School notifications
Uniform Survey
The School Board recently undertook a comprehensive survey of our current school uniform, receiving a positively overwhelming number of responses.
In general terms, the feedback was largely positive on the overall school uniform, with some great responses also allowing us to improve certain areas of design, quality and accessibility.
Thank you to all who participated, the survey is not about changing the overall appearance of the school uniform - it does however create an opportunity for us to identify items that we no longer want to include.
Going forward in 2021 and beyond, St Columba’s have engaged Spartan School Supplies who are a significant provider of School Uniforms to the Australian market.
Uniforms will be available via pop-ups at the school, as well as an online portal and also the Spartan store in Hampton East, ensuring accessibility to the uniform store. We will provide updates with regards to Spartan as we progress.
A large debt of gratitude to Judy Forsyth who has voluntarily run the uniform shop for a number of years. Judy’s many generous hours of overseeing this program have helped ensure that children from Prep through to Year 6 have been suitably attired. Thank you Judy!
Thank you also to everyone who took part, here is a brief summary of some of the tangible outcomes:
Sports Uniform:
- The rugby top has been an overwhelming favourite and we will continue to make it available to all students;
- We will phase out the navy windcheater;
- The “skort” – a combination of skirt & shorts will be made available in the uniform store;
- Similarly, leggings will also be made available;
- Looking into smarter design options for tracksuit pants based on feedback around the quality of the existing tracksuit pants available;
School ties:
- The overwhelming response was to bid farewell to the school tie - the shirts at Spartan do allow for no tie to be worn as they have a stand-up collar;
Winter uniform:
- The long-sleeved polo top will be phased out;
- The introduction of long pants for girls was consistently requested, these will be available in the uniform shop;
Summer uniform:
- Making available a broader range of hat options – providing sun-smart alternatives for the summer months;
Thank you again, and note that any additions or changes to the school uniform will not come into effect until 2021, all of the current uniforms can continue to be worn but some items (such as the navy windcheater) will not be available for purchase as of 2021. We will provide updates with regards to Spartan as we progress.
Farewell
Next week we will farewell Carla Howard. Carla will be taking maternity leave for the
remainder of the year. We wish Carla, Andy and Laura all the very best as they await the
arrival of their new family member.
Playground
It is with great excitement that I write to say that our playground works are nearly
complete. Over the holidays the nature play area was installed and it looks wonderful. There are so many new and exciting areas for children to discover.
Now, all we need to do is to start planting. This will be a process undertaken with our Green team. We will be planting natives to encourage wildlife to our school. The types of trees and flora will provide sensory stimulus and rich learning for the children as they engage in play.
I would like to thank Simon Lewin for project managing this for the school. Without Simon’s assistance, we would not have been able to accomplish all that we have this year. I would also like to thank Brad Paddon for assisting by making available some of his staff to help with the construction of parts of the new nature play area.
Intentions 2021
Planning for 2021 is already underway. To assist in this process could you please inform me as soon as possible if your child will not be returning to St Columba’s in 2021.
dmaddalena@scelwood.catholic.edu.au,
School Uniform Term 4
All children are to wear their summer uniform and are required to wear their school hat during playtimes.
Policy Updates
There have been changes to the following policies (these policies can be located on our website):
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