“Blessed are You O Lord who gives us life and all things.

Lead us into repentance and renew our lives with your grace.

May the crosses of ashes that mark our foreheads be a reminder that we belong to your Son.

May our worship and prayer be sustained throughout these days of Lent.

I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Dear Parents and Carers,

Yesterday we celebrated the start of Lent, the lead up to Easter with an Ash Wednesday Service in the Church. Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days.

Our Year 6 student leaders are today attending the Dream and Lead Conference at the Perth Convention Centre. It is a great opportunity for the students to further strengthen their Leadership skills and knowledge, as leaders of our student community. I am sure that upon their return that they will put into practice much of what they have learned, when leading school activities and events.

A big thank you to the P&F Executive for organising the Movie night tomorrow night. It should be a very pleasant evening and I am sure that everyone will have a great time.

Next week our Year 4-6 students will be participating in the Interschool swimming carnival. Many thanks to Mr Chatt for organising the students and having them prepared for the day. I am sure that as always, the students will participate to a very high standard and show great support for each other in the events.

Mr Yock and I will be away on Monday attending the CEWA Leaders Forum. Mrs Sadowski will be in charge in our absence.

I will also be away on Tuesday and Friday attending CEWA commitments and Mr Yock will be in charge while I am away.

I am advising families, that with the before and after school events that involve third party providers, that the school is not responsible for taking students to activities, supervision or making sure that students are collected by parents or carers. The responsibility lies with the family and the provider to make sure that children’s behaviour is appropriate while participating and that that they arrive on time, are collected on time or know they are required to walk home.

God Bless and keep safe.

Allen McMahon

Principal

Friday 7 March

• Assembly - Y4
• P&F Event - Family Movie Night

Tuesday 11 March

• CAPSS Swimming Carnival - Fremantle Leisure Centre

Wednesday 12 March

• NAPLAN commences
• Canteen closed

Thursday 13 March

• Canteen closed

Friday 14 March

• Canteen closed

Saturday 15 March

• Sacramental Enrolment Mass - 6pm

Year 1G - Andrew, Alexander, Sadie

Year 1W - Charlotte, Blair, Marcus

Year 2G - Hugo R, Poppy, Charlotte

Year 2W - Will, Max, Anirudh

Year 3G - Aria, Elijah, Ruby

Year 3W - Audrey, Mason

Year 4G - James M, Saige, Madison, Nicholas

Year 4W - Henry, Sasha, Tayo

Year 5G - Archie, Ellen, Alexandria, Hugo O

Year 5W - Henry, Hugh, Samuel, Alistair

Year 6G - James, Klelia

Year 6W - Xavier, Olivia, Kapil

NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3 & 5 sit in March.

The NAPLAN Online test window begins on Wednesday, 12 March and finishes on Monday, 24 March 2025.

All students in Years 3 & 5 were involved in a practice test on Tuesday, 4 March to experience the platform and the different test formats.

The school has begun extensive School Readiness Testing procedures to ensure our devices and networks can support the online assessment.

Our school NAPLAN testing schedule is below:

Please note all tests are online except for the Year 3 Writing Test.

Students who are absent on a particular testing day are still able to complete the test when they return to school. The NAPLAN testing window is open until Monday, 24 March, giving us time to complete any catch-up testing needed. Please note the writing tests must be completed by Friday, 14 March.

NAPLAN assesses fundamental skills in literacy and numeracy that are developed over time through the school curriculum, rather than specific content. It is not a pass-or-fail type test, for which students can study or drill, but rather shows how students are progressing in numeracy and literacy skills against national standards for all Australian children. It also provides information that allows schools and governments to better target efforts to help all students achieve their potential and acquire the basic skills to help them build successful lives.

A public demonstration site is available for parents and students to access. The link below provides access to the NAPLAN Online Demonstration site which provides examples of the different types of question formats as well as practice questions across all 4 testing areas.

Public Demonstration Site Link

More information is available at www.nap.edu.au

We invite you to speak with your child’s classroom teacher if you have any concerns regarding the NAPLAN assessment.

The Sacramental Program for 2025 is offered to students in Years 3, 4 and 6.

Please note the Sacraments are Parish-based and not school-based and decisions surrounding the Sacraments are made by the Parish Priest in consultation with the school.

Attendance at the St Columba’s Parish Sacramental Enrolment Mass is expected for all students who wish to receive the Sacraments this year.

In 2025, the Sacramental Enrolment Mass will be offered on Saturday 15th March at 6pm.

At least one parent and student candidates are asked to attend the Enrolment Mass.

The Sacramental Enrolment form below has been sent home as a hard copy with your child. These are due back to the classroom teacher by Friday, 14 March.

DOSC is looking forward to seeing you all at the Dads Campout!

Camp Out Details as follows:

Date: 29, March 2024

Time: Setup from 3pm.

Cost: $35 per family

What’s included:

Fruit & snack on arrival.

Dinner: Sausage and bun, juice and zooper dooper.

Breakfast: Bacon and egg roll, Milo, Coffee, Tea and Juice.

Coffee Van planned from 7am on the 30th for those who want to purchase coffees and other items.

Items to bring:

Camping Equipment: Tent, Mattress, pillows & sleeping bags/blankets.

Camping Chairs and Torches.

Warm clothes & spare clothes if needed.

Water bottles.

Additional food, snacks and drinks as required. Please not nuts or products containing nuts.

Please check the weather on the day and pack accordingly.

There is a power point at the bottom of the oval, available for pumping up air beds. Please bring your own pumps.

Registrations close on 24, March, please follow instructions below to register and pay.

Three registration forms to be completed below:

• Register & pay
• Complete the Working With Children Declaration form. If you're the parent attending, please select first option "Yes - Parent Volunteer Exemption"
• You do not require a WWC card
• Complete the volunteer form, please select a task/s you can help with, we need volunteers for the event to go ahead.

Please note, the camp out is only for children currently attending St Columba's. Dads, father figures, carers and Mums are welcome.

If you require any further information please contact Alan on 0423 840 411.

Footy is back, and so is the banter! Time to put your tipping skills to the test.

Sign up for the DOSCA Footy Tipping Comp below and get ready for a cracking season of footy and friendly sledging.

Join Here

Comp Code: 5WHXJC5U

The full-season champ will have their name forever etched on the DOSCA Footy Tipping Trophy—so bring your A-game and maybe a bit of luck!

The comp kicks off in Round 2 on Thursday, 20 March, so there’s still time to jump in. Big cheers to those who’ve already joined—get ready to lace up those tipping boots and prove you know your footy.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at doscafootytipping6151@gmail.com or give me (Santhosh) a call on 0411253951.

Happy tipping!

Cheers, Santhosh

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all having a wonderful week and enjoyed your long weekend.

We are looking forward to seeing you all this Friday night for our Family Movie Night.

A few important things to highlight:

- St Columba's is a non smoking venue

- Please be mindful of parking restrictions (no parking on private property, no parking on driveways, be mindful of signage etc)

- No glass is allowed on the school oval

- We will have a first aid station next to the lolly stall

If you have any questions, please reach out to your class reps.

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 1: Wednesday 5 February - Friday 11 April

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 1: Monday 3 February, Tuesday 4 February

Term 2: Monday 12 May, Friday 30 May

Term 3: Monday 21 July, Friday 26 September

Term 4: Monday 27 October

Sacramental Program Enrolment Mass: Saturday, 15 March at 6pm

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