School Notifications 

End of Year Mass and Graduation!

After another eventful year, it will be fabulous to celebrate the end of 2021 as a school.

On Tuesday the 14th of December, at 6:00 pm in the St Columba’s Church we will be celebrating with an end of the year and graduation mass. 

You are all invited to attend and celebrate as a community. 

We are asking that the Prep-Year 5 students wear their summer uniform and the Year 6s wear smart casual before they head off to their graduation party.

There are some small requirements when attending the Church, all attendees who are not students of St Columba’s will need to show proof of double vaccination when checking in upon arrival. Additionally, families are encouraged to sit in family groups.

We look forward to celebrating as a school community.

Parish Education Board

On behalf of the school community, I wish to thank Leanne Barnes, Rossi Biddle, Susan Nicholson and Lukanda Ellis for their time on the Parish Education Board. Each have been an integral member of the board and we have greatly valued their expertise and insight during their tenure. With the move to the new MACS governance structure the new School Advisory Council will be formally welcomed at the AGM next Tuesday.

Class Lists for 2022

One of the big tasks we undertake at this time of year is the placement of children in classes for the following year. You may think it is a simple task, however, in reality it is quite a challenging task for all staff. It is about ‘getting it right’ so all children can succeed in their learning and in a social setting. Often these two factors can cause some conflict because the children with who they socialize may not always be the best children to be in the class with, due to them distracting each other on a regular basis. 

In all situations, we advocate that children need to be risk takers and problem solvers and this can be applied to the children they have in their class. For example, the prep children from 2021 will be mixed up next year and instead of looking at whether the children will not be with some of their friends, we see it as an opportunity for the children to meet many more friends. The same applies to children in all the classes. 

Sometimes parents have valid reasons as to where their child is placed in a class. These reasons can be educational or social. The staff put in a lot of time placing all the children in their classes for next year and I would ask that parents trust our professional judgment when dealing with these matters.