Dear St Columba's Parents and Carers,
As we journey through another enriching week at our beloved school, I am thrilled to share some exciting updates and upcoming events with you all.
St. Joseph's Celebrations:
This week, we had the pleasure of celebrating St. Joseph's feast day with Monsignor O'Loughlin and Sr. Maree. It was a heart-warming occasion filled with prayer, reflection, and camaraderie. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make this celebration truly special.
NAPLAN Testing:
I am pleased to announce that our NAPLAN testing for this year has been successfully completed. A huge thank you to all the students for their hard work and dedication during this period. Parents, rest assured that as soon as we receive the NAPLAN reports, we will promptly provide these to you.
Dad's Camp Out:
Calling all adventurous dads, father figures and their children! Our highly anticipated Dad's Camp Out is set to take place this Saturday, 23 March. For compliance purposes, please ensure you fill in the WWC Exemption form. It's bound to be a weekend filled with bonding, laughter, and unforgettable memories.
Commbank Teacher Awards
Nominations are now open for the Commbank Teaching Awards. If you would like to nominate one of our wonderful staff for the awards, please visit here.
Striving for Work Life Balance at St Columba’s and a Right to Disconnect
The staff at St Columba’s are a very dedicated and committed group of professionals. The staff at our school show the utmost diligence in providing for the children they care for each day. Recently, there have been some changes to the working conditions for teachers and their workloads outside of working hours.
Below is some information that is important for you to know in relation to these new legislated changes for our teachers as part of their updated employment conditions.
As has always been the case at St Columba’s and is indicated in the Parent Handbook, unless a matter is urgent, it is reasonable to expect up to a 48-hour turnaround time in response to emails from school staff. In most cases, teachers are unable to respond during the school day because they’re teaching for the majority of the time and have a legal duty of care over the children in their class.
Teachers also have the right to disconnect from 4.00pm each day until 8:00am the following day as per the new changes. Along with this, teachers have the right to disconnect on weekends and won’t respond to any emails on Saturday or Sunday. Part-time staff are not required to respond to any form of communication on their non-working days.
Underpinning this change is the acknowledgement that our staff at St Columba’s have lives outside of school also. Many staff are parents, family members and friends to their loved ones and it is important that after work hours, they have the right to fulfil these roles without interruption in line with the expectations placed upon other professionals.
At St Columba’s, we are blessed to have such a supportive parent body and I know that you will continue to support our staff by keeping these changes in mind when communicating with them.
After-School Pick-Up Procedure for Kindy, Pre-Primary, and Year 1-6 Students
As we continuously strive to improve the efficiency and safety of our after-school pick-up procedures, we would like to remind you of some important processes regarding the drive-through system.
We implement a staggered drive-through schedule for the pick-up of Kindergarten, Pre-Primary, and Year 1-6 students. Please take note of the following details:
Timing:
- Kindy and Pre-Primary students: 3:00PM
- Year 1-6 students: from 3:05PM
Early Arrival for Year 1-6 Students:
- We kindly ask parents with children in Years 1-6 not to enter the drive-through before 3:05PM. Early entry for Year 1-6 students disrupts the flow of traffic and causes delays for other parents.
Closure Time:- The drive-through will close promptly at 3:20PM. We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring that all pick-ups are completed within this time frame.
Re-entry Policy:- If you arrive before the designated time for Year 1-6 students, you may be asked to drive around again or park until 3:05PM to avoid congestion and maintain the efficiency of the pick-up process.
We understand that punctuality is key to the smooth operation of our pick-up system, and we sincerely appreciate your cooperation in adhering to the specified timings. This ensures the safety and convenience of all students and families involved.
It has also come to our attention that some parents have been utilising the Staff/Parish car park during pick-up and drop-off times. I would like to emphasise that this area is designated for Staff and Parish use only and is not intended for parent parking. To maintain order and safety within our school premises, I kindly ask that parents refrain from parking in the Staff/Parish car park during pick-up and drop-off times. Instead, please utilise the designated parking areas for parents.
Thank you for your continued support and cooperation in making our school environment safe and efficient for all.
A reminder, students will finish this term on Thursday, 28 March. School will resume on Tuesday, 16 April.
As always, watch out for those green lights!
Jesse Yock
Acting Principal
