Principal's Message

Week 2 - Term 4  

Welcome back to the final stretch of the school year! We’ve had an exceptionally calm and smooth start to Term 4, and it’s wonderful to see the students returning with such enthusiasm and focus.

Although I was on Long Service Leave during the break, I was kept well informed about the success of our inaugural Art Show. By all accounts, it was a spectacular evening, filled with both performing and visual arts, and a true celebration of our school community. I want to extend my deepest thanks to Bec Long, our Visual Arts teacher, and Steph Campbell, our Performing Arts teacher, for bringing their vision to life. Their hard work, alongside the support from Ava, Nicola, the Prep parents, and the wider PFA, ensured that the logistics ran smoothly and that the event raised $7,000 to support the phonics and reading program and instruction at our school.

As we embark on this term, I’d like to highlight the academic growth we are witnessing across the board—not only in phonics and reading but also in maths and writing. Last term, many of you took the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress with their teachers, and I’m pleased to share that early assessments show children are rising to the challenges set before them. The students are making rapid and confident progress, and we believe they will continue to meet—and even surpass—both the expected benchmarks and our own higher internal goals.

At St Columba’s, we’ve worked tirelessly to ensure a cohesive and aligned curriculum from Prep through to Year 6. This scaffolded approach—particularly in phonics, reading, writing, maths, and spelling—ensures that teaching practices are consistent across year levels, allowing students to build upon their learning year by year. This consistency is having a significant and positive impact on student outcomes, and it’s exciting to witness the growth and enthusiasm from both students and staff.

Above all, we remain committed to placing children at the heart of everything we do. When students feel safe, supported, and know that they are allowed to make mistakes, the greatest learning happens. My time away has given me a renewed appreciation for how much we’ve achieved in creating the right conditions for children to thrive.

As we move forward, I encourage you to continue engaging with your child’s classroom teacher to stay informed about their learning journey and goals for this term. We are immensely proud of their achievements and look forward to a term of continued growth