Included this week:-
- Japanese Day
- Updates to School Uniform
- Volunteering in 2018
- School Review
- Our Kids, their Health and Creating Nutritious Lunch Boxes
- Winter Uniform
- Diary Dates
- Next Assembly
Dear Parents and Carers
Japanese Day
Today we celebrated Japanese Day at St Columba’s. It was wonderful to see staff and students embracing the day by dressing up and enjoying the variety of activities on offer. Next week we will share more photos from the day. Thank you to all parents and students for your support of this day and the effort you put into the children’s costumes.
I would like to thank Erica Wilson, our Japanese teacher, for coordinating the day. Erica has spent countless hours planning and preparing the Japanese Zen Garden and activities for Japanese Day. She is incredibly passionate about Japanese culture and language and this enthusiasm rubs off on the students and staff. Thanks also to Sho Sensei and Erica’s partner, Tim, for the wonderful job they have done to support Erica, especially with the creation of the Zen Garden. Thanks also to the students involved in Japanese Club for your assistance and the many businesses that supported the school with donations for the Zen Garden. These businesses will be named in the next newsletter.
Keep an eye on the local WIN News tonight to see our wonderful celebration!
Japanese Day
Today we celebrated Japanese Day at St Columba’s. It was wonderful to see staff and students embracing the day by dressing up and enjoying the variety of activities on offer. Next week we will share more photos from the day. Thank you to all parents and students for your support of this day and the effort you put into the children’s costumes.
I would like to thank Erica Wilson, our Japanese teacher, for coordinating the day. Erica has spent countless hours planning and preparing the Japanese Zen Garden and activities for Japanese Day. She is incredibly passionate about Japanese culture and language and this enthusiasm rubs off on the students and staff. Thanks also to Sho Sensei and Erica’s partner, Tim, for the wonderful job they have done to support Erica, especially with the creation of the Zen Garden. Thanks also to the students involved in Japanese Club for your assistance and the many businesses that supported the school with donations for the Zen Garden. These businesses will be named in the next newsletter.
Keep an eye on the local WIN News tonight to see our wonderful celebration!
Updates to School Uniform
The Parents and Friends Committee and the School Advisory Council have been involved in reviewing the current school uniform over the last 6 months. The aim of this review was to look at pricing, uniform suppliers and consistency of colour across all uniform items.
Changes to the logo on our existing uniform must be made to bring it in line with the school logo as defined in our school’s Style Guide. This will ensure that there is a consistent visual message in all our school branding. As we are also changing uniform suppliers, we have the opportunity to look at the colours of our school uniform. The current uniform is a mixture of royal blue and dark blue, as well as gold.
The proposal is to bring consistency into the uniform by changing the sports jumper, tracksuit pants, woollen jumper and hat to a dark blue that matches the current school pants, shorts, coat and backpack.
The proposed timeline for this would see changes introduced in Term 2 2018, with a 2 ½ year phase in period. Parents would then have until the start of 2021 to purchase changed items.
Feedback is being sought from our parent community in regards to the above proposal. Please click the link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HT7BSQY if you would like to have a say.
Volunteering in 2018
Hopefully you received a letter from Fr Marcello last Friday regarding my plans to spend 2018 volunteering in India and Timor Leste. If you did not receive this letter, please ask for a copy at the school office.
School Review
As part of our 5 year School Improvement Cycle, St Columba’s is currently preparing for an external school review. The review will take place in late October and will consist of a panel of reviewers meeting with staff, students and parents. The goal of the review is to affirm the great work that is currently happening at St Columba’s and assists in determining our future direction.
A major part of the review process is the preparation of a Self Reflection Report. This report looks at previous goals and the impact of strategies we have put in place to meet them; the current reality of the school (based on a range of data and evidence) and possible future improvement goals. The staff have been working together to complete the reflection report over the last few months and it will continue to be a major focus of our meetings for the remainder of this year.
The review is a great opportunity for us as a school community to reflect on what is working well, celebrate our successes and identify opportunities for future improvement.
Our Kids, their Health and Creating Nutritious Lunch Boxes
Presented by Rebecca Warke
All parents and friends are invited to a free information session this Thursday 4th May at 2.30pm in the school staffroom. Rebecca Warke, a Nutrition, Health and Wellness Coach, will present the session on kid’s health and how food choices may affect their behaviour and learning ability. Learn some tips on creating quick and easy nutritious snacks for your children’s lunchboxes.
Winter Uniform
All students are now expected to be wearing full school winter uniform. This includes wearing long track pants on sports days. Black school shoes and navy socks or tights must be worn, with runners only worn on sports days. Children are able to wear any coloured coat to and from school and in the schoolyard. However, coats must be removed while inside. I would appreciate the support of parents to ensure that children are in their correct uniform at all times.
If there is any reason that your child is out of uniform, please make sure that you write a note in your child’s diary.
Diary Dates
A number of new dates have been added to the School Calendar below. Please make sure that you regularly check the School Calendar for updated dates.
Next Assembly
Our next assembly will be next Thursday 11th May at 2.30pm in the church. This Assembly will be lead by LG 4.
At this assembly 6 of our Prep students will be introduced to the school community by their grade 5 buddy.
The following prep students will be introduced:-
Ellie Webber, Arli Ripper, Jack Brazsell, Evie Morgan, Jacob Reuterink, Liam O’Keeffe and Samara O'Keeffe
The Parents and Friends Committee and the School Advisory Council have been involved in reviewing the current school uniform over the last 6 months. The aim of this review was to look at pricing, uniform suppliers and consistency of colour across all uniform items.
Changes to the logo on our existing uniform must be made to bring it in line with the school logo as defined in our school’s Style Guide. This will ensure that there is a consistent visual message in all our school branding. As we are also changing uniform suppliers, we have the opportunity to look at the colours of our school uniform. The current uniform is a mixture of royal blue and dark blue, as well as gold.
The proposal is to bring consistency into the uniform by changing the sports jumper, tracksuit pants, woollen jumper and hat to a dark blue that matches the current school pants, shorts, coat and backpack.
The proposed timeline for this would see changes introduced in Term 2 2018, with a 2 ½ year phase in period. Parents would then have until the start of 2021 to purchase changed items.
Feedback is being sought from our parent community in regards to the above proposal. Please click the link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HT7BSQY if you would like to have a say.
Volunteering in 2018
Hopefully you received a letter from Fr Marcello last Friday regarding my plans to spend 2018 volunteering in India and Timor Leste. If you did not receive this letter, please ask for a copy at the school office.
School Review
As part of our 5 year School Improvement Cycle, St Columba’s is currently preparing for an external school review. The review will take place in late October and will consist of a panel of reviewers meeting with staff, students and parents. The goal of the review is to affirm the great work that is currently happening at St Columba’s and assists in determining our future direction.
A major part of the review process is the preparation of a Self Reflection Report. This report looks at previous goals and the impact of strategies we have put in place to meet them; the current reality of the school (based on a range of data and evidence) and possible future improvement goals. The staff have been working together to complete the reflection report over the last few months and it will continue to be a major focus of our meetings for the remainder of this year.
The review is a great opportunity for us as a school community to reflect on what is working well, celebrate our successes and identify opportunities for future improvement.
Our Kids, their Health and Creating Nutritious Lunch Boxes
Presented by Rebecca Warke
All parents and friends are invited to a free information session this Thursday 4th May at 2.30pm in the school staffroom. Rebecca Warke, a Nutrition, Health and Wellness Coach, will present the session on kid’s health and how food choices may affect their behaviour and learning ability. Learn some tips on creating quick and easy nutritious snacks for your children’s lunchboxes.
Winter Uniform
All students are now expected to be wearing full school winter uniform. This includes wearing long track pants on sports days. Black school shoes and navy socks or tights must be worn, with runners only worn on sports days. Children are able to wear any coloured coat to and from school and in the schoolyard. However, coats must be removed while inside. I would appreciate the support of parents to ensure that children are in their correct uniform at all times.
If there is any reason that your child is out of uniform, please make sure that you write a note in your child’s diary.
Diary Dates
A number of new dates have been added to the School Calendar below. Please make sure that you regularly check the School Calendar for updated dates.
Next Assembly
Our next assembly will be next Thursday 11th May at 2.30pm in the church. This Assembly will be lead by LG 4.
At this assembly 6 of our Prep students will be introduced to the school community by their grade 5 buddy.
The following prep students will be introduced:-
Ellie Webber, Arli Ripper, Jack Brazsell, Evie Morgan, Jacob Reuterink, Liam O’Keeffe and Samara O'Keeffe