Dear Parents and Carers,

Congratulations to our students who made the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday night. The Mass was celebrated by Monsignor O’Loughlin. Many thanks go to the staff who organised the children prior to the Mass and at the conclusion of the Mass. Their help was very much appreciated. A special thanks to Mrs Daniele, Mrs Ogg, Mr Yock and Mrs McDonald and the school Choir for their input into the Mass on the evening.

A reminder that tomorrow is a pupil free day and students do not attend school. It is an extra, extra-long weekend.

Some of our Year 3 & 5 students have been participating in trial testing for NAPLAN testing for ACARA. The testing has been very successful. Please note that it is a trial and there is no feedback to families from ACARA.

Under Work Health and Safety, the school is required to hold emergency practice lock downs and evacuations a number of times a year. the school held a practice evacuation on Monday, and it went well. Many thanks to staff for their help in this practice and making sure that it went so smoothly.

Many thanks to Mr Chatt for organising the VANs carnival on Tuesday. It was well organised and run. Our students had a great time participating and were great ambassadors for our school. It was disappointing that a complaint was made to the school regarding the behaviour of several of our parents and their verbal comments in front of the students.

The school expects our students to participate in sporting events, in a competitive and sports person like manner and uphold the school values. Under the Youth Sport policy days like this are about the students focusing on fun and enjoyment.

It is also not in keeping with our School Code of Conduct in the way that this interaction took place in front of our students. In the future, parents acting in this manner will be asked not to attend future school sporting events.

Just a timely reminder to families that if there are issues regarding students at St Columba’s, it is not up to parents while on the school grounds or at school events to approach children other than their own and discuss issues or reprimand. Parents need to advise a classroom teacher and or the leadership team who will then investigate and act if deemed necessary.

God Bless and keep safe.

Allen McMahon

Principal

To celebrate St Columba’s Feast Day and the launch of the Bishop’s Lifelink Appeal all students will have the opportunity to wear free dress on Friday, 9 June. The Y1-6 classes will begin the day with a St Columba’s Feast Day Mass at 9am in the Church.

Students are encouraged to bring in spare change as there will be Mission Game stalls organised by our Year 6 students during the afternoon. This is for the PP-Y5 students to attend, participate and win small prizes. All proceeds will go towards our Lifelink charities.

The LifeLink Foundation was established by Emeritus Archbishop Hickey in 1998.

The Foundation’s current goal is to raise a capital reserve of $10 million which will be prudently and ethically invested ‘to return in perpetuity’ an annual source of operational funding for LifeLink agencies.

On completion, the Foundation will provide LifeLink agencies a guaranteed level of funding and help them continue a tradition of caring for people in need within the Western Australian Community.

We look forward to a great day of celebrating and having fun together.

The Year 5 and 6 students attended the CAPSS VANS Inter School carnival on Tuesday at Success Sporting Fields. The students played in either Volleyball, AFL, Netball or Soccer against 4 other schools.

All teams competed at an exceptional level displaying wonderful enthusiasm and team spirit. All teams reported that the students participated well and improved throughout the carnival. We are proud of our students' efforts, displaying their abilities over various types of sports and being excellent representatives of their school.

Thank you to the staff for preparing the students and assisting to coach or umpire on the day and thank you to the Parents who volunteered their time to help out where they could.

Well Done!

A reminder that students must wear the St Columba's uniform only, when participating in these sporting events or they may miss out on the competition.

Congratulations to our Year 6 candidates who made their Confirmation last weekend. They have now been strengthened by the Holy Spirit to use their gifts in the service of others.

Professional photos taken on the night will be made available for purchase from Photo Hendriks soon.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2023 is Be a Voice for Generations.

The theme encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise.

For the work of generations past, and the benefit of generations future, act today for a more just, equitable and reconciled country for all.

National Reconciliation Week – 27 May to 3 June – is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

Book Club Issue 4

Thank you to the parents that have placed their order on this Issue of Book Club! There is still time to order if you haven't already.

Orders due by Wednesday, 14 June

Did you know that every purchase you make on Book Club earns our school 15% of the order value in Scholastic Rewards? We use these to purchase more books and educational resources for the school. It all helps!

Cash payments are no longer accepted. Payments can be made by credit card - Visit scholastic.com.au/LOOP or download the LOOP app. Your order will be electronically linked to the rest of your school's order. You do not need to complete the order form.

Term 2: Wednesday, 26 April to Friday, 30 June 2023

Term 3: Monday, 17 July to Friday, 21 September 2023

Term 4: Monday, 9 October to Friday, 8 December 2023

Term 2: Friday 2 June

Term 3: Friday 22 September

Term 4: None

Reconciliation: Saturday, 11 November at 10am