Dear Parents,

It is wonderful to see our students and staff thriving as we settle into Week 4 of the school year. The beginning of a new year is always a time of excitement, growth, and new opportunities. Establishing consistent routines at home helps children feel confident and prepared for each day, setting them up for success. Encouraging independence through small responsibilities—such as preparing for the day ahead the night before—can make mornings smoother and more positive for everyone. Thank you for your continued support in fostering a nurturing and structured environment for our students.

It's hard to believe that enrolments are already open for Kinder 2026. If you have a child starting Kindergarten in 2026 can you please complete the enrolment form using this link: Enrol online | Catholic Schools Maitland-Newcastle 

Thank you so much for the wonderful turnout for our Parent Information night.  It means a lot to the children that you come along to these evenings and it’s always helpful to hear from the teachers.  Over this week and next week, teachers are looking forward to touching base with parents to hear from you about any things you’d like them to know about your child.

We look forward to seeing you at our opening school Mass on Tuesday February 25th at 9:30am

Jenny Howard

A message from Bec Moylan:

"Life has a way of throwing unexpected challenges our way, and recently, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. As part of my treatment journey, I’ve had to say goodbye to my hair—a small price to pay for the chance to fight this with everything I’ve got.

But in the midst of it all, my incredible little man has decided to shave his head too, and my little mini me is saying goodbye to her brows —not just in solidarity with me, but to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. At 11 years old, he understands something profound: research saves lives.

I was told by my specialist that if I had received this diagnosis 30 years ago, my prognosis would not have been as hopeful. The treatments available to me today simply didn’t exist back then. That’s the power of research. That’s why this matters.

Every single day, 58 women in Australia are diagnosed with breast cancer. That’s 58 families whose lives are changed in an instant. If we can raise even a small amount to contribute to the life-saving advancements of the future, then this journey will have an even greater purpose.

If you’d like to support Christian and Olivia’s incredible act of love and help fund vital breast cancer research, please donate here:

https://fundraise.nbcf.org.au/.../chri.../christian--s-shave

To those who have already wrapped us in love, thank you. To those fighting this battle too, you are not alone. And to my beautiful boy—thank you for reminding me that even in the hardest times, there is still so much love and hope".

As a school, we keep the Moylan family in our prayers and encourage our community to support this important cause in any way they can. 

We take pride in maintaining high standards in our St Columba’s uniform. We kindly ask for your support in ensuring your child is wearing the correct uniform, including polishable black leather school shoes. Shoulder-length hair should be tied up using school-coloured bands and clips that align with the School Uniform Policy. Your partnership in upholding these standards helps foster a sense of pride and belonging within our community. Thank you for your ongoing cooperation.

A reminder that we have a pupil free day planned for Monday 24^th February. Our staff will be working with another school with a focus on Maths curriculum.  OOSH will be operating on this day for families who require care for children.

All parents and carers are encouraged to attend our Term 1 PEG at 2pm on Friday March 28^th in our school library.  Our focus for this meeting is student wellbeing and the Grow Your Mind Program.  Your participation in this meeting is aimed at supporting you in guiding your children’s learning and wellbeing both at home, and at school.  We will have our wellbeing staff team present and the meeting being held later in term time means that we are able to report on progress with the program as well as informing you on where we are going with it.

At this PEG meetings, parents and carers will also have an opportunity to raise and discuss issues related to the spiritual, social and academic development of St Columba’s students.  Our first meeting will also go over our school goals for the year and give you an opportunity to provide input on what you would like for our PEG meetings over the remainder of the year.

Simply come along, connect with other parents, carers and staff so that together, we can build a stronger community.

We recognize the vital partnership we share with parents in supporting each child’s learning journey. Clear and open communication is essential to ensuring this partnership thrives. For matters related to your child’s learning, we encourage you to communicate directly with their respective teacher. For concerns outside the classroom, please contact the relevant staff member, who will work with you to address these matters. If you are unsure who to contact, please give our office team a call, and they will direct you to the best person.

As Compass is our primary communication platform, we kindly remind parents to use it to stay informed and connected. If your child is absent, please notify the school through a permission note in Compass, via email, or by contacting our office directly.

Assistance is needed for the following upcoming events:

Pancake Tuesday – March 4

Easter Egg raffle

Mothers’ Day stall – May 8 

Please get in touch if you’re able to assist with one or more of these.  Remember, to volunteer, you must be registered with the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. If you are not yet registered, please visit our the Diocesan website for more information on the process.

NAPLAN

A few years ago, NAPLAN testing moved to term 1. Years 3 and 5 will complete 4 tests between Wednesday 12th March – Monday 24th March. It is very important students are present during this time.

Each child in year 3 and year 5 need their own set of labelled headphones/earphones that will work on their laptop. (Year 3 will be using school laptops.)

The tests are:

- Writing (either a narrative or a persuasive text)

- Reading

- Conventions of Language (punctuation and grammar)

- Numeracy (all areas of mathematics – Number, Measurement, Statistics & Data)

NAPLAN tests are nothing for students or parents to stress or worry about. They largely track trends as a school and monitor for individual growth. How a student performs in year 3, it would be expected that there would be appropriate growth in year 5 and again in years 7 and 9. A top performing student can still continue to grow and progress.

As a school, if results are particularly high in one area, this is something to celebrate and affirms our strategies are working. If results overall are particularly low in one area, this also gives us important information about what we can focus on as a school.

In our Church tradition.... Sacramental Program for 2025 (Years 4 to 6) 

You're Invited! 

Sunday 2 March - the Cathedral Precinct will transform into family, fun, free food trucks and ice-cream, amusements, entertainment, and an obstacle course. The morning will start at 8am with a walk from Foreshore Park to Sacred Heart Cathedral (4km) with Bishop Michael – our chance to be Pilgrims of Hope!   

Walk side by side with families and staff from our parishes, schools, agencies and ministries and then join us for Mass at 10am before the Festival of Hope kicks off at 11am. 

Join us, everyone is welcome! 

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM 2024:

Please see dates below for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. All information has been sent home to families as well as enrolments forms. Please advise if you need a form and further information on this.  

Important Dates for the Sacramental Program – TERM 1 Reconciliation 

CLASS MASS: Please see dates below for Class Mass 

WEEKEND MASS TIMES FOR ST COLUMBA’S:

It is always lovely for children and their families to attend Mass in our Parish. Currently Mass is celebrated each Sunday at 8:00am.  

In our Community.... Dates for the Term 1 Calendar   

In our Curriculum.... Unit in Focus: Year 2: Belonging to Community 

This module introduces students to ideas about community and what it means to belong to a community of faith. Students will begin to appreciate the significance of community for Christians: of living in loving relationship with God, others, and all of creation. Students will focus on the Church as the community of God’s people. Later in the term, students will also be learning more about the season of Lent, exploring how repentance, forgiveness and healing allow an experience of change and growth to benefit the Church community. This module concludes with Jesus’ journey through the Stations of the Cross during the time of Easter. 

Students have enjoyed learning about different types of community in class this week and last week. Here are some of the responses given by the children to what a community is when discussing in class:  

• A community is coming together and accepting everyone  

• All are welcome, all belong!  

• Some community groups are... family, sporting, Church, school, world, friendships, neighbourhood  

• We are stronger when we come together!  

Have a lovely week and may God bless you always,  

Amie Harry and Emma McCulloch  

Religious Education Coordinators 

Shrove Tuesday began as a way to use up rich foods like eggs, milk and sugar before the 40 days of Lent and has turned into a worldwide tradition!

When: Tuesday 4th March is Shrove Tuesday

What: The canteen will be making pancakes with students able to purchase

Cost: In the true spirit of Lent, each student is asked to make a gold coin donation to go to Caritas Australia who this year are raising funds for those less fortunate to have access to adequate food.

Your generosity is much appreciated.

Year 6 has had a wonderful start to the year, stepping up as leaders of our school community. They have embraced their role with enthusiasm and have set a beautiful example of our new school PB4L values—respect, compassion, and hospitality. Well done, Year 6! Keep up the amazing work.

Congratulations to Taj Hickey and Iris Frost who travelled to Tamworth 7^th of February for Basketball.

Regional Swimming Carnival 

Great effort from all our swimmers at the regional carnival on Monday! We’re glad the weather held out for most of the races, making for an exciting day in the pool. Well done to everyone who competed!