Principal Report
Principal Message Week 8 Term 4
After two disrupted years in a row, I think we are all looking forward to a fresh start in 2022.
We started the year with such optimism but 2021 certainly proved to be quite the year. Despite the many challenges that we faced as a community I am extremely proud of the way in which we pulled through. It was tough going but we managed to find our way. Pivot became the ‘it’ word and boy did we have to pivot not just once, but multiple times this year. Overnight we had to shift gears. We went from face to face teaching back to remote learning and back again. It really was a case of adapt, be flexible and get onboard. Once again, our children demonstrated to us that change doesn’t always require time, and that we are able to move and embrace new ideology, pedagogy, and technology more quickly than we give ourselves credit for. Our children despite all this once again proved how incredibly resilient and adaptable they are and can be.
2022 will be a very exciting year for us. We are now an officially recognised and authorised IB World school. The feedback and many commendations that we received from both the Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools (MACS) review and the International Baccalaureate verification visits both show how far we have come as a school over the past four years. This has been an exciting part of our school’s journey and we look forward to embedding the recommendations and initiatives that we have implemented and will be implementing over the next four years.
Staff have already started to plan for 2022 and we are very excited by the opportunities that we have for growth and development. This is the next step towards firmly entrenching in our community a learning culture that is inspiring, rigorous, relevant, purposeful, and engaging for all involved. As we head into this next phase we want to continue to
enable our learners to be able to step boldly into the future; equipping them with the skills they need to participate with confidence in a world that continues to rapidly change and evolve.
Furthermore, our new School Improvement Plan is an opportunity and vehicle which will drive learning and teaching at our school, whilst continuing to emphasis delivering a strong structured numeracy and literacy focus. Ultimately ensuring we continue to deliver a high-quality education for all well into the future.
The staffing for 2022 has now been finalized and the following is a summary of what will be in place for the next year.
At the end of the year, we will farewell Stuart Andreou-Mill. Since joining St Columba’s in 2015 Stu has been an integral member of our staff. He has been a wonderful asset to our staff and leadership team during his time here; taking on both Maths Leader and Religious Education Leader in addition to his classroom teaching role. I know every child, parent and staff member will have many memorable moments of ‘Mr AM” that I am sure they will treasure for a long time to come. We will miss all that he has brought to our school. We wish him all the very best as he takes up his new position as Learning and Teaching Leader and classroom teacher at Our Lady’s Surrey Hills. I have known Stu since his time as a graduate teacher and I feel privileged to have been part of his journey and to watch him grow as a leader in Catholic Education.
We also farewell Lauren Doran and Hannah Cooper who have both filled maternity leave positions over the past two years. We are grateful for the knowledge and experience that they have brought to our school. Both Lauren and Hannah will be travelling next year. We wish them all the very best as they begin this next chapter of their lives.
Taking leave for a year is Mrs Brooke Dobric. Since joining St Columba’s in 2018 Brooke has been an integral member of our staff and leadership team. Her expertise in PYP and literacy has enabled us to achieve our SIP goals and recognised as an IB World school. Her professionalism has been exemplary and the commendations she received from the IB regarding our visit, were well founded and deserved. We are grateful for the wisdom, knowledge, and breadth of experience that she has brought to our school. She will be greatly missed by our whole community. We wish Brooke all the best for 2022 and look forward to her return.
We also have several staff who will be taking maternity leave during 2022. Congratulations to Chantel Lazzaro, Tara Wilkes and Stephanie Young.
Therefore there are some changes to our staffing for 2022 and I would like to welcome to our school community: Ms Jenna Wynd, Ms Sarah Hobbins, Mr Conor Markey and Ms Danielle Looney. We also welcome back from maternity leave Ms Rachael Bulcock and Ms Sophie Champion. Ms Claire Van Loon will replace Brooke as PYP Co-ordinator.
I am very excited about the new staff joining and returning to the school next year. I know you, our community, will make them feel very welcome.
2022 Teaching Staff
Principal Daniella Maddalena
Deputy Principal- Student Wellbeing & Bern Bradley
Community
ICT, NCCD & Learning Diversity Leader Natalie Cromie
PYP Leader Claire Van Loon
P-6 Literacy and Numeracy Leader Claire Van Loon
STEM Leader Tara Wilkes
Sustainability Leader Stephanie Young
Classroom Teachers
Prep Gemma Canalini and Sophie Champion
Grade 1/2 Jenna Wynd
Grade 1/2 Sarah Hobbins
Grade 3/4 Liane Pimenta
Grade 3/4 Jane Hamilton -Dixon
Grade 3/4 Rachael Bulcock and Yang Song
Grade 5/6 Daniella Looney
Grade 5/6 Conor Markey
Visual Art Bec Long
Languages (Mandarin) Yang Song
Physical Education Sharelle Braithwaite
There will be extra support for all classes in Literacy and Maths Prep - Year 6, with a Differentiation (Extension/Intervention) Teacher working across each year level. This will allow smaller groupings during these times for explicit instruction and will also provide the opportunity for greater personalisation and differentiation of the curriculum.
Natalie Cromie, Angela Saliba and Yang Song will work as Differentiation Teachers providing Literacy and Numeracy support and differentiation to Prep – Year 6
Tara Wilkes and Stephanie Young will also work as Differentiation Support Teachers across Prep - Year 6 until they commence maternity leave.
Learning Support Officers (Aides)
Norma Pullen, Suzie Hansen, Lorraine Everitt, Freda Minas, Julie Watson, Andy Szkibik, Justine Seymour, Laura Harris, Kylie Marshall
We are very excited to continue to provide regular music classes throughout each term with Chris Lazzaro. These sessions will focus on music making and creating and will occur fortnightly in terms 1, & 4, term 2 and 3 will be dedicated to the School Musical. In 2022 the children can pursue instrumental music lessons with Creative Music and all children will of course participate in our Musical during term 3.
The children will find out their classroom teacher on Thursday 9th December when they have a ‘Step Up Day’ orientation session, with their new teacher and class from 9:00 - 11:00am
I am extremely excited about 2022 and the new opportunities the year ahead will bring. As the new year starts, we invite you to share in our journey by continuing to participate in your child’s learning especially on Seesaw. We saw first-hand during remote learning how powerful this can be. It is one of the many learnings during that time that we do not want to lose and in fact must capitalize on as we move forward. So, we invite you to fully embrace the many opportunities that will be on offer throughout 2022 and to engage with the many learning experiences, social and community experiences on offer and to participate in and immerse yourselves in the life of our school.