ST. COLUMBA S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL Committed to the total development of the whole child in a nurturing family community, revealing Jesus Christ. With humility, charity and truth on our part, all will in the end be well.. Mary MacKillop Newsletter #35 November 17, 2016 Be With Me Today, O Lord. May all I do today begin with you, O Lord. Plant dreams and hopes within my soul, revive my tired spirit: be with me today. May all I do today continue with your help, O Lord. Be at my side and walk with me: be my support today. May all I do today reach far and wide, O Lord. My thoughts, my work, my life: make them blessings for your kingdom; let them go beyond today. Dear Parents and Carers This Saturday our Year 3 students celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. Please keep them in your prayers and thoughts. Many thanks go to Ms Poole and Mrs Komnick for preparing the children so well. Staffing is almost finalised and staffing placements will be advised in the Week 7 newsletter. Unfortunately, I had another commitment and was unable to be present at the student leadership speeches on Tuesday. I have spoken to a number of staff who have spoken very highly of how well prepared the candidates were and the confident way they delivered their speeches. The new leaders will be announced at the end of year Thanksgiving Mass on Thursday 8 December. Last week Mrs Robinson and myself met with three representatives from the Apple company. There was a discussion around how Apple can support the school given that we run the ipad 1-1 programme from Year 4 to 6. From this meeting, Apple have been highly supportive of the school and over the next two to three weeks will enable us to set up a portal on our website so that parents can purchase Apple products directly through the Portal at discounted education prices. They are also going to help us organise and setup our school Apps system to make it easier for the staff to utilise them in a school setting. More information will be forthcoming. This year St. Columba s will in conjunction with the P&F Sundowner, be holding a student carols presentation on Friday 2 December. It is a requirement that students from Pre-Primary to Year 6 attend as each class will be singing a Carol to families. Kindy students will be participating in the concert, however as Friday is not a Kindy day it is not compulsory for them to attend. We do however, encourage the Kindy students to join their classmates in performing. If families wish, at the conclusion of the carols, students may be taken home. The carol singing for all classes should take approximately 45 minutes to an hour. The presentation will be held on the oval and will start at 5:30pm sharp.
The School Board AGM was held on Monday 14 November at 7:00pm in the school undercover area. Mrs Mardi Dodgson was re-elected unopposed. Mr Grant Collins has been elected as the 2017 School Board Chair. The P&F AGM was also held on Monday 17 November at 7:00pm in the school undercover area. Mr Andrew McLean was elected as the Treasurer. Unfortunately, we still require parents to fill the roles of President, Vice President and Secretary. The P&F is a vital part of school life and it would be most sad for the school if we are not able to fill these positions. In discussion with a P&F member on Monday night, we discussed the fact that sometimes volunteering does require one to sacrifice some of one s time to provide service to a community. I would therefore ask people to contact me via the school email address if you are interested in taking on one of these roles. My perception of these role would be that the more delegation there is, the less onerous the roles would be. Please consider nominating! admin@stcolumbassp.wa.edu.au A reminder, students will finish this term on Friday 9 December. Students commence back at school for 2017 on Wednesday 1 February. God Bless Allen McMahon (Principal) Friday 18 November Saturday 19 November Sunday 20 November Tuesday 22 November Wednesday 23 November Thursday 24 November Friday 25 November PPF Assembly at 9am First Reconciliation Feast of Christ the King 2017 Pre-Kindy Parents Orientation Meeting Choir Carols at Sisters of St Joseph @11am Year 5 Zoo Camp Edu-Dance Year 6M and 6R Assembly at 9am Next Friday, November 25, a representative from St Vincent de Paul Society will collect the Christmas hampers so that they can be distributed to families in need in time for Christmas. We appreciate your generosity and support of this worthy cause. Our end of year Thanksgiving Mass for students in Pre-Primary to Year 6, will be held on Thursday 8 December at 9am. All parents are welcome to attend. The final Sunday of the Church Year, the Feast of Christ the King, is the day when we are invited to commemorate His sovereignty over all men, women and children. Jesus Christ is Lord of all. Our Choir will be singing for the Sisters of St. Joseph in the Convent Chapel next Wednesday, November 23, at 11am. All parents are welcome to attend.
The Year 3 s attended Mass at the Convent Chapel today and Fr Charles blessed the rosary beads that Sr Maree kindly gave to each Year 3 student. Please keep these children in your prayers as they make their First Reconciliation this Saturday. Booklists have been sent home with students this week. Families that wish to collect their booklist orders from the school on 24 January 2017, please ensure that your booklist order form is returned to the school office no later than Wednesday 30 November. As our weather finally warms up, we would like to remind you to ensure that your child applies sunscreen in the mornings before school and that they have sunscreen in their bags to reapply during the course of the school day. Please check expiry dates on sunscreen bottles. Congratulations to all the students that participated in this years Australian Mathematics Competition. Students (PP to Year 6) will present their Edudance routine on Thursday December 1 commencing at 2:15pm. All parents are encouraged to attend. Enjoy a lovely sunshine filled weekend with family and friends. Ondine Komnick, Assistant Principal
At the AGM on Monday night, I thanked the school families through the Parents & Friends for their interest and donation to the porch arched windows. They are a wonderful reminder of the Sisters contribution to founding and inspiring St. Columba s Parish and School. Here is what was published in the Parish newsletter. School Parents and Friends Donation for Stained Glass Windows: We thank St. Columba s School Parents and Friends for their donation of $1000 to the arched windows above the entry doors. This is very appropriate as the west-facing window commemorates the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy in Australia in 1846. The Sisters founded our parish school and named it after St. Columba in 1908. The east-facing window commemorates the Sisters of St. Joseph who took over the school in 1915. So the children, parents and friends have a beautiful reminder of the work and dedication of these dedicated Sisters. First Reconciliation will be celebrated on Saturday from 10am to 12 noon. Monsignor and Fr. Manoel will preside. Please pray for the candidates and their families. Columban Calendars 2017 are now available from the Parish Office at $8 each. They support the work of the Columban missions. www.columban.org.au/2017artguide Mass times are Saturday Vigil 6pm and Sunday 7:30am and 9:30am. May God bless you all. Monsignor Brian O Loughlin P.P. Thank you for your assistance in the Library. It is greatly appreciated. Library Volunteers Roster: Monday 21 November Louise Deshon Wednesday 23 November Rebecca Evangelista Mrs Malarkey (Teacher Librarian) and Mrs Shaw (Library Officer) The Scholastic Book Club orders are due back to the office no later than next Monday, 21 November. No late orders can be accepted. This is the last issue for 2017. Thank you to Mrs Shaw for organising the book club orders for our school this year. Our musicians of the week are Paulo Matthews from Year 6M and Amelia Johnson from Year 6R. Paulo has played piano for 4 years. His favourite song is "Primavera" and his favourite performance was his duet at this year's Festival. Paulo also enjoys sport. Evie Wells and Imogen Gracie Amelia has played guitar for 2 years. Her favourite song is 21 Pilots and her favourite performance was at this year's Festival. Amelia is also in the school choir and likes all different types of music.
Thank you to Rita Caré and Maria Papalia for their assistance in the canteen last Thursday and Friday. If you would like to volunteer in the canteen, please contact Emma directly to see what day/s volunteer help is required on the current Canteen Roster. Term 4, Week 7 Canteen Roster: Thursday 24 November 9am to 11:45am Parent Helper Required Please (Year 6M) Friday 25 November 9am to 11.45am Parent Helper Required Please (Year 6M) 11am to 1.30pm Parent Helper Required Please (Year 6M) Emma McGann Canteen Manager Uniform purchases for the school year 2017 are to be finalised by Friday 25 November. Thank you to all the parents who have organised their uniforms for 2017. Orders can be placed online at uniformshop@stcolumbassp.wa.edu.au. Thank you to Mrs Sarah Fiel for her time in running our school Uniform Shop. Congratulations to Chloe Williams in earning a position into the main draw of the 2016,12 and Under Australian Tennis Championships that will take place at Melbourne Park in Victoria, in December. This is an Australian Ranking Platinum Series Tournament which include singles and doubles matches against not only girls from Australia but from Japan, New Zealand, Oceania & Hong Kong. It is a huge achievement as the tournament will feature the best 64 players from Australia. Over the winter months while you were snuggled up at home some dedicated students were participating in the Winter Cross Country and Winter Road Walks. Congratulations to Matthew Donovan, Levi Carle and Grace Beaglehole who competed in the 2km Cross Country and all ran really well. This was Matthew s first season of Winter Cross Country with his results getting better and better each run and he had a great time. Levi and Grace have done this for a few years now and are still really enjoying competing. Grace participated in the Winter Road Walking as well and found herself walking around various carparks including Adventure World, Maddington and even had to walk in rain, hail, winds, thunder. Grace was fortunate to receive Champion Girl for 2km, Runner Up for 1.5km walk and received the trophy for the Best Overall Girl Winter Athlete over both Cross Country and Walks. Enrolments for December/January lessons are now open. It is important for every child to learn to swim and develop essential water safety skills. VacSwim s school holiday swimming lessons are conducted by qualified instructors who teach children the skills to be confident swimmers and safe in the water. For further information and online enrolment visit education.wa.edu.au/swimming. There are still limited vacancies for Kindergarten in 2017. To attend Kindy in 2017 your child needs to have been born between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013. Please contact the school office for further details.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THE GRANDPARENTS MASS AND MORNING TEA.
The hot weather is here at last and with the party season upon us, there is no better time to stock up your cellars for the Christmas and summer festivities with some great wines from Hayshed Hill. Wines are available to order by the case and will be delivered to the school for collection on 25 November 2016. For every case ordered Hayshed Hill will make a generous donation to the P&F. Please complete the attached order form and return to the school office or email to Elisa Brown emclennan70@live.com.au. Thank you for your continued support. Keep your eyes open for a new St. Columba s School Banking Competition running for the month of November 2016. All students who make a deposit in November will be given a ticket in the draw to win one of 2 Commonwealth Bank Mystery Prize Packs! Winners will be drawn at assembly in the first week of December. The more times you bank in November the more entries you will have into the prize draw. As the school year draws to a close I have a few of our awesome school banking volunteers moving on to new adventures as their children move on to high school! We would really like some new volunteers to fill the team. School banking requires only an hour of your time once or twice a term and we are more than happy for you to bring your kids in with you for a play while we process the weekly deposits. The success and future running of the school banking program is reliant on our volunteers. No previous skills or experience are required and it is a great way to expand your friendships within the school community by meeting other parents and children. Please contact Vanessa Wainwright on 0417 994625 if you are interested in joining our team. We would love to have you! Vanessa Wainwright School Banking Coordinator 0417 994 625
See main school noticeboard for more information. Guitar for Sale 3/4 Length Ashton Guitar (CG34AM). Second-hand. Good working condition. $50 Contact details: Wendy 0411 016 770 Code Using Robots January School Holiday Program for Kids aged 7 to 12 Contact details: Michael @ UPlay 0427 059 257 / Email: play.connect@gmail.com / Subscribe uplay2.wixsite.com/uplayoz Aquinas College and Dymocks Garden City Booragoon presenting Brad Hogg The Wrong Un, The Brad Hogg Story Bookings are essential. Gold coin donation. Contact details: https://ww.trybooking.com./241544 / or Aquinas College 9450 0660 Behaviour Tonics First in Practical Parenting. 123 Magic & Emotion Coaching, Engaging Adolescents, Protective Behaviours and Parenting Information Sessions. Contact details: info@behaviourtonics.com.au / behaviourtonics.com.au / 9382 1182 Mercedes College Alumni Mercedes College All Year s Reunion Saturday 11 February 2017 Contact details: Joanna Creighton mca@mercedes.wa.edu.au / 9323 1366 E-News is published on the 8th day of each month and distributed via email. http://www.marymackillopplace.org.au/ Please see attached with this newsletter a request from Sr Maree for volunteers to help with a number of jobs at the Mary MacKillop Centre to be completed before the end of the school year. May the Lord bless you with peace. Sr Maree Riddler 0414 683 926 / mriddler@sosjwa.org.au You are invited to join the South Perth Taizé praying community, at St Joseph s Chapel, 16 York Street, South Perth on Sunday 20 November from 7pm to 8pm. (Chapel doors open 6.30pm). Theme: Praying for all those who have died especially our families and those who have died in tragic circumstances. Bring along a small torch, a friend, and a small plate to share for supper. Further information available from Sr Maree Riddler rsj, 0414 683 926 or email mriddler@sosjwa.org.au. This is the final prayer in the style of Taizé for 2016. Please note: There will be no Taizé Style Prayer during 2017 at the Sisters of St Joseph Chapel South Perth. (Taizé will recommence in March 2018). Be happy! Inspiration comes when our heart is light and free. Author Unknown