Principal's Update - 25th March 2022

Intro

Dear Families,

The term continues to fly by quickly, with many events taking place and many more to look forward to in the coming weeks.

As we continue to move through this season of Lent, we are mindful of taking the time to reflect on our own lives and pray about some things that are important to us. We are also mindful of taking the time to think about how we can become better or more prayerful people and how we can share Jesus' love with the world. This has very much been at the forefront of the thinking of the children in our school,  who have been focusing on Lent and how they can make an active difference in their own lives and in our local community.

School Picnic

We are extremely excited to invite families to our first community gathering this year, with a School Picnic at Kirks Reservoir on Wednesday 30th March from 4pm - 7pm on the flat lawn area. BYO food, drinks and picnic rugs / chairs. Please note this is an Alcohol Free Event. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Mini Vinnies

Our Mini Vinnies group met recently and have set a Casual Clothes Day for the final day of Term 1, Friday 8th April. We ask that the children wear casual clothes on this day and bring along a donation of money which will go to CARITAS Australia. Thank you for your support here.

Caritas K's

Next Friday April 1st, our students will be participating in our annual Caritas K’s walkathon to continue to raise awareness and much needed money for those less fortunate than us.

Our communities will participate in this wonderful event from 12:15pm outside the school entrances. Families are invited to join us on the walk and bring along coins and cash to contribute to this worthy cause.

Religious Education Update

As part of the lead up to Holy Week, each Learning Community with be retelling a significant event that took place during this time: On Friday 8th April at 9:00am our Foundation Students will be renacting the events of Palm Sunday and our Year 1/2 Community the events of Holy Thursday. The final events of Easter will be retold after the School Holidays on Tuesday 26th April. We will gather together outside as a whole school community to witness these events. Some of the Learning Communities will require their students to dress up as people from ‘Jesus Time’. You will be notified via Seesaw by your child’s teacher if this is a requirement. 

Family Liturgy, Lenten Activity and Caritas Walk 2022 

Our Lenten Liturgy and ‘Caritas K’s Walk’ will take place on Friday, 1st April. The students will participate in the Lenten Liturgy in their Learning Communities at 11.45. Due to COVID restrictions, parents/friends will not be able to attend the Liturgy.

However families are invited to join in a ‘Caritas K’s Walk’ around our school perimeter at 12.15 on Friday the 1st April.

There will be various collection tins located on each street corner for your donation. Donating your lunch order/pocket money is a power action. The donation will go towards ‘Project Compassion’ and the work of Caritas in bringing relief to those in need.

Caritas K’s is an annual event that raises money for Caritas Australia to support communities in need around the world. It is an opportunity to fundraise and educate people in social justice, with the aim of inspiring drawing attention to those in need and support for ‘For All Future Generations” It is a tradition of the Catholic Community to reach out with generosity to support those in need during Lent. This year the Year 6 Leaders are organising the event.  

Please note that all children are invited to wear their full sports uniform if they wish to walk in runners. 

As part of the lead up to Holy Week, each Learning Community with be retelling a significant event that took place during this time:

Friday 8th April 9am 

Foundation- Palm Sunday 

1/2 Community- Holy Thursday 

Tuesday 26th April 10am

3/4 Community- Good Friday 

5/6 Community- Easter Sunday 

We will gather together outside as a whole school community to witness these events. Some of the Learning Communities will require their students to dress up as people from ‘Jesus Time’. You will be notified via Seesaw by your child’s teacher if this is a requirement. Due to covid restrictions, parents will not be able to attend. However, we will capture the moments and communicate with you via Facebook.  

Hot Cross Buns

We are fortunate to be able to run our Hot Cross Bun Drive this year, with $2 from every pack sold being donated back to our school. Hard copies have been distributed to families, with an extension on orders given and a final return date for orders to the office this coming Monday, 28th March. Thank you to Tash Bryant and Elise Middleton for their support in organising this for our school community.

Easter Raffle

We are excited to announce that this year we will be holding an Easter Raffle to raise money for our school. Please send along ‘Easter themed donations’ to the school office. More information regarding tickets will be sent home next week. 

Road Safety

Road safety continues to be a challenge for our community, particularly with the use of crossings and cars reversing into the street. Parents have alerted us to some near misses with the After School Care bus and cars not stopping for people crossing at crossings when the flags are up. We have had conversations with the After School Care provider regarding changing the pick-up zone to Howard Street, which at present is less busy. The provider is looking to make this change for Term 2 and beyond.

Please also be mindful of not stepping onto the manned crossing until the supervisor signals you to cross. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Covid Updates

Please continue to check PAM for daily updates on COVID 19 statistics for our school community. We continue to keep high levels of cleaning and sanitisation across our school.

We ask students in years 3-6 to wear masks, along with physical distancing, to help keep our community safe and ensure our school remains open and continuity of learning is maintained.

Rapid Antigen Tests

The use of Rapid antigen tests will continue as a precautionary measure to screen students until the end of Term 1. These will be made available for all students at St Columba’s. Rapid antigen testing, while strongly recommended, will be voluntary for all students. Students will continue to be requested to test twice weekly. Test kits will be distributed directly to families in your child’s school bag today.

School Camps

Our Year 3 / 4 Community participated in an amazing camp experience at Log Cabin Camp at Creswick last week and our Year 5 /6 Community, have just returned from Kangaroobie Camp at Princeton near the 12 Apostles. Camps are such an exciting opportunity for our children to test their resilience and try something new in a supportive environment. The feedback we have received from students and parents alike has been most positive.

Book Covering for the Library

Thanks to the volunteers who answered the call to cover new books for our Library. They have been returned and will be added to the library for circulation.

School Athletics Carnival

Our students are busily practising in preparation for our School Athletics Carnival, set for Thursday 7th April at Llanberris Reserve. Students will be bussed to the event with details around the collection of children at the end of the event will come out soon. This event will be a wonderful opportunity for our students to gather in their house groups and participate in a variety of events. Thanks to those parents who have registered their intent to support the day.

Kind regards,

Bambi Afford & Shaun Mohr
Co-Principals