Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful school holiday break. I hope the children can relax and recharge their energy, ready for another term.

Thank you to our staff for all the hard work this term, providing a breadth and depth of learning opportunities, and preparing the Semester 1 reports.

NAIDOC Week

In NAIDOC week, we take time to celebrate the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The theme this year is’ For our Elders’. Across every generation, Elders have played and continue to play an important role and hold a prominent place in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities. We look forward to celebrating as a school tomorrow morning with a NAIDOC Liturgy, led by Year 6.

Staffing Term 3

We have a couple of staffing changes next term:

• Year 2G: Madison Hunter will be on leave for the remainder of the year and we wish her well during her break. Jescinta Vuckovic will teach Monday to Thursday and Kate McFarland will teach on Fridays.
• Year 3W: Fran Poole continues to teach Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and Kate McFarland will teach on Tuesdays. We welcome Mrs McFarland back to the St Columba’s staff.

We look forward to seeing the students back on Monday 17 July for the commencement of Term 3.

God bless and keep safe over the holidays.

Allen McMahon

Principal

This week has been a celebration of aboriginal culture as we promote NAIDOC Week. Students have been involved in activities and tasks that build student understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s culture and customs.

The Week will conclude with a NAIDOC Liturgy tomorrow, Friday 30 June, led by our Year 6 team. Students are welcome to wear free dress in NAIDOC colours on this day. We look forward to students deepening their understanding of the First Peoples of Australia as we celebrate the 2023 theme, “For Our Elders.”

The end of the term means the conclusion of Jump Rope for Heart this year – a fantastic fundraising and physical activity program by the Heart Foundation.

By participating in Jump Rope for Heart this term, we have encouraged our students to get moving. We’ve had ropes available on the school grounds and encouraged all classes to help raise funds for lifesaving research and support programs.

Please note that while the students earn prizes for the funds raised, all prizes will be collected by the school and donated to Mini Vinnies next term to support disadvantaged children.

Over the term your child has learnt new skills, increased their physical activity, and learn about heart health.

Thank you for your participation in the program for 2023.

For further information, visit jumprope.org.au/parents .

The Vinnies Winter Appeal is the next Catholic Charity Fundraiser the school will support.

This year Vinnies have asked us to collect warm clothing for older women such as jumpers, pants, scarves, beanies, socks etc, ensuring that all items donated are in good clean condition.

This fundraiser will run for the first 3 weeks of Term 3 (Thursday, 20 July – Friday, 4 August), culminating in a Pyjama Day (gold coin donation) on Friday, 4 August.

A washing basket will be distributed to all classes, and we encourage students to bring in warm clothing to donate to those who need them.

Year 6 leaders will empty the baskets at regular intervals and store the items for donation.

We thank parents in advance for their support of this charitable initiative.

We are seeking your help to support the students in our school who are at risk of anaphylaxis.

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that is potentially life-threatening. The most common causes of anaphylaxis in schools are food and insect allergies. The only way to prevent allergic reactions is to avoid being exposed to the allergen.

Our school is supporting students at risk of anaphylaxis in the following ways:

• training staff,

• encouraging students with food allergy to wash their hands before and after eating,

• encouraging students to their wash hands after eating something their classmate/friend is allergic to,

• teaching students not to share food with friends who have food allergy,

• teaching students the importance of getting help immediately if their friend with allergy looks sick,

• educating students about allergies and anaphylaxis, and

• teaching students that teasing someone with an allergy is not acceptable behaviour.

Food allergy is now common in school aged children. Children can be allergic to any food, and it is not possible to completely remove all foods from our school. To help manage food allergies, our school is following the National Allergy Council Best Practice Guidelines (2021) which do not recommend banning foods as this is difficult to enforce and can bring a false sense of safety. Instead, we have chosen not to stock nuts and nut products in our canteen as these foods are not staple foods in the diet. We request that parents also consider not sending nuts to school, especially for younger students.

We ask you to support the school’s risk minimisation strategies outlined so that we can increase safety and provide an environment that meets the needs of all our students.

YEARS 3-4 (Wednesday 26th July to Wednesday 13th September, 3:15pm - 4:40pm) - FULL

Cost: Parents to pay half, P&F to pay half

Please Note: Information regarding what to wear, room location and other important messages will be sent directly to the parents who have enrolled.

Dates: Week 2 - Week 9 - Tuesday's (Friday's - FULL)

Time: 3:15pm-4:15pm

Cost: Parents to pay half, P&F to pay half

Please Note: There is a strict 10 student per class capacity for this club. St Columba's will provide laptops and the appropriate software required.

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 3: Friday 22 September

Term 4: None

Reconciliation: Saturday, 11 November at 10am