Dear Parents and Carers,

From the Principal

We celebrate Palm Sunday this weekend which commemorates the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem when palm branches were placed in his path. It marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent. There is much to be grateful for this Lenten Season and we at St Columba’s are excited for our final week of Term 1 together.

Parent-Teacher Interviews

Parent-Teacher interviews conclude tomorrow, Friday 31 March. Any parents who are yet to meet with their child’s class teacher are asked to make a time. This forms an essential part of the reporting process for Term 1 and I would like to acknowledge the time teachers take in preparing for and meeting with parents.

DJI Drone Competition

Our Year 6 students have the wonderful opportunity to participate in an Interschool Drone Competition tomorrow, Friday 31 March in Kalyara Mia. As the host school we are fortunate enough to be able to send all our current Year 6 students. This is a fantastic way to build their robotic and coding knowledge in a future-focused competition. We wish our students and staff all the best.

Edu-dance

Our Edu-dance Concert is next Tuesday, 4 April at 2pm on the top oval. Students have been busy preparing for this concert all term and we look forward to the performances. Check out the information further on in this newsletter for all the details.

P & F Easter Hat Parade & Prize Draw

Tomorrow is the last day for students to bring in any chocolates for their classroom baskets. These will be collected by the P & F and put aside for the prize draw. Left over chocolates will be given to St Vincent de Paul. The Easter Hat Parade and Prize Draw will take place on Monday, 3 April at 9am. Students are able to bring in an Easter Hat from home to wear as part of the parade.

Project Compassion

Project Compassion boxes are due back to the office by Wednesday, 5 April (last day of Term 1). We were lucky enough to hear from CARITAS representative Deacon Paul at our assembly last Friday who spoke to the students about the work of CARITAS and where the money raised is distributed. Our works of charity this Lent have the chance to help many of the world’s most vulnerable people and we have partnered with CARITAS this term to help fundraise for this worthwhile cause.

Passion Play

As part of our Holy Week celebrations the Year 6 classes will present the Passion Play to students in Years 1-5 on Wednesday, 5 April at 9am in the Church. The Passion Play tells the story of the events of Holy Week which recount the so-called 'passion narratives' in the New Testament Gospels that relate to the suffering, death and burial of Jesus Christ. Thus, Holy Week marks the last week of the Catholic season of Lent – the week leading up to Easter. All parents are welcome to attend.

Please note that Week 10 is a short week and students finish this term on Wednesday, 5 April. Term 2 commences on Wednesday, 26 April.

God bless.

Jesse Yock

Acting Principal

We welcome all parents in PP - Year 6 to attend the Edu-dance Performance Concert on Tuesday 4 April, commencing at 2pm. Book this date in your diaries! The Concert will take place on the top oval (next to the drive through) with specific sections for students/staff and parents. Please see the information below regarding costume requirements for the Concert.

Students are required to bring their Edu-dance costume to school on the Concert Performance Day (Tuesday 4 April) and will have time in class to change into their outfits.

At the conclusion of the concert all classes will return to their classrooms where parents will have the option of collecting their child early from school if they wish. We look forward to a great experience and memorable event. Please see your classroom teacher if you have any questions.

Selected students in Year 5 and all Year 6 students attended the CAPSS Inter School Cricket Carnival on Tuesday, 28 March. The students represented St Columba’s in a separate girls and boys teams over five Woolworths Blast style games, against five other schools.

The Boys in A division team finished in second place and the Boys B division team finished in third. The Girls A division team finished in second place and the Girls B division team finished in second place.

Combined our Boys teams placed Second Overall, and our girls teams finished second. Our overall effort in the competition was exceptional and many, who have never played cricket competitively, rose to the challenge and improved throughout the day.

A special thank you to our superb parent helpers and supporters who coached the teams in the leadup. We certainly could not have had the success of the days without their involvement. We are proud of our student’s efforts, displaying their cricketing abilities and being excellent representatives of their school.

Well Done!!!

The offers of enrolment for siblings of existing families for Kindy 2025 have emailed to families who have submitted all required documentation. Please ensure you accept by the deadline and call the office to pay the enrolment deposit.

If you still have outstanding documentation to submit: Please do so as soon as possible. We will email an offer once this is finalised.

If you have not yet applied for Kindy 2025: Apply online via the enrolment page on the website and ensure all required documentation is included.

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 1: Wednesday, 1 February to Wednesday, 5 April 2023

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 1: Thursday 6 April

Term 2: Monday 24 April, Monday 15 May and Friday 2 June

Term 3: Friday 22 September

Term 4: None

Confirmation: Saturday, 27 May at 6pm

Eucharist: Sunday, 7 May at 9:30am

Reconciliation: Saturday, 11 November at 10am