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St. Columba's Primary School
NEWSLETTER | TERM 3 | WEEK 2 | 27 JULY 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
We wish our students who are participating in the Performing Arts, all the best as the Performing Arts Festival begins this week. There will be thousands of students in WA Catholic Schools who will be showcasing their talents over the next few weeks. Many thanks to Mrs McDonald for organising and preparing our students.
We are holding a Book Fair in Week 4 and it will be very different to what the school has done in the past. It will be a great opportunity for students to be able to access a wide variety of reading material. Many thanks to Mrs La Rosa for organising the event. I think it will be one of the highlights for the school year.
NAPLAN results will be sent home to families in Year 3 and 5 today. Please see your classroom teacher if you have any questions.
The new school Strategic Plan is well underway, and the School Advisory Committee will be looking at a draft form at its meeting in Week 5. A big thank you to Mrs Griffin for organising the formatting and presentation. Thanks also go to the School Advisory Committee members who have spent time organising the parent survey and finalising the Strategic Goals.
I will be away next week in Tasmania and Mr Yock will be in charge while I am away.
God bless and keep safe.
Allen McMahon
Principal
Important Dates
Tuesday 1 August
- ML Carnival at Morris Buzacott Reserve - Year 6
Wednesday 2 August
- BRLA Online Assessment - Year 5
- Performing Arts Festival Choral Speech - Year 2
Thursday 3 August
- BRLA Online Assessment - Year 3
Friday 4 August
- Assembly - 4W
- Pyjama Day for Vinnies Winter Appeal - gold coin donation
Saturday 5 August
- Robocup (select Y5-6) - All Saints College
- Father Casey's Birthday
Sunday 6 August
- Robocup (select Y5-6) - All Saints College
Merit Awards Winners - Week 3
Year 1G - Scarlett, Evelyn G, Zoe, Hawke
Year 1W - Isabella, Sienna, Charles
Year 2G - Vudhip, Youssef, Eloise, Saige
Year 2W - Florence, Arlo, Max, Sasha
Year 3G - Ruby, Hugo H, Samuel
Year 3W - Theo, Ryan
Year 4G - Dongha, Amelia, Caleb
Year 4W - Kate, Zara O, Leo, Lucas
Year 5G - Lennox, Michaela, Francesca
Year 5W - Angus, Valentina
Year 6G - Caeli, Annabelle
Year 6W - Gabriel, Maria Alice
Vinnies Winter Appeal – Term 3
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.
The school will distribute a washing basket to all classes and we encourage students to bring in blankets and sleeping bags to donate to those who need them. Students can bring these to school and place in the baskets for collection.
Our first Book Fair - coming to the Library soon!
Book Fair is a great way to get students excited about books and further promote the strong reading culture in our school. The Book Fair is an excellent way to access the best new children’s books - and a percentage of proceeds goes back to our Library, helping us to refresh and provide the latest books for our students to enjoy. More details to come!
Volunteers to help with Book Fair - just a couple more
- Monday 7 August: 8.15am - 9.00am or 3.00am - 3.30pm
- Tuesday 8 August: 8.15am - 9.00am or 3.00pm - 3.30pm
- Wednesday 9 August: 8.15am - 9.00am or 3.00pm - 3.30pm
How we communicate with families
- The Thursday newsletter has all the 'need-to-know' information for the week ahead. Our goal is to not send emails from the office on the other days, unless urgent.
- Social media is 'nice-to-know' and where you can see photos of students in their daily tasks. A picture says a thousand words!
- SeeSaw is administered by teachers with child and class related news. This is used more in the early years.
- The Families page on our website has quick links to handy information.
Smiling Minds
St Columba’s is exploring the Smiling Mind Primary School Program. This is an evidence-based approach to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children in the classroom, school and home environment.
Part of the program provides resources for parents and carers to access to support healthy minds. The full guide is below.
The Smiling Mind app (available in the Apple Store and Google Play) provides free mindfulness-based programs for all ages.
We look forward to growing and exploring in this space.
NAPLAN Student Reports
NAPLAN 2023 Individual Student Reports will be sent home in an addressed envelope to parents with children in Years 3 and 5 today.
Accompanying the reports is a Frequently Asked Questions sheet with useful information to help parents understand how to interpret the report.
Should you have any questions regarding your child's NAPLAN 2023 report please see your child's classroom teacher.
Altar Serving Training - St Columba's Catholic Church
Please note that Altar servers are only scheduled for one Mass per month.
The training is open to those children who have received their first holy Eucharist and are interested in Altar serving at St Columba’s Parish.
Training sessions will begin from Saturday, 19 August 2023 at 3:30pm in the Parish Centre.
Children should be accompanied by a parent/guardian to all training sessions.
Please use the link below for expression of interest or contact Alice Mativavarira 0452 557 526 for more information.
The 2023 Religious Education Assessment (REA)
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, 24 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.
P&F News
Hi Everyone,
We hope everyone has settled back into school life and are enjoying the first couple of weeks of Term 2.
The P&F co-curricular is well underway with Tech Club and Drama Club kicking off this week. It is really good to see how popular these options are and we have enjoyed hearing the feedback from parents and students. I cannot wait to hear more over the term.
Thank you to those that have started buying their tickets for the P&F Friendraiser - 'Op Shop Themed Games' night coming up in a couple of weeks. Please follow the link and get your tickets purchased. Teachers, parents and carers are all welcome (adults only). It should be a great night. Thank you to the Year 3 families for all your hard work in getting this event organised.
Our next P&F meeting is next Tuesday, 1st August, 7pm in the staff room. If you have anything you would like to see included on the agenda, please contact your class rep. Everyone is welcome to come along if you are interested.
Have a lovely week (and stay dry) everyone.
Hayley Mitchell
P&F President
Buy your tickets now!
The P&F Friend-raiser - Games Night (Op Shop Themed) is only a few weeks away. We are ready to start selling tickets.
This is for adults only (parents, caregivers and teachers are invited).
Information:
Date: Saturday 12th August
Time: 6pm - 11pm (with the main games finishing around 9:30ish)
Location: South Perth Community Hall (Cnr of Sth Terrace and Sandgate Street, South Perth)
Dress Code: Op Shop Theme
BYO: Food, drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), plastic cups (there is also a range of food available for pre-order if you prefer the convenience)
Price: $30 per ticket
ONLINE TICKETS: click on the button below. If you arrive at the CEWA landing page, just 'Request Access' to proceed.
DRAMA CLUB
YEARS 3-4 (Wednesday 26th July to Wednesday 13th September, 3:15pm - 4:40pm) - FULL
Cost: Parents to pay half, P&F to pay half
Please Note: Information regarding what to wear, room location and other important messages will be sent directly to the parents who have enrolled.
TECH CLUB (Years 4-6)
Dates: Week 2 - Week 9 - Tuesday's (Friday's - FULL)
Time: 3:15pm-4:15pm
Cost: Parents to pay half, P&F to pay half
Please Note: There is a strict 10 student per class capacity for this club. St Columba's will provide laptops and the appropriate software required.
2023 Dad's of St. Columba's Footy Tipping Competition
Hello all,
Round 19 saw Joshua, Mark S, Andrew, Dan and Cooper all getting a clean sweep of 9/9 tips right - Well done! with 5 people getting 8 tips right separated by margins.
Round 19 results
Andrew J 9 correct tips with a margin of 16
Cooper M 9 correct tips with a margin of 25
Mark S 9 correct tips with a margin of 26
Dan M 9 correct tips with a margin of 26
Joshua J 9 correct tips with a margin of 31
Alan G continues to enjoy his slender lead by a game in the overall ladder, followed by Brendon and Joshua.
Alan G - 106
Brendon O - 105
Joshua J - 105
Pat D - 104
Mark S - 103
Noah K - 102
Round 20, kicks-off tomorrow with Pies hosting the Blues at 5:50PM and don’t miss the all-important wooden spoon clash between Eagles and North Melbourne on Sunday. Don't forget to get your Tips in.
If you have any questions please drop me an email at doscafootytipping6151@gmail.com or call Santhosh on 0411 253 951
Happy tipping!
Entertainment Books
The year starts from the date of purchase of your Entertainment Book.
Scholastic Books - Issue 5 - Due Wednesday, 2nd August
ISSUE 5 has been sent home today. Book orders are due on Wednesday, 2 August.
Did you know that every purchase you make on Book Club earns our school 15% of the order value in Scholastic Rewards? We use these to purchase more books and educational resources for the school. It all helps!
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.
School Term Dates for 2023
Term 3: Monday, 17 July to Thursday, 21 September 2023
Term 4: Monday, 9 October to Friday, 8 December 2023
Pupil Free Days for 2023
Term 3: Friday 22 September
Term 4: None
Sacrament Dates for 2023
Reconciliation: Saturday, 11 November at 10am
St Columba's Catholic Primary School
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/