales goes towards the P&F.

Library News

Thank You to the amazing families who have recently helped with book covering: Balm, Joewono, Ma, McShanag, Purcell, Pollitt, Wolters, Wright & Yee families. Your help is greatly appreciated.

The library has lots of books needing covering.  If you can help out by taking a small number of books home to cover over the holidays, please call into the library. Your help is greatly appreciated by staff and students.

It’s the time of the year to have a look for any class or library books that you may still have at home. Don’t give up hope yet. Here are some places you might not have looked yet. Over the years, we’ve found missing books in many of these spots: