“Dear Lord, We thank You for the gift of mothers, for their love, guidance and care.

Please bless them with Your grace, strength, and wisdom as they continue to nurture and support their families. Surround them with Your love and peace, and let them know how deeply they are appreciated and cherished. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen”

Dear Parents and Carers

Our Year 6 students are in the final stages of preparation for the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturdays, 7 and 14 June. They will participate in a Confirmation Retreat on Wednesday, 28 May. I wish them all the best and know they will have a wonderful experience celebrating The Sacrament of Confirmation. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Many thanks to the parents involved in organising the Mother’s Day Cuppa yesterday.

The morning was extremely well attended and beautifully organised — a fitting lead-up to the Mother’s Day celebrations this Sunday.

I will be attending a regional principals' meeting next Thursday from midday. Mr. Yock will be in charge during my absence.

Our Cross Country event is approaching and will be held on Wednesday, 29 May, on the school grounds.

There will be a P&F meeting held in the school staffroom on Wednesday, 20 May, at 7:00 pm.

Friday, 30 May will be a pupil-free day and Monday, 2 June is a public holiday (WA Day).

A reminder that students will finish this term on Friday, 4 July.

God bless, and keep safe.

Allen McMahon

Principal

Sunday 11 May

• Mother's Day

Monday 12 May

• Pupil Free Day
• Parent Teacher Interviews

Thursday 15 May

• No Library

Friday 16 May

• No Library

Our Term 2 Parent-Teacher Interviews will take place on Monday, 12 May, providing an opportunity to discuss your child's progress and learning goals with their classroom teacher.

This year, we will once again use the Microsoft Bookings platform, which integrates seamlessly with your email calendars for a smooth and convenient booking process.

Key Dates & Booking Details:
📅 Bookings Open: Monday, 28 April (First Day of Term 2)
📅 Bookings Close: COB Thursday, 8 May
📅 Interview Date: Monday, 12 May
📞 Parents can choose a 10-minute phone call or in-person meeting with their child's teacher.

An email with booking instructions and links has been sent to all Kindy to Year 6 parents on Monday, 28 April.

We encourage all families to take part in these valuable discussions. Please ensure you secure your preferred time before the booking deadline. We look forward to connecting with you soon!

Students from Year 1-6, will be participating in Jump Rope for Heart. This program will run for 5 weeks, from Week 2 - 6.

Jump Rope for Heart is a fantastic physical activity and fundraising program that has been run by the Heart Foundation for 40 years. It’s a great way for your child to keep fit and learn new skills, but it also helps raise funds for vital heart research and education programs.

Over the course of the program, students from Year 1-6, will be skipping as part of class daily fitness. Each week, your child will learn new skills, increase their physical activity, and learn about heart health.

You are welcome to register your child online. By doing this you’ll get access to additional skipping resources to help give your family a great reason to get away from the screens and get outdoors. Register and create your own secure webpage at jumprope.org.au/parents

By signing up online, you and your child can:

• Easily raise funds online
• Track skipping skills progress and earn virtual badges along the way
• Post updates to your page so family and friends can follow their progress
• Access additional skipping resources

Visit jumprope.org.au/parents for all the information that you need.

In alignment with our Catholic school identity, we have decided that all donations and prizes will be collected as a whole school effort. Together we can make a big difference! All prizes earned will be donated to CARITAS and be shared with underprivileged children. All money raised will be given to the Heart Foundation.

Thank you for getting involved in Jump Rope for Heart!

Please support our Library Ministry's second hand book sale to raise money for new library resources. What a great initiative!

We are excited to introduce a new initiative at St Columba’s that celebrates the values we hold dear as a school community — the Aussie of the Month Award!

Aussie of the Month is a national program that recognises and celebrates students who demonstrate outstanding qualities such as respect, kindness, compassion resilience, inclusivity, fair play, and a strong sense of community. It’s not about academic achievement or sporting success — it’s about being a great citizen and role model for others.

Each month, one student from our school will be recognised for consistently displaying the values that make St Columba’s such a special place to learn and grow. Recipients will be acknowledged at our school assembly and will receive a certificate and badge to honour their positive contribution.

We’re proud to celebrate the everyday actions that make a big difference — the quiet leaders, the helpful friends, the respectful listeners, and those who show compassion and integrity in all they do.

We look forward to sharing our first Aussie of the Month soon — stay tuned!

We take this opportunity to direct members of our community to review our Code of Conduct. These statements are aimed at ensuring the protection and wellbeing of students in our care. In addition, awareness of the Code of Conduct ensures that adults do not put themselves in potentially vulnerable positions; for example, adults use the ambulant toilet when on site and do not use student toilets.

Please take a few moments to review our Code of Conduct.

The Education Act mandates the teaching of a Protective Behaviours program in all schools. At St Columba’s we follow the Keeping Safe Program. The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC) aims to help children learn to recognise abuse and develop ways of protecting themselves from abuse and, in wider terms, covers rights, relationships, responsibilities and ethical behaviour.

The KS:CPC is divided into 5 documents specific to the age and year level of students. There are an additional three documents for educators working with:

· Aboriginal children and young people

· Culturally and linguistically diverse children and young people

· Children and young people with disability and additional needs.

The KS:CPC is predicated on two main themes which are presented through topics and activities of increasing complexity. The two KS:CPC Themes are:

· Theme 1: We all have the right to be safe

· Theme 2: We can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust.

The two KS:CPC Themes are explored through four Focus Areas, which are examined in growing complexity in accordance with the age of the students. The four KS:CPC Focus Areas are:

· Focus Area 1: The right to be safe

· Focus Area 2: Relationships

· Focus Area 3: Recognising and reporting abuse

More information can be found on the KS:CPC website: http://tiny.cc/KSCPC-ParentCarerInfo. Please contact your child’s classroom teacher if you have any questions about the curriculum.

The second round of the WA Student Assistance Payment will be available for every eligible student in Western Australia from 28 April 2025 - 4 July 2025.

Please click on the link below for more information.

Round 8 delivered plenty of drama, and while some tipsters hit the jackpot, others are probably still scratching their heads. If you managed to get more than 6 right, well done—you clearly saw something the rest of us missed!

For the WA teams, the Eagles did what they do best, treated their fans to another episode of “How Much Can You Take?”, while the Dockers took a leisurely evening stroll under the roof at Marvel, only to get steamrolled once more playing away!

Round 8’s Top Tippers 🏆

Big congrats to this week’s tipping stars:
🥇 Stef F – 8 tips, 25-point margin
🥈 Kevin – 7 tips, 32-point margin
🥉 Malcolm – 6 tips, 3-point margin
🥉 Andrew J – 6 tips, 3-point margin
🥉 Skip H – 6 tips, 4-point margin

• 11 others with 6 correct tips

Overall Leaderboard – Top 5

The competition is heating up as we move into Round 9:
1️Stef F – 45 tips, 131-point margin
2️Brendon O – 44 tips, 151-point margin
3️Craig P – 43 tips, 118-point margin
4️Pat D – 43 tips, 183-point margin
5️Tristan K – 42 tips, 149-point margin

Round 9 Kicks Off today at 6:10PM with the Dockers hosting the Pies, and let’s hope Freo avoids another prime-time jog. Get your tips in before the bounce!

For any questions, reach out at doscafootytipping6151@gmail.com or give me a call at 0411253951.

Good luck, and may your tips finally make sense this week!

Cheers, Santhosh

Happy Week 2 everyone.

What a big week it has been for the P&F. We kicked off our extra curricular activities for the term with two new additions (volleyball and rugby) in addition to soccer. We have a couple of spots left if you still wanted to enroll.

The highlight of the week was definitely our Mothers Day Event. A lot of hard work and effort goes into organising these events and wow did they impress. A massive thank you to Karen, Abby and all the fabulous Year 4 parents for putting on such a wonderful morning. A huge shoutout must also go to Courtney for donating the beautiful cupcakes.

Have a wonderful week everyone.

Hayley Mitchell

P&F President

Rugby - Years 1 to 6

- 6 sessions

- 08/05/2025 - 12/06/2025

- Thursdays 3:20pm - 4:20pm

- Cost to Parents: $49 (P&F subsidising the remainder)

- League Stars Pack Included

- Location: Bottom Oval

Volleyball - Years 1 to 6

- 8 sessions

- Commence Week 2, Term 2 (Tuesday, 6 May).

- Time: 3:20pm - 4:20pm

- Includes a Reds Shirt and their annual VWA Membership

- Cost $70

- Location: Bottom Oval

Soccer - Years 1 to 6

- Wednesday and Fridays (one of these sessions will be dedicated to advanced students)

- Commence Week 2, Term 2

- Time: 7:30am - 8:30am

- Cost: $149

- Location: bottom oval

Registration information was emailed to families in the last week of Term 1.

Cash payments are no longer accepted. Payments can be made by credit card - Visit scholastic.com.au/LOOP or download the LOOP app. Your order will be electronically linked to the rest of your school's order. You do not need to complete the order form.

Term 2: Monday 28 April - Friday 4 July

Term 3: Tuesday 22 July - Thursday 25 September

Term 4: Monday 13 October - Friday 12 December

Term 2: Monday 12 May, Friday 30 May

Term 3: Monday 21 July, Friday 26 September

Term 4: Monday 27 October

Confirmation: Saturday, 7 June at 6pm, Saturday, 14 June at 6pm

Eucharist: Sunday, 17 August, Sunday, 24 August, Sunday, 31 August at 9.30am

Reconciliation: Saturday, 15 November at 10am