Principal's Update - 15th March 2022

Intro

Dear Families,

It was lovely to see the sun shining this weekend, as Ballarat played host to the Begonia Festival.  It was also wonderful to see people out and about enjoying the festivities as we as a society navigate the new normal, living with COVID. We hope you all had the opportunity to enjoy the break with family and friends and rest up ready for a busy few weeks with the excitement of school camps for Years 3-6, respectively.

As a School, we have continued to navigate the weeks with ‘PIVOT’ being our catch cry. Our thanks must go to all of our staff for their efforts in ensuring continuity of learning for all of the students in our care. Thanks also to our students and families for your continued support and patience as we work together to reach our goals.

Condolences to the Petrie Family

Our heartfelt condolences go out to the Petrie family after the recent loss of their beloved son and brother James, whose funeral was held last Thursday at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Please keep Anne, Julian, Emma, Corey, Luke and their families in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate this difficult time. The family have requested privacy at this time.

Review Preparation

The school closure day held on Monday 28th February was a fantastic opportunity for our staff team to reflect and set some goals for our school into the next five years. In his role as Education Consultant, Mr Lee Schlooz from Catholic Education Ballarat supported the facilitation of the day and gained valuable insight into our St Columba’s School story and our hopes and aspirations for the future. We will continue to work as a staff towards completing the process, which culminates in Week 3 of Term 2.

Senior Reconciliation

Thanks to our Religious Education Leaders, Torie & Lucy and our Year 5 / 6 Teachers for their support and preparation of the senior students to complete their recent Reconciliation.

School Advisory Council (SAC)

Nominations have been received as part of the discernment process to welcome new members to our School Advisory Council. Our first meeting will be Wednesday 16th March. Thank you to Anna Ormrod for stepping in as Acting Chair.

We look forward to working as a team to support our St Columba’s School Community further.

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.

Foundation 2023 Information Night and School Tours

Our 2023 Foundation Information Evening held recently was well attended and an excellent opportunity for prospective families to view our school and to learn more about who we are and what we offer here at St Columba’s. Our ‘School Alive Tours’ have also commenced, and families have been excited to see our communities in action. If you know anyone interested in sending their children to St Columba’s in 2023, please send them to our website or contact the  School Office for further information.

School Camps

Our Year 3 / 4 Community will host their 2022 camp this week at Log Cabin Camp at Creswick and our Year 5 /6 Community next week at Kangaroobie,  Princeton. Camps are an exciting opportunity for our children to test their resilience and try something new in a supportive environment. We wish our happy campers well over these coming weeks.

School Athletics Carnival

Our students are busily practicing 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