“Dear Lord, Please help those who are less fortunate than us,

help them to find comfort and love.

Also help us to remember how truly lucky we are,

help us not to take this for granted. Amen”

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back everyone to the start of Term 3. I am positive that all had a restful break and enjoyed the holidays. In talking to the students many of them have had a great holiday either at home or off travelling and I am sure that they are refreshed and ready for the term.

We have a very busy term ahead with our students participating in the Performing Arts Festival, the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Book Week and our school Athletics Carnival. These are just a few of the many activities our students will participate in this term.

We welcome our new Parish Priest, Fr Nino, who has replaced Monsignor O’Loughlin. We will introduce Fr. Nino to the students at an assembly on Thursday, 1 August and the staff will have morning tea with him during recess. We look forward to working very closely with Fr Nino into the future.

Our staff had a great PD Day on Monday around the history of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and meditation with students. Sr Maree from the Sisters of St Joseph and Sr Maura from the Presentation Sisters were our presenters for the day.

I will be away from school tomorrow at a School Principal’s Meeting. Mr. Popadynec will be in charge in my absence. Mr. Yock is away this week as he is the acting principal in Mullewa, whilst their principal is away on leave. We will see him back in the school next week.

This term our grotto around the mural of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop should be erected. We are hoping to have this completed by the end of Term 3. There will be surrounding walls and a shade sail cover to protect it and a bench seat donated by Camp Australia will provide seating to the area.

The school will be participating in a Catholic Education, Quality Catholic Education School Review, next week on Tuesday and Wednesday. This will be in the form of a review of school practices and school strategic directions. This will then enable us to meet our school compliance requirements.

It will involve a panel of, CEWA RE Director Mark Powell, School Improvement Officer Pina Hutcheson, School Principal Angela Hegney and CEWA consultant Vivienne Marwick attending the school and meeting with staff, students, the P&F Executive and School Advisory Council members.

They will then prepare a report from these meetings for CEWA to sign off on our review. Outcomes from the review will be communicated to families through the newsletter.

We will be celebrating our Book Fair during Week 4. Many thanks to Mrs. La Rosa, our school librarian who has been working around the clock preparing and organising a book display and some wonderful activities for the students to participate in and I thank her very much for this.

A reminder to families that this term, staff will be following up with students wearing the incorrect school uniform. Please make sure your child is correctly attired for school and if you are unsure of the uniform guidelines, please visit the school website.

God bless and keep safe.

Allen McMahon

Principal

Thursday 18 July

• Vinnies Winter Appeal Begins

Friday 26 July

• Assembly - 2W

Tuesday 30 July

• Performing Arts Festival - Y1

Year 1G - Kaylie, Michael, Miles

Year 1W - Harper, Ella, Alex

Year 2G - Alyssa, Poppy, Hugo

Year 2W - Owen Y, Neave

Year 3G - Ava, Tayo

Year 3W - Violet

Year 4G - Leonardo, Alexandria, Barbara

Year 4W - Jeremy, Caroline

Year 5G - Onye

Year 5W - Marielle, Charlene, Angus

Year 6G - No Merits

Year 6W - Martin, Aiden

The Vinnies Winter Appeal is the next Catholic Charity Fundraiser the school will support.

This year Vinnies have asked us to collect warm clothing for older women such as jumpers, pants, scarves, beanies, socks etc, ensuring that all items donated are in good clean condition.

This fundraiser will run for the first 3 weeks of Term 3 (Thursday 18 July – Friday 2 August), culminating in a Pyjama Day (gold coin donation) on Friday, 2 August.

A washing basket will be distributed to all classes, and we encourage students to bring in warm clothing to donate to those who need them.

Year 6 leaders will empty the baskets at regular intervals and store the items for donation.

We thank parents in advance for their support of this charitable initiative.

All classes from Year 1 to 6 participate in the Performing Arts Festival for Catholic Schools, which was established to help the students of Catholic schools experience the spirit and tradition of the performing arts. Letters will be sent home with further details. Please find ticketing information below.

Do you want the best new children's books? They are coming to our school soon! Classes will have the opportunity to walk through the library to view all the wonderful books on offer and write their wish lists. More information will be provided next week.

Parent volunteers to help with Book Fair

We would really appreciate a few parent volunteers to assist with the Book Fair, before or after school. Please email Lisa La Rosa if you are able to assist: lisa.larosa@cewa.edu.au

• Monday 5 August: 8.30 am - 9 am or 3 pm - 3.30 pm
• Tuesday 6 August: 8.30 am - 9 am or 3 pm - 3.30 pm
• Wednesday 7 August: 8.30 am - 9 am

In Catholic schools across Western Australia, students enrolled in Years 3 and 5 participate in a system-wide, online assessment in Religious Education. The administration of the assessment commences Monday, 22 July. Students following a regular classroom program are expected to participate.

The purpose of the assessment is to measure student learning of the content in the Religious Education Curriculum. Test items relevant to each participating year level are developed by the Religious Education Directorate at the Catholic Education Office of Western Australia. The test items consist of multiple choice, short and extended response. Formal student reports are produced and made available in Term Four. The reports from the assessment complement the school-based assessment programs in Religious Education. As a system-wide, online assessment, classroom teachers, school and system leaders are provided with a ‘point in time’ snapshot of student performance in Religious Education.

If you know of friends interested in an upper primary position, please invite them to get in touch.

The 2024 Education Minister's Running Challenge starts in Term 3 and Student can now register. Participating means that students can be in the running for some great weekly prizes and gain the variety of benefits from the challenge.

Parents can register their child using the link: Sign up link

When signing up select "St Columba's Catholic Primary School" as your school and once completed your can log any running, walking, or wheeling.

For more information please visit https://www.ministersrunningchallenge.wa.gov.au/

Hi everyone,

Welcome to Term 3!

I hope everyone had a fantastic break and are feeling refreshed and ready for an exciting Term 3 ahead. With new opportunities, challenges and experiences waiting for us, let's embrace this term with enthusiasm and make the most out of what St Columba's has to offer.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing some of the exciting events and activities we have planned to make this an unforgettable term. Events like National Plant a Tree Day (for Kindy's and Year 6's), Fathers Day (whole school) and a Colour Carnival Day for the children, let's make this term the best one yet.

Extra Curricular Update

WOWEEE. All of the extra curricular activities are fully booked (Soccer still has some capacity as they will accommodate a few extra). Chess Club, Drama Club and Technology Club will commence Week 2 and soccer will commence Week 3. I am proud that the P&F are able to offer a variety of activities for the children to support all interests. Please remember, by registering for any of the extracurriculars, you acknowledge that the duty of care does not lie with St Columba's Primary School but with yourself and the external company providing the activity.

Have a wonderful week everyone and I look forward to updating you with more information about what the P&F are up to soon. In the meantime, please reach out to your class rep if you have any questions.

Happy Week 1!

Hayley Mitchell

P&F President

Hi all,

Rounds 17 and 18 saw plenty of movement in the leaderboard for the footy tipping.

Craig P has leaped to the top of the ladder enjoying a 3 game advantage, with the next few players neck and neck. It's a tight race, and every tip counts!

Here's the current leaderboard:

Craig P : Kicking goals at the top with 97 tips and a margin of 520

Santhosh P: Snapping at his heels with 94 correct calls and a margin of 455

Mathew S : Holding their own in the mix with 94 correct tips each, boasting a margin of 594.

Dan M: Keeping up with 92 correct tips and a margin of 419

Get ready as Round 19 kicks off tomorrow, with the bombers taking on the Crows action starting at 5:40PM

Keep those predictions rolling in!

Term 3: Tuesday 16 July - Friday 20 September

Term 4: Monday 7 October - Friday 6 December

Term 3: Monday 15 July

Term 4: Monday 21 October

Reconciliation: Saturday, 9 November at 10am

Email: admin@stcolumbassp.wa.edu.au
Website: https://www.stcolumbassp.wa.edu.au/
Location: 30 York Street, South Perth WA 6151, Australia
Phone: (08) 6436 9500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Education/St-Columbas-Catholic-Primary-School-South-Perth-173160579973945/