“Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily; to lean on your great strength, trustfully, restfully; to wait for the unfolding of your will, patiently, serenely; to meet others, peacefully, joyfully; to face tomorrow, confidently, courageously. Amen”

Dear Parents and Carers

Our term has rapidly come to a conclusion. I would like to thank the staff for the extras they have put into educating our students, at St Columba’s. Teaching preparation is far more than just turning up on the day to present lessons to the students. Many a weekend one will see staff at school preparing for the coming week. It is this dedication that makes for a wonderful education for students at St Columba’s. The students have had a great term and are to be congratulated on the way that they have behaved and worked in their classrooms. They have participated in some great excursions and incursions this term and this week the Year 6 classes enjoyed lunch at Thai Orchid restaurant, Year 1 students visited the Zoo and Pre-Primary had a great time at the Jungle Gym in Willetton.

Many thanks to Mr Chatt for organising the school sports carnival. It was an outstanding success and wonderful to see all the classes participating, cheering and displaying excellent behaviour. Several parents commented on how well organised the event was. We were very lucky to have such great weather on the day.

Over the school holidays the grotto will be erected around the St Mary MacKillop Mural and there will be some painting taking place in the admin area.

A reminder to families that there are still some school fees outstanding. Please finalise prior to the end of this term or advise the office of your payment plan for the remainder of the year.

Parenting Ideas Insights today is around ‘Over Parenting’ and how families can work around this issue - please see below.

In Week 2 of Term 4 the school disco will be held on Friday, 18 October. Please note that for the Years 1-6 sessions, that only P&F Volunteers will be allowed into the undercover area where the disco is being held. Parents dropping off or picking up will be required to wait outside.

A reminder that school will conclude for Term 3 on Friday, 20 September and resume in Term 4 on Monday, 7 October.

God bless and keep safe.

Allen McMahon

Principal

TERM 3

Friday 20 September - Last day of term

• Kings Park Excursion - Year 3
• P&F Colour Fun Day
• Term 3 Ends

TERM 4

Monday 7 October

• Term 4 Begins

Monday 14 October

• Reconciliation Parent Meeting in Church - 6pm

• Kindy: Wednesday, 18 September in the Kindy playground – 2 pm onwards
• Pre-Primary: Friday, 20 September – 12.50 pm – 1.10 pm
• Year 1 - Year 6: Friday, 20 September – 1.20 pm onwards

Parents and Carer's and welcome to collect children once the Colour Fun Run is finished. You are not required to sign out at the office, however must inform the classroom teacher.

The P&F are proud to present this year’s school disco, 'Enchanted Forest', taking place on Friday, 18 October, 2024 (Term 4, Week 2).

This year, we have split the disco into 3 sessions.

Session 1 Kindy and Pre-Primary: 4:45-5:30pm (1 parent/carer must attend to supervise their child)

Session 2 Years 1-3: 5:45-6:45pm (no parents/carer's inside the disco area, children are required to be signed in on arrival and are unable to leave until parents sign out at the end)

Session 3 Years 4-6: 7:00-8:30pm (no parents/carer's inside the disco area, children are required to be signed in on arrival and are unable to leave until parents sign out at the end).

Please RSVP your child/ren's attendance by Friday, 11 October by clicking the below link:

A separate RSVP is required for each child please to allow easy collation of the data.

There is no cost for this event.

We kindly ask you to include emergency contact details for the night.

There will be a food truck available on the night to purchase light refreshments and ice creams.

Please note, this is strictly a no alcohol event.

A reminder that from Year 1 upwards parents are NOT allowed to go into the disco area.

Please don’t hesitate to contact your P&F rep if you have any questions.

Calling all Grandparents,

You are invited to our Grandparents Day, held on Friday, 25 October (Term 4, Week 3).

A Grandparents Day Mass for Years 3-6 students and grandparents will be held in the Church from 9:00am.

A Grandparents Day Liturgy for PP - Y2 students and grandparents will be held in the Church from 11:15am.

(Kindy students will hold their own Grandparents Day on Wednesday, 23 October. Communications will come from teachers regarding this event.)

Students will be able to sit with their grandparents at the Mass/Liturgy.

A Morning Tea for grandparents only will be provided in Kalyara Mia from 10:00am, supplied by the P&F.

Once Grandparents are finished with morning tea they may spend time with their grandchildren in the classrooms (10:00-10:50am) and then at recess time (10:50-11:10am).

We ask families to reply to our Expression of Interest form below to allow the P&F to ascertain numbers for catering purposes. We ask for this to be completed by COB Friday, 11 October (Term 1, Week 1).

We are excited to be able to offer this community event for our grandparents.

Students in Pre Primary to Year 6 attended the St Columba's Athletic Carnival, last Friday, 13 September. The students represented their faction in a various races, games and relays. The students were wonderful at cheering and supporting their faction and peers. At the end of the carnival it was McMahon who proved themselves worthy to win the St Columba's Overall Athletic Carnival Trophy.

Year 3 to 6 students that qualify for the CAPSS Inter School Athletic Carnival, will be notified in the coming days (reserves notified if required). I, Mr Chatt, would like to extend a very special thank you to any parent helpers and supporters who attended the event. Please see results below:

Our donations of desks and chairs have gone towards these marginalised village schools in the Central Province Papua New Guinea:

• Eurika Primary
• Erume Primary
• Lilo remote Primary

Hi everyone.

And just like that, we are finished with Term 3!

A couple of items from me:

Tomorrow is the Day! The Colour Fun Day for years PP - Year 6 is tomorrow. Parents/Carers are absolutely welcome to join in running with their kids on Friday. We encourage your children to bring glasses or goggles to protect their eyes. I know all the children are super excited, so it should be a fabulous end to a massive term. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU must go to Bree Stevens, Gemma Bristow, Zoey Jensen and all the other fabulous Year 4 families for making this possible.

Night in White: Please don't forget to purchase your tickets, this is really important so we know how many we are planning the night for.

School Disco (Kindy - Year 6): You will see the information in today's newsletter. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to myself or your P&F Rep.

Thank you to the whole school community for a massive term. We had a number of events and initiatives that wouldn't have been possible without your help.

Wishing you all a safe, fun and relaxing holiday break. Looking forward to a fun Term 4.

Hayley Mitchell

P&F President

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 3: Tuesday 16 July - Friday 20 September

Term 4: Monday 7 October - Friday 6 December

Term 4: Monday 21 October

Reconciliation: Saturday, 9 November at 10am