Principal Report

Principal Message – Term 3

Oh, what a show!

Last Friday was the culmination of many weeks of hard work and as a school community we couldn’t be prouder. I think we can very confidently say that our production of ‘Madagascar Junior’ was a hit!

When you set out to put on a show like this you are not always 100% certain of the outcome. The Arts is about a lot of things - connection, engagement, collaboration, teamwork, confidence, pride, and our Madagascar was a fine example of that.

Standing in the wings waiting for that first entrance to happen always fills me with excitement and terror. You as an audience get to see the one version of the show unfold and we backstage another. The excitement in the dressing rooms and wings is electrifying and contagious. The show we observe has children whispering words of encouragement, revving each other up, helping one another to get on stage and supporting one another whilst on stage, congratulating one another, patting each other on the back as they come off stage, complimenting one another on a job well done. It is quite inspiring and reminds me of why we go to great lengths to give our children this opportunity.

Productions such as this one don’t just manifest out of thin air, and the Year 6 children, supported by the year 5s and their classroom teachers worked with great energy and enthusiasm to put on the wonderful show you saw. We are so lucky at St Columba’s, to have so many talented, creative and skilled people in our community who so generously give of their time to help us to put this show on the stage. On behalf of all the children, I would like to say thank you to all the wonderful and supportive people who have worked with us - thank you for sharing not only your gifts with us but also your love and passion for the Arts.

I can hardly believe it is nearly the end of term 3! Reflecting back, we have managed to fit quite a lot into what we traditionally say as teachers is our “quiet” term. There has been Eucharist for our Year 4 children, Hoop Time Years 3-6, Book Week, Parent/Teacher Interviews, District Athletics, Father’s Day Breakfast, classroom visits and of course our amazing Musical. Adding to this we have had some outstanding results in the District Athletics and Year 5/6 Hooptime Basketball competitions.

Turning the attention to the classroom it has been an absolute delight to see the high levels of engagement and learning that has been occurring throughout the term. As further testement to this it gives me great pleasure in sharing with you the academic growth we have made as a school. Last week we sent home the NAPLAN testing results for the children in Grades 3 and 5. As a school we are extremely happy with individual children’s achievement and with the school’s overall results. Across all 5 dimensions we have scored well above the National Minimum Standards for both Year 3 and Year 5 and our data shows significant rises in our mean scores in all areas. Considering the two years of significant periods of lockdown and remote learning, our children have shown great resilience and progress.

We have certainly packed a lot into the term, and I think we are all ready for the two-week break. Being able to step out of the routine is a good and healthy thing; revitalizing and energizing us to take on whatever lies ahead I wish you all very pleasant break and look forward to seeing you at the start of term 4; ready for what will be, as always at St Columba’s, a very exciting term.