Included this week:-
- New Appointment
- Farewell
- School Review Visit
- Yoga for Students
- 3 way Converstions
- Grievance Procedure
- Next Assembly
Dear Parents and Friends
The last week has seen two fantastic events for our school community - the Concert, last Wednesday evening and our Book Week Parade on Monday morning.
This year’s concert was one of the best, according to many of our parents, grandparents and friends. It was a wonderful night, with the students and staff really enjoying performing to an appreciative audience. A DVD of the evening will be available from the office in the coming week for $25.00 details on ordering a copy are included under Concert News!
Thank you to all parents for the efforts you put into the Book Week costumes for Monday. There will be a number of other activities during the week to celebrate Book Week.
The last week has seen two fantastic events for our school community - the Concert, last Wednesday evening and our Book Week Parade on Monday morning.
This year’s concert was one of the best, according to many of our parents, grandparents and friends. It was a wonderful night, with the students and staff really enjoying performing to an appreciative audience. A DVD of the evening will be available from the office in the coming week for $25.00 details on ordering a copy are included under Concert News!
Thank you to all parents for the efforts you put into the Book Week costumes for Monday. There will be a number of other activities during the week to celebrate Book Week.
New Appointment
Emily Mullane will be taking family leave from Wednesday 18th October. We have appointed Kate Snow to replace Emily in LG 14 for the remainder of the year, starting on Monday 16th October. Kate completed her final year placement in LG 9 early this year and has been working as a Casual Relief Teacher for the last few months across the school. We congratulate Kate on her appointment and look forward to welcoming her into our school community in a more permanent capacity.
Farewell
This week we farewell Jac Wheadon and Milly Deane. Jac has worked in our library 10 hours each week for the last 6 months. Jac has done an amazing job of organising and running the library in a very confined space. We congratulate Jac on her recent appointment as Library Supervisor of Wimmera and Ballarat at Federation University. Though we are sad to see Jac leave, we wish her all the very best in her new role.
Milly Deane attended St Columba’s as a student over 10 years ago. She has been assisting in the Prep and 1/2 Learning Communities over the last 6 months three days a week. We thank Milly for the support and assistance she has given over this time and wish her all the very best in the future.
School Review Visit
Last Friday we had an external school reviewer spend the day at St Columba’s looking through our policies and procedures to make sure that we comply with the many Australian and Victorian Government and Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) requirements. The visit focussed on criteria set by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (body that registers all Victorian schools) and the recently introduced Child Safe Standards. I am very pleased to announce that St Columba’s School is fully compliant with all requirements.
Yoga for Students
Later this term we will be offering our Grade 3 to 6 students the opportunity to take part in Yoga sessions each Wednesday afternoon after school from 3.30 to 4.15pm. We will be offering a ‘trial’ program of 5 yoga sessions, starting on Wednesday 13th September and concluding on Wednesday 25th October (stopping for the 2 week holidays). Michelle, a qualified yoga instructor, will be running the sessions in the school hall. All equipment will be provided and there will be a maximum of 20 students in each session. The cost of the 5 sessions will be $25 ($5 per session). If you child/ren are interested in participating in the yoga sessions, please pay your $25 at the school office.
If the yoga sessions prove to be successful, we will continue them in an ongoing capacity.
3 Way Conversations
On Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th September from 1.30 to 6.00 we will be holding 3 Way Conversations between teachers, students and parents. These ‘conversations’ are a fantastic opportunity for your child/ren to share their learning from the last semester and their goals for future learning. Please follow instructions below to book a time for each of your children. We have allowed 20 minutes - 15 minutes for each conversation and 5 minutes to move from one teacher to the next. All families are required to make a booking for their child/ren.
Emily Mullane will be taking family leave from Wednesday 18th October. We have appointed Kate Snow to replace Emily in LG 14 for the remainder of the year, starting on Monday 16th October. Kate completed her final year placement in LG 9 early this year and has been working as a Casual Relief Teacher for the last few months across the school. We congratulate Kate on her appointment and look forward to welcoming her into our school community in a more permanent capacity.
Farewell
This week we farewell Jac Wheadon and Milly Deane. Jac has worked in our library 10 hours each week for the last 6 months. Jac has done an amazing job of organising and running the library in a very confined space. We congratulate Jac on her recent appointment as Library Supervisor of Wimmera and Ballarat at Federation University. Though we are sad to see Jac leave, we wish her all the very best in her new role.
Milly Deane attended St Columba’s as a student over 10 years ago. She has been assisting in the Prep and 1/2 Learning Communities over the last 6 months three days a week. We thank Milly for the support and assistance she has given over this time and wish her all the very best in the future.
School Review Visit
Last Friday we had an external school reviewer spend the day at St Columba’s looking through our policies and procedures to make sure that we comply with the many Australian and Victorian Government and Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) requirements. The visit focussed on criteria set by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (body that registers all Victorian schools) and the recently introduced Child Safe Standards. I am very pleased to announce that St Columba’s School is fully compliant with all requirements.
Yoga for Students
Later this term we will be offering our Grade 3 to 6 students the opportunity to take part in Yoga sessions each Wednesday afternoon after school from 3.30 to 4.15pm. We will be offering a ‘trial’ program of 5 yoga sessions, starting on Wednesday 13th September and concluding on Wednesday 25th October (stopping for the 2 week holidays). Michelle, a qualified yoga instructor, will be running the sessions in the school hall. All equipment will be provided and there will be a maximum of 20 students in each session. The cost of the 5 sessions will be $25 ($5 per session). If you child/ren are interested in participating in the yoga sessions, please pay your $25 at the school office.
If the yoga sessions prove to be successful, we will continue them in an ongoing capacity.
3 Way Conversations
On Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th September from 1.30 to 6.00 we will be holding 3 Way Conversations between teachers, students and parents. These ‘conversations’ are a fantastic opportunity for your child/ren to share their learning from the last semester and their goals for future learning. Please follow instructions below to book a time for each of your children. We have allowed 20 minutes - 15 minutes for each conversation and 5 minutes to move from one teacher to the next. All families are required to make a booking for their child/ren.
Grievance Procedure
St Columba’s School is committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment. From time to time, students and parents can sometimes feel aggrieved about something that is happening at the school that that they believe requires attention, further investigation or change in procedures or a resolution. We endeavour to ensure that complaints are managed and resolved fairly and timely.
At last week’s School Advisory Council meeting the St Columba’s Complaints and Grievances Policy was ratified. A copy of this policy is attached; I encourage you to take the time to read through it.
St Columba’s School is committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment. From time to time, students and parents can sometimes feel aggrieved about something that is happening at the school that that they believe requires attention, further investigation or change in procedures or a resolution. We endeavour to ensure that complaints are managed and resolved fairly and timely.
At last week’s School Advisory Council meeting the St Columba’s Complaints and Grievances Policy was ratified. A copy of this policy is attached; I encourage you to take the time to read through it.

complaints_and_grievances_policy.pdf |
Next Assembly
Our next assembly will be held this Friday 25th August at 2.30pm in the school hall. LG 3 will lead this assembly. The following Prep students will be introduced by their buddy at this assembly: Samuel Gleeson, Chloe Pitt, Max Rix, Bailey Stowe, Madison Brown, Patterson Taylor, Nate Cleveland and Aliyah Polkinghorne.
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Our next assembly will be held this Friday 25th August at 2.30pm in the school hall. LG 3 will lead this assembly. The following Prep students will be introduced by their buddy at this assembly: Samuel Gleeson, Chloe Pitt, Max Rix, Bailey Stowe, Madison Brown, Patterson Taylor, Nate Cleveland and Aliyah Polkinghorne.
Back to main